Information systems Informing systems

1
Information systems Informing systems

• Birger Hjørland
• 5th CONTECSI 2008, São Paulo, June 5 9.00-10.30

2
Overview of presentation

• Introduction The importance of theory
• The concept of information
• Information systems
• Epistemology (theory of knowledge)
• Back to information systems
• Back to epistemology
• Levels of theory
• Cognition as theory
• Language as multiple voices based on interests
• Conclusion

3
Introduction The importance of theory

• Nothing is as useful as a good theory (Quote
  attributed to the psychologist Kurt Lewin)
• It cannot be overemphasized that change in
  concepts have far more impact than new
  discoveries (Mayr, 1997, 98).

4
Introduction The importance of theory

• Information Technology have made great progress
  and the study of information, information
  technology and information systems have developed
  important techniques and methods.
• Overall, however, conceptual and theoretical
  issues seems to have been neglected.
• In this presentation, I shall present my own
  theoretical views about some core issues and how
  I see their importance for our field.

5
The concept of information

• Information as a verb means to inform somebody
  about something. In my understanding should
  information as a noun correspond to information
  as verb.
• By implication is information as a noun that,
  which informs somebody about something.
• Information is thus anything that, for example,
  provides answers to a question.
• Nothing is not information in itself, only in
  relation to what questions are put.

6
The concept of information

• Karpatschof (2000) defines information as a
  quality of a given signal relative to a certain
  release mechanism. The release mechanism is
  sensitive to a specific signal as lock to a key.
• The release mechanism has a store of energy and
  is designed to let this energy out in specific
  ways whenever trigged by a signal fulfilling the
  specifications of the release mechanism.

7
The concept of information

• The signal has a low energy compared with the
  energy that the release mechanism let out.
• The release mechanism is also an information
  processing unit. It has a double function (1) it
  reinforces the weak signal and (2) it directs the
  reaction by defining the functional value of a
  signal in the pre-designed system of the release
  mechanism (information processing unit).

8
The concept of information

• It is always possible to built a mechanism, that
  is sensitive to any given signal (or to any given
  difference). Because of this anything might be
  information.
• Information is thus not some specified elements
  or parts of the world. Anything can be
  information.
• It is not possible to say what is information,
  unless in relation to a specified release
  mechanism.

9
The concept of information

• This is in agreement with Buckland (1991, p. 50)
  Anything might in some imaginable circumstances
  be informative We conclude that we are unable to
  say confidently of anything that it could not be
  information.
• Information is thus defined in physical terms as
  signals fulfilling certain requirements.
• However, the mechanisms, relative to whom
  information is defined, evolved first in living
  organisms in which information processing
  mechanisms developed phylogenetically.

10
The concept of information

• With the development of human cultures
  information processing mechanisms began a new
  kind of development (antropogenetic) based on new
  principles.
• It follows that information is subjective or
  relative What is information for one person in
  one situation needs not be information for
  another person or for the same person in another
  situation.

11
Information systems

• One definition of information system is
• An organized collection, storage, and
  presentation system of data and other knowledge
  for decision making, progress reporting, and for
  planning and evaluation of programs. It can be
  either manual or computerized, or a combination
  of both.www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/evaluation/glossary
  /glossary_i.htm

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Information systems

• Contents of Information Systems
• Facts ?
• or
• Theory ? (Knowledge claims?)
• I believe the last option has been much neglected
  and deserves attention. (May be termed
  Anti-Foundational Knowledge Management, cf. Tom
  Butler, 2006).

13
Epistemology (theory of knowledge)

• The principle of fallibilism states that
  knowledge should be considered provisional and
  open to later revision.
• I do believe that facts exist, for example, that
  Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark, that
  Napoleon died 1821 or that gold is one of the
  chemical elements.
• However, sometimes what was considered a fact
  turned out to be wrong. Logical positivism was an
  attempt to base science on verified facts, but
  this attempt is generally considered a failure.

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Epistemology (theory of knowledge)

• Although facts do exist, my suggestion is that we
  should consider the content of information system
  knowledge claims.
• The late Professor Spang-Hanssen wrote
• "Information about some physical property of a
  material is actually incomplete without
  information about the precision of the data and
  about the conditions under which these data were
  obtained. Moreover, various investigations of a
  property have often led to different results that
  cannot be compared and evaluated apart from
  information about their background.
• . . .

