The central thesis of this book is that access to information represents a vital aspect of contemporary society, encompassing participation, accountability, governance, transparency, the production of products, and the delivery of services. This view is widely shared, with commentators and scholars agreeing that access to information is a key factor in maintaining societal and economic stability. However, having access to information does not guarantee its accessibility. Assuming that information is (cognitively) interpretable is incorrect, as many practical examples illustrate. In the first chapter, this book offers insights into the challenge of access to information in a digitalized world. The concepts of access and accessibility are addressed, elucidating their meanings and delineating the ways in which they are influenced by the exponential growth of information. It examines how information technology introduces a novel access paradox. The second chapter examines the challenges to access to and accessibility of information in a digitalized, hybrid world where code may be law, where there is an inescapable loss of privacy, where doing business opens and restricts access, where literacy is a necessity to survive ‘digital divides,’ and where environmental concerns may have an adverse effect on high expectations. The third chapter presents a review of theoretical approaches to access and accessibility from seven different research perspectives: information access disparity, information seeking, information retrieval, information quality, information security, information management, and archives management. Six approaches to information access and accessibility are identified: [1] social, economic, and political participation; [2] ‘smart’ and evolving technology; [3] power and control; [4] sense-making; [5] knowledge representations, and [6] information survival. The fourth chapter addresses the bottlenecks and requirements for information access and accessibility, culminating in a checklist for organizations to assess these requirements within their own business processes. In the fifth chapter, some perspectives on artificial intelligence and the future of information access are presented. The sixth chapter represents an attempt to draw conclusions and to bring this book to a close.
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The essence of a democratic process is the guarantee that citizens have free and easy access to public information. How can that be made possible and how can people learn to use that information critically? In earlier papers (Boef, et.al. 2008 and 2009), we discussed the relationship between public library, press and the free access to relevant information. In this paper, we concentrate on the role of journalistic media in making public information accessible for the citizen. Our starting point is the fact that the citizen, in shaping her or his position in relation to political and other societal issues needs fewer opinions of others, but more reliable information; verified and certified by professionals. That way, the citizen will become enabled to create and to ground his or her opinion. Based on that solid foundation, opinions and comments of others can be appreciated and rated. Finally, we will discuss the ongoing process of the disappearing of independent media and the negative effect on the democratic process, and hence the need for a new generation of Internet savvy civil journalists.
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Open access publicatiekanalen kunnen een aantrekkelijk medium zijn voor studenten, menen IDM-docenten Peter Becker en Jos van Helvoort. Maar dan moeten nog wel onduidelijkheden over het auteursrecht uit de weg worden geruimd. Ook zou meer interactiviteit de aantrekkelijkheid ervan vergroten. Open-access publishing channels can be an attractive medium for students in higher education. But a lack of clarity on copyright issues must be adressed first. Also, more interactivity would enhance the attractiveness. [Peter Becker en Jos van Helvoort]
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In the Netherlands approximately 2 million inhabitants have one or more disabilities. However, just like most people they like to travel and go on holiday.In this project we have explored the customer journey of people with disabilities and their families to understand their challenges and solutions (in preparing) to travel. To get an understanding what ‘all-inclusive’ tourism would mean, this included an analysis of information needs and booking behavior; traveling by train, airplane, boat or car; organizing medical care and; the design of hotels and other accommodations. The outcomes were presented to members of ANVR and NBAV to help them design tourism and hospitality experiences or all.
