The Experience of Immersive Virtual Reality: A Phenomenology Inspired Inquiry

2023 | Communications of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Haj-Bolouri, Amir

Abstract: Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technology is becoming central for Information ... Expand

Abstract: Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) technology is becoming central for Information Systems (IS) research. However, existing studies in IS fall short of providing insights into how the IVR experience becomes meaningful for end-users.To increase granularity and specificity in this regard, researchers have suggested that the IVR experience can become meaningful due to its fleeting feeling of escapism. In this paper, I explore and characterize how individuals use the IVR experience to create meaning in the context of meaningful escapism, by undertaking a phenomenology inspired inquiry, based on Heideggerian views on meaning, meaningfulness, and world. Interviews and analysis were conducted within an empirical case of IVR fire safety training. As a result, four characteristics of the IVR experience as a meaningful form of escapism were unveiled: a sense of content, a sense of familiarity, a sense of mood, and a sense of care. Throughout this study, I offer a nuanced perspective on how the characteristics contribute to clarifying the distinctions and relationship between meaning and meaningfulness, as well as how the IVR experience becomes a meaningful escapism that provides an alternative of individual's being-in-the-world, into a being-in-the-virtual-world, also known as Virtual Dasein. Further, this study contributes to the IS field by advancing the current discourse on IVR research and escapism, from a phenomenological perspective.which then might find its place into our lifeworld and thus makes the experience feel meaningful. It is against this background that this paper asks the following research question: RQ1: How do individuals use the IVR experience to create meaning in the context of meaningful escapism?This study deliberately asks 'how' rather than 'what', because how the IVR individuals use the IVR experience to create meaning is a subject matter for inquiring about the lifeworld of an individual (Van Manen, 2017), which deals with the sensory perception (also known as 'qualia') of the feeling of meaningfulness. In other words, the emphasis is on the meaningful user activity in the context of meaningful escapism rather than on the category of a 'meaningful way of escaping the world'.Meaningfulness is in such terms, as will be explicated in the latter parts of this paper, felt through a mood derived from how the IVR experience matters to the end-user's lifeworld , rather than being a fact that the experience is meaningful (Freeman & Elpidorou, 2015). Hence, the becoming part of the research question is central to exploring how the IVR experience can be perceived or felt as a meaningful escapism by end-users of IVR technology. As such, the research question motivates a phenomenological inquiry that helps this study to address the question, because phenomenology studies the lived experience of sensory perceptions and the phenomena that contribute to meaning and meaningfulness in our lifeworld (Van Manen, 2016.More specifically, this study employed a phenomenological inquiry based on Martin Heidegger's (1962) phenomenology with a particular focus on meaning, meaningfulness, and the notion of 'world'. Moreover, this study applied a phenomenological approach to interviewing and data analysis (Bevan, 2014). The phenomenological interviews were conducted together with participants of IVR fire safety training, participants who, on a daily basis, work as train operators and train drivers for Sweden's largest train operator company. In summary, the phenomenological inquiry helped this study to (i) identify situations where the participants of the fire safety training feel that the IVR experience urges them to escape the world; (ii) unveil and characterize how the IVR experience becomes an escapism; and (iii) provide a discussion about the IVR experience in IS, which goes beyond the ontological assumptions of representationalismbeing the ontological view that has dominated extant Collapse

Topics: virtual world virtual reality

Methods: qualitative interview phenomenological method qualitative coding case study grounded theory

Understanding Digital Platform Generativity from a Sociomaterial Perspective

2023 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Lin, Yanpei; Burton-Jones, Andrew

Abstract: ... Expand

Abstract: Collapse

Topics: digital platform innovation management knowledge representation digital ecosystem application programming interface

Methods: ontological modelling theory development case study grounded theory field study

Theories: sociomaterialism theory co-evolution theory

The Philosopher's Corner: The Duality of Heidegger in Information Systems Research

2022 | ACM SIGMIS Database | Citations: 0

Authors: Monod, Emmanuel; Boland, Richard; Santoro, Flavia; Joyce, Elisabeth

Abstract: Heidegger's philosophy has long been one of the core references for information ... Expand

Abstract: Heidegger's philosophy has long been one of the core references for information systems (IS) researchers, often drawing upon one of two distinct perspectives he employed in his writings. The first of these perspectives is found in Heidegger's work on presence, and the second in his work on relations. We refer to these two as his presence perspective and his relation perspective. The presence perspective builds on ideas developed in early sections of his major work, Being and Time (1927:1996), contrasting the presence of being-in-the-world with that of readiness-at-hand. The relation perspective builds on ideas developed in later sections of Being and Time, elaborating on the concept of being-with [Mitsein]. We discuss the ways these two key perspectives in his philosophy are intertwined and reinforce each other when we consider them together, and how they amplify and extend each other's scope of effect in human situated practice. We argue that Heidegger's philosophical perspective on human existence is a powerful theoretical lens for understanding both the subjective and the objective poles of our experience of being in the world. It provides an integrated framework for research on both poles that is useful across the IS field. Collapse

