The Information Process: A Model and Hierarchy

The Information Process:

A Model and Hierarchy

VICTOR YANG

Copyright © 2015 Victor Shou-Chuan Yang.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-3907-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-3906-8 (e)

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CONTENTS

Preface

Chapter 1:   Fundamentals of Information

1.1 Human Needs of Information

1.2 Information as a Process

1.3 Is Data the Same as Information?

1.4 Problems of Information

1.5 Why Do We Need Information Simplification?

1.6 Cultural Benefits

1.7 The EATPUT Model

1.7.1 Event World

1.7.2 Acquisition

1.7.3 Transmission

1.7.4 Processing

1.7.5 Utilization

1.7.6 Transfer

1.8 The Heart Model

1.8.1 Acquisition

1.8.2 Organization

1.8.3 Application

1.8.4 Transformation

1.9 An Outline

Chapter 2:   An Information Hierarchy

2.1 Unique Characteristics of Information

2.1.1 Information is Reproducible

2.1.2 Information Cannot be Destroyed

2.1.3 Information Display Formats May Vary

2.2 An Interdisciplinary Study.

2.3 Elements of the Information Process

2.3.1 Data

2.3.2 Concepts

2.3.3 Information

2.3.4 Message

2.3.5 Knowledge

2.3.6 Wisdom

2.3.7 History

2.3.8 Incomplete Information

2.3.9 Misleading Information

2.3.10 Information Noise

2.3.11 Economic Consequences

2.3.12 Components of Culture and Civilization.

Chapter 3:   Acquisition of Information

3.1 Cognition of Concepts and Messages

3.2 System Design

3.2.1 Data Format

3.2.2 Data Sampling

3.2.3 Record Layout

3.3 Formal Learning and Natural Acquisition

3.4 Natural Language Communication

3.5 Alphabetical Letters Versus Non-Alphabetical Characters

3.6 Data Transparency

3.7 Knowledge/Information and Action

3.8 Standard/Best Answer

3.9 Editing and Categorizing

Chapter 4:   Organization of Information

4.1 Library Classification

4.2 Library Automation

4.3 Retrieving Information

4.4 Knowledge Representation

4.5 Searching Process

4.5.1 Index Sequential Search

4.5.2 Hierarchical Versus Flat-File Searches

4.6 Efficient Search Methods

4.6.1 Open-addressing Method

4.6.2 Indirect Chaining Method

4.7 Measuring Search Efficiency

4.8 Data Structures and Search Algorithms

4.9 Variable-Length Fields and Records

4.10 Hashing Operations

4.10.1 Keyword Construction

4.10.2 Hash Function

4.11 Random Access in the Same Sequential Database

4.11.1 Advantages of Sequential versus Random Accesses

4.11.2 Efficient File Organization

4.11.3 Two Ways to Search the Same Database

4.11.4 Random-Access Sequential Database (RASD)

Chapter 5:   Application of Information

5.1 Automated Messenger and Message

5.2 Learning Organization

5.3 Open and Closed Information Systems

5.4 Two Communities of Information

5.5 Relations Between Data, Information, and Knowledge

5.6 Answering the WH Questions

5.7 Business Information Systems

5.8 Personal System: Design and Implementation

5.8.1 Address Book

5.8.2 Appointment Book

5.8.3 Finance Journal

5.8.4 Investment Journal

Chapter 6:   Transformation of Information

6.1 Information Environment

6.2 Transmission of Information

6.3 Transfer of Information

6.3.1 Transfer for Individuals

6.3.2 Transfer for Organizations

6.3.3 Culture Transfers

6.3.4 Technology Transfers

6.3.5 Small and Medium Businesses

6.3.6 Learning Organizations

6.4 Translation of Information

6.4.1 Natural Language Translation: English-Chinese

6.4.2 Evaluation of Translation

6.4.3 Translation Timing and Consequence

6.4.4 Linguistic Technicality

6.4.5 Technological Advances

6.4.6 Cultural Factors

6.4.7 Instant Oral Interpretation

6.4.8 Transliteration/Transcription of Oral Language

6.4.9 Social Communication

6.5 Other Transformations

6.5.1 Display Formats

6.5.2 Information Style

6.5.3 Text Editing/Compiling

6.5.4 User-Maintained Wikipedia

6.5.5 Conversion by Transliteration

6.5.6 Audio Publications

6.5.7 Journalism in Remote Regions

6.5.8 Online Education and Medicine

Chapter 7:   Prospectives

7.1 Simplifying the Information Process

