Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Visual Analysis Through Four Lenses, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

The iSquare Research Program is an arts-informed, visual study of the concept of information, utilizing the draw-and-write technique (Pridmore & Bendelow, 1995). Participants are asked to respond to the question, “What is information?” by drawing upon a 4” by 4” piece of paper, coined an “iSquare.” The ongoing research program explores three questions: 1.) How do people visualize the concept of information?; 2.) How do visual conceptions of information differ among populations?; and 3.) How do these images relate to the traditional conceptions of information made of words? Since 2011, more than 1,000 iSquares have been collected from around the …

Drawing Information In The Classroom, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Information lies at the center of information studies, the information professions, and information education. Yet there are few agreed upon pedagogical strategies for engaging students in our central concept. In many educational programs the nature of information is assumed to be obvious and therefore left uninterrogated. Alternatively, students may be asked to read articles, such as "Information as Thing" (Buckland, 1991), in conjunction with a lecture, class discussion, or writing assignment. To expand the available options, this brief communication offers educators in information studies a new, arts-based, participatory approach for teaching about information itself.

An Interdisciplinary Platform For Information Behaviour Research In The Liberal Arts Hobby, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Purpose – The liberal arts hobby is a leisure pursuit that entails the systematic and fervent pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the liberal arts hobby as a setting for information behavior research.

Design/methodology/approach – The method of interdisciplinary translation work is used to relate existing research from the specialties of leisure studies, adult education, and information behavior. Drawing from leisure studies, the liberal arts hobby is presented within the context of the serious leisure perspective, a theoretical framework of leisure.

Findings – The basic informational features of the liberal arts …

State Of Play: Information Phenomena In A Leisure Context, Jenna Hartel, Ian Ruthven, Max Wilson, Christopher Young

Jenna Hartel

This panel presents current information behaviour research in the context of leisure. It continues a tradition of locating work within the theoretical framework of leisure, the Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP). Five years has passed since the last public discussion of this topic at an ASIS&T Annual Meeting and in the intervening time much progress has been made in understanding leisure information phenomena. Our goals are to stimulate interest in leisure as a setting for information behaviour scholarship; provide a status report on the topic; and introduce new ideas associated with digital gaming, fun, and happiness. The panel includes four concise …

An Arts-Informed Study Of Information Using The Draw-And-Write Technque, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

There are untold conceptions of information in information science, and yet the nature of information remains obscure and contested. This article contributes something new to the conversation as the first arts-informed, visual, empirical study of information utilizing the drawand- write technique. To approach the concept of information afresh, graduate students at a North American iSchool were asked to respond to the question “What is information?” by drawing on a 4- by 4-inch piece of paper, called an iSquare. One hundred thirty-seven iSquares were produced and then analyzed using compositional interpretation combined with a theoretical framework of graphic representations. The findings …

The Concept Formerly Known As Information, Jenna Hartel, Jens-Erik Mai, Kiersten Latham, Marcia Bates

Jenna Hartel

This session introduces a new approach to the concept of information, utilizing an arts-informed, visual approach. 137 graduate students from a North American iSchool were asked “What is information?” and responded by drawing upon a 4" by 4" piece of paper, coined an "iSquare." The drawings of information (Figure 1) were analyzed using compositional and thematic analysis techniques adapted from precedent visual studies. The results include the identification of the most common graphical representations used to express information, as well as three themes pertaining to the social, technological, and "informational" dimensions of information. This panel employs the iSquare study and …

Metatheoretical Snowmen: A Pedagogical Gedankenexperiment In Information Metatheory, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device used in social scientific research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information phenomena. Today, numerous metatheories exist in information science and create a dynamic climate. There is also widespread confusion about metatheory because it is a relatively new, abstract and elusive concept for students, practitioners and scholars alike. The article introduces metatheory in information science and its ontological, methodological, social and personal implications. Then "Metatheoretical Snowmen," a novel pedagogical strategy, is described. Metatheoretical Snowmen demystifies information metatheory through a gedankenexperiment, that is, a thought experiment. In Metatheoretical …

