framework for information overload in organizations

"(...) this review article examines the theoretical basis of the information overload discourse and presents an overview of the main definitions, situations, causes, effects, and countermeasures. It analyses the contributions from the last thirty years to consolidate the existing research in a conceptual framework, to identify future research directions, and to highlight implications for management." Eppler, Martin J. and Mengis, Jeanne (2005). A framework for information overload research in organizations. Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC).

Usefull tool

Mojiti, different from YouTube and others, because it allows direct manipulation of the objects (adding content to videos and still being able to display them online, with the new added user data). Also, it can fetch videos stored in Youtube and others which is a great example of interoperability:

"(...) personalize any video. Use Mojiti Spots to narrate your personal videos, add captions or subtitles in any language, or just comment on any scene to share your thoughts and opinions."

Control & Space

Zierhofer, W. (2005). State, power and space. Soc. Geogr., vol 1(1), pp. 29-36:

"No other institution eases global contacts and mobility of persons, goods, information and services as much as the state by guaranteeing standards for systems of representation. It is thus above all that the state creates spaces for certain purposes – only one of which is to let social life take place in a physical space in order to control it." (p.35)

Visualization of Data, Information & Knowledge

Lengler R., Eppler M. (2007). Towards A Periodic Table of Visualization Methods for Management. IASTED Proceedings of the Conference on Graphics and Visualization in Engineering (GVE 2007), Clearwater, Florida, USA [click on the Table, and then move around the «elements»]:

[Note to self on 2011/05/10: added to citeulike collection]

Individual Differences in PIM

Gwizdka, Jacek & Chignell, Mark (2007). Individual Differences in Personal Information Management. in Jones, William & Teevan, Jamie, (Eds.), Personal Information Management. University of Washington Press:

(Gwizdka & Chignell, 2007, p. 11)

Note: already have Personal Information Management!

Blogging as a research tool in ethnography

[connecting links from here]: Erkan Saka (2006). Blogging as a Research Tool for Ethnographic Fieldwork. Paper submitted to the annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, Internet Research 7.0: Internet Convergences, Brisbane, Qld, Australia, September 27 - 30.

Sociedade em Rede

Castells, Manuel (2005). A Sociedade em Rede: do Conhecimento à Política. Gustavo Cardoso & Manuel Castells (Org.) A Sociedade em Rede: Do Conhecimento à Acção Política. Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional - Casa da Moeda, pp. 17-30:

"Frequentemente, a sociedade emergente tem sido caracterizada como sociedade de informação ou sociedade do conhecimento. Eu não concordo com esta terminologia. Não porque conhecimento e informação não sejam centrais na nossa sociedade. Mas porque eles sempre o foram, em todas as sociedades historicamente conhecidas. O que é novo é o facto de serem de base microelectrónica, através de redes tecnológicas que fornecem novas capacidades a uma velha forma de organização social: as redes."(p.19)

"[As redes] podem, ao mesmo tempo, ser flexíveis e adaptáveis graças à sua capacidade de descentralizar a sua performance ao longo de uma rede de componentes autónomos, enquanto se mantêm capazes de coordenar toda esta actividade descentralizada com a possibilidade de partilhar a tomada de decisões. As redes de comunicação digital são a coluna vertebral da sociedade em rede, tal como as redes de potência (ou redes energéticas) eram as infra-estruturas sobre as quais a sociedade industrial foi construída, como demonstrou o historiador Thomas Hughes." (p.18)

Wishlist: Hughes, T. (2005). Human-Built World: How to Think about Technology and Culture. University Of Chicago Press.

PS [18/May/2007] - I already have Human-Built World: How to Think about Technology and Culture :-)

information spaces implications

Lee, Hur-Li (2003). Information spaces and collections: Implications for organization. Library & information science research, vol. 25(4), pp. 419-436.

