SIGDOC Newsletter
September 2003
:: Volume 4, Number 3
Interesting Items
What is an Information Architect?
It appears that the use of the term "architect" may be guarded
in some
places and not to be used freely. Is it not appropriate to think of
architecture in anything but the design of buildings and structures?
Perhaps it would be worth looking into a parallel situation with the
term "
engineering," that took place years ago when true engineers may
have taken
exception to the concept or use of "software engineering."
Regarding a request for information about the use of "Information
Architect" in a title, one of our members discovered that the topic
has been
discussed throughout the "community."
The information architecture special interest group (SIGIA) of the American
Society of Information Science & Technology (ASiS&T) and the
Asilomar
Institute for Information Architecture (AIfIA) are both aware of the
situation. There has been discussions on both the SIGIA list (which is
hosted by ASiS&T) and the AIFIA list.
You can find an active discussion on this topic in the The American
Society
for Information Science and Technology (ASIST) special interest group
in
Information Architecture (SIG-IA), under "
BANNED IN OHIO":
http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/0306.
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From an ASiS&T information architecture speech:
"When I was speaking on the education panel at the ASiS&T information
architecture Summit in 2002 I remember a university offering a newly
designed Master's in
Information Architecture, remarking that their Architecture Graduate
School
had had a fit about their use of the term. I pointed out that architect
is
an ancient
Greek word, actual meaning: master builder. I would consider such
word, which is thousands of years old, to be in the public domain.
Architects these days tend to design buildings, and while they may
oversee construction, they do not actually build them personally
(and it is engineers who provide the technical expertise that
ensures that the buildings are structurally sound with functional
mechanical systems). However, that does not mean that the AIA
(American Institute of Architects) will not take action (think of
the AMA) to protect what they think of as their "turf." They
have
been known to go after design-build contractors and even interior
decorators who they think are overstepping the bounds. I'm not
sure of the exact date when the AIA voted to discontinue a
long-standing practice of allowing architects to either be trained
in graduate school or to come from the ranks of builders who
mastered the skill sets during years of actual design construction.
Either path to qualification required a certification exam and more
years of qualifying work in an architectural firm. However, I think
that happened in the last 15 or 20 years."
What are other states saying? New York, for example dropped the restriction
of the title architect in 1927, and now governs by "Registered Architect". http://www.op.nysed.gov/archguideintro.htm
Perhaps the Ohio attorney general's office may need information on what
an
information architect does in order to see that the term architect used
in
this way is appropriate, commonly used (including in print publications),
and should be a term in the common public domain.
You can contact the Ohio's attorney general to request more information
at:
Constituent_Services@ag.state.oh.us
You can find a nice list of interesting articles at Technews.
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