{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,23]],"date-time":"2026-02-23T20:32:16Z","timestamp":1771878736848,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"Emerald","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,28]],"date-time":"2021-06-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1624838400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/site-policies"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JD"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,11]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Purpose<\/jats:title><jats:p>This paper offers a conceptual discussion of repetition and joy in the context of information and their relation to the good life.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Design\/methodology\/approach<\/jats:title><jats:p>Joy is defined as an integrative element of the good life which can be achieved through repetition. This may be surprising, given that our most ready-to-hand associations with \u201crepetition\u201d are negative in tenor rather than positive. Building on the work of repetition theorists S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard and Gertrude Stein, we can discern three different forms of repetition: that looking backwards (e.g. rereading), that looking forwards (e.g. art-making) and that looking inwards (e.g. chiasmus). Throughout this paper, information-related examples are given and discussed as vignettes that move the conversation forward.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Findings<\/jats:title><jats:p>These examples lead to a nascent theory of why the repetition of information can spark joy and not just tedium. First, its stability and predictability that instill comfort in us. Second, its unifying force that brings us to experience wholeness. Third, its invitation to keep the repetition going through creation, further helping us feel part of the world. And finally, its paradoxicality\u2014as strict repetition is impossible\u2014which requires change, paving the way for satisfying surprises and delights.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title content-type=\"abstract-subheading\">Originality\/value<\/jats:title><jats:p>Repetition is a ubiquitous and theoretically interesting phenomenon when it comes to information, and though it is implicit in some information science research, it has not yet been theorized directly. Moreover, this paper connects this issue to an emerging \u201cpositive\u201d orientation in information studies.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1108\/jd-01-2021-0011","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,24]],"date-time":"2021-06-24T03:19:48Z","timestamp":1624504788000},"page":"1364-1378","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Rereading, art-making and other joys: toward a theory of information, repetition and the good life"],"prefix":"10.1108","volume":"77","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0226-7799","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tim","family":"Gorichanaz","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"140","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref001","article-title":"Reddit comes up with easy solution to Netflix's most annoying problem","year":"2018","journal-title":"Polygon"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref002","unstructured":"Ashbery, J. (2013), \u201cThe short answer\u201d, available at: https:\/\/www.poetryfoundation.org\/poems\/148138\/the-short-answer."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref003","article-title":"Sweden recognises new file-sharing religion Kopimism","author":"BBC","year":"2012","journal-title":"BBC"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref004","unstructured":"Benjamin, W. (1936), \u201cThe work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction\u201d, available at: https:\/\/www.marxists.org\/reference\/subject\/philosophy\/works\/ge\/benjamin.htm (accessed February 2005)."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref005","unstructured":"Bowker (2018), \u201cSelf-publishing in the United States, 2012-2017: print and Ebooks\u201d, available at: http:\/\/media.bowker.com\/documents\/bowker-selfpublishing-report2017.pdf."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref006","unstructured":"Brickman, P. and Campbell, D.T. (1971), \u201cHedonic relativism and planning the good society\u201d, in Appley, M.H. (Ed.), Adaptation Level Theory: A Symposium, Academic Press, New York, pp. 287-302."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref007","volume-title":"Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning","year":"2014"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref008","unstructured":"Brussat, F. and Brussat, M.A. (no date), \u201cJoy\u201d, available at: https:\/\/www.spiritualityandpractice.com\/practices\/alphabet\/view\/17\/joy (accessed 8 July 2020)."},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref009","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1080\/17439760.2019.1685577","article-title":"The cultivation of joy: practices from the Buddhist tradition, positive psychology, and yogic philosophy","volume":"15","year":"2020","journal-title":"The Journal of Positive Psychology"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref010","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"391","DOI":"10.1177\/1470593118777892","article-title":"Reconsumption reconsidered: redressing nostalgia with neo-burlesque","volume":"18","year":"2018","journal-title":"Marketing Theory"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref011","unstructured":"Chicago School of Media Theory (no date), \u201cRepetition\u201d, available at: https:\/\/lucian.uchicago.edu\/blogs\/mediatheory\/keywords\/reptition\/ (accessed 8 July 2020)."},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1177\/0165551512469767","article-title":"Information in social practice: a practice approach to understanding information activities in personal photography","volume":"39","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Information Science"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref013","article-title":"Rainbow balloons fill Fairmount in Philadelphia","year":"2020","journal-title":"Philly Voice"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref014","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"386","DOI":"10.1002\/pra2.34","article-title":"Noticing the unnoticed: lines of work in everyday life information practices","volume":"56","year":"2019","journal-title":"Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref015","article-title":"Letter to posterity","year":"2012","journal-title":"The American Scholar"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref016","volume-title":"The Ethics of Ambiguity","year":"1948"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref017","article-title":"Martin Luther King, Jr.