No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the author.
The shifting terminologies of information
Abstract
At the heart of any discussion of the information sciences, at least when this discussion is held in the English language, lies the problem of the variant, and shifting, set of concepts and meanings of the terms ‘library’ and ‘information’. The term ‘information’, in particular, has a variety of meanings in different contexts and communities of discourse, providing an excellent example of Wittgenstein‘s language game. This implies that any terminology built around this central concept is in danger of being constructed on ’shifting sands’. This article outlines, for the English language only, some of these diverse meanings of information, and their consequences for the terminology of the information sciences. It focuses on the variant relationships between information and related concepts, particularly data and knowledge. It also includes an account of the view information taken in the hard and soft methodologies of system science, as well as the new discipline of ‘information physics’. From this, some remarks may be made on the changing meanings of the complex terms such as ‘information technology’ and ‘information literacy’, as well as those complex terms involving ‘management’, information management, knowledge management, document management etc. A similar, though shorter, treatment will de given to terminology around the ‘library’ concept, particularly in view of the change toward viewing a library as an organised virtual information space, rather than physical environment.
... To be knowledgeable about information resources and how to best use these sources. The rules guarding providing information so that specific user needs are satisfied and how to assure convenient access to all forms of information (Bawden, 2001). ...
Doctors and other health workers are in constant need of quality and timely information. To this end, medical/health librarians have critical roles to play. Their major duty is to advance access to available health information resources and services. However, reports abound of low library usage due to inadequate awareness of the availability of most of the information sources and services in medical libraries. Considering the need for the effective delivery of medical library services, the aim of this chapter was to highlight new roles and duties of medical/health librarians. It also discussed some of the skills that are needed by medical/health librarians. The chapter concludes that medical/health librarians must be engaged in newer roles and duties to be able to provide value-added services that will promote awareness and improve medical library use.
... This, we hoped, would shed light on the perennial question of whether there is some underlying sameness in the nature of information as understood in different domains; whether it is, in some sense, the same thing. The alternative, of course, is that there is little or no underlying sameness; rather the situation is confused by the use of the same English word-information-for things and processes which have only a superficial, or a very general, similarity [4]. ...
This conceptual paper, a contribution to the tenth anniversary Special Issue of Information, gives a cross-disciplinary review of general and unified theories of information. A selective literature review is used to update a 2013 article on bridging the gaps between conceptions of information in different domains, including material from the physical and biological sciences, from the humanities and social sciences including library and information science, and from philosophy. A variety of approaches and theories are reviewed, including those of Brenner, Brier, Burgin and Wu, Capurro, Cárdenas-García and Ireland, Hidalgo, Hofkirchner, Kolchinsky and Wolpert, Floridi, Mingers and Standing, Popper, and Stonier. The gaps between disciplinary views of information remain, although there has been progress, and increasing interest, in bridging them. The solution is likely to be either a general theory of sufficient flexibility to cope with multiple meanings of information, or multiple and distinct theories for different domains, but with a complementary nature, and ideally boundary spanning concepts.
... Diğer alanların sınıflamaları, uluslararası geçerliliği olan alt boyutlara kadar yapılırken; bilişim teknolojileri ile ilişkili alanlara ait okuryazarlık kavramının tanımı, net bir şekilde ortaya konulmadığı gibi, detaylı bir standardı bulunmamaktadır. İlgili alanyazındaki bilişim teknolojilerine ilişkin okuryazarlık kavramları incelendiğinde; dijital (Sefton-Green, Nixon, ve Erstad, 2009), bilgisayar (Bawden, 2001a(Bawden, , 2001bEaston, Easton, ve Addo, 2006;Kim, Kil, ve Shin, 2014;Mutch, 1997), bilgi ve iletişim teknolojileri (BIT) (Kim ve Lee, 2013;Panagiotis ve Nikolarea, 2012) , bilgi (Lau ve Yuen, 2014;Mutch, 1997), medya (Appel, 2012;Lee, Chen, Li, ve Lin, 2015) başta olmak üzere birçok okuryazarlık tanımının yapıldığı görülmektedir. Alanyazında birçok tanım yapılmış olmasına rağmen; bilişim teknolojileri ile ilgili okuryazarlık tanımlarının en çok bilgisayar okuryazarlığı ve BIT okuryazarlığı üzerinde yapıldığı görülmektedir. ...
Explaining the term “literacy”, emerged firstly by foreign language classification, with only one level does not respond to the current needs. Coming to the forefront in such studies that focus on computer use, it is suggested that computer literacy be described and determined. Consequently, this study aims to determine students’ computer literacy levels. Besides, it is also aimed to compare the declared and actual computer literacy levels of students and to investigate limitation of instruments. 1723 students participated in the study. After the analysis of the data obtained, it is understood that a large majority of the participants are the basic computer literate. Nevertheless, the fact that almost a quarter of the students who use computers as teaching material isn’t the basic computer literate indicates that in-depth study is needed on this subject. Computer literacy measurement tools have reached the result that they can give erroneous results. For this reason, it can be concluded that computer literacy should not be limited to tests, scales, but its assessment should include skills tests, perception scales, and information tests.
... The economics of information (Akerlof 1970;Stigler 1961;Stiglitz 2000) is predicated on the realization that information is a valuable resource for which people are prepared to spend time and money. Nonetheless, unlike a typical economic good, it is considered to be a paradoxical one (Bawden 1965) because of the following unique features: absence of competition-the internet provides information to all with an internet connection, usually free of charge, therefore it may be defined as a collective good. Where information is readily available to all, the phenomenon of the 'free-rider' has been noted-unwillingness to pay for a good that can be obtained for free (Kerr and Bruun 1983;Olson 1965); intangibility-information is a good that can be transferred to others and still be held by the original owner (Sakalaki and Kazi 2007); reproducibility-information, once produced, can be replicated or recovered at negligible or very low cost (Shapiro and Hal 1998). ...
