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Dissertation Information for Lai Ma

NAME:
- Lai Ma

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- Indiana University (USA) (2013)

ADVISORS:
- Ronald E Day

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Howard Rosenbaum
- Hamid Ekbia
- Phil Carspecken

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: Information in Our World: Conceptions of Information and Problems of Method in Information Science

Abstract: Many concepts of information have been proposed and discussed in library and information science. These concepts of information can be broadly categorized as empirical and situational information. Unlike nomenclatures in many sciences, however, the concept of information in library and information science does not bear a generally accepted definition and does not serve as the basis or assumptions for research studies. Nevertheless, every use of the term 'information' and every conceptualization of information are based on certain epistemological assumptions. How do we understand 'information' as a foundational concept of information science and what are the consequences? Based on the social ontology suggested in the theory of communicative action, this study shows how the understanding of the term 'information' could be communicatively constructed and how it may become 'technicized' due to the systematic collection, storage, and organization of information. Technicized information not only means that the production of information may be subject to control and manipulation, it also entails that users may accept the cultural and social values embedded in information infrastructures without question and criticism. Epistemological and methodological issues are important and crucial because data or information are decontextualized and recontextualized at different levels in information infrastructures and hence should be a primary concern in information, information-related, and data-driven research.

MPACT Scores for Lai Ma

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2014-02-09 17:06:47

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