\u2014I have a dream","volume-title":"Davidic Chiasmus and Parallelisms","year":"2011"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref018","first-page":"305","article-title":"Beyond the hedonic treadmill: revising the adaptation theory of well-being","volume":"614","year":"2006","journal-title":"American Psychologist"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref019","first-page":"13","article-title":"East coker","volume-title":"Four Quartets","year":"1959"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref020","volume-title":"An Illustrated Field Guide to the Elements and Principles of Art and Design","year":"2018"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref021","volume-title":"Gauguin's Intimate Journals","year":"1921\/1997"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref022","volume-title":"The Book of Delights","year":"2019"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref023","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.35492\/docam\/3\/2\/5","article-title":"Gauguin's savage document work: understanding as function","volume":"3","year":"2016","journal-title":"Proceedings from the Document Academy"},{"issue":"12","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref024","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1302","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.24142","article-title":"Information experience in personally meaningful activities","volume":"70","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref025","article-title":"On repeat: running ultramarathons","year":"2019","journal-title":"The Smart Set"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref026","article-title":"Why I like to Instagram the sky","year":"2016","journal-title":"The Atlantic"},{"issue":"3","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref027","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"115","DOI":"10.2307\/440855","article-title":"Gertrude Stein's 'portraits'","volume":"11","year":"1965","journal-title":"Twentieth Century Literature"},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref028","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1080\/17439760.2019.1685581","article-title":"Joy: a review of the literature and suggestions for future directions","volume":"15","year":"2020","journal-title":"The Journal of Positive Psychology"},{"issue":"8","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref029","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1131","DOI":"10.1002\/asi.20585","article-title":"Information and higher things in life: addressing the pleasurable and the profound in information science","volume":"58","year":"2007","journal-title":"Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref030","volume-title":"Fear and Trembling \u2013 Repetition","year":"1843\/1983"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref031","unstructured":"Krauss, R. (1986), \u201cThe originality of the avant-garde\u201d, available at: http:\/\/web.mit.edu\/allanmc\/www\/kraussoriginality.pdf."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref032","volume-title":"One Child Reading: My Autobibliography","year":"2016"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref033","unstructured":"McDonald, W. (2017), \u201cS\u00f8ren kierkegaard\u201d, in Zalta, E.N. (Ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Winter 2017 Edition, available at: https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/archives\/win2017\/entries\/kierkegaard\/."},{"issue":"1","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref034","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1007\/s00426-017-0911-5","article-title":"Exploring the repetition bias in voluntary task switching","volume":"82","year":"2018","journal-title":"Psychological Research"},{"issue":"20","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref035","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"716","DOI":"10.2307\/2024942","article-title":"The absurd","volume":"68","year":"1971","journal-title":"The Journal of Philosophy"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref036","volume-title":"Crash Course in Readers' Advisory","year":"2015"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref037","volume-title":"Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time, Volume One)","year":"1913\/2000"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref038","volume-title":"Seeing Ourselves through Technology: How We Use Selfies, Blogs and Wearable Devices to See and Shape Ourselves","year":"2014"},{"issue":"2","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref039","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1086\/662996","article-title":"The temporal and focal dynamics of volitional reconsumption: a phenomenological investigation of repeated hedonic experiences","volume":"39","year":"2012","journal-title":"Journal of Consumer Research"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref040","volume-title":"On Beauty and Being Just","year":"1999"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref041","volume-title":"Books for Living","year":"2017"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref042","volume-title":"Japa Yoga: A Comprehensive Treatise on Mantra-Sastra","year":"2005"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref043","volume-title":"Geography and Plays","year":"1922"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref044","first-page":"165","article-title":"Portraits and repetition","volume-title":"Lectures in America","year":"1935"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref045","unstructured":"Trithemius, J. (1492\/1974), Arnold, K. (Ed.), Praise of Scribes, Colorado Press, Lawrence, KS."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref046","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Volf, M. (2015), \u201cThe crown of the good life: a hypothesis\u201d, in Volf, M. and Crisp, J.E. (Eds), Joy and Human Flourishing: Essays on Theology, Culture and the Good Life, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN, pp. 127-35.","DOI":"10.2307\/j.ctt155j2mp.9"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref047","volume-title":"The Art of Noticing","year":"2017"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref048","volume-title":"What Makes This Book So Great","year":"2014"},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref049","unstructured":"Watson, A. (2020), \u201cNumber of titles published by leading book publishers per year in the United States as of 2019, by company\u201d, available at: https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1089422\/leading-book-publishers-title-count-us\/ (accessed 8 July 2020)."},{"key":"key2021100818411056200_ref050","unstructured":"Wikipedia (2020), \u201cDouble rainbow (viral video)\u201d, available at: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/w\/index.php?title=Double_Rainbow_(viral_video&oldid=960329019) (accessed 8 July 2020)."},{"issue":"4","key":"key2021100818411056200_ref051","article-title":"A general theory of human information behaviour","volume":"21","year":"2016","journal-title":"Information Research"}],"container-title":["Journal of Documentation"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/JD-01-2021-0011\/full\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.emerald.com\/insight\/content\/doi\/10.1108\/JD-01-2021-0011\/full\/html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,24]],"date-time":"2025-07-24T22:33:08Z","timestamp":1753396388000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"http:\/\/www.emerald.com\/jd\/article\/77\/6\/1364-1378\/434424"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,28]]},"references-count":51,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,28]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,10,11]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1108\/JD-01-2021-0011"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1108\/jd-01-2021-0011","relation":{},"ISSN":["0022-0418"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0022-0418","type":"print"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,6,28]]}}}