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InformationAccessibility,Archivingand

OrganizationalAccountabilityinadigitalage

DrG.J.vanBussel

HogeschoolvanAmsterdamand

UniversityofAmsterdam

g.j.van.bussel@hva.nl

Abstract

Theworld ischanging rapidly. It isbecomingan increasingly information-richand information-dependentplat-form. Information is easily and (mostly) automatically recordedand stored tobe accessed and retrievedon alater date. ICTs contribute to a (seemingly) inescapable loss of privacy, because this information is processedwithoutknowledgeorconsentfromindividualpeople.Companiesarebuildingnewecosystemsonline,andarebuilding online shops, communities, user groups, and otherways to promote their products. The economy isdeveloping intoadigitizedeconomy.All boundariesbetween thevirtual and the realworldsareblurring. Thedigitaluniverse isexpanding inunprecedentedways.But there is somuch informationgenerated, stored,andused, that its accessibility is in jeopardy, because the possibilities to identify information are becomingmoredifficult. To protect privacy and to enhance accessibility, the global legal frameworks are expanding, creatingproblemsinimplementingcomplianceframeworksforpublicandprivateorganizationsalike.Organizationalac-countability is dependent on accessible information. Public expectations do want objectives as transparency,privacy, due process, compliance, and security of organizational information implementedwithin legal frame-works.Notmeetingthoseobjectivesisextremely‘badforbusiness’.Forrealizinginformationaccess,archivingisextremelyimportant.Archivingismanaginginformationovertimeusingthe‘informationvaluechain’toguaran-teethefourdimensionsofinformation(quality,context,relevance,andsurvival).Itisquitesurprisingthatthereisalmostno researchdoneabout the relationshipbetween informationaccessibility, archiving,and thepublicdemand for organizational accountability. For eGovernment to succeed, those three subjects are of vital im-portance.

Keywords

Accountability;Informationaccess;e-government;informationvaluechain;socialdynamics.

LecturerFrom1997onwards,DrGeert-JanvanBusselisseniorlectureratheHogeschoolvanAmsterdamandassistantprofessorattheUniversityofAmsterdam,specializedininformationandarchivalscience.HewaslecturerattheDutchSchoolforArchivesfrom1994until2009andprofessorofDigitalArchiving&ComplianceattheHogeschoolvanAmsterdamfrom2012-2016.Heisoneofthemostprominentaudi-torsofarchivingstandardsintheNetherlands.Heisowneranddirectorofaninternationalauditingandmanagementconsultancyfirm,specializedinenterpriseinformationmanagement,informationgovernanceandcompliance.HeisalsomemberoftheboardofseveralICTandconsultancyfirms.Hehaswrittensixbooks(inDutch)andmorethan200papersandjournalcontributions(severalinEng-lish).

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Introduction(Slide1)

TheUnitedNationsE-governmentSurvey2016givesanoverviewofthe

worldwideinitiativestousetheWorldWideWebfordigitalservicesandcitizen

participation1.Itcoversthestatusquoandelaboratesonresults,challengesand

‘things-to-do’.Itpaysalotofattentiontorankings,toonlineservicedelivery,e-

participation,governmentandcollaborativegovernance,opendata,andthedi-

gitaldivide.Thereisnotmuchattentionforwhatare,Ithink,themostessential

subjectsfortheultimatesuccessfore-government:organizationalaccountabili-

ty,archiving,andaccesstoinformation.Inthislecture,Iwilldiscusstheseissues

andthechallengestheyentail.

Online(Slide2)

Ourworldischangingrapidly.Businesspracticesandexistingtechnolo-

gies,ways,andmethodsofcommunicationaretransforming.Informationand

communicationtechnologies(ICTs)movequicklyinandoutoffashion.Wehave

becomeusersofmobile,wirelesslyinterconnecteddevices,usingweb-based

communitiesandsocialnetworkingsitesaschannelsforsocializing,sharingwith

friendsandcolleagues,collaborating,interacting,andparticipatinginprocesses

1DepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairs,TheUnitedNationsEgovernmentSurvey2016.E-GovernmentinSupportofSus-tainableDevelopment(NewYork:UnitedNations,2016).

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ofinnovation,production,government,andcreatingvalue2.Companiesare

buildingonlineshops,communities,usergroups,andotherwaystopromote

theirproducts.Theyareusingandanalysingthedatatheyaregatheringfrom

theircustomersandtheusersoftheironlineservicestopersonalizetheirad-

verts,andtoquicklydevelopnewservices.Governmentstrytodothesame

whencommunicatingwiththeircitizens.Libraries,archives,andotherreposito-

riesaredigitizingtheircollectionsandaremakingthemavailableusingtheIn-

ternet.

(Slide3)Thesemanticweballowsapplicationsanddevicestounderstand

themeaningofnaturallanguageandtocommunicatewithouthumanin-

terference3.Thetechnologiesthatletmachines‘talk’toeachother(machine-to-

machinecommunication)areevolvingfast,enabledbythedevelopmentof

(wireless)networkswithouthumanorcentralizedcomponents.These(let’scall

them)‘talkingmachines’includeeverythingfrompowerandenergymetersthat

reportusagedataautomatically,towearableheartmonitorsandtocarsthat

automaticallyreporttheirpositionandconditionintheeventofanaccident.

Informationiseasilyand(mostly)automaticallycaptured,recorded,and

storedtobeaccessedandretrievedonalaterdate.Thatbecomesaproblem

2Akamai,TheHyperconnectedWorld.Aneweraofopportunity(Cambridge(Ma):Akamai,s.d.).3J.Davies,F.vanHarmelen,D.Fensel,Towardsthesemanticweb:ontology-drivenknowledgemanagement(NewYork:JohnWiley&Sons,2002).

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whenthecollection,recording,anduseofdataaboutusershappen(asitisof-

ten)withouttheirknowledgeorconsent.ICTscontributetoan(seemingly)ines-

capablelossofindividualprivacy4.Mostofthisbehaviourtakesplacebehindthe

scenes,isbarelynoticedbyusers,andisdonewithonlyourtacitconsent.The

‘ease’ofaccesstoinformationin‘thecloud’(onathird-partydeviceremotely

locatedfromtheuser)makesausersrelationshipwithhisorherinformation

moretenuous5.Inshort:wearelivinginaninformation-richandinformation-

dependentworld,collecting,creating,andusingalotofinformationwithour

onlineactivitieseveryday.Wemaycallit‘World2.0’6.

(Slide4)Physicalobjects,devices,andmachinesacquireartificialin-

telligence.Theycreatethe‘InternetofThings’asaconnectedintelligencethat

augmentsindividualactions,automatesprocesses,andintegrates‘intelligent’

machinesintopeople’slives7.Theabilitytoanalysethese‘bigdata’inrealtime

4Theproblemofpersonalprivacyinaninformationageisamuch-debatedandhighly-controversialsubject.Thereisalargebodyof literature.Asan introduction:H.Nissenbaum, ‘Protectingprivacy inan informationage.Theproblemofprivacy inpublic’,LawandPhilosophy 17 (1998),no. 5-6,pp. 559–596;H.Nissenbaum, ‘Privacyas contextual integrity’,WashingtonLawReview79(2004),no.1,pp.119–158.Abouttheeffectsoftechnologicaldeterminismonprivacy:K.K.Stylianou,‘HastaLaVistaPrivacy,orhowtechnologyterminatedprivacy’,C.Akrivopoulou,A.Psygkas(eds.),PersonalDataPrivacyandprotectioninasurveillanceera.Technologiesandpractices(Hershey(Pa.):IGIGlobal,2010),Ch.3,pp.44-57.AbouttheeffectsofPriva-cyEnhancingTechnologies(PET):J.vandePas,G.J.VanBussel,‘Privacylost-andFound?Someaspectsofregainingcitizen'sprivacybymeansofPETintheageofBigData’,J.Devos,S.DeHaes(eds.),Proceedingsofthe8thEuropeanConferenceonISManagementandEvaluation.ECIME2014.UniversityofGhent,11-12September2014(ACPI:Reading,2014),pp.278-285.5AboutthemoralaspectsoftheuseofICTsandthegatheringofpersonalinformation:J.Sullins,‘Informationtechnologyandmoralvalues’,E.N.Zalta(ed.),TheStanfordEncyclopediaofPhilosophy(Stanford:StanfordUniversity2014).Availableonlineat:http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2014/entries/it-moral-values/.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6buXajRFL(September29,2015).6F.Karakas,‘WelcometoWorld2.0:thenewdigitalecosystem’,JournalofBusinessStrategy30(2009),no.4,pp.23-30.7TheInternetofThingsisapopularsubject,especially incombinationwithdataminingandartificial intelligence.Seeforacriticalreview:D.Helbing, ‘Societal,economic,ethicalandlegalchallengesofthedigitalrevolution.FromBigDatatoDeepLearning, Artificial Intelligence, andManipulative Technologies’, Jusletter, 21mei 2015. Archived at: http://arxiv.org/ftp/-arxiv/papers/1504/1504.03751.pdf.

