[Sigiii-l] SGI III proposed session (updates)

[Hong Xu]

Dear All,

If you are interested in participating in any proposed sessions organized
by SIGIII, please send your topic title, abstract (100-150 words) or any
other requests to individual session organizer(s) before the due date.

Please note that there is a minor change on the title of Session 4:

4. Transborder data flow: implications for information dissemination and
policies between the US, Canada and Mexico. Contact Nadia Caidi (III) at
caidi at fis.utoronto.ca or Gail Hodge (IFP) at gailhodge at aol.com

After SIG III successfully held the first Global Information Village Plaza
at ASIST 2002, we are interested in organizing the second one. Please see
the following summary for the detailed information on the session and how
to particiate in it.

The Global Information Village Plaza was born out of the idea of going
beyond the hype, rhetoric and ‘expert’ analysis by the happy few
involved in the preparation of policies and programs supposed to support
the transition into the “information society" or "digital economy.”
Instead, it sought to give ASIS&T members -and information professionals
at large- an opportunity to express their views about the challenges and
opportunities that the so called "information society" represents in
their personal and professional lives. Between July and December 2002,
individuals were invited to post short position statements and engage in
discussion about these issues on the SIG-III listserv. The position
statements and major discussion threads (originating from the USA,
Canada, Europe, Africa and Latin America) were then summarized by the
moderators, Michel Menou and Nadia Caidi. Poster boards identifying the
major themes, along with direct quotes from the position statements,
were then displayed during a special panel session at the annual ASIST
conference in Philadelphia.

Among the recurring themes were:  the rise (and challenges) of
multiculturalism and multilingualism; the changing nature of the public
sphere; the strategies for coping with information overload and
pollution; the new patterns of work and social life; the increased
opportunities for social involvement; as well as issues around digital
divide and inequalities. At the professional level, learning was a much
discussed theme (e.g., lifelong learning for information professionals;
the switching focus from information systems toward interactive
learning); along with user-friendliness and reliability of ICT
applications; and the role of ICT as instruments of cultural domination
vs. liberation. The role of the information science and technology
community was viewed as essential in leading the change and educating
professionals about information culture and the potential of ICTs. A
call for better ethics, more openness and leadership (“make it safer,
simpler, cheaper”) was made.

During the ASIST session, all attendees were invited to browse the
panels and add their own comments on post-its. A general discussion
ensued, which attested to the usefulness of such a forum. The overall
positive response to the Global Information Village Plaza led to the
decision to have a follow-up. Check the Global Plaza Archive on the
SIG-III website (http://www.slis.kent.edu/~yinzhang/sigiii) and stay
tuned!


Thanks,


Hong Xu, PhD
ASIST 2003 SIG III Program Chair