Area of Concentration: Information, Technology and Innovation

The Graduate Program in Information Science operates in the area of information, technology and innovation concentration seeking to enable an interrelationship between concepts, theories, methodologies, instruments and processes that condition the construction of information networks and their dynamics in the informationflow in various social and cultural spheres.

The dynamic mastery of mediation processes is the field where information, technology and innovation are interrelated, so as to enable, at the same time, the assimilation of information and the production of new knowledge with the competition of technological innovation. The area of concentration seeks to contribute to the understanding of the informational phenomenon, as well as the processes and technologies that involve it from a multidisciplinary and integrative approach.

By seeking to approach these three major categories in an integrated way, the area of concentration is based on the so-called fundamental equation of Information Science. If, on the one hand, the definition of this epistemological space allows different interdisciplinary approaches in the informational field, on the other hand it requires greater efforts in the understanding and integration of these elements in the informational process.

Mediation becomes relevant, in this proposal, as a theoretical-methodological construct essential to the different informational and technological processes, from production to the use of information. In fact, mediation is understood as a set of actions that aim to intervene, constitutively, in informational and technological processes. The technological variable is, therefore, a critical point in mediation actions, which lacks further studies that aim to bring these two themes, influential in their respective areas, in the field of Information Science.

The social appropriation of information and technology is based on the dynamics of invention and reinvention that promote the innovative processes fundamental to social, political, economic and cultural development, in different contexts. Acting in this complex requires, therefore, observing the context of production, policies, strategies, technologies and processes that ultimately enable the effective use of information to recursively generate knowledge and innovation.

Research Line 1: Production, Mediation and Information Management

The line of research includes epistemological, scientific and pragmatic studies on policies, processes, procedures, activities, theories and methodologies that integrate the flow of information in the continuum of production, mediation and information management, considering the local, regional, national and transnational sociocultural contexts.

It addresses topics such as information culture, information genesis, information competence, information policies, memory institutions, information organization, information dissemination, right to information, democratization of information, appropriation and use of information.

Studies carried out in this line should consider the policies, sources, flows, channels and competencies that make up the processes of production, mediation and management of information, organized in two thematic axes, including:

Thematic axis 1: Programs, policies and management of information and knowledge;

Thematic axis 2: Production, organization and dissemination of information, culture and memory.

The first thematic axis establishes strategies and guidelines that combine programs, policies and information management associated with the production of knowledge, in order to interact with the State and Society binomial, in terms of the institutionalization of information. In this sense, mediations become necessary links in these chains, and/or information networks, insofar as their agents play different roles corresponding to their respective spheres of action based on temporal and spatial micro and macro dimensions.

The second thematic axis comprises flows, production, organization and dissemination of information, culture and memory, as well as the contextualization and foundation of elements that make up the mediation of information as a link of agglutination and inclusion from a reality marked by diversity. Thus, it operates with the ability to make possible the bridge between Information and Knowledge, in terms of an uninterrupted relationship that responds to the dynamics of knowledge production, concomitantly with the need and the right to information.

Professors linked to Research Line 1: Andrew Beheregarai Finger, Edinanio Duarte de Souza, Guilhermina de Melo Terra, Marcos Aparecido Rodrigues do Prado, Marcos Aurélio Gomes, Maria de Lourdes Lima and Maria Lívia Pachêco de Oliveira.

Research Line 2: Information, Communication and Technological Processes

The line of research comprises interdisciplinary, theoretical and pragmatic studies on policy, processes, procedures, activities, theories and methodologies that integrate the socio-technical network between information, communication and technological processes, considering local, regional, national and transnational social contexts.

It addresses topics such as the role of information and communication technologies in innovative processes, information systems in science, technology and innovation, information systems in innovative processes, information actors and actions in the development of innovations, scientific communication, metrics and indicators of information in science, technology and innovation, management of scientific research data, technological applications in the development and consolidation of open science and open access, appropriation and technology transfer, monitoring, analysis and visualization of information in digital environments, electronic governance, open data, digital democracy and access to information, information architecture, databases, networks and scientific and technological information systems.

Studies carried out in this line of research should consider the properties and attributes of information and communication technology in the production, maintenance, expansion and promotion of different processes and innovative assets. More precisely, it is about contemplating the different technological and innovation processes that condition the treatment, organization, management and use of information, organized into two thematic axes, namely:

Thematic axis 1: Technology, Innovation and Society;

Thematic axis 2: Information in Science, Technology and Innovation.

The first thematic axis comprises research focused on technological and social innovation: theories, models and methods, looking at the social impact of the Science, Technology & Innovation (ST&I) system on a local, regional and national scale; the democratization of information in the context of electronic governance and open data; social and sustainable entrepreneurship; solidarity economy and social innovation; technological information centers.

The second thematic axis consists of the concentration of studies related to scientific communication systems, scientific dissemination, indicators and impact factors, evaluation of science products, traditional and alternative metrics, research data management, databases, networks and information, monitoring, analysis and visualization of information.

Professors linked to Research Line 2: Francisca Rosaline Leite Mota, Ibsen Mateus Bittencourt Santana Pinto, Luciana Peixoto Santa Rita (collaborator), Magnólia Rejane Andrade dos Santos, Nelma Camêlo de Araujo, Priscila Muniz de Medeiros, Robéria de Lourdes de Vasconcelos Andrade (collaborator), Ronaldo Ferreira de Araujo, Victor de Almeida Nobre Pires and Willian Lima Melo.