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The name is unimportant - attitude is.
Posted: Aug 22, 2006
Lawrie Phipps, Programme Manager, JISC |
George, I¿ve passed this article onto a few colleagues who¿ve smiled wryly. I work in Higher Education in the UK, where the name for this function is often changing. In my field (and other fields of business in the UK, and I¿m sure internationally) we have applied the prefix e- to many systems. We started off with e-learning, we also use terms like e-research and e-tutoring, outside of these core education roles we use terms such as e-admin. We have e-banking and e-democracy, there was even a doomed attempt at the creation of an e-university. The prefix became all pervading.
Recently I have noticed the rise of the suffix, it started with web 2.0. We should have seen it coming, and on reflection I think part of my initial aversion to 2.0 was a subconscious knowing; learning 2.0, education 2.0 accessibility 2.0, Business 2.0 I could go on. I have to face it the new prefix is a suffix ¿ 2.0.
So on to your call for a renaming of Information Technology, a reasoned argument that will strike a chord with many. But does it address the underpinning values that you seek to promote ¿ technology is an important business function. Initially the name would put heads of BT on a level playing field with heads of finance, heads of corporate accounts etc. But attitude will win out over name. Eventually, the head of BT will be considered a librarian again. As an aside the term ¿glorified librarian¿ should be considered a badge of honour, scholarship and knowledge begin with the library, in UK Universities the `Librarian¿ is very much a part of the Senior Management Team, even know in the e-world in which we inhabit, librarians are at the forefront of social bookmarking, folkonomies, meta data, access management and authentication ¿ as well as the traditional role which underpins learning and research.
Changing names does not give credibility, demonstrating how a part of an organisation contributes to the whole and underpins core functions does. Let us not seek to change terms as a short cut to a departments standing within the company, let us seek to better articulate that role and increase understanding of the need.
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