Topics: social media systems design individual productivity organizational transformation information system use

Methods: partial least squares path modeling case study phenomenological method

Theories: speech act theory information systems theory

Familiarity with digital twin totality: Exploring the relation and perception of affordances through a Heideggerian perspective

2022 | Information Systems Journal | Citations: 16

Authors: Osmundsen, Karen S.; Meske, Christian; Thapa, Devinder

Abstract: The concept of affordances has become central in information systems literature. ... Expand

Abstract: The concept of affordances has become central in information systems literature. However, existing perspectives fall short in providing details on the relational aspect of affordances, which can influence actors' perception of them. To increase granularity and specificity in this regard, researchers have suggested that it be supplemented with other concepts or theories. In this article, we argue that the Heideggerian concepts of ‘familiarity’ and ‘referential totality’ are well suited for increasing our understanding of the relational aspects of affordances in information systems research. To explore this idea, we conducted a case study of a project concerning the development of a digital twin (i.e., digital representation of a physical asset) in the Norwegian grid sector. We found that users' familiarity with the digital twin totality enabled them to perceive digital twin affordances, and that without this familiarity, affordances remained latent for the users. Through our study, we offer a nuanced perspective on the relational aspect of affordance perception, contributing to affordance theory in that regard. Further, we contribute to practice and information systems research by providing valuable insights into how digital twins are understood and applied in practice. Collapse

Topics: digital twin production management affordance user experience usability

Methods: qualitative interview case study archival research qualitative content analysis design artifact

Theories: theory of affordance

Infrastructure as a Home for a Person: A Phenomenological Interpretation of Star and Ruhleder’s Relational View

2022 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Reimers, Kai; Schellhammer, Stefan; Johnston, Robert

Abstract: Star and Ruhleder’s (1996) influential “relational view” of infrastructure is us ... Expand

Abstract: Star and Ruhleder’s (1996) influential “relational view” of infrastructure is usually understood as a relation between technologies and organizational practices. However, a significant part of Star and Ruhleder’s original proposal has been overlooked—that infrastructure becomes a home for somebody. In this paper, we give an alternative interpretation of this relational view by focusing on the relation between a person and their infrastructure, rather than on the relation between technologies and practices. We use Heidegger’s (1927/1962) phenomenology in Being and Time to theorize what such a home might entail and a novel data collection method to study infrastructuring empirically from the perspective of a person. On this basis, we offer new theoretically grounded interpretations of infrastructure and infrastructuring. Empirically, we identify two modes of infrastructuring not previously distinguished. The perspective sheds new light on a number of key themes and debates in the literature and on infrastructuring in practice. Collapse

Topics: unintended consequence knowledge representation systems development IS discipline

Methods: narrative analysis phenomenological method theory development literature study design artifact

EVERYTHING FLOWS: STUDYING CONTINUOUS SOCIO- TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION IN A FLUID AND DYNAMIC DIGITAL WORLD

2021 | Management Information Systems Quarterly | Citations: 0

Authors: Baygi, Reza Mousavi; Introna, Lucas D; Hultin, Lotta

Abstract: 423Mousavi Baygi et al./Studying Continuous Socio-Technological Transformation ... Expand

Abstract: 423Mousavi Baygi et al./Studying Continuous Socio-Technological Transformation We are not good at thinking movement (Chia 1999, p. 209) Collapse

Topics: Twitter digital transformation affordance information system use computer supported cooperative work

Methods: theory development computational algorithm design methodology ontological modelling qualitative coding

Theories: theory of affordance social practice theory sociomaterialism theory actor network theory

Revitalizing Organizational Memory through Hermeneutic Phenomenology: Interpreting Information System Change in Ontario’s Child Protection Sector

2021 | International Conference on Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Vogl, Thomas

Abstract: After a period of robust activity in the 1990s and early 2000s, organizational ... Expand

Abstract: After a period of robust activity in the 1990s and early 2000s, organizational memory has become a marginal topic in the study of information systems. To revitalize this debate, this paper looks at organizational memory from a phenomenological perspective. Traditional approaches to organizational memory have relied on knowledge-focused cognitivist assumptions. In this paper, an additional form of organizational memory is proposed that is embodied in the referential holism of equipment, environment, and socialization, which underpin being-in-the-world. This kind of organizational memory is not already obvious, but is hidden in plain sight. Three examples from the implementation of a new centralized enterprise case management system in the Canadian province of Ontario illustrate this understanding. This paper contributes both a more nuanced account of the phenomenon of organizational memory, as well as a phenomenological hermeneutic method to enable the study of this non-obvious background memory that underpins meaningful action in the world. Collapse

