This thesis investigates the connection between open access - the free online availability and distribution of scientific and scholarly publications - and the 'developing world' from a post-development perspective. It takes a discourse analytical approach, drawing predominantly on Michel Foucault's understanding in discourse. It aims to answer the following questions: - Which notions of science, of development and progress, of knowledge as well as of information and technology are capitalised on in the open access debates and in which way are they shaped as a consequence? - Which discursive effects can be established, what are the results and of which kind are they? The thesis is divided into six chapters, chapters 2 to 5 are grouped into two parts. In the introduction (chapter 1) the general problem space is outlined, the connection between the open access movement and the 'developing world' is established; the research approach is briefly sketched, followed by a presentation of the research questions. Furthermore, the relevance of the study for Library and Information Science is discussed. Chapter 2 introduces the notion of discourse. It contains a discussion of the Foucauldian concept of discourse in relation to the notions of knowledge, truth, and power, as well as resistance, governmentality, and pastoral power. The manifestation of discourse in language is discussed with reference to Michel pecheux. The way in which discourses are dispersed unevenly in society is examined. It concludes with a presentation of the concept of the discursive procedure, which forms the basis for the analyses. Chapter 3 introduces post-development theory, specifically focusing on development discourse. It presents and problematises the concept of devt;lopment, of poverty and ignorance, as well as of science. The historical foundations of dev~lopmentdiscourse and the role of science and technology in it are examined. Chapter 4 investigates the representation of open access in its relation to development. It is based on a corpus consisting of 38 articles and similar publications and 5 statements and declarations. The latter are also examined from a genre perspective. The following discursive procedures are identified: (1) Leaving a blank or defining the undefinable: 111e elusiveness of the 'developing world', (2) Technologism and technological determinism, (3) Economism, (4) Scientific centralism and scientism, (5) Temporal distancing. It concludes with a discussion of the guiding metaphor, the divide. Chapter 5 investigates how open access is debated in the context of development. It draws on a two-week long email debate organised by a development institution in 2006. 146 postings by 49 participants are included in the analysis. The following discursive procedures are identified: (1) Technologism, (2) The role of the profession: mediation, translation, and control, (3) Rural people and the lack of education, (4) Developmentalism and antidev~ lopmentalism: Positioning oneself in and against development. It concludes with a discussion of the guiding metaphor, the barrier, as well as ofidentity construction. The concluding chapter 6 is concerned with providing a sum-up of the analyses with a view to answering the research questions. It considers a possible future for the open access movement in its relation to the 'developing world' and concludes with a brief discussion of issues relevant for future research. The main findings suggest that the 'developing world' is constructed around the coordinates provided by mainstream development thought. Open access is inserted into its discursive repertoire as a problem of development, a tool for its delivery, and its measure. The dominant understanding of information adheres to a sender/receiver model. However, ruptures occur in significant places. This requires a partial re-positioning of the way in which development is framed and of open access' role in it.

Information systems that are available today do not optimally address the information-seeking behaviour of scholars, particularly those who belong to scientific communities; as a result, scholarly discovery is often cumbersome and incomplete. The hypothesis of this study is that an information-seeking system that is designed to address the nature of scholarly materials and the information seeking behaviour of scholars, particularly the members of one scientific community, will increase the effectiveness of the scholars’ searches and enable them to find and obtain relevant materials with greater ease and precision than current practices do. The information-seeking behaviour and search practices deployed by high-energy physics (HEP) researchers are explored through a series of interviews and observations. More than 2,100 responses obtained from a HEP survey are also examined; in particular, the participants’ open-ended responses are analysed. On the basis of qualitative and quantitative research regarding the characteristics of HEP scientists and their information-seeking practices, a set of six personas, representing typical members of the HEP community, is constructed. An original model is developed that leverages existing models of information behaviour, information seeking, and information searching and reflects the full pectrum of active information-seeking and information-searching practices of HEP scholars and the nature of the data that these researchers seek. The model is then evaluated by means of seven scenarios involving the personas constructed earlier. On the basis of the information-seeking model, a software user interface is designed as the future interface for the HEP INSPIRE information system. The user-interface design is corroborated through the model, and the personas are used to evaluate the design. Methods are suggested for long-term quantitative and qualitative monitoring of the ways in which this design supports HEP researchers. It is argued that the proposed user interface, which provides an information environment that accommodates the information-seeking practices of the HEP community in a friendly and efficient manner, will support HEP academic research—and research of other scholarly communities that share some of the HEP community’s characteristics—by shortening the search process and improving the findability of quality materials. This thesis contributes to the body of information-science knowledge in the novel modelling of information-seeking behaviour of a well-defined scientific community, the use of personas for the modelling, and the concretization of the model into a new user-interface design.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2007. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-192).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4523. Adviser: Caroline Haythornthwaite. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-174) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-09, Section: A, page: 3205. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Oct. 30, 2008). Adviser: Elin K. Jacob.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science, 2006. / Adviser: Elin K. Jacob.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 153-164)

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Computer Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-101). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29634

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2008. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 148-158).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-11, Section: A, page: 4528. Adviser: Boyd Rayward. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 264-279) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.