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makesitpossibletoloopinsightsimmediatelybackintodecisionprocessesand

allowsforautomationofresponsiveactions.Organizationsshouldbeextremely

careful;ethics,transparency,andaccountabilityshouldbeassured,forthese

manipulativetechnologiescouldbedisastrousfortrust.

Thishyperconnectedworldpresentsmanypossibilitiesforinnovationand

evolution,butonlywhencompaniesandgovernmentsunderstandthedynamics

oftheonlineworld8.Thereisverylittletimetoaddressthesechanges:therate

technologyisadoptedcontinuestoaccelerate.Google+,forexample,thesocial

mediatoolfromGoogle,tooksixteendaystoreachtenmillionusers,compared

with780daysforTwitterand852daysforFacebook9.

Informationliteracy(Slide5)

Youngpeopleespeciallyaresaidtobeembracingthedynamicrealityof

World2.0.Theyaresaidtobehyperconnected,havinghadlife-longuseofICTs,

earningthemnicknamesas‘netgeneration’,‘digitalnatives’,or’homo-

zappiens’10.Literatureascribesyoungpeoplewithspecialtechnologicalcapabili-

tiesthatdistinguishthemfromolderpeople.Youngpeopleareaccordingto8ForacomprehensiveviewabouttherelationshipbetweenICTsandinnovation:C.Antonelli,Theeconomicsof innovation,newtechnologies,andstructuralchange(Oxford-NewYork:Routledge,2014).9The digitisation of everything. How organisationsmust adapt to changing consumer behaviour (London: Ernst & Young,2011),p.4.10D.Tapscott,‘Educatingthenetgeneration’,EducationalLeadership56(1999),no.5,pp.6-11;M.Prenksy,‘DigitalNatives,DigitalImmigrants’,OntheHorizon9(2001),nr.5,pp.1-6;W.VanVeen,B.Vrakking,HomoZappiens.Growingupinadigitalage(London:Continuum,2006).

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MarcPrensky‘fluentinthedigitallanguageofcomputers,videogamesandthe

Internet’11.Butthe‘digitalnative’literatureisnotaboutdocumentingyoung

people’suseofICTs,butmoreaboutthepracticesthatICTssupportandfacilita-

teintheirlives12.Itdoesnotprovideanaccurateorobjectiveaccountoverthe

digitalskillsandabilitiesofyoungpeople13.Theabilitiesofyoungpeopletoac-

cessICTsaredeterminedbysocio-economicstatus,socialclass,gender,andge-

ography14.SomegroupsofyoungpeoplearejustasexcludedfromaccesstoICTs

asolderpeopleare.WhilemoreyoungpeopleusetheInternetandothertech-

nologiesthanolderpeople,therearedifferencesinhoweffectivelytheyuse

ICTs15.Thereisapredominanceofgaming,textmessaging,retrievalofonline

music,movies,orinformation,anduseofsocialmedia,especiallySnapchat,

Facebook,Instagram,Twitter,Vine,andPinterest16.Theengagementofyoung

11M.Prensky,‘Listentothenatives’,EducationalLeadership63(2005),no.4,pp.8-13.Citation:p.8.12N.Selwyn,‘Thedigitalnative-mythandreality’,AslibProceedings:NewInformationPerspectives61(2009),no.4,pp.364-379,esp.p.366;N.Selwyn,‘DoingITforthekids’,Media,Culture&Society25(2003),no.3,pp.351-378.13Selwyn, ‘The digital native’, pp. 370-371. For other critical reviews of Digital Native literature: S. Bennett, K.Maton, L.Kervin,‘The‘digitalnatives’debate:Acriticalreviewoftheevidence’,BritishJournalofEducationalTechnology39(2008),no.5,pp.775-786;E.Helsper,R.Enyon,‘Digitalnatives:whereistheevidence?’,BritishEducationalResearchJournal36(2010),no.3,pp.503-520;andespecially:R.Schulmeister,‘VomMythosderDigitalNativesundderNetGeneration’,BerufsbildunginWissenschaftundPraxis41(2012),no.3,pp.42-45.14ForthedeterminantsofICTaccessibility:P.Golding,‘Forthcomingfeatures:informationandcommunicationstechnologiesandthesociologyofthefuture’,Sociology34(2000),no.1,pp.165-184;andE.Hargittai,‘Digitalna(t)ives?VariationinInter-netskillsandusesamongmembersofthenetgeneration’,SociologicalInquiry80(2010),no.1,pp.92-113.15Selwyn,‘Thedigitalnative’,p.372.Also:S.Livingstone,E.Helsper,‘GradationsinDigitalInclusion:children,youngpeopleand theDigital Divide’,NewMedia& Society9 (2007), 671-696; E. Hargittai, A. Hinnart, ‘Digital Inequality: differences inyoungadultsuseoftheInternet’,CommunicationResearch35(2008),no.5,pp.602-621;andN.Selwyn,K.Facer, ‘Beyonddigitaldivide:towardsanagendaforchange’,E.Ferro,Y.Dwivedi,R.Gil-Garcia,M.Williams(eds.),HandbookofresearchonovercomingDigitalDivides.ConstructinganequitableandcompetitiveInformationSociety(Hershey(Pa.): IGIGlobal,2009),Ch.1,pp.1-20.16S. Colwyn, ‘Which social networks aremost popularwith teenagers? [#DigitalInsights]’: http://www.smartinsights.com/-social-media-marketing/social-media-platforms/teen-usage-of-social-media/. Online source. Archived at: https://web.ar-chive.org/web/20160405170624/http://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-platforms/teen-usage-of-social-media/(May31,2016).

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peoplewithtechnologyispassive,sporadic,unspectacular,andoftentimessoli-

tary.Itismostoftenpassiveconsumptionofinformation17.Thereislittleeviden-

cethatyoungpeoplearedifferentinthewaystheyuseandprocessinformati-

on18.Thatdoesnotmean,therearenoproblems.Thereisa‘digitaldivide’and

thereisaproblemwithdigitalliteracy.

Wemustbehonest:adigitaldivideisasymptom,notacauseofsocio-

economicinequalities.Itreflects(oftendeep)social,cultural,racial,economic,

andeducationaldividesinsociety.TohaveaccesstoICTsandtheInternetisnot

asolutionforthoseproblems19.Beyondaccesstotechnology,peopleneedto

knowhowtoemploythattechnology20.Or,asPaulGilstersaid,‘Digitalliteracyis

aboutmasteringideas,notkey-strokes’21.Asaconsequence,itisbettertotalk

aboutinformationliteracy,theability,competences,andskillsneededtofind,

obtain,access,comprehend,andcontextualizeinformationitself,usingeveryICT

availabletoreachthatobjective22.

