Volume 11, Issue 2 (9-2024)
Human Information Interaction 2024, 11(2): 48-82 |
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Akbari Golzar M, Naderi A. Studies of human interaction with blockchain technology in Iran. Human Information Interaction 2024; 11 (2)
URL: http://hii.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3166-en.html
URL: http://hii.khu.ac.ir/article-1-3166-en.html
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran. Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (784 Views)
Introduction
Blockchain technology was first introduced in 2008 as a peer-to-peer electronic payment system. This technology has since attracted widespread attention in the field of scientific research as well as industry. Blockchain has been examined from various aspects. For example, a body of research examines how blockchain's decentralized approach could completely disrupt current business models, financial systems, organizations, and civil governance. Arguably, the clearest evidence of the growth and pervasiveness of this technology is the combined blockchain market capitalization reaching more than 2.6 trillion cryptocurrencies in 2024. In addition, development activity has been steadily growing over the past decade, and numerous projects have been launched to improve the core design of the blockchain (Bitcoin) (such as Ethereum, Kava, and Solana blockchains, etc.). Several articles have systematically reviewed the studies conducted in the field of blockchain in the country using the meta-combination method, all of which focus on the review of foreign articles. Due to the growth and widespread use of blockchain technology in the country and the increase in the scope of domestic research related to it, a systematic review of the research conducted inside the country also seemed necessary. In this regard, the aim of this article is to systematically review internal articles in the blockchain field, focusing on the human-computer interaction (HCI) field of study.
Methods and Materoal
In this research, we have used the qualitative meta-method for a systematic review of blockchain research. A systematic review is a method of identifying, evaluating, and interpreting past research related to a research question, topic area, or phenomenon of interest. The focus of this review is to summarize the HCI literature on blockchain technology. We organized this literature review in four comprehensive steps, following the PRISMA systematic review protocol.
Resultss and Discussion
We found that the articles in our sample adopted one of the following two perspectives. They conducted their research either on blockchain technology (74 articles, 66%) or specifically on cryptocurrencies (37 articles, 34%). Articles related to blockchain technology mainly discuss the understanding of users' motivation, perceived risks and the application of this technology, and articles related to cryptocurrencies also deal more with the jurisprudential and legal aspects of cryptocurrencies and the analysis of transaction risks and user experience. Most empirical studies that deal with people evolve around cryptocurrency, while contributions to blockchain often lead to products or evaluations of financial and administrative systems.
After providing an overview of blockchain research in the HCI community, we present and discuss the salient themes that emerged from the literature review. We identified 4 main themes:
Blockchain technology was first introduced in 2008 as a peer-to-peer electronic payment system. This technology has since attracted widespread attention in the field of scientific research as well as industry. Blockchain has been examined from various aspects. For example, a body of research examines how blockchain's decentralized approach could completely disrupt current business models, financial systems, organizations, and civil governance. Arguably, the clearest evidence of the growth and pervasiveness of this technology is the combined blockchain market capitalization reaching more than 2.6 trillion cryptocurrencies in 2024. In addition, development activity has been steadily growing over the past decade, and numerous projects have been launched to improve the core design of the blockchain (Bitcoin) (such as Ethereum, Kava, and Solana blockchains, etc.). Several articles have systematically reviewed the studies conducted in the field of blockchain in the country using the meta-combination method, all of which focus on the review of foreign articles. Due to the growth and widespread use of blockchain technology in the country and the increase in the scope of domestic research related to it, a systematic review of the research conducted inside the country also seemed necessary. In this regard, the aim of this article is to systematically review internal articles in the blockchain field, focusing on the human-computer interaction (HCI) field of study.
Methods and Materoal
In this research, we have used the qualitative meta-method for a systematic review of blockchain research. A systematic review is a method of identifying, evaluating, and interpreting past research related to a research question, topic area, or phenomenon of interest. The focus of this review is to summarize the HCI literature on blockchain technology. We organized this literature review in four comprehensive steps, following the PRISMA systematic review protocol.
