Digital Photography as a
Computerization Movement
Communication regimes and social change
Eric T. Meyer, M.A.
Ph.D. student
School of Library & Information Science
Indiana University, Bloomington
September 18, 2004
2004 SLIS Doctoral Student Research Forum
Communication Regimes
 Information Science
 2004: Kling, Spector & Fortuna
 Science & Technology Studies
 1995: Hilgartner
Regimes
 Philosophy
 1972: Foucault (Regimes of Truth)
 Political Science
 1975/1982: Krasner / Keohane / Nye
(International Regime Theory)
Regime Theory
 “Regimes can be defined as sets of
implicit or explicit principles, norms,
rules, and decision-making procedures
around which actors’ expectations
converge”
Krasner, 1982
Regime Theory
(continued)
 Principles: beliefs of fact, causation, and rectitude
 Norms: standards for behavior defined in terms of
rights and obligations
 Rules: specific prescriptions or proscriptions for action
 Decision-making procedures: prevailing practices
for making and implementing collective choice
Krasner, 1982
Communication Regime Defined
A communication regime is…
1. …a loosely coupled social network in
which the communication and the work
system are highly coupled.
Communication Regime Defined
(cont.)
A communication regime is…
2. …a system with a set of implicit or
explicit principles, norms, rules, and
decision-making procedures around
which actors’ expectations converge.
Communication Regime Defined
(cont.)
A communication regime is…
3. …a system in which the types of
communication are tightly coupled to
the production system in which they are
embedded.
Communication Regime Defined
(cont.)
A communication regime is…
4. …a system with institutions that help to
support and to regulate the regime.
Communication Regime Defined
(cont.)
A communication regime is…
5. …a system within which there are
conflicts over control, over who enforces
standards, over who bears the costs of
change and who reaps the benefits of
change.
Next steps
 Communication regimes as organizing
framework for dissertation
 Theories:
 SCOT: Social Construction of Technology
 ANT: Actor-Network Theory
 STIN methodology: Socio-Technical
Interaction Networks
 CMs: Computerization movements
References
Foucault, M. (1984). Foucault Reader (Rabinow, P., ed.). New York: Pantheon Books.
Hilgartner, S. (1995). Biomolecular Databases: New Communication Regimes for
Biology? Science Communication, 17(2), 240-263.
Kling, R., Spector, L., & Fortuna, J. (2004). The Real Stakes of Virtual Publishing: The
Transformation of E-Biomed Into PubMed Central. Journal of the American Society
of Information Science & Technology, 55(2), 127-148.
Krasner, S. D. (1982). Structural causes and regime consequences: regimes as
intervening variables. International Organization, 36(2), 185-205.
Contact information
Eric T. Meyer, M.A.
Ph.D. Student
School of Library & Information Science
Indiana University, Bloomington
E-mail: etmeyer@indiana.edu
etmeyer@iupui.edu
Web:
http://mypage.iu.edu/~etmeyer