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Article
Publication date: 27 November 2017

Jan Michael Nolin, Ann-Sofie Axelsson, Alen Doracic, Claes Lennartsson, Annemaree Lloyd and Gustaf Nelhans

The purpose of this paper is to respond to an earlier article in the Journal of Documentation: The Cult of the “I”.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to respond to an earlier article in the Journal of Documentation: The Cult of the “I”.

Design/methodology/approach

The method is a form of critical response.

Findings

Numerous problems regarding the The Cult of the “I” article are discussed.

Originality/value

This paper puts forward views about the iSchools Movement.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 74 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 6 November 2019

Jan Michael Nolin

Principled discussions on the economic value of data are frequently pursued through metaphors. This study aims to explore three influential metaphors for talking about the…

1235

Abstract

Purpose

Principled discussions on the economic value of data are frequently pursued through metaphors. This study aims to explore three influential metaphors for talking about the economic value of data: data are the new oil, data as infrastructure and data as an asset.

Design/methodology/approach

With the help of conceptual metaphor theory, various meanings surrounding the three metaphors are explored. Meanings clarified or hidden through various metaphors are identified. Specific emphasis is placed on the economic value of ownership of data.

Findings

In discussions on data as economic resource, the three different metaphors are used for separate purposes. The most used metaphor, data are the new oil, communicates that ownership of data could lead to great wealth. However, with data as infrastructure data have no intrinsic value. Therefore, profits generated from data resources belong to those processing the data, not those owning it. The data as an asset metaphor can be used to convince organizational leadership that they own data of great value.

Originality/value

This is the first scholarly investigation of metaphors communicating economic value of data. More studies in this area appear urgent, given the power of such metaphors, as well as the increasing importance of data in economics.

Details

Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1477-996X

Keywords

Available. Open Access. Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 January 2022

Pussadee Nonthacumjane and Jan Michael Nolin

This study aims to propose the four different typologies for understanding local information.

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to propose the four different typologies for understanding local information.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applied a conceptual approach to analyze and clarify how the concept local information can be understood in wildly different ways. Furthermore, this study employed conceptual analysis of 36 studies. For the conceptual analysis, coding was applied to formulate and abstract four typologies for understanding local information with specific focus on the Thai cultural heritage setting.

Findings

The four different typologies include local information as an array of different interpretations as diverse meanings of local, local information as cultural heritage, local information as subject of information management and situated local information.

Research limitations/implications

This study mainly focuses relevant typologies for understanding local information in the Thai context.

Originality/value

This study contributes and extends the literature in the local information field and the cultural heritage context. In addition, an eclectic strategy of using several alternative typologies for dealing with essentially contested concepts is suggested. This can be useful not only for supporting librarians working with local information but also in other practices dealing with broadly defined concepts.

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Article
Publication date: 26 April 2018

Jan Michael Nolin

A multitude of transparency movements have been developed and grown strong in recent decades. Despite their growing influence, scholarly studies have focused on individual…

710

Abstract

Purpose

A multitude of transparency movements have been developed and grown strong in recent decades. Despite their growing influence, scholarly studies have focused on individual movements. The purpose of this paper is to make a pioneering contribution in defining transparency movements.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory approach has been used utilizing movement-specific professional and scholarly documents concerning 18 transparency movements.

Findings

Different traditions, ideologies of openness and aspects involving connections between movements have been identified as well as forms of organization.

Originality/value

This is the first attempt at identifying and defining transparency movements as a contemporary phenomenon.

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Article
Publication date: 9 January 2017

Maria Lindh and Jan Michael Nolin

The purpose of this paper is to explore persuasive rhetoric by critically scrutinizing metaphorical devices utilized by leaders of the cloud industry. This paper introduces a…

770

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore persuasive rhetoric by critically scrutinizing metaphorical devices utilized by leaders of the cloud industry. This paper introduces a critical approach to the promotion of cloud technology.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 13 video clips from YouTube were analyzed, containing presentations and talks delivered by leaders of Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – four of the most influential companies within the information technology industry, sometimes referred to as GAFA. With the help of conceptual metaphor theory, often-repeated metaphors for cloud technologies reveal what properties were promoted and hidden.

Findings

GAFA mainly used the same persuasive metaphors to promote cloud computing’s positive aspects. Potentially negative or complex issues were mostly avoided. Cloud technology was uniformly described in metaphors of control, empowerment, transformation and automation. Implicitly, GAFA exerts power through the extensive dissemination of their metaphors and these are used in order to negotiate and overcome doubts about cloud computing and related technologies.

Originality/value

This is the first study aimed at understanding the persuasive rhetoric of GAFA, seen as a uniform object of study.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 73 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 19 January 2010

Jan Nolin and Fredrik Åström

LIS has been described as a fragmented field in crisis, with an increased competition from other fields; and lacking in development of theories. The purpose of this paper is to…

5688

Abstract

Purpose

LIS has been described as a fragmented field in crisis, with an increased competition from other fields; and lacking in development of theories. The purpose of this paper is to articulate a strategy in which the perceived weakness can be seen as a source of strength.

Design/methodology/approach

The text builds mostly on reflections on meta‐theoretical and science‐organisation literature. Ten distinct problems for the research field are identified and discussed in order to provide a viable strategy for the future.

Findings

While it is common to suggest a convergent movement toward the idealised characteristics of the strong research discipline as a recipe against fragmentation, a strong convergent movement is suggested that feeds off the fragmented character of the field. What is commonly perceived as a weakness, the multidimensional character of the field, can be translated into a strategic resource.

