Literature/1979/Farradane


 * Reprinted in: G. Walker, ed., The Information Environment: A Reader, G. K. Hall & Co., pp. 4-11.
 * http://jis.sagepub.com/content/1/1/13.full.pdf+html

Author

 * Jason Farradane
 * School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ont. CANADA N6A 5B9

Abstract
Starting from the definition of 'information' as a physical surrogate of knowledge (i.e. a spoken or written record), its relation to the originator, and its transformations on communication to a recipient, and the recipient's mental state and possibly physical (social) reactions to it, are discussed. The transformations of 'information' in information retrieval systems are also considered. It is argued that this is the essential basis for developing a true information science.

Reviews

 * As noted by Michael Buckland (1991), Farradane states that "'information' should be defined as any physical form of representation, or surrogate, of knowledge, or of a particular thought, used for communication." (p. 4)