Information can be conceptualized in two fundamentally yet contradictory ways_it appears in the world as both a physical and a cognitive phenomenon. The dilemma information specialists face is similar to that of physicists who must cope with light as both a wave and a particle. Unlike physics, however, information science has yet to develop a unified theory that unites the contradictory conceptions of its essential theoretical object. While there are numerous books today that address information science as a scholarly discipline, for the most part they assume a prior knowledge of the field. The Problem of Information provides an accessible introduction to the essential concepts and research issues of information science while exploring the indeterminate nature of information as a theoretical object. Signifying how information science contributes to the disciplines from which it borrows, this book provides insight into computer science, cognitive psychology, semiotics, sociology, and political science. Designed specifically for the beginner student new to the field of information science.
Author(s): Douglas Raber
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Year: 2003
Language: English
Commentary: ---PDF Conv / Not TruPDF---
Pages: 156
Tags: Information Science
untitled......Page 1
Title Page......Page 3
Copyright Page......Page 4
Dedication......Page 6
Table of Contents......Page 7
Preface......Page 8
1 - Information Science and the Problem of Information......Page 10
The Elusive Nature of Information......Page 13
The Necessity of Multidisciplinarity......Page 14
Problems of Metaphor and Perspective......Page 16
Problems of Information Science......Page 19
Conclusion......Page 21
Endnotes......Page 22
2 - Paradigms and Metaphors......Page 25
Paradigms......Page 26
Paradigms, Ambiguities, and the Social Sciences......Page 29
Metaphors and Information Science......Page 31
Endnotes......Page 35
3 - The Physical Metaphor......Page 37
The Nature of Information and the Physical Metaphor......Page 39
The Physical Metaphor and Talk About “Information”......Page 41
Endnotes......Page 44
An Idea of Information-as-Thing: Shannon and Communication......Page 46
A Method Based on Information-as-Thing: Bibliometrics......Page 47
An Experiment based on Information-as-Thing: Cranfield......Page 53
Conclusion......Page 57
Endnotes......Page 58
A Critique of Information-as-Thing......Page 60
Information and the Cognitive Metaphor......Page 61
The Fundamental Equation......Page 63
Conclusion......Page 66
Endnotes......Page 67
Negotiating Needs......Page 69
Information Needs and Information-Seeking......Page 71
Sense-Making......Page 74
Metaphor and Method......Page 76
Conclusion......Page 77
Endnotes......Page 78
Representation and Aboutness......Page 80
What Is the Subject of a Text?......Page 83
The Ambiguities of Interpretation......Page 84
Indexing......Page 87
Conclusion......Page 90
Endnotes......Page 91
The SMART System......Page 93
The ASK Model......Page 97
The MONSTRAT Model......Page 100
Conclusion......Page 102
Endnotes......Page 103
9 - Relevance......Page 105
Conditional Relevance......Page 108
Relevance as an Indeterminate Concept......Page 112
Relevance: A Tentative Judgment......Page 113
Conclusion......Page 114
Endnotes......Page 115
Need and Use......Page 117
Another View of “Information”......Page 118
Critical Problems......Page 121
Examples of Critical Problems......Page 124
Endnotes......Page 127
11 - Semiotics for Information Science......Page 129
The Role of Time Regarding Meaning and Value......Page 132
Information and the Sign......Page 134
The Semantics of Informative Objects......Page 136
Conclusion......Page 141
Endnotes......Page 143
Bibliography......Page 145
Index......Page 154
About the Author......Page 156
