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Article
Publication date: 3 September 2019

Ciaran B. Trace and Yan Zhang

The purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which self-tracking data have meaning and value in and after the life of the creator, including how such data could become…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to examine the ways in which self-tracking data have meaning and value in and after the life of the creator, including how such data could become part of the larger historical record, curated in an institutional archive. In doing so, the article expands upon existing shared interests among researchers working in the areas of self-tracking, human–computer interaction and archival science.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 18 people who had self-tracked for six months or more were recruited for the study. Participants completed a survey which gathered demographic data and characteristics vis-à-vis their self-tracking behavior. In-person semi-structured interviews were then conducted to ascertain the beliefs of the participants regarding the long-term use and value of personal quantified-self data.

Findings

The findings reveal the value that people place on self-tracking data, their thoughts on proper modes for accessing their archive once it moves from the private to the public space, and how to provide fidelity within the system such that their experiences are represented while also enabling meaning making on the part of subsequent users of the archive.

Originality/value

Today’s quantified-self data are generally embedded in systems that create a pipeline from the individual source to that of the corporate warehouse, bent on absorbing and extracting insight from a totality of big data. This article posits that new opportunities for knowing and for design can be revealed when a public interest rationale is appended to rich personalized collections of small data.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 76 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 August 2022

Wenzheng Sun, Hong Liu and Nainan Wen

Online task-oriented check-ins (i.e. OTOCs) are popular means of tracking personal progress in certain fields. This study focused on the use of OTOC platforms and explored the…

Abstract

Purpose

Online task-oriented check-ins (i.e. OTOCs) are popular means of tracking personal progress in certain fields. This study focused on the use of OTOC platforms and explored the predictors of individuals' continuing usage intention.

Design/methodology/approach

A model was proposed to understand Chinese users' continuous intention of OTOCs based on the UTAUT framework. Perceived social presence was also incorporated as a predictor of continuance intention of OTOC platforms. A survey of 397 users of the OTOC platforms was conducted in Nanjing, China.

Findings

Performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and habit had direct, positive influence on the continuous use intention, whereas effort expectancy and social influence were not significant predictors of continuance intention of OTOCs. Perceived social presence was a significant, indirect predictor of intention to continuously use the OTOCs, and the relationship was mediated by performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, and habit.

Originality/value

This study distinguished OTOCs from other modes of self-tracking and extended the UTAUT framework by incorporating perceived social presence as a predictor of continuous technology use in the context of OTOCs. This study also provided a deeper understanding of the interrelations between the explanatory variables of the model that have been identified as robust in previous literature on technology use.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 75 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 30 April 2019

Katleen Gabriels and Mark Coeckelbergh

This paper aims to fill this gap (infra, originality) by providing a conceptual framework for discussing “technologies of the self and other,” by showing that, in most cases…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to fill this gap (infra, originality) by providing a conceptual framework for discussing “technologies of the self and other,” by showing that, in most cases, self-tracking also involves other-tracking.

Design/methodology/approach

In so doing, we draw upon Foucault’s “technologies of the self” and present-day literature on self-tracking technologies. We elaborate on two cases and practical domains to illustrate and discuss this mutual process: first, the quantified workplace; and second, quantification by wearables in a non-clinical and self-initiated context.

Findings

The main conclusion is that these shapings are never (morally) neutral and have ethical implications, such as regarding “quantified otherness,” a notion we propose to point at the risk that the other could become an object of examination and competition.

Originality/value

Although there is ample literature on the quantified self, considerably less attention is given to how the relation with the other is being shaped by self-tracking technologies that allow data sharing (e.g. wearables or apps such as Strava or RunKeeper).

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 24 September 2019

Zablon Pingo and Bhuva Narayan

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of wearable health and fitness trackers in everyday life, and users’ motivations and their understanding and use of the data…

1024

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of wearable health and fitness trackers in everyday life, and users’ motivations and their understanding and use of the data derived from devices, and understand the results using the lens of information behaviours.

Design/methodology/approach

The study used a qualitative, constructionist approach, based on 21 interviews with users of a range of wearable activity trackers used for health and fitness.

Findings

Findings show that the lifelogging devices have become companion tools that enable users to take information from their bodily indicators and make some decisions about their health and fitness, and also track the results when they act on it, thus giving them a sense of gratification and a sense of control over their own health.

Practical implications

The findings have implications on how health professionals can talk to their lifelogging patients about how to deal with and understand the information provided by their activity-tracking devices. Some participants in the study already discuss these data regularly with their health professionals.

Originality/value

As the self-tracking practices attract wide range research interests from human–computer interaction, information systems, digital sociology, health informatics and marketing among others. This study provides important everyday information-seeking perspective that contributes to the understanding of the practices of how people make sense of the data, how the data improves their wellbeing, i.e. physical health improvement or fitness, and implications to users health behaviour. Additionally the study adds to the lifelogging literature through a constructionist, qualitative approach rather than a technological deterministic approach.