Anditisherethatweengageseriousproblems.Thesocialandeconomic

17M.Madden,A.Lenhart,S.Cortesi,U.Gasser,M.Duggan,A.Smith,M.Beaton,Teens,SocialMedia,andPrivacy(Washing-ton, DC: Pew Research Center, 2013). Available online: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/05/21/teens-social-media-and-privacy/.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6bw5IMLjn(September30,2015).18Bennett,Maton,Kervin,‘The‘digitalnatives’debate’,pp.775-786.19A.B.Potter,‘Zonesofsilence.Aframeworkbeyondthedigitaldivide’,FirstMonday11(2006),no.5(May).Availableonline:http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/1327/1247.20Gunkel,‘Secondthoughts’,p.504.21P.Gilster,DigitalLiteracy(NewYork,Chichester:WileyComputer,1998),p.15.22M.B.Eisenberg,‘Informationliteracy:Essentialskillsfortheinformationage’,JournalofLibrary&InformationTechnology28(2010),no.2,pp.39-47.Seealso:D.Bawden, ‘Informationanddigital literacies:areviewofconcepts’,JournalofDocu-mentation57(2001),no.2,pp.218-259.Anearlyproponentofinformationliteracyasamindset:P.Drucker,‘Bedataliterate-knowwhattoknow’,WallStreetJournal,1992,12(1),A16.

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impactonsocietyofdigitalexclusion,thesituationthatpartsofthepopulation

arenotliterateenough(ordonothavetheeconomicandsocialpossibilities)to

access,retrieve,ormakeuseofinformationusingtheICTsofthistime,are

enormous.PartsofthepopulationcannotcopewithWorld2.0becausetheydo

notutilizethetechnicalandcognitiveskillsneeded.Theaccessibilityofinforma-

tionreflectsbothexistinginequalitiesinsocietyanddeficienciesininformation

literacy.In2014,thirtypercentofallEuropeanslackedthedigitalskillstoper-

formonlinetasks23.Literacyisanessentiallifeskill,viewingtheenormousa-

mountsfodigitalinformation.Itwill,intheend,definesuccesfore-government.

Expandingdata(Slide6)

Thedigitaluniverseisdoublinginsizeeverytwoyears24.Thegrowing

amountsofinformationarecreatedbytheseeminglyinfiniteopportunitiesto

publishontheInternet,byglobalelectroniccommunications,byanexplosionin

deviceslocatedattheperipheryofthenetworklikeembeddedsensors,

smartphones,andtabletcomputers,byaerialsensorytechnologies,software

23G. Vitiello,M. Sebillo, G. Tortora, P. Di Giovanni, A. Ginige, ‘Overcoming the Digital Divide in Europe: Let’s learn fromemerging countries’, L. Mola, F. Pennarola, S. Za (eds.), From Information to Smart Society (Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer,2015), pp. 209-220. Eurostat states that eighteen per cent of the Europeans never uses the internet (‘Internet and cloudservices-statisticsontheusebyindividuals’,H.Seybert,P.Reinecke,StatisticsinFocus(Brussels:Eurostat,2014),16/2014.Availableonlineat:http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Internet_and_cloud_services_statistics_on_-the_use_by_individuals).Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6bxBNPZEx(October1,2015).24V.Turner,D.Reinsel,J.F.Gantz,S.Minton,TheDigitalUniverseofopportunities.RichDataandtheincreasingvalueoftheInternetofThings(Framingham(Ms.):IDC,2014),ExecutiveSummary,p.1.Availableonlineat:http://www.emc.com/leader-ship/digitaluniverse/2014iview/index.htm.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6bxBgaxbB(October1,2015).

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logs,cameras,microphones,radiofrequencyidentificationreaders,wireless

sensornetworks,andbylarge-scaledigitizationoforganizationalprocesses25.It

createsnewopportunitiesforanalytics26,butwithoutbeinginformationliterate,

itwillbealmostimpossibletogainaccesstotheinformationneededtoliveyour

life.

Someexamples.

InSeptember2013,onaverage350millionpictureswereuploadedon

Facebookeveryday27.Twitterprocessed7,127 tweetseverysecondinFebruary

2016,almost616millionaday28.YouTubeusersareuploadingonehundred

hoursofnewvideoeveryminuteoftheday29.TheUniversityofOntariocollects

nearlyonehundredmilliondatapointsperdayfromprematurebabies,analyses

theminrealtime,andstoresthemforre-use30.In2014and2015,205billion

emailsweresenteveryday,ofwhichalmost54billionwerespammessagesand

973millionmalwareemails31.Andsoon,andsoon.

25J.Armitage,J.Roberts(eds.),Livingwithcyberspace.Technologyandsocietyinthe21stcentury(London,NewYork:Con-tinuum,2002); J.Manyika (ed.),BigData.Thenext frontier for innovation, competition,andproductivity (McKinseyGlobalInstitute,2011).26B.Golden,‘Cloudcomputing:Howbigisbigdata?IDC’sanswer’,CIO,May7,2010.27ForFacebook:Afocusonefficiency.AwhitepaperofFacebook,Ericsson,andQualcomm(Internet.org,2013),p.33.Availa-ble online at: https://fbcdn-dragon-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-akxpa1/t39.23656/12057133_958179554220316_12360-52925_n.pdf.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6bxOVnFFg(October1,2015).28 Twitter Usage Statistics: http://www.internetlivestats.com/one-second/#tweets-band. Online source. Archived at:http://www.webcitation.org/6ffBYggwN(February29,2016).29 YouTube statistics, https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html. Online source. Archived at: https://web.ar-chive.org/web/20141208221847/https://www.youtube.com/yt/press/statistics.html(October2,2015).30B.Hopkins,B.Evelson,ExpandyourdigitalhorizonwithBigData(Cambridge(Ms.):ForresterResearchInc.,2011),p.2.31 S. Radicati, J. Levenstein, Email Statistics Report, 2015-2019 (Palo Alto (Ca.): Radicati, 2015). Available online at:http://www.radicati.com/wp/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/Email-Statistics-Report-2015-2019-Executive-Summary.pdf. Ar-chived at: http://www.webcitation.org/6c0BsKSck (October 3, 2015); Internet Threats Trend Report (Palo Alto (Ca.):

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Toquantifytheglobalgrowthintheamountofinformationisalmostim-

possible.Researchresultsdifferbecauseofthedifferentdefinitionsandme-

thodsused.Researchagreesononebasicfact:theastonishinggrowth-ratein

theamountsofinformationintheworld.IDCexpectstheZetabyteeratostart

somewherearound2020.Itillustratestherapidevolutionofdigitizationinthe

firstfifteenyearsofthe21thcentury32.

