DEVC 153: Managing Information in Devcom Notes 2024-2025 PDF

DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 MODULE 1: LESSON 1 - DEVELOPMENT Going back to communication theory, we can COMMUNICATION: A CYBERNETIC now see that Wiener's concept of feedback PERSPECTIVE...

DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 MODULE 1: LESSON 1 - DEVELOPMENT Going back to communication theory, we can COMMUNICATION: A CYBERNETIC now see that Wiener's concept of feedback PERSPECTIVE anchored the cybernetic tradition. Griffin (2009) regards communication in this tradition as the link connecting the Cybernetics separate parts of any system. Theorists Wiener (1962) defines "cybernetics" as in the cybernetic tradition seek to the science of "control and answer the question, How can we get communication in the animal and the the bugs out of this system? machine." ○ These system "bugs" might as Cybernetics is closely linked to the well be taken to be entropy, General Systems Theory (Bertalanffy, which Ongkiko & Flor (2006) 1968), which essentially states that define as "the tendency of any living systems perform three critical system toward greater functions with respect to its uniformity and lesser environment and other living systems: differentiation or organization." - Exchange of materials; ○ They added that entropy is a - Exchange of energy; and universal tendency for these - Exchange of information differentiations to diminish and, ultimately, disappear. Relating these points to the field of ○ Entropy is bad for a living communication, the cybernetic tradition treats system because it brings forth communication as a system of information disorganization and decay. processing. DEVCOM AND CYBERNETICS Taking Wiener's mentioned definition, Let's go back to living systems, which Ongkiko & cybernetics is then "the study of information, Flor (2006) describe as purposive. What does processing, feedback, and control in this mean? communication systems" (Griffin, 2009). They have desired or ideal states. They have a goal to achieve that According to Miller (2012), a cybernetic system desired state. consists of several interrelated components. Since there is a "goal," there should be The first of these is the system goal a "desired path" to achieve that goal. located in the control center. The system goal is a target for a particular aspect of system operation. The system uses a variety of mechanisms that help to maintain this system goal. However, there will be times when system behavior does not match the system goal. At this point in cybernetic processing, feedback is sent to the control center and compared with the goal. If there is a difference between the goal and the feedback, new mechanisms will be instituted to adjust the behavior of the system. DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025...economies are built not merely through the accumulation of physical capital and human skill, but on a foundation of information, learning, and adaptation. Because knowledge matters, understanding how people and societies acquire and use knowledge - and why they sometimes fail to do so - is essential to improving people's lives, Why? Because every system has a tendency to especially the lives of the poorest. "go into a lesser state of organization" (Ongkiko Finally, as Dr. Quebral (2002) noted, & Flor, 2006). "understanding the dynamics of how The question then becomes: How do we information is transformed into then negate entropy? knowledge that people can utilize to By processing information through better their lives is at the heart of obtaining, delivering, and/or development communication as a exchanging information to whoever science." needs it By communicating effectively (i.e., less MODULE 2: LESSON 2 - INFORMATION noise, better understanding, enabling MANAGEMENT AND KNOWLEDGE the receiver to "function") MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNICATION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT Taylor (1966, in Aharony, 2006) defines information science as "the science that investigates the properties and behavior of information, the forces governing the flow of information, and the means of processing information for optimum accessibility and usability." This intervention entails: He added that "these processes include Delivering information to the public for the origination, dissemination, awareness, understanding, and collection, organization, storage, appreciation; retrieval, interpretation, and use of Creating avenues for the public to information." actively engage in social issues that According to Norton (2000), some of the affect them: applications of information science Inviting them to collaborate and work include: together to achieve societal goals. ○ Information needs and uses- behavioral studies of users, Dr. Quebral specifically related the importance citation studies, communication of devcom in narrowing knowledge gaps and patterns, literature use studies reducing information problems. She referred to ○ Document creation and the World Bank's 1999 World Development copying- computer-assisted Report, in which it was stated that: composition, microforms, DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 recording and soring, writing Now why should there be a "science" for it? To and editing answer this, let's reacquaint ourselves with the ○ Language analysis- properties of information. Information is: computational linguistics, 1. Consumable but inexhaustible (0 lexicography, natural language marginal cost) (text) processing, 2. Transferable but not lost (non-rivalrous) psycholinguistics, semantic 3. Shared in set or in whole (non-exclusive) analysis 4. Cumulative ○ Translation- machine 5. Re-usable translation, translation aids ○ Abstracting, classification, The multifarious nature of information coding, and indexing- underscores the need for information classification and indexing science. systems, content analysis, 1. Information is a highly valued good in machine-aided classification, the 21st century and beyond. extracting and indexing, 2. Information is a very powerful resource vocabulary studies and yet it is hardly managed. ○ System design- information 3. Organizations experience a steady centers, information retrieval, influx of information yet they do not mechanization of library know what to do with it. operations, selective dissemination of information. Therefore, information science accomplishes the ○ Analysis and evaluation- following: comparative studies, indexing 1. Provides order to the chaotic world of quality, modeling, test methods information and performance measures, 2. Ensures that the information is "there" translation quality 3. Makes relevant information available so ○ Pattern recognition- image that it may be retrieved just in time processing, speech analysis and/or just in case the need to use it ○ Adaptive systems- artificial arises. intelligence, automata, problem solving, self-organizing systems Meanwhile, Sison (1998) describes managing information as "accessing and gathering the Aharony (2006) notes the following features of necessary data (raw material), processing them information science emerging into meaningful information (finished product) from such definition: with suitable packaging designs, and marketing "The focus of information science is the them to serve the needs of intended users." phenomenon of information. The field covers all facets of information, Why should we manage information? Powell regardless of the material format." (2003) makes two cases: "The information scientist is involved in 1. First, "creating a resource out of a mass the entire information life cycle." of data, documents, and gossip, "The field is interdisciplinary." creating well-constructed information "This definition is not institution-based, which has meaning from such a but it stresses the major purpose of the resource, and using it well do not library: accessibility and usability of happen by accident. The process has to information." be managed." 