Perceptions of Information Spaces

Dillon, Andrew (2000) Spatial semantics: How users derive shape from information space. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, vol. 51(6), pp. 521-528.

loss of data attached to information

Karasti, H & Baker, K. (2004). Infrastructuring for the Long-Term: Ecological Information Management. Proceedings of the 37th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, s/p:

"The need for data stewardship is motivated by an awareness of an ongoing loss in informational content for data that results in the loss of usefulness of data over the long-term. This is captured in an oftenreferenced graph portraying ‘information entropy’ (Figure 1) that refers to the loss of information about the data collected to address a particular scientific question by a particular individual researcher subject both to ‘retirement’ and to ‘death’. The extended temporal dimension of preserving data for decades to centuries poses challenges for the design of metadata and long-term memory, of largescale databases and archives, and of technologies that support distributed collaboration." (p. 2)

Frames for concepts

"A bizarre situation is the inadequacy of accepted principles regarding the setting of value of information. In spite of decades of serious usage and experience, there is no established view of economic calculation concerning information and IT-based systems." Falkenberg, E. W. Hesse P. Lindgreen B.E. Nilssen J.L.H. Oei C. Rolland R.K. Stamper F.J.M.V. Assche A.A. Verrijn-Stuart e K. Voss (1996). FRISCO: A Framework of Information Systems Concepts. IFIP WG 8.1 Task Group FRISCO.

Rapid ethnography

Millen, D. R. (2000). Rapid ethnography: time deepening strategies for HCI field research. In Proceedings of the Conference on Designing interactive Systems: Processes, Practices, Methods, and Techniques. D. Boyarski and W. A. Kellogg, Eds. DIS '00. ACM Press, New York, August 17 - 19, 2000, pp. 280-286:

"Due to increasingly short product realization cycles, there has been growing interest in more time efficient methods, including rapid prototyping and various usability inspection techniques. This paper will introduce "rapid ethnography," which is a collection of field methods intended to provide a reasonable understanding of users and their activities given significant time pressures and limited time in the field. The core elements include limiting or constraining the research focus and scope, using key informants, capturing rich field data by using multiple observers and interactive observation techniques, and collaborative qualitative data analysis. A short case study illustrating the important characteristics of rapid ethnography will also be presented."

Desenvolvimento de Sistemas de Informação

DSI vs D Aplicações Informáticas VS D Organizacional:

"Desenvolvimento de sistemas de Informação é uma actividade de intervenção organizacional que inclui o Desenvolvimento de aplicações informáticas. Por sua vez, o Desenvolvimento Organizacional é também uma actividade de intervenção organizacional de âmbito mais alargado que poderá englobar o Desenvolvimento de Sistemas de Informação.

As figuras DSI.jpeg, DAI.jpeg, DO.jpeg e também as figuras DSIx.jpeg, DAIx.jpeg e DOx.jpeg ilustram as diferenças entre estas 3 actividades."

Mapeamento da Actividade de Desenvolvimento de Sistemas de Informação no MindMap DSI (2006), por João Alvaro Carvalho [ver slides de apoio utilizados na aula]:

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)

digital libary as information space

Recolhidas pela Interactive Learning with a Digital Library in Computer Science, uma compilação de definições para biblioteca digital. A noção de «espaço de informação» está implícita nesta descrição de Edward A. Fox (1999):

"Digital libraries are complex data/information/knowlege (hereafter information) systems that help: satisfy the information needs of users (societies), provide information services (scenarios), organize information in usable ways (structures), manage the location of information (spaces), and communicate information with users and their agents (streams)."

Exemplo de utilização de Structured-case

Santos, Leonel D. (2004). Factores Determinantes do Sucesso de Adopção e Difusão de Serviços de Informação Online em Sistemas de Gestão de Ciência e Tecnologia. Guimarães: Universidade do Minho, Tese de Doutoramento.

