The household has always been a place of information consumption. While much is known about the modern household as a consumer of information and adopter of information-related technologies, virtually nothing is known about how the household -as a collectivity - processes and manages its information. This research represents the first systematic study of the household as a human information system and presents an understandingtype theory of household information practices. Using dimensional analysis (including theoretical sampling) as proposed by Schatzman (1991), the information practices of eleven households (28 householders) were explored. Each householder completed a questionnaire to identify the information and information-related devices and services used in the household. This was followed by an unstructured group interview that explored the information practices in the household. Analysis of the questionnaires and interviews revealed that within a household it is individual householders who process and manage information. They do so because information has a role in their life, that is, particular information is meaningful for them. Each householder thus devises their own individual information practices, representing the unique way in which a householder comes to live with information. Household information practices are the sum of these individual information practices. They are mediated by two enabling processes - taking charge and negotiating - and nine dimensions of action. Six of the dimensions affect the information practices of individual householders - which are themselves a dimension - while the final two represent, respectively, the consequences of living with and without information. All processes and dimensions operate against, and interact with, a changing structural context of information, technology and society. As a result, each household has a characteristic mode for dealing with information. The centrality of negotiation in developing household information practices indicates that the practices are socially constructed and represent an emergent phenomenon. This, in turn, suggests that the household as an information system is a negotiated order. Insights from the research can be applied to other types of organisations and other aspects of the Information Systems discipline. Areas of further work are identified to expand upon the exploratory nature of this research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/240873 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Kalms, Bryan, Information Technology & Electrical Engineering, Australian Defence Force Academy, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales - Australian Defence Force Academy. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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