Title
Information [--] Democracy - An Examination Of Underlying Assumptions
Abstract
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 eff ect defy the narrative. Implications for the design and implementation of information/communication systems are discussed.
Year
DOI
Venue
1994
10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(199407)45:6<369::AID-ASI3>3.0.CO;2-5
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE
DocType
Volume
Issue
Journal
45
6
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
0002-8231
13
3.16
References 
Authors
0
1
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Brenda Dervin122815.36