Therecanbenodoubtthattheexpandingdigitaluniversehasanimpact

onsociety.Apracticalindication,forinstance,oftheconsequencesofthegro-

wingamountofinformationaretherisingamountsinspendingonICTsfordo-

cument-,content-andrecordsmanagement,informationretrieval,ediscovery,

capture,classification,andstorage,despite(large)economicproblems33.The

growingmassofinformationisinfluencingthewaymanyorganizationsmanage

andoperatetheirbusinessprocesses,approachtheircustomers,unlockecono-

micvalue,analysetheirmarkets,spotbusinesstrends,andaddvaluefortheir

Cyberoam, 2014). Available online at: http://www.cyberoam.com/downloads/ThreatReports/CyberoamCYRENInternet-Threats2014April.pdf.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6c0CuG8Lx(October3,2015).32P.Lyman,H.R.Varian,Howmuch information? (Berkeley:Schoolof InformationManagementandSystems,UniversityofCalifornia, 2003). For the executive summary of this research: http://groups.ischool.berkeley.edu/archive/how-much-info-2003/execsum.htm.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6c0IPx1NH(October3,2015);J.F.Gantz,D.Reinsel(eds.),Theexpandingdigitaluniverse.Aforecastofworldwideinformationgrowththrough2010(Framingham(Ms.):IDC,2007),Execu-tiveSummary,p.2.Availableonline,andarchivedat:https://web.archive.org/web/20141023090736/http://www.emc.com/-collateral/analyst-reports/expanding-digital-idc-white-paper.pdf(October4,2015).Other IDCreportsused:J.F.Gantz, (ed.),Thediverseandexplodingdigitaluniverse.Anupdatedforecastofworldwideinformationgrowththrough2011(Framingham(Ms.):IDC,2008);J.Gantz,D.Reinsel(eds.),Astheeconomycontracts,thedigitaluniverseexpands(Framingham(Ms.):IDC,2009); J. Gantz, D. Reinsel (eds.),The digital universe decade. Are you ready? (Framingham (Ms.): IDC, 2010); J. Gantz, D.Reinsel (eds.),Extractingvalue fromchaos (Framingham(Ms.): IDC,2011);and J.Gantz,D.Reinsel,TheDigitalUniverse in2020:BigData.Biggerdigitalshadows,andbiggestgrowthintheFarEast(Framingham(Ms.):IDC,2013);and,ofcourse,M.Hilbert,P.López,‘Theworld’stechnologicalcapacitytostore,communicate,andcomputeinformation’,Science332(2011),no.6025,pp.60-65.Seeesp.p.63,table1.33QuarterlyStatistics:diskarraystorage,allregions,allcountries,4Q13update(Stamford(CT):Gartner,2014).

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stakeholders.Informationprovidesinsightsintopublicandprivateaccountabili-

ty.Thegloballyexpandinglegalframeworksaremakingorganizationalaccoun-

tabilityextremelyimportant.Theseframeworksaremakingincreasingdemands

fororganizationalICTstoprocessinformationsecureandtransparent,togene-

ratetrustedinformation,toprotectprivacy,andtorealizetheaccessibilityof

information34.

Expandingregulations(Slide7)

World2.0ischangingrequirementsfororganizationalbehaviour,mostly

asaresultofantiquatedlegislationandpublicandgovernmentalexpectations.

Bothhavebeenviolatedmanytimesinthepastdecades,resultinginaglobal

increaseinthenumberofregulations,guidelines,andstandardstoenforcepu-

blicaccountabilityandtransparency.

Althoughtherearemanyexamplesofmisconduct,fraud-likefictitious

transactions,andfalsifyingfinancialresultsbefore,thebusinessscandalthat

reallyresultedinstringentnewregulationswastheAmericanenergycompany

Enron,revealedin2001.Thisscandalalsoresultedinthedissolutionoftheac-

34M.Stefik,TheInternetEdge.Social,technical,andlegalchallengesforanetworkedworld(Cambridge(Ms.):TheMITPress,2000).Also:K.Cukier,‘Data,dataeverywhere’,TheEconomist.Aspecialreportonmanaginginformation,February27,2010,pp.1-3.

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countancyandauditcompanyArthurAndersen35.Asaconsequence,newlegis-

lationwasintroducedtoincreasepenaltiesfordestroying,altering,orfabrica-

tinginformation,fordefraudingshareholders,andtoincreaseaccountabilityof

accountancyandauditingfirms(Sarbanes-OxleyAct(SOX),andequivalentleg-

islationinothercountriesaroundtheworld)36.TheEnronscandalwasfollowed

withotherexamplesofgravemisconductofpubliclytradedcompaniesandban-

kingandfinancialsystems.ExamplesareSwissair(2001),WorldCom,Kmart,

Merck,Qwest,AOL(allin2002),RoyalAhold,Parmalat(2003),ChiquitaBrands

International(2004),BernardL.MadoffInvestmentSecurities,AngloIrishBank

(2008),LehmanBrothers,GoldmanSachs(2010),LIBOR(2012),Volkswagen

(2015),andmanymore37.Followingthosescandals,apublicdesireforgreater

accountabilityandtransparencyintheconductofpublicandprivateorganizati-

onsleadtoanexpandinglegalframeworktoenforcejustthat.KimberlyBarata

andPiersCainprovedthataccountabilityandtransparencywithoutaccessto

35ForEnronandArthurAndersen:M.S.Salter,Innovationcorrupted:theoriginsandlegacyofEnron'scollapse(Boston:Har-vardUniversityPress,2008)andB.L.Toffler, J.Reingold,FinalAccounting:ambition,greed,andthefallofArthurAndersen(New York: Broadway Books, 2003). For other cases: P. Patsuris, ‘The corporate scandal sheet’, Forbes, August 26, 2002:http://www.forbes.com/2002/07/25/accountingtracker.html. Online source. Archived at: http://www.webcitation.org/-6c1a42SEI(October4,2015).36J.C.Coates,‘ThegoalsandpromiseoftheSarbanes-OxleyAct’,TheJournalofEconomicPerspectives21(2007),no.1,pp.91-116. For the European equivalents: L. Enriques, P. Volpin, ‘Corporate governance reforms in continental Europe’, TheJournalofEconomicPerspectives21(2007),no.1,pp.117-140.37Patsuris, ‘The corporate scandal sheet’, cf. note 73. For general descriptions of corporate scandals, fraud and/or or-ganizationalmisconductsee:J.C.Coffee,‘Atheoryofcorporatescandals:WhytheUSAandEuropediffer’,OxfordReviewofEconomic Policy 21 (2005), no. 2, pp. 198-211; K.R. Gray, L.A. Frieder, G.W. Clark,Corporate scandals. Themany faces ofgreed:thegreatheist,financialbubbles,andtheabsenceofvirtue(St.Paul(Min.):ParagonHouse,2005);J.W.Markham,Afinancial history of modern US corporate scandals. From Enron to reform (Armonk (NY): ME Sharpe, 2006). For theVolkswagenemissionscandal:T.K.Burki,‘Dieselcarsandhealth:theVolkswagenemissionsscandal’,TheLancetRespiratoryMedicine3(2015),no.11,pp.838-839.Formoralaspectsofthismisconductsee:M.O.Benediktsson,‘Thedeviantorganisa-tionandthebadappleCEO.Ideologyandaccountabilityinmediacoverageofcorporatescandals’,Socialforces88(2010),no.5,pp.2189-2216.

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trustedinformationasevidenceof(past)organizationalpolicies,decisions,pro-

ducts,actionsandtransactionsisimpossible38.Itshouldnotbesurprisingthat

mostofthisnewlegislationisinessenceabouttheaccessibilityofinformation.

(Slide8)Mostorganizationsareattemptingtomeetpublicexpectations

andtrytocomplywithlaws,regulations,standards,andotherframeworksto

enforceaccountability,transparency,accessibilityofinformation,security,and

privacy39.Mostorganizationstrytocomplytothemeaningtheyhaveconstruc-

tedofpublicexpectations,laws,andcompliance.Complianceisbasedonthe

institutionalizedinterpretationsofsociety’sbeliefsaboutlegality,morality,and

rationality.Itisquitepossiblethatsuchaninterpretationdiffersfrominterpreta-

tionsinotherorganizations40.Thisinitiatesthewaycomplianceisimplemented

indailyorganizationalpractice.

Boardsmaychoosebetweentwogeneralstrategiesforimplementing

compliance.Bothstrategiesareoftentimescombined.Thefirstapproachisthe

‘enforcementstrategy’,bywhichanorganizationpledges(andworks)tomeet38K.Barata,P.Cain,‘Information,nottechnology,isessentialtoaccountability:electronicrecordsandpublic-sectorfinancialmanagement’,TheInformationSociety17(2001),pp.247-258.39M.ElKharbili,S.Stein,I.Markovic,E.Pulvermüller,‘Towardsaframeworkforsemanticbusinessprocesscomplianceman-agement’,S.Sadiq,M.Indulska,M.zurMuehlen(eds.),ProceedingsoftheWorkshoponGovernance,RiskandComplianceforInformationSystems(GRCIS2008),CEUR,WorkshopProceedings,Vol.339(Montpellier,2008),pp.1-15.Aninterestingcollec-tionofpapersabouttheresponseofbusinessorganizationstotheexpectationsofcomplianceis:C.Parker,V.LehmannNiel-sen(eds.),Explainingcompliance:Businessresponsestoregulation (Cheltenham(UK):EdwardElgarPublishing,2011).Whyregulatorycomplianceisoftentimesverydifficulttorealise:E.Bardach,R.A.Kagan,Goingbythebook:Theproblemofregula-toryunreasonableness(Piscataway(NJ):TransactionPublishers,2002).Complianceismadeextremelydifficultby‘regulatoryunreasonableness’, according to Bardach and Kagan, governmental requirements that seem sensible in principle but thatmakelittlesenseinparticularsituations,inwhichthoserequirementsarequitedifficulttooperate.40L.B.Edelman,S.A.Talesh,‘Tocomplyornottocomply–thatisn’tthequestion:howorganizationsconstructthemeaningofcompliance’,C.Parker,V. LehmannNielsen (eds.),Explainingcompliance:Business responses to regulation (Cheltenham(UK):EdwardElgarPublishing,2011),pp.103-122.

