The term information is a widely used one and a layman would typically define it as that which provides us with

knowledge. Searching through the vast amounts of information out there, it is a difficult task to come up with a true meaning or definition of the word information. This work sets out to define information. Firstly we outline the differing definitions and characteristics offered by other authors on the subject. Next we explore the various concepts of information that exist and how information can be interpreted from numerous different angles. Finally we attempt to focus on informations place in our society and how it shapes our daily lives. The Oxford English Dictionary defines information as facts provided or learned about something or someone. But going more in depth Buckland (1991: 351) identifies three principle uses of the word information; information as a process, information as knowledge and information as a thing. Information as a process is the act of informing, information as knowledge is intangible, while information-as-thing is used attributively for objects, such as data and documents. Lester & Wallace (2007: 19) note that sometimes information is defined in terms of how it is represented such as in the form of a book or computer record, however they claim that this approach confuses representation of information with information. Buckland (1991: 351-360) approaches the search for a definition for information by asking what is not information? The author comes to the unhelpful conclusion that if anything is, or might be, informative, then everything is, or might well be, information. In which case calling something "information" does little or nothing to define it. If everything is information, then being information is nothing special. Various authors state that information is changeable in nature and dependent on other factors. Lester & Wallace (2007: 25) refer to Dervin who considers information to be subjectively constructed and part of an individuals personal sense making. On the other hand, Buckland (1991: 353) considers information to be situational and hence being "informative" is situational. He notes that it would be rash to state of anything that it might not be informative, hence information, in some conceivable situation. Madden (2000: 344) adds to Bucklands

views and states that information is only information in certain informing contexts. He discusses the importance of a context for information including the readership context, the authorial context and the message. The author quotes Meadow and Yuan who state that the information which the reader derives from a message depends on a number of variables including geographical, social, educational and professional factors. Madden (2000: 343) pertinently notes that information scientists tend to avoid providing a definition for information instead choosing to discuss different concepts of information. Information can be considered as a process, an event or a commodity. According to Lester & Wallaces Information Pyramid data only becomes information when they are processed and in turn information is transformed into knowledge (2007: 17). Porat who is quoted in Lester & Wallace (2007: 16) backs up this claim that information is transformed data, by stating that Information is data that have been organised and communicated. But just because information has been communicated to us, does it mean we can trust it? Over time, one learns to ignore certain sources of information for example a tabloid newspaper or a boy who cried wolf individual which is consistently misleading. This goes with Lesters and Wallaces point that information may be good or bad, correct or incorrect (Lester & Wallace, 2007: 20). Good data can fail to provide good information and likewise good information can fail to provide good knowledge. Madden (2000: 346) also observes the relationship between knowledge and information and quotes Moser who states that people are generally motivated to seek information when they recognise a lack in their own knowledge. In attempting to explain the meaning of information, it is pertinent to look at what role information plays in society? Information devices are constantly changing and developing. One is confronted with more and more sources of accessing a particular piece of information or representations of that information. For example, taking any main news event on a particular day, one could gather this information

from a vast amount of sources from newspaper, television, and websites to social networks. The digital revolution has undoubtedly facilitated the diffusion of information. One could suggest that this availability of information has empowered the individual. Lester & Wallace (2007: 253-261) have discussed the relationship that exists between information and power noting that power is the ability to compel through positive and negative means, while information is the mechanism used to compel. The links between information and power are further evoked in Komito (2004: 49) when he quotes Bell who claims that information has become the central economic resource replacing the land, labour and capital that underpinned manufacturing and industrial production. Furthermore, it has been claimed that we live in an information society. Komito (2004: 66) describes an information society as one in which information places a central role in all aspects of life. The author (2004: 79) goes on to claim that we are the first society to become dependent on information, and without a constant flow of information our modern society would collapse. This work has set out the various ways and concepts used to define information. What has become clear is that information is far too broad and encompassing for there to be one concise way of defining it, but rather that it is a concept that can be seen as a process, that may be viewed as an intangible knowledge or viewed as a thing.

Bibliography Buckland, Michael (June 1991) Information As Thing, Journal of the American Society of Information Science 42:5 351-360. Komito, Lee (2004) The Information Revolution & Ireland, University College Dublin Press, Dublin. Lester, June & Koehler, Wallace C (2007) Fundamentals of Information Studies Second Edition, Neal-Schuman Publishers, New York. Madden, A.D. (2000) A Definition of Information. Aslib Proceedings, 52 (9) 343-349 Oxford Dictionaries, (Accessed 12th October 2011) http://english.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/information