Self-Tracking (eBook)

Empirical and Philosophical Investigations

Btihaj Ajana (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2017 | 1st ed. 2018
XIV, 155 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-319-65379-2 (ISBN)

Infos

This book provides an empirical and philosophical investigation of self-tracking practices. In recent years, there has been an explosion of apps and devices that enable the data capturing and monitoring of everyday activities, behaviours and habits. Encouraged by movements such as the Quantified Self, a growing number of people are embracing this culture of quantification and tracking in the spirit of improving their health and wellbeing. 

The aim of this book is to enhance understanding of this fast-growing trend, bringing together scholars who are working at the forefront of the critical study of self-tracking practices. Each chapter provides a different conceptual lens through which one can examine these practices, while grounding the discussion in relevant empirical examples. 

From phenomenology to discourse analysis, from questions of identity, privacy and agency to issues of surveillance and tracking at the workplace, this edi

ted collection takes on a wide, and yet focused, approach to the timely topic of self-tracking. It constitutes a useful companion for scholars, students and everyday users interested in the Quantified Self phenomenon.  

Btihaj Ajana is Associate Professor and Marie Curie Fellow at Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Denmark. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the department of Digital Humanities, King's College London. Her academic work is interdisciplinary in nature, spanning areas of digital culture, media praxis, and biopolitics. She is the author of Governing through Biometrics: The Biopolitics of Identity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). 

Inhalt

Acknowledgements 5
Contents 6
Editor and Contributors 8
List of Figures 11
Chapter 1 Introduction 13
Abstract 13
References 21
Chapter 2 Engagement and the Quantified Self: Uneventful Relationships with Ghostly Companions 23
Abstract 23
Introduction 24
The Crisis of Engagement 26
An Uneventful Relationship 28
The Moment of Looking 32
Conclusion: Playing with Our (Quantified) Selves 33
References 35
Chapter 3 Apps as Companions: How Quantified Self Apps Become Our Audience and Our Companions 38
Abstract 38
Introduction 39
Trusting Our Apps 40
Dear Diary: Diaries and Apps as Narratees 42
Confessing Secrets to a Diary or App 44
Apps as Companions and Independent Subjects 46
Conclusion: Speaking with Machines 50
References 51
Chapter 4 Human/Technology Associations in Self-Tracking Practices 54
Abstract 54
Introduction 55
A Typology of Self/Technology 57
Hermeneutic of the Self/Enactment 57
Embodiment of the Self/Experience 59
Alterity/Entanglement 62
Background/Integration 64
Conclusion: Insights from a Postphenomenological Analysis of Human/Technology Associations 67
References 69
Chapter 5 Social Media and Self-Tracking: Representing the ‘Health Self’ 71
Abstract 71
Introduction 72
Self-Tracking and Self-Surveillance 73
Self-Tracking and Peer Surveillance 75
Self-Representation and Expected Community Surveillance 77
Community Surveillance and Competition 79
Constructing the ‘Idealised Healthy Self’ 80
Quantified Feedback: ‘Likes as Currency’ 82
Conclusion 83
References 85
Chapter 6 Self-Tracking as the Mobilisation of the Social for Capital Accumulation 87
Abstract 87
Introduction 88
Self-Tracking, Corporate Wellness and “Connexionism” 88
Method 90
Analysis 92
Genre 92
Style 94
Discourse 95
Conclusion 98
References 99
Chapter 7 The Quantified Workplace: A Study in Self-Tracking, Agility and Change Management 102
Abstract 102
Introduction 103
From Scientific Management to Agility 104
Quantified Workplace Study 108
Data Collection and Method 109
Fieldwork Results I: Effectiveness of the Study 110
Dissatisfaction With Technology 110
Desire for Coaching and Issue of Gamification 111
Concerns for Privacy and Use for Appraisals 113
Fieldwork Results II: Subjective Performance 113
Self-Management: Goals and Motivation 113
Subjective Productivity 114
Self-Awareness 114
Conclusion: A New Work Design Model? 115
References 117
Chapter 8 Data Privacy: Users’ Thoughts on Quantified Self Personal Data 120
Abstract 120
Introduction 121
Bettering Oneself 122
Watching Videos and Talking to Users 124
QS Privacy 125
Conclusion: Managing QS Data 129
References 130
Chapter 9 Communal Self-Tracking: Data Philanthropy, Solidarity and Privacy 134
Abstract 134
Introduction 135
Biosociality: From the Quantified Self to the Quantified Us 135
Data Security, Privacy and Responsibility 144
Conclusion 147
References 148
Author Index 151
Subject Index 156

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.10.2017
• Zusatzinfo: XIV, 155 p. 7 illus.
• Verlagsort: Cham
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie ► Spezielle Soziologien
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft
• Schlagworte: Big Data • connexionism • Digital lives • Digital Media • Gamification • Health Management • Health Technologies • lifelogging • Narratology • postphenomenology • Quantification • self-tracking
• ISBN-10: 3-319-65379-2 / 3319653792
• ISBN-13: 978-3-319-65379-2 / 9783319653792