The John Dewey`s epistemology and informational literacy

The `reflexive thinking` concept is discussed in this article as a means of contextualizing John Dewey`s intellectual legacy. `Reflection` represents a fundamental element for the construction of the necessary competences to information seeking and use, and consequently to individual and collective development. Since the reflexive thinking habit in information literacy is a way of learning, some questions concerning teaching and learning processes are also investigated. The discussion is, therefore, supported by the supposition that reflexive thinking is a cognitive strategy that allows a deeper comprehension of related problems, phenomena, and processes by means of the perception of the relations and the identification of involved elements, as well as the analysis and interpretation of meanings, empowering the information literacy process.

Reflexões acerca das relções entre representação temática e descritiva

It presents the importance of integrating the thematic representation into the descriptive one, revealing the theoretical and practical aspects of these disciplines and tracing relationships between them. The goal of this work is to discuss the conceptual models Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records (FRBR), Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRAD) and Functional Requirements for Subject Authority Data (FRSAD), illustrating them with the work of information search done by the user on a system. It emphasizes the importance of specific knowledge, without losing the viewpoint of both areas as complementary ones. The theoretical and methodological approach is based on the theoretical and conceptual research on the discussed thematics so as to analyze the facts available in the literature as well as to consider their practical applicability. We conclude that there is a happy and necessary integration between the thematic and descriptive representations that optimizes the informational access, though the second discipline is still regarded by many as pure physical description in manual catalogs.

ALFABETIZAÇÃO DIGITAL: proposição de parâmetros metodológicos em competência informacional

Much has been discussed about Digital Literacy, but it is quite obscure the identification of the skills required to develop such process. This study was done towards an integration of the Digital Literacy process to the specific informational skills a person may dominate, search, retrieve and use information efficiently, in its professional, academic or personal life. The main objective of this work is to propose methodological parameters for training in informational skills. Otherwise, the specific objectives are associated to the supposition and identification of the desired skills of the Digital Literacy program participants. The methodological procedures applied to the research are of exploratory character, and to do so two tools are used: the literature research and case studies. Besides having the methodology in structured information competence, the study points out to the fact that the country is too far from what is desired concerning development and employment of Digital Literacy programs consistent enough to support the teaching and learning of searching, recovering and using of information by the participants. Therefore, it is essential to create programs that provide not only machinery, but motivate individuals to develop informational skills to help in the learning process.

Sociedade da informação: avanços e retrocessos no acesso e no uso da informação

The Information Society (IS) may be taken as a geopolitical organization which started after the Third Industrial Revolution, having direct impact on the use of information and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The expression arose as techno-social paradigm change in the post-industrial society, aiming to use information as currency to the society-in-progress at that time. In Brazil it has become stronger with the Programa Sociedade da Informacao no Brasil-Livro Verde, lunched by the Ministerio da Ciencia e Tecnologia, in September 2000 without any discussion with the civil society to formulate the main document. Our main goal in this article is to discuss the Information Society in contemporary times, and also the organized and conscious use of information, looking for key-concepts to a better understanding of it, from some topics as digital inclusion-exclusion to the use of digital informational resources.

Measuring complexity in three-trophic level systems

This essay is a trial on measuring complexity in a three-trophic level system by using a convex function of the informational entropy. The complexity measure defined here is compatible with the fact that real complexity lies between ordered and disordered states. Applying this measure to the data collected for two three-trophic level systems some hints about their organization are obtained. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diagnosis of Organizational Soft Problems in a Peruvian Financial Institution by Systemic Thinking

Managing financial institutions in an underdeveloped economic context has become a real challenge nowadays. In order to reach the organization`s planned goals, they have to deal with structural, behavioral and informational problems. From the systemic point of view, this situation gets even worse when the company does not present organizational boundaries and a cohesive identification for their stakeholders. Thus, European countries have some special financial lines in order to help the development of micro credit in Latin communities in an attempt to help the local economy. However, institutions like Caixa dos Andes in Peru present management problems when dealing with this complexity. Based on this, how can the systemic eye help in the diagnosis of soft problems of a Peruvian financial company? This study aims to diagnose soft problems of a Peruvian financial company based on soft variables like identity, communication and autonomy and also intends to identify possible ways to redesign its basic framework. The (VSM--Viable System Model) method from Beer (1967), applied in this diagnostic study, was used in a practical way as a management tool for organizations` analysis and planning. By describing the VSM`s five systems, the creation of a systemic vision or a total vision is possible, showing the organization`s complexity from the inside. Some company`s soft problems like double control, inefficient use of physical and human resources, low information flows, slowness, etc. The VSM presented an organizational diagnosis indicating effective solutions that do integrate its five systems.