Market failure is defined by the departure from a Pareto-optimal equilibrium, in which no individuals could be made better off without making some other individual or individuals’ worse off. In health care there are many causes of market failure which weaken the efficiency of the health management system. Among these are incomplete information and information asymmetry between information providers and consumers. There is scant extant literature on the empirical valuation of health related information. The objective of this study is to measure the willingness-to-pay (WTP) for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment-related information and its attributes, and to analyse the factors affecting WTP, because of the apparent problems in providing information and the absence of specific guidelines for Israeli health care providers regarding IVF-related information, caused by limited time and resources, making it difficult for medical providers to interact adequately with IVF patients. There is a need for changes in government and health care policy in order to deal with these market failures. The study employed contingent valuation (CV) using the WTP technique as the method of economic evaluation. This method shows stated individual preferences as derived from direct responses to hypothetical questions. The empirical results are based on surveys of two Israeli population groups: patients undergoing IVF treatments in public health units and the general public. IVF patients and the general public value IVF-related information and reveal a positive WTP for it. The average WTP for IVF-related information amongst IVF patients is US$437.02, whereas for the general public it is US$546.56. In the Israeli health market, IVF-related information is not fully circulated by providers to their patients, although this information is valued by IVF patients and the general public. The market and policy failures present in the health care market in Israel should be addressed. The failure of the Israeli health care market to supply adequate IVF-related information constitutes the basis for rationalizing government intervention in market allocations of health goods and services. Administrators must recognize the necessity of providing information with respect to treatment options, treatment cycle success rates, possible side effects, clinical processes treatment costs, etc., since it is an important factor in the individual’s utility function. Government intervention should include direct and indirect regulations. The study addresses some of the biases commonly associated with CV methodology—the existence of embedding effects.
... Its definitional essence is elusive due to its all pervasiveness, broadness and vagueness (Weller, 2008, p. 14). It is the most overused but least understood term of our times (Bawden, 2001). ...
The paper lists problems in defining information and knowledge and also in differentiating between the two. It separately describes physical, economic and cognitive properties of information and knowledge. A long drawn comparative chart of the nature, characteristics and properties of knowledge and information is given. In addition it explains their relation with wisdom. The paper emphasizes that knowledge is only a human preserve. Also it finds common grounds and mutual dependence between information, knowledge and wisdom. The purpose is to clear confusion between knowledge and information, and find their relation with wisdom and tradition by placing these in value added and evolutionary chain: Signals--data-- Information--Knowledge--Wisdom--Tradition.
... It was part of a "world of animated essences and living forms quite divergent from our own" (Peters 1988;p11) 11 . When the English words informe and informacioun emerged at the end of the 14 th century (Bawden 2001, Callaos & Callaos 2002, Schement 1993, they also appear to have been conditioned by the reigning Aristotelian doctrine of hylomorphism (Peters 1987;p10). ...
... It may be argued, of course, that the meaning of library too has been broadened of late. Bawden (2001) claims that the word can no longer be assumed to refer to "a physical stock of books, journals, etc.," but has come to represent any "organised collection of information resources, partly or wholly digital, and networked" (p. 97). ...
Although thousands of articles about information behavior have been published in recent years, little attention has been given to the paradoxes that emerge in terms of either the features of such behavior or the investigation of it through research. This article draws on a wide range of studies, many conducted by the author, to explore 10 particular para-doxes that are apparent in the information behavior of children and young people. Several indicate discrepancies between theory and practice, whereas others show that when some priorities are addressed, other areas of concern may suffer.
... Pour sa part, l'information est elle aussi un concept qui présente une grande variété de définitions dans différents contextes et courants de recherche (Bawden, 2001 ...
Ce chapitre présente la situation particulière du Québec où l'absence d'enseignants-bibliothécaires fait que les enseignants sont majoritairement en charge de la formation des élèves dans l'acquisition de compétences informationnelles centrées sur les technologies de l'information et de la communication. La place de ces compétences dans la formation des divers acteurs en jeu ainsi que les obstacles à leur développement sont abordés. Une vue d'ensemble de la littérature empirique sur les forces et lacunes des futurs enseignants québécois au niveau de ces compétences est présentée, suivie enfin de pistes de solution.
... 244). Moreover, the assertion of youngsters in each investigation that textual information adheres to a certain linguistic structure emphasizes a trait that Bawden (2001) particularly associates with the communication of information. Specifically, he draws attention to a 'syntactic' aspect, 'dealing with grammar and language' (p. ...
Although information has become increasingly prevalent in young people's lives, minimal research has addressed children's attitudes to the word itself. This paper scrutinizes questionnaire-based data to explore how 45 eight-to ten-year-old Canadians understood the term. 'Information' was often considered to be material that met a need, covered particular territory or was associated with action by an individual. The youngsters identified many features they believed characteristic of 'good information'; where these requirements were not met the material was frequently deemed 'bad information'. The research findings have implications for teachers and librarians, as well as for researchers investigating children's information needs.
... Furthermore, the concept of " information " appears in different guises, in disciplines far removed from the library/information area, including the physical and biological sciences (Bawden, 2001). The intriguing question which this raises is whether this is simply a consequence of the same word being used to denote different concepts – though clearly with something in common – or whether there is indeed a closer link, at a deep level, between the meaning of the term in these different domains. ...
