exploring a technological hermeneutic: understanding - Amy Voida

196 Pages·2008·5.02 MB·English

by  Amy Voida

EXPLORING A TECHNOLOGICAL HERMENEUTIC:
UNDERSTANDING THE INTERPRETATION OF
COMPUTER-MEDIATED MESSAGING SYSTEMS

A Dissertation
Presented to
The Academic Faculty

by

Amy Voida

In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Human-Centered Computing in the
School of Interactive Computing, College of Computing

Georgia Institute of Technology

August 2008

Copyright © 2008 by Amy Voida
EXPLORING A TECHNOLOGICAL HERMENEUTIC:
UNDERSTANDING THE INTERPRETATION OF
COMPUTER-MEDIATED MESSAGING SYSTEMS

Approved by:

Dr. Elizabeth D. Mynatt, Advisor Dr. Jay D. Bolter
College of Computing Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts
Georgia Institute of Technology Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Rebecca E. Grinter Dr. Wendy A. Kellogg
College of Computing Social Computing Group
Georgia Institute of Technology IBM T.J. Watson Research Center

Dr. W. Keith Edwards
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology

Date Approved: 14 May 2008
To my favorite…
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my many research participants
for sharing their time and personal experiences with technology. Their
gracious contributions were the essential foundation upon which this
dissertation has been built.
I would also like to thank all the individuals who worked with me in
developing the Human-Centered Computing Ph.D. program—Gregory Abowd,
Amy Bruckman, Jim Foley, Ashok Goel, Janet Kolodner, Dick Lipton, Beth
Mynatt, Nancy Nersessian, and Colin Potts. Their collective vision has been
embodied in a degree program that I am proud to call my own.
I am grateful to numerous colleagues and collaborators—Jay Bolter, Nicolas
Ducheneaut, Keith Edwards, Tom Erickson, Beki Grinter, Wendy Kellogg,
Mark Newman, Wendy Newstetter, and the many members of the Everyday
Computing Lab—for sharing their diverse wells of enthusiasm and expertise.
I am immensely fortunate to have Beth as an advisor on this journey,
working tirelessly to create an environment in which I (and others) have
been able to explore new, interdisciplinary research synergies. For
understanding that it takes more than a room of one’s own; for never once
ducking at anything I ever pitched at her, no matter how far afield or hard to
pronounce; and for her absolutely wicked, keen insight I am deeply indebted.
For the shared experiences above and beyond, from the thoughtful
conversations over lunch to the unforgettable adventures with family, I am
truly grateful.
I have been absolutely blessed by my friendships with Dana, Mike, Zach,
Ben, and Nick, through whom I have vicariously lived a second and
complementary life of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, t-ball games, and
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bedtime stories. I am grateful to these five fabulous individuals for sharing
the wonderful, everyday stuff of their lives with me.
I am fortunate to have the most immensely supportive parents one could
possibly imagine. Sharing hobbies as well as related research with them has
been an unexpected joy!
Last and anything but least, I would certainly not be where I am today if it
were not for Steve, who sent me an email 10 years ago that I completely
misinterpreted and that led directly to this wonderful, shared journey. For
accompanying me, encouraging me, educating me, inspiring me, and
covering for me, I will always, I am sure, owe him one.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................iv(cid:1)
LIST OF TABLES................................................................................. xii(cid:1)
LIST OF FIGURES...............................................................................xiii(cid:1)
SUMMARY......................................................................................... xiv(cid:1)
PART 1: A HERMENEUTIC PERSPECTIVE ON THE MULTIPLE
INTERPRETABILITY OF TECHNOLOGY......................................................1(cid:1)
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.............................................................2(cid:1)
Motivation..................................................................................2(cid:1)
My Relationship to Computational Technology .................................3(cid:1)
Outline and Overview of Research..................................................6(cid:1)
Contributions..............................................................................8(cid:1)
CHAPTER 2: A TRAJECTORY TOWARD MULTIPLE INTERPRETABILITY
IN HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION ...............................................10(cid:1)
Introduction..............................................................................10(cid:1)
A Historical Trajectory toward Multiple Interpretability....................14(cid:1)
Mainframe Computing ...........................................................14(cid:1)
Multiprocessing & Time Sharing ..............................................14(cid:1)
Personal Computing ..............................................................15(cid:1)
Collaborative Computing........................................................17(cid:1)
Internet Computing...............................................................19(cid:1)
Ubiquitous Computing ...........................................................20(cid:1)
A Focus on Individual Agency......................................................21(cid:1)
Theoretical Processes Reflecting the Multiple Interpretability of
Technological Artifacts ...............................................................22(cid:1)
The Hermeneutic Circle..........................................................22(cid:1)
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The Circuit of Culture.............................................................25(cid:1)
Remediation.........................................................................27(cid:1)
Roles of Theories Reflecting the Multiple Interpretability of
Technological Artifacts ...............................................................29(cid:1)
Conclusion................................................................................32(cid:1)
CHAPTER 3: EXPANDING HERMENEUTIC INQUIRY TO
COMPUTATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.......................................................33(cid:1)
Hermeneutical Criteria: Features of the Object ..............................34(cid:1)
The Fixation of Meaning.........................................................34(cid:1)
The Dissociation from Authorial Intention.................................35(cid:1)
The Display of Non-Ostensive References.................................36(cid:1)
The Universal Range of Addresses...........................................37(cid:1)
Hermeneutical Criteria: An Interpretive Process.............................37(cid:1)
Caveats & Clarifications..............................................................39(cid:1)
Related Work at the Intersection of Hermeneutics and
Computational Technology..........................................................41(cid:1)
Postscript.................................................................................44(cid:1)
PART 2: AN EMPIRICAL BASIS FOR EXPLORING THE INTERPRETATION
OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED MESSAGING SYSTEMS...................................45(cid:1)
CHAPTER 4: WHEN CONVENTIONS COLLIDE: THE TENSIONS OF
INSTANT MESSAGING ATTRIBUTED..................................................46(cid:1)
Introduction..............................................................................46(cid:1)
Method ....................................................................................47(cid:1)
Meaning and Conventions...........................................................48(cid:1)