Mobile Work survey

The Mobile Working Experience: Perspectives from Europe (2005) from IBM Business Consulting Services [a podcast from February 2006, is also available here]:

"The subject of mobile working has been studied by a number of academics and trade associations over the last few years. As the prevalence of individuals spending the majority of their work time in their homes or other non-office locations continues to rise, companies are becoming increasingly interested in the issues and effective practices associated with making these arrangements successful. While a significant amount of research has been done regarding the numbers of individuals who work remotely, the productivity savings associated with reductions in commuting time, office space, etc., only a small body of research has addressed the challenges facing individuals who work in mobile locations. These include issues around social isolation, technical support, performance management, career development, team effectiveness, employee retention, and work-life balance. This study, done in cooperation with the Economist Information Unit, surveyed over 350 mobile workers from 29 countries across Europe to better understand their perspectives and experiences."

PIM SIG

PIM Community In ACM:

"Personal Information Management (PIM) is the management of information (e.g. files, emails, and bookmarks) by an individual in support of his/her roles and tasks. Although PIM is practiced daily by millions of people, a research community has never been established. This SIG aims to provide an opportunity for researchers, students and designers who share an interest in the field to meet and discuss key issues. We hope the SIG will lay the foundation for an ongoing PIM research community."

Photographs for documenting fieldwork (ethnography)

As i will need to uncover individual and group information spaces and information needs in mobility settings, I've started taking photos of meetings taking place in work settings, outside the organizations. Due to ethics on need of preserve individual identity, collected picture do not depict human subjects but concentrate on objects of information used during meetings (archives in my flickr account classified by date taken, settings, project acronym and place, among other key words that can be added later on during data analysis).

Supporting views for this method:

Kanstrup, Anne Marie (2002, May). Picture the Practice—Using Photography to Explore Use of Technology Within Teachers' Work Practices [32 paragraphs]. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research [On-line Journal], 3(2). 

ScienceBlogs

ScienceBlogs:

"ScienceBlogs is very much an experiment in science communication, and being first also means being first to encounter unforeseen obstacles. We are learning as we go (and as goes the blogosphere) and appreciate your understanding and patience.

ScienceBlogs was created by Seed Media Group. Our mission is to change the way the world sees science -- from a separate island on the periphery of culture to the central driver of our times."

April

Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Três momentos da Tese [... mais 1]: início

No início da tese...

Três momentos da Tese [... mais 1]: meses seguintes

... a tese passado algum tempo...

Três momentos da Tese [... mais 1]: o que se entrega

... a tese reflectida no manuscrito final!

Três momentos da Tese [... mais 1]: o que se pensa

[... e o que nos vai na alma ;-) ]

This is it!

Vou estar ausente para fazer a revisão do texto final. As únicas ligações que vou manter são com a natureza, com as anotações existentes no texto e com o computador (sem acesso à rede ;-) Voltarei com uma sensação que (ainda) desconheço, pronta para fazer a impressão dos 7(?) exemplares e entregar a parte visivel de todo o processo que ocorreu ao longo destes dois últimos anos. Depois será o normal período de espera até que possa defender (soa a tribunal :-) o que entreguei. A seu tempo... Image by Monica Pinheiro, license CC BY-NC-SA (CC)

Blogoespaço ficou mais vazio :-(

Quando li a mensagem, não pensei que fosse verdade aquela coisa do «éter»... Tinha a ilusão que a Colónia voltaria a renascer... mesmo que noutro continente... Tenho saudades de uma conversa e de um livro que ainda não li... bem sei, "só aquele que está disposto a partir, e parte, se furta da paralesia dos hábitos" (H.Hesse)

Directory of open access journals

Directory of open access journals: "Directory of Open Access Journals. This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. We aim to cover all subjects and languages." Na altura em que consultei tinha 551 revistas (Journals) num direct�rio organizado em 15 grandes categorias. Mais um grande recurso em tempos de crise (acho que me estou a tornar adepta do Open Source extensivo).