Information as signs

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to formulate an analytical framework for the information concept based on the semiotic theory. Design/methodology/approach The paper is motivated by the apparent controversy that still surrounds the information concept. Information, being a key concept within LIS, suffers from being anchored in various incompatible theories. The paper suggests that information is signs, and it demonstrates how the concept of information can be understood within C.S. Peirce’s phenomenologically rooted semiotic. Hence, from there, certain ontological conditions as well epistemological consequences of the information concept can be deduced. Findings The paper argues that an understanding of information, as either objective or subjective/discursive, leads to either objective reductionism and signal processing, that fails to explain how information becomes meaningful at all, or conversely, information is understood only relative to subjective/discursive intentions, agendas, etc. To overcome the limitations of defining information as either objective or subjective/discursive, a semiotic analysis shows that information understood as signs is consistently sensitive to both objective and subjective/discursive features of information. It is consequently argued that information as concept should be defined in relation to ontological conditions having certain epistemological consequences. Originality/value The paper presents an analytical framework, derived from semiotics, that adds to the developments of the philosophical dimensions of information within LIS.

Health Care Spending in the United States and Other High-Income Countries

“…These countries were chosen because they were among the highestincome countries in the world, had relatively high health care spending, and had populations with similar demographic characteristics that have similar burdens of illness. 3,15 Based on these criteria, the United Kingdom (consisting of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland), Canada, Germany, Australia, Japan, Sweden, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland were chosen for comparison. These 10 selected countries represent different geographic areas and diverse health system structures.…”

“…1,2 However, despite its higher spending, the United States performs poorly in areas such as health care coverage and health outcomes. [3][4][5] Higher spending without commensurate improved health outcomes at the population level has been a strong impetus for health care reform in the United States. 6 Although it is well known that the United States spends more on health care than other countries, less is known about what explains these differences.…”

An integrative framework of information as both objective and subjective

“…Current conceptualisations already bring into focus different aspects of information as a polymorphic and multidimensional phenomenon [8,22,46,48,102]. We extend this discussion by illuminating ways that the two may mutually shape one another in an integrative framework.…”

On thresholds: signs, symbols and significance

“…There have been two primary Peircean-related semiotic themes evident in LIS literature in recent years. The first focuses on the meta-theoretical issue of how “information” should be construed, and includes Brier's introduction of cybersemiotics as a conceptual framework that attempts to bridge information science and pan-semiotics (1996, 2015), the debate between Bates (2006, 2008) and Hjørland (2007, 2009) on the objective-subjective nature of information and its interpretation, Furner's inquiry into the symbolic aspects of data (2017), and Thellefsen et al. 's (2018) notion of a “semiotic gap” to describe displacement between the phenomenological object of information and its interpretation.…”