Collaborative networks for sustainability are emerging rapidly to address urgent societal challenges. By bringing together organizations with different knowledge bases, resources and capabilities, collaborative networks enhance information exchange, knowledge sharing and learning opportunities to address these complex problems that cannot be solved by organizations individually. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the apparel sector, where examples of collaborative networks for sustainability are plenty, for example Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Zero Discharge Hazardous Chemicals, and the Fair Wear Foundation. Companies like C&A and H&M but also smaller players join these networks to take their social responsibility. Collaborative networks are unlike traditional forms of organizations; they are loosely structured collectives of different, often competing organizations, with dynamic membership and usually lack legal status. However, they do not emerge or organize on their own; they need network orchestrators who manage the network in terms of activities and participants. But network orchestrators face many challenges. They have to balance the interests of diverse companies and deal with tensions that often arise between them, like sharing their innovative knowledge. Orchestrators also have to “sell” the value of the network to potential new participants, who make decisions about which networks to join based on the benefits they expect to get from participating. Network orchestrators often do not know the best way to maintain engagement, commitment and enthusiasm or how to ensure knowledge and resource sharing, especially when competitors are involved. Furthermore, collaborative networks receive funding from grants or subsidies, creating financial uncertainty about its continuity. Raising financing from the private sector is difficult and network orchestrators compete more and more for resources. When networks dissolve or dysfunction (due to a lack of value creation and capture for participants, a lack of financing or a non-functioning business model), the collective value that has been created and accrued over time may be lost. This is problematic given that industrial transformations towards sustainability take many years and durable organizational forms are required to ensure ongoing support for this change. Network orchestration is a new profession. There are no guidelines, handbooks or good practices for how to perform this role, nor is there professional education or a professional association that represents network orchestrators. This is urgently needed as network orchestrators struggle with their role in governing networks so that they create and capture value for participants and ultimately ensure better network performance and survival. This project aims to foster the professionalization of the network orchestrator role by: (a) generating knowledge, developing and testing collaborative network governance models, facilitation tools and collaborative business modeling tools to enable network orchestrators to improve the performance of collaborative networks in terms of collective value creation (network level) and private value capture (network participant level) (b) organizing platform activities for network orchestrators to exchange ideas, best practices and learn from each other, thereby facilitating the formation of a professional identity, standards and community of network orchestrators.
Hoogwaardig afvalhout van bewoners, bouwbedrijven en meubelmakers blijft momenteel ongebruikt omdat het te arbeidsintensief is om grote hoeveelheden ongelijke stukken hout van verschillende afmetingen en soorten te verwerken. Waardevol hout wordt waardeloos afval, tegen de principes van de circulaire economie in. In CW.Code werken Powerhouse Company, Bureau HUNC en Vrijpaleis samen met de HvA om te onderzoeken hoe een toegankelijke ontwerptool te ontwikkelen om upcycling en waardecreatie van afvalhout te faciliteren. In andere projecten hebben HvA en partners verschillende objecten gemaakt van afvalhout: een stoel, een receptiebalie, kleine meubels en objecten voor de openbare ruimte, vervaardigd met industriële robots. Deze objecten zijn 3D gemodelleerd met behulp van specifieke algoritmen, in de algemeen gebruikte ontwerpsoftware Rhino en Grasshopper. De projectpartners willen nu onderzoeken hoe deze algoritmen via een toegankelijke tool bruikbaar te maken voor creatieve praktijken. Deze tool integreert generatieve ontwerpalgoritmen en regelsets die rekening houden met beschikbaar afvalhout, en de ecologische, financiële en sociale impact van resulterende ontwerpen evalueren. De belangrijkste ontwerpparameters kunnen worden gemanipuleerd door ontwerpers en/of eindgebruikers, waardoor het een waardevol hulpmiddel wordt voor het co-creëren van circulaire toepassingen voor afvalhout. Dit onderzoek wordt uitgevoerd door HvA Digital Production Research Group, met bovengenoemde partners. HUNC heeft ervaring met stadsontwikkeling waarbij gebruik wordt gemaakt van lokaal gekapt afvalhout. Vrijpaleis biedt toegang tot een actieve, lokale community van makers met een sterke band met buurtbewoners. Powerhouse Company heeft ervaring in het ontwerpen met hout in de bouw. Alle drie kunnen profiteren van slimmere circulaire ontwerptools, waarbij beschikbaar materiaal, productiebeperkingen en impactevaluatie worden geïntegreerd. De tool wordt ontwikkeld en getest voor twee designcases: een binnenmeubelobject en een buitengevelelement. Bevindingen hiervan zullen leidend zijn bij de ontwikkeling van de tool. Na afronding van het project is een bètaversie gereed voor validatie door ontwerpers, bewonerscollectieven en onderzoek/onderwijs van de HvA.
