ICT2015 conference

ICT 2015 - Innovate, Connect, Transform, on 20-22 October 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal, parallel activities: 

• A policy conference presenting the new Commission's policies and initiatives on Research & Innovation in ICT (Horizon 2020 Programme); 
• An interactive exhibition showcasing the best results and impact of most recent EU ICT Research & Innovation; 
• Many networking opportunities to enhance quality partnerships, help participants find partners, connect Research and Innovation and trigger collaboration; 
• Funding opportunities: ICT 2015 will also be the place to gather information on the 2016-17 Work Programme of Horizon 2020; 
• The Startup Europe Forum, offering a set of activities profiling EU policy actions for startups and SMEs, innovators, private and public investors.

Open Science, concept paper (pdf):

Communication history in stamps

Image from Kees Graaff post

Historical narratives of information artefacts, in a collection curated by Kees de Graaff, Communication: a history in stamps.

technologies as cultural artefacts

Cornford, Tony (2003) Information systems and new technologies: Taking shape in use. In: Avgerou, Chrisanthi and La Rovere, Renata Lèbre, (eds.) Information systems and the economics of innovation, pp. 162-177.

Woolgar, Steve (1996). Technologies as Cultural Artefacts. In Dutton, William and Peltu, H. Malcolm, (eds.) Information and communication technologies, pp. 87-102.

Gender self-perceived differences in digital literacy

Eszter Hargittai & Steven Shafer (2006). Differences in Actual and Perceived Online Skills: The Role of Gender. Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 87(2), pp. 432-448:

"Our data suggest that overall men and women do not differ significantly in their abilities to find various types of information online. However, we do find that women are much more likely to shortchange themselves when it comes to self-perception of their online skills. The gender effects appear to be significant with respect to self-perceived skill levels. Our findings are consistent with Correll’s (2001) work, which found that net of actual skills, young women are less likely to perceive themselves as skilled in these domains, which in turn biases their propensity to pursue math- and science-related careers. Similarly, we find that net of actual skills, women tend to rate their online skills lower than do men. Women’s lower self-assessment vis-a-vis web-use ability may affect significantly the extent of their online behavior and the types of uses to which they put the medium." (p. 444)

I wonder if this self-perceived skill differences between gender also aply to other skills beyond digital literacy (by David Bawden). For instance, when building their own resumes (CV) do women also shortchange their skills?...

ICT changing the meaning of being «at work»

Communication on future networks and the internet (2008), by EU:

"Nomadic use of ICT will challenge the meaning of ‘at work’ Nomadicity will make work patterns less fixed in time and space. This will create major challenges for both employers and employees. Making working life and education more sustainable in terms of working and studying from home intensifies the need for realising the nomadicity that ICT can provide."

PIM - 10 years after first study

Barreau, D. (2008). The persistence of behavior and form in the organization of personal information. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, vol. 59(2), pp. 307-317:

"This study revisits managers who were first interviewed more than 10 years ago to identify their personal information management (PIM) behaviors. The purpose of this study was to see how advances in technology and access to the Web may have affected their PIM behaviors. PIM behaviors seem to have changed little over time, suggesting that technological advances are less important in determining how individuals organize and use information than are the tasks that they perform. Managers identified increased volume of e-mail and the frustration with having to access multiple systems with different, unsynchronized passwords as their greatest PIM challenges. Organizational implications are discussed."

implosion of the world on the individual

Janelle, D. G. and Gillespie, A. (2004). Space-time constructs for linking information and communication technologies with issues in sustainable transportation. Transport Reviews, vol. 24(6), pp. 665-677.

"Human extensibility and the implosion of the world on the individual (time-space compression) represent simultaneously opportunity and threat - the opportunity to communicate and engage in dialogue and commerce, and the threat of besiegement and incapacity to absorb or cope with relentless volumes of information calling for attention. Clearly, the temporal aspects of this problem require abilities to engage and disengage in one's connectivity to the world - to network selectively or to broadcast universally, as required."

emerging work practices of mobile professionals

Masao Kakihara (2003). Emerging Work Practices of ICT-Enabled Mobile Professionals. PhD thesis submited to the Department of Information Systems, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London.

"This thesis aims to offer a theoretical foundation for the concept of mobility, particularly in contemporary work contexts. With support of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in general and mobile technology in particular, contemporary work activities are increasingly distributed and dynamically conducted in various locations. In such an emerging work environment, maintaining a highly level of ‘mobility’ is becoming critical for contemporary workers, particularly for mobile professionals. Based on the theoretical considerations on the concept of mobility, this thesis empirically explores the dynamic and heterogeneous nature of mobile professionals’ work practices.