Purpose
The paper seeks to outline an approach to a unified framework for understanding the concept of “information” in the physical, biological and human domains, and to see what links and interactions may be found between them. It also aims to re‐examine the information science discipline, with a view to locating it in a larger context, so as to reflect on the possibility that information science may not only draw from these other disciplines, but that its insights may contribute to them.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper takes the form of an extensive literature review and analysis, loosely based on the approaches of Stonier, Madden and Bates, and including analysis of both scientific and library/information literature.
Findings
The paper identifies the concept of information as being identified with organised complexity in the physical domain, with meaning in context in the biological domain, and with Kvanvig's concept of understanding in the human domain. The linking thread is laws of emergent self‐organised complexity, applicable in all domains. Argues that a unified perspective for the information sciences, based on Popperian ontology, may be derived, with the possibility of not merely drawing insights from physical and biological science, but also of contributing to them. Based on Hirst's educational philosophy, derives a definition for the information sciences around two poles: information science and library/information management.
Originality/value
This is the only paper to approach the subject in this way.
... It is difficult to think that the situation has improved much in the intervening years. Indeed, it may even have worsened, as the term " information " is used ever more widely as a central concept in JDOC 62,6 the physical and biological sciences (Bawden, 2001, 2005). Within the information sciences, the recent appearance of two special issues of leading journals devoted to the philosophy of information (Hjørland, 2005; Herold, 2004) attests to the continuing debate on the concept. ...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review Wilson's (1981) seminal article, “On user studies and information needs” (Journal of Documentation, 1981, Vol. 37 No. 1, pp. 3-15) as part of a series celebrating the Journal's 60th anniversary. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts a literature-based conceptual analysis, taking Wilson's paper as the starting point, and evaluating the significance of, and later developments in, the issues dealt with in that article. Findings – Wilson's article has had a significant effect on the development of information science. It dealt with several fundamental issues, including the nature of information itself and of information need, models of information seeking and information behaviour, particularly those based on phenomenological or “whole life” concepts, appropriate research methods for these areas, and the nature of information science as an academic discipline. Originality/value – The paper provides a perspective on the development of information science over 30 years, with particular emphasis on the study of human information behaviour.
... This problem is not restricted to the contingencies of interdisciplinary research (Spanner, 2001) as terminology shifts within disciplines. Of particular concern to this paper are the shifts within library and information science (Bawden, 2001) and within sociology (Blumer, 1969, p. 141). ...
How relevant are theories of information to practical library work? Using sociology and the philosophy of social sciences, this essay discusses how theoretical work defines an area of knowledge in relation to other fields, the identification of researchable phenomena, and how phenomena are established as its own subject matter. Theorizing is a generic activity, highlighting connections between theory and practice, profession and field. While proposing that theorizing is important, this paper explores the nature of theorizing in LIS, and suggests that its cognitivistic foundations impede theory development. Information is a linkage between theory and practice, and this paper argues that assessing the forms and coherence of theories consolidates the profession/field nexus. This paper revisits the "segmentation thesis" (Bucher and Strauss, 1961) to characterize the relationship between Library & Information Studies (LIS) and librarianship.
... Ramesh (2001) suggest that the models associated with knowledge management provide a suitable framework to respond to complex problems. On the other hand, knowledge work and knowledge management can present complex problems. First there is the issue, raised by Malholtra (1998) and Kidd (2001), that knowledge management may just be a management fad. Bawden (2001) suggests that the concept of knowledge management is 'much-hyped' and subject to confusion stemming from divergent viewpoints. Also, the conflicting interests of multiple stakeholders in knowledge management are an indication of the presence of organisational complexity (Buckingham Shum 1997; McHenry 2002; Bryson et al. 2002). Furthermo ...
Faced with increasing competition for students and funds, Australian universities hope that innovative technologies will provide the capability to offer flexible learning pathways that meet the needs of current and future students. However, the application of such technologies to develop an IT (information technology) degree for online external delivery is a difficult and complex process with both technological and human dimensions. Adopting a knowledge framework and a systems thinking approach can help IT educators to better appreciate the significance of their efforts to date, and give direction to future initiatives. This framework and approach is presented in this study as a stakeholder analysis that identifies the key actors, together with their viewpoints and perceptions that influence the outcome of curriculum externalisation projects.
... • Level of added value: The relationship among data, information and knowledge is shown as reflecting increasing levels of value added from data to information to knowledge (Liao et al., 2004;Ponelis & Fairer-Wessels, 1998;Donald Hawkins, cited in Zins, 2007b; Gordana.Dodig-Crnkovi cited in Taylor, 1986;Zins, 2007b). • Degree of distillation: The relationships among the three concepts are also described in terms of increasing degree of distillation from data to knowledge, where the distillation is achieved through the value adding processes of summarizing, evaluating, comparing, classifying, and so on (Bates, 2005;Bawden, 2001;Corrall, 1999;Liao et al., 2004;Taylor, 1986). • Degree of complexity: The hierarchal relationships of data, information and knowledge are based on the increasing levels of complexity that each shows as we go from data to information and to knowledge (Anna da Soledade Vieira, cited in Allee, 1997;Zins, 2007b). ...