2. Second, in the context of development organizations, "[the process of DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 managing information] cannot happen information. How information is managed is independently of the daily actions of everyone central to the vibrancy of such processes." involved in its work. Because managing information involves everyone in the 4. Empowerment organization, the responsibility for doing it has "Information will not be hoarded as a source of to rest with the organization's management and influence by the few, but will be available to the with managers at all levels. It cannot be many. People will be better informed about delegated to some convenient specialist and what is happening, which will increase their forgotten about." capacity to make better decisions and enhance their sense of participation in the process." According to Powell (2003), good information management ("IM" hereafter) has Knowledge Management four core aims: 1. Efficiency To set the stage for our discussion of knowledge "Information will be of appropriate quality, management, let's consider collected once, and distributed appropriately, these key statements: rather than being re-collected by every "[If] information is a flow of messages, department. Information will be available to knowledge is created by that very flow those who need it, not hidden away in poorly of information, anchored in the beliefs catalogued archives, or simply lost. Information of and commitment of its holder." will be managed in a way which monitors costs (Nonaka & Takeucho, 1996, p. 58) and creates opportunities for savings. People "Knowledge is a justified true belief, will have easy access to what they need to related to human action." know, without wasting too much time wading through information that they cannot Kebede (2010) broadly defines knowledge use." management ("KM" hereafter) as "a purposeful and systematic management of knowledge and 2. Effectiveness the associated processes and tools with the aim "Information will be of good quality and will be of realizing fully the potential of knowledge in well constructed. It can be used. The making effective decisions, solving problems, organisation can learn from it. The organisation facilitating innovations and creativity, and will be aware of the information needs of those achieving competitive advantage at all levels with whom it works. By meeting these needs, it (personal, group, organization, country, and so will improve its relationships with them, and the on)." quality of information received in return. The organisation will be alert to events and trends in He adds that "the main added dimension of KM, the external environment which are important over and above IM, is its focus on managing to it. Such information will be available to the tacit knowledge that exists in the form of people who can use it internally." experience, know-how, insight, expertise, competence and so on (Brookes, 1980; 3. Creativity Fairer-Wessels, 1997; Oluic-Vukovic, 2001; "All organisations need to develop new ideas, Saracevic,1999; Zins, 2007a)." new practices, and new relationships if they are to thrive in times of change. Innovation and According to Sison and Flor (2005), intellectual serendipity cannot appear by order within rigid capital is a manageable asset. "Scientific arrangements. They can, however, be knowledge, which is a product of research and encouraged and made more likely by the experimentation, is a type of intellectual capital exposure of individuals to new ideas or to that may be managed." Nonaka (1991) and looking at the familiar in a new light - to new DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 Alavi (2000) distinguish between two types of also be audiovisual; even intellectual capital: engineering works and product 1. Tacit knowledge - highly personal; hard design may be taken as forms to formalize and, therefore, difficult to of explicit knowledge where communicate; deeply rooted in action human skills, motives, and and an individual's commitment to a knowledge are externalized. specific context (e.g., craft, profession, technology, product market, activities To better understand the interplay between tacit of a work group); technical and explicit knowledge, take the image of an skills/know-how; mental models, beliefs, iceberg. As you will remember from your science and perspectives classes or from watching Titanic-we can see a. A classic example is how to only about 10% of an iceberg. The remaining speak a language. It's 90% is submerged and unseen. notoriously difficult to write In this metaphor, explicit knowledge is down the rules of a language. the tip of the iceberg that may be seen. It's well accepted that learning The tip of the iceberg refers to the a language requires immersion knowledge that may be written down or using the language for long and documented in a form that may be periods of time. That right there seen and read. But there is more to just is classic tacit knowledge. a codified and transferable form of b. Another classic example are knowledge. There is also knowledge tasks that require physical that is unseen, much like the rest of the coordination such as riding iceberg that is hidden. underwater. We bicycle or driving a car, may liken this to tacit knowledge, which swimming, or the Filipino is in our heads, much less concrete, and martial art, arnis. You cannot much more difficult to document. Both learn it by reading a book. You these forms of knowledge are present need to do it to learn it. at the same time, and all knowledge is c. Still another example may be based on both of them. an aesthetic sense. Some people just know what looks Now, how does the interplay between beautiful, whether it's fashion or tacit and explicit knowledge relate to interior or graphic design! It's KM? Simply put, the logic of KM, is to difficult to verbalize the appeal put tacit and explicit knowledge to use. of a work of art. It's even more ○ How is this done? By designing difficult to teach an aesthetic a system that allows people in sense. an organization or group to create, store, retrieve, 2. Explicit knowledge- formal and distribute, and apply systematic; articulated in some knowledge. Through KM, symbolic form and, therefore, can be solutions are created, resources easily communicated and shared are managed, and working a. Some examples of explicit systems are improved. information include information Hopefully, this will all lead to in encyclopedias and textbooks. innovation, which