1. Understanding Users Context, Communication & Construction Michael Olsson Lecturer, Information and Knowledge Management University of Technology, Sydney

2. Theory & Practice We all have a conceptual framework Lens through which we see ourselves, our work and our clients Theory & research allow us a richer, better informed view of our world

3. Users - Prevailing Approaches Fundamental Shift - User-centered Paradigm Cognitive Theory & Research Not custodians of information artifacts & systems but as active facilitators assisting individuals & organisations in meeting their information needs Strengths but also weaknesses

4. Focus on the Individual Focus on Individual Information Seeker Neglects role of social context Objective Reality – Individual Subjectivity Researching the unknowable – cognitive structures

5. ‘Needy’ Information Users Strong Focus on Information Need, ASK Users as ‘Children’ or ‘Patients’ Unequal Power Relationship Construct Users based on what they do know

6. Purposive Seeking & Affective Factors Focus on active, purposive seeking & searching Only one aspect of information behaviour Rational problem solving Either ignore affective factors or regard them as a barrier to ‘effective’ information seeking Ignores central role of social relationships

7. Social Constructivism sees individuals not as isolated intellects, but as inextricably linked to their social environment. Dervin – Sense-Making Foucault - Discourse

8. Making Sense Information is not a ‘thing’ to be transferred An interpretive, constructive process of meaning making ‘Death of the Author’

9. Social Construction Individuals & groups make sense using: Language Existing knowledge & beliefs, previous experience Social norms & conventions – ‘rules of the game’

10. Knowledge & Power Knowledge & Power are two sides of the same coin We relate new knowledge to established knowledge power structures e.g. recognized authors, theories institutions, etc Inductive view of Power – based on our Acceptance

11. Practice Implications Reconceptualise Clients Not isolated ‘needy’ individuals but dynamic members of a community Embedded in networks of ongoing relationships and power relations What is the social role of information professionals in the communities they serve?

12. SC Information Professionals Reference Interviewing Classification Schemes  Reject objectivized, reductionist approaches  Recognize multiple ‘truths’  Build on existing Knowledge/Power relations within communities to provide clients with information they will regard as ‘authoritative’