14

therequirementsof(theirinterpretationof)publicexpectations,locallaw,and

the(quality)standardsithasaccepted.Thesecondapproachisa‘businessethics

strategy’,bywhichanorganizationdefinesaprogramofcompanyethicstomeet

publicexpectations.Thesevaluesindicatehowitwantstotreatitsemployees,

customers,stakeholders,shareholders,suppliers,businesspartners,citizens,

andgovernments.Thisstrategymanagesorganizationalbehaviourandorganizes

thewayorganizationswilltrytobecompliant.Thedifficultiesinimplementing

bothstrategiesdiffer,varyingfrompoorlydeveloped‘ruleoflaw’,non-

consistentlegislation,notaddressingcrucialareasoforganizationalbehaviour,

anorganizationalculturenotfocusedonchangingorganizationalbehaviour,and

more41.

Informationisneededtoenableorganizationstodeliverobjectivessuch

astransparency,privacy,dueprocess,regulatorycompliance,andinformation

security.Theyareadirectresultofthesocialquestfororganizationalaccounta-

bility.Notmeetingthesepublicexpectationsisextremely‘badforbusiness’42.

Withoutaccessibleinformationasevidencefororganizationalcomplianceto

laws,regulations,standards,andframeworks,claimsofbeingcompliantcannot

41K.O.Hansen, ‘Beyondcompliance.Globalizationdemandsmoreeffectiveprograms’.MarkkulaCenter forAppliedEthics,Santa Clara University: http://www.scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/business/beyondcompliance.html. Online source.Archivedat:http://www.webcitation.org/6c1aKBPG1(October4,2015).Forevaluatingthesestrategies:T.R.Tyler,‘Thepsy-chologyof self-regulation:normativemotivations for compliance’,C.Parker,V. LehmannNielsen (eds.),Explainingcompli-ance:Businessresponsestoregulation(Cheltenham(UK):EdwardElgarPublishing,2011),pp.78-101.42A.Willis, ‘Corporategovernanceandmanagementof informationand records’,RecordsManagement Journal 15 (2005),no.2,pp.86-97.Seealso:Barata,Cain,‘Information-nottechnology’.

15

beupheld.Organizationsmayfaceincreasedoperatingcostfromtheinabilityto

accessandretrieveinformation.Therightofindividualpeopleofaccesstoen-

titlementsmaybeinjeopardy.Theorganizationalcapacityfordecision-making

maybeweakened.And,lastbutnotleast,transparency,accountability,privacy,

andtrustmaybereduced,possiblybeyondrepair43.Itisamazing,especiallycon-

sideringthecostsofcompliance,thatthereishardlyresearchdoneaboutthe

relationshipbetweentheaccessibilityofinformationandthesocialdemandfor

organizationalaccountability.

Informationaccessibility(Slide9)

Letusconcentrate,first,oninformationaccess.

Informationaccessibilityishardlyconceptualized44.Ininformationscience,

twotheoriesmodellingtheconceptofinformationaccesshavebeendeveloped.

Boththeorieshavecontributedtotheunderstandingofthedimensionsofin-

formationaccess.Iwillnotgointothemnow,butnoneofthesetheorieshave

explainedwhattherequirementsofaccessare45.

43A.Dikopoulou,A.Mihiotis,‘Thecontributionofrecordsmanagementtogoodgovernance’,TheTQMJournal24(2012),no.2,pp.123-141.44M.K.Buckland,Informationandinformationsystems(GreenwoodPublishingGroup:Westport,1991),p.77.In2008itwasstatedthat‘explorationsoftheconceptualnatureofinformationaccesshavebeenlimited’,by:G.Burnett,P.T.Jaeger,K.M.Thompson, ‘Normative behavior and information: the social aspects of information access’, Library& Information ScienceResearch30(2008),no.1,pp.56-66.Citation:p.56.45M.McCreadie,R.E.Rice,‘Trendsinanalyzingaccesstoinformation.PartI.Cross-disciplinaryconceptualizationsofaccess.PartII.Uniqueandintegratingconceptualizations’,InformationProcessing&Management35(1999),nr.1,pp.45-76,pp.77-

16

Informationaccesshastoberealizedregardlessoftechnology,language,

disability,orpersonalcapabilities.Becauseofitscomplexity,itcan‘beabur-

den’46.Irecognizefiverequirementsforinformationaccessthattogetherdefine

if(potential)usershaveaccesstoinformation(Slide10).

Thefirstrequirementis‘findability’,thepossibilityanindividualhasto

discoverwhereinformationiscreated,published,blogged,kept,stored,orpre-

served.Findingsomethingreferstolocatingsomethinginaknownspace.Sofin-

dinginformationisnotasearchproblem(whichlocatesinformationinunknown

spaces),butaninformationmanagementproblem47.Findabilityisanessential

partofbothsocialandorganizationalinformationarchitectures.Thesearchitec-

turestrytoensurethatuserscanfindinformationeasilyinspaceswherecom-

plexity,informationoverload,andunfamiliarityhamperfindability48.Sucharchi-

tectureisnecessarybecausetheinter-subjectivitybetweenthepersonororga-

nizationthatorganizedinformationandthepersonslookingforthatinformation

complicatesfindingit49.Finding-aidsareoftheutmostimportanceforusersto

99.Fortheconceptualizationsofaccess:I,pp.49-57.Fortheinfluencesonacces:pp.61-71;Burnettetal,‘NormativeBehav-ior,pp.56-66.46R.O.Mason,‘Fourethicalissuesoftheinformationage’,MISQuarterly10(1986),March,pp.5-12.Citation:10-11.47M.Baker,‘Findabilityisacontentproblem,notasearchproblem’(May28,2013):http://everypageispageone.com/2013/-05/28/findability-is-a-content-problem-not-a-search-problem/. Online source. Archived at: http://web.archive.org/web/-20160405191132/http://everypageispageone.com/2013/05/28/findability-is-a-content-problem-not-a-search-problem/.48A.Resmini,L.Rosati,‘Fromphysicaltodigitalenvironments(andback).Sevenlawsoffindability’,TranslatingInformationArchitecture:proceedingsofEurope'sthirdInformationArchitecturesummit(EuroIA)(Barcelona:ASIS&T,2007),pp.162-170.49L.M.Berlin,R.Jeffries,V.L.O'Day,A.Paepcke,C.Wharton,‘Wheredidyouputit?Issuesinthedesignanduseofagroupmemory’,B.Arnold,G.VanderVeer,T.White(eds.),ProceedingsoftheINTERACT'93andCHI'93conferenceonHumanfac-tors in computing systems (NewYork:ACM,1993),pp.23-30;andB.Narayan,M.Olsson, ‘Sense-makingacross spaceandtime.Implicationsfortheorganizationandfindabilityofinformation’,F.Bouthillier,B.Yu,A.Grove(eds.),Proceedingsofthe

17

findtheinformationtheyneed.

