Beginning with a class lecture on information control, Bobby took off from there and asked a question that was probably puzzling lots of you:

On October 26, Bobby wrote:

Can you please explain briefly to me about information control? You discussed it last week in class, but I don't think I fully understood it.
Thanks,
Bobby Berglund,
SOC 328 (Agencies)

On October 27, jeanne wrote:

Information control is the most common kind of control used in both work and family environments to gain power. At work, if Mary K. is the only one who knows how to fill out travel forms, then you must always come to Mary K. when you need to fill out a travel form. If Mary K. just never has the time to teach anyone else to do this task, she becomes indispensable to the organization, because she holds key information. By selecting several pieces of information that they "control" people create a sense of their importance to the organization and a false consciousness of "security." Because they are often very helpful in doing their special tasks for you, they do not appear to be grasping for power and control, unless you are someone they don't like. Then you may have difficulty getting the task done.

In the family, the same kind of control exists. The "head of the household" may work outside the home and control others by refusing to do home-related tasks on the basis of his/her having a heavier workload. While the workload may be heavier for that person, there may also be status related to the earning of money, and that status may be used for unfair control. Or one family member may have the knowledge of how to work certain machinery, and just never have the time to teach others, so that everyone who needs to use that machinery must gain his/her help to do that. Again, they may be very nice about helping you, but very unwilling to share their special knowledge.

In this way, information permits us to control. Does this help? jeanne