Information Technology Reference
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A heterarchy, by contrast, is more fluid and more casual in organization and
communication. A marriage relationship is a heterarchy when the couple negoti-
ates who is in charge, and that may vary according to the situation. Currently, an
American marriage is likely to be a partnership, not a dominating relationship. In
families, parents do not rely on their status as parents for authority; they must reas-
on with their children.
In organizations, a heterarchical or flattened structure enables people at any
point in the organization to have access to decision makers at any level. Heter-
archy is the new paradigm organization plan in organizations; the top management
is likely to be more interested in the content of employees' heads than the use of
their hands. One of the characteristics of cell phones, e-mail, texting, and instant
messaging is that any member of the organization can be reached more easily at
any time by any other member of the organization. As a result, the hierarchy is de-
flated and replaced by a heterarchy. The inflexibility of communication by level in
the hierarchical organization is replaced by flexibility in the communication system,
making the organization more fluid and responsive to the need for change.
Similarly, library and information systems like indexing can be made more flex-
ible and responsive to the needs of clientele by using natural language searching
or by creating multiple access points using many indexing terms. The former limita-
tions of paper information sources and their consequent necessity to limit indexing
terms have been replaced by the use of large numbers of terms and natural lan-
guage searching.
Mechanical to Holographic
This evolution recognizes the advancement from physical or mechanical ob-
jects to a virtual reality. For example, we are accustomed to visiting an actual lib-
rary where we can sit down and examine a catalog, usually by sitting before a com-
puter screen. We then can note the topics or other items that we want and physic-
ally locate them. A virtual library enables us to browse the stacks on our computer
screen, select the items, and check them out online. If they are physical items, they
may be mailed to us; if electronic, we can download them.
A hologram is a lifelike, three-dimensional representation of reality. However, it
is not real; it is virtual reality. The concept of a hologram is that a portion or part
lets us see the whole; a piece contains all the elements of a whole. For example,
a case study helps us to understand issues of a larger population, for example,
studying a cohort to understand distance education issues.
We are seeing many examples of virtual reality in video games in which the
player may be driving a race car or hunting wild animals in a jungle. With increased
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