The nature of information in the 21st century : conundrums for the informatics community?

Purpose - With the proliferation of electronic information via the web a further distension of the unique characteristics of information has been witnessed. With seismic developments occurring in such a short period of time, it seems prudent to consider the very nature of information and to assess whether this accelerated growth has implications for the work of the informatics community and the information society. Design/methodology/approach - The paper begins by revisiting and refreshing the unique characteristics of information via a reappraisal of the relevant literature. These characteristics are then contextualised within the new economy and traditional economic theory. Once these unique characteristics have been examined, the author discusses how the nature of information in the twenty-first century presents the informatics community with new and difficult challenges. Findings - The challenges posed by the unique nature of information demand a definite response on the part of the informatics community, including the creation of innovative new models to accommodate information's inherent characteristics. Additionally, as the nature of information evolves yet further and ICT innovations accelerate, ever more adaptable skills will be required by the end user in order that value be derived from information. Practical implications - Outcomes and conclusions addressed in the paper may inform the informatics community generally, but will specifically inform the practice of information managers and librarians, and offer ways of assisting them in arriving at holistic decisions with respect to service provision. Originality/value - The paper is a contribution to the debate on the precise nature of information and offers new perspectives on how the informatics community should view information in the twenty-first century

The enterprise’ performance in the knowledge based society

As in the traditional enterprise, the performance of the enterprises in the knowledge based society is expressed through the same well-known financial indicators: return on equity, the profit margin, return on assets, gross margin, asset turnover, inventory turnover, the collection period, days’ sales in cash, payable period, fixed-asset turnover, balance sheet rations, coverage rations, market value leverage rations, liquidity ratios, return on invested capital and many others. But, the differences that appear are in the way of acquiring at this performance in the enterprises. The actual knowledge based society is promoting the methods and models of the rational management that will lead to performance acquiring by the enterprises. Although as a first step, the reference to financial character as income statement, balance sheet, schedules to a balance sheet started to include references to the brain capital that is considered the success key in the businesses. In this paper I intend to present the effects on enterprise’ financial performance of the main components of the brain capital: the human capital characterised through the employees’ competences and skills; organizational capital that defines the internal structures of the enterprises, inclusively the informatics structure and social capital, related to the enterprise relations with thirds (investors, banks, customers, suppliers etc.). The brain capital mustn’t be looked as a present vogue but as a necessity of its consideration and evaluation thus to the old economic-financial rules used in decision making to be added and the knowledge/information decision.enterprise’ performance, knowledge based society, ICTs, brain capital, social capital

The Enterprise’ Performance in the Knowledge Based Society

As in the traditional enterprise, the performance of the enterprises in the knowledge based society is expressed through the same well-known financial indicators: return on equity, the profit margin, return on assets, gross margin, asset turnover, inventory turnover, the collection period, days’ sales in cash, payable period, fixed-asset turnover, balance sheet rations, coverage rations, market value leverage rations, liquidity ratios, return on invested capital and many others. But, the differences that appear are in the way of acquiring at this performance in the enterprises. The actual knowledge based society is promoting the methods and models of the rational management that will lead to performance acquiring by the enterprises. Although as a first step, the reference to financial character as income statement, balance sheet, schedules to a balance sheet started to include references to the brain capital that is considered the success key in the businesses. In this paper I intend to present the effects on enterprise’ financial performance of the main components of the brain capital: the human capital characterised through the employees’ competences and skills; organizational capital that defines the internal structures of the enterprises, inclusively the informatics structure and social capital, related to the enterprise relations with thirds (investors, banks, customers, suppliers etc.). The brain capital mustn’t be looked as a present vogue but as a necessity of its consideration and evaluation thus to the old economic-financial rules used in decision making to be added and the knowledge/information decision.enterprise’ performance, knowledge based society, ICTs, brain capital, social capital

THE RELEVANCE OF ELECTRONIC COMMERCE FOR DURABLE DEVELOPMENT. CHALLENGES FOR ROMANIA

This article aims to approach the topic of the electronic commerce considering the context of the durable development, without exclusively limiting to the economic dimension of sustainable development. This paper aims to offer a vision on the e-commerce based on an optimistic approach of the reconciliation between economic growth and durable development, but moderate by the current realities (digital divide between countries/regions, economic crisis etc). Furthermore, by identifying some of the problems that Romania encounters concerning the construction of a competitive information society, the article presents also the possible solutions that can help our country to benefit of the advantages of the e-commerce.electronic commerce, durable development, economic growth, digital divide, Information and Communication Technology (IT&C), information society.