Knowledge management (KM) is an emerging field of specialization in a number of professions, including Information Science (IS). The different professions are contributing to and influencing the developments in KM in their own ways. However, it is argued here that IS is not contributing to the advancement of KM as much as it should for a number of apparent reasons. The main purpose of the paper is to call on the members of the IS profession to take a more proactive and visible role in advancing KM by showing that KM is a natural and long-awaited development in IS and that a number of circumstances have made KM to be an area of emphasis in IS whose time has come. The paper also aims at contributing towards achieving a consensus among IS professionals on conceptualization, goals, and scope of KM in IS. The recommendations of the paper focus on how the profession could proactively be involved in advancing KM.
... Brooke's view of knowledge and information as essentially the same 'essence', distinguished by the degree of coherence, points to the commonly quoted 'information hierarchy', with data-information-knowledge-wisdom arranged on a line, or in the form of a pyramid, sometimes with other elements such as 'capta' ('interesting data') added (see, for example, Checkland and Holwell [50] and Rowley [51]). Despite this early elucidation of two helpful ways of understanding the concept of information, there has subsequently been little agreement on the best way of defining or explaining it with any precision: an unfortunate state of affairs, given the necessity, as noted by Farradane, for such a definition to act as a basis for the explication of the discipline (see, for example, Meadow and Yuan [52], Bawden [53], Cornelius [54], Capuro [55], and Floridi [56]). A current point at issue strikes an interesting echo from the past. ...
Some developments in the information science discipline over a period of thirty years are discussed, by selecting topics covered in the early issues of Journal of Information Science, and tracing their influence on subsequent developments, largely though by no means exclusively through JIS papers. Five main themes are covered: the information discipline per se; the foundations of that discipline; the nature of information; relations between discipline and profession; and education for information science. The continuing resonance of the writings of Farradane and Brookes are noted.
... Research on information in organizations [10], decision making [11], decision making behavior [12], and virtual environments [13], has led to great deal of understanding about information and its importance in different decision making situations. Owing to the unique nature of information as an economic good [14], a concept having inherent complexity [15], and a resource that can be used, or transferred without a concern for decrease in value [16], studies have been necessary to examine the importance of information in transactions taking place at the individual and organizational level. ...
This paper reports on the impact of information asymmetry on product valuation. One group of subjects was provided with symmetric information, while a different group was given asymmetric information; the subjects were then asked to value an information technology product. The study found that there was a significant difference in the valuations of the two groups. The group with the symmetric information valued the product highly and in close proximity to the real worth of the product, while the group with asymmetric information undervalued the product. The current study offers a new perspective for information science and an interesting avenue for future research, which, if pursued, can enrich our understanding of human information interaction and valuation processes.
A theoretical model of information overload (Jackson & Farzaneh, 2012) with its three influential components (i.e., time, technology, and social networks) was empirically tested in the context of news consumption behavior considered as a communicative outcome. Using a national sample of South Korean adults (N = 1166), data analyses identified perceived information overload and large/diverse social networks positively associated with active and passive news consumption. Findings may imply the existence of individually varying cognitive threshold (i.e., tipping point), if crossed individuals cannot process information any further. News consumers may keep searching and receiving information to verify factuality of news even when they feel overloaded.
Innovations in library services are rapidly developing within numerous areas including building design, program and event planning, patron experience and engagement, literacy program development, and administration and management. To ensure these changes are implemented and considered successfully, a closer look at the challenges, trends, and practices of these innovations is crucial.
Technological Advancements in Library Service Innovation examines the recent activities of successful and groundbreaking research and practices around the world surrounding library service innovation and presents various forward-thinking initiatives. It also provides an overview of libraries’ successful experiences, identifies emerging global themes and trends, and offers guidance to library practitioners on how to pursue the recent trends in their own library environment. Covering topics such as technology adoption and organizational structures, this book is ideal for library professionals, researchers, academicians, instructors, and students.
We mine the set of data provided by the ANP (Agência Nacional do Petróleo e Gás - National Oil and Gas Agency), of petroleum production and distribution in Brazilian territory. We use modern data science techniques to collect, analyze, treat and model hydrocarbon production data from all production units operating in the period from February 2009 to 2020. We highlight the high production of hydrocarbons in the Brazilian territory related to the performance of Petrobras, responsible for about 95% of Brazilian production. We report the discovery of an apparent paradox: the Tupi field presents the highest daily production,
however it is not the largest national producer, a position that belongs to the Marlim field, yet we present the data analytics techniques that we use to solve this paradox.
This paper examines some conceptual issues for library and information science (LIS), with a focus on how they have been treated in the scholarship of Rafael Capurro, based on a selective literature analysis. Three topics are examined. First, the concept of information is considered, with particular reference on the value of theoretical approaches for LIS, and with emphasis on a comparison of Capurro’s approach with those of Popper and of Floridi. Second, the nature of the information-centric disciplines is considered, with particular reference to Capurro’s conception of a conjoined LIS discipline, rooted in the humanities. Third, Capurro’s ideas of digital ontology and digital hermeneutics are outlined, with emphasis on their value in providing a theoretical background for studying the new generation of immersive multisensory documents. It is concluded that the kind of rigorous study of foundational issues which characterises Capurro’s work will be of even greater importance for the LIS discipline in the future.
Whether termed the 'network society', the 'knowledge society' or the 'information society', it is widely accepted that a new age has dawned, unveiled by powerful computer and communication technologies. Yet for millennia humans have been recording knowledge and culture, engaging in the dissemination and preservation of information. In `The Early Information Society', the authors argue for an earlier incarnation of the information age, focusing upon the period 1900-1960. In support of this they examine the history and traditions in Britain of two separate but related information-rich occupations – information management and information science – repositioning their origins before the age of the computer and identifying the forces driving their early development. `The Early Information Society' offers an historical account which questions the novelty of the current information society. It will be essential reading for students, researchers and practitioners in the library and information science field, and for sociologists and historians interested in the information society. © Alistair Black, Dave Muddiman and Helen Plant 2007. All rights reserved.
