the first blog assignment

1. Define the meaning of the terms data, information and knowledge according to Thomas Davenport's Information Hierarchy (1997).
Data refers to pieces of information or facts usually collected as the result of experiebce, observation or experiment, or processes within a computer system, or a set of premises. They may be numbers, words, or images, particularly as measurements or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as a lowest level of abstraction from which information and knowledge are derived.

Information as a concept has a diversity of meanings, from everyday usage to technical settings. Generally speaking, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, and representation.

Knowledge is application of data and information; answers "how" questions. It is neither data nor information, though it is related to both, and the differences between these terms are often a matter of degree.

2. What are the characteristics of the above terms?
Data - This is the lowest level of 'information'. The contents are usually not very useful as they are. Typically the data is unsorted, unformatted, not yet validated or redundancy tested and in some cases unreadable. In most cases it is not even available to the relevant people. It has to be transformed/post-processed before turned into something useful. Although data is important it is very rarely valuable in itself.

Information - Information is transformed data presented in a meaningful way for the user. The transformation usually involves post-processing of the data and is typically done through spreadsheets, queries to databases or presenting information through a GIS. Many organizations have realized the value of information, but are still struggling with how to manage it in an efficient way, mostly because there has not been flexible enough management tools available to support them.

Knowledge - Knowledge can be defined as the capability that creates actions from information. This is the highest level of 'information' and is the most user-friendly, because it speaks the same language as the user. Example: How to identify, analyze, solve and verify a high dropped call level in a certain BSC/cell. Who is best suited to solve such problem and when should it be solved.

3. Give and example for each term mentioned above.
Data- the exam result for subject BIS:
Student A :90
Student B : 92
Student C :87 ...
Information- BIS's class room change to c407
Knowledge-If the water is boiling, then we know the temperature of the water reaches 100 degree.

4. Is there any possibility of a fourth level of Information Hierarchy? Elaborate.
Yes.
There is a possibility of a fourth level of Information Hierarchy which is Wisdom. Wisdom is an extrapolative and non-deterministic, non-probabilistic process. Wisdom is the ability and the process by which we also discern, or judge, between right and wrong. Wisdom can only process by human.(Gene Bellinger, 2004)


Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data
Access at 17:00 p.m. 23-03-2009

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information
Access at 18:02 p.m. 23-03-2009

Wallace, Danny P.(2007). Knowledge Management: Historical and Cross-Disciplinary Themes. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 1-14.