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Dissertation Information for Dennis Erwin Vander Werff

NAME:
- Dennis Erwin Vander Werff
- (Alias) Dennis Irwin VANDERWERFF

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Southern California (USA) (1984)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: AN EXAMINATION OF THE COMMUNICATION STRUCTURE OF LIBRARY SCIENCE

Abstract: Academic disciplines and many professions share common attributes in terms of their institutionalization. They are nurtured by the organization of universities into departments and supported by professional societies. Critical to their development is the tradition of graduate education compounded by the faculty of the department composed almost exclusively of holders of the PhD from the discipline or profession. This study proceeds on the assumption that academic disciplines are knowledge oriented and that professions have as their purpose the application of knowledge. Applying the empirical tools of the sociology of knowledge used by Mullins (Mullins, N. A., Theories and Theory Groups in Contemporary American Sociology, New York, Harper, 1973) in his examination of theory group development in contemporary American sociology, the social arrangements of libraray science were examined in order to reveal the patterns of communication that would suggest the development of professional specialties arising out of research conducted by the profession's practitioners.

Colleagueship, coauthorship, and apprenticeship data were subjected to Ward's method of hierarchical cluster analysis in order to identify the existence of clusters of individuals demonstrating similar attributes. Individual data were further analyzed using the CONCOR algorithm to construct a blockmodel representative of the patterns of relationships among the 155 subjects of the study.

Analysis of the data suggests little evidence of a definitive structure within the profession conducive to serious communication about specialized research activity. The lack of a communication structure is an impediment to the development of research specialties and to the articulation of theory related to the practical aspects of the profession. Given the basic assumption concerning the purpose of professions, the study concludes that there is little evidence to indicate that library science meets the criterion of knowledge application.

MPACT Scores for Dennis Erwin Vander Werff

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:25:13

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