Jihee Beak

International comparative study analyzing knowledge organization research topics in four countries - Brazil, South Korea, Spain and United States

With the growing international population of scholars in Knowledge Organization (KO), international academic journals are a source of academic communication among researchers. Even with the inclusion of these journals in international databases, there are still limitations due to language, culture, and interpretation. The purpose of this study is to develop a comprehensive list of topics that comprise KO in these respective countries. This study is a content analysis of two KO journals from each country: Brazil, South Korea, Spain, and the United States. The journals are limited to the last five years of each journal, 2008 to 2012. Through the content analysis, this study contributes to increase communication among academics in KO.

Children's perceptual cognitive factors in book selection and metadata schema: Pilot study

The purpose of this study is to understand childrens perceptual cognitive factors and processes during book selection. Moreover, this study aims to explore how the perceptual cognitive factors can be described in a metadata schema for childrens libraries. The study contributes to the improvement of Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) reflecting childrens perceptual cognition. Current Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) in most school and public libraries are minimally specialized for children. Most school and public libraries have been using the standard KOS, e.g., AACR2, DDC, LCSH, Sears Subject Headings. These KOS usually focus on describing characteristics of information and targeting adult user groups. However, children perceive, categorize, and name information in a different way than adults do. Due to the lack of consideration of childrens cognition in KOS, children have trouble in searching for information. Therefore, it is necessary to examine how well current KOS consider childrens cognition. In KOS, metadata elements correspond to conceptual aspects of information. Consequently, the study suggests how conceptual aspects of information based on childrens perception can be represented in metadata elements. The findings of this study identify 14 emergent facets of information through various factors of information during the perceptual cognitive process in book selection. These factors and facets are re-analyzed within a Knowledge Organization theoretical context. This study suggests multiple characteristics of perceptual cognitive processes: 1) two different types of processes: PAL (Paying Attention by Looking) and BAR (Being Aware by Recalling); 2) direct and indirect factors of resources; and 3) concrete or abstract factors. Lastly, this study discusses how these perceptual cognitive factors can be represented in metadata schema.

Methods, Theoretical Frameworks and Hope for Knowledge Organization

Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Grad Sch Informat Sci, Av Hygino Muzzi Filho 7378, BR-17525900 Marilia, SP, Brazil

Le naturel est artificiel : l'héritage de la scientia scientiarum

La philosophie des sciences, qui evalue la methodologie, est epistemologique, et la classification des sciences, qui organise les sciences et leurs objets, est ontologique. Toutes sont a la recherche d’une structure universelle des connaissances basee sur une comprehension scientifique de la realite. Cet article fait une analyse des textes de R. Flint et de E. C. Richardson et W. C. Berwick Sayers, afin de reconstituer le developpement de la structure de classification moderne, rigide et culturellement marquee, qui est maintenant mondialisee. Richardson et Sayers ont decrit un modele semblable a celui de Flint, privilegiant l’unite et les differences entre classification naturelle et artificielle. La premiere, la plus proche de la verite, n’est pas facilement applicable. La seconde est, quant a elle, plus facilement adaptable. Au final, la frontiere entre les deux est indistincte, en particulier dans la pratique. Deux classifications americaines, l’echelle de classification des ouragans Saffir-Simpson et la classification decimale de Dewey pour les ouragans, viennent illustrer ces difficultes. La premiere classe les phenomenes naturels, et l’autre les ressources relatives aux choses naturelles. La classification artificielle presente une souplesse qui merite d’etre exploree.