The Values of Knowledge in the Digital Age - Case Study Example

Running Header: Knowledge in Digital Age Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code: Date of Submission: Table of contents The Values of Knowledge in the Digital Age: 3 A case study of Wikileaks and Wikipidea 3 Background 3 The digital age 3 Statement of the problem 4 Goals and objectives 4 Competencies of digital age 4 Approach of social media model 5 Foundation of Wikipedia and wikileaks 5 Openness of governance 6 Principles of anonymity 6 Information copyrights and patenting 7 Transparency and accountability 7 Contributions to education 8 Freedom of creation of information 8 Role of volunteership in knowledge economy 9 The conceptualization of open sourcing 10 Contribution of digital information to literacy 10 Learning foundation of wikis 11 Resource based learning in digital age 12 Modeling roles of librarians and library services 12 Shifting roles of educators 13 Conclusion 13 References 14 The Values of Knowledge in the Digital Age: A case study of Wikileaks and Wikipidea Background The digital age Knowledge in digital age is documented to be characterized by capabilities of individuals to transfer information freely (Wardrip-Fruin et al, 2003). Knowledge is governed by freedom of speech, and freedom of press. Digital age is in addition defined by change of information processing from a position where consumers of information become producers of information and content. Knowledge in digital age, unlike the era before the information age, information dissemination was regulated and censored. Digital age is driven by customer-based approach in production and customer-engagement in innovation and product development which has been promoted by social media [convergence of cultural values]. Digital age has resulted into emergence of participative journalism or citizen journalism where different consumers of information contribute their perspectives on issues based on personal perception and understanding (Flew, 2002, p.13). The values of contribution have been enhanced by development of information communication technology that has increased sharing of content, editing of content and identification of information sources that are more reliable. Information age is characterized by digital revolution that exploits competencies of ethical values in reporting. Digital age has contributed into an information economy that is characterized by productivity and competitiveness of informational agents that have capacity to generate, process and apply efficiently the knowledge-based economy towards benefit of the information society. Statement of the problem There have been varied arguments on values of knowledge in the digital age and rationale digital communication systems have contributed into shift of information consumption and production (Carr, 2010). Access to information in print media has been associated with high costs of access, need for subscription towards access to information and demands to provide confidentiality statements on use of the information and its policy implications. Digital age is argued to improve knowledge power and promotes democracy (Holmes, 2005). The digital age has, through use of a social media model, resulted into emergence of “wiki” media or channels like Wikipedia (Wikipedia.com), wikibooks (wikibooks.com), Wikimedia (Wikimedia.com) and wikileaks (wikileaks.org). Goals and objectives The essay adopts a descriptive approach in order to determine values of knowledge in digital age. The essay utilizes a case study of Wikipedia and Wikileaks and roles that they play in state governance and leadership, end-user learning as referral material, implication of the media channels in promoting political activism and democracy and mechanism the media transforms journalisms and economies of journalism [participative journalism/citizen journalism]. The essay reports on impacts of knowledge in digital economy in learning and governance and its future implication in shaping conduct and practice in governance. Competencies of digital age Digital age contributes into increased end-user access to digital text, images, and streaming media through web-links (Carr, 2010). The digital age or information in the computer age is characterized by creative participation of end-users through interactive feedback and availability of participating communities that can edit or correct arguments which provided environment for learning and development (Bollacker, 2010). Approach of social media model Knowledge in digital age is structured on competencies of social media model. The social media model is defined by a two-way feedback loop where end-users and producers of contents participate in knowledge creation and knowledge development through peer-to-peer networking (Scharl & Tochtermann, 2007). The technologies implemented in emerging social media models or new media can be edited, manipulated, networkable, compressible and interactive. Social media model is structured on pull strategy in order to exploit competencies of the power of pull with objective interests of harnessing flow of knowledge and creation of vital economic value to informed society. Foundation of Wikipedia and wikileaks Wikileaks and Wikipedia are digital journals that are based on social media model. Wikileaks however, concerns itself with promotion of transparency, accountability and exposure of censored information (Marmura, 2008). Due to wikileaks promotions of transparency practices, wikileaks has been awarded 2008 Economic Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award and the 2009 Amnesty International Rights Reporting Award (New Media). Wikileaks is structured on need for enforcement of best practices in reporting. Wikipedia, unlike Wikileaks, is a form of free online library that learners could use to access knowledge through their computing devices (Scharl & Tochtermann, 2007). Wikipedia provides open resources for learners and fosters learner development and correspondence learning. Openness of governance Knowledge in digital economy has fostered open governance and promoted open market economy (Bollacker, 2010). Information age has resulted into participative journalism where traditional consumers of information participate in knowledge and information communication. For instance, Wikileaks.org engages in publication of anonymous submissions of sensitive government documents, corporate documents or religious documents. The publication is based on preservation of anonymity of information source. Information age has made it possible for people or consumers of information to access information and content that journalists or media personnel had little access in