MScEcon Dissertation: The equatrics of intergenerational knowledge transformation in techno-cultures

7/31/2019 MScEcon Dissertation: The equatrics of intergenerational knowledge transformation in techno-cultures

1/58

1

.

.

.

DISSERTATION FOR THEAWARD OF MSCECON IN

INFORMATION SYSTEMSTHE EQUATRICS OF INTERGENERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFORMATION IN

TECHNO-C ULTURES: TOWARDS A MODEL FOR ENHANC ING I NFORMATIONMANAGEMENT IN VIRTUAL WORLDS

J O N A T H A N E D W A R D B I S H O PB S C ( H O N S ) , M S C , L L M , M I E E E , F B C S , C I T P


2/58


3/58

3

.

.

.DECLARATION

This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently

submitted in candidature for any degree.

Signed ...................................................................... (candidate)

Date ........................................................................

STATEMENT 1

This work is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. Where correction services

have been used, the extent and nature of the correction is clearly marked in a footnote(s). Other sources are

acknowledged. A bibliography is appended.

Signed ..................................................................... (candidate)

Date ........................................................................

STATEMENT 2

I hereby give consent for my work, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and

for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations.

Signed ..................................................................... (candidate)

Date ........................................................................


4/58

4

.

.

.Dissertation for the Award of MScEcon in Information Systems

The equatrics of intergenerational knowledge transformation in techno-cultures:

Towards a model for enhancing information management in virtual worlds

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................... 2About this study...........................................................................................................................................................3LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................................................. 4Towards an Equatrical Society....................................................................................................................................5Info-scientificEquatrical Aspects of Knowledge Transformation in Virtual Worlds..............................................7EconomicEquatrical Aspects of Transactions in Virtual Worlds............................................................................9Socio-legalEquatricalAspects of Human Behaviour in Virtual Worlds................................................................ 11METHODOLOGY...................................................................................................................................... 15QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES................................................................................................................ 18QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS.................................................................................................................... 27Provide thick descriptions of Categories.................................................................................................................... 27Provide a framework to generalize the thick descriptions........................................................................................ 34Compare the framework with existing models.......................................................................................................... 35RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS................................................................................ 37Discussion................................................................................................................................................................... 40ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................................... 42APPENDIX IANCILLARY TABLES AND FIGURES................................................................. 43REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................. 45


5/58

2

INTRODUCTION

Much is talked about generational divides; though despite this being a legitimate diversity issue that

organizations need to recognize and understand (Arsenault) there appears to be little recognition in the design

of information systems of the differences between generations and the similarities within them on a techno-

cultural level. Tapscott (1998) defines different generations based on the role of technology within their

society during their lives. These techno-cultures consist of the Baby Boom Generation (1946 to 1964), who

grew up with broadcasted media technology, which developed and became more widely adopted during

Generation X (1965 to 1976). The Net Generation (1977 to 1997), who are also sometimes referred to

Generation Y, Baby Boomlets, and the Millennials and are currently in their teens and early adulthood have

grown up with digital technologies such as microcomputers and the Internet. Information systems currently

treat this group of people as youngsters or the youth of today, rather than identify their commonalities

distinctive of the age they find themselves that make them up as part of this techno-cultural generation and

instead treat them as they would anyone in their age range irrespective of their different value sets. The culture

of this generation is incredibly different from previous generations, which may be considered inevitable as

older generations will not share the same experience as those in the younger generations will share. However

there are striking differences between this generation and previous ones. The Baby Boom Generation for

instance were quite homogeneous, sharing similar beliefs and interests and having many common values. The

Net Generation on the other hand are very heterogeneous, where it is often only their values that they have in

common. The attitudes of Generation X, previous to the Net Generation, were primarily shaped and formed by

broadcasted information such as television, autocratic teaching styles, whereas as a result of new media

technologies, such as the Internet, the Net Generation have been provided with a significant degree of

autonomy, independence and freedom (Tapscott, 1998), making them a distinct techno-culture. The Net


6/58

3

Generation are currently between the ages of 13 and 33, meaning their skills and capabilities are considerably

diverse and this can significantly affect how they interact within information systems and the extent to which

they are able to participate in them. However, despite this diversity in relation to skills and capabilities, N-

Geners are increasingly becoming more and more sophisticated and demanding.

Designing information systems that take account of different generations is quite challenging. The Baby

Boom Generation use information systems in a very constrained way, such as to gain information or complete

a task. Generation X is quite similar, though will want to achieve things as quickly as possible without any

inconvenience such as poor usability. The Net Generation on the other hand see information systems as a form

of escapism, much in the same way the previous generations saw television (L. Leung, 2003). They want to

use it to be sociable, express their emotions and identity and to use for entertainment in addition to the

information seeking goals of previous generations (ibid).

ABOUT THIS STUDY

The purpose of this study is to discuss the different generations of people that exists today, the aspects of their

characters that they have in common, and the ways in which information systems, such as virtual worlds, can

be adapted so that the inevitable conflicts between them are better managed and knowledge transformation

among them is more effectively achieved. The following research questions were identified as being important

to realising this purpose.

1. How do different techno-cultural groups approach information systems?2. How can information systems with the purpose of knowledge transformation become better designed

to take account of the diverse techno-cultures that use them?

3. How can information be managed in virtual worlds so as to facilitate greater numbers of economictransactions between techno-cultures within them?

The study adopts a mixed methods research approach to answering the research questions. The author

selectively acquired two datasets of quantitative and qualitative data, before systematically applying a range of

data analysis techniques. These included coding the qualitative data using NVivo, and finding relationships

between the data using SPSS and a factor analysis.


7/58

4

LITERATURE REVIEW

In political ideologies there is often some stipulation as to the role of the individual within the networks to

which the grand narrative applies and some recognition of the expectation of these actors within those

networks (Riff, 1990). Throughout this study, the term individual will be seen to mean an actor who while

having cognitions with similar values to other actors, is unique in that their repertoire of cognitions is uniquely

different from others. Actors in this study will be seen to form part of functional systems (Flor & Hutchins,

1991) which exist within an environment (as set out by Gibson, 1979) in which they make performances (as

set out by Goffman, 1959). Actors in this context do not simply refer to those individuals professional trained

to perform drama, but any person or agent who makes an impact on an environment (as explained in

Mantovani, 1996a). Actors who are engaged in multiple performances with others could be seen to be part of

an activity. The use of the term activity in this study will follow this definition and should be contrasted with

that outlined by Nardi (1996), whose usage of the term resembles more an information system, which is a

functional system with a particular purpose that teams supported by it work towards using specific knowledge.

The definition of team in this regard is similar to that proposed by Goffman (1959).

There is also often some specification in political ideologies as to the factors that impact of the makeup the

environment and the nature of conflicts within networks (Riff, 1990). Essential to understanding these is the

debate surrounding determinism, which in political science has for a long time referred to the right of nations

to govern themselves, although increasingly in political discourse it is referring to the rights of individuals to

have control over the various aspects of their lives (Wehmeyer 1999). In Bishop (2007c) the author suggests

that determinism is a conflict between what an actor wants to do through acting on their desires and what the

environment gives them the opportunity to do through their interpretation of it. This perspective adds to the

understanding of technological determinism, which indicates that technological changes are responsible for

changes in networks (Jones 1997) by suggesting that the situation is not as straightforward as originally

thought as there are conflicts between the interests of the individual and the interests of the environment that


8/58

5

affect participation in new media networks of practice and therefore the influence of technology on

individuals. While the notion of technological determinism has had a rocky reception (Overdijk, van Diggelen

2008), it is quite clear from what the author wrote in Bishop (2009a) that the genres of Web-based

communities have their roots in the technologies that underpin them, so it could be argued that in virtual

environments the technology platform on which a particular new media network of practice is based have a

great impact on the opportunities that are available to actors and therefore affect the ability they have to realise

their desires and the degree to which they have self-determination.