Welcome To Library And Information Science, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

This paper enacts the following scenario: At an orientation session for a library and information science (LIS) program an educator gives incoming students a brief address entitled “Welcome to Library and Information Science.” Three versions of that talk are offered here, drawn from seminal works by Shera (1973a), White (1992), and Bates (1999). In turn, each author is introduced, the historical and literary context of the article is noted, and then its unique characterization of LIS is presented in a spoken rhetorical style. The three disquisitions are followed by discussion questions designed to engage newcomers and observations on the pedagogical …

Visual Approaches And Photography For The Study Of Immediate Information Space, Jenna K. Hartel, Leslie Thomson

Jenna Hartel

This methods-oriented paper introduces visual methods and specifically photography to study immediate information space (Lee, 2003); that is, information-rich settings such as offices or homes. It draws upon the authors’ firsthand ethnographic field experiences, a review of relevant theoretical and methodological literature, and an analysis of cases within information studies that have made use of visual and photographic techniques. To begin, the traditions of visual research within anthropology and sociology are traced and major epistemological, methodological, and disciplinary debates associated with visual scholarship are presented. Then, investigations of immediate information space that utilize photography are analyzed, including examples from the …

State Of The Art/Science: Visual Methods And Information Behavior Research, Jenna Hartel, Dianne Sonnenwald, Anna Lundh, Nancy Foster

Jenna Hartel

This panel reports on methodological innovation now underway as information behavior scholars begin to experiment with visual methods. The session launches with a succinct introduction to visual methods by Jenna Hartel and then showcases three exemplar visual research designs. First, Dianne Sonnenwald presents the "information horizon interview" (1999, 2005), the singular visual method native to the information behavior community. Second, Anna Lundh (2010) describes her techniques for capturing and analyzing primary school children’s information activities utilizing video recordings. Third, Nancy Fried Foster (Foster & Gibbons, 2007) reports how students, staff and faculty members produce maps, drawings, and photographs as a …

The Interdisciplinary Study Of Information, Jenna Hartel, Steve Fuller, Susan Bonnici, Rick Szostak

Jenna Hartel

To mark the 75th anniversary of ASIS&T this panel addresses the nature and recent history of the field of information science. It uses as a springboard The Study of Information: Interdisciplinary Messages, a collection of writings edited by economist Fritz Machlup and Una Mansfield (1983). More than a quarter of a century ago, The Study of Information (for short) presented the mandates of nine research specialties centered on information, namely: cognitive science, informatics, artificial intelligence, linguistics, library and information science, cybernetics, information theory, and systems theory. By illuminating the concerns, similarities, and differences of these related domains the book established …

Metatheoretical Snowmen Ii, Jenna K. Hartel, Jonathan Furner, Soo Young Rieh, Nicolas Belkin, Michael Ollsen, Marcia Bates, Andrew Dillon

Jenna Hartel

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device used in research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information behavior. Today, numerous metatheories exist in information studies and create a dynamic climate, yet also some confusion. This panel aims to demystify methatheory by addressing the matter in a playful, comparative, competitive spirit. Articulate champions of five major metatheories will be given an opportunity to cast their metatheory onto the life and information experience of an ordinary and affable persona: a snowman. The vivid renderings of the snowman and its information world will bring the features of …

Information In The Hobby Of Gourmet Cooking - Four Contexts, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

This chapter aims to characterize the information activities and information resources that underlie the hobby of gourmet cooking in America. Gourmet cooking has roots in French haute cuisine and is a manner of food preparation that entails high quality or exotic ingredients and advanced technical skills (Wilson 2003). It is featured today at many high end or “white tablecloth” restaurants, associated with cultural icon Julia Child, and has been adopted by millions of Americans as a hobby. Given its complexity to execute, gourmet cooking is information intensive and generates a vast multimedia information universe. Altogether, this hobby is a rich …

