Research Stays and other activities

During the summer semester, Francisco Salto and José María Díaz enjoyed research stays at the “Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)”, Brasil, and at the “Munich University of Applied Sciences (HM)”, Germany, respectively, which partially justifies the summer silence. In both cases their research activities had significant effect on their particular approaches to the objective of finding a proper foundation to the interdisciplinary study of information. See report of the stay of Francisco at UFSC and of the stay of José María at HM.

A number of events, relevant to the development of BITrum project, mark out as well the activity of BITrum in 2011 as announced in "Events involving BITrum participation in 2011"

Proposals to European Research Programmes

As previously announced, several proposals were submitted to different European Research Programmes concerning, on the one hand, the domusBITae initiative, at both the scientific (Capacities FP7 Programme) and educational fields (Alfa 3), on the other hand, the interdisciplinary approach to information (COST Programme).

Regarding the COST proposal, though we changed the design of the project with respect to previous editions in order to fit it better to programme objectives, we confirmed again the difficulties to obtain a high global evaluation for interdisciplinary proposals under the ERA evaluation system. Indeed, although we have obtained in our proposal since 2009 optimal evaluations accompanied by reviewer-comments of the kind: “A very deep and general question is exposed in this excellent proposal, there is hope for a breakthrough” (assessment received on past may), these positive assessments have been in all cases counterbalanced by the specialist point of view of no-relevant-outcome-in-the-field-is-expected. Such specialist evaluation makes –regarding our experience– difficult to obtain a sufficiently high global score if a broad interdisciplinarity is really addressed.

We sincerely thank the participation and collaboration of all involved parties in the mentioned proposals.

Acknowledgement of the work by colleagues

• The birth of the first child of our BITrum colleague Leticia Barrionuevo, Lola, in August, who is happily and healthy growing besides her happy parents! Cheers!
• The recent publication of books from our colleagues Rainer Zimmermann “New ethics proved in geometrical order. Spinozist reflexions on evolutionary systems", Rafael Capurro with Holgate “Messages and Messengers. Angeletics as an Approach to the Phenomenology of Communication” (where also W.Hofkirchner and J.M.Díaz contributed) and Luciano Floridi “Philosophy of Information”. Short recension have been published in BITagora. 

Welcome to a new member

We wish to give our warmest welcome into our Scientific Committee to: Francesca Vidal from the University of Koblenz-Landau (Germany), expert in rhetoric and cultural studies who recently published a thoughtful work concerning the rhetoric of virtual spaces (“Rhetorik der Virtuallen”, Talheimer, 2010). She took part in the Meeting organized by our colleague Rainer Zimmermann “Discourse of topology: language and space in the urban system” in Berlin, March 2011 (see announcement of BITrum events). She has since supported the investigation regarding the foundation of the interdisciplinary approach to information developed by Rainer and José María (s. research stay at the HM), and shall contribute to the Glossarium BITri concerning issues related to rhetoric. 

Season greetings

Finally we wish you all a cheerful academic year!

Discourse of topology, Berlin, March

Constitution of the International Society for Information Studies

In July the International Society for Information Studies (ISIS) was officially constituted under Austrian law and conformed by an executive committee as accorded at the FIS2010 conference held in Beijin and is composed by several BITrum members. In order to support –among other envisaged activities- the organization of the next FIS conferences, ISIS is currently running through an organizational phase.

Launching of the nonprofit venture cybaDREAM, July

In July the Fink Capurro Foundation together with the e-Vision Foundation launched the nonprofit venture cybaDREAM (Can You Buy a(n African) DREAM?) aimed at bridging the digital divide by means of providing access and digital literacy in schools to get connected to the net. The cybaDREAM venture brings into life an idea proposed in 2007 at the 1st African Information Ethics Conference 2007 in Tshwane, South-Africa. Through the development of a financial plan for 3 years, the process of connecting more schools and students after such period shall be made self sustainable. (For more information visit its site: www.cybadream.org).

The difference that makes a difference, UK, September

In September, the interdisciplinary workshop in information science and technology The difference that makes a difference (DTMD-2011), held in the Campus of the Open University at Milton Keynes, UK, brought again together Wolfgang Hofkirchner, who opened the Meeting, Rainer Zimmermann and José María Díaz, who both presented a double paper presenting their investigation (s. contributions blog). The importance of developing a proper interdisciplinary approach was discussed and indeed exhibited by the misunderstanding arisen at the discussions. See Programme & Proceedings.

