An information infrastructure is defined by Ole Hanseth as "a shared, evolving, open, standardized, and heterogeneous installed base" and by Pironti as all of the people, processes, procedures, tools, facilities, and technology which supports the creation, use, transport, storage, and destruction of information. The notion of information infrastructures, introduced in the 1990s and refined during the following decade, has proven quite fruitful to the information systems field. It changed the perspective from organizations to networks and from systems to infrastructure, allowing for a global and emergent perspective on information systems. Information infrastructure is a technical structure of an organizational form, an analytical perspective or a semantic network. The concept of information infrastructure was introduced in the early 1990s, first as a political initiative, later as a more specific concept in IS research. For the IS research community, an important inspiration was Hughes′ accounts of large technical systems, analyzed as socio-technical power structures. Information infrastructure, as a theory, has been used to frame a number of extensive case studies, and in particular to develop an alternative approach to IS design: "Infrastructures should rather be built by establishing working local solutions supporting local practices which subsequently are linked together rather than by defining universal standards and subsequently implementing them". It has later been developed into a full design theory, focusing on the growth of an installed base. Information infrastructures include the Internet, health systems and corporate systems. It is also consistent to include innovations such as Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace as excellent examples. Bowker has described several key terms and concepts that are enormously helpful for analyzing information infrastructure: imbrication, bootstrapping, figure/ground, and a short discussion of infrastructural inversion. "Imbrication" is an analytic concept that helps to ask questions about historical data. "Bootstrapping" is the idea that infrastructure must already exist in order to exist.
Definitions
"Technological and non-technological elements that are linked". "Information infrastructures can, as formative contexts, shape not only the work routines, but also the ways people look at practices, consider them 'natural' and give them their overarching character of necessity. Infrastructure becomes an essential factor shaping the taken-for-grantedness of organizational practices". "The technological and human components, networks, systems, and processes that contribute to the functioning of the health information system". "The set of organizational practices, technical infrastructure and social norms that collectively provide for the smooth operation of scientific work at a distance. "A shared, evolving, heterogeneous installed base of IT capabilities developed on open and standardized interfaces".
Etymology
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary the etymology of the words that make up the phrase "information infrastructure" are as follows: Information late 14c., "act of informing," from O.Fr. informacion, enformacion "information, advice, instruction," from L. informationem "outline, concept, idea," noun of action from pp. stem of informare. Meaning "knowledge communicated" is from mid-15c. Information technology attested from 1958. Information revolution from 1969. Infrastructure 1887, from Fr. infrastructure ; see infra- + structure. The installations that form the basis for any operation or system. Originally in a military sense.
Theories
Dimensions
According to Star and Ruhleder, there are 8 dimensions of information infrastructures.
Embeddedness
Transparency
Reach or scope
Learned as part of membership
Links with conventions of practice
Embodiment of standards
Built on an installed base
Becomes visible upon breakdown
As a public policy
Presidential Chair and Professor of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, Christine L. Borgman argues information infrastructures, like all infrastructures, are "subject to public policy". In the United States, public policy defines information infrastructures as the "physical and cyber-based systems essential to the minimum operations of the economy and government" and connected by information technologies.
Global Information Infrastructure (GII)
Borgman says governments, businesses, communities, and individuals can work together to create a global information infrastructure which links "the world's telecommunication and computer networks together" and would enable the transmission of "every conceivable information and communication application." Currently, the Internet is the default global information infrastructure."
In 1994, the European Union proposed the European Information Infrastructure.: European Information Infrastructure has evolved furthermore thanks to Martin Bangemann report and projects eEurope 2003+, eEurope 2005 and iIniciaive 2010
Africa
In 1995, American Vince President Al Gore asked USAID to help improve Africa's connection to the global information infrastructure. The was designed from June to September 1995, and implemented in on 29 September 1995. The Initiative was "a five-year $15 million US Government effort to support sustainable development" by bringing "full Internet connectivity" to approximately 20 African nations. The initiative had three strategic objectives:
Creating and Enabling Policy Environment – to "reduce barriers to open connectivity".
Creating Sustainable Supply of Internet Services – help build the hardware and industry need for "full Internet connectivity".
Enhancing Internet Use for Sustainable Development – improve the ability of African nations to use these infrastructures.
