Abstract
On being promoted to a personal chair in 1993 I chose the title of Professor of Informatics, specifically acknowledging Donna Haraway’s definition of the term as the “technologies of information [and communication] as well as the biological, social, linguistic and cultural changes that initiate, accompany and complicate their development” [1]. This neatly encapsulated the plethora of issues emanating from these new technologies, inviting contributions and analyses from a wide variety of disciplines and practices. (In my later work Thinking Informatically [2] I added the phrase “and communication”.) In the intervening time the word informatics itself has been appropriated by those more focused on computer science, although why an alternative term is needed for a well-understood area is not entirely clear. Indeed the term is used both as an alternative term and as an additional one—i.e. “computer science and informatics”. [...]
Highlights
On being promoted to a personal chair in 1993 I chose the title of Professor of Informatics, acknowledging Donna Haraway’s definition of the term as the “technologies of information [and communication] as well as the biological, social, linguistic and cultural changes that initiate, accompany and complicate their development” [1]
On the other hand the word informatics itself has become widely used in conjunction with a host of other terms—e.g. health informatics, biological informatics, medical informatics, social informatics, community informatics—and these terms are widely understood and generally accepted across cognate areas of research and study
This is the basis for the broad sweep of topics and disciplines that we plan to cover in this new journal. It has the general title Informatics, which might lead some to see it as an outlet purely for papers in computer science, software engineering, and artificial intelligence (AI), but a glimpse at the four sub-sections that we intend to cover should dispel that view
Summary
On being promoted to a personal chair in 1993 I chose the title of Professor of Informatics, acknowledging Donna Haraway’s definition of the term as the “technologies of information [and communication] as well as the biological, social, linguistic and cultural changes that initiate, accompany and complicate their development” [1]. ICTs might be seen as deterministic if it is argued that these technologies were invented and developed as a result of scientific and technical research, subsequently developing power and influence as a medium and mechanism for commercial application, social communication and managerial control that altered many of our institutions and central forms of social relationships, cultural and social life.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