TOWARDS AN EQUATRICAL SOCIETY

The aim for a society therefore should be to resolve conflicts through adopting a shared three-part socio-legal,

economic and info-scientific framework that allows for equitable distribution of resources. Such a society

could be called an equatrical society based on the move towards balance in these three areas. The literature

was surveyed to establish how these three pillars have been impacted on through the changes in technology

experienced between the Second World War when the Baby Boomers came into being up until the present

day, when the Net Generation are maturing into adolescence and adulthood.

FINDING 1 (SOCIO-LEGAL)THERE HAS BEEN A BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY

STRUCTURES AND AN EMERGENCE OF A NETWORK SOCIETY

In his book, Bowling Alone, Putnam (2001) claims, based on what some regard impressive data (Yancey,

2009), that in the late twentieth century community participation declined. He argued that since the 1960s

there has been a decrease in the number of people in organic communities taking part in community

organisations, such as clubs and societies. Criticisms of Bowling Alone have claimed that Putnam said

nothing about the role of government in building bonding social capital, and balancing it with bridging and

linking social capital, which may be required to facilitate democracy, economic efficiency and welfare

functions (Lewis, 2010). In the follow up book, Better Together, Putnam, Feldstein, & Cohen (2003) begin

to recognise the role of social networks, whether by traditional or innovative means, of transforming

communities. While he still argues that geographically constrained communities are essential, he appears to


9/58

6

understand the part technology, such as social networking services, can play in bringing people together to

form communities without frontiers.

FINDING 2 (ECONOMIC)THERE HAS BEEN A BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL ECONOMIC STRUCTURES

AND AN EMERGENCE OF A DIGITAL ECONOMY

In his book, The Digital Economy, Tapscott (1996) claimed that through the process he has described as

disintermediation whereby the middleman has been eroded from business practices has with the increased

adoption of digital technologies led to reintermediation through the Internet, whereby the online

environment provides opportunities for business to provide new and direct value to consumers. Later in the

book, Wikinomics, Tapscott & Williams (2006) discussed the value that consumers are giving to businesses

through the adoption of mass collaboration tools. Building on the brute force computing concept of

SETI@Home, whereby consumer helped process data using their spare computing capacity, this new form of

computing that relies on the power of crowds, perhaps crowd-force computing, has allowed consumers to

use their spare intellectual capacities to help businesses add value to their organisation and their services to

their customers.

FINDING 3 (INFO-SCIENTIFIC)THERE HAS BEEN A BREAKDOWN OF TRADITIONAL EDUCATIONAL

STRUCTURES AND AN EMERGENCE OF A GLOBALISED VIRTUAL COMMUNITY

The origins of understanding social networks that exist beyond geographical and political boundaries can be

traced back to the pioneering work of David Kemp, who first described non-local community (Kemp, 1978).

Since then there has been a lot of critical discussion about how educational and information structures are

changing due to the existence of the Internet and other interactive information sources. In his book, The

Virtual Community (Rheingold, 1993) looked at the concept of existing online and relayed his travels in the

information superhighway. In the second edition of Rheingolds book, titled, The Virtual Community:

Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (Rheingold, 2000) he talks further about the WELL community he

was part of. He talked about how its systems operator (sysop), Cliff Figallo, resisted the temptation to control

members in order to resolve conflicts, instead only requiring that they use their real names and act on the basis

that the community belongs to them and not him (Rheingold, 2000, p.31). This suggests that a concept of


10/58

7

sysop prerogative exists, where the sysop, who is the owner of a website, has the right to decide whether a

particular policy is adopted or the outcome of a particular conflict. This is so named, by taking on the

principle of royal prerogative where the Monarch has powers in areas that they havent signed away to

Parliament. Figallos delegation of sysop prerogative in an almost republican-like manner contrasts with that

of Jimbo Wales, sysop of Wikipedia, who conversely delegated his sysop prerogative to a series of

Administrators who without reference to standards of consistency and precedent seen in the British

constitution make decisions on an ad-hoc basis based on their individual whims.

INFO-SCIENTIFIC EQUATRICAL ASPECTS OF KNOWLEDGE TRANSFORMATION IN VIRTUAL

WORLDS

The creation of knowledge is a continuous process of dynamic interactions between tacit knowledge and

explicit knowledge, the process of knowledge transformation is actually a process of knowledge creation

(Zhou & He, 2009). Because knowledge transformation requires reinterpretation and recontextualization, it

needs at present intervention by human actors who are much suited to handle complexity, create, and rebuild

shared meaning, and reinterpret retroactive knowledge to restore meaning (Datta & Acar, 2010). The stages

that actors go through in transforming knowledge appear to be; acquisition, application and articulation.

PRINCIPLE 1 (ACQUISITION)ACTORS SHOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO AUTOCRATIC AND BROADCASTED

INFORMATION SOURCES BUT SHOULD HAVE THEIR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITIES RECOGNISED WHEN

THEY LEARN

In the design of information systems a knowledge acquisition process covers the activities of collecting

domain knowledge and transforming it into a form that can be processed by a computer (Rao & Chen, 2010).

Since classical times learning has often involved a master of a subject passing down knowledge to a student

(Brown & Race, 2002). Even as recent as the 20th century educationalists have argued that there is a gap

between what a student can learn on their own and what they can learn with the help of someone more

competent (Vygotsky, 1930). In political ideologies there is often some stipulation as to the role of the

individual within the networks to which the grand narrative applies and some recognition of the expectation of

these actors within those networks. In the knowledge economy era ,the capability of knowledge acquisition is

the basis for organisationssurvival and development as in order to meet the change of market and the fierce


11/58

8

competition, making it necessary to understand the status of knowledge management (Dan, Zhong-fu, Qing-

pu, & Zhen, 2010). In the application of this to understanding differences between generations in the UK, it is

evident much State-provided education has meant a somewhat autocratic and broadcasted approach to

learning, whereby learners are sat in front of an educator and expected to agree with what they say and not to

question it or discuss it with their peers until after the class. Indeed, while authors such as Stephenson (2001)

have sought out new pedagogies for online learning, e-learning systems have often followed a transmission

model that lacks even the dynamism of a classroom-based education (Julien, 2005). The demands from more

recent generations to have their own knowledge recognised in their education are becoming more apparent

(Tapscott, 1998). Alternative approaches, such as personalised knowledge acquisition, are very important for

promoting learning efficiency within e-learning systems (Zhao, Feng, Zeng, Fan, & Zhang, 2010).

PRINCIPLE 2 (APPLICATION)INFORMATION PROVIDERS SHOULD FACILITATE ACTORS IN CREATING

NEW KNOWLEDGE THROUGH COMBINING THEORY WITH PRACTICE

In teaching circles there is a well-known perception that to give someone the information on how to do

something (i.e. the theory) is not the same as them being able to put it into actual usage (i.e. the practice).

Indeed, the application of knowledge is as much a part of the scientific enterprise as is theoretical

understanding (Sayson & Abellanosa, 2010). Applying knowledge is frequently a creative endeavour, in

science or anywhere else, and often leads to new knowledge (Carroll, 2009). Knowledge management can

contribute significantly to the evolution and application of knowledge for implementing strategies and

practices that are more environmentally and socially sustainable (Goel, Sharma, & Rastogi, 2010). Indeed, as

we are living in the age of knowledge and there are supports for the increased use of knowledge management

in info-scientific fields of endeavour such as education, as it is essential to actively deal with the enormous

amount of human knowledge present in learning environments (C. H. Leung, 2010).