is a Other common forms of explicit cornerstone of development. knowledge are manuals, documents, procedures, and Because of its nature, capturing tacit how-to videos. Knowledge may knowledge is one of the challenges of DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 KM. Tacit knowledge is essential to IM and KM vis-à-vis Devcom competitive advantage because, unlike So what's the connection between IM explicit knowledge, it is difficult for and devcom? First, let's lay down the competitors to replicate. premise that, first, information is power, This is why some firms. pump out and, second, "information and innovation after innovation while other communication are absolutely central to firms struggle. Organizations and firms the processes by which people are aim to prevent knowledge loss due to 'included' or 'excluded"" (Powell, 2003). employee turnover. However, tacit What does this mean for development knowledge almost always goes with the communicators? If we hold that employee when s/he leaves. empowerment is one of the cornerstones of devcom, then the "KM is about capturing these two types practitioner plays a crucial role in of scientific knowledge, and organizing facilitating information exchange, these into a knowledge base for sharing especially among those who are socially and reuse" (Sison and Flor, 2005). This excluded or marginalized. process is illustrated as follows: Powell (2003) notes two crucial elements of empowerment vis-à-vis information management. First, people should have the necessary information to make choices, and, second, their views (information) should be valued and listened to. When it comes to scientific information management, Sison and Flor (2005) put forward that developing and maintaining information systems, in the form of information services, lead to the You might be wondering about the applications following benefits: of KM to the development sector (think of this ○ "Improved capability of a as KM4D or KM for Development). Let's consider country to take advantage of these two general streams: existing knowledge and 1. KM in the public sector 'know-how' achieved - Here, KM principles are applied elsewhere;" to make sure public institutions, ○ "Rationalization and R&D agencies, NGOs, and systematization of a country's international organizations run research and development smoothly so they may be able efforts in light of knowledge to address public needs, already available;" especially those needs of the ○ "Wider knowledge base for the poor and marginalized. solution of problems;" 2. KM in underprivileged communities ○ "New alternatives and - Here, KM is focused on facilitating approaches to the solution of interventions for nonformal education, technical problems, and options social mobilization, empowerment, for minimizing future ones;" among others. ○ "Improved effectiveness and efficiency of technical activities in the production and service sectors;" and DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 ○ "Above all, better decision-making in all sectors and at all levels of responsibility." So yes, development communicators play an important role in "processing information through obtaining, delivering, and/or exchanging information to whoever needs it" (Ongkiko and Flor, 2006). In carrying out this function, it behooves agents of social change to understand how to handle information. This entails understanding, first, the nature of information and, second, how information specialists store it. Information specialists have their own language; the key to retrieve stored information is to get familiar with that language (Montemayor, 2012). In relating KM to devcom, the concept of entropy in social cybernetics still proves useful. At the societal level, communication that negates social decay is development-oriented in nature. Development, then, is a communication process. Now, knowledge management is integral to this process. ○ We solve organizational and societal problems through the management of what we know (information) and what we know we value and believe (knowledge). ○ We prevent the "decay" of the organization/society through ease of information flow within each societal component, through use of information processing technologies, and by making sure to provide therapeutic intervention (Montemayor, 2009). DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 MODULE 1 - LESSON 3: BASIC CONCEPTS ii. Criticism: There have long been IN MANAGING INFORMATION IN international linkages, such as DEVELOPMENT global post and telecoms e. Cultural - the ubiquity of information in cultural life INFORMATION SOCIETY i. Assumption: The huge volume Berger (2004) and Webster (2006) of information today defines defined information society to the and shapes our very identities. following criteria: It affects our politics, public life, clothes, tastes, aspirations, a. Technological - the role of ICT as a and dreams means of production ii. Criticism: The glare of the i. Assumption: We can define a information society phrase society by its production blinds us to the concept of technology. cultural imperialism. ii. Criticism: This view characterizes a whole society on the basis of technology Webster (2006): quantitative measures b. Economic - the importance of - simply more information - cannot of information in national economies themselves identify a break with i. Assumption: Modern economies previous systems, while it is at least are characterized by the theoretically possible to regard small expansion of an information but decisive qualitative changes as sector. marking a system break. ii. Criticism: Provides a picture of ○ In summary, the statement greater amounts of information implies that quantitative work taking place, but it would changes (like just adding more not offer any means of of the same) don’t always lead differentiating the varying to a "break" or transformation dimensions of information in a system, but small work. qualitative changes (like a shift c. Occupational - a changing in how things are done) can occupational structure mark a significant break from i. Assumption: An information previous systems. society forms when the number The definitions of the information of jobs dealing with society we have reviewed perceive information increases. information in non-meaningful ways. ii. Criticism: It is not necessarily That is, searching for quantitative the case that there are evidence of the growth of information. proportionately more The assessment of information in info-workers than previously. non-social terms-it just is- but we must d. Spatial - the importance of global adjust to its social consequences. networked systems Only few information society thinkers i. Assumption: Physical distance paid attention to theoretical and time constraints are seen knowledge. as being eliminated by Instead, they focused much more on information networks. technological, economic, and occupational aspects, which are more DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 easily quantified but are only loosely to the factory floor to the interface related to theory. with customers. With this, Webster (2006) proposed his concept of an information society: one KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY in which theoretical