A Conceptual Application of Bakhtin's Dialogic Discourse
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A Conceptual Application of Bakhtin’s Dialogic Discourse to Information and Interaction Design of Social Media by Victor Popow December 2018 Presented to the Division of Science, Information Arts, and Technologies University of Baltimore In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Science Information and Interaction Design Approved by: ________________________________ [Deborah Kohl, PhD, Thesis Advisor] ________________________________ [Kathryn Summers, PhD, Committee Member] ________________________________ [Greg Walsh, PhD, Committee Member] Abstract Background and Purpose: This research explores how humanities – Bakhtin’s dialogical discourse – offer new insights into information and interaction design providing interdisciplinary theoretical, methodological and empirical sources for understanding design research and practices. Designing for social media is chosen as an empirical object for this research because it integrates the use of a variety of design and research approaches and their immediate implementation in social interaction. Structure: The structure of this work contains three major stages that can be described as follows: (1) Understanding Bakhtinian discourse as applied to information and interaction design. (2) Revealing and analyzing how Bakhtinian dialogic concepts contribute to design practices for social media. (3) By researching the crowd-sourced navigation social media application, Waze, we verify and validate how the Bakhtinian concept of chronotope corresponds to processing a flow of dynamic time-spatial data, to the app user experience, and to resolving the revealed problems, as well as for proposing new approaches in design practice. Results: Our work contributes to the research as the systematic application of Bakhtin’s dialogical concepts to interactive and information technology by revealing the use of these concepts as design principles and strategies for designing for social media tools and systems. We applied Bakhtinian core concepts as one dialogic coherence emphasizing its definitive social-historic dimension. We developed and implemented our interpretation of the chronotopic data analysis to the Waze app using it as our research case study. We analyzed how multiple chronotopes are realized in Waze, and how user interaction with the app through its design and deployment decisions is connected to the society-wide patterns of social practice, and yet simultaneously, also has the potential to transform existing social practice. Conclusion: Researching Waze’s design and user practices using Bakhtin’s dialogical discourse as an interpretive framework, we suggest a possible model for an alternate type of social interaction. A new form of performative practice that is actualized through technologically mediated dialogue, which could be used for further rethinking of design approaches for supporting new and emerging forms of social relations. Key words: Information and interaction design, interdisciplinary research, Bakhtin, dialogue, chronotope, carnival, designing for social media, chronotopic analysis, Waze, social interaction. Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ......................................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................1 1.1 Background and Purpose .........................................................................................1 1.2 Research Questions and Specific Aim .....................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review and Basis for Deploying Bakhtinian Dialogic Discourse in Design Research and Practice .............................................................5 2.1 Literature Review.....................................................................................................5 2.1.1 General Approaches for Bringing and Investigating Bakhtin’s Dialogic Theory in Design Research ........................................................ 14 2.1.2 Waze-related Research Literature ................................................................ 22 2.1.3 Reasons for Bringing Bakhtinian ideas into Information and Interaction Design Discourse .................................................................... 24 2.1.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 34 2.2 Basis for Deploying Bakhtinian Dialogic Discourse in Design Research and Practice ......................................................................................................36 2.2.1 Bakhtin’s Dialogic Discourse as a Theoretical and Empirical Source ........ 36 2.2.2 Social Media as Empirical Context for Articulating Explanatory and Interpretive Potential of Bakhtin's Ideas ................................................... 38 2.2.3 Carnivalization as Interconnectedness of Opposing Categories .................. 45 2.2.4 Hashtags as Technological Support and Visualization of Polyphony ......... 48 i 2.2.5 Design Case Study: Facebook and Concept of Carnival ............................. 50 2.2.6 The Concept of Chronotope and Time-spatial Social Media Apps ............. 62 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................76 3.1 Methods and Techniques for Data Analysis ..........................................................76 3.2 Bakhtinian Dialogic Theory and Participatory Design Methodology ...................90 Chapter 4: Chronotopic Analyses of Waze Application ..................................................101 4.1 Basis of Researching Waze as Chronotopic Application ....................................103 4.2 Main Characteristics of Bakhtinian Chronotope as Revealed in Waze Design ............................................................................................................108 4.3 Bakhtinian Levels and Types of Chronotopes as Applied to Waze Design ........110 4.4 Structuring and Realizing Chronotopes in Waze .................................................114 4.5 Establishing and Realizing Chronotopic Data Analysis ......................................116 4.5.1 Spatiotemporal Component in Waze and in Digital Games: Similarities and Differences .................................................................... 116 4.5.2 Space-time Framing in Waze: Design Algorithms for Connecting Time and Space ....................................................................................... 120 4.5.3 Waze’s Real-time Data and Pre-built Data in Google Maps ..................... 121 4.5.4 Comparing Routing in Waze and Google Maps Based on User Experience............................................................................................... 129 4.5.5 Nature of Time: Waze as Adventure Chronotope ...................................... 132 4.5.6 Waze’s Adventure Chronotope as Applied Abstraction of Programming........................................................................................... 134 ii 4.5.7 Spatiotemporal Waze: How Time Normalizes the "Suddenly" Spatialities ............................................................................................... 138 4.5.8 Nature of Space in Waze: Interchangeability of Space and Interdependency of Time and Space ....................................................... 140 4.5.9 Chronotope of Google Maps: Different Design Priorities and Different User Activities ......................................................................... 144 4.5.10 Opened "Public Exteriority" of Waze ...................................................... 148 4.6 Realizing Chronotopic Design: User Experience of the Chronotope ..................151 4.6.1 Designing the Temporal Structure of Chronotope ..................................... 152 4.6.2 Designing the Temporal Order of Chronotope .......................................... 153 4.6.3 Designing the Temporal Duration and Frequency of Chronotope............. 156 4.6.4 Designing the Spatial Structure of Chronotope ......................................... 157 4.7 Comparing Waze and Bakhtinian Chronotope of the Road: Differences in Bringing in Subjectively Perceived Environment..........................................162 4.8 Conclusion ...........................................................................................................168 Chapter 5: Conclusion......................................................................................................173 References ........................................................................................................................188 Appendix: Application of Bakhtinian Chronotope: How to Design Chronotopic Experience............................................................................................................215 iii List of Tables Table 1. A Comparative Table of Bakhtin’s Characteristics of Carnival and Corresponding Facebook’s Design Features............................................................. 53 Table 2. A Coordination of Data Analysis Methodology and Techniques ....................... 80 Table 3. Application of Bakhtinian Chronotope: How to Design Chronotopic Experience ................................................................................................................................