Interdisciplinary Elucidation of Concepts, Metaphors, Theories and Problems Concerning INFORMATION Coordinators: José María DÍAZ NAFRÍA, Mario PÉREZ-MONTORO GUTIÉRREZ, Francisco SALTO ALEMANY glossariumBITri Interdisciplinary elucidation of concepts, metaphors, theories and problems concerning INFORMATION Elucidación interdisciplinar de conceptos, metáforas, teorías y problemas en torno a la INFORMACIÓN The glossariumBITri, planned as a central activity El glossariumBITri, concebido como uno de los ejes para for the interdisciplinary study of information, el estudio interdisciplinar de la información desarrollado developed by BITrum group in cooperation with por el grupo BITrum en cooperación con la Universidad the University of Santa Elena (Ecuador), Estatal Península de Santa Elena, pretende servir de essentially aims at serving as a tool for the instrumento para el esclarecimiento conceptual, teórico clarification of concepts, theories and problems y de problemas en torno a la información. Tratando de concerning information. Intending to embrace the abarcar el máximo de puntos de vista relevantes most relevant points of view with respect to respecto a la información, su desarrollo es information, it is interdisciplinarily developed by a interdisciplinar contando con la participación de board of experts coming from a wide variety of expertos de reconocido prestigio en muy diversas áreas scientific fields. The glossariumBITri kindly invites científicas. El glossariumBITri invita cordialmente al the scientific community to make contributions of conjunto de la comunidad científica a realizar any kind aimed at clarifying in the field of contribuciones que busquen el esclarecimiento en el information studies. ámbito de los estudios informacionales. Editorial Coordination | Coordinación Marcelo León (University of Santa Elena, Ecuador) José María Díaz Nafría, University of Santa Elena, Ecuador; Rosa Macarro (University of Extremadura, Spain) Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany Alfredo Marcos (University of Valladolid, Spain) Mario Pérez-Montoro Gutiérrez, University of Barcelona, Spain Estela Mastromatteo (Universidad Central de Venezuela) Francisco Salto Alemany, University of León, Spain José Méndez (University of Salamanca, Spain) Jorge Morato (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain) José Antonio Moreiro (Universidad Carlos III, Spain) Walter Orozco (University of Santa Elena, Ecuador) Correction team | Equipo de corrección Tomás Ortiz (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain) Basil Al Hadithi, Technical University of Madrid, Spain Julio Ostalé (UNED, Spain) Rosa Macarro, University of Extremadura, Spain Mario Pérez-Montoro (University of Barcelona, Spain) Mercedes Osorio, I.E.S. Ramiro de Maeztu, Madrid, Spain Carmen Requena (University of León, Spain) Anthony Hoffmann, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, USA Gemma Robles (University of León, Spain) Blanca Rodríguez (University of León, Spain) Shendry Rosero (University of Santa Elena, Ecuador) Editorial board | Equipo de redacción Francisco Salto (University of León, Spain) Juan Miguel Aguado (University of Murcia, Spain) Lydia Sánchez (University of Barcelona, Spain) Carlos Aguilar (University of Barcelona, Spain) Sonia Sánchez-Cuadrado (Universidad Carlos III, Spain) Basil Al Hadithi (Technical University of Madrid, Spain) Jérôme Segal (Interdisciplinary Centre for Comparative Juan Ramón Álvarez (University of León, Spain) Research in the Social Sciences, Austria) Balu Athreya (University of Pennsylvania, USA) Washington Torres (University of Santa Elena, Ecuador) Leticia Barrionuevo (University of León, Spain) Margarita Vázquez (Universidad de La Laguna, Spain) Søren Brier (Copenhagen Business School, Denmank) Rainer Zimmermann (Munich University of Applied Sciences, Luis Emilio Bruni (Aalborg University, Denmark) Germany; Clare Hall-Cambridge, United Kingdom) Mark Burgin (University of California, Los Angeles, USA) Manuel Campos (University of Barcelona, Spain) Rafael Capurro (Institut für Digitale Ethik, Germany) Coolaborators | Colaboradores María Herminia Cornejo (University of Santa Elena, Ecuador) Yorgos Andreadakis (Universidad Carlos III, Spain) Emilia Curras (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain) Sylvia Burset (University of Barcelona, Spain) José Maria Díaz (University of Santa Elena, Ecuador; Munich Anabel Fraga (Universidad Carlos III, Spain) University of Applied Sciences, Germany) Mehrad Golkhosravi (University of Barcelona, Spain) Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic (Mälardalen University, Sweden) Jesús Ezquerro (Basque Country University, Spain) Juan Carlos Fernández Molina (University of Granada, Spain) Peter Fleissner (Technische Universität Wien, Austria) Interactive-gB | gB-interactivo Christian Fuchs (University