Toward a Theory of Consumer Interaction With Mobile Technology Devices

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore the phenomenon of consumer interaction with mobile technology devices (MTDs). MTDs include electronic “gadgets” such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones that are carried and used frequently by consumers. The emphasis in this dissertation was on developing an explanatory framework to account for everyday experiences of MTD consumption. In light of limited consumer research on the pervasive phenomenon, an inductive, theory-building approach was taken, employing the constant comparative methodology of grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss 1967; Glaser 1978). Data was gathered primarily through in-depth interviews with 20 participants who had extensive familiarity with the phenomenon. Convergence on a “core category” of Cultivating the Self explained the majority of variance in participants‟ social psychological processes while interacting with MTDs. By Cultivating the Self, consumers interact intimately with mobile technology devices in myriad ways over time, investing “psychic energy” (Csikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton 1981) into the products in order to actualize goals and therefore actualize themselves, all the while becoming closer to the devices, both figuratively and literally. The core category is comprised of three interrelated stages: Transitioning, Integrating and Bonding. By Transitioning to their devices, consumers undergo a fundamental and totalizing “ecological” change in their lives as they come to understand and assimilate interactions with MTDs. Through Integrating their devices, consumers select and align activities in their daily lives with capabilities that arise from interacting with their MTDs, “offloading” tasks to the products in a process that blurs the distinction between “personal” and “professional” lives. By Bonding, consumers make the products “their own” as they become increasingly proximate and intimate with their MTDs through customizing, personifying and interacting playfully with them. Extant theory was considered in extending properties of the core category, with special attention given to the ontological and epistemological differences between structuralist and interactionist paradigms underlying prior research on human-object relations. A symbolic interactionist view of human behavior was demonstrated as supporting emergent conceptualizations of the phenomenon. The interactionist approach and emergent theory developed through this dissertation provides support for the Service-Dominant Logic views currently evolving in contemporary marketing thought

William James on the Self and Personality: Clearing the Ground for Subsequent Theorists, Researchers, and Practitioners

The fundamental basis of William James\u27s psychology - the rock-bottom foundation on which it is constructed - is the stream of thought or the stream of consciousness. 1* The first and preeminent characteristic of our flowingly continuous experience of thought or consciousness, James (1890/1983d) said, is that it is personal (pp. 220-224). Every thought, every psychological experience, is mine, or hers, or his, or yours. For this reason, he suggested, the personal self rather than the thought [or consciousness] might be treated as the immediate datum in psychology (p. 221).2 Indeed, James was strongly convinced that no psychology ... can question the existence of personal selves. The worst a psychology can do is so to interpret the nature of these selves as to rob them of their worth (p. 221)

Consonance between lifestyle and spatial patterns in Yoruba domestic architecture.

The thesis focuses on how well suited lifestyle patterns are to different spatial types currently existing in the domestic architecture of the Yoruba people of South Western Nigeria, and on meanings underlying space use, in traditional and contemporary housing. Changes in Yoruba domestic architecture are quite marked, with contemporary residences gaining new uses and losing others, due to the development of new buildings for some previously domestic activities. The contemporary condition, which is the main thrust of the research, is also typified by changes in income levels, family structure and education in post-colonial Nigeria. Although some studies have addressed these changes, the actual influence of traditional housing on new housing layouts is little researched. The hypothesis is that social changes will be manifested in transformations of the configuration of interior spaces and of space use with consequent spatial patterning that is a modification of the new within the existing. The analysis of activity and object locations proved valuable in unpacking social meanings embedded in the domestic space. A number of households were studied in four residential areas of Ile-Ife, each representative of distinct socio-economic groups and construction periods, using structured interviews, and analysis of the floor plans. The results revealed a core set of space labels specific to each spatial type, expressed in old spatial types that are absent from the new areas, in the new spatial types absent from older areas, and in the enduring spatial types found in all the areas. There was a strong correlation between house types and lifestyles, manifested via variations in income and education, and most obvious in differences in space use in the traditional orowa (central hall), and the kitchens and living rooms of new house types. Satisfaction with the domestic space was shaped by respondents' ideals, which were related to socio-economic factors. The study demonstrated a link between lifestyle and space use, and the effect of ideals on how the domestic space is perceived

Materialism and the Self

Materialism has been called the most significant macro development in modern consumer behavior. Despite its importance, research about the construct is rather new. Two scales have been developed to measure materialism, one proposed by Belk, the other by Richins and Dawson. The purpose of this dissertation is threefold. First, it extends the materialism research program by investigating the relationship between materialism and one\u27s self concept. Hypotheses which drive the research posit that people who are more materialistic have lower self-esteem, are less likely to be self-actualized, are extrinsically rather than intrinsically motivated, and are likely to be high self-monitors. The second purpose is to assess the reliability and validity of the two scales. Third, the definition of materialism itself is addressed. Data were collected via a questionnaire distributed to adults. Hypotheses were investigated with correlation analysis. The reliability of the two scales was assessed by calculating Coefficient Alphas and item-to-total statistics. Confirmatory factor analysis and the hypothesis tests were used in assessing validity. A profile of materialists was developed by analyzing the top and bottom terciles formed from scores on the Richins and Dawson scale. All hypotheses were confirmed. People scoring high on the materialism scales were found to be less self-confident and to rely on the opinions of others. While materialism was equally distributed across categories of gender and ethnic background, materialists tended to be younger, to not have a college degree, and to have either relatively high or relatively low household incomes. The Richins and Dawson scale was found to be the more reliable scale. Validity assessment also suggested that it may be superior to the Belk scale. Finally, a distinction was drawn between materialism and other constructs such as consumerism and conspicuous consumption. The importance of the self-concept to an understanding of materialism and the resulting implications for the definition of materialism were explored

Relations in architectural space: designs and effects in space of the traditional Thai houses and temples

What makes the space in a piece of architecture intelligible for us is the fundamental question of this thesis. Architects and users of buildings are the sources and the receptors of this intelligibility and therefore are the two points of view used in the research. There are many discussions and theories that focus on either the architects' or the users' concepts of architectural space but few focus on both and an even smaller proportion examine the relations between them. To this end, the thesis investigates the relation of intelligibility of space known by architects in the design process and the one that exists in the architectural reality known by the users of the buildings. This thesis sees this relation as the connection between the abstraction and reality of architecture. It is proposed that this connection in space consists of four dimensions: structural, experiential, functional and architectural element dimensions which form different relations in different pieces of architecture in different socio-cultural contexts. In this way, the research relates abstract properties with their reality in built forms through on-site observation and participation in activities inside the selected buildings in Thailand. The analysis shows that some relations appear to be regularities in most architecture whilst others are specific to the twelve selected Thai houses and temples. These relations are realised in architectural space by both architects and users of the buildings therefore they are designs and effects which can be configured via three levels in a relation; that is, 1) inside each dimension, 2) between dimensions and 3) among relations of all dimensions. it is in the third level that a relation represents a full description of the architectural reality in a space in the form of a relational syntax in which the design and effect of a space are simultaneously comprehended. Consequently, relational syntaxes become the instruments that can be seen and used as design strategies in the process of designing or analysing buildings. Through the analytical and descriptive characters of relational syntax, a deep understanding of architectural space is reached between the architects and the users; that is, the design is seen as the effects of the actual uses in buildings and vice versa