This review article identifies and discusses some of main issues and potential problems - paradoxes and pathologies - around the communication of recorded information, and points to some possible solutions. The article considers the changing contexts of information communication, with some caveats about the identification of `pathologies of information', and analyses the changes over time in the way in which issues of the quantity and quality of information available have been regarded. Two main classes of problems and issues are discussed. The first comprises issues relating to the quantity and diversity of information available: information overload, information anxiety, etc. The second comprises issues relating to the changing information environment with the advent of Web 2.0: loss of identity and authority, emphasis on micro-chunking and shallow novelty, and the impermanence of information. A final section proposes some means of solution of problems and of improvements to the situation.

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The dark side of information: overload, anxiety and other paradoxes and pathologies

espanolEl documento describe el marco competencia digital desarrollado por EC CCI IPTS en nombre de la Direccion General de Educacion y Cultura con el objetivo general de contribuir a la mejor comprension y el desarrollo de la competencia digital en Europa. La competencia digital es una de las ocho competencias clave para el aprendizaje permanente y es esencial para la participacion en nuestra sociedad cada vez mas digitalizada. Por lo tanto, es necesario entender y definir lo que es la competencia digital y consiste en. El documento analiza varios aspectos de la competencia digital en primer lugar diferenciandolo de otros conceptos similares o coincidentes, luego discutir las implicaciones de la evolucion historica del termino, finalmente detallando el marco competencia digital en sus partes constituyentes. El marco de competencia digital propuesto consta de 21 competencias divididas en 5 zonas. Para cada competencia se preven tres niveles de competencia. Se discuten las aplicaciones actuales y posibles del marco. EnglishThe paper describes the digital competence framework developed by EC JRC IPTS on behalf of DG Education and Culture with the overall aim to contribute to the better understanding and development of digital competence in Europe. Digital competence is one of the eight key competences for lifelong learning and is essential for participation in our increasingly digitalised society. It is therefore necessary to understand and define what digital competence is and consists of. The paper discusses various aspects of digital competence firstly differentiating it from other similar or overlapping concepts, then discussing the implication of the historic evolution of the term, finally detailing the digital competence framework in its constituting parts. The proposed digital competence framework consists of 21 competences divided in 5 areas. For each competence three proficiency levels are foreseen. Current and possible applications of the framework are discussed.

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DIGCOMP: A Framework for Developing and Understanding Digital Competence in Europe.

Grounded Theory is a powerful research method for collecting and analysing research data. It was 'discovered' by Glaser & Strauss (1967) in the 1960s but is still not widely used or understood by researchers in some industries or PhD students in some science disciplines. This paper demonstrates the steps in the method and describes the difficulties encountered in applying Grounded Theory (GT). A fundamental part of the analysis method in GT is the derivation of codes, concepts and categories. Codes and coding are explained and illustrated in Section 3. Merging the codes to discover emerging concepts is a central part of the GT method and is shown in Section 4. Glaser and Strauss's constant comparison step is applied and illustrated so that the emerging categories can be seen coming from the concepts and leading to the emergent theory grounded in the data in Section 5. However, the initial applications of the GT method did have difficulties. Problems encountered when using the method are described to inform the reader of the realities of the approach. The data used in the illustrative analysis comes from recent IS/IT Case Study research into configuration management (CM) and the use of commercially available computer products (COTS). Why and how the GT approach was appropriate is explained in Section 6. However, the focus is on reporting GT as a research method rather than the results of the Case Study.

A critique of using grounded theory as a research method

This book brings together a group of internationally-reputed authors in the field of digital literacy. Their essays explore a diverse range of the concepts, policies and practices of digital literacy, and discuss how digital literacy is related to similar ideas: information literacy, computer literacy, media literacy, functional literacy and digital competence. It is argued that in light of this diversity and complexity, it is useful to think of digital literacies - the plural as well the singular. The first part of the book presents a rich mix of conceptual and policy perspectives; in the second part contributors explore social practices of digital remixing, blogging, online trading and social networking, and consider some legal issues associated with digital media.

Digital Literacies: concepts, policies and practices

Origins and Concepts of Digital Literacy

The concepts of ‘information literacy’ and ‘digital literacy’ are described, and reviewed, by way of a literature survey and analysis. Related concepts, including computer literacy, library literacy, network literacy, Internet literacy and hyper‐literacy are also discussed, and their relationships elucidated. After a general introduction, the paper begins with the basic concept of ‘literacy’, which is then expanded to include newer forms of literacy, more suitable for complex information environments. Some of these, for example library, media and computer literacies, are based largely on specific skills, but have some extension beyond them. They lead togeneral concepts, such as information literacy and digital literacy which are based on knowledge, perceptions and attitudes, though reliant on the simpler skills‐based literacies

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David Bawden

Papers

Information and digital literacies: a review of concepts