Tipos de controles oficiales

ENGINEERING CONTEXT

The purpose of the discussion in Chapter 2 was to develop an information behaviour framework that could be used to guide this study. That discussion was based on Wilson’s (1999; 2000) encapsulating definition of information behaviour and

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(2011), Bates (2009), Bawden (2011), Case (2012), and Erdelez (1997). To ensure a logical discussion, this chapter first addressed the engineering context and thereafter investigated the personal dimension of engineers. The discussion endeavoured to show the existing relationship and interaction between the engineering environment and the personal dimension of engineers. From that discussion, it seems as if certain elements in the engineering context, such as their profession, discipline, education, training, etc., greatly influence cognitive, conative and affective structures in the personal dimension of engineers.

It was also indicated that engineering is a regulated profession. The regulated nature of a profession requires that engineering work complies with certain standards, regulations and engineering codes of practice, which are sources of information developed by various statutory engineering bodies and learned societies. The review showed that the regulated nature of engineering determines the type of information sources engineers need to use when completing an engineering task. Since engineers are held ethically responsible for the “economics of operation and safety to life and property” of the products or services they develop (Engineers' Council for Professional Development 1941: 456), their contextual requirement seems to influence their choice of information in terms of quality.

Elements in the engineering context were discussed in more detail to reveal their contribution to engineers’ information behaviour. These elements include the nature of engineering work, the work context of the engineer, the individual engineer’s work roles and tasks, engineering projects and engineering teams. With regard to the nature of engineering work, it was learnt that engineers need to design and develop products and that the work they do must adhere to certain service delivery requirements. The various requirements that are set for engineering designs seems to be criteria for source

selection and in this process become factors affecting engineers’ information behaviour. The discussion also showed that the information engineers use to complete their

designs is not necessarily in a written format. They often need to examine existing products and product documentation for the information they require.

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The discussion revealed to what extent the personal dimension has an influence on engineers’ information behaviour. It became apparent that the personal dimension of the engineer could also be subdivided into three mental states, namely, cognitive, conative and affective. Elements which could be used to describe engineers’ cognitive phenomena included their subject knowledge and their knowledge of the resources they need to use. It became clear that engineers acquired their knowledge through their education and training. Evidence was revealed that engineers’ knowledge base is greatly determined by the engineering environment and that work experience contributes much to the development of engineers’ knowledge base, their problem- solving skills and the other cognitive activities they need to accomplish.

Considering the elements of the personal dimension in general (explained in Chapter 2), the literature revealed that engineers’ conative structures (i.e. their self-efficacy and learning styles) enable them to make the connection between their engineering

knowledge and the actions they need to take to ensure task completion. This includes their ability to identify an information need, and link their information needs to the information sources that will provide them with the answers they require. It was also shown that affective phenomena generally trigger the recognition of a need for information (component iii in Figure 2.1), which motivates information seeking and information use activities (component iv in Figure 2.1).

The literature review revealed that the elements that are instrumental to the information behaviour of people in general are also present in the work environment of engineers. The difference lies in the nature of the elements in the work environment and the requirements set by these work environments. The elements and requirements are all factors that give rise to specific information activities. These include activities such as collaborative information access, the creation of products from ideas, and information sharing among team members to save cost and time.

From the insights gained from the discussion in section 3.6, it seems evident that engineers’ information activities evolve due to the interaction between the personal dimension, the environmental context and information needs. The literature consulted

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revealed that engineers’ information activities are not restricted to seeking and search activities only, but also include awareness, use, transfer, communication and sharing. Based on reports in the literature and the discussion on the different aspects affecting engineers’ information behaviour, a profile of engineers’ information behaviour could be compiled, similar to the generic information behaviour profile in Figure 2.1 in Chapter 2. From the suggested profile in Figure 3.1, it seems evident that the interaction between specific elements in the context and in the personal dimension of engineers gives rise to particular activities. For example, interaction between tasks present in the engineering context, and elements such as personal knowledge and skills in the engineers’ personal dimension, gives rise to information needs, which in turn prompt information activities such as seeking, use and communication.

Eng PERSONAL DIMENSION OF ENGINEERS (ii) Elements of cognitive, conative, affective phenomena CONTEXT OF THE ENGINEERING ENVIRONMENT (i) Profession, societies, engineering work, engineering practice, work roles, tasks, projects

etc. INFORMATION NEEDS OF ENGINEERS (iii) ENGINEERS’ INFORMATION ACTIVITIES (iv)

Activities: seeking, searching, sharing, giving, encountering,

awareness, browsing Key: aspects interaction and responses Basic components of engineers’ information behaviour

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3.8 CONCLUSION

The focus of this chapter was to review the literature dealing with engineers’ information behaviour. The suggested information behaviour framework that was developed in Chapter 2 guided the literature review on engineers’ information behaviour in this chapter. The framework includes four components and shows how the interaction between elements in the engineering context and the personal dimension of engineers gives rise to information needs. In turn information needs prompt various information activities.

The literature study revealed that certain information activities result from collaboration processes in which engineers are involved. These activities include information transfer, communication and sharing. Of these three, information sharing has become the

umbrella concept for collaborative information activities, which could include social networking.

Although the literature review reflected on engineers’ information behaviour in general, it did not reveal what causes the distinction in consulting engineers’ information

behaviour. The literature study of Chapter 4 will focus on specific aspects in the

consulting industry, and the personal dimension of the latter, that could give pointers to support an empirical investigation.

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CHAPTER 4

INFORMATION BEHAVIOUR OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this chapter is to determine the distinctive information behaviour of consulting engineers, compared to the information behaviour of engineers in general, which was discussed in Chapter 3. In order to do so it will be necessary to establish, by means of a literature study, what has been reported on the different components of the information behaviour model, as it applies to consulting engineers.

With this in mind the following aspects will be addressed: • the consulting industry

• the context of consulting engineering

• the personal dimension of consultants and consulting engineers • information needs of consulting engineers

• information activities of consulting engineers

• manifestations of consulting engineers’ information behaviour.

4.2 BACKGROUND

From the literature review covered in Chapter 3, it became evident that the interaction between elements of the contextual component and the personal component gives rise to engineers’ information behaviour in general. The discussion also showed that the specific work environment of engineers – this includes both the type of work they do as well as the organisation that employs their services – affects their information

behaviour. The requirements set by engineers’ work environments are also relevant to consulting engineers’ work environments, except for additional requirements resulting from their status as consultants. For example, the typical work environment of the consulting engineer requires of the consulting engineer

92 • to provide expert advice in their areas of practice

• the work they do for their clients’ needs to comply with the criteria set by their clients without compromising the standards that are set by their profession • their work is subject to agreement with the work of fellow team members • they have strict time and budget restrictions within which they need to operate,

and

• they are required to deliver high quality work.

In order to adhere to these requirements that are set by their work environment, consulting engineers seem to need very specific information that would assist them in their decision-making and planning tasks.

Typical conditions and situations of the consulting industry will subsequently be discussed to acquire a better understanding of where these elements in the working environment of the consulting engineer derive from. The discussion will also focus on identifying the possible influence of elements, deriving from the consulting industry, on consulting engineers’ information behaviour.