Center for the Study of Mediation and Social Uses of Knowledge and Information in Digital Environments

Presentation

NEMUSAD, coordinated by Professor Maria Aparecida Moura, is one of the research groups belonging to the School of Information Science at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais) and it unites researchers from different backgrounds such as Information Science, Communication, Computer Engineering, Language Sciences, and Education, as well as Sociology and Philosophy, in a multidisciplinary perspective.

The Center is devoted to the study of mediations and social uses of knowledge and information which are comprehended from a common theoretical and methodological panel associated with theoretical principles developed in (tem sentido de eminente) distinct fields of social knowledge which can be addressed in the studies conducted inside the thematic areas.

The investigations developed by NEMUSAD take the Theories of Meaning as a common theoretical background and seek, through the improvement of social studies in digital contexts, to help empowering and consolidating a theoretical and methodological principle for the field of Information Science in thematic areas detailed in the sequence.

The investigations developed by NEMUSAD are situated among the following thematic areas:

Common basis:

Experimentation and generation of computer models:

Based on specific empirical studies, on the adoption of collective tests and on common theoretical principles, this area seeks to conduct a research that moves contiguously  through problem identification, experimentation and technological feasibility. This principle aims to provide informational solutions to the field with greater agility.

Integration between academic levels and international collaboration:

In this area dynamic procedures for scientific dissemination and collaboration will be fostered, in both national and international scopes, in a way that the findings resulting from the investigations can be quickly referenced by partners and specialists in the proposed themes.

Thematic areas:

Mobility, Sociability and Social Networks:

The role and dynamics of the networked society (fixed networks, Internet, mobile devices) in the social appropriation processes of information and knowledge. Analysis of social interactions mediated by informational networks of cooperation, production and sharing. Devices and practices that promote trade, mobility and informational nomadism (present-absent). International scientific cooperation. Solidarity interaction and informational cooperation south-south. Cultural and linguistic diversity in digital environments.

Information Organization in Collaborative Environments:

The organization of knowledge in relation to new uses and users of information. Theories and methodologies for the construction of tools and languages for information representation and retrieval. Challenges to the classification of multi-inter-trans-disciplinary knowledge, given the changes occurred in science and society. Informational flows. Status of the document in the digital environment.

Information quality and Informational Indicators:

Identification, systematization and consolidation of criteria and indicators that can contribute, from the informational point of view, to the monitoring of public policies for democratization and access to information. Social approach applied to information quality.

Information Literacy:

Identification, systematization and consolidation of profiles and training programs that can contribute to the consolidation of a scholarly formation focused on the information culture in social and digital environments. Virtual learning environments (VLEs). Informational approach in the scholarly training of the researcher. Identity and informational paths/courses. Digital genres.