PRINCIPLE 3 (ARTICULATION)INFORMATION PROVIDERS SHOULD RESPECT COMMUNITIES AND

SEEK TO ADD VALUE TO THEM THROUGH FACILITATING ACTORS IN COMMUNICATING THEIR

KNOWLEDGE

According to Bender (2003) there is a Chinese proverb that says if you give a man a fish you will feed him for

a day, teach a man to fish and you will feed him and his family for a lifetime. Rury (2005) argues that


12/58

9

information providers should seek to facilitate social change, which is a process that learners can draw upon to

succeed in acquiring relevant values, skills and knowledge. Feinstein & Sabates (2009) indicate that there is

strong evidence that adult education in particular benefits communities and society as well as individuals.

Communities that take teaching seriously are likely to be communities that take education seriously, that is,

communities that recognise and embrace the potential of high-quality education to strengthen life at both

individual and communal level (Pekarsky, 2009). Indeed, it is quite clear that the learners who benefit most

from a learning experience are those who, in an almost evangelical way, are able and willing to express their

understanding to others in their community. The author has proposed that actors articulate their learning

experiences within online environments through blogs (Bishop, 2004), and while this has been proven to assist

learners in communicating their learning it is not necessarily more effective that reflective learning logs in a

medium that is not electronic (Killeavy & Moloney, 2010). Despite this, whilst communicating one's

understanding and creative abilities has long been thought of as a domain of the humanities, it is increasingly

being used in more rigid subjects also (Stromberg & Ramanathan, 1996), suggesting it is an essential part of

most effective learning experiences.

ECONOMIC EQUATRICAL ASPECTS OF TRANSACTIONS IN VIRTUAL WORLDS

Understanding how users perceive virtual worlds on a cognitive level is essential to understand how the

economic dynamics of the system affects the transactions they carry out. Crucial to understanding this is an

awareness of the level of their consciousness of what is going on in those worlds, the context in which they

perceive the virtual worlds, and the nature of their situated actions within them. Bishop (2007c) identified

three epistemological principles that have a bearing on improved understandings of context, consciousness

and situated action. These were that an actor is driven to act by their desires, that an actor will act based on

how they perceive their environment and that an actors desire to act is limited by their goals, plans, values,

beliefs and interests. These principles identify several ontological entities, desires, the five cognitions and

the environment. These principles can be extended to understanding the economics of virtual worlds through

considering three principles based on the ecological cognition framework. These are that users are not all part


13/58

10

of the same situation even if they share the same environment, users do not always have fixed goals or know

what they are looking for, and that users are not always aware of the full context of their actions.

PRINCIPLE 1 (BOUNDLESSNESS)ACTORS DO NOT HAVE A HIERARCHY OF NEEDS OR NECESSARILY

KNOW WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR DURING THE COURSE OF AN ACTIVITY BUT WILL SEEK TO

MINIMISE DISCOMFORT AND MAXIMISE GRATIFICATION

It has long been argued that the ability of human actors to develop new aspirational goals is not limited by the

goals they have already met, and therefore the problem economists face is managing the availability of

resources to meet the demand of human need and aspiration (DeGregori, 1978). Certain Humanists have

argued that there is a hierarchy to the needs of human actors that all people share (Maslow, 1943). However,

in the contemporary era of network gaming it has been shown that certain actors are willing to ignore their so-

called basic needs, such as food, in order to satisfy their so-called esteem needs (Bishop, 2007c).

Activity theorists argue that actors, who they refer to as subjects take part in an activity and interact with

shared objects to achieve desired outcomes (Engestrm & Kerosuo, 2007; Mwanza & Engestrom, 2005).

Situation action theorists on the other hand, argue that the concept of a user planning to use specific artefacts

to achieve a clearly defined object fails to take into account that actions are made in situations, indicating

that these situations do not exist until the subject constructs them, according to their goals, individual

competencies and the availability and state of artefacts (Mantovani, 1996a). Actors may not necessarily have

particular goals in mind when using an information system, beyond that of factors such as escapism and

surveillance (L. Leung, 2003). Also, persuasive e-learning systems, such as those proposed by Bishop (2005),

can change an actors goals through persuading them to learn something other than what they planned whilst

they are within a situation.

PRINCIPLE 2 (BESTOWAL)THE EXCHANGE AND USE OF ARTEFACTS AND NOT CAPITAL IS THE

DRIVER IN AN ECONOMY

There is often some statement of the motor for change within networks, and how the power over this motor is

distributed in political ideologies. Actors operating in such networks can often provide road maps based on

their understanding of a paradigm to collectively move towards a more equitable use of that motor.


14/58

11

In the authors work there is a strong suggestion that artefacts, whether internal or external representations, are

the motor for facilitating change in the environment within networks of practice. This is consistent with the

work of Constructivists writers like Vygotsky (1930), who states that an actor can have influence on the

environment and their cognitive process through artefacts. However, in Bishop (2007a) the author extends this

by saying that artefacts are, unlike what Vygotsky (1930) thinks, not only the mediator between stimulus and

response, but can also be stimuli (e.g. a logo) and responses (e.g. a belief that the logo represents a particular

group of actors). The use of the ontological entity, artefact in this way (i.e. something which represents a

tool or sign that is either physical or mental) as the motor for change in society shares something in common

with Feminism, which claims that it is the unbalanced nature of the gender of language and physical objects in

networks that suppresses those actors of female gender. Feminist writers argue that by flooding networks with

female-gendered artefacts the dominance of artefacts that favour actors of male gender will become less so. In

the authors writings, for example Bishop (2007c), it is suggested that there is also suppression in online

communities, where the lurkers, who are actors that do not fully participate, are discouraged from doing so

by their internal artefacts that create dissonance. It is argued that the solution to this is for other actors in the

network, referred to as leaders and elders, to fill the environment with artefacts that reduce the dissonance of

the lurkers so that they are emancipated from the inhibiting forces of their cognitions including the ones that

come from conflicts of the different goals between the lurker and other actors in the environment.

SOCIO-LEGAL EQUATRICALASPECTS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR IN VIRTUAL WORLDS

As ICT systems become more and more a part of everyday economic, social and political activity one would

expect that the volume of deviant behaviour experienced in relation to such systems is likely to increase

(Beynon-Davies, 2010). This dark side of the Internet has drawn most popular attention in the media and, at

least until relatively recently, a fair amount of the academic research effort. But, there has been a tendency for

this research to be overly descriptive and lacks theoretical rigor. To understand why people carry out

misdemeanours it is important to understand how it fits within all behaviour.

Rituals, or customs, are common in any modern democracy, as rites of passage and for the expression of

individual choices, and such practices form part of the expression of dependence within a legal system, often


15/58

12

conflicting with peoples perceptions of their self-determination. An aspect of whether an individual has self-

determination is the extent to which they have intentionality in their actions. An issue that arises in any

engineered society is the nature of sovereignty. Sovereignty can be seen the exercitation of a decision over

who has supreme authority over a particular network. While the author does not directly state how sovereignty

should be settled, in Bishop (2009a) he highlights a conflict between the right of an individual to want to

belong to a particular community, the right of the administrators to remove someone from the community, and

the rights of users to want particular members in the community. This appears to suggest the very nature of

sovereignty falls into three types of control; regime-based, such as where the creators and administrators of an

online community have control over the network, consensus based, where collective of individuals in the

network have control, or individualistic, where the individual participant has control over their own network

and the information they use. In light of my invention of the Circle of Friends, which is documented in Bishop

(2007b) and Bishop (2008), which is based on the principle that actors in online communities choose their

networks rather than be prescribed them, the author appears to support the last of these, whereby sovereignty

lies in the hands of the individual, who can select the artefacts they use and the actors they share them with,

without reference to a higher authority. Crucial to understanding the intentionality individual express in

exercising or transferring the sovereignty are the debates surrounding consciousness and context as well as

consideration.