7.1.1 Priorities to Obtain Necessary Information

7.1.2 Strategies to Obtain Sufficient Information

7.1.3 Managing Data Types and Categories

7.2 Internet Technology

7.2.1 Internet Data Center

7.2.2 Cloud Computing

7.2.3 Remote Access Computing

7.3 Digital Library

7.4 Publishing and News Media

7.5 Contributions of Human Senses

7.6 Electronic Media

7.7 Telecommunication Applications

7.7.1 Cellphones and Smartphones

7.7.2 Netbook and iPad

7.7.3 Social Networks

7.8 Digital Information Service

7.9 Information on Social Problems

7.10 Business and Marketing Information

7.11 Information on the Economy

7.12 The Changing Information Age

7.13 Information Integration and Innovation

7.13.1 Integration of Online Education and Digital Library

7.13.2 Information Management Energized by Cloud Computing

7.13.3 Social Networks Complementing Public Policies

7.13.4 Flip Learning for Innovative Education

7.13.5 From Positive Thinking to Critical Thinking

Appendix A:   How to Input/Output Graphic Chinese Characters

Appendix B:   What is the Chinese Morpheme?

Appendix C:   Basic Search Procedures Presented in Knuth’s Descriptive Algorithms

References

This book is

dedicated to my parents

Chung-fang Yang楊春芳, and

Su-cheng Chen陳素貞,

and all my professors and readers, especially

Prof. Allen Kent and Prof. Anthony Debons of University of Pittsburgh,

Prof. Jaime Carbonell of Carnegie Mellon University,

Prof. Teh-wei Hu胡德偉 of University of California, Berkeley,

Dr. Phylis Freedman,

Daniel Owusu,

Dr. Wee Liat Ong王偉烈,

Ying Ying Wu吳盈盈,

David Wei Dai戴維,

John Shen,

Jessica Wenshan Hsu徐文珊, and

Allison Bucknell.

PREFACE

Since the early 21st century, the computer has become the centerpiece of information processing for most businesses and individuals. It expediates the process of transforming data into information, and then to knowledge. But the inconsistent usage of terminologies prevents cross-discipline communication. In addition, unexpected rapid growth has resulted in an information explosion, and has overwhelmed many people. What can one do to face decision-making for daily activities? Would a pre-planned and well-informed decision be more beneficial to everyone? Could the information be simplified at an earlier stage for later management/processing ease?

These considerations will be analyzed in the following chapters. The first two chapters suggest clarifications of popular concepts involving information. The main theme follows Anthony Debons’ assertion that information is not only a finished product, but more importantly, is an act of process. This model is further enriched by the suggested four-chamber heart model. The flow of information is discussed in chapters three through six in four evolving stages: Acquisition, Organization, Application, and Transformation. Finally, Chapter seven summarizes and suggests some possible considerations and trends into near future.

We would like to introduce an overall view with broad discussions on information and related topics for college-level readers. The purpose is to provide readers with a basic overall understanding of information in its natural/social environment. Examples of decision-making will illustrate information encounters within their surroundings, and will choose appropriate alternatives. Readers will also be familiared with a common language of ‘information’ that is communicable through various disciplines.

This writing attempts to integrate the study of information with one’s daily decisions. Our intention is to enable a person who has questions to find appropriate answers. It does not overlap with available texts covering computer and information science and technology. We make efforts to connect missing links among various disciplines, and to examine the overall quality of information objectively and pragmatically. Liberal considerations are entertained to accommodate theories with reality, providing different views, suggesting questions and presenting alternative solutions.

