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Download fileThe complex position of the intermediary in telecenters and community multimedia centers
journal contribution
posted on 2017-05-24, 10:12 authored by Savita Bailur, Silvia MasieroThe critical role of the information intermediary in supporting community participation
in telecenters and community multimedia centers [CMCs] has been
recognized for some time. However, the literature has largely taken a neutral/
positive perspective (that the center manager/staff are necessary social connectors
and should ensure equitable access) or a negative one (that they may replicate
hierarchies, be unwilling to help, or direct users toward “undesirable” information).
Drawing on how identities are embedded within and formed by
networks, this article takes a third perspective: Telecenter and CMC information
intermediaries are in the complex positions of brokers and translators, and
their roles are constantly negotiated and performed within multiple, dynamic,
and constructed networks. This interpretive, narrative analysis of interviews
with the center manager and staff at Voices CMC in India illustrates that intermediaries
can be in an ontologically insecure position, bridging these multiple
networks, but can also navigate their roles and create their “spaces of development”
within these same networks. Therefore, the article argues that it
should not be taken for granted that these intermediaries are simply executing
policy; instead, further research into how they interpret and perform it in vernacular
terms is necessary because this, in turn, can shape user perception of
CMCs and telecenters.
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