Still minding the gap? Reflecting on transitions between concepts of information in varied domains

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

Transdisciplinarity seen through Information, Communication, Computation, (Inter-)Action and Cognition

Similar to oil that acted as a basic raw material and key driving force of industrial society, information acts as a raw material and principal mover of knowledge society in the knowledge production, propagation and application. New developments in information processing and information communication technologies allow increasingly complex and accurate descriptions, representations and models, which are often multi-parameter, multi-perspective, multi-level and multidimensional. This leads to the necessity of collaborative work between different domains with corresponding specialist competences, sciences and research traditions. We present several major transdisciplinary unification projects for information and knowledge, which proceed on the descriptive, logical and the level of generative mechanisms. Parallel process of boundary crossing and transdisciplinary activity is going on in the applied domains. Technological artifacts are becoming increasingly complex and their design is strongly user-centered, which brings in not only the function and various technological qualities but also other aspects including esthetic, user experience, ethics and sustainability with social and environmental dimensions. When integrating knowledge from a variety of fields, with contributions from different groups of stakeholders, numerous challenges are met in establishing common view and common course of action. In this context, information is our environment, and informational ecology determines both epistemology and spaces for action. We present some insights into the current state of the art of transdisciplinary theory and practice of information studies and informatics. We depict different facets of transdisciplinarity as we see it from our different research fields that include information studies, computability, human-computer interaction, multi-operating-systems environments and philosophy.Comment: Chapter in a forthcoming book: Information Studies and the Quest for Transdisciplinarity - Forthcoming book in World Scientific. Mark Burgin and Wolfgang Hofkirchner, Editor

The obligatory passage point : abstracting the meaning in tacit knowledge

The lived experience of individuals in the workplace results in an accumulation of dispositions to act. Such dispositions have been termed knowledge [Boisot 1998]. Further, this knowledge is considered to be tacit or explicit [Baumard 1999]. Therefore tacit knowledge is one of the precursors of new knowledge. There have been a number of hypotheses as to how such knowledge is transformed into explicit knowledge [Nonaka et al 2000], and then subsequently diffused [Boisot 1998]. Moreover it is impossible to know the magnitude of tacit knowledge that is not articulated, however insightful, original or crucial it may be. The transformation to the explicit rendition can and will act as a filter in an attempt to eliminate meaningless utterances. Therefore some tacit knowledge will be lost in this process. This is an Obligatory Passage Point (OPP) a concept normally associated with Actor Network Theory [Latour 2005]. This is where the decision is made as to ‘what counts’ as legitimate knowledge and it is irreversible. This obligatory passage point is for all tacit knowledge in a community, an organization or even a nation. The case study presented comprises a small number of individuals working in a third sector environment. Although there is agreement as to what is to be achieved, the how question remains open. Despite the common concrete experiences, the tacit appreciation of the perceived action world varies significantly. A process by which an inventory of tacit knowledge can be established, abstracted and combined to act as a base to affect dispositions and expectations is described. The path to the subsequent generation of actionable knowledge is plotted which can subsequently form the basis for an intervention. The delineation between tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge in this context is explored by the application of the obligatory passage point. Utilizing the principles of language by Karl Buller the notion of legitimation is discussed. The OPP is significant because when tacit knowledge is shared, there is a process of gaining inter-subjective agreement which legitimizes the explicit representation of the tacit knowledge. The eye can see and interpret the world, but it cannot see itself. All tacit knowledge is gained through the mind’s eye. The collective minds are seeing the collective tacit knowledge of the group and agreeing

Theorising and practitioners in HRD: the role of abductive reasoning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that abductive reasoning is a typical but usually unrecognised process used by HRD scholars and practitioners alike. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that explores recent criticism of traditional views of theory-building, based on the privileging of scientific theorising, which has led to a relevance gap between scholars and practitioners. The work of Charles Sanders Peirce and the varieties of an abductive reasoning process are considered. Findings – Abductive reasoning, which precedes induction and deduction, provide a potential connection with HRD practitioners who face difficult problems. Two types of abductive reasoning are explored – existential and analogic. Both offer possibilities for theorising with HRD practitioners. A range of methods for allowing abduction to become more evident with practitioners are presented. The authors consider how abduction can be used in engaged and participative research strategies. Research limitations/implications – While this is a conceptual paper, it does suggest implications for engagement and participation in theorising with HRD practitioners. Practical implications – Abductive reasoning adds to the repertoire of HRD scholars and practitioners. Originality/value – The paper elucidates the value of abductive reasoning and points to how it can become an integral element of theory building in HRD

Mind the gap: transitions between concepts of information in varied domains

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

The gap between school mathematics and university mathematics : prospective mathematics teachers' conceptions and mathematical thinking

In Finland, both prospective and in-service mathematics teachers report a discontinuity between university-level mathematics and mathematics taught at comprehensive and secondary school. In this study, ten prospective mathematics teachers (PMTs) were interviewed to examine their conceptions of the nature of this gap as well as their mathematical thinking. The study’s findings support research that has revealed difficulties experienced by PMTs in the secondary–tertiary transition and in connecting formal and informal components of mathematical thinking. Additionally, the study provides new insight into PMTs’ conceptions of teacher knowledge, such as the relationship between knowledge of advanced mathematics and the knowledge needed in teaching situations. The findings offer guidelines for further studies that could help the development of mathematics teacher education.Peer reviewe