Field Study 3-Intervention

FIELD STUDY 3: Intervention

Joshua Kitlas

IST 600 Information Design

3/28/2011

[email protected]

1 Joshua Kitlas | Field Study 3

30 March 2011

Overview Like many others, I have concerns about how

the forces around (and inside) me affect my

performance in various events as well as my

day to day well‐being. To date, I have kept

track of my well‐being using a rating system

which I have developed, a grocery list, and my

memory. There are effective elements of this

system and elements that do not carry enough

data or create enough influence to be

effective.

Although the system has highlights (the rating system) the other elements fail and the system

needs complementary components to capture more data and turn that data into a useful

information system. The present system is essentially a failure and has been long in need of an

intervention.

I took the opportunity of this field study to do a comprehensive analysis, restructuring, and

reinvention of the information system. I initially had concerns that a week wouldn’t be long

enough to properly test and make appropriate refinements to the system, but after only two

days I experienced significant and startling results. Given that my observations and reactions

were so marked, I stayed with the study and tested it until the morning of Tuesday, March 29,

2011, at which time I began to compile all my notes, inputs and observations to create this

report.


30 March 2011

Contents

Overview ......................................................................... 1

Reporting Approach ....................................................... 3

Summary......................................................................... 3

Analysis ........................................................................... 3

Recommendations.......................................................... 3

The System ..................................................................... 5

Elements ......................................................................... 5

The Tools ......................................................................... 5

Relationships .................................................................. 5

Flow ................................................................................ 6

Conclusion ...................................................................... 6

Works Referenced .......................................................... 7


30 March 2011

Reporting Approach

I’ll first describe this information system through a summary, analysis and suggestions for

improvement in a narrative fashion. I’ll then go into greater detail utilizing elements of the

suggested report format.

Summary Several years ago I elected to devise a system where I could, as best as I can, quantitatively

define day‐to‐day living. For lack of a better term, I’ll refer to this as the ‘Mental Health Index’.

The approach I took was to develop a spreadsheet with various markers that represented

various behaviors and states‐of‐mind of mine. I tried to make this a relatively simple system

where I could rate myself on both feelings and behaviors numerically. I came up with various

actions and moods that I could evaluate myself on using a 1‐10 scale with ‘1’ being the lowest

and ’10’ being the highest.

For instance I could give myself a ‘10’ in the ‘Can't Concentrate’ category if I was having a

particularly hard time concentrating that day. If I was feeling particularly edgy I might give

myself a ‘7’ in the ‘Irritability’ category.

This was an easy to use and, although not foolproof, it gave me good data to analyze. Over time

I was able to amass enough information where I could identify trends. There were days that I

peaked, seasons where I dipped, and periods of relative ‘stability’ or ‘5’s’.

Knowing that food is one of the most important ways to influence well‐being, I made shopping

lists and tried to keep in mind the latest research and sound bites when shopping for groceries.

Analysis

This information system is weak in many ways and was due for an intervention.

Although the Mental Health Index provided a sufficient means for identifying moods, it was

limited in that it only had a handful of indices to rate myself on. To make a more fool proof

system, this would have to be expanded to include many more areas to be rated. It also would

have to get rid of the 1‐10 rating system. This rating system has to be revised because there is

too much variance allowed – what might be a ‘5’ on one day could be a ’7’ or ‘3’ on another.

There was no room to modify elements and certainly no room to make improvements in the

existing system. There was neither a part of the system in place to track food and its effect

outside of my memory.

Most importantly, this system was not focused on results. I had no way of taking inputs and

testing it against outside forces, namely food.

Recommendations

The Mental Health Index should switch from a ‘1‐10’ rating system to a Y/N system. There is just

too much undefined variance using a numerical scale. The Y/N system should be translated to

numbers so a quantifiable system can remain in place.


30 March 2011

There also needs to be more areas to rate the user on as the user may have different

interpretations of words on different days. Adding more data points will increase the accuracy

of the overall system and the validity and reliability of the results. For example, providing a Y/N

rating on the markers ‘Depressed’, ‘the Blues’, ‘Feeling Down’, and ‘Hopeless’ will prove much

more reliable than just providing a rating on ‘Depressed’. Adding more ‘Behaviors’ to the list will

also aid in increasing the resource’s reliability.

