Information as a cognitive construction: A communication-theoretic model and consequences for information systems

Abstract

In this paper a model for understanding the concept of information is presented and how the processes of externalization and perception of information by human beings could be understood. This model is different from the standard information theoretic model. It combines the understanding of cognitive information processing as an act of information generation from sense impressions with communication theoretic considerations. This approach can be of value for any system that is regarded as a knowledge system with an in-built ordering structure. As an application some consequences will be drawn for the design of information systems which claims to handle information itself (e.g. multimedia information systems) instead of giving references to bibliographic entities.