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Epistemology (theory of knowledge)

• . . . An empirical fact has always a history
  and a perhaps not too certain future. This
  history and future can be known only through
  information from particular documents, i.e. by
  document retrieval. The so-called fact
  retrieval centers seem to be just information
  centers that keep their information sources
  i.e. their documents exclusively to themselves"
  (Spang-Hansen, 2001).

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Information systems

• My suggestion is that we should consider the
  content of information systems as knowledge
  claims, related to the background assumptions and
  theories of the producers of that content.
• How can information professionals compete with
  (or providing supplementary services compared to)
  systems such as Google?

17
Information systems

• One answer was suggested by Stephen Abram.
• Libraries core skill is not delivering
  information. Libraries improve the quality of the
  question and the user experience (slide 13) and
  on slide 17 Google is most efficient in
  answering what, when and where questions.
  Libraries are better at answering why and how
  questions (compare also slide 103-104 and 143).
  (Abram, 2007).

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Information systems

• How is it possible to improve the quality of
  users questions?
• I have a suggestion. Perhaps you do not find
  it attractive? In that case it is important to
  consider what the alternatives are. (Can any be
  found? Not much is presented in the literature).
• If we do not have visions that can be
  transformed to specific research, education and
  development programs, then we cannot expect to
  survive as a field.

19
Information systems

• I therefore suggest we examine Abrams suggestion
  carefully and examine how we may improve the
  quality of users questions.
• Let us consider an example. A user asks about
  anxiety. Anxiety is a concept connected to
  different disciplines and to very different
  theories / conceptual structures, for example
• Brain physiology and chemistry
• Existentialism
• Psychoanalysis
• Behavior and learning
• Culture

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Information systems

• There are simply many different theoretical
  perspectives on how to consider a given question
  such as one about anxiety. If the user, who puts
  the question is not aware of these different
  perspectives, he or she is not in a position to
  formulate a query or to evaluate the research
  because any given query may provide only one (or
  some) answers from different perspectives.
• It is exactly as Abram said It is important to
  qualify the question. In order to do so is it
  necessary to know something about the existing
  knowledge related to that question.

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Information systems

• The first thing is therefore to provide an
  overview of important theoretical perspectives
  enabling the user to search consciously for one
  or more of these perspectives.
• If this is not done then there is a strong
  probability that the user will only be presented
  with the dominating perspective (dominating in
  the information sources).
• The dominating perspective is, perhaps, the
  best perspective, but it just as well be just a
  view reflecting a dominating interest in society.
  

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Information systems

• In the case with anxiety Today (in the Western
  World) may the interests of the pharmacological
  industry influence the view that anxiety is best
  understood in chemical terms. Such a view tend to
  reduce psychological and social issues. It may
  not always be in the best interest of people with
  emotional problems.
• Consider another example. In the dominant Western
  databases (such as Social Sciences Citation
  Index) are only journals from rich countries
  represented. Are they simply the best? Or are
  voices from developing countries being suppressed?

23
Information systems

• In questioning accepted facts there is, of
  course, a danger in paying too much attention to
  controversial theories or theories of problematic
  quality.
• Thus we face a dilemma
• On one hand we may suppress points of view
  which may turn out to be important (in general or
  for somebody)
• On the other hand we may pay too much
  attention to low quality information.

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Information systems

• Different kinds of information systems need to be
  closer to one or the other of these alternatives.
• Systems based on artificial intelligence have
  to consider knowledge as facts. (E.g. GPS systems
  or systems comparing prices for fly tickets etc).
  
• Systems such as bibliographical databases, on the
  other hand, have to consider conflicting views.

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Information systems

• In general have knowledge been considered
  established facts due to influences of logical
  positivism. The validity of knowledge has been
  overestimated.
• There is a general need to consider knowledge
  claims as just that Knowledge claims and to
  consider knowledge claims in the context of their
  theoretical presumptions. This will enable
  information systems to qualify users questions
  and to provide different perspectives on a given
  question.
• (As already said Different kinds of
  information systems have to pay more or less
  attention to this issue).

