The contemporary information context is paradoxically antipathetic to the traditional information professions, and there are indications that, in order to survive, they will need to undergo radical transformation. This would require a re-conceptualisation of the "objects" of their knowledge domain, the entities and phenomena which comprise it, and the relationships between these entities (with particular reference to the concept of "information" itself). The term "information" is used in a multitude of contexts in the so called "Information Society", and this overuse has undermined the disciplinary and professional position of the information professions: the site of information work is contested. Furthermore, the changing context of the Information Society has challenged and diminished the essential task of the information professions: to deal with society's information problems and needs, as distinguished from the provision of information and communication technologies. In addition, access to information itself is contested as it is increasingly mediated by technology. The aim of this work is to develop a conceptual model by stabilising the defining concepts and constructs of information work, so that the social objectives and praxis of the field are elucidated and supported. The study proposes that such a theoretical framework could support an emergent metacommunity of information professionals.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/289431 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Myburgh, Susan |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | EN-AUS |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Susan Myburgh 2009 |
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