Voordijk, J T (2019) Technological mediation in construction: Postphenomenological inquiry into digital technologies. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 145(12): 04019084, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Postphenomenology adds to the intentional relationship between subject and object (as in phenomenology) the fundamental mediated character through technologies. The focus in postphenomenology is on understanding the different roles that technologies play in the relationships between humans and the world. This study's objective is to assess the applicability of Ihde's postphenomenological model of human-technology relationships when exploring the impact of digital technologies on human-technology relationships in construction processes. To accommodate the different forms of human-technology relationship, a mature digital technology was chosen as the subject of a set of case studies: radio-frequency identification (RFID). Based on a literature review and interviews, the different roles that RFID applications play in human-technology relationships are explored in terms of the four human-technology relations proposed by Ihde: embodiment, hermeneutic, alterity, and background relations. It is in the context of these relations that the impact of digital technologies in construction in general is assessed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction processes; digital technologies; human-technology relations; ihde; mediation theory; postphenomenology; radio-frequency identification |
| Index terms: | case study, digital technology, interview, phenomenology, construction process, mediation, literature review |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, building construction, dispute resolution, computing systems, methods and analysis, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Legal Issues, Digital Applications, Site Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here