PRINCIPLE 1 (CONSCIOUSNESS)ACTORS ARE NOT USUALLY AWARE OF THE REASON FOR THEIR

ACTIONS UNTIL AFTER THE EVENT

This position on consciousness in situated action theory states that the actor in a system does not realise why

they have performed a particular action until after they have done so (Suchman, 1987). According to Nardi,

(1996, p.11) consciousness is an important consideration in HCI, where terms such as direct manipulation

and intelligent agents can only be understood when the relationships between people and things, that is the

essence of being, are clarified. Consciousness has been defined as the phenomenon that unifies attention,

intention, memory, reasoning and speech (Backhurst, 1991) and the aspect of philosophy concerned with the

nature of reality and self-awareness (Flanagan, 1995).


16/58

13

PRINCIPLE 2 (CONTEXT)ACTORS HAVE INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATIONS OF AN EVENT THAT IS OFTEN

DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS

According to Nayar (2010) technology must always be seen as contextual, and treated as technoculture where

meanings, values, and functions are integrally associated with the object. Mantovani (1996b) argues that

context in the case of virtual environments stretches along a continuum ranging from (a) generic reference to

real-life situations, to (b) acknowledgment that everyday situations contain recognizable patterns of thinking

and acting, to (c) considering those patterns as social and cultural structures, and, lastly, to (d) the tacit

assumption that the above structures are organized as publicly recognisable meanings pervading exchanges

among actors. The debates in HCI relating to context surround whether knowledge is situated so that it only

exists in the context of which it is used and whether knowledge is unitary or multiple, that is whether the

separate concepts of knowledge in the head and knowledge in the world are in fact separate or whether context

can only be understood as a single entity. Engestrm & Kerosuo (2007) and Mwanza & Engestrom (2005)

state that human interactions are mediated with each other and with objects of the environment through the

use of tools, rules, and division of labour. In this context rules refer to the regulations, policies, and

conventions that constrain an event as well as the social norms, standards, and relationships among members

of the community and are things that operate in any context or community. This makes assumptions about the

nature of context, suggesting that context is simplex and that actors access this knowledge through their

participation in a functional system. This differs from other paradigms in information science, which often

suggest context is duplex, separating out knowledge in the head with knowledge in the world, as is the case

with distributed cognition theory (Flor & Hutchins, 1991).

PRINCIPLE 3 (CONSIDERATION)ACTORS DO NOT USUALLY HAVE FULL ACCESS TO ALL THEIR

COGNITIONS TO FACILITATE AN INFORMED BARGAINING POSITION

Activity theory appears to suggest that reality is determined by the individual actors that share a situation

before they perform a particular action, whereas in situated action theory reality occurs during an action that

an actor has constructed an interpretation of their situation. When it comes to socio-legal transactions, it

can be seen that each actor as part of a negotiation has constructed a different situation. So for instance, a


17/58

14

consumer may be interested in purchasing a mobile phone with specific features and a vendor will be looking

to make a sale and maximise profit. While they are likely to be part of the same environment they have both

constructed different situations. The vendor will try to convince the consumer that the product they are

offering meets their requirements, and a discussion may occur. It is likely that during this discussion that a

consumer will not have full access to all the information about the product and even all of their needs that are

instigating them to want to purchase it. Therefore, should they decided to purchase the mobile phone from the

vendor, their choice will not have been through using perfect information. This suggests that this third aspect

of socio-legal transactions (i.e. consideration), whereby actors attempt to understand the impact of the

environment on them and compromise to get what they want, is not a certain process and that there should be

in the case of transactions a principle of reasonable expectation based on rebus sic stantibus,whereby if new

information comes to light that a particular feature that a consumer would reasonably expect a product to

offer is later found to be absent, the contract should be null and void.


18/58

15

METHODOLOGY

The following data collection and data analysis processes were essential to answering the research questions.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

An ethnographic methodology was adopted to describe the characteristics of the Net Generation and the

general population. Ethnography, like most methodologies does not specify any particular method (e.g.

observation, questionnaire) or any particular approach (i.e. qualitative or quantitative), but instead directs the

nature of the study, which is to describe actors and their practices. Since Lucy Suchman's pioneering studies

of human-machine communication, designers have had an interest in how ethnography can be used to shape

the development of technology for the everyday world (Crabtree, Rodden, Tolmie, & Button, 2009).One

definition of ethnography is a research approach for making sense of human differences in terms of human

similarities (Agar, 2005), and it will be this aspect of it that will be applied throughout this study.

DATA COLLECTION

Data for study was acquired from the Economic and Social Data Service. A search of dataset was conducted

to identify those which contained the terms internet and politics, Two data sets were identified and

screened for their suitability. The first consisted of data collected through a variety of sources including

computer-assisted interviewing, e-mail discussions and participant diaries. Phase One of data collection

included interviews with a total of 1,511 N-Geners aged 9-19 years old, mapping emerging patterns of

attitudes and practices across diverse contexts and social groups. The second dataset comprised of detailed

qualitative work across six regions of England with the general population. The diaries of 37 participants'

media consumption were analysed, initial and subsequent interviews were conducted with those respondents,

and focus group interviews were conducted with diarists. The data collected also involved a telephone survey


19/58

16

of 1,017 people from the general population, conducted by ICM Research across the United Kingdom that

aimed to produce conclusions on the detailed issues about consumption and citizenship raised the diaries.

DATA ANALYSIS

Two approaches were taken to data analysis, one a quantitative data analysis using exploratory factor analysis

and the other a qualitative data analysis based on an adaptation of ethnomethodological data analysis.

Quantitative: Factor Analysis

A factor analysis approach was selected based on an emotionalist paradigm to analyse the questionnaire data.

Factor analysis was the most appropriate method for this dataset in order to answer research question 3 on use

of information, as it is necessary to reduce the data to specific factors, which would hopefully map onto the

ecological cognition framework. There are three primary analytical techniques for performing a factor

analysis; principal components analysis, common factor analysis and Q-method factor analysis. Principal

components analysis (PCA) yields one of more composite variables that can capture much of the information

originally contained in a larger dataset, with the components being weighted sums of the original sums

(DeVellis, 2003, p.128). Principal components analysis is most suitable when data reduction is a primary

concern and when prior knowledge suggests that specific and error variance represent a relatively small

proportion of the total variance, whereas common factor analysis is most suitable where the primary object is

to identify the latent or constructs represented in the original variables and the researcher has little knowledge

about the amount of specific error variance and therefore wishes to eliminate this variance (Hair, Black,

Babin, Anderson, & Tathan, 2006, p.118). No considerations should be made for normality of the data as this

diminishes observed correlations, while multicollinearity is desirable because dimension reduction is often an

objective in factor analysis, unlike in multiple regression analysis, where it is a problem (Lewis-Beck,

Bryman, & Liao, 2004, p.668). According to Hair et al. (2006, p.16) multicollinearity is the extent to which a

variable can be explained by the other variables in the analysis.

