Synopses & Reviews
We live in an information society. Many aspects of the world which were once understood in terms of their physical properties, and were seen to be quite separate, are now represented and analyzed in terms of their information content. The importance of information has been appreciated differently across many academic disciplines, and it is treated in different ways. There are many disciplines (including information and communication technologies, quantum physics, information systems, library and information science, and the sociology of the information society) for which information is foundational. Each of these disciplines has a different definition of the concept, and each uses the concept differently.
Perspectives on Information both reflects the diversity of understanding of information within the disciplines, and brings clarity and coherence to the different perspectives through promoting information as a unifying concept across the disciplinary spectrum. Drawing from an unusually broad range of fields, each contributor presents an insidera (TM)s perspective on information.
Synopsis
Information is everywhere, and defines everything in today's society. Moreover, information is a key concept in a wide range of academic disciplines, from quantum physics to public policy. However, these disciplines all interpret the concept in quite different ways. This book looks at information in several different academic disciplines - cybernetics, ICT, communications theory, semiotics, information systems, library science, linguistics, quantum physics and public policy.
Perspectives on Information brings clarity and coherence to different perspectives through promoting information as a unifying concept across the disciplinary spectrum. Though conceived as a contribution to the ongoing conversation between academic disciplines into the nature of information, the deliberately accessible style of this text (reflecting the authors? backgrounds at The Open University) will be make it valuable for anyone who needs to know something more about information. Given the ubiquity of information in the 21st century, that means everyone.