Suggested moods and behaviors to add to the Mental Health Index:

Aggression, Anger, Blues, Brush Teeth, Can't Seem To Have Fun, Can't Concentrate, Feel

Depressed, Empty, Excessive Eating, Excessive Guilt, Moderate Exercise, Intense Workout,

Fatigue, Floss Teeth, Poor Food Choices, Hopeless, Interaction, Irritability, Loss Of Interest

In Daily Activities, Low Energy, Pig Out On Junk Food, Productivity, Rage, Reckless

Behavior, Take nap, Self‐Hate, Separated From World, Shower/Bath, Talk to Significant

Other, Time in Bed, Trouble Making Decisions, Unexplained Pain, Unwarranted Exhaustion,

Up All Night, Violence, Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Low Self Worth

In addition to the proposed refinements to the ‘Mental Health Index’, several documents need

to be added to the system:

A document titled ‘Food Matrix’ which identifies appropriate food sources must be

created and used with the same regularity as the spreadsheets. After some research and

personal interest, I’ve co‐opted the Food Matrix created by Robb Wolf (Wolf, 2010).

A spreadsheet tracking food intake must be created.

An information sheet used to track food intake and used in concert with the

spreadsheet tracking food intake should be created. Though redundant, it gives me, the

user, something tangible to use while migrating to the new system.

The Wunderlist application, when used with the ‘Food Matrix’ document, provides an adequate

system for organizing grocery lists.


30 March 2011

The System

Elements

The elements of the system I’ve examined prior

to the intervention include:

A spreadsheet used to track my well‐

being titled ‘Mental Health Index’

An application, Wunderlist, used to track

food purchases

The elements of the system that were

incorporated as a part of the intervention

include the following:

A document titled ‘Food Matrix’ which

identifies appropriate food sources

A spreadsheet tracking food intake

An information sheet used to track food

intake and used in concert with the spreadsheet tracking food intake. I jokingly refer to

this as my ‘Daily Complaint Form’. This is because if I give it a ‘serious’ name, I probably

wouldn’t take it as seriously.

A refined ‘Mental Health Index’

The Wunderlist application

The Tools

The tools of this system all operate digitally. I’ve listed them below.

‐ Used for tracking data (well‐being, food intake) ‐ used for compiling the report

‐ Used to track food purchases ‐ used to develop form to track food intake

‐ Used to do image editing ‐ used to pull everything together in a universal format

Relationships There are several relationships to be examined in this information system. Some explicit, some

implicit. Some aged, some recent.

The purpose of this field study is to intervene and improve upon and existing system. That

statement clearly implies that there had to be a system existing prior to the study or at least

exist in some fashion.

Tracking...


30 March 2011

In either case, the system has a

history and potentially draws upon

numerous data points.

Applying an effective intervention

required more than entering facts and

figures on a spreadsheet, updating

diagrams or underlining a title. It went

beyond having awareness or insight.

I had to throw away years of what I’ll

refer to as ‘food programming’.

Thankfully this was a lot easier than I

thought. That relationship is perhaps the

most important one, yet it technically lies

outside of the information system.

Given the relatively short time between intervention and assessment, I’m confident that all

relationships have not fully been revealed. I’m still working through refinements to the new

documents and rating systems and imagine that there will be a way to better link these

documents as time goes on.

Flow

Utilizing the documents and putting my best foot forward in the name of academia and personal

development, I threw myself into the system.

Having a holistic information system gave me immediate results. I could better identify my own

well‐being and there was a direct link to its cause, in this case food. As my data shows, when I

stay within the system, I thrive and when I deviate from it, I fail.

Conclusion This system is a significant and marked upgrade from what I had. There are, however,

improvements that will need to be made as time goes on. I recognize that there are many other

elements to the system that will have impacts on well‐being that are not accounted for in detail

in its current iteration. Personal events, exercise and stress, to name a few, all impact our lives

in varying ways.

I really couldn’t believe how good I felt, how bad I felt, and how closely it was linked to food. I

intentionally ate food not on the ‘Food Matrix’ to see its impact. I did not like it. I struggled to

write‐up the final version of this report as I had drank some coffee with milk and had a brownie.

I had brief boost, but then fell into a lull. This was similar to the earlier effect of consuming food

not on the ‘Food Matrix’ two days into the intervention. I ate some Chinese food, my insulin

spiked, and I was energized. 30 minutes later, that was not the case.

I’m looking forward to incorporating the updated information system into my daily life.