Factor analysis was selected to analyse the quantitative data collected using the process described by Field

(2005, p.630), specifically a component factor analysis. While it would have been possible to use a common


20/58

17

factor analysis, the selected model is more appropriate for establishing which linear components exist within

the data and how a particular variable might contribute to that component (Field, 2005, p.630). In factor

analysis sample size is an important consideration in the suitability of a dataset as factor analysis can give bias

parameter estimates when small sample sizes are used (Reinard, 2006, p.410). Kass & Tinsley (1979) indicate

that a total of between 5 and 10 participants per variable is recommended and Pallant (2007, p.181) indicates

that it is important to have a large sample size and that there needs to be inter-correlations among the items.

The sample size of the dataset was 1017 and the correlation matrix, which suggested that the dataset is more

adequate in this regard as an appropriate sample size for this study would be 200. The dataset showed a good

number of significantly correlated variables. This suggested that the dataset was appropriate for analysis in

this regard.

Qualitative: Ethnomethodological Analysis

The qualitative analysis should help to answer question 1 about how different techno-cultural groups

approach information systems. Ethnomothodology is uniquely relevant to this sort of question, as I

can help identify the practices of specific groups. An expanded version of ethnomethodological

analysis was selected to analyse the qualitative data collected using the factors identified in the

quantitative analysis. While it is not usually nescessary in ethnomethodological analysis to impose a

structure, the factors identified as they are drawn from the same population as the qualitative data

there should be greater validity in using it to categorise the social orders of the two groups. In addition

to discovering the methods used by these groups, which are external manifestations of their plans,

the equivalents of their other cognitions were also investigated. In particular these were their memes,

which are external manifestations of their beliefs, their amities, which are external manifestations of

their interests, their rules, which are external manifestations of their values, and their strategies,

which are external manifestations of their goals. This could be called M-MARS Ethnomethodological

Analysis. Typical in ethnomethodological analysis is to put the statements identified within the

context of the environment they were taken from. In this case of this study the statements made by the


21/58

18

different generations were put into the context of how British society had changed or remained the

same over the lifespan of the participants.

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES

FACTOR EXTRACTION METHOD

After the decision to select either a principal components of common-factor analysis is completed, the next

step to determine the number of factors to be extracted. This decision requires the combination of a conceptual

foundation, that is how many factors the researcher thinks should be in the structure, along with empirical

evidence, that is, how many factors can be reasonably supported (Hair et al., 2006, p.118). The most common

techniques for making a decision as to how many factors to extract are the latent root criterion, the A Priori

criterion, percentage of variance criterion, and the scree test criterion (ibid).

It was decided to use the A Priori Criterion and extract six factors from the data as this represented the six

processes from stimulus to response in Bishop (2007c)s ecological cognition framework. A Priori

specification can help shape the initial design of theory-building research, which some argue is a purpose of

factor analysis (Gorsuch, 1983, p.xviii), as it permits researchers to identify constructs more accurately than is

possible through purely cognitive processes (Eisenhardt, 1989). An alternative would have been to allow the

statistical analysis package to select factors using some arbitrary Eigenvalue, but it was decided that keeping

the number of factors in line with the ECF was more important.

PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS

Multicolinearity was tested by the author before they conducted a factor analysis by measuring the sampling

adequacy, using the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test. This test compares the magnitudes of the calculated correlation

coefficients to the magnitudes of the partial correlation coefficients (Pett, Lackey, & Sullivan, 2003). A KMO

value of between .50 and .70 is considered mediocre, values of between .70 and .80 are good, values of

between .80 and .90 are great and values of above .90 are superb (Field, 2005, p.630). The dataset showed


22/58

19

individual MSAs of between 0.587 and 0.868. In the case of the latter, 86.8% of the variance of one variable is

accounted for by all the others and 58.7% in the case of the former. Taking into account this and the KMO of

0.778 it seemed that there was no reason for concern and that the factor analysis should continue. As well as

the overall measure of sampling adequacy, as estimated by the KMO, it is also important to test the sphericity

of the data set (Hinton, Brownlow, McMurray, & Cozens, 2004, p.349). The Bartlett test of sphericity

examines whether a variance-covariance matrix is proportional to an identity matrix and a dataset is

considered suitable for further analysis if the associated probability is less than .05 (Bryde & Pelie, 2006,

p.123). In the data set it showed a Chi square of 2961.74 and significance of


23/58

20

Q12 You follow the news to know

what other people are talking about.602

Q12 It's your duty to keep up with

what's going on in the world.511 .462

Q12 You have a pretty good

understanding of the main issues

facing our country

.443 .302

Q12 You often feel that there's too

much media, so you need to switch off.652 .280

Q12 There's no point in watching the

news, because it deals with things you

can do nothing about

-.327 .639

Q12 It doesn't really matter which

party is in power, in the end things go

on pretty much the same

.620

Q14 People like us have no say in what

the government does.552 -.325

Q12 Sometimes politics seems so

complicated that you can't really

understand what's going on

.535 -.455

Q14 You trust the government to do

what is right.823

Q14 You trust politicians to deal with

the things that matter.819


24/58

21

Q14 You trust politicians to tell the

truth.773

Q12 People at work would expect you

to know what's going on in the world.777

Q12 Your friends would expect you to

know what's going on in the world.384 .717

Q14 You can affect things by getting

involved in issues you care about.752

Q14 You feel that you can influence

decisions in your area.612 .317

Q12 Politics has little connection with

your life.316 -.265 -.471 .264

Q14 You know where to go to find out

information that you need.769

Q14 Sometimes you feel strongly

about an issue, but don't know what to

do about it

.327 .392 -.402

NAMING AND DESCRIBING THE FACTORS

As a structure to the data existed, the next stage involved naming and describing the factors and their

interrelationships through investigating their loadings using the rotated component matrix.

Opportunity

When someone decides to visit a particular part of a virtual world or take part in an information exchange,

they are doing so by giving up the opportunity to do something else, referred to as the opportunity cost

(Lehr, 2009). Different generations value certain activities more than others and are more willing to sacrifice


25/58

22

certain opportunities over others. This is a core aspect of ecological cognition, where it is stated that users of

information systems do not have a hierarchy to their needs that are innate, but have developed cognitions that

affect their priorities through exposure to not only their internal environment (i.e. their mind and body), but

also their external one (i.e. the world) (Bishop, 2007c).

It has been argued that the question of fairness across generations should be formulated as a comparison of

opportunities available to individuals living at different times (Norton, 1999, p.119). From this it is clear to

find support for the existence of this factor in understanding the similarities between how different generations

use information. The statement, You know where to go to find out information that you need identified in

the data is quite relevant to this category as it is known that organisations can be effective when they act on

opportunities to turn information in knowledge in order to integrate the wisdom of different generations into

the workplace (Kouzes & Posner, 1987, p.xxiii). The statement, Sometimes you feel strongly about an issue,

but don't know what to do about it negatively loaded onto this factors, which is appropriate as different

generations approach opportunities differently and it is recommended that organisations manage the

communication between them (Hankin, 2005, p.24). This could be because actors within an economy are

always seeking out opportunities to meet their goals and will narrow their focus within their competencies to

achieve those goals (Mantovani, 1996a). It is a clear principle of economics that human wants are infinite and

resources are scarce, which means that users of virtual worlds will seek out a new opportunity if they lack the

resources to take part in their preferred one. For instance in second life where some virtual goods are charged

for, the user may go without and instead learn to create them for themselves.

Understanding

The crucial part of responding to an economic opportunity in the environment is an understanding of the

stimuli it offers. It has been argued that understanding, particularly of science and faith is spread over many

generations, with each adding its own contribution, arising from its own perspective (Polkinghorne, 2000,

p.40). In terms of the factor analysis, the statements, It's a regular part of your day to catch up with the news,

You follow the news to understand what's going on in the world, You follow the news to know what other


26/58

23

people are talking about fit well into this factor as it is known that people who follow the news have a greater

understanding of their communities and themselves (Salwen & Stacks, 2008, p.48). The statements, It's your

duty to keep up with what's going on in the world and You have a pretty good understanding of the main

issues facing our country seem relevant to this category as keeping up -to-date with current affairs has been

consistent across generations in informing their understanding of the world around them (Barlow, 2007, p.43).

