Hafiz Nazeer HussainM.Phil. Scholar

INFORMATICS: AN INTRODUCTION

CONTENTS Introduction Etymology & History of informatics Definition & Modification and extension of

definition Components of Information System Scope of informatics Information representation in I.S. Information Processing & communication Aspects of informatics Applications of informatics Social informatics Library informatics Purpose of Library as S.I. informatics

INTRODUCTION Every day we are touched/influenced

by informatics Email, Google, YouTube, Blogs, FaceBook,

Travelocity, GPS systems data-centric world

new data acquisition devices everyone is creating content

data information knowledge key to advances in science, engineering,

medicine

ETYMOLOGY

‘Informatik’ (Steinbuch, K. 1957), German

Informatik ----------> computer science (in

English).

‘Informatique’ (Philippe, 1962), French

‘Informatics’ (Walter, 1967)

‘Information’ & ‘automatic’, (tic=theory in

‘Greek’)

Informatician or Informaticist.

Informatics and its morphology (conics)

HISTORY OF INFORMATICS

The term ‘informatika’ adopted & translated

as “Informatics”

1962 US: Walter Bauer founded a company

named Informatics.

Today Europe: “Informatics” = Computer

Science

Today US: widely used in application

contexts:

medical informatics, chemical informatics,

bioinformatics

DEFINITION Generally the meaning of the term consists of

theory of scientific information study of the use of information technology interaction of technology human organizational structures

“Informatics is the discipline of science which investigates

the structure and properties (not specific content) of

scientific information, as well as the regularities of

scientific information activity, its theory, history,

methodology and organization”.

MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF DEFINITION

Usage has modified this definition in three ways.

1. The restriction to scientific information is

removed.

2. Most information is now digitally stored,

computation is now central to informatics.

3. Representation, processing &

communication of information are added as

objects of investigation.

CONT.. Informatics studies the interaction of

information with individuals and

organizations, as well as the fundamentals of

computation and computability, and the

hardware and software technologies used to

store, process and communicate digitized

information. It includes the study of

communication as a process that links people

together, to affect the behaviour of

individuals and organizations (Indiana

University, 2010)

COMPONENTS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM

SCOPE OF INFORMATICS

Representations Paper, Analogue & Digital Records (Text, sound,

images, etc.)

Processing Human reasoning, digital computational, &

organizational processes

Communication Human communication Human-computer interface Computer communication and networks

INFORMATION REPRESENTATION IN I.S.

Representation

World wide web

Metadata

Structured data

Relational data

Markup

INFORMATION PROCESSING & COMMUNICATION

Data, information & knowledge

Natural language processing (NLP)

Automated text-process

Document clustering

Automated natural language generation

ASPECTS OF INFORMATICSINFORMATICS

Biology

Linguistics

Communication studies

Psychology

Information science

Mathematics

Business informatics

Interactive media & art

INFORMATICSComputer science

Artificial intelligence

Cognitive science

Medical informatics

Electronics

Information science

Geographic information systems

Social informatics

MEDICAL INFORMATICS: AN EXAMPLE

SOCIAL INFORMATICS (SI)

SI examines social aspects of computerization

– including the roles of IT in social and

organizational change, the uses of ITs in

social contexts, and the ways that the social

organization of ITs is influenced by social

forces and social practices.

SI is scattered in the curriculum of different

disciplines, Computer Science , Information

Science, Informatics and Web Sociology, etc.

SOCIAL INFORMATICS & LIS

Three “big questions” for LIS1. “Physical” question about the fundamental

laws & features of recorded information,2. “Social” question about the ways in which

people interact with & make use of information,

3. “Design” question about the ways in which access to information can be improved.

SI overlaps with information science. Integrated use of ICT into information

organizations, including libraries

WHAT IS SI & WHY DOES IT MATTER IN LIS?

It addresses questions of fundamental

importance in library and information science

and other fields;

How can we best understand the complex

relationships among; People ICTs System design Use Contexts in which system design & use

take place

LIBRARY INFORMATICS

MANAGER

CATALOGING

FILE SERVER: DATABASECIRCULATION

ACQUISITIONSERIALS

MANAGEMENT

OPAC

REFERENCE

OPACOPACOPAC

VIRTUAL USER/WITHOUT

GEOGRAPHIC PLACE

PURPOSE OF LIBRARY INFORMATICS AS S.I.

Studying how to design a system that

delivers the right information, to the right

person in the right place and time, in the

right way, and is intimately tied to workflow

discussions and standards.

DON’T BE CONFUSED WITH…

Contrast Informetrics Informatics

Definition

Study of quantitative aspects of information. This includes the production, dissemination and use of all forms of information, regardless of its form or origin.

Informatics studies the structure, behavior, and interactions of natural and artificial systems that store, process and communicate information.

Theoretical Foundations

Lotka's law Zipf's lawBradford's law

Develops its own conceptual and theoretical foundations

CONT..Contrast Informetrics Informatics

Applications/ Fields

Scientometrics, studies quantitative aspects (QA) of science;

Webometrics, studies QA of WWW

Cybermetrics, is similar to Webometrics, but broadens its definition to include electronic resources;

Bibliometrics, studies QA of recorded information.

Application of IT, Information

Science, Computer Science,

Business Management, Project

Management in a field - i.e.

Health Care or Finance

Deals withInformation user and UsageInformation SystemInformation Itself

Science of informationPractice of information ProcessingEngineering of information systems

CONCLUSION

Information and communication technologies

have become essential components of many

people’s work and social lives.

Technological changes will continue to

revolutionize the ways to manage, share and

analyze data, and will provide new ways of

transforming data into information and

knowledge.

REFERENCES

Contact to:

hafiznazeerhussain@gmail.com