Launching myUniversity platforms, October

In September, myUniversity project -supported by the EC- launched its platforms of e-Participation in the decision making of Higher Education Institutions involving a number of European Universities. What politics, what democracy spaces can be really developed at the information age? How the information society can actually participate at the decision making level? These questions of indubitable interest to the objectives of BITrum can be essayed in the laboratory of the platforms developed within this project. For this reason, BITrum will track on the activity of this project in which University of León (ULE) takes part. See ULE-myUniversity platform.

As in other international scientific gatherings to which we have previously referred, our interdisciplinary approach to information has also been argued within the information-systems arena of Ibersid (October 6-7) and the philosophical forum of SEFA-2010 (October 14-16). As in other occasions we pursued, on the one hand, strengthen our methodology and scientific soundness; on the other hand, disseminate our proposals. 

Ibersid: International Conference on Information and Documentation Systems

Versión española

Report by: José María Díaz Nafría (Universidad de León, Spain)

At the beginning of 2010, Professor Zong-Rong Li (from the Social Information Science Institute, SISI, at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, HUST, China) proposed to our colleague Wolfgang Hofkirchner the organization in China of an international scientific gathering aimed at laying the foundations of a science of information being integrative with respect to scientific domain- and geographical gaps. That is, in the line of the conferences on the Foundations of Information Science, but including now a scientific community which was previously absent. Hence, it was decided the convening of a 4th edition of this conference series (Madrid 1994, Vienna 1996, Paris 2005) under the motto: “towards a new science of information”, which was happily being held in Beijin on past August 21 to 24.

From left to right: Hucan He, Konstantin Kolin, Pedro Marijuán, Yi-Xin Zhong, Wolfgang Hofkirchner, Kang Ouyang

The conference, co-chaired by Kang Ouyang (Director of the SISI), Wolfgang Hofkirchner and Pedro Marijuán, was held under the sponsorship of the Chinese Association for Artificial Inteligence (CAAI) and the SISI. It was part of the Multi-Conference on Advanced Intelligence (MCAI-2010) which also included: the second international conference in advance intelligence (ICAI-2010) and the IEEE Natural Language Processing and Knowledge Engineering (NLP-KE’10). It was clearly proven the amount and relevancy of the eastern scientific activity in interdisciplinary informational studies with a notorious prevalence of Chinese contributions (59 %) as well as a significant Japanese participation (10 %). Nevertheless, the global character of the call was preserved with a participation of 4 continents, especially North America and Europe. Thus, the objective of founding a scientific international association responsible for promoting a global- and integrative science of information was supported by a sufficient representation of the required parties.

Access to: Programme and abstracts with links to preliminary articles (PDF document)

Gaps and Bridges

In historical Perspective 

From an historical point of view, the Eastern thought (in both the Chinese and Indian traditions) has shown a deeper sensibility to the dialectic relation between being and not-being instead of the mentioned controversy of subject and object. From this existential dialectics, the modalities of potential-being, not-being-yet, must-being, cease-of-being, etc. arise, which pervade the great Eastern philosophical figures (e.g., Kong Qiu, Mo Di, Meng Ke, Xun Luang, Yang Zhu, Zhuang Zhou, Buddha or Gaudapāta). Probably these distinctions and the traditional sensibility to emergency and articulation of existences may constitute a toehold for a better understanding of information phenomena and its relation to life, knowledge, communication, social organization, as well as for a reception of the epistemology and ontology of contemporary physics –as it has been often pointed out-. Perhaps these groundings might offer a strong toehold for the constitution of a new science of information.

To illustrate this potential impact of the Eastern philosophical tradition in our current comprehension of information, let us consider some great Chinese philosophical figures. For instance in Zhuang Zhou (369 b.C. – 286 b.C.), we find themes which could easily fit into the contemporary viewpoints on the naturalization of information:

“In the peaceful time before anything was created, there was nothing and namelessness. Out of that arose a One, but this One had no form. Then things sprouted up and each of them was given what is called a virtue.” (Zhuāngzĭ, §12)

Professor Zong-Rong Li

Well, this treatment of emergency and evolutionary themes, which is –as well known– in the very core of many western contemporary visions on information, e.g., in Hofkirchner, Collier, Kirby, can also be clearly identified in a significant amount of original works of Chinese authors. For instance, if constitutes one of the core topics developed in the philosophy of Kun Wu since the 1980 (which was presented in several contributions, though it would be worth providing a better translation in order to achieve a proper receipt in the West), as well as in the “theoretical informatics” of Zong-Rong Li (compiled in a dense volume which English edition –just out of the presses– was kindly given as a present); in the work of Xin-Zheng Jin, and many other participants.

