An integrated framework for information, communication and knowledge definitions

Abstract

An integrated set of definitions and distinctions in the information, communication and knowledge field is proposed. It is argued that more attention must be given to records, usually confused with information. Descriptions are shown to be the fundamental facts behind information. Information is defined as an abstract concept, free of material or syntactic constraints. Information is observer free but it is dependent on the shared ontological background of communities. The world may be characterized as being structured by only six components. Knowledge is the capacity to act effectively and it is not information. Information quantity and its relation with the entropy of physical systems are shown to be more ambiguous and less important than they are usually thought of. It is argued that information studies should move on from these old concerns to confront the vital information challenges in this globalized information society with information superabundance.