(...)

The mode of mobility is characterised not only by extensive geographical movement but also by operational flexibility and intense interaction in mobile professionals’ dynamic work activities. Based on these theoretical and empirical discussions, this thesis aims: 1) to theoretically underpin our understanding of mobility in contemporary work contexts; 2) to offer empirically grounded implications for the post-bureaucratic, fluid organising of work; and finally 3) to advance the ongoing debate on the dynamic interplay of work, organisation, and technology."

mobile ICT and effect on information overload

Above model in Allen, D.K. & Shoard, M. (2005). Spreading the load: mobile information and communications technologies and their effect on information overload . Information Research, 10(2), paper 227:

"The main finding of this research, however, is that personal information management is now distributed more evenly throughout the day. (...) In other respects, however, mobile technologies have created a paradox: information anxiety can be both lessened and fuelled. Anxiety may be eased by virtue of being always connectable, but this may further reinforce the need to be continually contactable. Furthermore, anxiety may be increased by the temptation to continually check or answer messages and through the need to clarify the meaning of shorter or ambiguous messages."

ICT

ICT - Information and Communication Technologies

Under the FP7 Research, ICT is the term used to encompass research that includes:

1. Pervasive & Trusted Network & Service Infrastructures
2. Cognitive Systems, Interaction, Robotics
3. Components, Systems, Engineering
4. Digital Libraries and Content
5. Towards Sustainable & Personalised Healthcare
6. ICT for Mobility, Environmental Sustainability and Energy Efficiency
7. ICT for Independent Living and Inclusion

Although they do not define it explicitly in the EU glossaries, saying only what the acronym means (information and communication technologies).

Results for define: ICT are heterogeneous and do not offer help on the discussion of ICT versus IT. This last one (IT) seems to me to simplify that communications, namely the infrastructures needed, are not acknowledge.

In Portugal the acronym TIC (ICT) is widely used and seems to be accepted as is. According to the Glossário da Sociedade da Informação, da APDSI:

"tecnologias da informação, s.f.pl. [abrev. TI]
[en.] information technologies [abrev. IT]
[def.] Tecnologias necessárias para o processamento da informação ou, mais especificamente, o hardware e o software utilizados para converter, armazenar, proteger, tratar, transmitir e recuperar a informação, a partir de qualquer lugar e
em qualquer momento.
Nota: Embora nesta definição esteja incluída a componente de comunicação da informação, os desenvolvimentos actuais do multimédia e das telecomunicações, designadamente as redes de comp utadores e em especial a Internet, levaram à adopção generalizada do termo “tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TIC)”.
[v.tb.] tecnologias da informação e comunicação

tecnologias da informação e comunicação, s.f.pl. [abrev. TIC]
[en.] information and communication technologies [abrev. ICT]
[def.] Integração de métodos, processos de produção, hardware e software, com o objectivo de proporcionar a recolha, o processamento, a disseminação, a visualização e a utilização de informação, no interesse dos seus utilizadores.
[v.tb.] tecnologias da informação, telemática"

[Side note: recuperar discussão sobre um dos axiomas da comunicação «One cannot not Communicate», from Pragmatics of Human Communication: a study of interactional patterns, pathologies, and paradoxes (1967), Paul Watzlawick, Janet Helmick Beavin, & Don Jackson. A versão de que disponho é da Editora Cultrix, São Paulo, e a discussão deste axioma encontra-se nas pp. 44-47]

PS [13/Feb/2007] - While looking more deeply into ICT indicators (since i need them for SINCT project) came across this definition from the ITU Core ICT Indicators:

"It should be noted that this definition results in a broad interpretation of an ICT good and therefore an extensive classification. For output purposes, it is suggested that detailed categories be aggregated into the five broad categories recommended in the OECD paper, that is, telecommunications equipment, computer and related equipment, electronic components, audio and video equipment and other ICT goods.

It should also be noted that software products (including packaged software) are not included in this classification." (p. 42)

So, according to this document, ICT can be further explored in «goods» and «services»

From the OECD Guide to Measuring the Information Society (ver questionário pp. 116-129):

"(...) ICTs are general purpose technologies that can be used for a broad range of everyday activities." (p.11)

"“ICT goods must either be intended to fulfil the function of information processing and communication by electronic means, including transmission and display, or use electronic processing to detect, measure and/or record physical phenomena, or to control a physical process” (pp.88-89)