Information is all around us and next to matter and energy it is the most important and common entity in this world. It moves the world. Being a much over used term it is least understood and there is no consensual definition of it. But its properties are numerous and well recognized. It keeps moving a system be it bio, astro, social or mechanical. For an animal it is the product of being conscious. It is formed through sense perception in the brain but needs a physical media for its recording and communication. It is recorded as graphic visuals or electrical pulses or electromagnetic waves both in audio and visual forms. The article enumerates its various physical, economic, political and social properties and functions. Information has become a great and inexhaustible resource in national development. To live effectively is to live with authentic and adequate information. But it needs knowledge for its effective application. Without knowledge, information may be all heat and smoke without any light. The article emphasises that information literacy is instrumental in empowering citizens in this complex and sophisticated social world.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to redefine information and other associated library and information science (LIS) concepts and to reformulate the mission of the library and information profession and the problem of LIS using these concepts.
Design/methodology/approach
– This study adopts a deductive approach to conceptualization, starting from one given, a priori concept.
Findings
– This paper develops a constellation of concepts which offer mutual clarification for each other. Having defined data by drawing on its existing denotations, it defines “information” as the combined product of data and meaning, and “document” as the combined product of information and media; it defines “knowledge” as one type of meaning and “work” as one type of information. It shows that the mission of the library and information profession is to ensure maximum discoverability and accessibility of information, and that LIS is structured into two fields correspondingly, each consisting of three tiers of knowledge: philosophical foundations, theories, and technologies.
Practical implications
– The redefinition of basic LIS concepts may have practical implications for LIS curriculum design and for the cultivation of professional identity among LIS students in the all-encompassing I-Schools.
Originality/value
– This study has formed a coherent conceptual framework for LIS and has clarified the hitherto rather confusing relationship between data, information, and knowledge, and the rather nebulous structure of LIS problems; it sheds some light on the source of conflicts between the subjective and objective conceptualization of information and questions the prevailing understanding of work as ideas or meanings.
A review is presented of the relation between information and entropy, focusing on two main issues: the similarity of the formal definitions of physical entropy, according to statistical mechanics, and of information, according to information theory; and the possible subjectivity of entropy considered as missing information. The paper updates the 1983 analysis of Shaw and Davis. The difference in the interpretations of information given respectively by Shannon and by Wiener, significant for the information sciences, receives particular consideration. Analysis of a range of material, from literary theory to thermodynamics, is used to draw out the issues. Emphasis is placed on recourse to the original sources, and on direct quotation, to attempt to overcome some of the misunderstandings and oversimplifications that have occurred with these topics. Although it is strongly related to entropy, information is neither identical with it, nor its opposite. Information is related to order and pattern, but also to disorder and randomness. The relations between information and the “interesting complexity,” which embodies both patterns and randomness, are worthy of attention.
The concept of ‘information’ in five different realms – technological, physical, biological, social and philosophical – is briefly examined. The ‘gaps’ between these conceptions are discussed, and unifying frameworks of diverse nature, including those of Shannon/Wiener, Landauer, Stonier, Bates and Floridi, are examined. The value of attempting to bridge the gaps, while avoiding shallow analogies, is explained. With information physics gaining general acceptance, and biology gaining the status of an information science, it seems rational to look for links, relationships, analogies and even helpful metaphors between them and the library/information sciences. Prospects for doing so, involving concepts of complexity and emergence, are suggested.
Recent years have seen a shift in educational institutions from the provision of traditional libraries to the creation of independent learning areas offering a greater diversity of facilities and services. This paper explores the essential characteristics of these places, especially in relation to student learning. The authors discuss six particular issues - the provision of space, services and resources; learners' interaction with information; interaction among learners; learners' interaction with staff; management decision making; and opportunities for research. The paper notes the value of independent learning areas in fostering open learning and individual and collaborative work, in establishing a unity among students and in helping users to resolve a diversity of life situations. Nevertheless, they also present challenges, and difficult management decisions must be made.
Der Informationsbegriff als zentraler Gegenstand von Informationskompetenz wird in der bibliothekarischen Diskussion in der Regel nicht explizit themati-siert, sondern lässt sich aus Fachliteratur und Bibliothekspraxis nur implizit erschließen. Eine theoretische Beschäftigung mit dem Informationsbegriff ist jedoch unabdingbar, soll das Konzept "Informationskompetenz" auch außerhalb des bibliothekarischen Kontextes verständlich und nutzbar gemacht werden.
Im vorliegenden Text, der sich als Beitrag zu einer Theorie der Informations-kompetenz versteht, werden zunächst verschiedene Informationstypologien und -begriffe vorgestellt und diskutiert, die im Zusammenhang mit Informations-kompetenz als relevant erachtet werden. Anschließend wird das Verhältnis von Informations- und Wissensbegriff näher beleuchtet.
Ergebnis dieser Begriffsanalyse ist die These, dass einem Konzept von Infor-mationskompetenz, das auch außerhalb von Bildungswesen und Wissenschaft eingesetzt werden können soll, ein Informationsbegriff zugrunde gelegt werden muss, der über das klassische bibliotheks- und informationswissenschaftliche Verständnis von Information als medial kommuniziertes, in Dokumenten reprä-sentiertes bzw. in Informationssystemen gespeichertes Wissen hinausgeht und weitere Dimensionen dessen, was "Information" sein kann, umfasst.
