Chronicling Portable Practices Mimi Ito Keio University Presentation Overview Introduction of methodological problematics Methods of self-documentation – Mobile phone diary (paper) – Mobile kit diaries (paper, voice, moblog database) – Longitudinal study/training of users Methodological commitments Adapting anthropology to behavior highly distributed and fragmented across time and place – Context as hybrid of “real” (physically local) and “virtual” (online and remote) Commitments to ethnographic focus on everyday action and local knowledge – Close “direct” observations of people’s activity in diverse locations rather than reported usage – Interpreting qualitative details of user experience by analyzing subjective reports (interviews) in relation to observational data Research objects and methods Social networks and groups – How do portable devices mediate different kinds of social relationships? – Surveys of relational data, content analyses of communication Locations and institutions – How do portable ICTs change the characteristics of public space, the home, service areas, etc.? – Observations in specific social situations/locations Person/device experience – How do portable devices mediate people’s experiences as they move through time and space? – Shadowing and diary-based methods of self-documentation Take 1: keitai diary study 24 users (12 high school and 12 college students) in Tokyo 3 phases – Pre-interview and methodological briefing – Diary keeping – Post interview Take 1: keitai diaries No. 時間 [when] 相手 [who] 場所 [where] [communicatio n type] 選択 理由 [reason for choice] 周りに いた人 [people in vicinity] 1 10:29 友人S 家 KV 彼氏 2 12:19 母 家 KV 彼氏 3 15:13 友人K 家 KM 彼氏 4 15:39 友人K 家 KM 彼氏 5 17:53 友人M バス停 KM 通行人 6 18:09 友人M 電車 KM 安いし，電車 の中だから 7 18:14 友人M 電車 KM 〃 8 18:20 友人M ホーム KV 問題が あったか [problems?] 半分寝てた 飲み会キャンセル 電話番号教えて すぐに返信できな かった 090-×××だよ 飲み会確認 20人位 電車が混んでいた 20人位 〃 5人位 内容 [content] これからゼミ飲み会 Take 1: reflections Rich data on how keitai fits into individual’s life at an everyday level Some data on relational content and locational experiences Focus limited to single device Take 2: mobile kit study Not just the Keitai, but the whole range of portable objects in a “mobile kit” – People use mobile kits to interface with people and environments. – Includes devices such as music players, credit cards, transit cards, keys, and ID cards in addition to mobile phones – Goal is to understand how portable devices construct and support an individual’s identity and activities, mediating relationships with people, places, and institutions. Take 2: mobile kit study 3 major world cities: London, Los Angeles, and Tokyo 28 participants: Young professionals, 22-32, most unmarried, even M/F split 4 phases: – Initial interview & tour of “mobile kit” – Diary keeping (paper notes, voice memos, GPS moblogging) – Shadowing for half a day – Final interview & reflection on diary Take 2: mobile kit inventory Surprising similarities Calendar, wallet, keys, phone, reading/music Wallet for exchangeables, credentials, residues London Diaries Shadowing Take 2: Reflections Netted rich data on how object mediate everyday transactions, encounters, and displays in inbetween places Self-documenting on the fly requires very lightweight form of capture – London/LA almost always reflection Different phases of study shed light on different dimensions of research question – Feelings, actions, objects, contexts, others Training/briefing of participants more focused – Collaborators more than “subjects” Take 3: Pedestrian computing Current study: an evolution of mobile kit study 18 participants in Tokyo over 3 years - a longitudinal study – Targeting heavy mobile user in life transitions: college seniors, entrepreneurs, families with teenagers 5 layers repeated 4 times at 6 month intervals – – – – – Pre-interview and mobile kit inventory Self documentation with keitai diary Self documentation with GPS moblog Half-day shadowing Post interview reflecting on diary and moblog Take 3: Reflections Developing relationships with people over time – Research collaborators rather than research subjects – Following life changes and changes in technology profiles Following technology and infrastructure changes over periods of rapid change – Growing pervasiveness of portable media devices – New digital cash and transit infrastructures Ten old transportation prepaid cards with only a few yen remaining Copyright (c) 2004 Impress Corporation Conclusions Mobile technologies can be useful tools in studying low profile behaviors – But we need better automation, seamless and quick input and upload mechanisms Layering of different practice-based methods – Observation, interviews, self-documentation, inventories Participatory research - our participants are our research assistants – Self-documentation as a native practice in many settings. We can leverage this.
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