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Is Information Science still a Is Information Science still a Social Science?Social Science?

Miroslav Tuđmanmtudman@ffzg.hr

Faculty of Social Sciences and HumanitiesDepartment for Information Sciences

Chair of Knowledge Organization

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IntroductionIntroduction

• in the media:– information is a basic potential of social,

economic and technological development– information technology necessary in all

sectors– ICT leads to globalization– to have information = to have power and

monopol

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? How is knowledge society defined on a national level

Information Communication Technologies

Information Economy

Information

goalsocial and cultural development

information /knowledge

society

main development

forces/engines

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• Information Science – project priority

• information globalization – information weaponry → information warfare (Net War)

• cyberspace – a change in public knowledge sphere– monopole of personal interests– ! NO validation criteria according to objectivity

and truthfulness of information

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...

Is truthful and objective knowledge still the foundation of Information Science?

What makes a scientific paradigm of Information Science?

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• Information Science should contribute to a moral, spiritual and mental development of social community→ a contribution that cannot be measured by

technical and quantitative parameters

• IS – a social science with a field of interest in knowledge management and knowledge organization

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...continuum...continuum

• information:– being false more and more– being objective less and less– lost the meaning

• knowledge:– not a goal anymore– exists if having a market value– produced if economically worth

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• 21st century Information Science deals no more with the real world – it deals with cyberspace, the digital world

• 20th century IS paradigm is fadin away in the virtual world

• IS referring to information society only in order to ensure a status of a contemporary and lucrative field

IS toolcyberspace

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• information is half way from data to knowledge

• information = a result of data processing in formal languages, ! does NOT result in cognitive functions

informationdata knowledge

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SourcesSources

• cultural heritage

• hystory

• museums

• archivesneglected by the society as a waste

virtual world !

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Society supervision and controlSociety supervision and control

• public knowledge corpus different in cyberspace– public only if exchanged and established in

the public sphere – mass media or the Internet does NOT!

promote objectiveness and truthfulness, BUT serves mainly to subject to certain entities supporting mainstream values

– public knowledge is not an objective and truthful knowledge

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ConclusionConclusion

• IS should have it’s foundations in objectiveness and truthfulness of knowledge

• IS should rely on tradition stretching from antic philosophy to humanism and enlightenment → universal values

• truth and welfare being THE values

• the truth MUST be independent

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... conclusion

• digital world relies on reproduction and simulation with no human control

• globalization restricts human freedom to technology, tourism, market and information

Should Information Science rely on universal or global values???

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The End.

Thank You for Your Attention!

Questions?