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Information
Special Issues
Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015
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Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015

A special issue of Information (ISSN 2078-2489).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2015) | Viewed by 40472

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mark Burgin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mathematics, University of California, Box 951555, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
Interests: information theory; communication theory and technology; algorithmic information; information science; theory of knowledge; information processing systems and technology; theory of algorithms, automata and computation; complexity; knowledge management; theory of technology; cognition and epistemology; software engineering; schema theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hofkirchner

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Design and Assessment of Technology, Faculty of Informatics, Vienna University of Technology, Austria
Interests: complexity thinking (praxio-onto-epistemology, evolutionary systems theory, critical social systems theory); science of information (unified theory of inforamtion); ICTs and society (critical information society theory, critical design theory)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We live in an age of global problems, which are man-made and which can also be brought closer to solutions by people. Our information society needs to create knowledge that helps us build the capacity to do what is necessary to ensure a humane future.

Today, researchers and developers in almost every science study information processes in one respect or another, whether or not they term it “information.” How far are they concerned with the creation of requisite knowledge?

The time has come for a critical reflection on information studies.

The International Society for Information Studies (ISIS) holds every 2 years a conference. The Summit Vienna 2015 is the first meeting of that kind. Its aim is to gather representatives of different communities that research information, information society, and information technology, and which develop or implement social or technological applications. This is a trans-disciplinary endeavor posing the quest for a good society, for a better society, in which social and technological innovations help make information key to the flourishing of humanity and dispense with the dark side of information society.

In that spirit, we invite participants from all disciplines to submit a full paper based upon their contributions to the Summit.

The focus of the submissions shall reflect one of the following issues:

  • the impact of the sciences of information: how can we improve the design and implementation of social and technological applications for the advancement of a viable information society and individual autonomy?
  • the foundations of the sciences of information: how can we improve the concepts we use for the study of information at all levels, from natural information processes to the information society and information technology, such that these concepts open new vistas that allow for improved applications?

Authors are kindly asked to prepare their papers in a way that facilitates reciprocal understandings across different disciplinary domains as well as different schools of information studies.

Submissions will pass a peer-review process according to the rules of the journal. The deadline for submissions is 30 September, 2015.

Dr. Mark Burgin
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hofkirchner
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • information society
  • information technology
  • Internet
  • foundations of information science

Published Papers (7 papers)