of Westminster, United Kingdom) Xosé Antón García-Sampedro (I.E.S. Bernaldo Quirós, Spain) http://glossarium.bitrum.unileon.es Roberto Gejman (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) Igor Gurevich (Institute of Informatics Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Rusia) Contacto | Contact Wolfgang Hofkirchner (Technische Universität Wien, Austria) Manuel Liz (Universidad de La Laguna, Spain) [email protected] Edita | Edited by: Universidad Estatal Península de Santa Elena, Ecuador, 2016 ISBN: 978-9942-8548-3-4 Diseño | Design: J.M. Díaz Nafría, M. Ortiz Osorio El glossariumBITri está protegido por una licencia de Reconocimiento - No Comercial - Sin Obra Derivada 3.0 Ecuador de Creative Commons. Se permite la reproducción, distribución y comunicación pública, siempre y cuando se cite adecuadamente la obra y sus responsables. The glossariumBITri is licensed under a Creative Commons Atribución-Sin Derivadas 3.0 Ecuador License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 EC). Public reproduction, distribution and communications is allowed whenever the work and its authors are properly quoted. INDEX Index Introduction to the first edition ..................................................................................... v Introduction to the present edition ............................................................................. vii Methodological notes ................................................................................................... ix Methodology: pluralism and rightness .......................................................................................... ix Abbreviations and article organisation ......................................................................................... ix Editorial Team ............................................................................................................. xi Coordinators ..................................................................................................................................... xi Editors ............................................................................................................................................... xi Other authors ................................................................................................................................. xiii Language and style correction ...................................................................................................... xiii Abbreviations and Acronyms ..................................................................................... xiv Abbreviations of authors and editors’ names ............................................................................ xiv Other abbreviations and acronyms used in the glossariumBITri ........................................... xiv INTERDISCIPLINARY GLOSSARY ............................................................. 15 Table of contents of English articles .............................................................. 221 iii INTRODUCTION TO THE FIRST EDITION Introduction to the first edi- tion “Concepts lead us to make investigations; are the expression of our interest, and direct our interest.” Ludwig WITGENSTEIN, Philosophise Untersuchungen “Information is a difference which makes a difference.” Gregory BATESON, Steps to an ecology of mind Terms included in this glossary recap some of the main concepts, theories, problems and metaphors concern- ing INFORMATION in all spheres of knowledge. This is the first edition of an ambitious enterprise cov- ering at its completion all relevant notions relating to INFORMATION in any scientific context. As such, this glossariumBITri is part of the broader project Ramon Llull´s tree of science BITrum, which is committed to the mutual under- standing of all disciplines devoted to information across fields of knowledge and practice. This glossary pretends to make explicit the conflicts and agreements among use and meaning of terms related to information phenomena. Information is approached from opposing para- digms and also from competing and cooperating disciplines. Both in science and in ordinary life, conceptual, ethical, technical and societal problems regard information in an essential way. This glossary does not endorse or presuppose any paradigm or any theory, but rather locates into a public, explicit and commonly understandable space some of the crucial assumptions dividing informational concepts, theories, problems and metaphors. Moreover, we purport to embrace all distinct paradigms with a critical and comprehensive attitude. The glossary is the result of an original methodology, which places any entrance under the re- sponsibility of its editor. Authors possibly distinct from the editor contribute to different articles with texts, comments or discussions. Since authors come