XInformatics course summary

Peter Fox Xinformatics 4400/6400 Week 13, April 28, 2014 1

Contents • Summary of this course • What you needed to learn/ objectives • Questions • Discussion

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The key is:

• As the volume, complexity and heterogeneity of information increases… – Suddenly information looks more like a continuum – Not always in the ‘right’ structure – All known methods, algorithms do not scale (except for very simple operations) – And because it is information, humans are part of the loop and you ’ve all seen how modern information systems are more or less useable depending on a number of factors • Thus - understand and apply theoretical foundations – To date these are developed in an analog world, not a digital one!!

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Intersecting disciplines:

Information Science Computer Science Library Science Cognitive Organizes Science Cataloging and mental classification Preservation ‘ maintaining or restoring access to artifacts’ representation, the nature of expertise, and intuition Social Science Collaborati on Cultural norms Rewards 5

A Use Case

• … is a collection of possible

sequences of interactions

between the information system under discussion/ design and its actors, relating to a particular goal • … consists of a prose description of an information system's

behavior

when interacting with the actors • … is a technique for capturing functional requirements of an information system • … captures non-functional requirements

Ultimately:

Wetware

• ‘Before you make the software interoperable, you need to make the people interoperable ’: Ian Jackson, 7

Data-Information-Knowledge Ecosystem Producers Consumers Data Information Experience Knowledge Creation Gathering Presentation Organization Integration Conversation Context 8

THE PHYSICS OF INFORMATION

© 2005 EvREsearch LTD EvREsearch©

Presentation

• Separation of content from presentation • The theory here is empirical or semi-empirical • Is developed based on an understanding of minimizing information uncertainty beginning with content, context and structural considerations and cognitive and social factors to reduce uncertainty • Physiology for humans, color, … 10

Organization

• Organizations - producers v/s consumers • Organization of information presentation, e.g. layout on a web page • Yes - content, context and structure • How to organize: – What have you seen?

– Needed?

– Not had resolved?

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Physics of information = entropy = uncertainty/ integrity

• Information of a random variable is defined as the Sum of p x log p, where p=probability. It represents the

uncertainty of the variable

• Mutual information of two variables = how much information one variable contains about the other – i.e. the decrease of the uncertainty of one variable by knowing the other • In probabilistic terms, the entropy decreases by

conditioning

on the distribution 12

Information theory

• Semiotics - study of sign processes or signification and communication, signs and symbols, into three branches: – Syntax: Relation of signs to each other in formal structures – Semantics: Relation between signs and the things to which they refer - meaning – Pragmatics: Relation of signs to their impacts on those who use them 13

• Syntax • Semantics • Pragmatics

Semiotics

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Abduction

• method of logical inference (Peirce) • prior to induction and deduction i.e. "hunch ” • • starts with a set of (seemingly unrelated)

facts + intuition

(some connection) and brought together – via abductive reasoning

abduction is the process of inference that produces a hypothesis as its end result

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Mode of noise introduction

From Shannon and Weaver (1949) Information Source Msg?

Web Content, Structure Signal?

Recvd?

Web browser?

Msg?

HTML page, user Noise source 16

Noise

• Uncertainty, especially any that is introduced is a source of noise, or more accurately – bias in the use or interpretation of the information – Is context and structure dependent – Noise/ bias contamination is rampant in information systems • Quality assessment, control and verification is 17 less developed for information sources

Information integration

• Involves: combining information residing in different sources and providing users with a unified view of them • Getting the ‘unified view’ – lots of informatics here – recall unify from design?

• Recall the domain examples: – Geo?

– Medical/ health?

– Others?

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Mental Representation

• Thinking = representational structures + procedures that operate on those structures • Did you make progress?

• Methodological consequence: what have you learned about the study how we think about information systems?

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Behind this: Information Models

• Conceptual models, domain models, explore domain concepts • High-level conceptual models are created as part of initial requirements envisioning efforts - to explore the high-level static

business or science or medicine

structures and concepts and relations among them • Conceptual models are created as the precursor to logical models or as alternatives to them – To build something they must be followed by logical and physical models 20

(Information) Architectures

• Definition: – “ is the art of expressing a

model or concept of information

used in activities that require explicit details of complex systems ” (wikipedia) – “ … as in the creating of

systemic, structural, and orderly principles

to make something work - the thoughtful making of either artifact, or idea, or policy that informs because it is clear.

” Wuman 21

Architectures

• Building on content, context, and structure, think of information architectures as “in front of the interface ” and “behind the interface” • What’s the proportion – is it just like an iceberg? I.e. the majority of information architecture work is out of sight, "below the water.

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Reference architectures

• “ provides a proven template solution for an architecture for a particular domain. It also provides a common vocabulary with which to discuss implementations, often with the aim to stress commonality.

