Suitability of the Information Concept as a Boundary Object in Information Convergence Research

Abstract

This paper pays attention to the recent increase of information convergence research in higher education and asks if a common focus on information is enough to bind the diverse components involved in convergence research together. It is pointed out that the concept of information is so widely varied across disciplines, and is understood by each research community in such a different way, that it can hardly serve as a “boundary object” that binds the diverse interdisciplinary components together to attain a shared goal. Therefore, this paper argues that a common focus on information is not enough to sustain information convergence research, and attention also should be given to the various underlying social forces for the success of those efforts. Lastly, this paper suggests several research directions that would promote sustainability of information convergence research.