Syracuse University SURFACE School of Information Studies - Dissertations School of Information Studies (iSchool) 5-2013 The Impact of Cultural Assumptions about Technology on Choctaw Heritage Preservation and Sharing Jake A. Dolezal Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/it_etd Part of the Library and Information Science Commons Recommended Citation Dolezal, Jake A., "The Impact of Cultural Assumptions about Technology on Choctaw Heritage Preservation and Sharing" (2013). School of Information Studies - Dissertations. 78. https://surface.syr.edu/it_etd/78 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Information Studies (iSchool) at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in School of Information Studies - Dissertations by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. ABSTRACT Neither the effects of information and communication technology (ICT) on culture nor the cultural roles of ICT are widely understood, particularly among marginalized ethno-cultures and indigenous people. One theoretical lens that has received attention outside of Native American studies is the theory of Information Technology Cultures, or “IT Culture,” developed by Kaarst- Brown. This theory was a groundbreaking and foundational way to understand underlying assumptions about IT and the conflicts surrounding IT use. Kaarst-Brown identified five archetypal cultural patterns or sets of “underlying cultural assumptions” about IT that impacted strategic use, conflict, and technology innovation. These dimensions included assumptions about the control of IT, criticality of using IT, value of IT skills, justification of IT investments, and perceived beneficiaries of IT. These dimensions clustered in five archetypal patterns: the Fearful, Controlled, Revered, Demystified, and Integrated IT Culture.