Well said Jean-Francois!
Dr. Victoria Lemieux
School of Library, Archival and Information Studies
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Vancouver, BC
Canada V6T 1Z1
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-----Original Message-----
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Jean-Francois Blanchette
Sent: December-06-09 9:53 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Professional RM journals
Hi all,
There are many reasons why one should be wary of academics and their
theoretical shenanigans. They cannot resist the use of jargon to
signal their special status in the community. They are mostly content
to talk amongst themselves, as publication in a peer-reviewed journal
is its own reward in academia, while reaching out to practitioners
brings fewer comparable benefits. Even though considerable resources
(including taxpayer money) are expended in conducting research,
organizing conferences and publishing journals, the actual benefits of
academic research are notoriously hard to gauge.
However, given the system that governs the production of authoritative
knowledge, for a professional community to ignore the benefits that a
peer-reviewed journal brings is extremely damaging to its present
status and future progress. To make the point briefly, no field of
professional practice has ever functioned without theory --- the
question is whether it controls the theories that inform its
evolution. When a field fails to maintain the structures that allow
for the indigenous development, growth, and adoption of theoretical
constructs, it simply becomes a prime target for colonization by other
fields. This is mostly what can be observed in RM, when practitioners
constantly complain about how IT drives the evolution of the field.
This is a question of power, and theories are instruments of
professional and disciplinary power. Ignore them at your own risk.
There are many different ways in which the relationship between
practitioners and academics can be negotiated. Some are more
egalitarian than others, recognizing the unique contribution that each
group brings to a field. There isn't a single model.
I am glad that ARMA is steadfast in its process, and does not get
derailed with reconsidering its priorities mid-stream. We can only
hope the other disciplines who are busy developing and advancing their
views regarding the next major reconfiguration of the computing
infrastructure (the cloud) will respect our process as well. Something
tells me they couldn't care less.
--
Jean-François Blanchette, Assistant Professeur
Dept. of Information Studies, UCLA
http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/blanchette
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