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254 KiB  
Article
Invariance as a Tool for Ontology of Information
by Marcin J. Schroeder
Information 2016, 7(1), 11; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info7010011 - 02 Mar 2016
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3939
Abstract
Attempts to answer questions regarding the ontological status of information are frequently based on the assumption that information should be placed within an already existing framework of concepts of established ontological statuses related to science, in particular to physics. However, many concepts of [...] Read more.
Attempts to answer questions regarding the ontological status of information are frequently based on the assumption that information should be placed within an already existing framework of concepts of established ontological statuses related to science, in particular to physics. However, many concepts of physics have undetermined or questionable ontological foundations. We can look for a solution in the recognition of the fundamental role of invariance with respect to a change of reference frame and to other transformations as a criterion for objective existence. The importance of invariance (symmetry) as a criterion for a primary ontological status can be identified in the methodology of physics from its beginnings in the work of Galileo, to modern classifications of elementary particles. Thus, the study of the invariance of the theoretical description of information is proposed as the first step towards ontology of information. With the exception of only a few works among publications which set the paradigm of information studies, the issues of invariance were neglected. Orthodox analysis of information lacks conceptual framework for the study of invariance. The present paper shows how invariance can be formalized for the definition of information and, accompanying it, mathematical formalism proposed by the author in his earlier publications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
1055 KiB  
Article
Hierarchy and the Nature of Information
by Ron Cottam, Willy Ranson and Roger Vounckx
Information 2016, 7(1), 1; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info7010001 - 20 Jan 2016
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5030
Abstract
We address the nature of information from a systemic structural point of view. Starting from the Natural hierarchy of living systems, we elucidate its decomposition into two partial hierarchies associated with its extant levels and inter-level regions, respectively. External observation of a hierarchical [...] Read more.
We address the nature of information from a systemic structural point of view. Starting from the Natural hierarchy of living systems, we elucidate its decomposition into two partial hierarchies associated with its extant levels and inter-level regions, respectively. External observation of a hierarchical system involves the generation of approximate hyperscalar representations of these two partials, which then reintegrate to give a singular metascalar result. We relate Havel’s categories of reality and Peirce’s categories of experience to this result, and indicate that the ultimate result of the reintegration of hyperscalar data and context is a sign which is information. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
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1059 KiB  
Article
Datafication and the Seductive Power of Uncertainty—A Critical Exploration of Big Data Enthusiasm
by Stefan Strauß
Information 2015, 6(4), 836-847; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info6040836 - 09 Dec 2015
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5930
Abstract
This contribution explores the fine line between overestimated expectations and underrepresented momentums of uncertainty that correlate with the prevalence of big data. Big data promises a multitude of innovative options to enhance decision-making by employing algorithmic power to gather worthy information out of [...] Read more.
This contribution explores the fine line between overestimated expectations and underrepresented momentums of uncertainty that correlate with the prevalence of big data. Big data promises a multitude of innovative options to enhance decision-making by employing algorithmic power to gather worthy information out of large unstructured data sets. Datafication—the exploitation of raw data in many different contexts—can be seen as an attempt to tackle complexity and reduce uncertainty. Accordingly promising are the prospects for innovative applications to gain new insights and valuable knowledge in a variety of domains ranging from business strategy, security to health and medical research, etc. However, big data also entails an increase in complexity that, together with growing automation, may trigger not merely uncertain but also unintended societal events. As a new source of networking power, big data has inherent risks to create new asymmetries and transform possibilities to probabilities that can inter alia affect the autonomy of the individual. To reduce these risks, challenges ahead include improving data quality and interpretation supported by new modalities to allow for scrutiny and verifiability of big data analytics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
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211 KiB  
Article
A Non-Probabilistic Model of Relativised Predictability in Physics
by Alastair A. Abbott, Cristian S. Calude and Karl Svozil
Information 2015, 6(4), 773-789; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info6040773 - 19 Nov 2015
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3873
Abstract
Unpredictability is an important concept throughout physics and plays a central role in quantum information theory. Despite this, little effort has been devoted to studying generalised notions or models of (un)predictability in physics. In this paper, we continue the programme of developing a [...] Read more.
Unpredictability is an important concept throughout physics and plays a central role in quantum information theory. Despite this, little effort has been devoted to studying generalised notions or models of (un)predictability in physics. In this paper, we continue the programme of developing a general, non-probabilistic model of (un)predictability in physics. We present a more refined model that is capable of studying different degrees of “relativised” unpredictability. This model is based on the ability of an agent, acting via uniform, effective means, to predict correctly and reproducibly the outcome of an experiment using finite information extracted from the environment. We use this model to study the degree of unpredictability certified by different quantum phenomena further, showing that quantum complementarity guarantees a form of relativised unpredictability that is weaker than that guaranteed by Kochen–Specker-type value indefiniteness. We exemplify further the difference between certification by complementarity and value indefiniteness by showing that, unlike value indefiniteness, complementarity is compatible with the production of computable sequences of bits. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
371 KiB  
Article
Three Aspects of Information Science in Reality: Symmetry, Semiotics and Society
by Joseph E. Brenner
Information 2015, 6(4), 750-772; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info6040750 - 17 Nov 2015
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3933
Abstract
The 2nd International Conference on the Philosophy of Information (ICPI 2015) took place in Vienna June 5–6, 2015 as a major Section of the Vienna 2015 Summit Conference on the Response and Responsibility of the Information Sciences. At the ICPI, Wu Kun and [...] Read more.
The 2nd International Conference on the Philosophy of Information (ICPI 2015) took place in Vienna June 5–6, 2015 as a major Section of the Vienna 2015 Summit Conference on the Response and Responsibility of the Information Sciences. At the ICPI, Wu Kun and others presented evidence for a current integration and convergence of the philosophy and science of information, under the influence of the unique characteristics of information itself. As I have shown, my extension of logic to real systems (Logic in Reality; LIR) applies to and explicates many of the properties of information processes. In this paper, I apply LIR as a framework for understanding the operation of information in three areas of science and philosophy that were discussed at the Summit. The utility of this approach in support of an information commons is suggested the abstract section. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
671 KiB  
Article
The Development of Philosophy and Its Fundamental Informational Turn
by Kun Wu
Information 2015, 6(4), 693-703; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info6040693 - 21 Oct 2015
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 12329
Abstract
Through the rescientification of philosophy and the philosophization of science, an entirely new concept of science and philosophy as part of general human knowledge is developing. In this concept, science and philosophy become intrinsically integrated and unified, forming dynamic feedback-loops which lead to [...] Read more.
Through the rescientification of philosophy and the philosophization of science, an entirely new concept of science and philosophy as part of general human knowledge is developing. In this concept, science and philosophy become intrinsically integrated and unified, forming dynamic feedback-loops which lead to further mutual transformation and integration. This development is taking place in the face of two kinds of dogmatism: one is naturalistic dogmatism, the other the dogmatism of consciousness philosophy. These two kinds of dogmatism are an inevitable consequence of the method of segmentation of the field of existence in traditional philosophy namely: existence = matter + Spirit (mind). The development of the Science and Philosophy of Information reveals a world of information-by-itself lying between the worlds of matter and Sprit, and re-interprets the essence of the Spiritual world in the sense of prior information activities. Accordingly, we can describe the movements from matter to Spirit, and from Spirit to matter in these activities as processes, eliminating their dualistic separation, and achieve an informational turn in philosophy, the first truly fundamental one. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
646 KiB  
Article
Extending Deacon’s Notion of Teleodynamics to Culture, Language, Organization, Science, Economics and Technology (CLOSET)
by Robert K. Logan
Information 2015, 6(4), 669-678; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/info6040669 - 16 Oct 2015
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4632
Abstract
Terrence Deacon’s (2012) notion developed in his book Incomplete Nature (IN) that living organisms are teleodynamic systems that are self-maintaining, self-correcting and self-reproducing is extended to human social systems. The hypothesis is developed that culture, language, organization, science, economics and technology (CLOSET) can [...] Read more.
Terrence Deacon’s (2012) notion developed in his book Incomplete Nature (IN) that living organisms are teleodynamic systems that are self-maintaining, self-correcting and self-reproducing is extended to human social systems. The hypothesis is developed that culture, language, organization, science, economics and technology (CLOSET) can be construed as living organisms that evolve, maintain and reproduce themselves and are self-correcting, and hence are teleodynamic systems. The elements of CLOSET are to a certain degree autonomous, even though they are obligate symbionts dependent on their human hosts for the energy that sustains them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from the ISIS Summit Vienna 2015)
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