What Diagrams Say About Technology

Lixiu Yu Stevens Institute of Technology, USA

Jeffrey V. Nickerson Stevens Institute of Technology, USA

Abstract
By examining the diagrams of technology users, we can gain insight into their perceptions. In this study, we collected diagrams from 41 participants. We found that these participants make use of both shape and position to differentiate themselves from the technology they use. Shape and position also differentiate hardware devices from software applications. Most users also draw direct connections between themselves and their applications, bypassing in their diagrams the devices that mediate this communication. Thus, devices may recede from awareness as we focus on applications and the information they make available.

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Reference:	Yu, L., Nickerson, J.V. (2009). "What Diagrams Say About Technology," Proceedings > Proceedings of SIGPrag Workshop . Sprouts: Working Papers on Information Systems, 9(72). http://sprouts.aisnet.org/9-72
Keywords:	Diagram understanding, technology use, affordances, network visualization
Item Type:	Article - Volume 9 Article 72 (2009)
Language:	English
Email:	Lixiu Yu (lyu3@stevens.edu) Jeffrey V. Nickerson (jnickerson@stevens.edu)

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