A Note on Sociolinguistics ......................................................49(cid:1)
Tensions ..................................................................................50(cid:1)
Persistence and Articulateness Tensions...................................50(cid:1)
Synchronicity Tensions ..........................................................52(cid:1)
Turn-Taking and Syntax Tensions............................................55(cid:1)
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Attention and Context Tensions ..............................................57(cid:1)
Availability and Context Tensions............................................60(cid:1)
The Resolution of Tensions .........................................................63(cid:1)
Conclusion................................................................................64(cid:1)
CHAPTER 5: THE MEANING OF INSTANT MESSAGING.........................65(cid:1)
Introduction..............................................................................65(cid:1)
Method ....................................................................................67(cid:1)
Results.....................................................................................68(cid:1)
Discussion................................................................................69(cid:1)
CHAPTER 6: SIX THEMES OF THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROPRIATION
OF PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGES............................................................71(cid:1)
Introduction..............................................................................71(cid:1)
Lascaux ...................................................................................72(cid:1)
Method of Analysis................................................................76(cid:1)
Six Themes of the Communicative Appropriation of Photographic
Images ....................................................................................77(cid:1)
The Image as Amplification ....................................................78(cid:1)
The Image as Narrative .........................................................80(cid:1)
The Image as Awareness .......................................................84(cid:1)
The Image as Local Expression...............................................86(cid:1)
The Image as Invitation.........................................................88(cid:1)
The Image as Object/Instrument ............................................91(cid:1)
Literacy, Mastery & Appropriation................................................93(cid:1)
Conclusion................................................................................97(cid:1)
CHAPTER 7: WILL THE REAL CAMERAPHONE PLEASE STAND UP?
MULTIPLE IDENTITIES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE
CAMERAPHONE..............................................................................98(cid:1)
Introduction..............................................................................98(cid:1)
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Method ..................................................................................100(cid:1)
Participants........................................................................100(cid:1)
Data Collection...................................................................101(cid:1)
Data Analysis .....................................................................103(cid:1)
Summary of Data....................................................................103(cid:1)
Overview of Cameraphone Use .............................................103(cid:1)
The Cameraphone in its Broader Communicative Context.........105(cid:1)
The Meaning of the Cameraphone.........................................106(cid:1)
Interpretations of the Cameraphone...........................................106(cid:1)
The Cameraphone as a Visual Communication Medium.............107(cid:1)
The Cameraphone as an Omnipresent Digital Camera..............109(cid:1)
The Cameraphone as a Digital Camera of Last Resort...............111(cid:1)
From Individual Interpretation to Dyadic (Mis)Communication.......113(cid:1)
Reinterpreting the Cameraphone...............................................115(cid:1)
Toward a Multifaceted Cameraphone Interpretation......................119(cid:1)
Design Implications .................................................................120(cid:1)
Broader Applicability of Remediation ..........................................121(cid:1)
Conclusion..............................................................................123(cid:1)
CHAPTER 8: EXPLORING SOCIAL & ORGANIZATIONAL RESOURCES
FOR THE INTERPRETIVE BRICOLAGE OF PERSONAL TECHNOLOGIES...125(cid:1)
Introduction............................................................................125(cid:1)
Interpretive Resources.........................................................126(cid:1)
Method ..................................................................................128(cid:1)
Domain of Study.................................................................129(cid:1)
Respondents ......................................................................130(cid:1)
Survey Design and Dissemination .........................................130(cid:1)
Data Analysis .....................................................................133(cid:1)
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Summary of Data: Resources’ Influence on the Use of
Technology.............................................................................135(cid:1)
Pricing Plans.......................................................................135(cid:1)
Advertisements...................................................................137(cid:1)
News Stories......................................................................138(cid:1)
Habits or Experiences of Friends, Colleagues or Family
Members ...........................................................................138(cid:1)
Other Resources.................................................................139(cid:1)
Characterizing the Interpretive Bricolage of Personal
Technologies...........................................................................140(cid:1)
A Balance between Creativity and Constraint..........................140(cid:1)
An Active, Weighted Synthesis of Resources...........................141(cid:1)
A Continuum between the Symbolic and the Literal..................142(cid:1)
An Extension from the Interpretation of Devices to the
Interpretation of Data and Content........................................142(cid:1)
An Open Question of Why Resources Have Interpretive
Influence… .............................................................................144(cid:1)
Conclusion..............................................................................145(cid:1)
PART 3: SYNTHESIZING A TECHNOLOGICAL HERMENEUTIC...................148(cid:1)
CHAPTER 9: ON TECHNOLOGICAL INTERPRETATIONS.......................149(cid:1)
Introduction............................................................................149(cid:1)
Influences on the Interpretation of Technology............................149(cid:1)
The Individual’s Experiences with Related Technology..............150(cid:1)
Interactions with Others’ Use or Understanding of the
Technology ........................................................................152(cid:1)
The Character of Technological Interpretations............................154(cid:1)
Dynamic and Evolving .........................................................155(cid:1)
Hybrid and Synthesized Constructions ...................................156(cid:1)
CHAPTER 10: A TECHNOLOGICAL HERMENEUTIC, APPLIED................161(cid:1)
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