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Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

A defining aspect of humans is our self-consciousness; we experience ourselves as selves, and thus the self is a vital theme for information experience. A self can be…

Abstract

A defining aspect of humans is our self-consciousness; we experience ourselves as selves, and thus the self is a vital theme for information experience. A self can be conceptualized informationally, showing how the information and documents we deal with, and the practices by which we deal with them, constitute who we are. At root, a self is an encapsulation of an entity from its environment. To speak of human selves, this involves a biological encapsulation, a cognitive one, and a conscious one. The biological encapsulation is formed by chemical bonds; the cognitive by perceptual information processing; and the conscious by semantic bonds of narrative and self-awareness. Selves can change within all these encapsulations, and “being informed” simply is this change. Following this theory of the self as well as discussions of the extended mind, we can understand one's information and documents to also in part constitute a person's self. Among these, self-documents are a special case, those documents we create about ourselves (e.g., online profiles), which both represent and modulate who we are.

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

Abstract

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

Some of today's most widely used technologies do not seem conducive to self-care, and consequently they do not nourish us as selves. Rather, in today's most lauded sociotechnical…

Abstract

Some of today's most widely used technologies do not seem conducive to self-care, and consequently they do not nourish us as selves. Rather, in today's most lauded sociotechnical systems, from Google search to Facebook, users' participation (free labor) is commodified and channeled into corporate profits. Users do engage in self-focused activities, such as posting selfies and status updates, but these do not have the character of self-care. This amounts to self-obsession without self-consideration. An illustration is given by comparing the early-modern artistic practice of self-portraiture with the modern-day smartphone practice of selfie-making. Self-portraiture has been shown to be conducive to self-care, whereas the selfie by and large is not. This comparison invites strategies for injecting self-care into selfie-making technology, as an entree into designing for self-care generally. These strategies include jardin secret, self-questioning, and multiplicity.

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

For all that many technology designers today gloss their work in terms of “creating meaningful experiences,” most design is focused on efficiency, productivity, self-indulgence…

Abstract

For all that many technology designers today gloss their work in terms of “creating meaningful experiences,” most design is focused on efficiency, productivity, self-indulgence, and pleasure-seeking, and little discussion has been had on what “meaningful experiences” actually means. Still, there is an opportunity and a need to design for meaning. In the research literature, there are some precedents for this, rooted in the Slow Technology movement. That research suggests, for instance, that personally meaningful designs should make space for evolution over time; be upgradeable, maintainable, and replaceable; and afford focused rather than distracting use. This work has room to be deepened and expanded. To begin, we can look to paradigms in psychology and philosophy for techniques to cultivate personal meaning: Life Review and poietic judgment. Two design strategies that emerge from this are noticing and purposing. But perhaps more important than following any particular strategies is the embodiment of a particular designerly mood conducive to engaging users with personal meaning.

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

Information is often defined in terms of meaning. Traditional theories of meaning, each with some drawbacks, have been rooted in language; but a more satisfactory theory of…

Abstract

Information is often defined in terms of meaning. Traditional theories of meaning, each with some drawbacks, have been rooted in language; but a more satisfactory theory of meaning may be rooted in information. Meaning can be defined as coordinated action toward some end. In this sense, the meaning of something is the way it affords and constrains actions, and it is therefore inextricable from its context. Meaning can be discussed in several senses, including personal, social, environmental, historical, political, etc. Because information studies is concerned with the intersection of people and information, two key conceptualizations of meaning are personal meaning and social meaning. When activities have this meaningful dimension, they make a person's life feel more valuable and worth living, as a person and/or as a member of a group. In general, personal and social meaning include aspects such as purpose and connection with others.

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

Craft has been described as a personally meaningful orientation toward an activity – this orientation is what distinguishes craft from mere labor. This conception of craft can be…

Abstract

Craft has been described as a personally meaningful orientation toward an activity – this orientation is what distinguishes craft from mere labor. This conception of craft can be traced back to the Greek poiesis, or revealing. Poiesis entails both passive and active components: passively, poiesis denotes being receptive to what is given in the world; actively, it involves the trained judgment of decision-making. Information activities can become more meaningful, then, if they are infused with this craft ethic. Fundamentally, this is a particular orientation of a person toward their world, one of the finding distinctions that matter to a person.