knowledge Drucker (1969) introduced knowledge occupies a pre-eminence which it society. hitherto lacked. Knowledge is central to modern In this information society, affairs are society and as the foundation of its organised and arranged in such ways economy and of social action. that theory is prioritized. Emerge with “learning societies” and Theoretical knowledge has come to “lifelong education” play a key role in contemporary Stehr (1994) proposes that we now society, in marked contrast to earlier inhabit a “knowledge society,” arguing epochs when practical and situated that “nowadays knowledge has come knowledge were predominant. to be constitutive of the way that we ○ Can be taken to be entirely live.” novel, but it is arguable that its According to Drucker (2001), a significance has accelerated knowledge society has three main and that it has spread to such characteristics: an extent that it is now a ○ Borderless - knowledge travels defining feature of with greater ease than money contemporary life. ○ Upward mobility - unlike in previous societies, upward KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY mobility will be available to A knowledge economy is one in which everyone through easily knowledge is the key resource acquired formal education (Houghton & Sheehan, 2000). ○ Potential for failure/success - A knowledge economy is one in which everyone can acquire the the generation and the exploitation of means of knowledge has come to play the production-knowledge for a predominant part in the creation of job-but not everyone can win. wealth. It is not simply about pushing back the DATA-INFORMATION-KNOWLEDGE frontiers of knowledge; it is also about Powell (2003) - information may be the more effective use and exploitation taken as a chain of increasing value, of all types of knowledge in all manner where data can become information, of economic activity. which can then be transformed into Producing knowledge not only involves knowledge. discovering, inventing, designing and ○ Seeing data as a structured planning, but also disseminating and collection of quantitative facts communicating. People or machines can Powell and Snellman (2004): the key handle data. components of a knowledge economy Data consist of facts include a greater reliance on which do not intellectual capabilities than on themselves have much physical inputs or natural resources, meaning, apart from combined with efforts to integrate what they state improvements in every stage of the ○ Seeing information as data or production process, from the R&D lab facts with meaning DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 The word inform described or what will happen next. originally meant to (For example: If the humidity is very give shape to, so high and the temperature drops information gives substantially the atmosphere is often shape or meaning to unlikely to be able to hold the moisture facts so it rains) This shape or context Wisdom embodies more of an can be derived from understanding of fundamental combinations of data principles embodied within the ○ Seeing knowledge as knowledge that are essentially the producing significance or value basis for the knowledge being what it from information is. Wisdom is essentially systemic. (For Knowledge involves the example: It rains because it rains. And human reaction to this encompasses an understanding of information. As such it all the interactions that happen ceases to be entirely between raining, evaporation, air objective. currents, temperature gradients, This analysis offers some working changes and raining.) definitions, and it invites us to think about how we construct information While the DIKW hierarchy is part of the and also how we develop value from it. canon of information science and Bellinger (2004) elaborated on Ackoff’s management, Fricke (2007) critiqued (1989) categorization and fashioned the model as unsound and the DIKW diagram presented in Figure methodologically undesirable. 1. ○ The intellectual backdrop of the IKW hierarchy is positivism or operationalism. Refined operationalism has it that concepts that cannot be defined in terms of operations (roughly, measurements by instrument) are meaningless. Yet these philosophical assumptions have lost some credibility in the philosophy of science. ○ The DIKW theory also seems to Data represents a fact or statement of encourage uninspired event without relation to other things. methodology. The view is that (Example: It is raining) data, existing data that has Information embodies the been collected, is promoted to understanding of a relationship of information and that some sort, possibly cause and effect. information answers questions. (For example: The temperature ○ This encourages the mindless dropped 15 degrees and then it started and meaningless collection of raining) data in the hope that one day Knowledge presents a pattern that it will ascend to connects and generally provides a high information-pre-emptive level of predictability as to what is acquisition. DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 ○ Ackoff (1989, in Fricke, 2007) to be applicable to tricky problems of asserts that knowledge is an ethical and practical kind, of how to know-how- for example, how a act. system works. It is what makes possible the transformation of MODULE 1 - LESSON 4: CHALLENGES IN information into instructions. It MANAGING INFORMATION IN makes control of a system DEVELOPMENT possible. But procedural knowledge is inexpressible. In INFORMATION OVERLOAD AND THE which case, it should not be the INABILITY TO FILTER ineffable procedural knowledge of cognitive science, nor should According to Sutcliffe and Weick it be philosophy’s inarticulable (2008), overload is “a state induced know-how of mundane skills. when the amount of input to a system exceeds its processing capacity or DATA AND INFORMATION when information processing All data is information, but there is capabilities and the information loads information that is not data. encountered are mismatched.” Almost all science is information, but in Toffler (1970) in his book Future Shock, most contexts, it is not data. was one of the first authors to Information is both more extensive introduce the idea of information than data and many instances of it are overload. “Just as there are limits on logically stronger than data. how much sensory input we can accept, Information is irreducible to data there are in-built constraints on our For an account of knowledge, ability to process information.” information science should use a Psychologist George A. Miller: There are propositional account of knowledge, severe limitations on the amount of that is, knowledge-that, and then use information that we are able to receive, the notion of weak knowledge. This process and remember.” makes knowledge and information By classifying information, by synonymous. Knowledge and abstracting and coding it in various information collapse into each other. ways, we manage to stretch these DIKW sees knowledge as know-how, limits, yet ample evidence and in turn, this tends to make demonstrates that our capabilities are knowledge inarticulable and not finite. recordable. In contrast, Channel capacity - man as channel; weak-knowledge (knowledge-that) is information