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Information systems

• Partial conclusion
• Information systems are systems intended to
  inform somebody about something.
• Information systems are teleological systems
  (goal directed) in which the intention and goals
  behind the systems determine what to consider
  information, how informative objects should be
  selected, labeled, described, organized and
  retrieved.

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Information systems

• Partial conclusion (continued)
• What is considered valid and fruitful knowledge
  is often controversial, why information systems
  need to provide alternative views or at least be
  explicit concerning the choice of view.
• There must always be a balance between naïvity
  and skepticism in relation to the knowledge
  claims, on which the system is based.

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Back to epistemology

• Any information scientist need to consider the
  debate about logical positivism, Popper, Kuhn,
  hermeneutics, the theory-ladenness of
  observations etc.
• He or she also needs to develop an opinion which
  informs his or her research. If different
  theories exist, it makes an important difference
  which one is chosen.
• In my opinion is this field very neglected and
  most research on information systems are based on
  problematic philosophical assumptions.

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Back to epistemology

• There exist many theories of knowledge
  (epistemologies). Introductions to many are
  provided in The Epistemological Lifeboat under
  the heading Positions
• However, many of them may be regarded as related,
  as belonging to the same family.
• In my understanding, there are four basic
  epistemological views Empiricism, Rationalism,
  Historicism and Pragmatism.

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Back to epistemology

• Each of these views compete more or less in
  every domain of knowledge.
• They represent theories of what kinds of
  knowledge should be preferred. Interestingly,
  nobody seems to have noticed this connection
  between theories of knowledge and theories of
  information.

32
Back to epistemology

• Empiricism and rationalism were the classical
  theories of knowledge, and even today one often
  encounter people, who only consider these two
  views.
• Empiricism and rationalism are, however,
  problematic theories. They have very serious
  arguments against each other.
• Most people today agree that science is based on
  empirical study, but this is not the meaning of
  the term empiricism, which has been expressed
  as the myth of the given in human perception.

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Back to epistemology

• Different epistemologies must thus be understood
  as different ideals on how to do (empirical)
  studies.
• I believe that versions of pragmatism is the
  best theory with capability to subsume sense
  experiences and logical thinking under a broader
  view.

34
Back to epistemology

• In spite of the view that empiricism and
  rationalism are problematic theories it is
  important to realize that they are active in
  almost all fields of knowledge. They are both
  seeing knowledge as neutral and objective and
  thus disconnected to human interests and
  activities.
• In information science, for example, the belief
  that a similarity measure in an objective and
  neutral way can provide means for retrieving
  information is in my opinion based on
  empiricism.
• From a pragmatic point of view it would be argued
  that there are many different similarity measures
  and that the choice between them have to consider
  the consequences of choosing one measure for
  another.

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Back to epistemology

• The pragmatic view is related to an evolutionary
  view. Knowledge is produced in iterative
  processes involving observations, rational
  analysis, theories, former experiences and
  pragmatic factors.
• All these elements interacts Observations may be
  rejected by theory or theory by observations.
  There is no absolute basis for knowledge
  (Anti-Foundational view).
• Living organisms have adapted to their
  environments, and their sense organs and brains
  are parts of this adaptation, why sense
  impressions or intuitions cannot be seen in
  isolation from the overall pattern of activity.
• The same with science, just that the development
  of concepts, symbolic systems, tools etc. are
  also important.

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Theory again and again Four levels

• We started by considering the importance of
  theory for information systems and information
  science (Information science theory).
• Next we considered the theoretical nature of the
  knowledge/information in the information systems
  (epistemology).
• Next we shall consider the theoretical nature of
  users (cognition).
• Finally we consider the theoretical nature of
  languages (and other symbolic systems)

37
Cognition

• How do people, for example, children think?
• Behaviorism believed that they learn like a
  neural network learn.
• Cognitivism believed that they learn like a
  programmed computer in which the basic programs
  are innate.
• I believe that Theory theory and Activity theory
  provide better models of human thinking.
• "A person does what he does because he sees the
  world as he sees it (Alfred Korzybskii).

