INFORMATION SCIENCE

• Our perception of the concept of information

science is based on the assumption that all
organisms are information systems.
• The information system is an environment of
person, machines, and procedures that develop
human biology potential to acquire, process and
act upon data, thus improves our chances for
survival.
 Definitions
• Science
Any system of knowledge that is concerned with the
physical world and its phenomena and that entails
unbiased observations and systematic experiment
(research).
• Information science
A discipline that deals with the processes of storing and
transferring of information. Fundamentally it covers all
theories, concepts and methods in the collection,
organization, storage, retrieval and use of information.
The boundaries of information science
The basic structure of information science
• Technology and Systems
the application of IT
• Impact of IT on society
problems of information society, copyrights, personal
privacy, plagiarism, etc.
• Resources
the human resources needed to sustain the activities of
the science worldwide, encouragement of R&D,
training, etc.
 Foundational Disciplines
• Philosophy
provides infor. Sc. with the understanding of inquiry system (state of the world)
and the foundation of the social sciences that are relevant to infor. system.
• Mathematics (statistics).
the foundation of statistics which is the tools used by infor. Scientist.
• Linguistics
the study of language, which is important to infor. Scientist as tool to represent
events.
• Behavioral science
include psychology and sociology, important part for user study.
 Related field of study in
information Science
• Informatics – the study of automation and automated
technologies in document retrieving.
• Information Engineering – refers to various aspects of
infor. System design.
• Knowledge Engineering – artificial intelligence & expert
system.
• Cybernetics – the science of control, include
communications & system theory.
• Bionics – the understanding of the functions &
characteristics of living systems & biomechanical
systems.
 The Information Professional
• A professional career implies activity acquiring
an education at or above the baccalaureate level.
• Guided by certain standards
• Share common theoretical & technical interest
• Have own ethics & commitment to excellence
 Categories of Information
Professionals
Information theorist/Scientist
Information systems specialists
Information intermediaries
Information technologist
…Shirley, Gupta and Debons (1974)
Managers of information
Educators and trainers of information
workers
… Debons (1981)
Academic discipline of Information
Professionals
Computer science
Focus on computer programming, logic and
mathematical problem solving.
Library science
Librarianship, focus on the library, the services
and the information works
Communication science
Deals with principles that govern the handling
of messages.
Academic discipline of Information
Professionals
Information science
Include the characteristics of information,
acquisition, storage dissemination and retrieval
Engineering
Involve the use of technology
Business
Importance of information systems and decision
support system for management operations
Information System Technology

Technologies that are associated with

major component of information system
• Data acquisition
• Data transmission
• Data Processing
 Data Acquisition
• Acquisition device capture occurrence or
events
• Data can be digital or analog in form
• Digital technology uses electrical impulses
to represent data
• Analog data are represented by rates of
change in states of energy
 Contd…

• A computer uses digital data

• A telephone reproduces voices in the analog form
of sound waves,converted to digital during
transmission and later converted back into analog
form by the receiving telephone.
• Acquisition of data refers to the capturing of
actual energy by an event or can be refer to as
sensory data acquisition.
 Data acquisition devices

• There are many ways that humans can

capture an occurrence or events.
• Our senses are limited in the ability to
capture certain events
• Information system Technology enables us
captured an events.
 Contd…

• Radar and Sonar

Radio Detection and Ranging/Sound Navigation and ranging-
major function to capture data about significant occurrences in
the environment.
• Satellites
Either artificial or natural. Source of data about the nature of
the universe (shape & size of earth, weather conditions, etc.).
• Holography, Telescopy and Photography.
Use glass lens that refract light in specific ways to provide data.
 Data Transmission

• The movement of symbols or data from one

place and time to another without reference
to the meaning or use of the symbols or
data.
• Information System Technology provide a
wide array of mechanism for transporting
signals and symbols.
 Transmission technologies
• Laser
Acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Can transmit
signal over great distances with less diffusion or scattering of the signal.
• Satellites
Capable to relay signal from other planets or anywhere at great
distances.
• Radio
A transmitting device for sound signal.
• Cellular radio voice transmission
Provides personal mobile, cordless, long-range voice transmission.
 Processing Technology
• Provide the means to analyze, categorize, and manipulate
the data that we acquire or transmit.
• Electronic Data Processing- vary in size and shape.
• Do 3 basics functions:
- take input or source data,
- perform electronic processing,
- and generate some kind of output
 Contd…

• Input may consist of any type of data

(numerical, textual, or graphical)
• Processing involve reading, adding,
comparing, calculating, and writing.
• Output is simply data that have been
process in some way.
• Examples of EDP are computers,
calculators and video games.
 Processing Institutions
• The library is an institution directly linked
to the processing of data, information and
knowledge.
• Thus the library is an essential component
of the information system, equally
important to technologies.