enters from the outside; it articulable and recordable. is processed, then exits in the form of In the DIKW model, wisdom was actions based on decisions. merely a matter of using that practical The speed and accuracy of human know how to achieve appropriate ends. information processing can be That is a reasonably defensible view- it measured by comparing the speed of just does not want to be embedded in information input with the speed and the DIKW hierarchy. A person may accuracy of output. have encyclopedic knowledge of the Two basic principles: (1) man has facts and figures relating to the limited capacity; and (2) overloading countries of the world; but that the system leads to serious breakdown knowledge, of itself, will not make that of performance. person wise. The wide knowledge has DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 Clay Shirky argues that information overload is not a new phenomenon: we’ve had information overload, in some form or other, since the 1500s… if that’s the normal case, then thinking about information overload isn’t actually describing the problem, and thinking about filter failure is. Sutcliffe and Weick (2008) contended that "computational information processing perspectives tend to neglect the more interpretive aspects of information processing." (Representation and computation Difficulty to balance creativity and suggest that there is simply too much hard data data to attend to.) Put differently, an organization is a "finite container that is overfilled with demands." However, when one views organizations as interpretation systems, the idea of overload changes meaning. This time, the issue is no longer too much data, "rather it is an inability to make sense of demands, capabilities, and context as well as data (Sutcliffe & Weick, 2008). SELECTING, ORGANIZING, AND MANAGING INFORMATION Evgeniou and Cartwright (2005) distinguished three key barriers to successfully using and 2. Process Barriers - mainly due to the extracting value from information: 1) process characteristics of an behavioral barriers; process barriers; and information analysis project organizational barriers. Following is a summary of these barriers, including more Unsuccessful problem definition specific challenges per type. 1. Behavioral barriers - mainly due to behavioral characteristics of managers, decision makers, and researchers Confirmatory Bias DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 Research Rigidity Newcomer syndrome Information Access 3. Organizational Barriers - mainly due to UN Global Pulse (2012) has identified access the organizational structure of the and sharing as one of the challenges of big groups involved in an information data. analysis project It states that although data from the open web have much potential value Misuse of information assymetries for development, "there is a great deal more valuable data that is closely held by corporations and is not accessible." For one, private companies and other institutions are reluctant to share data about their clients and users, as well as about their own operations. This may be due to "legal or reputational considerations, a need to protect their competitiveness, a culture of secrecy, and, more broadly, the absence of the right incentive and information structures." Aside from a reluctance to allow open access to institutional data, there are DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 also technical challenges faced. For pervasive in social science and instance, as UN Global Pulse (2012) policymaking relying on any notes, data are stored in places and data. ways that make them difficult to be accessed, transferred, etc. Information Sharing Hatala and Lutta (2009) note that "information As far as analysis goes, UN Global Pulse (2012) sharing is critical to an organization's raises three issues: competitiveness and requires a free flow of information among members if the 1. Getting the picture right organization is to remain competitive." - One is reminded of Plato's allegory of the cave: the data, In reality though, such "free flow of as the shadows of objects information" is hampered by barriers to passing in front of the fire, is information sharing. Hatala and Lutta (2009) all the analyst sees. But how cite these challenges in the context of accurate a reflection is the organizations: data? Sometimes the data might simply be false, Invisible barriers such as security, fabricated. politics, regulations, and management - This challenge is probably most decisions salient with unstructured user- ○ Use of organizational systems generated text-based data ○ Interest of organizations in (such as blogs, news, social knowledge sharing media messages, etc.) because ○ Relationships between of its relatively more organization members spontaneous nature and looser ○ How information and verification steps. knowledge are treated as assets 2. Interpreting data - Some digital data are as close Organizational structure and individual as it gets to indisputable, hard positions data. ○ Lack of equity among - But whether or not the data organizational members under consideration are ○ Lack of enabling social thought to be accurate, environment interpreting such data is never straightforward. Medium used in the sharing of - With massive quantities of data information there is a risk of focusing ○ People may be willing to share exclusively on finding patterns information, but the effort of or correlations and using technology to do so may subsequently rushing to be too great. judgments without a solid ○ Information sharing also understanding of the deeper requires support by the dynamics at play. organization in terms of - It should be clear that while requisite social structures. some of these challenges are specific to dealing with new Lack of theoretical relationship digital data sources, most are between organizational communication DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 processes and the development of ○ Expected users- those who not internal strategic capabilities only have the privilege of using ○ Knowledge that resides at the the information service, but collective level is easily shared also have the intention of doing among and between so; organization members. ○ Actual users- those who use the Information at the individual information service at a given level is more difficult to access, time; and especially in organizations with ○ Beneficiary users- those who rigid social structures. have derived some benefit from the information service. Individual differences in levels of (Pao, 1989) knowledge ○ Information providers with On the other hand, Atherton (in higher levels of expertise are Chowdhury, 2010) distinguishes among more likely to believe fewer the users of a scientific and technical others would provide the right information system: information. ○ Researchers in basic and ○ At the same time, information applied sciences; seekers with less expertise are ○ Practitioners and technicians likely to believe that the engaged in developmental information provided will solve and/or operational activities in their problems. the various fields of technology ○ People who are more and industry, agriculture, knowledgeable also perceive medicine, industrial production, that they