But another recurrent topic in the Chinese thought –exhibiting to some extent an opposite orientation to the Daoism to which the former quote belongs- is the nature of hierarchy and social relations, or the role of semantics in social systems; themes historically appearing much later in the West. In the case of Chinese classical thinkers (e.g., Kong Qiu, Mo Di, Meng Ke, Xun Luang), these topics are developed offering a whole spectrum of theoretical stances and a significant richness of nuances. For instance, we find in Kong Qiu (Confucius using the Latinized name, 551 b.C. – 479 b.C.) reflections in which current semantic and pragmatic information issues appear:

“If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success… and the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately…”  (Lúnyŭ, §13, 3) 

Professor Kun Wu

We can thus observe an endeavour for bringing together the vertexes of Peirce’s sign triangle; i.e., for integrating syntax, semantics and pragmatics in a coherent whole from which Shannon dissociated his information theory since the very beginning (1948). Hence, the intents to complete the partiality of the scientific notion of information in the West –by means of numerous versions of semantics and pragmatics appeared since Shannon’s theory– find distant antecedents in Chinese thought, with a sociologic weight almost foreign to the classical Western thought. On the other hand, it is well known that another major topic of the “school of the scholars” (Rújiā) concerns hierarchy and social structure, which is alluded by Kog Qiu in the previous quote mentioning “people” and the “superior man”.

Concerning these topics, it is interesting to highlight the significant presence of semantic and pragmatic issues among the Chinese contributions to the congress, as well as the frequent dealing with hierarchy regarding both information nature and information philosophy, or methodology for a science of information. In this sense, in the aforementioned philosophy of information of Kun Wun –whose first work goes back to 1980–, he stresses hierarchical structures, being the level of “social information” at the apex of his theoretical construct. To mention other examples, this twofold character (hierarchical and social oriented) is also to be found in the works presented by Kang Ouyang and Zong-Rong Li, who develop as well methodological as theoretical proposals.

Professor  Kang Ouyang

Professor Yi-Xin Zhong

In sum, the diversity of traditions and weights in the themes considered to face the common problem of understanding information in all its aspects, far from being understood as a limitation, it might represent a potential of hybridization promoting really new research lines. On the other hand, as Profesor Yi-Xin Zhong pointed out, the diversity of understandings regarding the involved phenomena is but an incentive for a deeper comprehension of such phenomena. Nonetheless, in order to achieve this subsequent benefit a clarification of the viewpoints gathered is required as Professor Zhong exemplarily did, otherwise we would do but falling into a bedlam.

Informational Babel 

As it has been observed in other occasions, the homonymies pointing to different realities represent a difficult pitfall for a genuine inter- or trans-disciplinary approach unless the respective references are clarified. To this respect, it is for instance interesting to recall how the terms “intelligence” or “intentionality” were used throughout the conference without any circumspection, despite the obvious differences among different accounts which address to distinct realities (machines, unicellular organism, animals, humans, societies, etc).

In the same line, “subject” clearly represents different realities depending on the role that intentionality or the social group might play in its constitution. This obviously reflects in the meanings of the aforementioned subjective-objective gaps.

But not less variability were to be expected in the use of “information”. However it would have been appreciated that the particular uses (and not only those openly dealing with the nature of information –about 15% of the whole) were made explicit. Obviously, the clarification of such nature cannot constitute but a central objective for the foundation of a transdisciplinary “science of information”.

Similarly, diverse uses of ambiguous and non-explicit fundamental terms can be pointed out in unifying schemes of information, as it is the case of “system” and “flock”, though for the latter Niizato, Gunji et al. offered an interesting approach, which could also be useful for clarifying the formation or emergence of systems and its dynamics. 

The “measure”, the “value” and the “context”, especially with respect to information, were also among many other concepts used without clarification and potentially leading to misunderstandings. A joint treatment of these three elements –as it could be observed in the works of Kun Wu, Mark Burgin and Carlos Aguilar– might represent a promissory course to deal with its role in the study of information in systems of diverse complexity.