The Future Of Information History, Jenna K. Hartel, Thomas Haigh, Ronald Day

Jenna Hartel

This panel discusses developments in the scholarship of information history and speculates on its future. Previously, history was a distinct mode of research and a specialty community within information science; it operated largely outside of the mainstream scholarship that was underway within the dominant empirical and rational paradigms. Today, more social and culturally-oriented approaches have gained momentum across the discipline and these frameworks include an historical perspective as one dimension of their conceptual apparatus. As a result, an historical sensibility is now embedded more broadly across a larger swath of scholarship. This is an exciting and welcome development for champions …

Understanding Information Technology In The Home Via Photographs: A Detailed Analysis Of Swan And Taylor, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

No abstract provided.

Introduction To The Special Issue On Ethnography, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

This special issue of Faculty of Information Quarterly marks the second time a collection of papers has been featured from INF2330: The Information Experience in Context. The course, offered yearly at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information (iSchool), teaches students to identify and understand what is “informational” in any setting. Participants develop sharpened vision to discern informational patterns - that is, an ability to trace what Bates (1999) calls the “red thread” of information pervading life. By design, INF2330 exemplifies the interdisciplinary philosophy at the iSchool, bringing together advanced students from various paths (library and information science, critical information …

Leisure And Hobby Information And Its User, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

This article examines leisure in North America and western Europe with a focus on its information activities. To start, leisure is located as a research topic in different information science specialties. Then, a theoretical framework of leisure, the serious leisure perspective, is introduced as a means to systematically discuss three different forms of leisure and some of the information activities they harbor, drawing upon illustrations from the literature of information science. To conclude, future directions for research into leisure and the implications for the information sciences are discussed.

Metatheoretical Snowmen, Jenna Hartel, Jonathan Furner, Steve Fuller, Birger Hjorland, Ross Todd, Siobhan Stevenson, Jens-Erik Mai

Jenna Hartel

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device used in research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information phenomena. Today, numerous metatheories exist in information science and create a dynamic climate, yet also some confusion. This panel aims to demystify methatheory by addressing the matter in a playful, comparative, competitive spirit. Articulate champions of five major metatheories will be given an opportunity to cast their metatheory onto the life and information experience of an ordinary and affable persona: a snowman. The vivid renderings of the snowman and its information world will bring the features of …

Managing Documents At Home For Serious Leisure: A Case Study Of The Hobby Of Gourmet Cooking, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Purpose – This paper describes the way participants in the hobby of gourmet cooking in the United States manage culinary information in their homes. Design/methodology/approach – The study utilizes domain analysis and serious leisure as a conceptual framework and employs an ethnographic approach. Twenty gourmet cooks in the United States were interviewed at home and then their culinary information collections were documented through a guided tour and photographic inventory. The resulting ethnographic record was analyzed using grounded theory and NVivo software. Findings – The findings introduce the personal culinary library (or PCL): a constellation of cooking-related information resources and information …

Towards Positive Information Science, Jenna K. Hartel, Jarkko Kari, Robert Stebbins, Marcia Bates

Jenna Hartel

This panel offers a refreshing counterpoint to the predominantly problem-oriented perspective of theory and research in information science. Drawing inspiration from the fields of positive psychology and sociology, we propose the idea of a positive information science. This line of inquiry focuses on the positive qualities of information systems and the positive characteristics and habits of information users, as well as on the positive contexts of or factors in information phenomena. Insights into positive information phenomena provide a benchmark and target for improving information environments. The positive perspective also reflects a new generation of information-users who harbor an upbeat sensibility …

Metatheoretical Snowmen, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Metatheory is the highest level conceptual device used in research and determines a way of thinking and speaking about reality and its information phenomena. Today, numerous metatheories exist in information science and create a dynamic climate, yet also some confusion. This panel aims to demystify methatheory by addressing the matter in a playful, comparative, competitive spirit. Articulate champions of five major metatheories will be given an opportunity to cast their metatheory onto the life and information experience of an ordinary and affable persona: a snowman. The vivid renderings of the snowman and its information world will bring the features of …