Empowering Rural Citizen Journalism Via Web 2.0 Technologies

Once acquainted with the modern information and communication tools made available with the advent of the Internet, five Brazilian rural communities participating in a pilot project to develop a self-sustaining telecenter model, engaged in citizen journalism using inexpensive digital video cameras. Community members used Web 2.0 collaborative tools to post short videos on the telecenter portal. The 95 video blogs published between September 2006 and May 2008 recorded various aspects of community life,including religious celebrations,oral history arts and crafts traditions,folklore,and envirnmental concerns. This study evaluates the impact of video blogging in these communities

Latin American perspectives to internationalize undergraduate information technology education

The computing education community expects modern curricular guidelines for information technology (IT) undergraduate degree programs by 2017. The authors of this work focus on eliciting and analyzing Latin American academic and industry perspectives on IT undergraduate education. The objective is to ensure that the IT curricular framework in the IT2017 report articulates the relationship between academic preparation and the work environment of IT graduates in light of current technological and educational trends in Latin America and elsewhere. Activities focus on soliciting and analyzing survey data collected from institutions and consortia in IT education and IT professional and educational societies in Latin America; these activities also include garnering the expertise of the authors. Findings show that IT degree programs are making progress in bridging the academic-industry gap, but more work remains

Modern Solutions For Economic Higher Education In The Knowledge-Based Society

The use of modern solutions specific to contemporary society, together with stakeholders’ involvement, will lead to a substantial increase in the practice-oriented approach of the teaching process. The objective of this paper is to present directions for the implementation of modern teaching solutions in the economic higher education. It highlights the implications that knowledge-based economy brings for the economic higher education. It analyzes the virtual campus as a modern solution for collaborative higher education and the level of knowledge in the use of mobile devices and technologies in the learning process of students from three faculties of the Academy of Economic Studies. The analysis is based on a survey conducted among students enrolled in three faculties of the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies. A series of indicators is proposed to assess the efficiency of human resources training activities, developed in order to enhance the relevance of economic higher education for the labor market and knowledge-based society. The research results consist in identifying modern solutions for the use of mobile technologies by students in the educational process.knowledge society, higher education, e-learning, m-learning, information technology

The Need to Adapt to New Financial Accounting Technologies Information in the Context of Global Economic Crisis

Today, accounting is a necessity and not a desire. Concerns for the improvement of accounting practices are necessary, especially in Romania, where these activities are strengthened with the progress of the Romanian economy integration into the structures of the European Union. This paper carried an objective analysis of how the web report is now being made by financial and accounting information, presents the disadvantages of this approach to reporting introduced, but the potential benefits that could be created by the rapid adoption of international standards for reporting financial information website, too. At the same time, the paper tries to create new opportunities as soon as possible regarding the adoption of intelligent technologies, which, coupled with language Web reporting financial information.economic crisis, web reporting, intelligent financial-accounting systems

Food Production; Can it be Used as a Tool in Empowerment of Rural Women? A Case Study from Turkey

This study contains the basics on certain problems that food producing-as an earning activity that is used empowerment of women- face in rural areas and some advice on how those difficulties could be overcome. The results of “Winpeace” project are evaluated from the point of view of women empowerment and food production. After the project, women faced several problems. Those problems are negotiated by the help of the strength and weaknesses in the presence head of the cooperative. The discussion results are highly appreciable to evolve effective thoughts about reinforcing the rural women.food production in rural areas, women, empowerment