Concerning disciplinary terms, we observed, for example, a diverse use of “logic” including some accounts which –in the worst case- might hinder a fruitful contribution from professional logicians who would not feel identify with the purpose to be achieved whereas they might agree with the ontological background, e.g. the dynamic of “contrary” or “contradictory” realities (I mention “contrary” realities since the senses to which the dialectical vision more usually points to belong to this type rather than to contradictory realities). Giving an example, Joseph Brenner –on the one side–, and Kamiura or Gunji –on the other side– use “logic” in clearly different senses. Though all face problems of dynamic inference, the former considers logics in a metaphysical sense, whereas the others just as theory of deduction. As the work of Gunji shows, recurring to alternative logics –not in a metaphysical sense but as deductive theory or calculus– may render approaches of significant added value to the understanding of the dynamical reality underlying information processes. There are also good reasons to think that the “universal logics” proposed by Huacan He, the “logical dynamics” of van Benthem, or the “paraconsistent logics” of our colleagues José Méndez and Gemma Robles might achieve a relevant contribution to this respect.

With respect to consolidated or developing disciplines (e.g. “informatics” –Western vs Eastern-, or “unified theory of information” –Hofkirchner vs Hashimoto), they exhibited multifarious accounts, though in this case more or less explicit. But what is more embarrassing  to the purpose of furthering an international and transversal framework for the understanding of information, there was a clearly miscellaneous way to understand what multi- inter- and trans-disciplinary is –including the case of not distinguishing them at all. Once again, clarifying what is really understood by each of the methodological proposal means to unveil fundamental assumptions; and it would also represent bringing into stage the tools allowing an effective cooperative framework to achieve a more unified account on information in its very different manifestations.

In sum, the mentioned misunderstandings (and many others which can be found in the set of contributions) justify that the clarification of the diverse points of view aimed at promoting a participatory and cooperative scientific framework requires making clear what each other understand by the used terms and the problems we are intending to tackle. These are reasons definitively encouraging for furthering the development of both the glossarium BITri and the domusBITae initiative.

BITrum participation 

There was a significant presence of BITrum colleagues: as individual participants and institutional contributor as co-organiser of the event. Besides the already mentioned chairing role of Wolfgang and Pedro, also Peter Fleissner, Carlos Aguilar, Mario Pérez-Montoro and José María Díaz took part in the Congress, and we could also add those who contributed as co-authors or proponents: Mark Burgin, Francisco Salto, Lydia Sánchez and Manuel Campos.

Moreover, the Congress offered the occasion to notably enrich BITrum project with two new participants: Luis Bruni and Anthony Hoffmann.

Luis Bruni, born in Venezuela and currently Professor at the University of Aalborg (Denmanrk), offers to BITrum the valuable perspective of biosemiotemics. His current research develops in the field of cognition, technology and culture with focus on sustainability. During the Congress –and after sharing our respective viewpoints-, an interesting polemic was developed on the objective/subjective nature of information and semantic contents. Concerning BITrum activities, he will be editor and author of the glossary and part of the consortium domusBITae. 

Anthony Hoffman, carries out his work in information ethics at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee with our colleague and member of BITrum Scientific Board Elisabeth Buchanan. He collaborate since the beginning of 2010 with the Science of Information Institute with the edition of BITagora –in cooperation with BITrum- contributing for instance with the interview to Elisabeth Buchanan which was announced from this site. The partaking of Tony in BITrum has been already substantiated with the grammatical review of all English texts of the glossary, which will help us to achieve a polished first book version of the glossary. 

From left to right: José María, Mario, Wolfgang, Carlos, Gerhard Luhn; on the right, Luis Bruni

Jointly, the contributions to FIS2010 from BITrum members include methodological proposals and approaches in the fields of: philosophy, logic, mathematics, semantics, physics, biology, economy, ecology and sociology. The following list of contributions (including authors, titles and links to texts –in preliminary versions, which after review will be compiled in a special issue co-edited by Tony in TripleC) provides an idea of the richness of the viewpoints offered by BITrum colleagues to the understanding of the information phenomena:

• W. Hofkirchner, Four ways of thinking in information, http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/339
• P. Marijuán, How a Bacillus “Sees” the World Information Needs and Signaling Resources of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/351 
• P. Fleissner, Reconstructing the Economy: A Methodological Journey from the Surface to the Essence and back, http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/350
• C. Aguilar, L. Sánchez and M. Campos, Extraction of information of audio-visual contents, http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/321 
• J.M. Díaz Nafría and M. Pérez-Montoro, Is information a sufficient basis for cognition? (Part 1: Critique on Dretske’s vision), http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/365 
• ibidem (Part 2: Physical foundations), http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/364 
• J.M. Díaz Nafría and F. Salto, Towards a transdisciplinary frame: Bridging domains, a multidimensional approach to information, http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/278 
• Mark Burgin, Information: Concept Clarification, (extended abstract)
• Luis Bruni, Cognitive Sustainability in the Age of Digital Culture, http://www.sciforum.net/presentation/282 

Foundation of the International Society for Information Studies (ISIS)

One of the central objectives of the Congress was the foundation of a inter-disciplinary scientific union in information studies which unlike “information science” integrates not only social, humanistic and technical sciences but also natural, formal and philosophical. During several Months previous to the meeting in Beijin, its objectives, structure, functions, gatherings, etc. was discussed. Particularly, it is worth mentioning the active and admirable work of Professor Zong-Rong Li substantiated in several proposals for discussion, as well as the contributions from Wolfgang and Dail Doucette from the Science of Information Institute.