Diese Publikation entstand im Rahmen eines Dissertationsprojektes zu Informationskompetenz in Unternehmen und Organisationen am Institut für Bibliotheks- und Informationswissenschaft der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.
This research presents initial part, a historical and interpretative narrative of the theoretical and practical contributions from information literacy or information competencies training, which have made the past thirty-five years since the international context (IL-INFOLIT), and specifically, from the Iberoamerican context (ALFIN-COMPINFO), in relation to the developments and implications for higher education.
After this narrative, which allows timelines to locate in the historical development on this subject, and have an overview of the state of the art and theoretical-conceptual positions, which assumes and proposes this text regarding Information Literacy or Information Competencies, is passed to define and analyze the implications and interrelationships involving the concept and practice of "Lessons Learned".
It realized that delimitation, presents the work of analysis applied that this research continues, considering the model proposed, which includes four methods and tools, selected and prepared, to capture Lessons Learned in Information Literacy Programs at universities in Ibero-America.
Finally, after having the participation of 289 cases, are synthesized and described as GUIDE, the most significant lessons learned from these training programs (75 lessons), to be considered as a proposal for good practice for institutions that currently develop information literacy processes can generate continuous improvements, and for the starting or have not yet incorporated this training may have an orientation that saves time, resources, effort and learning, and so, with the necessary context adaptations, move more efficiently and effectively, considering the urgency must exist to incorporate information literacy, information competencies, in university education in the XXI century.
The valuation of knowledge, and hence the assessment of the usefulness of approaches and programmes for managing knowledge, is a difficult, yet vital, task. This paper reviews some recent approaches, setting them in a context of wider philosophical and pragmatic issues. It identifies some paradoxical qualities of information and knowledge at the heart of this topic, and considers their implications.
When a person receives signals carrying information, they unconsciously group them into portions, or quanta. Therefore, the
person believes that this signal grouping is a property of the signals themselves, and not a result of his participation.
To perceive and interpret these signals, a person should possess certain knowledge, otherwise the received signals will be
perceived as noise. Information is compared with the magic numbers developed by humanity as a result of long-term observation
of social practices and incorporated into all peoples’ cultures. As a result, information is confirmed to be a property of
living systems only.
The use young people make of libraries—both school and public—has been investigated in a range of research projects over the past 25 years, yet very little attention has been given to understanding of the term ‘library’ itself among this group. The study addressed in this paper aimed to explore whether—against a background of great change in the nature of libraries and, in particular, the shift towards virtual, rather than physical, collections—children's attitudes to the word now reflect the modern characteristics of libraries. In May 2006, data were collected via questionnaire from 45 children 8–10 years old attending a Canadian elementary school. One question asked the pupils what they thought of when they heard the word ‘library’. Although seven individual strands of meaning were apparent in the participants’ ideas when they were analysed as a totality, the youngsters were seen overwhelmingly to associate libraries with books. Libraries were also frequently understood to take the form of physical premises. The fact that these children have yet to embrace today's concept of libraries as providers of information regardless of its form suggests that educators still have much work to do in widening young people's understanding in this area.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to elaborate the picture of the processes of information use by comparing conceptualizations provided by the constructivist approach and the human information processing approach.
Design/methodology/approach
The article is a conceptual analysis of major articles characterizing information use and human information processing in the fields of information studies and consumer research.
Findings
It is found that both research approaches share the assumption that interpreting, relating and comparing qualities of things is fundamental to the information use process.
Research limitations/implications
The picture of information use processes is based on the comparison of two research approaches only.
Originality/value
Compared to the numerous studies on information needs and seeking, the questions of information use have remained under‐researched. The study elaborates the conceptual picture of information use processes by identifying similarities and differences between two major research approaches.
Little research has investigated the ways in which young people understand the word, `information', despite the fact that what is learnt from such studies can have clear implications for practice. In order to extend the meagre knowledge base, the authors conducted a quantitative research project that collected, via an electronic questionnaire, data from 348 teenagers in an English high school. Respondents were asked to use a Likert scale to indicate their reactions to thirteen statements pertaining to the nature of `information'. There was much uncertainty or indifference among the pupils in relation to the issues and considerable variation in the balance of opinion between boys and girls. The relative prevalence of a particular response to a certain question also often varied appreciably from one year group to another. The uncertainty and lack of consensus on many matters highlights the problems of using the word, `information', with young people.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the theory of a control revolution in nineteenth century England, and its social and technological implications for the information society. It takes up where most historical interpretations of the industrial revolution end, and before most analyses of the digital era begin. The work focuses on three distinct types of technological advance – in transportation, in communication, and in the processing of information – without adopting a technologically deterministic argument.
Design/methodology/approach
Historical analysis, based on both primary and secondary sources.
Findings
The article first considers the introduction of the railways, and makes a case in that there were two crises of control involving railway technology in the nineteenth century: a crisis of communication, and a crisis of organisation. It goes on to assess the growth of bureaucracy and organisation in commerce. The expansion of government surveillance power towards the end of the nineteenth century is also discussed.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is broad in its scope and therefore some necessary omissions and limitations have been made. Many of the terms used throughout have entire literatures on their meanings, but it is not the intention of this paper to engage further with these debates, and it is acknowledged that within this limited discussion there is room for some ambiguity surrounding terms. Such concepts have been defined as far as possible within the article. The impact of warfare and military organisation are key themes, and while extremely relevant, deserve fuller discussion elsewhere. Also, while there would have undoubtedly been effects upon the British Empire from English industrialisation and the resulting crises of control, it has not been possible to discuss the implications of differing socio‐economic and political conditions within the Empire in this paper. The increasing sophistication of other professions such as finance and accounting in this period have not been considered, although again, this is an area which deserves individual study[1].