Resultss and Discussion
We found that the articles in our sample adopted one of the following two perspectives. They conducted their research either on blockchain technology (74 articles, 66%) or specifically on cryptocurrencies (37 articles, 34%). Articles related to blockchain technology mainly discuss the understanding of users' motivation, perceived risks and the application of this technology, and articles related to cryptocurrencies also deal more with the jurisprudential and legal aspects of cryptocurrencies and the analysis of transaction risks and user experience. Most empirical studies that deal with people evolve around cryptocurrency, while contributions to blockchain often lead to products or evaluations of financial and administrative systems.
After providing an overview of blockchain research in the HCI community, we present and discuss the salient themes that emerged from the literature review. We identified 4 main themes:
- Decentralized economy and smart contracts (13 articles, 12%)
- Users' understanding and participation of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies (48 articles, 43%)
- Application of blockchain technology in a specific field (34 articles, 31%)
- Jurisprudence and legal issues around blockchain and cryptocurrencies (16 articles, 14%).
Conclusion
After completing the systematic review of domestic articles, the most interesting point for us is the difference between domestic articles and international topics. As mentioned in some parts of the article, there are three general interests in the international research space that are less observed in domestic research. The first is issues related to the concept of trust in blockchain technologies. The second is the issues related to technical infrastructure and generally the way of socio-technical interactions in society, and the third is related to blockchain-based micro-projects such as Ethereum, Kava, Solana, etc., which are not considered in Iran.
The blockchain ecosystem has experienced rapid growth over the past decade. While until recently, Ethereum was the only widely used blockchain platform supporting decentralized applications, today several new blockchains (such as Solana, Kava, Polkadot, Terra, etc.) have been launched for decentralized applications. Many believe that this new generation of blockchains, which now offer instant transactions with low transaction fees, promises the third generation of the web. Web 1.0 allowed users to read (consume) content on the Internet. Web 2.0 added authoring options and the ability to generate content, thereby enabling rich interactive Internet applications. Powered by blockchain, Web 3.0 now adds the ability to own, create, and distribute digital assets. The first signs of this paradigm shift are the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT), which so far account for more than two-thirds of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain and are driving user adoption of Ethereum. These topics and developments are being noticed by researchers all over the world, but we did not find any study in these fields inside the country. This issue is particularly important from the aspect that Web 3.0 challenges human interaction and cooperation on the Internet and, in a sense, mixes the human and technological space together.The need to pay attention to these research fields as well as the acceptance of interdisciplinary studies (specifically socio-technical studies) should be taken into account in order to open a gate for understanding the fast-paced global technological developments in the space of social studies and a field for presenting theories. To provide a new society in accordance with the socio-cultural context of Iranian society.
After completing the systematic review of domestic articles, the most interesting point for us is the difference between domestic articles and international topics. As mentioned in some parts of the article, there are three general interests in the international research space that are less observed in domestic research. The first is issues related to the concept of trust in blockchain technologies. The second is the issues related to technical infrastructure and generally the way of socio-technical interactions in society, and the third is related to blockchain-based micro-projects such as Ethereum, Kava, Solana, etc., which are not considered in Iran.
The blockchain ecosystem has experienced rapid growth over the past decade. While until recently, Ethereum was the only widely used blockchain platform supporting decentralized applications, today several new blockchains (such as Solana, Kava, Polkadot, Terra, etc.) have been launched for decentralized applications. Many believe that this new generation of blockchains, which now offer instant transactions with low transaction fees, promises the third generation of the web. Web 1.0 allowed users to read (consume) content on the Internet. Web 2.0 added authoring options and the ability to generate content, thereby enabling rich interactive Internet applications. Powered by blockchain, Web 3.0 now adds the ability to own, create, and distribute digital assets. The first signs of this paradigm shift are the emergence of decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFT), which so far account for more than two-thirds of transactions on the Ethereum blockchain and are driving user adoption of Ethereum. These topics and developments are being noticed by researchers all over the world, but we did not find any study in these fields inside the country. This issue is particularly important from the aspect that Web 3.0 challenges human interaction and cooperation on the Internet and, in a sense, mixes the human and technological space together.The need to pay attention to these research fields as well as the acceptance of interdisciplinary studies (specifically socio-technical studies) should be taken into account in order to open a gate for understanding the fast-paced global technological developments in the space of social studies and a field for presenting theories. To provide a new society in accordance with the socio-cultural context of Iranian society.
Keywords: blockchain, cryptocurrency, human-technology interaction, systematic review, qualitative meta-synthesis.
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