In these discussions, BITrum offered two toeholds for the future international association: on the one hand, the initiative domusBITae as electronic-infrastructure to facilitate the articulation of the involved community (for communicating, sharing resources and results, cooperation, etc.); on the other hand, the glossary –extended to the participation of other communities- as a space for disambiguation and clarification of each other viewpoint.

Although before the congress specific aims, methods and organisation were not agreed, it seemed to be a tacit accord with respect to some essential elements, for instance, the general purpose of bringing together endeavours for constituting a wide disciplinary domain at the international level in which the multifaceted aspects of information (formal, physical, chemical, biological, cognitive, ethical, social, technological and philosophical) were integrated. But besides this tacit agreement, the following points –among others- hung in the air: (i) methodological aspects, e.g., if the approach among scientific domains was intended to be inter- or trans-disciplinary; (ii) if the new domain would recognize itself as “science of information” to evade confusion with the traditional field of “information science”, which academic weight has hindered in several occasions a more positive evaluation of  widely inter- or trans-disciplinary proposals, (iii) managing aspects related to the compositions of teams, functions, tenures, rotation or elective character of some roles; etc.

It is worth pointing out the amount of methodological proposals presented in the congress aimed at building a new science of information with the aforementioned features (about one-fourth of the contributions), which denotes the undoubtedly relevant interest for promoting a new scientific discipline for the study of information in its polyhedral reality.

Nevertheless, once the interested partakers were gathered after the last session of the first congress day, pitifully some particular objectives –not representing the general interest previously expressed in the preliminary discussions– were confronted instead of progressively adopting fundamental agreements –more easily reachable-. 

Fortunately, the existence of a wide interest for consolidating a discipline for the study of information including the aforementioned aspects offered a sufficient basis to enable that a committee (including Kang Ouyang and Yi-Xin Zhong as well as Wolfgang Hofkirchner and Pedro Marijuán) would decide the specific constitution of the international society. It was for instance agreed to call the new founded society as: “International Society for Information Studies”. Its acronym ISIS –as our colleague Rainer Zimmerman pointed out- corresponds to the name of the ancient Egyptian goddess who reconstructs her husband Osiris after he was cut up and disseminated by his jealous brother Seth. Allegorically, this represents an obvious correlate with the role of information. 

Concerning the potential role that BITrum might play: if the required support for developing the electronic infrastructure proposed by the initiative domusBITae is achieved, the new society would use it as a tool for communicating, disseminating, sharing resources, organizing and cooperating.

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Conclusions

Regarding the objective of building a new scientific discipline, it can be concluded that some decisive steps were given in FIS2010: (i) two independently rich traditions were neared which joint baggage cannot but strengthen a embracing understanding of information; (ii) a first international scientific association was constituted convening naturalistic, social, humanistic, philosophical, formal and technical viewpoints on information; (iii) some methodological and theoretical alternative frameworks has been shown which would allow the constitution of several research programmes within the general objectives; (iv) unifying proposals has been offered which would allow a systematic articulation and mutual understanding between diverse theoretical frameworks; (v) once again, it has been observed that a conceptual, terminological and theoretical clarification constitutes a keystone for the erection of frameworks effectively being interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.

With respect to these achievements we ought to be deeply thankful to all organizers, and particularly to our hosts: the Social Information Science Institute (chaired by Prof. Kang Ouyang) and the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence (chaired by Prof. Yi-Xin Zhong). Thank you, Wolfgang, for encouraging us all; to the Science of Information Institute for supporting BITrum's participation... Nonetheless, though these were decisive steps, we face now a long path to be walked with no less resolution so that the new science of information can in fact offer scientific and practical fruits.

A programme including abstracts of the works presented at the congress and links to the respective articles in versions previous to the presentation at FIS2010 (sciforum site) –see document. A compilation of reviewed versions of the articles will constitute a forthcoming special issue of TripleC.