Thesecondrequirementis‘availability’,whichmeansthatevenifinfor-

mationis‘findable’,thatdoesnotmeanitcanberetrievedandbemade‘availa-

ble’atacertainmomentintime.Theremaybebarriersthatcouldmakeobtai-

ningitdifficultor,even,impossible.Theremaybelegalownershiprestrictions

thatdonotallowtheavailabilityofspecificinformation.Theinformationmay

bedeemedconfidentialbytheorganizationthatpreservesit.Itmayhavebeen

irreparablydestroyed.Websitesorblogsmayhavedisappeared.Recordedin-

formationmaybeinarepositorythatishostedbehindapaywall.TheICTsnee-

dedtoobtaintheinformationmaynotbeavailable.EvenifICTsareavailable,it

isnotunlikely,especiallywhentryingtoretrieve‘older’information,thatsoft-

warecannotdecipherthedataformatsoriginallyused.Recordedinformation

maybedeemedasnotofhistoricalimportanceandnotbecapturedinarchives.

So,althoughauserknowswhereinformationis(‘itisfindable’),heorshecannot

obtainit(‘itisnotavailable’).

Wheninformationisfindableandavailable,itshouldbeperceivable,it

shouldbepossibletoperceiveit,tohear,feel,smell,taste,orviewit.Ifpotential

usersaredisabledinwaysthatprohibithearing,feeling,smelling,tasting,or

viewing,thereshouldbeassistiveandinteractivetechnologiesinoperationthat76thASIS&TAnnualMeeting:BeyondtheCloud:RethinkingInformationBoundaries(SilverSprings,MD:AmericanSocietyforInformationScience,2013),Article72,pp.1-9.

18

allowthemtoperceiveinformation50.Wheninformationisheard,felt,smelled,

tasted,and/orviewed,theuserhasthepossibilitytogatheritsmeaning51.Itis

onlypossible,forevenifinformationisfindable,available,andperceivable,that

doesnotmeanitis‘comprehensible’.Toensureaccessibilityandusabilityat

bothperceptualandcognitivelevelsofhuman-computerinteraction,designers

ofe-governmentservicesneedtobeconstantlyawareofsuchdesignissuesand

shouldintegratethoseissuesinevaluatingtheirdesigns52.

Thefourthrequirementis,thus,‘comprehensibility’.Understandingisonly

possibleiftheinformationliteracycapabilitiesofusersenablethemtodoso.

Facilitatingcomprehensibilitymaybeaburdenfororganizations,becauseeven

inveryliteratecountrieslargeminoritiesofthepopulationcanonlyreadsimple

textsintheirownlanguage53.Muchabovethelevelof‘simpletext’isformostof

thosepeopleincomprehensible.Forthatreason,forlargeminoritiesofthepo-

pulationaccessinginformationwillbeproblematic.TohaveaccesstoICTswill

notsolvetheproblem,whichmakesthedisseminationofknowledgequitediffi-

cult.

Informationmaybefindable,available,perceivable,andcomprehensible,50H. Hill, ‘Disability and accessibility in the library and information science literature: A content analysis’, Library & In-formationScienceResearch35(2013),no.2,pp.137-142.51W. Jones, ‘Noknowledgebut through information’,D.J. Pauleen,G.E.Gorman (eds.),Personal knowledgemanagement:Individual,organizationalandsocialperspectives(Farnham:GowerPublishing,Ltd.,2011),pp.143-166.52T.Kato,M.Hori, ‘BeyondPerceivability.Criticalrequirementsforuniversaldesignof information’,Proceedingsofthe8thInternationalACMSIGACCESSConferenceonComputersandaccessibility(Portland(Or.):ACM,2006),pp.287-288.53OECDSkillsOutlook2013.FirstResultsfromtheSurveyofAdultSkills(Paris:OECD,2013).

19

butifthefifthrequirementofaccess,‘contextuality’,isinjeopardy,itmaybe

impossibletoreconstructthecontextinwhichinformationisgenerated,used,

andmanaged.Informationiscontextual;ithasaspecificmeaninginthecontext

inwhichitisgeneratedandused.Ifcontextcannotbereconstructedbyauser,

themeaninginformationwasmeanttohaveatthemomentofitscreationoras

aconsequenceofitsuse,willbelost.Atthatmoment,informationlosesitsfunc-

tionasreference,asevidenceofactionsandtransactions,orassourceofknow-

ledge.Ifthatcontextisunavailableorimpossibletoreconstruct,information

maybeinterestingforusers,butonlyintheirowncontextofinformationsee-

king54.Thisiswhatopendataareatthismomentintime:interesting,butde-

contextualizedandassuchquiteuselessforreachingmanye-governmentobjec-

tives.

Archiving(Slide11)

Archivingconcerns,inshort,thegeneration,processing,use,access,dis-

posal,andpreservationoftrustedinformation.Itemphasizesthefactthatsome

informationwillbekeptforeveranditsmanagementwillbeaninfiniteconti-

nuum.Especiallyindigitalenvironments,collectionsofinformation(likearchi-

54C.C.Kulthau, ‘Kuhlthau's InformationSearchProcess’,K.E.Fisher,S.Erdelez,L.McKechnie(eds.),Theoriesof InformationBehavior(NewJersey:InformationToday,2006),pp.230-234.

20

ves)areconstructedbodies,configuredtoretainalltheinformationorganiza-

tionsorpersonschoosetoretainandenrichedwithallthemetadatathatare

allowedtobeincludedinorganizationalorpersonalmetadataschedules.They

arecriticalforbusinessprocessperformance55.Theyareusedtoreconstructthe

pastfororganizationalorpersonalaccountabilityandretain(ataminimum)all

informationorganizationsandpersonsarelegallyobligedtokeepforspecified

periodsoftime56.Theseconstructsshowthepreoccupations,moralcodesand

preconceptionsembeddedinprocedures,businessprocesses,legislation,and

socialenvironments.Asaconstruct,itisasubjectivebody57.Notallinformation

iscapturedinanarchive:employeesofanorganizationmaydecidetodeleteit

prematurely.Newinformationisaddeddailytothoseconstructs,metadataare

addedorchanged,andinformationthathasreachedtheendofitsretentionpe-

riodisirreparablydestroyed.Onlya(small)partoftheinformationgeneratedby

anorganizationorapersonispreservedindefinitelyforits‘historicalvalue’58.Its

businessimportancemeansthatitneedstobeidentifiedandcontrolled59.

55D.A.Marchand,W.J.Kettinger, J.D.Rollins, InformationOrientation:TheLinktoBusinessPerformance (NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,2001),Chapter6.56G.J.vanBussel, ‘ReconstructingthePast forOrganizationalAccountability’,TheElectronicJournalof InformationSystemsEvaluation,15(2012),No.1,pp.127-137.57D.Greetham,‘Who’sin,who’sout.Theculturalpoliticsofarchivalexclusion’,StudiesintheLiteraryImagination,32(1999),No.1,pp.1-28.58Manyoftheideasproposedhereareexpressedin:G.J.vanBussel,‘ArchivesintheDigitalAge.Thetheoreticalframeworkfor theArchive-as-Is’,R, Jonker,A.Glaudemans,F.Smit (eds.),ArchivalScienceand InformationPhilosophy (working title).Manuscript,tobepublishedin2017.59J.VandePas,G.J.vanBussel,M.Veenstra,F. Jona, ‘DigitalDataandtheCity.Anexplorationof thebuildingblocksofaSmartCityArchitecture’,D.P.Baker,W.Evans(eds.),DigitalInformationStrategies.FromApplicationsandContenttoLibrar-iesandPeople(Waltham,MAUSA:ChandosPublishing,2015),Chaper13,pp.185-198.

21

Transparencyinmanagement,processingandaccessof(personal)infor-

mationisextremelyimportantforcustomersandcitizenstotrustorganizations

theyarebargainingwith.Itisessentialforbothorganizationalaccountabilityas

e-government.

