Information Concepts

MDATAST Josefiel S. Javier

Module Objectives :
Understand the philosophical and technical meaning of information Understand the key concepts of information :
Representation of Information Hierarchy of Information Information Theory Concepts Information Science Concepts

Asia Pacific College

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

- 2-

What is Information ?
Something that is required for knowledge - F. I. Dretske Information as a resource Information as a commodity Information as a perception of patterns Information as a constitutive force in society - S. Braman -

Anything that can change a persons knowledge - N. J. Belkin An observers construction or a mental difference that makes and/or finds a difference in the external world - Maturana, Varela, Foester -

One that is able to change the structure and behavior of systems - K. Kornwachs -

A difference that makes a difference - Gregory Bateson Asia Pacific College

The amount of uncertainty that is reduced when a message is returned - Shannon & Weaver - 3-

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Information : Conflict of Definitions

[T]he literature of information science is characterized by conceptual chaos. This conceptual chaos issues from a variety of problems in the definitional literature of information science: uncritical citing of previous definitions; conflating of study and practice; obsessive claims to scientific status; a narrow view of technology; disregard for literature without the science or technology label; inappropriate analogies; circular definition; and, the multiplicity of vague, contradictory, and sometimes bizarre notions of the nature of the term information
A. M. Schrader. Towards a Theory of Library and Information Science. (Doctoral Dissertation, Indiana University, 1983)
Asia Pacific College J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 4-

Information : Etymology
From the Latin verb informare meaning give form to or mould the mind or character (as in to discipline, teach, instruct) From the Latin noun informacion meaning outline, concept, or idea Implications : Information may refer to both the facts (noun) and the transmission of the facts (verb)
Asia Pacific College J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 5-

Information : Common Usage

Information is a term with many meanings depending on context but is as a rule closely related to such concepts as : meaning knowledge instruction communication representation
Asia Pacific College

Information is message received and understood

Information is knowledge acquired through study or experience or instruction

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 6-

Information : An Interdisciplinary Concept

Psychology Humanities Engineering

Sociology

Information Science

INFORMATION
Philosophy

Library Science

Linguistics

Other Disciplines

Computer Science

Asia Pacific College

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

- 7-

What is Information ?
There is no fully satisfactory answer to the question of what information is. [ Charles Meadow ] Information is a contextual concept. [ G. Mahler ] Information as related to the concepts such as signs, texts, and knowledge may provide more satisfactory conceptual frameworks for the kind of problems that information science is trying to answer We should always keep in mind that information is what is informative for a given person. What is informative depends on the interpretive needs and skills of the individual. [ Capurro & Hjrland ]
Asia Pacific College J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 8-

Information Representation
Weight (kg) John Doe 70 Height (m) 1.70

Statistics / Numbers

Text Virtual Reality

Video

Sight Hearing

Image

Taste

Augmented Reality

Audio

Touch

Smell Real-World Objects

Asia Pacific College

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

- 9-

The Hierarchy of Information

Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?
T. S. Eliot (1934), The Rock

Asia Pacific College

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

- 10-

Information Concepts : DIKW Hierarchy

WISDOM
Accumulated knowledge Gained via a combination of academic study and personal experience

KNOWLEDGE
A body of truths, beliefs, formalized information, instincts, ideas, rules, and procedures, that guide actions and decisions

INFORMATION
Organized and formatted data placed within (or presented in) a context

DATA
Raw material for the production of information Has no meaning in and of itself
Asia Pacific College J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 11-

Information Concepts : Information Theory

Norbert Wiener
Introduced the science of cybernetics in 1948 Information has a structure with a meaning that is, the meaning is inherent in the information Information is attached to issues of decisions, communication, and control

Claude Shannon
Developed the mathematical theory of communication Information is a signal there is no meaning in the information it must be interpreted by the receiver of information Information is a measure of ones freedom in selecting a message
Asia Pacific College J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 12-

Information Concepts : Information Science

Information can be used in relation to things, processes, and knowledge Tangible Thing (or Object)
Information-as-Thing

Process
Information-as-Process Information Processing

Intangible Thing (or Object)

Information-as-Knowledge

Just as anything might be symbolic, anything may also be information [ M.K.Buckland ]

Asia Pacific College J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved. - 13-

Guest Lecturer
Information Concepts by Gary Marchionini
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill 22 May 2007
This video is accessible at You-Tube

Asia Pacific College

J.S.Javier October, 2009. All Rights Reserved.

- 14-