Originality/value
The research takes a step towards demonstrating that the origins of the information society can be traced back to the structural and organisational implications of the control revolution of the nineteenth century. The methods of control created the basic communication infrastructures still used in 2005, and set the precedent for government intervention and social surveillance. It concludes by discussing the potential crises of control within the information society.
Purpose
This paper aims to set out a coherent intellectual framework to help to better understand how people create, organise, manage, use and dispose of their personal digital archives. The context for this is the increasing volume and diversity of digital information objects being captured and stored by individuals in their personal capacities and the need to find ways to preserve this material for posterity.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presented here is based on literature analysis, the questions having been informed by an earlier series of in‐depth interviews. The approach taken is to synthesise key concepts from the computer science, information management, and archives and records management literatures. Key concepts from the existing literature in computer science, information management, and archives and records management were elicited and synthesised to create a coherent document lifecycle narrative.
Findings
Individuals exhibit great diversity in terms of personal information management and digital archiving practice at just about every point in the digital information cycle: much more so than is the case in formal repositories. Practices exhibited are not always conducive to efficient document management. This represents a very keen challenge for professional curatorial practice.
Practical implications
Little is known about how individuals manage digital information resources in their personal capacity, outside of their corporate or institutional employment. Yet both individuals on their own and professional curators on behalf of repositories are increasingly being faced with the challenge of how to deal with digital media. It is hoped that this paper will contribute to a growing debate in this area.
Originality/value
Personal information management from the perspective of personal digital archives is a surprisingly under‐researched area and the proposed model adopts an archival information lifecycle approach. It seeks to apply and promote an archivally‐oriented personal information management.
The field of information history has only been seriously theorized and discussed as an independent area of scholarship over the last ten years or so, and there remains much to be done in order to bring it into the wider academic spotlight. However, during this same period, scholarly work on information in history has been abundant and ever increasing. This article explores some of the key monographs of the past decade which take historical information as their theme. It concludes that, since 2000, not only has there been a growth in the volume of such publications, but also that there has been a growing historiography amongst scholars working in this area. Information history discourse has formed its own identity, and this article offers an exploration of its central characteristics as we come to the end of the first decade of the 2000s.
The meaning or meanings of record, and the relationship of records to other concepts such as evidence and information, are continuing subjects of debate. This paper examines statements about the nature of the record made by writers and practitioners within the archives and records management community, and it identifies some of the ways in which understandings and emphases vary. After reviewing different attitudes to definition and the perception of meaning, it discusses the challenges of defining records in terms of evidence or information, and suggests that archivists and records managers may prefer to consider evidence and information as two of the many affordances that records provide to their users. It concludes by exploring the concept of representation and proposing an alternative characterization of records as persistent representations of activities.
The concepts of ‘information literacy’ and ‘digital literacy’ are described, and reviewed, by way of a literature survey and analysis. Related concepts, including computer literacy, library literacy, network literacy, Internet literacy and hyper-literacy are also discussed, and their relationships elucidated. After a general introduction, the paper begins with the basic concept of ‘literacy’, which is then expanded to include newer forms of literacy, more suitable for complex information environments. Some of these, for example library, media and computer literacies, are based largely on specific skills, but have some extension beyond them. They lead togeneral concepts, such as information literacy and digital literacy which are based on knowledge, perceptions and attitudes, though reliant on the simpler skills-based literacies
The genetic information system is segregated, linear and digital. It is astonishing that the technology of information theory and coding theory has been in place in biology for at least 3.850 billion years The genetic code performs a mapping between the sequences of the four nucleotides in mRNA to the sequences of the 20 amino acids in protein. It is highly relevant to the origin of life that the genetic code is constructed to confront and solve the problems of communication and recording by the same principles found both in the genetic information system and in modern computer and communication codes. There is nothing in the physico-chemical world that remotely resembles reactions being determined by a sequence and codes between sequences. The existence of a genome and the genetic code divides living organisms from non-living matter. If the historic process of the origin and evolution of life could be followed, it would prove to be a purely chemical process. The question is whether this historic process or any reasonable part of it is available to human experiment and reasoning; there is no requirement that Nature’s laws be plausible or even known to mankind. N. Bohr [Nature 308, 421–423, 456–459 (1933)] argued that life is consistent with but undecidable by human reasoning from physics and chemistry. Perhaps scientists will come closer and closer to the riddle of how life emerged on Earth, but, like Zeno’s Achilles, never achieve a complete solution.
This paper clarifies some terms and concepts surrounding the idea of the 'digital library'. A set of twenty underlying assumptions, often expressed implicitly rather than explicitly in the literature, is outlined, and variant forms are compared. There follows an explication of a series of terms, essential to the understanding of the concept of the digital library and its components, which are often used nebulously or with different meanings. It is suggested that the lack of a common conceptual framework for the subject presents problems for the practitioner as well as the theorist.
The introduction of the printing press to Europe in the mid-fifteenth century, and its effect on the communication of information, are considered, largely by reference to the writings of Elisabeth Eisenstein. Analogies and similarities with the impact of the Internet are identified, as a way of gaining insight into the current communications revolution.
The ideas of information theory which underlie cybernetics and its information-processing aspects still has a solid reputation to be both extremely abstract and highly mathematical. Furthermore, the tract has been accused of a slow development and not accentuating the difference between information and communication theories. In this paper an attempt is made to demonstrate that principles and concepts used in information theory can be both understood and used from a psychological basis - without the use of complicated mathematics. The difference between information and communication theory is considered as well as some new and revolutionary concepts. The study shows that the influences of the investigated area have grown considerably with the contributions from information physics.
