[Sigia-l] Applying Information Foraging Models

[Derek R]

Victor wrote:
	 
>| "How can we better represent artifacts to help
>| people find the artifact?" whereas the information
>| foraging researchers are asking, "Given what
>| representations exist, how do people go about finding
>| the artifacts?"


These are both good questions, and ones we should be asking. Thank you
Victor.

Nevertheless, the problem I see developing with this methodology is that
it only considers a single individual performing single functions. In
short, the 'foraging science' is not social-based, but comes from a
mechanical view-point. It ignores the gestalt (big-picture) in favor of
concentration on 'achievement of parts.'

For instance, you could scream at a telephone-menu system until you're
blue-in-the-face that you just want to speak to an operator, but --
don't you know how people go about finding things? -- you must first
submit yourself to absurd processes to achieve because 'scientists' have
determined the best way to accomplish your task is to walk-you-through
the mechanics of these 'parts.'

It is truly ridiculous.

In the same way, it is easy to see how 'information foraging' can take
itself much too seriously (i.e. Jakob's assertion of 'information
foraging' as "the most important concept to emerge from Human-Computer
Interaction research since 1993").

The idea that we should *ignore* and pay zero attention to user-goals in
favor of some control-matrix should cause real Information Professionals
to stand-up.