Social-biological information technology: An integrated conceptual framework

Abstract

A model is proposed that is motivated by the growing theoretical importance of the affective domain in information science (IS) and human-computer interaction (HCl), and the increased need for integrated models that provide an explicit account of how human mental and physiological systems dynamically interact in task performance with information systems. The ecological constructionism framework defines a social and biological information technology that is created through the dynamic intersection of technological affordances in symbiotic interaction with affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor information procedures that users creatively construct to satisfice the social practices inherent in information settings. Samples of spontaneous user discourse were mapped, demonstrating the model's suitability for charting the flow of mental procedures that users perform in interaction with information systems. The framework is shown to be compatible with the research focus in the literature on information behavior in IS and user affect in HCl. It also addresses current challenges to create more versatile architectures integrating technology, biology, and community into organic or synergic systems. The model specifies the components and dynamics of a human-computer symbiotic information environment.