The 2nd edition adds material on the role of errors in scientific observation and a critical discussion of determinism from the standpoint of information theory to the material of the 1st edition, which applied information theory to a great number of problems of physics, including: the analysis of signals; thermodynamics; Brownian movement; thermal agitation in electronic tubes, rectifiers, etc.; entropy; Maxwell's demon; Szilard's well-informed heat engine; observations and error; communication; and computing. The new material on determinism leads to Brillouin's "matter of fact" point of view that strict determinism is impossible in scientific prediction because the high cost at some point makes increasing accuracy unattainable. The limit of accuracy is a practical rather than an inevitable limitation in the logical sense. The limitations can be formulated in precise ways by quantum conditions and information theory and should be included in the physical theory.
The idea of ‘information as resource’, and the related ‘information as commodity’ is reviewed. Attributes of information which make it appear similar to, and different from, other resources are evaluated. The term is used in two rather different ways: to indicate the importance of information within an organization, and to imply the appropriateness of a resource management model to handle information. We find the first to be valid, and the second unjustified. The resource view of information is a useful analogy, but it should not be pushed too far.
This book is intended primarily as a textbook for students of information systems, information technology and computer science. Students of management or administration who will be involved in establishing large information systems may also find it pertinent. It brings together material from a large variety of disciplines, including sociology, semiotics and management, as well as philosophical and anthropological studies of information. Part 1 sets out the basis for understanding information. Part 2 brings together the more theoretical material of semiotics with tangible material on organizations and institutions. The authors conclude with an analysis of how the various threads of issues studies can be brought together to give us a coherent view of both the underlying principles and the applications of the study of information systems.
The genetic information system is segregated, linear and digital. It is astonishing that the technology of information theory and coding theory has been in place in biology for at least 3.850 billion years (Mojzsis, S.J., Kishnamurthy, Arrhenius, G., 1998. Before RNA and after: geological and geochemical constraints on molecular evolution 1-47. In: Gesteland, R.F. (Ed.), The RNA World: The Nature of Modern RNA Suggests a Prebiotic RNA, second ed. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Boca Raton, FL). The genetic code performs a mapping between the sequences of the four nucleotides in mRNA to the sequences of the 20 amino acids in protein. It is highly relevant to the origin of life that the genetic code is constructed to confront and solve the problems of communication and recording by the same principles found both in the genetic information system and in modern computer and communication codes. There is nothing in the physico-chemical world that remotely resembles reactions being determined by a sequence and codes between sequences. The existence of a genome and the genetic code divides living organisms from non-living matter. If the historic process of the origin and evolution of life could be followed, it would prove to be a purely chemical process (Wächtershäuser, G., 1997. The origin of life and its methodological challenge. J. Theor. Biol. 187, 483-694). The question is whether this historic process or any reasonable part of it is available to human experiment and reasoning; there is no requirement that Nature's laws be plausible or even known to mankind. Bohr (Bohr, N., 1933. Light and life. Nature 308, 421-423, 456-459) argued that life is consistent with but undecidable by human reasoning from physics and chemistry. Perhaps scientists will come closer and closer to the riddle of how life emerged on Earth, but, like Zeno's Achilles, never achieve a complete solution.
How do genetic systems gain information by evolutionary processes? Answering this question precisely requires a robust, quantitative
measure of information. Fortunately, 50 years ago Claude Shannon defined information as a decrease in the uncertainty of a
receiver. For molecular systems, uncertainty is closely related to entropy and hence has clear connections to the Second Law
of Thermodynamics. These aspects of information theory have allowed the development of a straightforward and practical method
of measuring information in genetic control systems. Here this method is used to observe information gain in the binding sites
for an artificial ‘protein’ in a computer simulation of evolution. The simulation begins with zero information and, as in
naturally occurring genetic systems, the information measured in the fully evolved binding sites is close to that needed to
locate the sites in the genome. The transition is rapid, demonstrating that information gain can occur by punctuated equilibrium.
Information theory in physics
- W Grandy
Grandy, W.T. Information theory in physics.
Information, systems and information systems making sense of the ¢eld Information management in museums
- P Checkland
- S E Holwell
- C Pettitt
Checkland, P. and Holwell, S. Information,
systems and information systems making sense
of the ¢eld. Chichester:Wiley,1998.
13. Orna, E. and Pettitt, C. Information management in museums. 2nd edition. Aldershot:
Gower,1998.
Popper, K. Objective knowledge A long digression concerning essentialism. Chapter 7 of Unended quest; an intellectual autobigraphy
- K Popper
September 2000.
25. Popper, K. Objective knowledge. Revised
edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979,
310.
26. Popper, K. A long digression concerning
essentialism. Chapter 7 of Unended quest; an
intellectual autobigraphy. London: Routledge,
1992.
Digital Libraries: assumptions and concepts. Libri Prescribe or explain, that is the question. Functions and form of special vocabularies . Paper presented at an international conference on Dictionaries of Library Terminology
- D Bawden
- I Rowlands
- G J A Riesthuis
Bawden D. and Rowlands I. Digital Libraries:
assumptions and concepts. Libri, 49(4), 1999,
181-191.
24. Riesthuis, G.J.A. Prescribe or explain, that is
the question. Functions and form of special vocabularies. Paper presented at an international
conference on Dictionaries of Library
Terminology, Ljubljana, Slovenia, 28-29