Information Integration and the Globalized Highways of Information By Benedict Smythe At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The conceptualization of the information superhighway is strongly linked with the now globalize financial system. With the figurative death of the potency of national economies, the global financial system now stands out as one real force to reckon with.

However, this overarching financial system has one clear weakness: its complete dependence on computer networks- as was stated, the information superhighway.

According to Stuart E. Madnick, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology:

“The notion of an "information superhighway" has attracted considerable attention. It offers the possibility to access information from around the world in support of many important applications in areas such as finance, manufacturing, and transportation (e.g., global risk management, integrated supply chain management, and global in-transit visibility).”

Production and information technology

There should be a bit of historical backtracking here, regarding the role of information technology to the wider scheme of capital-intensive industrial production.

The role of information is a vital one- it has something to do with basically tracking down bits and pieces of the whole process, for holistic examination. Without any form of data retrieval, wide scale industrial production would not be possible.

Context mediation

One of the explicit problems in data transit (in a global setting) is the loss of context, or the loss of the very seedbed of meaning. This is manifest in the way multilingual services are hired to translate vital documents and data, to lessen the blow of context loss.

The conceptualization of context mediation services is put into place to face perceived challenges. Challenges may be met either on a global setting or on a local setting. In any case, attention should still be given to the fact that without the placement of proper context mediation services, no entrepreneurial progress would result.

Benefits of integration

Information integration is also being seen as an important component in facing the challenges of data transfer and context loss. According to Stuart E. Madnick:

“Increased information integration is important to business in order to improve inter-organizational relationships, increase the effectiveness of intra-organization coordination, and provide for much more organizational adaptability. Many organizations are attempting to gain these advantages.”

On the importance of context

Context is by far one of the most important parts of any kind of data. Data transmitted via the fiber optic channels to different parts of the globe may or may not have retained its context.

There must be a conscious effort on the part of the one transmitting to communicate the context of the data as well. Madnick continues:

“The context is not explicit for at least two reasons. First, it provides efficiency of communication (e.g., if asked by a fellow student, "What is your grade point average?" you can reply "3.8" without having to explain that it is a 4-point scale, with 4 being the best). Second, the context can be so fundamental in an environment that most are not even aware that there is another possible interpretation (e.g., we all know that "A" is a top grade).”

The sensitivity of context in relation to context loss is manifest in communication failures around the world. Even simple telephone calls may lose their context- what more for muted data?

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