traditional journalism principles of practice and need to respect the principle of autonomy and independence (Guardian News and Media Limited, 2009). Principles of anonymity Knowledge in digital age exploits values of principle of anonymity for instance Wikileaks.org, is structured on professionalism of principle of anonymity through procedures for receipt, processing and publishing information (Carr, 2010). Ethical values and need for ethical practices in organizations have contributed into loss of jobs of whistle blowers which demonstrates weaknesses of privacy and confidentiality in handling of information. Knowledge in digital age has resulted into managing disadvantages of organizations setting up whistle blowing policies which negatively affect the professional and career development of whistle blower following disclosure of the information source (Wasserman, 2007). Knowledge further exploits values of informed consent and standards of authorship for instance Wikipedia acknowledge sources of its content through appropriate citation of the sources. This implies, knowledge in digital age conforms to standards of practice for information that is not censored as well as providing access to censored information through anonymous submission of information (Marks, 2008, p.28). Information copyrights and patenting Knowledge in digital age is not defined by copyrights and patent rights (Wardrip-Fruin et al, 2003). Information age has resulted into obsolescence of injunctions and statutory damage awards by legal institutions or claims of compensations for character assassination or defamation. Knowledge in digital age is characterized by increased need for accuracy and transparency in reporting which has contributed into need for public institution stakeholders to practice ethical standards through non-censorship of information. In a digital economy, people decisions are based on information and people use information to make decisions on governance; understand effects of policy statements on economy and rationale policy communication affects personal development, social values and personal values (Metz, 2008). Transparency and accountability Information age has contributed into promotion of principle of fairness and principle of justice in information dissemination which has created environment for championship of accountability, responsibility and transparency (Bollacker, 2010). Knowledge in digital age has resulted into obsolescence of “secrecy by governments, private corporations and institutions” that don’t prefer accountability and transparency practices that information and communication technology is associated with, despite the governments, corporate entities and institutions championship for transparency in internal control and accounting (Wasserman, 2007). Knowledge in digital age has facilitated in improving ethical standards and ethical values of government agents and corporate institutions. Information in digital age has cultivated environment for open governance and ethical accountability which has improved governance, management and leadership. Knowledge in digital age has contributed into stakeholders voicing concerns on rationale of governance that they perceive sustainable (Williams, 2007, p.A13). Contributions to education Digital age provides foundation for an open-source platforms and open-access repositories that learners could use to access information that supports and meets their academic needs (Wardrip-Fruin et al, 2003). Wikipedia promotes end-user creation of content through editing of the content, sharing of information through embedded links and content modification based on the end-user knowledge and capabilities of vetting of the educational information which has provided foundation for Wikipedia to pioneer growth of digital education. Freedom of creation of information Digital age has resulted into realization of a global knowledge eco-system that is characterized by ability of end-users to create educational materials free of charge (Croteau & Hoynes, 2003). Through free information access, students have access to information hence vital support to learning in universities, community-based colleges, primary and secondary school teaching resource materials (Holmes, 2005). Freedom of creation of information in digital age is fueled by intellectual property licensing structure of the social media channels. The content can be re-created and advanced by the knowledge community. Freedom of knowledge creation is characterized by end-user attribution clause where end-users attribute adaptation of original author which ensures authorship subscribes and conforms to principles of practice through non-plagiarism (Scharl & Tochtermann, 2007). Digital age has provided foundation for diverse political arguments for instance, knowledge in the digital age has provided opportunities for people or citizens to be bereft of information, and politically, knowledge empowers democratic movements which contributes into harnessing of power of information in modeling and shaping political discourse. Through Wikileaks.org, knowledge in the digital age contributes into harmonization of social dimension, fosters equalization of social power and enhances social democracy which imply, digital age has provided foundation for transformative of political views, agenda and direction towards participative governance where citizens have voice in shaping governance and decisions on governance (Appelbaum, 2009). Role of volunteership in knowledge economy The knowledge in digital age is community driven and exploits values of volunteership (Carr, 2010). Due to volunteership nature of information, digital information technology permits communication of information that is vital towards policy development. Users for instance in wikileaks.org share information that is able to shape diplomacy and democracy that citizens could have failed to have access to. Digital age empowers audience issues [political, social, moral and demographic] that keep the target audience in the know (Holmes, 2005). Knowledge in digital platforms forms basis for information archival hence making digital media a public archive that is centrally accessible through hosting websites or through replications in other sites [social media sites] through links. Volunteership and its World-Wide-Web connectivity, through interactive media contributes into collective actions and facilitates individual contribution to the course of knowledge development which result into the values of digital media as a digital common platform for communication and knowledge dissemination (Croteau & Hoynes, 2003). Through volunteership, audiences and individuals foster foundation of “wiki” architecture