Originality/value

The paper provides a fresh perspective on the strategic situation of LIS.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 66 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 4 April 2016

Jan Nolin and Nasrine Olson

The purpose of this paper is to explore and engage with connections between the evolving technology of the Internet of Things (IoT) and notions of convenience. In particular, the…

7510

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and engage with connections between the evolving technology of the Internet of Things (IoT) and notions of convenience. In particular, the concept of alpha convenience is introduced in order to articulate the broad scope of Internet “any-everything” connectivity, here called “alpha convenience.”

Design/methodology/approach

The recommendations of Constructive Technology Assessment are followed in order to evaluate technology before implementation. The seven value drivers articulated by Fleisch (2010) are utilized in order to envision-specific aspects.

Findings

Three critical aspects relating to alpha convenience are identified and discussed: gossiping technology, personalization and the disempowered smartphone user. It is argued that extreme forms of convenience shift traditional areas of human agency onto technology. It is also noted that alpha convenience tends to develop as ubiquitous feature of future society, making it difficult, if not impossible, to opt out.

Research limitations/implications

The paper focusses on one powerful concept, although the IoT is merely one of several terms used to deliberate the role of next-generation information technology and society. Notable competitors include semantic web, ubiquitous computing, pervasive computing and ambient intelligence.

Social implications

The IoT is predicted to be an intrusive feature into everyday life and the paper identifies important aspects.

Originality/value

This is the first critical discussion of the IoT and convenience. The paper aims at conceptual innovation. Overall, there is a substantial lack of critical scrutiny of the emerging ideas of the IoT.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 26 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Jan Michael Nolin

The article aims to identify areas of potential research support that none of the traditional supportive actors (libraries, IT units, information units) have concerned themselves…

4412

Abstract

Purpose

The article aims to identify areas of potential research support that none of the traditional supportive actors (libraries, IT units, information units) have concerned themselves with, arguing for new tasks and roles for the academic library, specifically the special librarian.

Design/methodology/approach

Areas of “overload” in the digital practice of contemporary researchers are identified and then connected to various personalized digital tools. The article explores the idea that attention to new aspects of researchers information needs creates a potential for developing personalized meta-services at academic libraries.

Findings

It is possible to identify a wealth of new services that can, if put into practice, substantially redefine the relationship between academic librarians and researchers. This entails a turn from service aimed at novice users to sophisticated end-users. Such ideas also carry implications for LIS education programs and the need to build on special librarians who uphold competence in distinct knowledge domains. Two forms of domain-specific meta-services are explored: as support for collaboration and support for presentation.

Practical implications

It is suggested that academic libraries systematically utilize the “full cost” model of project funding in order to exhibit concrete benefits of personalized meta-services. The article holds implications for both academic libraries and for LIS educational institutions.

Originality/value

Personalized meta-services constitute a relatively fresh topic and have previously not been explored in connection with academic libraries.

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Article
Publication date: 4 September 2009

Jan Nolin

Throughout its history, information retrieval has struggled to handle contradictory needs of system oriented and user‐oriented research. Information retrieval has gradually…

1338

Abstract

Purpose

Throughout its history, information retrieval has struggled to handle contradictory needs of system oriented and user‐oriented research. Information retrieval has gradually, starting in the 1960s, moved toward handling the needs of the user. This paper aims to consider the way boundaries toward the user and user‐oriented perspectives are drawn, renegotiated and re‐drawn.

Design/methodology/approach

The central concept of relevance is seen as a boundary concept, complex and flexible, that is continuously redefined in order to manage boundaries. Five influential research papers from the 1960s and early 1970s are analysed in order to understand usage of the concept during a period when psychological and cognitive research tools began to be discussed as a possibility.

Findings

Relevance does not only carry an explanatory function, but also serves a purpose relating to the identity of the field. Key contributions on research on relevance seems to, as a by‐product, draw a boundary giving legitimacy to certain theoretical resources while demarcating against others. The strategies that are identified in the key texts are intent on finding, representing, justifying and strengthening a boundary that includes and excludes a reasonable amount of complexity associated with the user.

Originality/value

The paper explores a central concept within information retrieval and information science in a new way. It also supplies a fresh perspective on the development of information retrieval during the 1960s and 1970s.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 65 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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Article
Publication date: 14 September 2015

Nasrine Olson, Jan Michael Nolin and Gustaf Nelhans

The purpose of this paper is to investigate concepts that are used in depicting future visions of society, as afforded by technology, to map the extent of their use, examine the…

1711

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate concepts that are used in depicting future visions of society, as afforded by technology, to map the extent of their use, examine the level of their dominance in different research areas and geographic boundaries, identify potential overlaps, analyse their longitudinal growth, and examine whether any of the identified concepts has assumed an overarching position.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 14 concepts, each of which is used to depict visions of future information infrastructures, were identified. More than 20,000 scholarly documents related to 11 of these concepts (those with 20 or more documents) are analysed by various qualitative/quantitative methods.

Findings

The concepts most referred to are semantic web and ubiquitous computing (all years), and internet of things (Year 2013). Publications on some newer concepts (e.g. digital living, real world internet) are minimal. There are variations in the extent of use and preferred concepts based on geographic and disciplinary boundaries. The overlap in the use of these terms is minimal and none of these terms has assumed an overarching umbrella position.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited to scholarly publications; it would be relevant to also study the pattern of usage in governmental communications and policy documents.

Social implications

By mapping multiplicity of concepts and the dispersion of discussions, the authors highlight the need for, and facilitate, a broader discussion of related social and societal implications.

Originality/value

This paper is the first to present a collective of these related concepts and map the pattern of their occurrence and growth.

Details

Journal of Documentation, vol. 71 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0022-0418

Keywords

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