Relevance

The relevance of a particular stimulus in the environment to an actor is affected by their ability to consume it

(Mantovani, 1996a). It can be seen that as a particular users confidence in a system increases so their

consumption of its resources also increase. For instance, in Second Life, as a user becomes aware of how to

interact with the system, such as through flying or teleporting then the greater their exposure to different

aspects of the system will be and it will become more likely that their inventory will increase as they discover

artefacts that are relevant to them. According to Rettie (2002) those developing solutions for different

generations should take into account the difference between them in the relevance of information

technologies, as N-Geners are more likely to be accepting of these than older generations. The statements

You often feel that there's too much media, so you need to switch off and Theres no point in watching the

news, because it deals with things you can do nothing about seem fitting to this factor of relevance as

according to Johnston (1998, p.6) citizens will consume news media if it is relevant to them regardless of

whether it is for information or entertainment purposes. The statements, It doesn't really matter which party is

in power, in the end things go on pretty much the same, and People like us have no say in what the

government does are also appropriate as the relevance of government and political parties to a particular

household is related to the effect they have on that households ability to achieve its goals and that all political

parties have access to the same instruments for affecting it (Chapman & Palda, 1983). The negatively loaded

statement, Sometimes politics seems so complicated that you can't really understand what's going on is also

suitable for this factor as individuals are more likely to accept arguments about their democracies if they are

simpler and relevant to their lives (Barber, 2004, p.249).


27/58

24

Aspiration

Members of the different generations have different aspirations (Taylor, Rosenbach, & Rosenbach, 2009,

p.276), though the thing they may have it common is that they regularly have them (Grikscheit, Cash, &

Young, 1993, p.129). The two statements in this factor, namely, People at work would expect you to know

what's going on in the world and Your friends would expect you to know what's going on in the world seem

to fit with the idea that people draw some of their aspirations from those they are in close contact with in the

social world. This factor is particularly affected by the principle of marginal utility, which is the extent to

which the exposure to a particular stimulus leads to demand for a re-exposure or reuptake of that stimulus. It is

at this stage that actors become unaware of the externalities of their wants and are driven purely by responding

to existing relevant opportunities and going on to create new opportunities, even if this is only to be re-

exposed to desirable aspects of the environment.

Choice

Different actors will respond differently to the principle of marginal utility and effect of their judgement on

whether to take up another unit of exposure is affected by the universal value of choice. Choice goes beyond

the right to choose, as the basis for exercising choice is according to the perceived needs or values of an

individual or group of individuals of different generations (Goldring & Shapira, 1993). While the statements

in this factor talk about trust, it is apparent from analysing the ECF that this factor is more about choice.

Trust after all is a choice, and the statements represent the different choices individuals take in a democratic

society. The statement, You trust the government to do what is right suggests that individuals choose to put

their trust in elected representatives, as does the statement, You trust politicians to deal with the things that

matter. The statement, You trust politicians to tell the truth is reflective of the choice people make to accept

information from these representatives as being accurate. This factor appears to include the reconciliation of

internal wants with external costs, or externalities.


28/58

25

Expression

Like the opportunity factor, the expression factor is affected by opportunity cost. While an actor is using a

specific product or communicating with a specific actor they may be missing out on the opportunity to do so

with an alternative some. Bolin (2009) indicates that the need for expressing oneself is evenly distributed

across generations, but the means for expression should be expected to vary, as would means for

entertainment, and suggests it would be beneficial to map the differences between generations when it comes

to activities that they carry out. The statement, You can affect things by getting involved in issues you care

about seems appropriate for this factor as increasingly actors are getting involved in political activism as a

form of democratic expression (Andersen, 2002, p.15). With the mass adoption of Internet technologies and in

particular virtual worlds users are exposed evermore to opportunities to express themselves and often to a

wider audience that gives them a greater degree of influence. The statement, You feel that you can influence

decisions in your area is relevant to this factor as political influence has been linked to the expression of

individual identities (Innes & Rendall, 2006). The statement, Politics has little connection with your life if

inverted is appropriate as political expression is commonplace and shaped by the social context of the

individuals within electoral regions (Agnew, 1990, p.15).

RELIABILITY ANALYSIS

According to Hair et al. (2006), reliability is an assessment of the degree of consistency between multiple

measurements of a variable. They indicate that there are three types of diagnostic measures for determining

reliability. The first measure is to consider each separate item, including the item total correlation and the

interim correlation. The second type of diagnostic measure is the reliability coefficient that assesses the

consistency of the scale with Chronbachs alpha. The third type is to use the reliability measures derived from

a confirmatory factor analysis.

To perform the analysis requires selecting one factor at a time and taking into account each of the variables

that make up that factor. The Chronbachs alpha for Understanding was 0.689 which is reasonable, and this

was not improved by removing variables from the scale. The Chronbachs alpha for Relevance was 0.624


29/58

26

and when items were removed it was significantly reduced, suggesting that the scale is adequate. The

Chronbachs alpha for Choice was 0.751 and this was not improved by removing items. The Chronbachs

alpha for Aspiration was 0.676 and this was significantly worse when variables were removed, suggesting it

is adequate. The Chronbachs alpha for Expression was 0.006, but when politics has little connection with

your life was removed it improved to 0.499, suggesting this item should be deleted from the scale. The

Chronbachs alpha for Opportunity was -0.254 and this was not improved by removing any variables,

suggesting more variables need to be added to make this scale reliable.


30/58

27

QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS

The diaries, focus groups and interviews from the Net Generation (N-Gen) and general population (G-Pop)

were transcribed and imported by the author into a computer assisted qualitative data analysis package for

coding using a framework devised by the author. While it would be expected to adopt a different analysis

strategy for interviews compared to diaries, it was decided that the data was comparable to that in a

questionnaire as it sought to identify objective facts about participants as opposed to provide authentic

accounts of their realities meaning that as a whole it was more suited to an ethnomethodological analysis

instead of a more constructionist approach where it is assumed the researcher took an active role in

influencing the narratives of the participants.

PROVIDE THICK DESCRIPTIONS OF CATEGORIES

It would be normal in an ethnomethodolgical analysis of this kind for the researcher to firstly code the data

with the five M-MARS codes (i.e. method, meme, amity, rule, strategy) and then to develop classifications or

categories from them to inform a framework. However, as the purpose of this study is to provide thick

descriptions for the factors identified in the quantitative analysis it will be assumed that these factors represent

the categories that could be found independently in the data. This being the case, the data was systematically

coded with the M-MARS codes and codes representing the six factors.

FACTOR 1OPPORTUNITY

A number of participants talked about meeting people as part of their daily life. A member of the general

population group said that a benefit of working to them was It gets [them] out and lets [them] mix with

people and gives [them] somewhere specific to go. This suggests that a core Method in actors making use of

the opportunities available to them is ingratiation.

It appeared that Information was the Meme for this factor. Apparent from the data was that participants

generate beliefs from a variety of sources, and not just media. Daniel (G-Pop) said, I get all my sporting

information from my brother and my son who tell me whos where, whats what, whos won and they explain


31/58

28

the sort of you know whats going on with the champions league, oh yeah, very nice, Im, I sort of glaze over

and they know but they carry on telling me and oh its lovely, lovely and another said, Ive noticed thatIm

picking up a lot of my news from other people. This suggests that even with pervasive media sources,

individuals still have opportunities gain a lot of information from actors that they know and generate beliefs

from these, meaning that the Meme associated with Opportunity could be information.