base don open-sourcing and knowledge sharing which exploits power of masses [collective actions] leading into exploitation of value and competencies of egalitarian and social values. The conceptualization of open sourcing Knowledge in digital age has contributed into emergence of concept of open-sourcing (Rafaeli, 1988). Through open-sourcing, digital media has re-oriented information that can be shared and nature of knowledge towards fulfilling needs for all stakeholders which has resulted into democratization of knowledge and provided basis for democratization of leadership. Open-sourcing has contributed into emergence of a free-cultural movement where contributors for instance in wikileaks engage in collaborative work, networking, emergence of new forms of social agencies that are defined by hacktivists. Contribution of digital information to literacy Knowledge in digital age contributes into growth of literacy through end-user access to information that is not accessible by other media channels due to confidentiality and privacy policies (Rafaeli, 1988). Wikileaks utilizes user individual involvement to produce information. Contribution is augmented by understanding that accountability and transparency is radial which makes all stakeholders responsible for achievement of understanding of values that shape humanity and transform landscape of governance by raising ethical issues in governance, leadership and management. Through digital age, the information transfer and dissemination has revolutionized the learning landscape and education through infusion of instructional technology which has resulted into need to provide digitally-compliant library information through “wiki” platforms (Marmura, 2008). Wikis provide easily accessible information on diplomacy and governance that could be used in learning environments hence help learns to understand implications of knowledge and mechanism living standards could have been affected by lack of exposure to the information. Wikis for instance Wikipedia have improved level of engagement of end-users which demonstrates increasing end-user pursuit for knowledge and rationale wikis drive the knowledge economy and learning culture (Bollacker, 2010). Wikis have been documented to be knowledge-intrusive knowledge-generating online platforms that have played a vital role in modeling information literacy and critical literacy. Learning foundation of wikis Wikis for instance Wikipedia play a significant role in providing learners access to learning material that is free of charge (Scharl & Tochtermann, 2007). Through digital media, learners could use search engines to locate, evaluate and learn different methods of citing information which enhance correspondence and distance learning. Wikipedia, for instance, as an online library, provides learning materials that learners could use in education. Resource based learning in digital age Digital age creates knowledge that is participative and exploits values of active and collaborative learning (Carr, 2010). As a result, knowledge in the digital age is vital towards achievement of a resource based learning that nurtures critical thinking and facilitates learner engagement. Digital information provided opportunities for use of information in learning process. Knowledge in digital age is characterized by increasing need for innovation and access to research and development data that wikis for instance Wikipedia provide hence creating value to current working environments that are oriented towards exploitation of consultations. It could be argued that wikis promote problem solving, growth of information literacy and critical literacy development (Flew, 2002). Modeling roles of librarians and library services Knowledge in digital age has resulted into shift of roles of library services and librarians. Library services have been transformed into agents for teaching critical thinking and fostering resource-based learning (Croteau & Hoynes, 2003). Information age has contributed into shift of learning process into evaluative learning that involves information evaluation for consistency. Information in wikis is subject to end-user comments which provided new opinions on ideas and thoughts. The end-users are become editors by choice which has resulted into different perspective in arguments on different issues as well as reliance on opinion of editors. However, the participative feedback and participative learning has provided emerging challenges to library instructions. Shifting roles of educators Knowledge in digital economy has resulted into shift in roles of educators from personnel that are required to gather and filter information based on end-user needs into personnel that are actively participating in educational and learning processes (Holmes, 2005). Due to sharing of information and access of learning materials, learning and educators roles has expanded breath to incorporate instructional strategies that integrate values of participatory roles in instructional process. The educator’s roles have shifted into creators of independent thinkers which has provided basis for educators to act as facilitators and knowledge navigators hence promoting informational literacy (Wassermann, 2007). Conclusion Wikis have revolutionized rationale information is accessed and retrieved. For instance wikileaks has changed journalists as keepers of knowledge due to communication of information that conforms to confidentiality clauses without fully providing information that has capacity to influence quality of life, democracy and policy development. Wikis have provided foundation for participative learning through end-user access to information. Wikis provide information that is not filtered to satisfy authorship which has resulted into improved freedom of press. Wikis have resulted into a participative approach in learning and development through end-user contribution and voice in different issues. Wikis through close to real time communication, have ensures information has a higher time-to-market and higher time-to-value. Through wikis, for instance wikileaks, “power” is exercised as “power” as it is perceived fit which is derivative of “empowerment of communities” towards governance, learning and development.   References Appelbaum, Jacob, (January 20, 2009). “Wikileaks is the absolute most important project on the globe". CAMPERSpeak (www.informationactivism.org) Bollacker, Kurt D 2010, Avoiding a Digital Dark Age, American Scientist, March–April 2010, Vol. 98, No. 2, p. 106. Carr, Nicholas 2010, The Shallows, What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains, W. W. Norton & Company, p. 46. 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