The Information Experience In Context, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

The past winter semester of 2009, 24 students participated in a new course at the Faculty of Information, INF2305: The Information Experience in Context. Our goal was to discover what information scientist Marcia Bates calls, “the red thread of information in the social texture of people’s lives” (1999, p. 1048). Put another way, we sought to look at a variety of situations from an iSchool perspective to determine “What’s going on with information here?” Answering the question required a fusion of information theory and ethnographic method that was then applied by each student to an independent research project. This special …

The Office: Integrating Perspectives Across Information Science, Jenna Hartel, Soo Young Rieh, Barbara Kwasnik, William Jones

Jenna Hartel

This panel focuses on an information-rich yet under-examined space: the office. Offices are complex crossroads of information structures, information systems, and information seeking behaviors, all shaped by a particular socio-historical context. The panel brings together experts from major specialties of information science (IS) who have conducted research into offices or similar settings. Our goals are threefold: 1.) To introduce “the office” as a useful concept for information research 2.) To examine the office from five different perspectives in the field of IS, namely: history, metatheory, information seeking behavior, classification, and information systems. 3.) To promote cross-specialty conversations among panelists and …

Information And Higher Things In Life: Addressing The Pleasurable And The Profound In Information Science, Jarkko Kari, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

The article discusses lower and higher contexts for information phenomena, and argues that there is clearly a need for a more concerted research effort in the latter sphere. The discipline of information science has traditionally favored lower contexts—like everyday life and problem solving—that are neutral or even negative by nature. In contrast, the neglected higher things in life are pleasurable or profound phenomena, experiences, or activities that transcend the daily grind. A literature sample of the scarce information research related to higher things indicates that beyond the spotlight of mainstream research, information processes often seem different and there may be …

Information Activities And Resources In The Hobby Of Gourmet Cooking, Jenna K. Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Introduction. A framework for information science based on time is proposed, derived from an exploratory, ethnographic study of information in the hobby of gourmet cooking. Method. Participant obseration of the social world of the hobby, plus twenty semi-structured interviews with hobby cooks, followed by a photographic inventory of their household culinary information collections. Analysis. Data were analysed using grounded theory facilitated by NVivo software. While coding information activities and resources, time emerged as a critical aspect of the hobby and its information phenomena. Results. The hobby unfolds as three temporal arcs. The career arc that lasts for years or decades …

Taking Leisure Seriously: Information Realities In Leisure Time, Jenna Hartel, Donald Case, Crystal Fulton, Shan Ju Chang

Jenna Hartel

This panel presents the information realities that exist within leisure time. It introduces a conceptual model of leisure, called serious leisure (Stebbins, 1982), that affirms the role of information in enabling leisure experience. Our panel offers a theoretical perspective and case studies of a meaningful area of everyday life that has not been a subject of much information research. The specific goals are threefold:

1.) To present state of the art theorizing and research underway into the information seeking and use that occurs in the everyday life realm of leisure

2.) To introduce serious leisure, a concept that serves as …

Serious Leisure, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

No abstract provided.

Review Of Music, Culture, And The Library: An Analysis Of Discourses, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

No abstract provided.

The Serious Leisure Frontier In Library And Informtion Science: Hobby Domains, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

Research on information behavior rarely focuses on leisure realms while favoring scholarly and professional contexts as subjects. Such is the case despite compelling evidence of the desirability and profundity of leisure in human life. This article introduces one popular form of leisure, hobbies, a potentially provocative topic for ISB scholarship. To facilitate research on information within hobbies, the article discusses two conceptual devices. Serious leisure (Stebbins, 1982) describes essential characteristics of leisure, establishes that some types are information-rich, and provides a framework to study leisure systematically. The collectivist theory of domain analysis (Hjørland and Albrechtsen, 1995) orients research to the …

Introduction To The Special Issue Of Knowledge Organization, Birger Hjorland, Jenna Hartel

Jenna Hartel

No abstract provided.