CHAPTER 1

Fundamentals of Information

Since the mid 20th century, the world has moved from the industrial age to the information age. In the past five decades, advances in information technology have been surprisingly rapid. The mechanical sorter for census was integrated with an electronic calculator and typewriter to create the amazing and exciting computer. Over the decades, the computer has been dramatically reduced in size, its memory capabilities expanded, its operating speeds increased, and multitudes of new applications have become available. Information processing with computers facilitates and enriches various forms of human communication.

This chapter presents an overview of the fundamentals of information studies in the 21st century. It begins with a discussion on the need of information and the understanding of relations between data, information, knowledge, and so on. At the end of the last century, the focus was the expansion, availability, and accessibility of information. This effort resulted in an over-abundant creation and supply of information, causing a different set of problems. Now the accumulated information explosion demands our urgent attention; there is a need to simplify the information so that we can digest it. The purpose of this simplification is to allow humans to be well-informed, and thus more efficient and effective, eliminating the confusion and conflict of decision-making.

Later, this chapter will provide outlines of subsequent chapters, and will also describe previous efforts in building information model EATPUT. It also augments and enriches the details of an information model, the Heart model.

1.1 Human Needs of Information

Do you envision a simple and enjoyable life in the future? Just for a single day, would you prefer an easy life rather than a harsh life? Is it possible and practical to believe that the necessary information to make that happen is readily available? When you wake up in the morning, do you have a clear idea of what you want to do, and possess enough information to accomplish it? Or, like other people, are you wondering how you can supplement your knowledge with additional information to make up your mind on things that you want to do? Are your choices or decisions based on the expectations of another person, such as one of your friends or parents, rather than on your own interests and desires? Are you keenly aware that your choice of one option may mean you are willing to sacrifice or lose other options, which are the opportunity costs of your decision? Where do you start to search for the information you need? How do you proceed step-by-step to make that decision? All these questions, and more, point to the great need for informed decision-making that is based on both the information product and information process. However, the relevant and/or required information/knowledge may or may not be there in your memory. It could be on some documents, ready to be discovered and extracted for your use. The final decision is yours alone to make, with or without any assistance.

With the exception of some simple and routine tasks that demand no new decisions, you will have to actively think about decisions and plan them according to their significance. In most cases, action requires not just one independent decision but rather a series of decisions closely linked in sequence. You know that for every decision, big or small, you make, there are consequences to follow. With the linked sequence of decisions, possible outcomes will multiply exponentially.

Do you regret a choice or decision you’ve made in the past? Do you love yourself enough to fully understand your true interests and responsibilities? What information will yield you maximum benefits and/or minimum damages? Are there strategies you may employ for making better decisions?

We know that information is contained in products such as books, magazines, newspapers, and other documents. But are we aware that information could be imbedded in other products, objects, and ‘things’ (Buckland, 1991; Sharma, 2008; Vellinger, Castro, & Mills, 2004)? We also know that non-products such as conversations, messages, events, actions, logic, thought, knowledge, and so on, provide useful information for decision-making. They are the processes of information that develop and evolve from stage to stage, in due time, to satisfy our information needs.

The marginal utility of information is mostly subjective, but may cause unexpected consequences. Do you trust that the information you may access is accurate and complete, and that the information gleaned will be useful in making good choices or responsible decision? Is scientific and technical information more reliable and closer to the truth, and if it is, should your decision-making be based on it? Should the non-product information process be more important than the information product for our decision-making?

We will discuss these questions and attempt to open unexposed avenues for objective thought for breakthroughs, innovations, and inventions. These new avenues do not replace or overlap current texts on information-related subjects. Rather, they are meant to complement them with new and useful viewpoints, and to offer suggestions for further consideration. Nowadays, human creativity is facing the challenge to move up to a higher information plateau. We are keenly aware that information needs to be current, dynamic, and useful for every decision we face. Information that has been recorded in media is time-delayed and thus more or less in the process of becoming historical. However, armed with necessary and sufficient information, we are well-informed and are capable of making the best decision that we are capable of. Your background knowledge and the accumulation of newly available information enables you to make the best decision, and reduces or eliminate the risk of making an uninformed decision based on irrelevant factors or random thought.