personally own the communication, and so on; knowledge, and their and propensity to share is higher ○ Managers, planners, and decision-makers. MODULE 1 - LESSON 5: ASSESSING INFORMATION NEEDS Meanwhile, Guinchat and Menou (in Chowdhury, 2010) have employed two Users and Their Nature criteria to define users: There is no clear-cut definition of user. ○ Objective criteria- This is due to a number of factors, such socio-professional category, as the nature of information, one's specialist field, nature of the organization, nature of one's activity for which information profession, socio-demographic is sought, and reason for using characteristics, and so on (Chowdhury, the information system; and 2010). For this reason, user categories ○ Social and psychological are contextual. criteria- users' attitudes and In the context of organizations, users values in regard to information could be fall under any of these in general and their relation categories: with information units in ○ Potential users- those whom particular, the reasons behind the information service does their particular not serve yet; information-seeking, and their professional and social behavior. DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 behaviour." The keyword is may as Based on the above criteria, the "many decisions are taken with authors categorized information users incomplete information or on the basis as follows: of beliefs, whether we call these ○ Users not yet engaged in active prejudices, faith or ideology." As such, work life; these needs do not always trigger ○ Users with a job and whose information-seeking. information needs are related In the instances that such needs do to their work (may be classified lead to an information-seeking by their nature of activity); and response, it could be described as ○ The ordinary citizen requiring follows: general information for social ○ Cognitive needs- satisfied by purposes. factual data or subject content of a document (information as Information Needs reduction of uncertainty); and A need, Borgman (2000) says, is a ○ Affective needs- satisfied psychological construct. Thus, "it through channel of cannot be observed by a researcher, a communication (particularly librarian or an intelligent agent; only the choice of oral channels indicators or manifestations of needs over written channels) or by can be observed." the physical document. Just as it is difficult to pigeonhole information users, Wilson (2006) points In the context of library search, Taylor out that defining users' information (1967) identified four levels of needs raises some confusion. This is information needs, from a purely because the term need is sometimes conceptual state to one that is formally associated with other basic human expressed: needs. Psychologists divide these basic ○ Visceral need- actual, but human needs into three: unexpressed need for ○ Physiological- need for food, information; inexpressible in water, shelter, etc. linguistic terms; will change in ○ Affective- need for attainment, form, quality, concreteness, domination, etc. and criteria as information is ○ Cognitive- need to plan, to added; learn a skill, etc. ○ Conscious need- conscious, within-brain description of the These three categories are interrelated: need; ill- defined area of "Physiological needs may trigger indecision; might be in the form affective and/or cognitive needs; of an ambiguous or rambling affective needs may give rise to statement; cognitive needs; and problems relating ○ Formalized need- formal to the satisfaction of cognitive needs statement of the need; (such as a failure to satisfy needs, or qualified and rational fear of disclosing needs) may result in statement of a question; may affective needs (for example, for or may not be thinking within reassurance)" (Wilson, 2006). the context or constraints of According to Wilson (2006), to satisfy the information system; and these needs, "an individual may ○ Compromised need- question engage in information-seeking as presented to the information DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 system; thinking in terms of the Wilson's Model of Information Behavior organization of particular files is a comprehensive human information and of the discrete packages behavior model as it explains available-books, reports, information seeking behavior across all papers, drawings, tables, etc. categories of users. Information Behavior In Wilson's earlier Problem-Solving Model, the user's information need is When we look at the "activities a the most significant factor in person may engage in when identifying originating and driving the entire his or her own needs for information, information retrieval process. Wilson, searching for information in any way, however, notes that a user's and using or transferring that information need is, in fact, a information" (Wilson, 1999), we're secondary need-not a primary thinking about information behavior. need-which arises out of needs of a A subset of information behavior, more basic type. The basic need may meanwhile, is information-seeking arise from the role of the person in an behavior. According to Wilson (1999), environment, a lifestyle, or a course of this is "concerned with the variety of work. methods people employ to discover, In his updated Model of Information and gain access to information Behavior, Wilson suggests that resources." information-seeking behavior is a goal Meanwhile, information search directed with the resolution of the behavior is a subset of problem, and possibly the presentation information-seeking. It is "concerned of the solution, as the goal. In moving with the interactions between through each of the stages, uncertainty information user (with or without an must be reduced through interactions intermediary) and computer-based of the users with the information information systems of which sources (see Figure 2). information. retrieval systems for textual data may be seen as one type" (Wilson, 1999). This nested model of information behavior is visualized in Figure 1. DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 Information about the organization or institution will help us understand: - Organizational structure - Links with other organizations - Various activity groups within the organization and their major activities - Flow of information within the various activity groups - External and internal sources of information used - Nature of information generated Information about user groups may be consolidated to learn about: - Various user groups, their composition, nature of activities, etc. - Link among the user groups, and the possible flow pattern of information - Nature of information required by the user groups - Possible sources of information - Possible constraints and priorities in services What We Need to Know about Users - Computer resources and ICT Chowdhury (2010) states that literacy information-seeking behavior depends on a Information about individual users will number of factors, which may be categorized apprise us of their: into two: - Education, training, experience Personal characteristics and traits of - Language preference users (e.g., educational/professional - Kind of information required by the background and environment, user awareness of and