Double helix relationships in use and design of informing systems: lessons to learn from phenomenology and hermeneutics

The theme of this monograph of Informing Science is a dialectic we perceive to exist between meaningful use and reflection upon use. This dialectic between use and reflection on use (or thinking, and thinking about thinking) may be considered in the following way. Each of these elements is subject to change. As reflection triggers change in use, and such change triggers further reflection, a spiral comes about. Lived human experience, and reflection upon that experience, seems to shape a double helix. The monograph contains contributions exploring particular ways in which studies of use could benefit from a relationship to philosophical frameworks such as hermeneutics and phenomenology.