In a 2011 interview with The European Magazine, Kevin Kelly said, When we think about who we are, we are always talking about information, about knowledge, about processes that increase the complexity of things. … Even the expansion of choices itself has unintended consequences. Barry Schwartz calls it the ‘paradox of choice’: Humans have evolved with a limited capacity for making decisions. We can be paralyzed by choice! (Kelly, published interview, 2011)

Going back to the 5th and 4th century BC, philosophers Confucius (551-479 BC) and Socrates (469-399 BC) pointed out that asking and answering questions is the best way to learn (information) and enrich one’s knowledge (see 2.3.4, 2.3.5, 2.3.10 and 2.3.11). Many centuries later, this thinking was formalized into the ‘WH questions’: who, what, why, when, where. The answers to these questions provide necessary information for any problem. They could be questions such as: What is the problem and the information needed to make the decision and solve the problem? Who is the person involved? When was the problem discovered? Where did the problem start? How did the problem develop and affect others? Why did the problem happen? (see 5.5). Nowadays, we find that: …I have been using these who, why, when, and how to address my research studies and in my professional presentations. It helps readers and audience to follow the issue (Teh-wei Hu, 2012).

In this Information Age, the term ‘information’ is very popular and widely appealing in all aspects of life. Yet the concept of information is still not quite unified. It means different things to different people and thus will sometimes cause unnecessary confusion. For a fundamental understanding of information studies, Lester and Koehler (2003) provide good discussion on information policies and the social environment without getting deep into user needs and associated problems.

The word ‘information’ is commonly used interchangeably with ‘data’ without qualification. For example, the information package dispensed to an inquirer from an organization or agency will include introductory documents, as well as charts, statistics, or pictures. Most of them may not be simple and clear enough to be informative, and may be directly responding to the inquirer’s need and thus remain as unrecognized ‘data’.

On the other hand, a database usually contains more message-oriented ‘information’ rather than simple ‘data’ values such as alpha-numerical numbers or words that carry no complete and sensible message. It’s no wonder someone may ask: why don’t we differentiate ‘data retrieval’ for precise values in numbers or distinct qualitative words from ‘document/information retrieval’ for complex and not-so-explicit/implicit messages?

1.2 Information as a Process

From experience, we know that information is not just a product or service, but more importantly, it is also the process of human understanding of message contents carried through our sensory organs such as eyes and ears (Yang, 1990a, pp.139-142). Traditionally, we use the word ‘information’ in its noun form, and understand it to be a product such as a book, pamphlet, or other document formats that include audio/visual recordings and various displays. When ‘information’ is used as a service, we often associate it with an institution or agency, such as a library, a news agency, or a professional association, etc., that provides that service.

In the past three decades, Anthony Debons strongly delineated that information as also a ‘process’ of human cognitive function, just as is shown in the verb form ‘inform’ (Debons, 1974; Debons, Horne & Cronenweth, 1988). The information ‘product’ is being used as the input of the information process in human understanding or computer processing. In other words, the information acquired by a human will cause a change of one’s mental state from uninformed to informed.

It is essential to recognize that the message contained in the information product is first processed in the human mind before it can be utilized as the basis of a decision. Debons’ magnified viewpoint has been adapted as the new paradigm in the study of information, and has created a new sub-field of human information processing. However, there are other views on information. For example, with an emphasis on ‘thing’, Buckland (1991) defines information with three meanings: process, knowledge, and thing. He stresses the importance of ‘thing’ (object or product) and says,

However, ‘information-as-thing’ deserves careful examination, partly because it is the only form of information with which information systems can deal directly. People are informed not only by intentional communications, but by a wide variety of objects and events. Being ‘informative’ is situational and it would be rash to state of any thing that it might not be informative, hence information, in some conceivable situation. Varieties of ‘information-as-thing’ vary in their physical characteristics and so are not equally suited for storage and retrieval. There is, however, considerable scope for using representations instead.

Interesting reflections on ‘thing’ were found:

"Naturally occurring objects, animate and inanimate can be informative but are not information themselves, nor are man-made objects … Man-made items can suggest ideas or information but are incapable of completely communicating that information. … It is particularly important to make the differentiation between data and information. In our information age, we are swamped with data, but this data must be interpreted (information-as-process) to lead to an understanding. … that any physical representation of information is inherently a lousy compression of that information and not information itself." (Gianni, 2006).