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 44 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 June 2019

Stefanie Paluch and Sven Tuzovic

Commercial entities (e.g. health and life insurance, airlines and supermarkets) in different countries have recently begun to introduce wearable technology as part of the consumer…

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Abstract

Purpose

Commercial entities (e.g. health and life insurance, airlines and supermarkets) in different countries have recently begun to introduce wearable technology as part of the consumer journey and as a means of enhancing the business value chain. While a firm’s decision to adopt such new technologies as wearable devices is often based on financial factors such as return on investment, costs and impact on profits, consumers may hold a different attitude toward the value of using smart wearables and sharing their personal data as part of their business-client relationships. The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumer perceptions of and reactions to persuaded self-tracking (PST) – a practice in which businesses actively encourage consumers to monitor, collect and share personal biometric data through wearable technologies in exchange for personalized incentives and rewards.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a qualitative research approach and a purposeful sampling method, the authors conducted personal in-depth interviews with 24 consumers (both users and non-users of wearable devices). Interviews were recorded and transcribed, resulting in 600 pages of transcripts comprising more than 203,000 words. Data coding and analysis were facilitated by using NVivo.

Findings

Consumers’ assessment of PST is based on perceived value-in-use, privacy/security concerns and perceived fairness/justice, resulting in four types of reactions to adopt or use PST (embracing, considering, debating and avoiding). Specifically, the authors identified two individual determinants (intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation) and four firm-related determinants (design of wearable device, assurance, transparency and controllability) that influence consumer perceptions of PST.

Research limitations/implications

Results of this study have implications for both vendors of wearable devices and firms trying to leverage smart wearables in their value chains. Identifying consumers’ perceptions, as well as barriers and enablers of acceptance, will help firms to more effectively design and develop wearable device-based services, thus gaining consumer support for using fitness trackers. The primary limitation of the study is that using a thematic analysis method diminishes the generalizability of our findings.

Originality/value

This study addresses an under-researched area: the integration of wearable technologies in a firm’s value chain through the lens of the consumers. This study is one of the first, according to authors’ knowledge, to investigate consumer perceptions of PST.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 19 February 2021

Claire Seungeun Lee

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was documented in China, and the virus was soon to be introduced to its neighboring country – South Korea. South Korea, one…

809

Abstract

Purpose

The first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was documented in China, and the virus was soon to be introduced to its neighboring country – South Korea. South Korea, one of the earliest countries to initiate a national pandemic response to COVID-19 with fairly substantial measures at the individual, societal and governmental level, is an interesting example of a rapid response by the Global South. The current study examines contact tracing mobile applications (hereafter, contact tracing apps) for those who were subject to self-quarantine through the lenses of dataveillance and datafication. This paper analyzes online/digital data from those who were mandatorily self-quarantined by the Korean government largely due to returning from overseas travel.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses an Internet ethnography approach to collect and analyze data. To extract data for this study, self-quarantined Korean individuals' blog entries were collected and verified with a combination of crawling and manual checking. Content analysis was performed with the codes and themes that emerged. In the COVID-19 pandemic era, this method is particularly useful to gain access to those who are affected by the situation. This approach advances the author’s understandings of COVID-19 contact tracing mobile apps and the experiences of self-quarantined people who use them.

Findings

The paper shows Korean citizens' understandings and views of using the COVID-19 self-tracing application in South Korea through examining their experiences. The research argues that the application functions as a datafication tool that collects the self-quarantined people's information and performs dataveillance on the self-quarantined people. This research further offers insights for various agreements/disagreements at different actors (i.e. the self-quarantined, their families, contact tracers/government officials) in the process of contact tracing for COVID-19.

Originality/value

This study also provides insights into the implications of information and technology as they affect datafication and dataveillance conducted on the public. This study investigates an ongoing debate of COVID-19's contact tracing method concerning privacy and builds upon an emerging body of literature on datafication, dataveillance, social control and digital sociology.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-08-2020-0377

Details

Online Information Review, vol. 45 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1468-4527

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 March 2017

Andrew Martin Cox, Pamela McKinney and Paula Goodale

The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of information literacy (IL) in food logging, the activity of recording food intake and monitoring weight and other health…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of information literacy (IL) in food logging, the activity of recording food intake and monitoring weight and other health conditions that may be affected by diet, using applications (apps) accessed through mobile devices and personal computers.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were gathered from a small group of food logging app users through a focus group and interviews. Analysis was informed by practice theory and the growing interest in IL outside educational settings.

