Information sharing in serious leisure as a source of Ibasho and Tanoshimi: A narrative from bonsai growers in Australia

Research output: Other contribution to conferenceAbstractpeer-review

121 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper presents selective findings from an ongoing project exploring information activities of bonsai growers in Australia. Bonsai is a trendy hobby globally, and the volume of information about different aspects of it is massive and available in numerous formats. This paper focuses on information sharing as a major area of interest within the human information behaviour scholarship. While information sharing is a common information activity in everyday life, most studies in this field have focused on work-related, health or educational settings, and fewer studies have investigated leisure contexts such as hobbies. This study provides new insights into information sharing patterns in a unique hobby. It contributes to research on information behaviour by demonstrating how bonsai growers share information within their communities of interest. Furthermore, the paper borrowed two conceptual terms from the leisure studies scholarship to map the collected data into a multidisciplinary domain. The first term is “Ibasho”, which in Japanese means a sense of comfort and emotional safety that a person feels in a specific context. Research in leisure studies shows Ibasho generates personal identity, social ties, and group affiliation. This term refers to a place where people feel they belong, and others accept them as they are. It is a unique concept in Japanese culture, and the closest term in English is “niche”. The second concept is Tanoshimi which means enjoyment, fun or hobby. Tanoshimi refers to joyful experiences that people look forward to experiencing in a context and anticipate a positive and enjoyable outcome.
Original languageEnglish
Pages1-6
Number of pages6
Publication statusPublished - 17 Jun 2022
EventThe European Chapter of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T-EC): Information Science Trends 2022 - Online
Duration: 15 Jun 202217 Jun 2022
https://www.asist.org/chapters/europe/
https://www.asist.org/2022/06/09/ist-22-programme-announced-jun-15-17-online/ (Link to program)

Conference

ConferenceThe European Chapter of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T-EC)
Abbreviated titleUntold Stories in Information Science
Period15/06/2217/06/22
OtherJoin us online on Wednesday 15th – Friday 17th June 2022, at 14.00-17.00 (BST/Dublin time; see https://tinyurl.com/bdetwf8x for your time zone) for a festival of information science, organised by ASIS&T (Association for Information Science and Technology) European Chapter!

This conference is free to ASIS&T members (but registration is required – remember to login into the ASIS&T website to enable your discount). Student non-members: US $10; Other non-members: US $25.
Internet address

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Information sharing in serious leisure as a source of Ibasho and Tanoshimi: A narrative from bonsai growers in Australia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this