• A reference architecture often consists of a list of functions and some indication of their interfaces (or APIs) and interactions with each other and with functions located outside of the scope of the reference architecture.

” (wikipedia) • At this stage of the course, have you seen a reference architecture? Did you like it?

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Design?

• In the context of information systems design, information architecture refers to the analysis and design of the data stored by information systems, concentrating on entities, their attributes, and their interrelationships. • It refers to the modeling of information for an individual source … 24

Design theory

• Elements – Form – Value – Texture – Lines – Shapes – Direction – Size – Color • Relation to signs and relations between/ among them 25

Principles of design

• Balance • Gradation • Repetition • Contrast • Harmony • Dominance • Unity 26

Broad life-cycle elements • Acquisition: Process of recording or generating a concrete artefact from the concept (the act of transduction) • Curation: The activity of managing the use of data from its point of creation to ensure it is available for discovery and re-use in the future • Preservation: Process of retaining usability of data in some source form for intended and unintended use • Stewardship: Process of maintaining integrity 27 across acquisition, curation and preservation

Acquisition

• What do you know about the developer of the means of acquisition – Documents –not easy to find/ read/ understand – Remember unclear use cases, information model, all lead to uncertainty and

bias

!!!

• Have a checklist (the Management list) and review it often 28

Curation

• Activity that takes information from Producers to Consumers!

• Organization and presentation may need to change • Document what is done and why, track the provenance!

• How do you remain as technology-neutral as possible and why would you want to?

• Add metainformation 29

Preservation

• Archiving is but one component • Intent is that ‘ you can open it any time in the future ’ and that ‘ it will be there ’ • Involves steps not be conventionally thought of • Think far into the future …. history gives some guide to future considerations 30

Information audit

• Analysis and evaluation of a firm's information system (whether manual or computerized) to detect and rectify blockages, duplication, and leakage of information. 31

Objective of an audit?

• The

objectives

of an audit are to improve accuracy, relevance, security, and timeliness of the recorded information • It is a process that effectively determines the current information environment within an organization by identifying and mapping: – What information is currently available?

– Where the information lives?

– Etc.

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Information Workflow

• Series of tasks performed to produce a final outcome – you know like the steps in a use case!

• Information workflow = “ analysis pipeline ” – Automate tedious jobs that users traditionally performed by hand for each dataset – Process large volumes of data/ information faster than one could do by hand – Document what is done – Collect provenance, enable an audit, etc.

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Information Management • Creation of logical collections • Physical handling • Interoperability support • Security support • Ownership • Metadata collection, management and access.

• Persistence • Knowledge and information discovery • Dissemination and publication 34

Discovery?

• Discussion – What is the reality? Did any of you find the recording of the sound of an (African) swallow?

• Finding media types – Information retrieval and information architecture considerations – when a usual search engine cannot find what you want – Content-based discovery, context-based, and yes, structure based… 35

Visualization?

• Reducing the amount of data, quantization – Patterns – Features – Events – Trends – Irregularities – Exit points for analysis • • Also presentation of “data”

C

ognitive science and the mental representation 36

“Unstructured Information”

• If a structured representation of fundamentally unstructured information is useless how do we respond?

– Remember – USE!

• What role does visual representation play in structuring information? Remember this?

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Data<->Information<->Knowledge • What’s in your future?

• Data Science • Semantic eScience • Job!

Data Information Experience Knowledge Creation Gathering Presentation Organization Integration Conversation Context 38

In one slide?

• Use case – you have to know the goal (+more) • Conceptual and logical models -> information models -> architecture • Understand information flows and uncertainties (sign systems), the life cycle and manage them • Apply information, library, cognitive, social science, and design elements to developing a design of an architecture • Think the design through (e.g. get closer to the physical model (workflow?)) and assess the presentation, organization, content, context, structure, syntax, semantic and pragmatics 39

What would your slide include?

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Objectives

• To instruct future information architects how to sustainably generate information models, designs and architectures • To instruct future technologists how to understand and support essential data and information needs of a wide variety of producers and consumers • For both to know tools, and requirements to properly handle data and information • Will learn and be evaluated on the underpinnings of informatics, including theoretical methods, technologies and best practices.

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Learning Outcomes

• Develop and demonstrate skill in development and conduct of multi-skilled teams in the application of informatics • Develop conceptual and logical information models and explain them to non-experts • Demonstrate the application information theory and design principles to information systems • Demonstrate knowledge and application of informatics standards • Develop and demonstrate skill in informatics tool use and evaluation 42

Discussion

• All of the material • Please fill out the course evaluation 43

What is next

•Today – write-ups are due •May 6 – final project presentations (BE ON TIME, i.e. 5-10mins BEFORE 9AM) •Make sure your team members are on time •And, be prepared to be asked (and answer) questions 44