Year: 2012
Type: article
Abstract: The critical role of the information intermediary in supporting community participation\nin telecenters and community multimedia centers [CMCs] has been\nrecognized for some time. However, the literature has largely taken a neutral/\npositive perspective (that the center manager/staff are necessary social connectors\nand should ensure equitable access) or a negative one (that they may replicate\nhierarchies, be unwilling to help, or direct users toward “undesirable” information).\nDrawing on how identities are embedded within and formed by\nnetworks, this article takes a third perspective: Telecenter and CMC information\nintermediaries are in the complex positions of brokers and translators, and\ntheir roles are constantly negotiated and performed within multiple, dynamic,\nand constructed networks. This interpretive, narrative analysis of interviews\nwith the center manager and staff at Voices CMC in India illustrates that intermediaries\ncan be in an ontologically insecure position, bridging these multiple\nnetworks, but can also navigate their roles and create their “spaces of development”\nwithin these same networks. Therefore, the article argues that it\nshould not be taken for granted that these intermediaries are simply executing\npolicy; instead, further research into how they interpret and perform it in vernacular\nterms is necessary because this, in turn, can shape user perception of\nCMCs and telecenters.
Authors: Savita Bailur, Silvia Masiero
Institution: London School of Economics and Political Science
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1595353325