Users as Research Inventions: How Research Categories Perpetuate Inequities

Dervin, Brenda

doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1989.tb01053.x

Cited by 120 publications

(54 citation statements)

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“…The point here, however, is that in fact the ontological and epistemological assumptions driving these changes are fundamentally the same. This issue is discussed in somewhat more detail in Dervin (1989b).…”

Section: Information ++ Democracy Redefinedmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…We can begin to envision a different kind of informa-35 See Dervin (1989aDervin ( , 1989bDervin ( , 1992 and Dervin and Clark (1993) for discussions that do address this question directly. tion system for democracies-an information system that is truly multiperspectival, which mandates a procedural circling of the reality being made, maintained, destroyed, and remade by humans as they struggle individually and collectively through their lives.…”

Section: Information ++ Democracy Redefinedmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Information ↔ democracy: An examination of underlying assumptions

Dervin

1994

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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This article assumes a widely accepted narrative, with myth-like status, which binds together dominant conceptions of the information -democracy relationship. The article aims to "deconstruct" this narrative by examining it in the framework of six sets of assumptions regarding ontology (views of the nature of reality and human beings) and epistemology (views of the nature of knowing and the standards of judging knowing as informative). The six sets of assumptions are presented as stereotypes, or ideal type extractions, of literatures relevant to discussions of information in the sciences and humanities. The six sets are labeled: dogma, naturalism, cultural relativity, constructivism, post-modernism, and communitarianism. Each set is examined in terms of how it serves the information -democracy narrative and how it leaves spaces for power to exert forces which in effect defy the narrative. Implications for the design and implementation of information/communication systems are discussed.The Information -Democracy Narrative' When we bring the two concepts "information resources" and "democracy" together, we become, wittingly or unwittingly, enmeshed in a widely accepted, weblike narrative based on these premises:2 r The author thanks Sam Fassbinder. Leah Lievrouw, Tony Osborne, and Peter Shields, in particular, for their insightful and useful comments on the draft manuscript, and is grateful to Robert Huesca, Priya Jaikumar-Mahey, and Peter Strimer with whom discussions have been of enormous assistance in the development of these ideas. A very much abbreviated version of this article was presented under the title "Debating different approaches to studying the organization of information-the communication paradigm." at the annual meeting of the American Society for Information Science. Columbus, Ohio, October 1993.* This article focuses on the dominant narrative which the author extracts primarily from U.S. discourses relating to the design and operation of information/communication systems for democracies. As such. the narrative is anchored in market-based conceptions of societal arrangements and accompanying assumptions of liberal pluralism regarding the nature of citizen participation in the state. The narrative has wide reach, however, and becomes increasingly pervasive in most, but not all, Western treatments ofthe issues. Further, the market-based That access to "good information" is critical for the working of "good democracy,"; that when information is allowed to flow freely in a free marketplace, "truth" or "the best information" naturally surfaces much like cream in fresh whole milk; that the value of "good information" is such that any rational person will seek it out and that, therefore, availability equals accessibility; that "good information" ought to be available to all citizens in a democracy, that there should be no information inequities; and that it is unfortunate that some citizens have fewer resources, and that we must therefore provide means of access to "good information" for these citizens3Ta...

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Section: Information ++ Democracy Redefinedmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Information ++ Democracy Redefinedmentioning

confidence: 98%

Information ↔ democracy: An examination of underlying assumptions

Dervin

1994

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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“…Noting that gaps in information lead to gaps in power, Tehranian (1990) predicts political and cultural backlash. Dervin (1989) points out 85 JACR MAY 1996 that the information-poor make up a sizeable group, with one third of Americans functionally illiterate and over 50 percent not voting. Some observers (generally opponents of regulation) suggest that a legislated commitment to serve the public interest is not necessary because the free market-by definition-will serve the public.…”

Section: Public Interest Haginsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The inconvenient public interest: Policy challenges in the age of information

Hagins¹

1996

Journal of Applied Communication Research

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“…The emphasis of this research gradually shifted from describing how people behaved in libraries to determining the underlying needs of different populations and the context in which those needs exist (Katzer, 1987). Brenda Dervin carried this work a step further by focusing on how people use information to solve problems in their everyday lives, an approach she calls "sense-making" (Dervin, 1976(Dervin, , 1989Dervin & Fraser, 1985;Dervin & Nilan, 1986)." More recently Elfreda Chatman's research has stepped beyond the bounds of the library to examine the information needs and sources of low income populations (Chatman, 1983(Chatman, , 1987(Chatman, , 1990.…”

Section: Creating An Institutional Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 98%

Information technologies and social equity: Confronting the revolution

Doctor

1991

J. Am. Soc. Inf. Sci.

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The applications of the computer have developed to such an extent that the economic and social organization of our society and our way of life may well be transformed as a result. Our society should therefore be in a position both to foster this development and to control it so that it can be made to serve the cause of democracy and human growth. Valery G&card d'Estaing President, Republic of FranceFrom a letter to Simon Nora, Inspector General des Finances December 20, 1976(Nora & Mint, 1980 Under prevailing policies, serious social equity issues are arising as we move further into the Information Age. Recent surveys indicate that there is a significant gap between the "information rich" and "information poor," but there is little up-to-date research on the magnitude, nature, and consequences of this gap. As a society we are giving inadequate attention to ensuring that as new computer and telecommunications technologies become more pervasive, their benefits are distributed in ways that don't exacerbate existing disparities between the rich and poor. The underlying issue is one of social empowerment. If "knowledge is power," then a dominant element of our society for the rest of the century is likely to be a struggle for control of information resources and the power associated with that control. We can begin to deal with these issues by creating a system of National and Regional Institutes for Information Democracy. The Institutes would explore the nature of information-related empowerment issues, the character and causes of the "information gap," and would develop and implement means for mitigating associated equity problems. They would serve as a development and support structure for state and community-based Experimental Mass Information Utilities, a concept developed by Harold Sackman and his co-workers in the early 1970's. The Institutes system would provide a focus for research and implementation activities designed to mitigate equity problems, and in the process, would expand information industry markets.

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Users as Research Inventions: How Research Categories Perpetuate Inequities

Abstract: By &mng conceptud systems that set u@ murket-based disparities, we allow tbe new technologies to do only wbat the old ones do and blame the user for the failure of the system.

Cited by 120 publications

References 13 publications

Information ↔ democracy: An examination of underlying assumptions

Information ↔ democracy: An examination of underlying assumptions

The inconvenient public interest: Policy challenges in the age of information

Information technologies and social equity: Confronting the revolution