38
Cognition

• Theory theory
• The basic idea is that children develop their
  everyday knowledge of the world by using the same
  cognitive devices that adults use in science.
• In particular, children develop abstract,
  coherent, systems of entities and rules,
  particularly causal entities and rules. That is,
  they develop theories.
• These theories enable children to make
  predictions about new evidence, to interpret
  evidence, and to explain evidence.
• . . .

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Cognition

• Theory theory
• . . .
• Children actively experiment with and explore the
  world, testing the predictions of the theory and
  gathering relevant evidence. Some
  counter-evidence to the theory is simply
  reinterpreted in terms of the theory.
• Eventually, however, when many predictions of the
  theory are falsified, the child begins to seek
  alternative theories. If the alternative does a
  better job of predicting and explaining the
  evidence it replaces the existing theory.
  (Gopnik 2003)

40
Cognition

• Activity theory is aimed at understanding the
  mental capabilities of a single human being.
  However, it rejects the isolated human being as
  an adequate unit of analysis, focusing instead on
  cultural and technical mediation of human
  activity.
• Activity theory is most often used to describe
  activity in a socio-technical system as a set of
  six interdependent elements which constitute a
  general conceptual system that can be used as a
  foundation for more specific theories
• . . .

41
Cognition

• Object-orientedness - the objective of the
  activity system as a whole. Human beings live in
  a reality which is objective in a broad sense
  the things which constitute this reality have not
  only the properties which are considered
  objective according to natural sciences but
  socially/culturally defined properties as well.
• Subject or internalization - a person or group
  engaged in the activities the traditional notion
  of mental processes
• Community or externalization - social context
  all people involved

42
Cognition

• Tools or tool mediation - the artifacts (or
  concepts) used by subjects to accomplish tasks.
  Tools shape the way human beings interact with
  reality and reflect the experiences of other
  people who have tried to solve similar problems
  at an earlier time and invented/modified the tool
  to make it more efficient.
• This experience is accumulated in the structural
  properties of tools (shape, material, etc.) as
  well as in the knowledge of how the tool should
  be used. Tools are created and transformed during
  the development of the activity itself and carry
  with them a particular culture - the historical
  remnants from that development. The use of tools
  is a means for the accumulation and transmission
  of social knowledge. It influences the nature,
  not only of external behavior, but also of the
  mental functioning of individuals.

43
Cognition

• Division of labor - social strata, hierarchical
  structure of activity, the balance of activities
  among different people and artifacts in the
  system
• Rules - conventions, the code and guidelines for
  activities and behaviors in the system
• Activity theory helps explain how social
  artifacts and social organization mediate social
  action. (Bryant et al.)

44
Cognition

• Activity theory understands knowledge as a
  product of the known thing (the object) and a
  human activity that has an adequate form in
  relation to that object.
• Knowledge Activity x Object
• Knowledge is mediated by human activity (and its
  goals) and cultural products such as languages.
• This view of cognition is thus based on a
  pragmatic theory of knowledge. The subject has
  developed in relation to its interaction with
  objects. Or subjects and objects have developed
  together (structural coupling).

45
Cognition

• The implication is that information,
  information system and user are not
  independent.
• Information systems should be made user
  friendly, but this may be done in an organic
  way, not just by adjust to some universal
  characteristics of users.

46
Language

• I do not know one theory of language, which I
  feel may do the whole job for us. I believe it is
  important to consider to social nature of
  language and I believe that a family of related
  theories of language is helpful, e.g.
• Volosinov (1929/1986)
• Tapir/Whorf (language determine how we perceive
  the world)
• Wittgenstein (theory of language games)
• Speech act theory
• Sociocognitive terminology

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Language

• Volosinov
• Any language as it is lived, socially, over a
  variety of social, professional, class and so
  forth positions, is really an interacting and at
  times contesting amalgam of different language
  uses.
• Hence every language instance is marked by
  centrifugal (heteroglossic, socially
  distinguishing) as well as centripetal
  (monoglossic, societally unifying) forces.
• Each of these 'languages' embodies a distinct
  view of the world, its own sense of meanings,
  relations, intentions

48
Language

• I understand Volosinov as follows
• Each theory, each voice tend to develop its
  own language in order to facilitate its
  underlying intentions as effective as possible.
• Any sample of texts will always represent a
  merging of different voices, in which the
  stronger voices has made the highest impact. A
  pure voice may only exist as an abstraction.

