Contribution to the field of information users: looking for the paradoxes of information practices

The article critically discusses the theoretical and methodological concepts of the studies of information users, considering thehistoricality, totality and the contradictions of capitalist society as constitutors of the informational practices of users. The currenttraditional and alternative approa...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Melo PINTO, Flávia Virgínia, Ávila ARAÚJO, Carlos Alberto
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:Brasil
Institución:Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Campinas (PUC-CAMPINAS)
Repositorio:Transinformação (Online)
Idioma:portugués
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br:article/6161
Acceso en línea:https://periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br/transinfo/article/view/6161
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Method
Informational practices
Information users
Método
Práticas informacionais
Usuários da informação
Descripción
Sumario:The article critically discusses the theoretical and methodological concepts of the studies of information users, considering thehistoricality, totality and the contradictions of capitalist society as constitutors of the informational practices of users. The currenttraditional and alternative approaches to information users have been shown to be limited, because they do not cover the complexity of the aspects that shape the users and their social constitution. These theories disregard the historical-social dimension of human action, focusing only on the individual action. One understands that to comprehend the informational practices of subjects, it is necessary to put them into historical perspective, considering that subjectivity is not separated from the social structure. In order to build a method or a critical point of view, the adoption of the categories of analysis developed by Pierre Bourdieu is suggested. The categories habitus, social field and capital are presented in an attempt to understand the informational practices built at the cross-roads between social relationships based on exploitation of one class by another (and the domination of one group by another) and the subjective perceptions of individuals.