In addition, the information process discussed here is not quite the same as the Information Lifecycle Management (ILM), which is popular in the business field. The ILM covers the management of a complete information lifecycle, including hardware and software for data structure, file organization, information acquisition, storage and retrieval, as well as documentation, publication, maintenance, and final disposal. It comprises the policies, processes, practices, and tools used to align the business value of information with operational efficiency and cost effectiveness.

1.3 Is Data the Same as Information?

Some formal definitions from Yeung’s lecture on data and information are quite useful (Yeung, 1998):

• "Many people use the terms ‘data’ and ‘information’ as synonyms but these two terms actually convey very distinct concepts…

• Data is defined as a body of facts or figures, which have been gathered systematically for one or more specific purposes…

O Data can exist in the forms of linguistic expressions (e.g. name, age, address, date, ownership)

■ Symbolic expressions (e.g. traffic signs)

■ Mathematical expressions (e.g. E = mc²)

■ Signals (e.g. electromagnetic waves) …

• Information is defined as data which have been processed into a form that is meaningful to a recipient and is of perceived value in current or prospective decision making

O Although data are ingredients of information, not all data make useful information…

■ Data not properly collected and organized are a burden rather than an asset to an information user

■ Data that make useful information for one person may not be useful to another person…

O Information is only useful to its recipients when it is Relevant (to its intended purposes and with appropriate level of required detail)…

■ Reliable, accurate and verifiable (by independent means)

■ Up-to-date and timely (depending on purposes)

■ Complete (in terms of attribute, spatial and temporal coverage)

■ Intelligible (i.e. comprehensible by its recipients)

■ Consistent (with other sources of information)

■ Convenient/easy to handle and adequately protected"

Some people believe that data and information, by themselves, do not change people’s minds, but the relationship between data and information will. Data and information themselves do provide some facts and values to people. Their existence is not debatable. Data is everywhere, waiting to be acquired. Through human perception and recognition, data can be transformed into information for human consumption. Only if information is being acted upon and contributing to human decision-making, can it then change the human mind, and thus human behavior. Information does lend itself to active human engagement, which in aggregate is called relationship. It is the data and information contained in relationship that enables the mind to change.

Both data retrieval and document/information retrieval began in the 1960s, with subsequent system development in the 1970s (Knuth, 1968; Martin, 1977; Salton, 1971; Yang, 1969). Starting in 1980, David Blair published a series of papers to clarify distinctions between data retrieval and document/information retrieval (Blair, 1984). In addition to the original four distinctions in 1984, Blair added another nine in 2006 to stress that language ambiguities were causing various interpretations of the query (Blair, 2006). The effectiveness of the information obtained from the query search depends heavily upon its interpreted usefulness to the particular inquirer.

Information studies are the basis of epistemology, the philosophy of knowledge. However, nowadays, most people consider it only a practical application and thus find no need to discuss it as a theory of information. Many centuries ago, there were some philosophical theories, paradigms, and models that reflected denotation as well as connotation aspects of information and knowledge. The essence of information is not only information itself as a substance, but also the effect and influence of information applications on people (Capurro, 2010a, 2010b).

Tracing back the origin of knowledge and wisdom twenty-five centuries ago, we have to consider the discussions of Confucius in the East, and Socrates, along with his student Plato (427-347 BC), in the West. They are the first teachers of world culture and civilization. Knowledge is the basis on which sound decisions are made, and are followed by corresponding actions to formulate lasting wisdom in guiding the future. As educators, Confucius and Socrates strived to focus the attention of an individual on himself and herself so that they could turn inward and examine their own character, concepts, goals, methods, attitudes, etc. Confucius and Socrates often suggested ways to improve oneself.

The responsibility of teaching is clearly defined in a Chinese proverb: ‘To give birth to a child without providing a proper education is the fault of father; to teach a child without close supervision is the result of a teacher’s laziness.’ This conservative philosophy of teaching has been prominent in the East for thousands of years and has become a tradition. In contrast, the teaching in the West is much more liberal and is usually free of close supervision from both