Page 66 - DLIS407_INFORMATION AND LITERATURE SURVEY IN SOCIAL SCIENCES

Unit 9: Information Sources

and its use in information management. The use of this term during late sixties spread over to Great Notes
Britain.
The term ‘information’ has been defined by Eliahu Hoffman as: ‘Information is an aggregate (collection
or accumulation) of statements, or facts or figures which are conceptually (by way if reasoning, logic,
ideas, or any other mental “mode of operation” interrelated (connected).
According to J.H. Shera “Information, both in the sense, it is used by the biologist and in the sense we
librarians use it, it is ‘fact’. It is the stimulus we receive through our senses. It may be an isolated fat or
a whole cluster of facts but it is still a unit, it is a unit of thought.” J.becker opines about information
as “facts about any subject” whereas in N. Belkin’s view “Information is that, which is capable of
transforming structure.”

9.1.2 Major Theories of Information

The following are some important theories of information:

Mathematical Theory of Information

Early theory of information was based on the classic research of Shannon and Weaver, who suggested
that the amount of information in a message is related to the size of the vocabulary available in it.
As they were working in the context of communication engineering, computers and telegraphy, the
amount of information was measured in ‘bit.’
The mathematical theory of information, thus evolved, stated that the amount of information in a
message, is related to the probability ratio of the message i.e. if a message has lesser number of terms,
there is possibility of 50% of information reception, as there are equal chances of guessing either
correct or incorrect. And if, the number of terms is more, the probability of getting more and correct
information is high. But if, the recipient has prior knowledge of the same, it will reduce the amount
of information in a message.

Semantic Theory of Information

According to this theory, information in a message is increased by the prior knowledge of the recipient.
This theory was referred to by Fairthorne as the phlogiston theory of information, in which an earlier
knowledge of the message would increase the information content for a particular recipient , as he
would be able to extract more or fully because he knows the basics of that concept.

Whittemore and Yovits Theory

The two models elaborated earlier are not fit to work as an information unit, so Whittemore and
yovits generalized another information system. They suggested that, information is data of value,
for decision making.

Brookes Information Theory

Brookes tried to differentiate between information and knowledge. He opined that the individual
knowledge, that has been collected by himself when it is collected together and presented for public
use, does it become knowledge.
(i) Language, symbols, alphabets, codes and syntax.
(ii) Content, which enables us to know about the information.

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