[Air-l] Information and knowledge (air-l Digest, Vol 15, Issue 9)

[Michel J. Menou]

At the forthcoming Annual Meeting of the American Society for 
Information Science and Technology there will be a session to discuss 
the outcome of a research project that built a "Knowledge map of 
information science", carried out by Dr. C. Zins, from Haifa, using a 
critical Delphi technique see: 
http://www.asis.org/Conferences/AM05/abstracts/176.html
As part of this, as noted in the introductory final report  "Forty five 
scholars formulated about 130 definitions" of data, information and 
knowledge, that yielded 6 discrete models.
There is a blog to ask questions to the session participants.

My 2 oz. of crude on that recurrent theme is that perhaps part of the 
trouble comes from the desperate attempt at figuring out the conditions 
under which one entity (data information or knowledge) becomes another 
one, when in fact all the 3 entities, and a few more may be, do
a) coexist independantly
b) interact
c) combine and recombine

Michel

>------------------------------
>
>Message: 4
>Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 21:54:20 -0400
>From: blb at buffalo.edu
>Subject: Re: [Air-l] Information and knowledge
>To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
>Message-ID: <1129082060.434c6ccc5a74e at mail1.buffalo.edu>
>Content-Type: text/plain
>
>Hello everyone,
>
>I recently requested your opinions on the differences 
>between "information" and "knowledge." Here is a summary of the 31 
>responses received.
>
>
>For the most part, respondents were in agreement that information is a
>component of knowledge. Many equated "information" with "raw facts" or
>"data" and saw "knowledge" as having with more "meaning." Knowledge is 
>the "application of information." Three respondents called knowledge
>information that had been "internalized." Another referred to it as
>"information with context."
>
>No respondents saw the terms as synonymous and the majority used the 
>exact terms "meaning" and "value" in association with the 
>concept "knowledge." One respondent referred to knowledge as "vibrant" 
>and "fluid." "Information," on the other hand, is "static" and 
>comprised of "uninterpretted data," "facts," or "discrete items." 
>According to the responses, only when information 
>is "applied," "synthesized," "contextualized" and/or "combined with 
>experience," does it become "knowledge."
>
>Thank you to all who responded. Your comments have been very helpful.
>
>Best,
>Brenda
>
>--
>Brenda L. Battleson
>Head, Print Periodicals/Serials
>Acquisitions Dept.
>University at Buffalo
>134 Lockwood Library
>Buffalo, NY  14260-2210
>716.645.2305 (voice)
>716.645.5955 (fax)
>  
>



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