It became clear that the Amity for this factor was Acceptance. Anisah (N-Gen) said, I like talking a lot and I

just like hanging out with my friends like going to the cinema or something or going to my friends house.

You know just getting together chatting suggesting the importance of being accepted as part of a group. The

importance was also shared by the G-Pops as Anne said, I like to go round friends houses and we have a chat

and sometimes watch films or just chat generally and have a glass of wine, suggesting that all generations

take opportunities to be an accepted part of their social network.

It became clear from analysing the data that many of the participants felt it was important for people to have

the opportunity to be open about what they do and believe in. Robert (G-Pop) said, Theres a lot of big issues

and all the military and the supplies and everything like that which I think we should be more kept informed

of. A lot more of the politics side of what happens, (should be) open to everybody. This suggests that

openness is an important Rule for many actors in this factor.

It became apparent that the Internet allowed people to control who they were visible to and that having

visibility was an important strategy for increasing the opportunity to interact with those they want to be

around. For example, Oliver said You enter a room and the people you can talk to are displayed down the

right hand side with everyone talking to everyone else in a general "Room" as well. what IM gives you is the

ability to almost form your own room. The people you can talk to are displayed on your screen, in groups you

can choose. No-one can enter your room unless you let them in, you can even club conversations together to

make a general room yourself.


32/58

29

FACTOR 2UNDERSTANDING

The method for this factor appeared to be imitation. Lorie (N-Gen) said I think I picked it up well, my old

secondary school didnt really have internet access. So I was never really taught much about it there. But I

mainly picked it up from friends. I dont know the best search engines to use, and how to find what you want

to find. Definitely picked it up from friends.

The Meme for this factor appeared to be claim and the re were many examples of this. For instance Jim (N-

Gen) said, Some adults are terrible with fixing computers. My brother only uses it to play games, and then he

cant exit it, and all he has to do is press escape twice!

The Amity for this factor appeared to be Security. Phyllis (G-Pop) talked about how being close to a general

practitioner and hospital, who are able to understand their needs, gave them a sense of security. Indeed, it has

been argued that the greatest achievement of the British National Health Service has been the UK

Governments understanding of its purpose to provide financial security to patients when they most need

healthcare (Jonas & Banta, 1975). Jenna (N-Gen) said how she felt safer when she could talk to her friends in

person and that she understood why schools banned chat rooms as it is difficult for people to tell who they are

speaking to. This approach by schools to regulate what their students see is common across generations

irrespective of technology, as even before the widespread adoption of the Internet there were school libraries

actively censoring content they objected to in order to increase security for parents and pupils (Dunn, 1984).

The Rule for this factor appeared to be confidence. For instance, Clifford (G-Pop) said, Finally the football

we made so much fuss about our team (England) and we were well over confident that we would win the

cup.Also, Sean (N-Gen), talking about young peoples responses to Internet rules, said, No, theyll always

find a loop hole, or a way around it., which suggested an immense confidence in the Net Generations

capabilities.

Ubiquitous computing technologies have afforded the design of novel learning experiences in different

domains, and such technologies can support domestic learning in the home, leading the family adopting

community-like characteristics (Terrenghi & Prosch, 2007). Indeed, community seemed to be the Strategy for


33/58

30

this factor, where for example, Rosie said, Yeah because I was brought up with computers. Weve all been

brought up with computers cos my step dad builds them and like Ive got my own computer.

FACTOR 3RELEVANCE

It has been argued that all information incites action and that inspiration is a driver of human behaviour

(Eberle, 2004). Indeed, inspiration appeared to be the Method for this factor. For example, Mitch (N-Gen)

said, Well basically justgetting on to websites and when they dont work just refreshing them and stuff like

that. Just the basic stuff.

Backing is an important part in understanding information presented to someone and the relevance of the

arguments contained within it (Besnard & Hunter, 2008), and appeared to be the Meme for this factor. For

instance, Marie (N-Gen) said, Try and research something. But then my family like, my mum and dad, are

XXXX. And so we never had a computer at home when I was little, until I could afford to buy one myself. I

saved up. So, maybe I didnt grow up with them as much.

It has been shown that encouragement from peers can play an important part in whether someone commits to a

particular action and lack of it whether this is continued (Beets, Vogel, Forlaw, Pitetti, & Cardinal, 2006;

Patten et al., 2009). Encouragement appeared to be the Amity for this factor, where for example, Margaret

commented on the relevance of schemes to encourage young people to stay on in education and the relevance

of decreasing voting age to increasing peoples interest in voting and encouraging less apathy.

Psychological studies have emphasised the importance of consistency for psychological functioning

(Milyavskaya, Gingras, Mageau, Koestner, & Gagnon, 2009) and consistency appears to the Rule for this

factor. Sabrina (N-Gen) said, I love reading about peoples problemsbecause (.) if you got the same one then

it helps (.) to see how other people cope with it. For instance Tahirah (N -Gen) said, probably someone had

the same experience or something like that or one of his family members (.) and he dont want that to happen

to somebody else, coz hes like, probably something like that.

The Strategy for this factor appeared to be Applicability. For instance, Steve (N-Gen) was concerned about the

applicability of the Internet as it continues to grow. He said, Its just going to keep getting bigger because


34/58

31

now youve got the sites that offer you free web page anybody who can be bothered can get their own free

website, or even more than one. So its just going to keep getting bigger. And as it keeps getting bigger its

going to get more cluttered so itll make it harder to get what you want.

FACTOR 4ASPIRATION

The aspirations brought by social identities instigate individuals to perform behaviours for the benefits of

group members (Ellemers, Kortekaas, & Ouwerkerk, 1999). Instigation appeared to be the Method for this

factor as when asked about texting her friends for example, Suzie (N-Gen) said, Yeah, youd just like say to

my best friend, do you want to go down town today or something? Something you can say in class but you

text it.

Knowing the warrant is an important part in understanding information presented to someone and the

relevance of the arguments contained within it (Besnard & Hunter, 2008), and appeared to be the Meme for

this factor. For instance, Steve (N-Gen) said, Yeah I think so, cause internets not been around a long time

has it? So the old Grannys they wont use it, theyre used to type-writers and things like that.

Fairness and friendship are closely linked (Berndt, 1982) and fairness appeared to be the Amity for this factor.

For instance, Marie (N-Gen) said, As you mature, you realise not everything can be paid for by your parents

anymore.

Challenge is known to be a value, particularly where those involved in it aspire to the same thing (Martineau,

2006, p.37), suggesting that challenge is the Rule for this factor. An example found in the data was of Suzie,

who said, No, the older you get the more they give you responsibility. They think, ok they can do that on

their own. I trust them now.

Recognition is known to be a strategy for expressing ones social identity (Emcke, 2000), and this was evident

in the data. For instance, Claire said, Or I ask my Dad, because hes worked with computers for years,

basically his whole life.


35/58

32

FACTOR 5CHOICE

With perfect-information models of rational choice there is only one behavioural assumption, namely that the

individual decision maker is a rational actor and able to make conclusions (Calvert, 2009). This was evident to

a limited extent in the data, where for example Jim (N-Gen), said, Yeah. No. If Im looking for something I

just type it in .com and usually, nine times out of ten, theres actually a website for it. This suggests that

conclusion in the Meme for this factor.

