| Abstrakt: |
The configuration of meaningful information is addressed in different environments. Options in terms of which this configuration can be pursued, are explored. In this information age we have access to incredibly large amounts of information. It is, however, at a cost because it is difficult to cope with, let alone utilised. Already in 1980, Dupuy summed it up in the paradox of ‘more and more information, less and less meaning.’ Two core concepts are explored, namely ‘information’ and ‘knowledge’. Only through conceptualisation can we hope to form a clear view of the complexities surrounding the varied uses and contexts of the concepts. It is crucial to attend to these concepts before we turn to the configuration of meaningful information, especially when attending to the relationship between information, knowledge and meaning. It is knowledge that concerns us in such a configuration that will lead us to, intensify, and challenge our existing state of knowledge. This relation impacts on the physical milieu of an information society. We need to locate the ontological milieu of meaningful information, by looking at the meaning of being or existence, being in the world, and the relationship of Dasein to others in that world. The meaning of ‘meaning’ is as labyrinthian as the meanings of information and knowledge. What then can be used as an explorer or configurer of meaningful information? The discipline information science has been chosen as an example due to its interdisciplinary character — it should be seen as an interscience and what kind of challenges it has to face. As a possible way of dealing with, and making sense of, disturbing and disruptive, yet creative, factors such as knowledge, power, and action, information science needs to be rearticulated. These factors can prove to be of great value in an information society that seems to shy away from strangeness and avoiding action due to the resulting challenges. Shaped and guided by meaningful information, these challenges can successfully be met. These factors are also central to an understanding of how, why, and in which way we are going to configure meaningful information. Such configuration is precisely information for action. Disciplinary boundaries do not imply that they are immovable, stagnant, fixed or dormant. These boundaries can be approached as constantly moving and changing borders (also called ‘fault-lines’). Such fault-lines allow for creative interchange between disciplines, concepts, and continued growth without lowering the unique structure and characteristics of a discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
