First Blog Assignment

1.Define the meaning of the terms data, information and knowledge according to Thomas Davenport's Information Hierarchy (1997). [1] [2]

Data: symbols or signs . It represents a fact or statement of event without relation to other things.

Information: it inferred from data ;data that are processed to be useful; provides answers to "who", "what", "where", and "when" questions; it embodies the understanding of a relationship of some sort, possibly cause and effect .

Knowledge: information having been processed, organized or structured in some way, or else as being applied or put into action; application of data and information; answers "how" questions; it represents a pattern that connects and generally provides a high level of predictability as to what is described or what will happen next.


2. What are the characteristics of the above terms?[2]

Data... data is raw. It simply exists and has no significance beyond its existence (in and of itself). It can exist in any form, usable or not. It does not have meaning of itself. In computer parlance, a spreadsheet generally starts out by holding data.

Information... information is data that has been given meaning by way of relational connection. This "meaning" can be useful, but does not have to be. In computer parlance, a relational database makes information from the data stored within it.

Knowledge... knowledge is the appropriate collection of information, such that it's intent is to be useful. Knowledge is a deterministic process. When someone "memorizes" information (as less-aspiring test-bound students often do), then they have amassed knowledge. This knowledge has useful meaning to them, but it does not provide for, in and of itself, an integration such as would infer further knowledge.

3. Give and example for each term mentioned above.

Data: For example, it is raining.

Information: For example, the temperature dropped 15 degrees and then it started raining.

Knowledge: For example, if the humidity is very high and the temperature drops substantially the atmospheres is often unlikely to be able to hold the moisture so it rains.

4. Is there any possibility of a fourth level of Information Hierarchy? Elaborate.

Yes, it is. A fourth level of Information Hierarchy is called " DIKW Hierarchy",also known variously as the "Wisdom Hierarchy", the "Knowledge Hierarchy", the "Information Hierarchy", and the "Knowledge Pyramid"[4], refers loosely to a class of models[5] for representing purported structural and/or functional relationships between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. "Typically information is defined in terms of data, knowledge in terms of information, and wisdom in terms of knowledge".

Wisdom evaluated understanding. Zeleny described wisdom as "know-why"[6], but later refined his definitions, so as to differentiate "why do" (wisdom) from "why is" (information), and expanding his definition to include a form of know-what ("what to do, act or carry out")[7].

Reference:

[1] Wikipedia (2008) DIKW. Retrieved January 15, 2009, from the World Wide Web: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DIKW

[2] Gene Bellinger, Durval Castro, Anthony Mills(2004), "Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom". Retrieved January 15,2009, from the World Wide Web: http://www.systems-thinking.org/dikw/dikw.htm

[4] Rowley, Jennifer (2007). " The wisdom hierachy: representationd of the DIKW hirerachy". Journal of Information Science 33 (2): 163-180.

[5] Zins, Chaim (22 January 2007). "Conceptual Approaches for Defining Data, Information, and Knowledge". Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology(Wiley Periodicals, Inc.) 58 (4): 479-493. doi:10.1002/asi.
http://www.success.co.il/is/zins_definitions_dik.pdf. Retrieved on 7 January 2009.

[6] Zebleny,Milan(1987). "Management Support Systems: Towards Integrated Knowledge Management". Human Systems Management7 (1): 59–70.

[7] Zebleny,Milan (2005). Human Systems Management: Integrating Knowledge, Management and Systems. World Scientific. pp. 15-16. ISBN 9789810249137.