Relatio

nships…


30 March 2011

Works Referenced

Ferriss, T. (2010). The 4‐Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat‐Loss, Incredible Sex, and

Becoming Superhuman. New York: Crown Archetype.

Lester, J., & Kohler, Jr., W. C. (2007). The Impact of Information in Society. In J. Lester, & J. W.

Kohler, Fundamentals of Information Studies: Understanding Information and Its

Environment (pp. 1‐37). New York: Neal Schuman Publishers.

Norman, D. A. (1988). The Psychopathology of Everyday Things. In D. A. Norman, The Design of

Everyday Things (pp. 1‐33). New York: Doubleday.

The Noun Project. (n.d.). The Noun Project. Retrieved March 29, 2011, from The Noun Project:

http://www.thenounproject.com

Tufte, E. R. (1997). Visual and Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions. In

E. R. Tufte, Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative (pp. 27‐

53). Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press.

Wolf, R. (2010). The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet. Victory Belt Publishing.

Food TrackingField S

tudy 3

daybreakfast

lunchdinner

snackcom

ment

3/2

4/2

01

12

strips bacon, 1 om

ega egg, 1

cup spinach, 2 shots

strong coffee (no milk or

sugar)

6 oz pork, bow

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, brussel sprouts, onion roasted and seasoned w

ith rosem

ary, salt and pepper, olive oil)

bread w butter,

corn chips, alm

onds

instantly felt the ill effect of the bread/butter

3/2

5/2

01

12

strips bacon, 1 om

ega egg, 1

cup spinach, 2 shots

strong coffee 9no m

ilk or sugar)

chicken breast, kale/carrot/sesam

e oil, seasoned broccoli

bowl ice

cream, dark

chocolate covered alm

onds

low, energy, carb-head,

overslept, hot flash almost

instantly, slept through alarm

, still feeling effect 12

hours later, throat, dizzy

3/2

6/2

01

12

cups blueberries, 2

scoops protein powder, 1

/3

cup coconut milk, w

ater, ice, scoop super foods

1 chicken sausage,

leftover kale/carrots and broccoli

chicken breast, tom

atoes/jalapenos

dark choc alm

ondssom

e ear popping, tons of energy

3/2

7/2

01

1chicken breast w

ith tom

atoes and jalapenosLondon broil w

tomatoes

handful nutsfeel aw

esome, focused,

clarity3

/28

/20

11

chicken and tomatoes

2 slices pizza

gross, everything was fine

until the pizza3

/29

/20

11

almonds

coffee and Chinese

foodleftover C

hinese food, P

epsi

coffee, brownie

from S

tarbucksyuck, I feel disgusting

Prepared by jkitlas 3

/30

/20

11

The Food Matrix is actually Lysa’s gift to the world and here is how it works: To dispel the notion that you are bored (and to show you how easy it is to make fantastic meals quickly AND with few ingredients) we will consider a few items we can get from virtually any supermarket. Perhaps a few items are exotic, DO NOT split hairs. If your local supermarket is missing a few of these items it does not invalidate the concept. Ok, let’s consider our food options and after the introduction of the food matrix we can consider how to customize this for your specific needs. PROTEINS (27) VEGETABLES (24) FATS (5) HERBS & SPICES (25) Chicken breast Chicken thigh Flounder Snapper Trout Halibut Mackerel Bass Salmon steak Salmon fillet Shrimp New York steak Rib eye steak Round steak Ground beef Beef ribs Rump roast Beef stew meat Pork loin Pork chop Pork ribs Baby back ribs Bacon Pork roast Lamb chops Lamb rack Venison steaks

Asparagus Avocado Artichoke hearts Brussels sprouts Beets* Carrots Celery Daikon Zucchini Fennel Root Kale Chard Dandelion greens Spinach Acorn Squash* Butternut Squash* Yam* Sweet Potato* Red pepper Yellow pepper Green pepper Red cabbage Green cabbage Napa cabbage

Coconut oil Olive oil Macadamia oil Avocado oil Lard

Allspice Basil Cardamom Cinnamon Celery seed Dill Fenugreek Garlic Ginger Curry-Red Curry-Green Curry-Yellow Oregano Cillantro Nutmeg Rosemary Thyme Garam Masala Bay Leaf Salt Herbs de Provance Chili powder Paprika Cumin Black pepper

Existing documents

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Revised documents

Re�nement of docum

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>>

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Constructed Visualization

Joshua Kitlas

(evolution of a system)

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Education

Field Study 3-Intervention