Supporting Worth Mapping with Sentence Completion

Expectations for design and evaluation approaches are set by the development practices within which they are used. Worth Centred Development (WCD) seeks to both shape and fit such practices. We report a study that combined two WCD approaches. Sentence completion gathered credible quantitative data on user values, which were used to identify relevant values and aversions of two player groups for an online gambling site. These values provided human value elements for a complementary WCD approach of worth mapping. Initial worth maps were extended in three workshops, which focused on outcomes and user experiences that could be better addressed in the current product and associated marketing materials. We describe how worth maps were prepared for, and presented in, workshops, and how product owners and associated business roles evaluated the combination of WCD approaches. Based on our experiences, we offer practical advice on this combinination

The inter-relationship between desired and undesired selves in the consumption experiences of Greek women

Earlier work on identity, self, and consumption identified that desired and undesired selves play a significant role in the important global phenomenon of symbolic consumption, but neglected to investigate and conceptualise the interrelationship between desired and undesired selves and consumption. Phenomenological interviews with Greek women are used to elicit consumption experiences linked to positive and negative aspects of the self. The interrelationships between desired and undesired selves in consumption were characterised by two patterns (first, conflicting, and second, compatible desired and undesired selves) that could be linked to consumers' different strategies. Examining these strategies, we extend previous work on the strategies that consumers use to handle identity issues. Finally, we evaluate this theory building derived from the Greek empirical data within the context of US-generated theory about individuals' ways of dealing with self-coherence issues through symbolic consumption; we identify consumers' sense of baffled self and ambivalence in the emotions surrounding consumption