ability to access - User's opinion of the existing sources of information, working information retrieval facilities conditions, time available, personal - User's suggestions regarding the and professional connections, etc.) proposed information retrieval Information center/system concerned system's location, accessibility, content, (e.g., various products and services input and output features, etc. offered, user-friendliness, user education/assistance/orientation progams, etc.) Chowdhury (2010) states that the process of getting to know users operates on three levels: DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 MODULE 2 - LESSON 6: SOURCES OF that computerised INFORMATION sources cannot provide.” INFORMATION SOURCES People Lay People and Communities We may turn to people (such as - It is also worthwhile to experts, and lay people and seek local knowledge communities) for the following reasons from lay people and that Parker and Turley (1986) have communities. These identified: individuals “possess ○ When the required information specific, particular, and cannot be found (or does not concrete knowledge exist) in the literature and competencies, the ○ Where speed and convenience fruit of their are important experiences and ○ When advice is required, observations” (Callon, especially on alternative 1999). sources of information - The problem with this ○ For an expert opinion on a dichotomy, however, is topic that laypersons and ○ To obtain further details of a local communities are particular piece of work from not deemed “experts” the person responsible or a knowledge ○ In the kind of situation where authority. Citing Stehr immediate two-way and Grundmann (2010), communication is a distinct Fahnrich (2018) defines advantage (obtaining expertise as having instruction in the operation of a “specific knowledge complicated machine or that is rooted in science process, for instance) as well as being well For our purposes, let’s consider two informed about the categories of people: latest scientific ○ Experts developments in the - “Technoscience” for respective area of their authority in a expertise.” particular field of - Grundmann (2017) knowledge. argues that because - According to Slawson expertise is not a and Shaughnessy singular concept, we (1997), “expert sources are better off of information are categorizing experts valuable because they into three types: 1) are quick, cheap, and scientific experts; 2) easy to use. An expert professional experts; 3) also provides guidance, field experts. Such is a support, affirmation, more inclusive view of and other expertise, which psychological benefits acknowledges that lay people and DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 communities are Consists of knowledge producers republication of as well. material distilled from primary sources Organizations generally after a Organizations may be commercial substantial period has organizations, professional elapsed associations, educational Examples: books, organizations, official organizations, reference material research organizations, etc. (Parker & (data compilations, Turley, 1986). They prove to be useful dictionaries, sources when you want to find out: encyclopedias, ○ Their addresses, telephone #s, handbooks), review what they produce of supply, serials their connections with other ○ Tertiary Literature organizations, the names of Developed to assist the their directors, their research retrieval of information interest, etc. from both primary and ○ Which organizations secondary sources manufacture or supply a Examples: abstracting particular product or service and indexing journals, ○ Which organizations are active guides to abstracting in a particular field of research and indexing journals, ○ Which organizations have bibliographies of libraries covering your subject bibliographies, subject interests guides, general guides Research Literature Another type of literature is grey According to Sison and Flor (2005), literature or non-conventional scientific and technical literature is literature. The most widely accepted structured as follows: definition of which was coined during ○ Primary Literature the Third International Conference on Contains the first, and Grey Literature in 1997: “that which is sometimes only, produced on all levels of government, publication of specific academics, business and industry in informations; where electronic and print formats not one can find reports of controlled by commercial publishers.” the most recent Some examples of grey literature advances in knowledge include reports, technical notes and Examples: periodicals, specifications, conference proceedings reports, and preprints, supplementary trade/commercial publications and data compilations, literature, patents, and trade literature (Auger, 1998). standards, A more succinct definition of grey theses/dissertations, literature was offered by McKimmie government and Szurmak (2002): “that which publications cannot be found using traditional ○ Secondary Literature indexing and abstracting sources.” Here, the authors highlight the activity DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 of information retrieval; because grey texts/records from the literature does not usually undergo Internet" (Ajuwon et al., 2011). standard indexing procedures, it is ○ Web-based - Ajuwon et al. more difficult to find. (2011) state that the Web is Over the years, however, numerous home to various information systematic efforts have been made to sources, such as: Bibliographic make grey literature more accessible to information, such as library users. In his paper, Paez (2017) catalogs outlined a number of grey literature - Multimedia- audio, databases and search engines; some of video, and graphical which include: sources of information ○ OpenGrey: System for - Reference sources such Information on Grey Literature as encyclopedias, in Europe (www.opengrey.eu) dictionaries, and ○ Grey Matters: A Practical Tool handbooks for Searching Health-Related - Journals, newspapers, Grey Literature magazines, and (www.cadth.ca/resources/findi databases ng-evidence/grey-matters) - Subject-related Grey Literature Report: Fill the gateways Gaps in Your Public Health - Reports / grey Research (www.greylit.org) literature APA PsycExtra: The Premier - Movies and videos Index For Conference Materials, Factsheets and Information Services Other Hard-to-Find Content An information service "refers to the (www.apa.org/pubs/databases theory and practice of providing /psycextra) services that link information seekers to information sources" (Sison & Flor, Information Formats 2005). Information products maybe packaged Requires information intermediaries into print, electronic, or web-based “We cut the flood of information down formats. to the trickle we need.” ○ Print - Information in print Information services, then, "call for format include all printed information specialists, librarians, books, periodicals, maps, information brokers, or other types of bibliographies, indexes and information providers to act as abstracts, photographs, intermediaries" (Sison & Flor, 2005). government documents, There is a long list of information technical reports, etc. (Ajuwon services provided by various libraries et al., 2011). and