<s>
An	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
is	O
defined	O
by	O
Ole	O
Hanseth	O
(	O
2002	O
)	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
shared	O
,	O
evolving	O
,	O
open	O
,	O
standardized	O
,	O
and	O
heterogeneous	O
installed	O
base	O
"	O
and	O
by	O
Pironti	O
(	O
2006	O
)	O
as	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
people	O
,	O
processes	O
,	O
procedures	O
,	O
tools	O
,	O
facilities	O
,	O
and	O
technology	O
which	O
support	O
the	O
creation	O
,	O
use	O
,	O
transport	O
,	O
storage	O
,	O
and	O
destruction	O
of	O
information	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
notion	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructures	I-General_Concept
,	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
1990s	O
and	O
refined	O
during	O
the	O
following	O
decade	O
,	O
has	O
proven	O
quite	O
fruitful	O
to	O
the	O
information	O
systems	O
(	O
IS	O
)	O
field	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
technical	O
structure	O
of	O
an	O
organizational	O
form	O
,	O
an	O
analytical	O
perspective	O
or	O
a	O
semantic	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
(	O
II	O
)	O
was	O
introduced	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
1990s	O
,	O
first	O
as	O
a	O
political	O
initiative	O
(	O
Gore	O
,	O
1993	O
&	O
Bangemann	O
,	O
1994	O
)	O
,	O
later	O
as	O
a	O
more	O
specific	O
concept	O
in	O
IS	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
are	O
typically	O
different	O
from	O
the	O
previous	O
generations	O
of	O
"	O
large	O
technological	O
system	O
"	O
because	O
these	O
digital	O
sociotechnical	O
systems	O
are	O
considered	O
generative	O
,	O
meaning	O
they	O
allow	O
new	O
users	O
to	O
connect	O
with	O
or	O
even	O
appropriate	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
,	O
as	O
a	O
theory	O
,	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
to	O
frame	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
extensive	O
case	O
studies	O
(	O
Star	O
and	O
Ruhleder	O
1996	O
;	O
Ciborra	O
2000	O
;	O
Hanseth	O
and	O
Ciborra	O
2007	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
particular	O
to	O
develop	O
an	O
alternative	O
approach	O
to	O
IS	O
design	O
:	O
"	O
Infrastructures	O
should	O
rather	O
be	O
built	O
by	O
establishing	O
working	O
local	O
solutions	O
supporting	O
local	O
practices	O
which	O
subsequently	O
are	O
linked	O
together	O
rather	O
than	O
by	O
defining	O
universal	O
standards	O
and	O
subsequently	O
implementing	O
them	O
"	O
(	O
Ciborra	O
and	O
Hanseth	O
1998	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Information	B-General_Concept
infrastructures	I-General_Concept
include	O
the	O
Internet	O
,	O
health	O
systems	O
and	O
corporate	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
also	O
consistent	O
to	O
include	O
innovations	O
such	O
as	O
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
LinkedIn	B-Application
and	O
MySpace	B-Application
as	O
excellent	O
examples	O
(	O
Bygstad	O
,	O
2008	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bowker	O
has	O
described	O
several	O
key	O
terms	O
and	O
concepts	O
that	O
are	O
enormously	O
helpful	O
for	O
analyzing	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
:	O
imbrication	O
,	O
bootstrapping	B-Application
,	O
figure/ground	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
short	O
discussion	O
of	O
infrastructural	O
inversion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Bootstrapping	B-Application
"	O
is	O
the	O
idea	O
that	O
infrastructure	O
must	O
already	O
exist	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
exist	O
(	O
2011	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Information	B-General_Concept
infrastructures	I-General_Concept
can	O
,	O
as	O
formative	O
contexts	O
,	O
shape	O
not	O
only	O
the	O
work	O
routines	O
,	O
but	O
also	O
the	O
ways	O
people	O
look	O
at	O
practices	O
,	O
consider	O
them	O
'	O
natural	O
 '	O
and	O
give	O
them	O
their	O
overarching	O
character	O
of	O
necessity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Star	O
and	O
Ruhleder	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
8	O
dimensions	O
of	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructures	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Presidential	O
Chair	O
and	O
Professor	O
of	O
Information	O
Studies	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
California	O
,	O
Los	O
Angeles	O
,	O
Christine	O
L	O
.	O
Borgman	O
argues	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructures	I-General_Concept
,	O
like	O
all	O
infrastructures	O
,	O
are	O
"	O
subject	O
to	O
public	O
policy	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
,	O
public	O
policy	O
defines	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructures	I-General_Concept
as	O
the	O
"	O
physical	O
and	O
cyber-based	O
systems	O
essential	O
to	O
the	O
minimum	O
operations	O
of	O
the	O
economy	O
and	O
government	O
"	O
and	O
connected	O
by	O
information	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Borgman	O
says	O
governments	O
,	O
businesses	O
,	O
communities	O
,	O
and	O
individuals	O
can	O
work	O
together	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
global	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
which	O
links	O
"	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
telecommunication	O
and	O
computer	O
networks	O
together	O
"	O
and	O
would	O
enable	O
the	O
transmission	O
of	O
"	O
every	O
conceivable	O
information	O
and	O
communication	O
application.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Canadian	O
Network	O
for	O
the	O
Advancement	O
of	O
Research	O
,	O
Industry	O
and	O
Education(CANARIE )	O
was	O
established	O
in	O
1992	O
and	O
CA*net	O
was	O
upgraded	O
to	O
a	O
T1	B-Protocol
connection	O
in	O
1993	O
and	O
T3	O
in	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2000	O
,	O
"	O
the	O
commercial	O
basis	O
for	O
Canada	O
's	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
"	O
was	O
established	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
government	O
ended	O
its	O
role	O
in	O
the	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1994	O
,	O
the	O
European	O
Union	O
proposed	O
the	O
European	O
Information	B-General_Concept
Infrastructure	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1995	O
,	O
American	O
Vice	O
President	O
Al	O
Gore	O
asked	O
USAID	O
to	O
help	O
improve	O
Africa	O
's	O
connection	O
to	O
the	O
global	O
information	B-General_Concept
infrastructure	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