Topics: organizational memory business intelligence service quality decision making knowledge representation

Methods: qualitative interview focus group qualitative content analysis case study personal interview

Meta-requirements for Immersive Collaborative Spaces in Industrial Workplace Learning: Towards a Design Theory

2020 | DESRIST | Citations: 0

Authors: Haj-Bolouri, Amir; Winman, Thomas; Svensson, Lars

Abstract: As the digital transformation of society accelerates, sophisticated Information ... Expand

Abstract: As the digital transformation of society accelerates, sophisticated Information Technologies (IT) emerge and are introduced into organizations and institutions of society. An example of such technologies is the Virtual Reality (VR) technology that has re-emerged and become a frequently used solution for supporting collaboration and workplace learning in immersive spaces. The deep sense of immersion in VR enables users to learn and develop working skills in an authentic virtual space, which facilitates an increased feeling of user presence and mapping with real world working scenarios. However, due to the emerging nature of using VR for collaboration and workplace learning, there are wide possibilities for Information Systems (IS) scholars to explore the prescriptive knowledge space of how to design and theorize VR technologies through Design Science Research (DSR). In this research in progress paper, we scrutinize the question of how to design immersive collaborative spaces for industrial workplace learning, and subsequently perform a preliminary round of literature review to address the question. Consequently, the findings of the review are reported as three meta-requirements, which we target as the contribution and input for further development of an information systems design theory. Collapse

Topics: virtual reality new product development IT supported collaboration

Methods: design requirement literature study design theory cross sectional research meta design

Sentiment aggregation of targeted features by capturing their dependencies: Making sense from customer reviews

2020 | International Journal of Information Management | Citations: 8

Authors: Mirtalaie, Monireh Alsadat; Hussain, Omar Khadeer

Abstract: Ideation is an important phase in the new product development process at which p ... Expand

Abstract: Ideation is an important phase in the new product development process at which product designers innovate and select novel ideas that can be added as features to an existing product. One way to find novel ideas is to transfer uncommon features of products of other domains and integrate them into the product to be improved. However, before incorporating such targeted features into the product, they need to be evaluated against the customers’ acceptance in social media using sentiment aggregation tools. Despite the many studies in sentiment analysis, mapping the customers’ opinions towards both high-level and technical features of a product extracted from social media to their best corresponding component in that product is still a challenge. Furthermore, none of the existing approaches ascertains the sentiment value of a targeted feature by capturing its dependencies on other features. In this paper, to address these drawbacks, we propose the sentiment aggregation framework for targeted features (SA-TF). SA-TF determines the sentiment of a targeted feature by assisting product designers in the tasks of mapping the features discussed in the reviews to the right product components, sentiment aggregation and considering feature dependencies to determine their polarity. The superiority of the different phases of SA-TF is demonstrated with experiments and comparing it with an existing approach. Collapse

Topics: database system knowledge representation social capital innovation management decision making

Methods: sentiment analysis computational algorithm literature study experiment ontological modelling

Affective Politics and Technology Buy-In: A Framework of Social, Political, and Fantasmatic Logics

2020 | Journal of the Association for Information Systems | Citations: 0

Authors: Pignot, Edouard; Nicolini, Davide; Thompson, Mark

Abstract: We propose a socially informed explanation of technology framing by examining te ... Expand

Abstract: We propose a socially informed explanation of technology framing by examining technology “buyin”—actors’ relative susceptibility to such framing. We draw on the field of critical social theory to introduce the “Logics,” a new framework to the IS discipline that reveals a performative relationship between collective framing, power, and affect. The Logics enable us to study buy-in by revealing the differing degrees of affective self-identification that underpin and color social practices, showing their inherently political nature. We exemplify the affective as well as social politics of buy-in with an account of Unity 3D, a market-leading game engine that underwent a major repositioning from “fringe” to “mainstream” markets, and discuss four poles of affective positioning with which to conceptualize technology buy-in. We conclude by highlighting the consequent need for greater political and ethical awareness about the framing of IS and by proposing a framework for conceptualizing actors’ orientations toward and thus possible buy-in or resistance to technology framing. Collapse

Topics: systems design online community LinkedIn IS discipline blog

Methods: theory development field study qualitative interview ethnography qualitative content analysis

Theories: technology acceptance model actor network theory social sciences theory Lacanian theory