Findings

Food logging revolves around the epistemic modality of information, but it is the user who creates information and it is not textual. Food logging is associated with a discourse of focussing on data and downplaying the corporeal information associated with eating and its effect on the body. Social information was an important source for choosing an app, but data were rarely shared with others. Food loggers are very concerned with data quality at the point of data entry. They have a strong sense of learning about healthy eating. They were not well informed about the data privacy and access issues.

Practical implications

Food loggers need to be better informed about data risks around food logging.

Originality/value

This is the first study of food logging from an IL perspective.

Details

Aslib Journal of Information Management, vol. 69 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-3806

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 April 2022

Constanza Bianchi, Sven Tuzovic and Volker G. Kuppelwieser

This empirical study examines the drivers of consumer intention to adopt wearable technology for healthcare in a South American country. Specifically, it proposes and tests a…

1140

Abstract

Purpose

This empirical study examines the drivers of consumer intention to adopt wearable technology for healthcare in a South American country. Specifically, it proposes and tests a model of nonuser consumer intention to adopt fitness trackers for healthcare purpose in Chile.

Design/methodology/approach

This study draws on the technology acceptance framework UTAUT2 to develop and test a conceptual model of wearable technology adoption. Data were collected through an online survey applied to 470 nonusers of wearable technology in Santiago, Chile.

Findings

Findings indicate that hedonic motivation, social influence and perceived usefulness have the strongest influence on intention to adopt fitness trackers in Chile for healthcare. In addition, health motivation is an indirect predictor of consumer's intention to adopt wearable technology through its effect on perceived usefulness.

Practical implications

The study contributes to a better understanding of consumer intention to adopt wearable technology for healthcare objectives in a less developed country in South America. Findings are useful for wearable technology managers, retail business and public policymakers.

Originality/value

Despite the vast growth and importance of wearable technology for healthcare purposes, academic research considering less developed countries is scarce, especially the South American region. The proposed model and findings can extend this research gap. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed as well as implications for public policy.

Details

Information Technology & People, vol. 36 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0959-3845

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 July 2022

Lukas Löhlein and Christian Huber

A total of 25 years of research on the audit society has provided rich and engaging accounts of the ways in which rituals of verification have conditioned organizations and…

Abstract

Purpose

A total of 25 years of research on the audit society has provided rich and engaging accounts of the ways in which rituals of verification have conditioned organizations and individuals to think and act. In contrast, this paper aims to explore the possibility of conditions through which things and spaces are enacted to be non-auditable.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the concept of proliferation and rarefaction (Callon and Law, 2005), the paper adopts a case-comparison design to explore two empirical sites. The first investigates a vast excess of audit structures against the case of the biggest corporate fraud in German accounting history, the Wirecard scandal. The second discusses the configuration of Tinder, the most popular provider of mobile dating and the absence of visible verification mechanisms.

Findings

The paper argues that things can become non-auditable through two mechanisms. Based on the two empirical sites, non-auditability can happen through an overload of auditable resources or, through the withdrawal of required resources. The paper discusses the consequences of this finding and suggests avenues for future research on non-auditability.

Originality/value

While accounting scholars have extensively addressed the audit explosion and traced how audit practices have journeyed into ever more novel terrains, this paper discusses forms of escape from the value-subverting and reductive accounts incorporated in the audit society. It thereby points to conditions under which accounting ends.

Details

Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, vol. 21 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1176-6093

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 14 May 2020

Kamilla Klefbeck

This study aim was to analyze how lesson study can enhance learning for students with intellectual disability, and how teachers' collaboration affects the design and analysis of…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aim was to analyze how lesson study can enhance learning for students with intellectual disability, and how teachers' collaboration affects the design and analysis of the intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

Lesson study was used as a methodological framework. Ten special educational needs teachers met the researcher for three collaborative meetings. Between meetings, teachers performed and adjusted a lesson on a particular mathematical issue: quantity and size judgment. To evaluate the lesson design, students completed pre- and post-lesson examinations and attitude tests with Likert-type scales.

Findings

Students' knowledge increased during the study. The mean scores for the first group (six students) were 4.3 in the pre-test and 6.5 in the post-test (effect size 0.9). For the second group (four students), the mean score was 3.8 in the pre-test and 4.3 in the post-test (effect size 0.2). Attitude measurement showed split opinions; seven students had a positive experience and three had a predominantly negative experience. Assessment of teacher certainty using transcribed audio recordings of teachers' statements during the collaborative meetings indicated a positive relation between teacher expressions of certainty and student learning. The teacher–researcher collaboration increased teachers' focus on student learning and deepened the researcher's analysis.

Originality/value

There is an urgent need to explore collaborative development in special educational needs teaching. Lesson study is an effective way of examining teachers' collaborative processes using data on teachers' reasoning about teaching and students' learning.

Details

International Journal for Lesson & Learning Studies, vol. 9 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-8253

Keywords

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