Information communication may appear trivial: just "do it." But the development of telephone technology and the use of computers with large databases have motivated theoreticians to investigate how to construct efficient, noise-resistant communication systems.
Communication theory was originally conceived in terms of fixed mechanical and electrical systems. Social science systems, however, can change to improve or degrade communication. They can learn, forget, focus, and become distracted. Leydesdorff (1993) reformulates communication system theory for social science. He conceives communication systems in four "dimensions". The Table is extracted from his work. Equivalent features in Rasch analysis are appended.
| Communication Systems Organization (Leydesdorff, 1993) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Dimension | 2nd Dimension | 3rd Dimension | 4th Dimension | |
| Operation | variation | selection | stabilization | organization |
| Character | probabilistic | deterministic | reflexive | resilient |
| Appearance | instantaneous | spatial | contingent | hyper-cyclic |
| Observation unit | change | latent position | continuity | expectation |
| Rasch Analysis | ||||
| Concept | stochasticism | linearity | quality control | meaning |
| Reported as | standard error | measure | fit statistics | construct definition |
Rasch methodology incorporates all the features which Leydesdorff models for a communication system. To omit any of these features is to risk, perhaps guarantee, miscommunication. He also discusses a fifth "dimension" of "evolution" or self-improvement. This is the challenge addressed by artificially intelligent communications systems. In Rasch methodology, the fifth dimension is the analyst's trained intelligence.
John Michael Linacre
L Leydesdorff (1993) The evolution of communication systems. Paper presented at the Fourth International Conference on Bibliometrics, Informetrics and Scientometrics. Berlin, Germany.
Rasch measurement as a communication system. Linacre JM. Rasch Measurement Transactions 1993 7:3 p.309
Rasch measurement as a communication system. Linacre JM. … Rasch Measurement Transactions, 1993, 7:3 p.309
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