(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-07-06)
Forte, Andrea
This research examines new systems of information production that are made possible by participatory media. Such systems bring about two critical information literacy needs for the general public: to understand new systems in order to assess their products and to become adept participants in the construction of public information spaces. In this dissertation, I address both of these needs and propose a view of information literacy that situates the information literate as both consumer and producer. First, I examine a popular example of a new publishing system, Wikipedia, and present research that explains how the site is organized and maintained. I then turn my attention to the classroom and describe three iterations of design-based research in which I built new wiki tools to support publication activities and information literacy learning in formal educational contexts. I use the rhetorical notion of genre as an analytic lens for studying the use and impact of these new media in schools. Classroom findings suggest that the affordances of a wiki as an open, transparent publishing medium can support groups of writers in building a shared understanding of genre as they struggle with an unfamiliar rhetorical situation. I also demonstrate how writing on a public wiki for a broad audience was a particularly useful writing experience that brought about opportunities for reflection and learning. These opportunities include transforming the value of citation, creating a need to engage deeply with content, and providing both a need and a foundation for assessing information resources.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009-04-09)
Mamykina, Lena
This dissertation proposes principles for the design of ubiquitous health monitoring applications that support reflection and learning in context of diabetes management. Due to the high individual differences between diabetes cases, each affected individual must find the optimal combination of lifestyle alterations and medication through reflective analysis of personal diseases history. This dissertation advocates using technology to enable individuals' proactive engagement in monitoring of their health. In particular, it proposes promoting individuals' engagement in reflection by exploiting breakdowns in individuals' routines or understanding; supporting continuity in thinking that leads to a systematic refinement of ideas; and supporting articulation of thoughts and understanding that helps to transform insights into knowledge. The empirical evidence for these principles was gathered thought the deployment studies of three ubiquitous computing applications that help individuals with diabetes in management of their diseases. These deployment studies demonstrated that technology for reflection helps individuals achieve their personal disease management goals, such as diet goals. In addition, they showed that using technology helps individuals embrace a proactive attitude towards their health indicated by their adoption of the internal locus of control.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008-05-19)
Voida, Amy
Empirical evidence suggests that individuals can hold different interpretations of a technology. In this research, I explore the question of where these different interpretations come from. What influences an individual s interpretation of a technology? And what is the nature of these interpretations? I explore these questions through studies of computer-mediated messaging systems, including instant messaging, photo-enhanced instant messaging, multimedia messaging (cameraphones), and mobile messaging (BlackBerries). In this research, I draw from philosophical hermeneutics, a domain of study examining the nature of interpretation, and present a technological hermeneutic, a descriptive theory of how individuals interpret technology how they come to understand the meaning of the technology in their own lives. This theory offers insight into the myriad resources individuals draw from when constructing an interpretation of technology, including their own experiences with related technologies as well as their interactions with others use and understanding of the technology. This theory also offers insight into the nature of the interpretive process. Interpretations are dynamic and evolving; individuals continually draw from new experiences, reengaging and reinterpreting technology. Interpretations are also hybrid and synthesized; individuals draw from multiple resources in an active process of interpretive bricolage.