The impoverished life-world of outsiders

Abstract

Drawing upon a series of studies that examines the information world of poor people, the author discovers four critical concepts that serve as the basis for defining an impoverished life-world. These concepts are risk-taking, secrecy, deception, and situational relevance. Moving back and forth among the worlds of janitors, single mothers, and an aging population, the author develops a conceptual framework that links the world of the information poorthe outsiders-with a world of insiders. Paradoxically, the author finds that the very existence of two worlds is in itself a hindrance to information seeking and sharing behaviors. Insiders, because of their status, reinforce information poverty by neglecting to accept sources of information not created by themselves.

Risk, trust and knowledge networks in farmers’ learning

“…In contrast, studies of people whose lives are characterised by constant levels of perceived very high risk indicate that trust diminishes as the individual declines into a state of anxiety-ridden apprehension of others' motives and behaviour, as lowering self-esteem and perceived selfefficacy in effect entrap such individuals into isolated lifestyles (Chatman, 1996;Chatman and Pendleton, 1995). Yet we hypothesise that under conditions of increasing moderate risk, for persons who have a sense of their own efficacy, self-protective impulses generally form an impetus in the direction of a stronger sense of shared adversity and towards building common bonds, thus both relying on and enabling higher levels of trust.…”

A qualitative approach to examining information transfer via social networks among homeless populations

“…Another analytical framework that is proving useful for assessing the data is to overlie Chatman's theory of information poverty (15). Six propositions are stated.…”

Reducing Intellectual Poverty of Outsiders within Academic Spaces through Informal Peer Mentorship

“…It is a social position that acknowledges the ways in which unequal power relations privilege some, while simultaneously denying others access to knowledge or resources. As described by Chatman (1996):…”