IntroductionStudies of information needs, seeking, and use (INSU) make up approximately eight percent of research literature in library and information science (LIS) (Julien & Duggan, 2000). Over the past 20 years or so, this subfield of LIS has acknowledged a shift in focus from the study of people interacting directly with information systems to the study of the people themselves and how they seek and use information independently of specific sources and systems (Pettigrew, Fidel, & Bruce, 20011. The "user-centered paradigm" not only emphasizes the understanding of information practices from the human standpoint but also views these practices as a process that takes place within specified situations and contexts (Vakkari, Savolainen, & Dervin, 1997;Wilson & Allen, 1999).However, conceptualizing context for the study of information needs, seeking, and use remains problematic for INSU researchers. What elements constitute a context? How are contexts understood by their participants? How and why do they change? How should information needs, seeking, and use be studied from a user-centered standpoint and in context? Although there is general agreement that context constitutes a frame of reference for information behavior ) there is little agreement within the INSU literature as to how such a frame is established by or for the actor group1 in question or how it operates with regard to information practices. In spite of a growing emphasis on the problem of context, most INSU literature fails to address it theoretically (Dervin, 1997;Johnson, 2003;Lueg, 2002).The purpose of this review is to contribute to research on information seeking in context by examining and comparing existing models of context in this field and analyzing how context has been conceptualized in current INSU empirical research. This chapter expands and further develops previous ARIST reviews of INSU literature: in particular, chapters by Allen 273 274 Annual Review of Information Science and Technology as well as recent INSU reviews by Julien and Duggan (20001, Case (2002), andMcKechnie, Baker, Greenwood, andJulien (2002).The research selected for this review includes many of the papers published in the proceedings of five recent biennial conferences on "Information Seeking in Context,"2 as well as other published refereed literature in library and information science that foregrounds context as an aspect of INSU research. Due to the recent growth in contextcentered studies, the emphasis in this chapter is on literature published over the past 10 years; nevertheless, earlier context-centered models will be brought in for discussion as appropriate. Furthermore, in keeping with the user-centered stance that information seekers should be viewed holistically (Dervin & Nilan, 1986), this review has excluded research in which context is limited to an electronic surround (i.e., a Web site or screen interface) as well as research limited to information retrieval (i.e., the study of persons already engaged with an information system) (cf. Savolainen, 19...
IntroductionDemocracy is the generative, liberating, and animating force for participation, citizenship, and political activity in the public sphere. Politics is essential to the fabric of social life, a means for individuals and groups to pursue and mobilize the interests of self and collectivity. Active citizen involvement in governance leads to better policy decisions, encourages people to believe that decisions are more legitimate, improves the value of people's lives, contributes to tolerating diverse and conflicting views, makes government institutions accountable, and creates greater support for the political system. These ideals and aspirations of normative political theory are central to a discourse on democratic governance that promotes information and communication technologies (ICTs) as a means of creating an authentic public sphere for deliberation; transforming political cultures, political institutions, and political identities; improving government's relations with citizens; invigorating voluntary associations in the civil society; and engaging citizens in collective action that results in institutional change.To what extent does the reality of the political world mirror or deviate from normative political theory? This chapter reviews theoretical conceptions and empirical evidence on e-government, e-governance, and 41 1 412 Annual Review of Information Science and Technology e-democracy and assesses the status of knowledge about the contribution that ICTs make to political life. Our goal is to identify robust empirical evidence that will allow readers to distinguish between hype and reality and between simplistic and more realistic assessments of how ICTs are linked to political culture, institutions, and behavior.We extend earlier examinations by M I S T that explored various facets of the contributions of technology and information to society, economy, government, and public policy. For example, authors have discussed the processes and problems of formulating international and national information and technology policies (). Other chapters have been devoted to the problematics of information and communication as they relate to self, organizational life, society, and the polis. These chapters include reviews of the relationship between individual and group identity and communication and information (Davenport & Hall, 2002;Herring, 2002;Palmquist, 1992). Sawyer and Eschenfelder (2002) and Kling and Callahan (2003) examined the indeterminacy of outcomes of technological innovation in social and organizational contexts. Kochen's (1983) impressive M I S T chapter on the use of information and knowledge to solve social problems was followed ten and twenty years later, respectively, with reviews by Doctor (1992) and Lievrouw and Farb (2003) of the relationships between democracy, social equity (justice), and information access and use.This prior work contributes to our focus on political arrangements and technology. Specifically, we want to understand how political theorists have approached claims that...
Cultured embryonic neurons develop functional networks that transmit synaptic signals over multiple sequentially connected neurons as revealed by multi-electrode arrays (MEAs) embedded within the culture dish. Signal streams of ex vivo networks contain spikes and bursts of varying amplitude and duration. Despite the random interactions inherent in dissociated cultures, neurons are capable of establishing functional ex vivo networks that transmit signals among synaptically connected neurons, undergo developmental maturation, and respond to exogenous stimulation by alterations in signal patterns. These characteristics indicate that a considerable degree of organization is an inherent property of neurons. We demonstrate herein that (1) certain signal types occur more frequently than others, (2) the predominant signal types change during and following maturation, (3) signal predominance is dependent upon inhibitory activity, and (4) certain signals preferentially follow others in a non-reciprocal manner. These findings indicate that the elaboration of complex signal streams comprised of a non-random distribution of signal patterns is an emergent property of ex vivo neuronal networks.
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