Creativity Greenhouse: Digital Brain Switch

数字技术使用的增加挑战了工作生活的界限，特别是随着人们越来越多地在一系列地点工作，经常受到干扰，并感到需要通过多种沟通渠道“保持联系”。在这个项目中要探索的中心研究问题是：现代通信如何影响我们管理跨工作生活边界的过渡的能力？这将有助于我们了解技术是否支持更灵活的过渡管理，创造更可渗透的边界和更少分割的角色，或者它是否鼓励跨边界泄漏和困难的身份管理任务。我们的最终愿景是通过新的数字技术支持个人在身份之间的转换。然而，本提案的重点是了解开关。然而，作为对愿景的隐喻，我们想象一个“数字大脑开关”，如以下场景所示：艾伦刚刚开始了自己的社会企业，以鼓励当地的贸易实践。这对他来说是一个具有挑战性的时刻，因为他必须兼顾各种身份-商人，丈夫，社区冠军，朋友。他没有办公室可去，在家厨房工作。当他的妻子在家工作时，她很乐意接受打扰-她有一种不可思议的多任务能力。然而，即使独自一人，艾伦也很难在家里集中精力工作--经常查看Facebook很容易打断一项商业计划。但他并没有阻止自己这样做，因为他使用Facebook来促进当地社区团体。有时，当艾伦从一个令人兴奋的商务会议回到家时，他发现不可能回到家庭生活中。他只想在大脑中打开一个开关，让所有的工作想法都停止，让他和妻子一起放松。这个场景说明了三个关键属性，使管理身份之间的转换具有挑战性：身份之间的界限模糊（工作者，家庭男人，社区冠军）;每个人都是个体，有不同的处理转换的方式（参见第二章）。艾伦和他的妻子）;本项目将深入研究人们如何在网络和数字世界中管理交换机，重点是现代通信的作用及其对交换机实践的影响。该项目将开发一个研究平台，使人们能够捕捉他们的切换经验，并与他人一起反思他们如何管理这些经验。该项目还将制定一些干预措施，旨在探索数字技术如何支持人们管理开关。

The rise in the use of digital technologies challenges work life boundaries, particularly as individuals increasingly work from a range of locations, experience frequent interruptions and feel required to 'stay connected' through multiple communication channels. The central research question to be explored in this project is: How do modern communications affect our ability to manage transitions across work life boundaries? This will help us to understand whether technology supports the management of more flexible transitions, creating more permeable boundaries and a less segmented persona, or whether it encourages leakage across boundaries and a difficult identity management tasks.Our ultimate vision is for individuals' switches between identities to be supported through new digital technologies. However, the focus in this proposal is on understanding switches. As a metaphor for the vision, however, weimagine a "digital brain switch", as illustrated in the following scenario:Alan has just started his own social enterprise to encourage local trading practices. It is a challenging time for him, as he has to juggle various identities - businessman, husband, community champion, friend. He doesn't have an office to go to and works from home in the kitchen. When his wife works at home, she is comfortable receiving interruptions - she has an uncanny ability to multi-task. However, even when alone, Alan finds it difficult to concentrate on work at home - it's just too easy to interrupt a business proposal by checking Facebook constantly. But he doesn't prevent himself from doing this because he uses Facebook to promote local community groups. Sometimes, when he comes home from an exciting business meeting, Alan finds it impossible to switch back into family life. He just wants to flick a switch in his brain that would stop all the work thoughts from whizzing around and let him relax with his wife.This scenario illustrates three key attributes that make managing switches between identities challenging: the blurring of boundaries between identities (worker, family man, community champion); the fact that everyone is an individual and has different ways of dealing with switches(cf. Alan and his wife); and the changes in control that modern ways of working can promote.This project will undertake an in-depth study of how people manage switches both in the corporeal and digital worlds, focusing on the role of modern communications and their impact on switching practices. The project will develop a research platform that will allow people to capture their switching experiences and to reflect with others on how they manage them. The project will also develop a number of interventions designed to explore how digital technologies can support people to manage switches.