Are Ejournals a Paradigm Shift?

Many disciplines are debating the issue that a paradigm shift is occurring as a result of the ability of the computer to provide knowledge to so many people in creative and innovative ways (Reigeluth and Squire, 1998; Kearsley and Shneiderman, 1998; Norris, 1999.) The heart of the debate appears to be the issue that individuals, through computer technology, are able to structure their own learning through creating multiple avenues of knowledge acquisition via search engines, web browsers, and hyperlinks. Individuals are able to determine what items are of interest to them and obtain instantaneously the references and information chosen. They are able to move from one source to another without leaving their homes, and "surf" through sources of knowledge at will. This creative, free moving acquisition of knowledge represents a new way of structuring knowledge and creative learning. Some (Langford & Hardin, 1999; Norris, 1999 ) argue that this provides new opportunities for the development of critical thinking and new views of knowledge that is without boundaries or three dimensionality. This new means of looking at knowledge and acquisition of knowledge is viewed as representing a paradigm shift.

Kuhn's (1970) idea of paradigm shift describes the uncertainty, and chaotic process of changing from one worldview to another. As the new paradigm emerges as the predominate paradigm, it subsumes or encompasses the current prevailing paradigm and replaces it with a paradigm that answers more questions and encompasses more of the consensus of the community of scientists. If this is the manner in which knowledge progresses, then do ejournals represent a paradigm shift as some have implied? Or, is it just an economically driven shift for profitability for journal companies? The electronic tools for knowledge acquisition have undoubtedly caused uncertainty in terms of learning and scholarship as stated previously in this article. However, if a paradigm shift is occurring, what is the essential structure of knowledge that is shifting? We will look at this question from four aspects:

1. Knowledge Acquisition
2. Postmodernism
3. Local to Global World View
4. Structure of Knowledge