49
Language

• (Volosinov)
• In order to retrieve information should we try
  to identify the different voices because the
  merged information is an unclear mixture that
  cannot provide optimal retrieval.
• The user should know about the different voices
  and select the one that suit his or her interest.

50
Language

• The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, also known as the
  linguistic relativity hypothesis, refers to the
  proposal that the particular language one speaks
  influences the way one thinks about reality.
  (Lucy, 2001, p. 13486).
• (Compatible with Thomas Kuhns view of
  scientists dependency of paradigms in their
  perception of reality).

51
Language

• Ludwig Wittgenstein (Theory of language games)
• The analogy between a language and a game brings
  out the fact that only in the various and
  multiform activities of human life do words have
  meaning.
• In order to study meaning, we must study how
  words are used differently in different
  communities.

52
Language

• Speech act theory John Searle wrote
• "All linguistic communication involves
  linguistic acts. The unit of linguistic
  communication is not, as has generally been
  supposed, the symbol, word, or sentence, or even
  the token of the symbol, word, or sentence, but
  rather the production or issuance of the symbol
  or word or sentence in the performance of a
  speech act.
• Meaning shall be regarded within the
  intending-to-communicate. A theory of language is
  part of a theory of action.

53
Language

• Sociocognitive terminology
• Temmerman (1997,2000) argues that unclear
  meanings (e.g. synonyms) may be functional, thus
  opposing the rationalist and logical-positivist
  dream of a universal, logical language.
• In my understanding, we have the following ideals
  concerning terminology in information systems
  Terminology work may be more or less normative,
  descriptive or critical

54
Language

• Normative or prescriptive work in terminology may
  be based on standardization committees who
  propose definitions and terms. The ideal is one
  correct definition for each term. Theoretically
  such work is related to logical positivism and
  the ideals of a logical language characterized by
  univocity.
• (Ordinary language is seen as noisy and
  inefficient).

55
Language

• Descriptive work in terminology may be based on
  scholarly documentation of how terms have
  actually been used. The result may be, for
  example, historical dictionaries such as Oxford
  English Dictionary (or specialized subject
  dictionaries). Begriffsgeschichte is one specific
  tradition within this approach. Theoretically is
  descriptive Terminology related to the philosophy
  of the late Wittgenstein (language-game theory)
  and to hermeneutics. Ordinary language is not
  seen as noisy and inefficient, but reflecting
  different functions, interests and views, which
  should be mapped.

56
Language

• Critical studies in Terminology examine the
  values and consequences of different
  understandings and may result in prescriptive
  proposals.
• It is acknowledge that language is not a
  neutral medium, why different meanings are linked
  to different interests why prescriptive proposals
  are motivated in specified views.
• Critical Terminology is theoretically
  related to pragmatic, feminist, critical and
  materialist epistemologies.

57
Language

• Dictionaries in this tradition are often labeled
  with the word critical or with a term
  explicating the view, that lies behind it (e.g.
  Feminist dictionary of . . . )
• Examples
• "Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis" Provides
  definitions and critical discussions of the
  technical terms used in psychoanalysis.
• "Routledge Critical Dictionary of Feminism and
  Postfeminism
• A Critical Dictionary of the French Revolution
  Not the least merit of Furet and Ozouf's
  spectacular Critical Dictionary of the French
  Revolution is to take declared meaning at face
  value to restore, in fact, full historical
  autonomy to the conflict of ideas.

58
Language

• Implication for design of information systems
• Language is not a neutral medium, but represents
  different views or voices (and information
  needs).
• By considering such different voices may
  designers of information systems for the future
  be able to target more specific groups, interests
  and needs.

59
Conclusion

• Information systems, their contents, users and
  languages are all based on theories or background
  assumptions.
• Often are background assumptions built into our
  concepts, languages, tools and information
  systems without much attention to possible
  alternative views.
• These theories may be more or shared or specific
  and more or less in conflict or in harmony.