Incomplexcomputerizedenvironments,thistrustworthinessofinfor-

mationisconstantlychallenged.Fourdimensionsofinformationallowforareli-

ablereconstructionoforganizationalpolicies,decisions,products,actionsand

transactions:quality,context,relevanceandsurvival60.

(Slide12)ThedimensionQualityisaboutthequalityrequirementsofin-

formation.Wecandistinguishfourqualityrequirements:integrity(information

cannotbemanipulated),authenticity(informationpresentstherequired(and

original)contentandstructure),controllability(informationcanbetestedon

integrityandauthenticity),andhistoricity(thecontent,contextandstructureof

informationcanbereconstructedatanymomentintime)61.Thesefourrequire-

mentsrealizethefixityofinformation.Thismeansthatitis(orcanberecon-

structedas)an‘immutablemobile’62.Fixityisanecessitybecauseinformationis

meantforlaterconsultationandisusedrepeatedlyforthereconstructionof

60G.J.vanBussel,Archivingshouldbejustlikeanapple,enachtandere(nuttige?)stellingen(Amsterdam:AmsterdamUniver-sityPress,2012).61G.J. vanBussel, F.F.M.Ector,Opzoeknaardeherinnering.Verantwoordingssystemen, content-intensieveorganisatiesenperformance(Helmond:VanBusselDocumentServices,2009),pp.181-214.62B.Latour,‘Postmodern?No,simplyamodern!Stepstowardsananthropologyofscience’,StudiesInHistoryandPhilosophyofScience,21(1990),No.1,pp145-171.

22

pasthappenings.Fixityenablesuserstotrustinformationandtouseitasevi-

dence63.

(Slide13)Theseconddimension,Context,isneededforsensemakingof

socialsituationsandtheinformationgeneratedwithinthatsocialsituation.Con-

textprovidesmeaningforinformationitself64.Knowledgeoftheindividualor-

ganizationalpolicies,decisions,products,actionsortransactionsforwhichin-

formationwasgenerated(andtheirrelationships)isnecessaryforextracting

meaningoutofsituations(cases,processflows,decisions,etc.)65.This

knowledgeappliestotheexistingregulationforthebusinessprocessitispartof,

thebusinessprocessitself,thestructureofthespecificcase,theproceduresby

whichrecordedinformationisgenerated,processed,andused,anditsplacein

theinformationstructureitbelongsto.Thecontextofinformationobjectsis

capturedinmetadata,whentheyareconfiguredtodoso.Thesemetadatatryto

generateanimageofthespecificactionortransactioninformationispartof,the

changesthereinovertime,theprocessinganduseoftheinformation,andits

63D.M.Levy,Scrollingforward.Makingsenseofdocumentsinthedigitalage(NewYork,ArcadePublishing,2001),Chapter2.64K.Weick, The Social Psychology of Organizing (New York:McGraw-Hill, 1979); K.Weick, Sensemaking in Organisations(London:Sage,1995).Seealso:B.Dervin,‘From,themindseyeoftheuser.TheSense-MakingQualitative-Quantitativemeth-odology’,B.Dervin, L. Foreman-Wernet (eds.),Sense-MakingMethodologyReader (NewYork:HamptonPress,2003). Firstpublishedin1992.65J. Barwise, J. Perry, Situations and Attitudes (Cambridge (Ma):MIT Press, 1983); K. Devlin, ‘Situation Theory and SocialStructure’,M.Masuch,L.Polos(eds.),KnowledgeRepresentationandReasoningunderUncertainty (Berlin:Springer-Verlag,1994),pp.197-237.

23

management66.

(Slide14)Thethirddimensionisrelevance.Informationisonlyrelevantfor

usersifitfitsthecontextinwhichitisused,managedandretrieved.Itneedsto

berelevantfororganizationalorpersonalobjectivesofperformanceandac-

countability67.Aspecialkindofrelevanceisappraisal,determiningthe‘value’,

relevance,ofinformationovertime.Itmeansthecomplex(andsubjective)eval-

uationofinformationtodetermineitseconomic,organizational,financial,fiscal,

juridical,legal,societal,andhistoricalrelevanceandtodeveloporganizationalor

personalretentionschedules68.Disposingofirrelevantinformationsaves(poten-

tiallyhigh)costsforretentionandaccessibility.Besidesthat,irrelevantinfor-

mationmakesorganizationsvulnerabletolegalproceedings,forinstanceinthe

contextofprivacylaw,fraudorcorruption69.

(Slide15)Thefourthdimension,Survival,concernsthesecurityanddura-

bilitychallenges,whichhavetobeovercometorealizeaccess,retrieval,and

66G.J.vanBussel, ‘AnAccountabilityChallenge:CapturingRecordsandTheirContext inEnterprise InformationSystems’,P.Silva,R.Quaresma,A.Guerreiro(eds.),Proceedingsofthe10thEuropeanConferenceonInformationSystemsManagement,TheUniversityofEvora,8-9September2016(Reading:ACPI,2016),pp.204-211.67T.Saracevic,‘Relevance:Areviewoftheliteratureandaframeworkforthinkingonthenotionininformationscience.PartII: nature and manifestations of relevance’, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(2007),No.3,pp.1915-1933andT. Saracevic, ‘Relevance:A reviewof the literatureanda framework for thinkingon thenotion in information science. Part III: Behavior and effects of relevance’, Journal of theAmerican Society for InformationScienceandTechnology,58,(2007),No.13,pp.2126-2144.68R.J.Cox,H.W.Samuels,‘Thearchivist’sfirstresponsibility.Aresearchagendatoimprovetheidentificationandretentionofrecordsofenduringvalue’,TheAmericanArchivist,51(1988),Winter/Spring,pp.28-42.69G.J. van Bussel, H. Henseler, ‘Digital Archiving and eDiscovery. Delivering evidence in an age of overload’, B. John,M.Nkhoma and N. Leung (eds.), Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information SystemsManagement andEvaluation.ICIME2013,HoChiMinCity,Vietnam,13-14May2013(Reading2013),pp.281-288.

24

preservationofrecordedinformationovertime70.Itstressestheimportanceofa

reliableanddurableICTinfrastructuretoenablethecontinuousandsecurestor-

ageofinformation.Thefeaturesofthisinfrastructurearefragileandcontinu-

ouslyinfluencedbytherestructuringoforganizations.Thechallengeofpre-

servationisalmostoverwhelming71.

(Slide16)Archivingorganizestheinformationvaluechain72.Thischainof

informationprocessesrealizesthefiverequirementsofinformationaccessand

thefourdimensionsofinformationinthebusinessprocessesoforganizations

andmanagesinformationtoreachcompetitiveadvantage.Theorganizational

archivingfunctionorganizestheinformationvaluechaintoidentify,control,and

manageinformationandICTsinandbetweenorganizations.Thischainensures

thattheinformationalandevidentialvalueofinformationisutilizedinandbet-

weenbusinessprocessestoimproveperformance,privacyandsecurity.Imple-

mentingtheinformationvaluechainwouldimproveorganizationalaccountabili-

ty,accesstoinformation,trustandperformance.Itwouldallowforaneasier

implementationofe-government.

Butthereisoneenormouschallenge:archivalization.

70D.Bearman,‘Momentsofrisk.Identifyingthreatstoelectronicrecords’,Archivaria,62(2003),pp15-46.71F.Boudrez,H.Dekeyser,J.Dumortier(2005).DigitalArchiving.Thenewchallenge(MontSaintGuibert:IRIS,2005).72Firstintroducedin:VanBussel,Ector,Opzoeknaardeherinnering,pp.181-354.

25

Archivalization(Slide17)

EricKetelaarintroduced‘archivalization’,meaningthe‘consciousorun-

consciouschoice(determinedbysocialandculturalfactors)toconsidersome-

thingwortharchiving’73.Understandingofthewaypeopleandorganizations

createandmaintaininformationandhowtheyconsciouslyorunconsciously

choosetoconsidersomethingworthkeepingiscrucial.

Forarchiving,butfororganizationalaccountability,too.

