Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose an appropriate symbolic representation, as well as its metaphorical interpretation, to illustrate the special role of information in the knowledge acquisition process. Design/methodology/approach Besides the literature review, this is a speculative study based on a symbolic and metaphorical point of view. Findings The proposed symbolic representation was derived from the conceptual designation of information “as a flow” and, accordingly, by the corresponding redrawing of the data-information-knowledge-wisdom (DIKW) pyramid. The knowledge acquisition process is symbolically represented by the growth of a “tree of knowledge” which is planted on a “data earth,” filled with “information sap” and lit by the rays of the “sun of the mind,” a new symbol of the concept of wisdom in the DIKW model. As indicated, a key concept of this metaphorical interpretation is the role of “information sap” which rises from the roots of the “tree of knowledge” to the top of the tree and it is recognized as an invisible link between “world of data” and “world of knowledge.” This concept is also proposed as a new symbolic representation of the DIKW model. Originality/value On the basis of specific symbolic-metaphorical representation, this paper provides a relatively new concept of information which may help bridge observed gaps in the understanding of information in various scientific fields, as well as in its understanding as an objective or subjective phenomenon.

The purpose of this review paper is to outline the constructivist approach to the notion of information from two perspectives. The first perspective explores the role of ‘constructed’ information in the ‘constructivist niche’ – a common name for the appropriate viewpoints in different science fields, such as cognitive and neuroscience, psychology, cybernetics and biology of cognition. The second perspective considers library and information science (LIS) papers in which information is treated as a constructed entity. This paper assumed the origin of the notion of information to be a construction as defined in the ‘constructivist niche’ that is based upon communication theory and cybernetics. Conversely, the origin of the notion of information as a construction as per LIS can be found in Bateson’s definition of information as a ‘difference which makes the difference,‘ as well as in the 1970s LIS definition wherein information is associated with the direction of a cognitive viewpoint, as in a ‘cognitive turn’. The study showed that ‘information as a construction‘, except in a few cases, did not play a significant role in the constructivist theories nor in LIS. LIS researchers reduce the concept of information to a subjective, socially-constructed entity which inherently results in different interpretations.

PurposeIn line with the cognitive viewpoint on the phenomenon of information, the constructivist tradition based on Maturana and Varela's theory of knowing, and some aspects of Shannon's theory of communication, the purpose of this paper is to shed more light on the role of information, data, and knowledge in the cognitive system (domain) of the observer.Design/methodology/approachIn addition to the literature review, a proposed description of the communication and knowledge acquisition processes within the observer's cognitive system/domain is elaborated.FindingsThe paper recognizes communication and knowledge acquisition as separate processes based on two roles of information within the observer's cognitive system, which are emphasized. The first role is connected with the appropriate communication aspects of Shannon's theory related to encoding cognitive entities in the cognitive domain as data representations for calculating their informativeness. The second role involves establishing relations between cognitive entities encoded as data representations through the knowledge acquisition process in the observer's cognitive domain.Originality/valueIn this way, according to the cognitive viewpoint, communication and knowledge acquisition processes are recognized as important aspects of the cognitive process as a whole. In line with such a theoretical approach, the paper seeks to provide an extension of Shannon's original idea, intending to involve the observer's knowledge structure as an important framework for the deepening of information theory.

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Kroz perspektivu osobitoga, problemskog stajališta, u radu je dan osvrt na nekoliko problema informacijskih znanosti koji se eksplicite spominju u literaturi. Riječ je o problemima informacijske eksplozije i informacijske poplave te poplave podataka, zatim informacijskog pretraživanja i relevantnosti informacija te, na koncu, problemu znanstvene komunikacije. Svrha je rada obrazložiti zašto se i način stjecanja znanja, implementiran odgovarajućim procesom, može smatrati problemom informacijskih znanosti. U skladu s tim, postojeća teorijska osnova u okviru same informacijske znanosti-DIKW-hijerarhija-utemeljena na njezinim ključnim pojmovima-podatku, informaciji, znanju i mudrosti, u radu se prepoznaje kao simbolički prikaz i teorijsko utemeljenje procesa stjecanja znanja. Štoviše, čini se da je veza između DIKWhijerarhije i procesa stjecanja znanja od ključne važnosti za čvršće utemeljenje informacijske znanosti u 'tijelu' sveukupnog ljudskog znanja. Nadalje, dan je osvrt na povijest čovjekova i strojnog stjecanja znanja te iznesen prijedlog da DIKW-hijerarhija zauzme mjesto simbola općeg načina stjecanja znanja, koji bi se u jednakoj mjeri mogao odnositi na čovjekovo i strojno stjecanje znanja. Za ostvarenje tog cilja, temeljem iznesenih kritika, nužno je izmijeniti postojeći koncept DIKW-hijerarhije. Odgovarajuća izmjena koncepta DIKW-hijerarhije (od kojih je jedna u radu i spomenuta) mogla bi imati za posljedicu znatno čvršće teorijsko utemeljenje procesa stjecanja znanja, kao i informacijske znanosti u cjelini.