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 October 2020

Tim Gorichanaz

The self should not be understood atomistically; indeed, the very concept of the self is only necessary in social contexts. There is a link, then, between self and world. In my…

Abstract

The self should not be understood atomistically; indeed, the very concept of the self is only necessary in social contexts. There is a link, then, between self and world. In my view, this can be conceptualized through Luciano Floridi's concept of the ontic trust. This concept was named after the legal concept of the trust, in which one party (the trustor) settles some property on a second party (the trustee) for the benefit of a third party (the beneficiary). The ontic trust is entered unwillingly and inescapably, but it is not coercive; rather, it constitutes a caring bond, an invitation to respect and appreciate others (including other people and all organisms and things). The concept has seen some discussion, but no one has yet commented on the role of the self in the ontic trust. Selves are clusters of experience – we are all little corners of the universe. As participants in the ontic trust, we can see that we must take care of ourselves because that is tantamount to taking care of the universe. Thus, self-care is an important ethical directive in the information society. This is not a solipsistic or egotistical claim; rather, it is the recognition that without a good self, good work for others is not possible. It is the recognition that all beings are connected, but that certain actions must be directed by agents toward themselves for the subsequent betterment of all.

Details

Information Experience in Theory and Design
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-368-5

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Looking for Information
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-424-6

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

Tim Gorichanaz

The purpose of this paper is to invite further consideration of and research into the authoritativeness, reliability and trustworthiness of documents. How do documents come to be…

1165

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to invite further consideration of and research into the authoritativeness, reliability and trustworthiness of documents. How do documents come to be trusted? Why are some more trusted than others?

Design/methodology/approach

The cases of the Oxford English Dictionary and Wikipedia policies are explored from a historical perspective, and other cases are considered.

Findings

Authoritativeness seems inherent to documents because of a cognitive metaphor that says “what is persistent is trustworthy”.

Practical implications

This feature of documents exposes users to a number of pitfalls related to trusting illegitimate documents. This has important implications for document literacy.

Originality/value

New insight into documents is achieved by applying cognitive metaphors and prototype theory to documents.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 72 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2019

Marc Richard Hugh Kosciejew

The purpose of this paper is to begin a conversation about the term “nondocument.” It analyzes this term’s possible concepts, components and contexts.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to begin a conversation about the term “nondocument.” It analyzes this term’s possible concepts, components and contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper draws upon the work of documentation studies scholars, including Michael Buckland, Bernd Frohmann and Niels Windfeld Lund, to begin an exploration of the term “nondocument,” framed within the context of the 2013–2014 Israeli–Palestinian peace negotiations brokered by the USA. It is comprised of seven sections revolving around different questions regarding non-document.

Findings

The document at the center of the 2013–2014 Israeli–Palestinian peace negotiations aimed to establish a framework for an eventual final-status peace agreement. There was skepticism, however, about the document’s proposed reservations inscription permitting either party to express reservations with any part of the framework. It was claimed that this reservation inscription made the document self-negating and therefore a non-document. This document was arguably a hybrid entity: a document-non-document. It was a document in the context of the negotiations. It became a non-document in the context of the collapse of the negotiations.

Research limitations/implications

The 2013–2014 peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine, brokered by the USA, revolved around a diplomatic document outlining provisions for a final peace settlement. The two parties were skeptical of a proposed provision permitting reservations to be expressed over other provisions within the document. An official involved in the negotiations stated that this provision made the document a non-document. But what exactly is meant by this term? This paper takes the opportunity to begin exploring such a notion. The aim, however, is not to definitively define non-document but instead to raise questions and provoke further discussions of this term.

Originality/value

The concept of non-document is underdeveloped. This paper presents questions and conceptual tools to help develop this term whilst providing possible points of departure for further examinations of how documents are or might be non-documents. These questions and tools also point in directions for various other approaches to phenomena that could be regarded as documents in some respects but not in others, or the ways in which something could is “almost” but “not quite” a document, or even help determine what is “not document.” Ultimately, this term could help expand other “conventional” approaches to documentation.

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