Itdetermineswhetherandhowitispossibletoreconstructactionsand

transactionswithinformation.Itdetermineshowpeoplecreate,process,and

useinformationandarchives,andhowarchivistsacquire,contextualize,andap-

praisethem.The‘softwareofthemind’(Ketelaarborrowedthisphrasefrom

GeertHofstede74)isconciouslyorunconciouslyinfluencedbyculturalandsocial

factors.Differentorganizationsareimplementingtheinformationvaluechainin

differentways.Professionalstandardsleadtodifferentwaysofcreatingandus-

inginformationandarchives.Forunderstandinginformationandarchives,cul-

ture,employees,andarchivistsoforganizationsaretobeknownintheirsocial,

73E.Ketelaar, ‘Archivalisationandarchiving’,ArchivesandManuscripts,27(1999),pp.54-61.Quotation:E.Ketelaar, ‘Archi-visticsresearchsavingtheprofession’,TheAmericanArchivist,63(2000),pp.322-340,p.329.74G.Hofstede,CulturesandOrganizations:SoftwareoftheMind(NewYork:McGraw-Hill,1997)(mostrecent(third)edition:2010).

26

religious,cultural,political,andeconomiccontexts75.Archivalizationimpresses

thefactarchivesarenotneutral,notcomplete,andtheresultofmanychoices.

Theyreflectmorals,preconceptions,andlimitationsoftheirsocialandcultural

environmentandofferonlyadistortedviewofreality.Or,maybebetter,they

allowforthecontructionofrealities,excluding,throughappraisalandchoices,

otherrealities76.Theinformationvaluechainisembeddedandlargelyconfig-

uredbythisbehaviouralcomponentofarchivalization.Reconstructingthepast,

asisnecessaryfororganizationalaccountability,isnotaneasyventure.

Archivalizationhasdetrimentaleffectsonarchivingandorganizationalac-

countability.Accountabilityisstronglydependentoftheworkingoforganizatio-

nalsystemsofcontrolsandthemethodsandinstrumentsusedtostrengthen

suchcontrols.AsMelvinDubnickandGeorgeFrederickson77explain,account-

abilityrelationshipsaremostlyinevidenceafteranevent(‘postfactum’).These

relationshipsinclude‘postfactum’attemptstohandleresponsibilityforhuman

ororganizationalerrors,basedon‘prefactum’(beforeanevent)expectations

andassumptionsonhumanororganizationalbehaviour,configuredinICTs.Such

attemptsarelargelybasedoninformationaboutthesefactsandonarchives.

75Ketelaar, ‘Archivistic Research’, pp. 322-340. E. Ketelaar, ‘Tacit narratives. The meaning of arhives’, Archival Science, I(2001),pp.131-141.76J.Ihanus,‘Thearchiveandpsychoanalysis:Memoriesandhistoriestowardfutures’,InternationalForumofPsycho-analysis,16(2007),No.2,pp.119-131.77M.J.Dubnick,H.G.Frederickson,Publicaccountability.Performancemeasurement,theextendedstate,andthesearchfortrust(Washington,D.C,KetteringFoundation&NationalAcademyofPublicAdministration,2011),pp.7-12,

27

ICTsaredefinedandconfigured‘prefactum’andreflectexpectationsandas-

sumptionsofbehaviour,buttheydonotreflecttheactivitiesandbehaviour‘per

factum’,duringthefact78.Organizationstrytoeliminatethisstagebydesigning

ICTstoavoidsocialrelations,toavoidpoliticaldiscussionanddebate,andto

avoidinfringementonrules.These‘perfactum’activitiesare‘spacesofcon-

testation’,spacesfilledwithpoliticaldiscussions,negotiations,anddebates,

spaceswheredecisionsarereachedandwhereaccountabilityshouldbepromi-

nent79.Butbecause‘perfactum’isneglected,theseactivitiesarenotormargi-

nallycapturedinICTs.(Slide18)

TheaccountabilitymetaphorsoftheAgoraandtheBazaar,proposedby

CiaránO’KellyandMelvinDubnick80,stresstheimportanceofsocialrelations-

hipsinthe‘perfactum’stage.AnAgoraisasocialenvironmentinwhichpurpo-

ses,reasons,andnormsaredeveloped.Itis‘afluid,contingentandlocalisedac-

countabilityspace,foundedonanunendingcascadeofsocialsituationsandrela-

tionships’inandbetweenorganizations81.Thisspaceislinkedtocollaboration

betweenparticipantsinthatspace,basedonnormsthatfocusonthefairnessof

aimsandprocedures.Organizationalprocedures,managerialpowerstructures,

78R.I.Heidelberg,‘Politicalaccountabilityandspacesofcontestation’,Administration&Society,April142015,pp.1-24.79Heidelberg,‘Politicalaccountability’,pp.10,18.80C.O’Kelley,M.Dubnick(2015).‘Accountabilityanditsmetaphors.Fromforumtoagoraandbazaar’,PaperpresentedtothePSG VII track (Quality and Integrity of Governance) of the 2015 EGPAAnnual Conference August 24-29, 2015, Tou- louse,France,Toulouse,EGPA,pp.1-25.Online:http://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/files/13032528/COK_MJD_EGPA_Paper.pdf.81O’Kelley,Dubnick,‘Accountabilityanditsmetaphors’,p.9.

28

andorganizationalpurposesare‘informed’aboutthestandpointsanddecisions

emergingasresultsfromthesecolloborativerelationships.Theseresultsarede-

velopedwithinacontextwherepeoplecombinemoralsentimentswithethical

requirementsandconstraints.Thedefiningreasonsforactionaregenerated‘per

factum’.WithintheAgora,themetaphoroftheBazaardescribesexchangein

mutualpursuitofeachother’sinterests.ThefocusoftheBazaarisonthenego-

tiationsthatgenerateresults,andtheexchangesneededforthosenegotiations

tobesuccessful.Theseexchangesassistpeopleindevelopingstandpointsand

decisions,tryingtofindamutualinterestandwillingtotradefavours,informati-

on,oresteemtoachievetheirpurposes82.Itiswhatishappeningindailyorgani-

zationalpractice.

ExchangeswithintheBazaarmaynotbeopentodescription,formal

scrutiny,codifiedrules,orbureaucraticcontrol.Suchspacesmayinvolvepsycho-

ticandpathologicalbehaviours83.Inconfiguringtheinformationvaluechainthe-

sespacesshouldberecognized,althoughmuchoftheseexchangesarenotcap-

turedininformationuntilaftertheevent(‘postfactum’)and,atthatmoment,

accordingtosetproceduresand,thus,distortingsocialandsituationalreality.

Contextualizingsuchspaceswillbecomeveryimportanttominimizetheeffects

ofarchivalizationonthearchive’spossibilitytoreflectorganizationalrealities.82O’Kelley,Dubnick,‘Accountabilityanditsmetaphors’,p.9-16.83B.D.Singer,‘CrazySystemsandKafkaCircuits’,SocialPolicy,11(1980),pp.46-54.

29

Conclusion

Let’scometoaconclusion.

Designinganddevelopingonlineservicesanddisseminatingopendataare

easy.Thoseareactionsthatdonotneedinteraction.Realizingthemtowork

needscitizensthatwanttousethem,dohavetheliteratecapabilitiestodoso,

andtrusttheorganizationtobetransparentaboutthewayinformationispro-

cessed,secured,archived,andmanaged.Theyneedaccessibleinformation.That

is,mostoften,quiteaproblem.

E-participation,governance,andbeatingthedigitaldividearenoteasy.

SolvingthemhasnothingtodowithaccesstoICTforcitizens.Theyneedinfor-

mationliteratecitizens.Theyneedinformationaccessforeveryone.Andthey

needaccountableorganizationsthatcanbetrustedtoberesponsible,transpa-

rent,andindependent,andthatbehaveinanethicalway.

Thatisthechallengeofe-government.

Ithankyouforyourattention.