Circumspective use of equipment: The case of bicycle messengers Jo Herstad Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences University of Oslo 2007 © Jo Herstad, 2007 Series of dissertations submitted to the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo. No. 672 ISSN 1501-7710 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without permission. Cover: Inger Sandved Anfinsen. Printed in Norway: AiT e-dit AS, Oslo, 2007. Produced in co-operation with Unipub AS. The thesis is produced by Unipub AS merely in connection with the thesis defence. Kindly direct all inquiries regarding the thesis to the copyright holder or the unit which grants the doctorate. Unipub AS is owned by The University Foundation for Student Life (SiO) Table of contents 1 Introduction...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research questions.................................................................................................... 4 1.1.1 Everyday use of equipment and visibility.......................................................... 4 1.1.2 Visibility of alternatives during use................................................................... 5 1.1.3 Visibility and the environment of use................................................................ 5 1.2 Motivation................................................................................................................. 6 1.2.1 New challenges - visibility................................................................................. 7 1.2.2 Motivation for selection of empirical case......................................................... 8 1.3 Foundations............................................................................................................... 9 1.3.1 Phenomenology and relationship of human – equipment................................ 11 1.3.2 HCI and the Scandinavian interpretation of system development................... 13 1.3.3 Communication, interaction and transmission................................................. 14 1.4 Scope and limitations.............................................................................................. 17 1.5 Overview of the thesis ............................................................................................ 17 2 HCI................................................................................................................................. 21 2.1 The phenomenon of interacting with computers .................................................... 21 2.1.1 Evolution of HCI.............................................................................................. 22 2.1.2 Human users and the use of computers............................................................ 26 2.2 HCI and metaphors ................................................................................................. 28 2.2.1 Computers as digital libraries .......................................................................... 31 2.2.2 The computer as a book ................................................................................... 32 2.2.3 Computers and digital worlds .......................................................................... 33 2.2.4 The desktop metaphor...................................................................................... 35 2.3 CSCW ..................................................................................................................... 37 2.3.1 The telephone and the computer...................................................................... 39 2.4 Ubiquitous and wearable computing ...................................................................... 41 3 Use and need.................................................................................................................. 45 3.1 Background............................................................................................................. 46 3.2 Use as relationship .................................................................................................. 49 i 3.3 Relationship in the world........................................................................................ 50 3.3.1 Human – equipment world relations.............................................................. 53 3.3.2 Embodiment relations ...................................................................................... 54 3.4 Familiarity and everyday use.................................................................................. 55 3.4.1 Consistency and “inconsistency”..................................................................... 59 3.4.2 Resemblance relation....................................................................................... 61 3.4.4 Mimicking........................................................................................................ 62 3.5 Disturbance during use ........................................................................................... 63 3.5.1 Subject and object relationship and use........................................................... 67 3.6 From use to needs ................................................................................................... 69 3.6.1 Requirements and needs .................................................................................. 70 3.6.2 Finding out about needs................................................................................... 71 3.6.3 Perspectives on human needs........................................................................... 73 3.7 Summing up – use and need ................................................................................... 77 4 Visibility and circumspection ........................................................................................ 79 4.1 Background............................................................................................................. 79 4.2 Advocates of visibility in HCI ................................................................................ 81 4.2.1 Using sound for visibility ................................................................................ 82 4.3 Advocating invisibility within HCI ........................................................................ 84 4.3.1 Ubiquitous computing and visibility................................................................ 85 4.3.2 The invisible computer in use.......................................................................... 87 4.4 Visibility during engaged use – towards circumspection ....................................... 90 4.5 Summary visibility and circumspection.................................................................. 99 5 Method ......................................................................................................................... 101 5.1 Research approach ................................................................................................ 101 5.2 Research strategy .................................................................................................. 103 5.3 Research methods ................................................................................................. 105 5.3.1 Techniques for studying use activity ............................................................. 107 5.3.2 Studying networked equipment ..................................................................... 109 5.3.3 Participant observation................................................................................... 111 5.3.4 Data collection ............................................................................................... 113 ii 5.4 Data analysis ......................................................................................................... 114 5.5 Generalizability..................................................................................................... 116 6 Case – bicycle messengers in action............................................................................ 119 6.1 Bicycle messaging ................................................................................................ 119 6.2 The call center and the dispatch center................................................................. 121 6.3 Using multiple technologies at work .................................................................... 125 6.4 Moving around in the open air.............................................................................. 130 6.5 The messengers..................................................................................................... 132 7 Research findings......................................................................................................... 135 7.1 Everyday use and visibility of equipment............................................................. 135 7.1.1 Using and seeing cables, access and connections.......................................... 136 7.1.2 Using and seeing equipment in use................................................................ 137 7.2 Visibility and selection of alternatives.................................................................. 139 7.2.1 The choice among multiple ways of communicating .................................... 140 7.2.2 The choice of method of moving from one place to another......................... 141 7.3 Visibility of the environment...............................................................................