Argued that introspection should be considered a potentially valid method for understanding choices people

make, and in fact appeared to be the Method for this factor. For instance Lorie said:

Its two factors for me. Ones which friends it is my two best friends, I always phonethem, and we always

speak on the phone. And then Ive got other friends who are working, like me, Ill come home in the evening,

Ill have lots of homework to do, and if thats computer work, Ill have MSN on at the same time, and then I

can be doing my homework and talking to my friends. If you have an hour long conversation with them on

the telephone, you cant do that. So I find the internet enables me to do a lot more and do everything, which is

what I like to do.

The Rule identified in keeping with this factor was confirmation. It became clear that N-Geners think it is

important to have confirmation of things being a certain way and being able to confirm things to others. Oliver

(N-Gen) said, What IM gives you is the ability to almost form your own room. The people you can talk to are

displayed on your screen, in groups you can choose. No-one can enter your room unless you let them in, you

can even club conversations together to make a general room yourself. The only problem is, you won't meet

any new people. Like I said, personal choice. Bethany (N-Gen) said, I don't understand why some kids

wanna meet up with utter strangers who are blatantly gonna be pedophiles, but I guess like Oliver said its

personal choice. Tahirah said, You cant really say that boys just do drugs (.) firstly it depends on how your

friends are like, if they take it then they might influence you on taking it (.) so its your choice to choose who

your friends are. These statements from N-Geners of different sexes and different ages shows that the value

of having freedom of choice transcends gender and age boundaries and is an important factor in the lives of

this generation. This could show why the Circle of Friends social networking technology has been as


36/58

33

successful as it has, for the reason that it gives users choice over who is in their network. This fact also has

implications for older generations when trying to penetrate N-Geners networks, as it may mean they will

have to select the most appropriate social networking platform for getting their message across.

Self-efficacy is the belief that one has the capability to perform a particular behaviour (Ryan, Bordoloi, &

Harrison, 2000) this type of efficacy appears to be the Strategy for this factor. For instance, Sophie (N-Gen)

was asked, why do you think youre good at finding things through search engines? in relation to the

Internet, to which she replied, Maybe its just luck, I dont know. Maybe its just luck. Maybe I always type

in things with lots of websites and lots of choice. I dont really know why.

A measurement of assertiveness appears to be gaining approval, which is the measurement of situationally

determined assertiveness (Heaven, 1984). The importance of approval was apparent in the dataset and appears

to be the Amity for this factor. For instance, Daniel (G-Pop) said, Radios our local radio station, so for the

traffic news and just light entertainment while Im cooking. If I have friends round for dinner then Id have,

Id be more selective, Id have music on. TV, very selective. Im really, really picky. It is known that

approval is such a strong motivator with people that some actors are willing to be deceptive in order to get it

(Broady, 2000).

FACTOR 6EXPRESSION

These suggest that Evidence is the Meme in this factor. For instance, Ryan (N-Gen) said, Its just for maths

and IT theyre not actually putting any other money into any other subjects that use the stuff. In maths

theyve got all these like thousand pound boards, they dont even use them. They just write on the white

board.

The method identified in keeping with this factor was interaction. Amil (N-Gen) said, I think I can type

very fast (well my friends say I can) and it allows me to get things done quicker, like homework or essays,

which suggests that N-Geners find ways of using their technical know-how to communicate effectively and

realise their goals. This has implications for the design of virtual worlds, where other generations will need to


37/58

34

realise that N-Gen users are goal-orientated, and they will have to come to a shared purpose and mutual

understanding with this generation if they are to co-exist comfortably.

Even in countries in apparent difficulties the ways people express themselves is still based on tolerance and

friendship (Hakan, 2008), suggesting the Amity for this factor is Tolerance. Richard (G-Pop) said that he

thought that when people expressed an opinion, giving the example of the UKs MMR debate, they should be

tolerated even if their views are different from others. Sue (G-Pop) spoke about how in their retirement they

like to spend time expressing themselves with family and doing things together and David (G-Pop) made a

point of regularly going out for meals with his wife. These suggest that the Rule for this factor is Co-

operation. When individuals pursue a mastery goal, the reciprocity norm becomes salient to them and they

therefore acquire a reciprocity orientation toward expressing themselves with others in social achievement

situations (Marijn Poortvliet, Janssen, Van Yperen, & Van de Vliert, 2007). This was apparent in the dataset,

where it appeared that Reciprocity is the Strategy for this factor. For instance, Nina (N -Gen) said, Like if

its someone you havent seen for ages, you dont really want to ring them up. You want to just email the

person and see if they reply back to you to see if they still want to keep in touch with you. It can be awkward

on the phone.

PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK TO GENERALIZE THE THICK DESCRIPTIONS

The next stage is to develop a model for which generalisations to other situations can be made. It has long

been asserted in academic discourse that qualitative studies cannot be used to make generalisations, whereas

quantitative ones can. However this may just be a philosophical standpoint than a logically sound statement.

For instance, a qualitative finding that all the e-learning systems used by a firm deliver learning electronically

does not necessarily need a complex mathematical model to prove, when a simple logical expression will do:

Information System = E-learning System WHERE delivery method IS electronic AND purpose IS delivering

learning


38/58

35

Such an expression is scientifically valid as it is refutable and therefore can be potentially confirmed through a

systematic verification of the statement, therefore making it generalisable even though its origins were not

quantitative.

The model presented in Figure 1 in Appendix I shows how the empirically derived factors map on to the

processes of the ecological cognition framework. The model shows the elements that are typical of all

generations and how these affect the processes from stimulus to response. Opportunity is what actors

experience at the point of receiving a stimulus. Understanding is what the actors experience at the point of the

impetus, when the stimulus is encoded into something the brain can understand. Relevance is an important

factor when the actors gain intent allow their brain to act on the stimulus. Aspiration is what the actors

experience at the first stage of a response, when the stimulus has been processed and a potential outcome

reach by the brain. Choice is what is experienced when the actor has to make a judgement about whether they

want to act on the neuroresponse. Finally Expression is what the actor experiences when they make a

response, either impacting on the external environment or their internal one.

COMPARE THE FRAMEWORK WITH EXISTING MODELS

Table 2 shows the factors of the framework derived from this study compared to those in other studies.

Compared with Bishop (2009b), which was also derived from a study using the ECF, the model is pretty

consistent with the ordering, suggesting that actors go from a social stage in the environment onto a cognitive

stage where they reflect on their intentions. However it differs from this model in that the new model proposes

that the Interacting stage is also cognitive and precedes a newly created physical stage of Expression. This

is perhaps in keeping with the learning framework of Honey & Mumford (1986), where it is absent of the

socialising and expression stages, but suggests that the main stages of internal learning include an activist

component. While dismissed by Bishop (2007a) as a suitable psychological framework, the model proposed

by Mbakwe & Cunliffe (2007), if re-ordered, suggests some relevance of the model in supporting the new

framework. In addition, the four-point model of Bartle (1996) provides a useful addition to understand the

framework as it applies to gamers, supporting the existence of the additional stage of Expression, by

suggesting that once an actor has decided to act on a particular piece of information, or stimulus, they want to


39/58

36

put it into practice and convince the people they meet of their understanding of it. Furthermore, the recent

model of Preece & Shneiderman (2009), while offering little improvement in understanding participation in

virtual worlds beyond that proposed by Kim (2000) nearly a decade earlier, can provide some useful support

for the classifications of values in the qualitative study if it is re-ordered.

Table 2 Comparison of the framework with existing models

This model BishopHoney &

MumfordEllis

Mbakwe &

CunliffeBartle

Preece &

Shneiderman

Todorov

Opportunity Bonding (1) - Starting (1)

Documents

MScEcon Dissertation: The equatrics of intergenerational knowledge transformation in techno-cultures