60
Conclusion

• I have argued that on all levels may a
  competition be seen between four basic views
  Empiricism, rationalism, historicism and
  pragmatism.
• On all levels there is a tendency that
  positivist theories dominate, while
  anti-foundational theories have been neglected.
  
• There is a pressing need to develop the theory of
  Information Science / Information Systems based
  on a well argued theory of knowledge. (My
  suggestion is the pragmatic theory).

61
Conclusion

• Different domains need different kinds of
  information system, why design of information
  systems should be based on the study of domains.
• This is the opposite of dominating universalist
  assumptions, for example based on an average of
  users. Rather than average the needs of
  subgroups should be considered.
• Basically should different human interests be
  uncovered and information systems designed to
  inform from the perspective of those interests.

62
Conclusion

• The two basic tasks for information scientists
  are probably
• Describing and representing information in
  information systems (directly or indirectly)
  (Known as knowledge representation or knowledge
  organization)
• Retrieving information from information systems
  (known as information retrieval, data mining etc)
• How does the pragmatic understanding that I have
  proposed today differ from a traditional
  understanding in these two cases?

63
Conclusion

• Describing and representing information
• It is acknowledged that different views
  exists on many layers and that the description
  should be based on the goals of the system.
  Existing descriptions should not be re-used
  without considering their adequacy for the
  present system.
• Indirect or vague relations should be
  uncovered, made explicit and used. For example
  relations between words, interests, citations,
  media, domains, user-groups and languages.

64
Conclusion

• Retrieving information
• Should be related to views of what are
  valid and trustworthy or relevant in specific
  contexts.
• Information sources such as journals and
  newspapers could be describes and users could be
  given choices between different sets of selection
  according to different criteria.
• (In the present databases are different sources
  merged without possibility for selecting based on
  the quality-added work done by the editors).
  

65
Conclusion

• Retrieving information (continues)
• Algorithms for IR should based on a
  theoretical understanding of meaning, language,
  discourses etc.
• (Implicit assumptions in existing technologies
  should be examined)
• (All this will connect information science much
  more to humanities and social science)

66

• Thank you for your attention!

67
References

• Austin, J. L. (1975). How to Do Things with
  Words. Second edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts
  Harvard University Press.

68
References

• Bryant, Susan, Andrea Forte and Amy Bruckman,
  Becoming Wikipedian Transformation of
  participation in a collaborative online
  encyclopedia, Proceedings of GROUP International
  Conference on Supporting Group Work, 2005. pp
  1.-10. http//www-static.cc.gatech.edu/aforte/Bry
  antForteBruckBecomingWikipedian.pdf

69
References

• Butler, Tom (2006). Anti-Foundational Knowledge
  Management. In Encyclopedia of Knowledge
  Management, pp. 1-9. London Idea Group
  Publishing.

70
References

• Gopnik, Alison The theory theory as an
  alternative to the innateness hypothesis. In L.
  Antony N. Hornstein (Eds). (2003) Chomsky and
  his Critics . New York Basil Blackwell (Pp.
  238-255). http//ihd.berkeley.edu/chomsky.pdf

71
References

• Lucy, J. A. (2001). Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis. IN
  Smelser, N. J. Baltes, P. B. (eds.)
  International Encyclopedia of the Social and
  Behavioral Sciences. Amsterdam Elsevier.
• (Pp. 13486-13490).

72
References

• Spang-Hanssen, Henning (2001). How to teach about
  information as related to documentation. Human
  IT. (1), 125-143. http//www.hb.se/bhs/ith/1-01/hs
  h.htm

73
References

• Temmerman, R. (1997). Questioning the univocity
  ideal. Hermes. Journal of Linguistics, 18, 51-90.
  Available at http//hermes2.asb.dk/archive/FreeH/
  H18_04.pdf
• Temmerman, R. (2000). Towards New Ways of
  Terminology Description. The Sociocognitive
  Approach. Amsterdam John Benjamins Publishing
  Company.

74
References

• Wikipedia. Scandinavian activity theory .
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavian_activity
  _theory