organizations; however, in this ○ Electronic - "In addition to lesson we will focus on only four: 1) printed materials, information public libraries; 2) government is also produced in other information services; 3) international formats (non-print) including information services; and 4) research audio, audiovisual, multimedia, databases. microform and electronic books, journals, images, 1. Public Libraries DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 A public library is defined as "an access to a wide range organization established, supported, of information sources. and funded by the community, either Personal development through local, regional, or national - Public libraries enable government or through some other access to a rich form of community organization" collection of knowledge (Koontz & Gubbin, 2010). and works Information is a human right that the of the imagination. government must provide in Moreover, they make democratic countries. important According to Koontz and Gubbin contributions to social (2010), the primary purpose of the and economic public library to provide resources and development by services in a variety of media to meet serving people living in the needs of individuals and groups for developing education, information, and personal communities. development, including recreation and leisure. 2. Government Information Services ○ Education While it is true that knowledge - Public libraries support generation is the province of formal and informal academia, the plethora of information education by providing about social, economic, and cultural citizens access to relations emanates from government knowledge, whether it agencies. According to Webster (2006), be in print or electronic it is the government that is "the only format. Moreover, they institution capable of systematically must actively support and routinely gathering and processing literacy and information on everything from information literacy patterns of divorce to infant morbidity, campaigns and from occupational shifts to training. This is criminological trends." because literacy is the Simply put, government information is key to education and "information collected, compiled, and knowledge, and to the published by the government" use of libraries and (Wen-Hua, 1999). Such information information services. covers various topics-legal, social, Information political, economic, and demographic. - If we hold that Because such information is generated information is a basic through public funds, we may consider human right then the government information to be an role of public libraries essential public service. cannot be emphasized Government information, admittedly a enough. The public broad term, may go by many different library plays a crucial labels: government publications; role in collecting, official documents; federal documents; organizing and agency publications; legislative exploiting information, documents; and executive documents as well as providing (Evans, Intner, & Weihs, 2002). But how does the Philippine government define DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 government information? According to published within its borders" (Judy, the Philippine Freedom of Information 1979). Program: Geographic records of all given ○ “Information" shall mean any countries records, documents, papers, Moreover, according to Miller and Wild reports, letters, contracts, (1978), such system may be minutes and transcripts of characterized as follows: official meetings, maps, books, ○ Must be open to the photographs, data, research participation of all countries materials, films, sound and ○ Must allow countries to have a video recording, magnetic or say in its management other tapes, electronic data, ○ Must allow each country to computer stored data, any have equal access to its other like or similar data or products and services materials recorded, stored or archived in whatever format, Examples: All are bibliographic datasystems whether offline or online, which INIS are made, received, or kept in ○ International Nuclear or under the control and Information System custody of any government ○ Established by the office pursuant to law, International Atomic Energy executive order, and rules and Agency in 1969 regulations or in connection ○ Aim: to make all of the with the performance or literature of its mission, the transaction of official business nuclear sciences, available to by any government office all of its members so as to (Executive Order No. 2, s. 2016, supplement present bilateral 2016). arrangements (Pryor, 1979) AGRIS Information and communication ○ International Information technologies (ICTs) have certainly System for the Agricultural made it possible for local and national Sciences and Technology agencies to make government ○ Established by the Food and information accessible to end-users. Agriculture Organization of the This is one of the responsibilities of United Nations (FAO) in 1974 eGovernment, which OECD (2003) ○ Aim: to provide an index of defines as "the use of ICTs, and current information in all fields particularly the Internet, as a tool to of FAO’s responsibility and a achieve better government." network of specialized services ○ PCOO (Caponio & Moran, 1975) ○ PSA ○ PTV DEVSIS ○ Development Sciences 3. International Information Services Information System An international information system is ○ Proposed by the International "a decentralized system in which each Development Research Centre participating country is responsible for in 1974 identifying, cataloguing, indexing, and ○ Aim: to organize information to inputing records for the documents improve economic and social DEVC 153: MANAGING INFORMATION IN DEVCOM First Semester 2024-2025 conditions in poorer countries ○ Public libraries organize (Woolston, 2004) printed books, periodicals, maps, CDs, DVDs, and maybe Research Databases some old record albums. A database of scholarly journals ○ Research libraries also consists of several electronic records organize rare manuscripts, storing relevant metadata pamphlets, musical scores, and information, such as article title, many other kinds of printed names of authors, their affiliation, information. institutional address, journal title, ○ Museums organize paintings, pagination, issue number, volume sculptures, and other artifacts number, year of publication, abstract, of cultural, historical, or DOI (UNESCO, 2015) scientific value. Bibliographic databases - contain ○ Stores and suppliers organize bibliographic records of papers, their goods for sale to published in different peer-reviewed consumers and to each other. scholarly journals (e.g., Scopus, Web of Science) We organize information about Full-text databases - aggregate physical things. full-text journal contents in common ○ We organize information about searchable databases for providing things, when we inventory the unified/ single interface online access contents of our house for to researchers (e.g., EBSCOHost, insurance purposes, when we JSTOR, Project Muse) sell our unwanted stuff on Google Scholar - attempts to bring all eBay, or when we rate a open-source journal articles into a restaurant on Yelp. single database; includes texts of ○ Library card catalogs, and their academic and other journ