In my study, I focus on two of the most common representational bases in such social visualisation tools: the map and the time axis. The aim is to explore and describe what the interactive tool properties in general and the map and time based modes of representation in particular mean for the users’ understanding and interaction with the information and the systems; what ways of thinking, reasoning, and (re)acting that are supported as well as hindered; what information political concerns the users experience in relation to their use; and what types of critical thinking (critical literacies) that emerge or need to be developed for these interactions. The study is conducted with qualitative and ethnographically inspired research methods in the form of semi-structured interviews, observations, and studies of technology and documents central to the practices in each case. The theoretical framework consists of a mainly sociocultural approach, with particular emphasis on delegation, distributed cognition, affordances of meaning, and appropriation. Features from sociotechnical theories are also included in order to emphasise political aspects and critical implications for the design, use, and accessibility of these tools.

The early analysis suggests that this type of interaction generated information presents far-reaching examples of a gradual dislocation of agency from humans to technology in the processing, analysis, and production of information that largely invalidates traditional source criticism as the critical tool of information literacy. It is shown that the users’ interaction possibilities are very limited, and that the affordances of the tools rather rely on complicated rippling interactions between representational modes and characteristics of the informational content – both with close connections to actors with clear political agendas. The users of the tools are generally highly aware of, and concerned about, numerous political consequences related to displaying social information geographically as well as over time, and in their interactions, it seems that the different representations warrant and support different types of critical thinking. But in general, if the concept of information literacy is to cover critical thinking in ways that are relevant for such tools, then a number of developments and adjustments are needed: in part towards incorporating distanced critical approaches towards social, political, and cultural structures that influence the design and use of these systems; in part towards also recognising that a number of critical competencies can and do emerge in the direct interaction between user and system.

The dissertation project runs from 2004 until 2009 and is financed by the Swedish Knowledge Foundation's national research program LearnIT and by the Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS). It is also one of several projects within the research program BIKT (Libraries, ICT and learning) at SSLIS. My two supervisors are Louise Limberg, Professor at SSLIS and scientific leader for the BIKT programme, and Jan Nolin, Associate Professor at SSLIS.