Jason Farradane
Encyclopedia
Jason Farradane graduated in chemistry in 1929 at what is now Imperial College and started work in industry as a chemist and documentalist. After working in research at the Ministry of Supply
and the Admiralty
during World War II
, he first made an impact with a paper on the scientific approach to documentation at a Royal Society
Scientific Information Conference in 1948.
He was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Information Scientists in 1958 and the first academic courses in information science
in 1963 at what eventually became City University, London
and where he became Director of the Centre for Information Science in 1966. Of Central European origin, his commitment to science was reflected in the name he created for himself - a combination of Faraday
and Haldane
, two scientists he particularly admired. On the research side his main contributions lay in relational analysis, a precursor to work in the area of artificial intelligence
, and the concept of information.
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply was a department of the UK Government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. There was, however, a separate ministry responsible for aircraft production and the Admiralty retained...
and the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he first made an impact with a paper on the scientific approach to documentation at a Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
Scientific Information Conference in 1948.
He was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Information Scientists in 1958 and the first academic courses in information science
Information science
-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
in 1963 at what eventually became City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
and where he became Director of the Centre for Information Science in 1966. Of Central European origin, his commitment to science was reflected in the name he created for himself - a combination of Faraday
Michael Faraday
Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
and Haldane
J. B. S. Haldane
John Burdon Sanderson Haldane FRS , known as Jack , was a British-born geneticist and evolutionary biologist. A staunch Marxist, he was critical of Britain's role in the Suez Crisis, and chose to leave Oxford and moved to India and became an Indian citizen...
, two scientists he particularly admired. On the research side his main contributions lay in relational analysis, a precursor to work in the area of artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, and the concept of information.
Awards
- Jason Farradane AwardJason Farradane awardThe Jason Farradane Award is made by UKeiG to an individual or a group of people in recognition of outstanding contribution to the information profession, by meeting one or more of the following criteria:...
that the Institute of Information Scientists presented first to him in 1979.
Publications (selected)
- 1966: Information Retrieval by Relational Indexing: a report on research being carried out at Northampton College of Advanced Technology. Part I: Methodology. London: The City University, Department of Management Studies, Information Science (with Mrs S. Datta, R. K. Poulton)
- 1973: "Problems in Information Retrieval: Logical Jumps in the Expression of Information." Information Storage and Retrieval, 9(2) 65-77 (with J. M. Russell, and Penelope A. Yates-Mercer)
- 1977: Relational indexing. London, Ontario: University of Western Ontario School of Library and Information Science
- 1978: "Estimation and Reliability of Retrieval Effectiveness Measures," Information Processing & Management, 14(1) 1-16 (with Jean Tague)
- Abstract: A probabilistic model of the retrieval process is presented. From it, the standard errors of system recall and precision estimators, based on a sample of queries, are derived. The resulting negative binomial model is fitted to empirical data from several retrieval tests. (School of Library and Information Science, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.)
- 1979: "The Nature of Information," in: G. Walker, ed., The Information Environment: a reader. pp. 4-11. G. K. Hall & Co.
- "'information' should be defined as any physical form of representation, or surrogate, of knowledge, or of a particular thought, used for communication." (p. 4)
See also
- Classification Research GroupClassification Research GroupThe Classification Research Group was a significant contributor to classification research and theory in the field of library and information science in the latter half of the 20th century. It was formed in England in 1952 and was active until 1968...
- Jason Farradane AwardJason Farradane awardThe Jason Farradane Award is made by UKeiG to an individual or a group of people in recognition of outstanding contribution to the information profession, by meeting one or more of the following criteria:...
- Institute of Information Scientists
- Information scienceInformation science-Introduction:Information science is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information...
- Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
- City University, LondonCity University, LondonCity University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
- Stephen E. Robertson
- Nicholas J. BelkinNicholas J. BelkinNicholas J. Belkin is a professor at School of Communication, Information and Library Studies at Rutgers University. Among the main themes of his research are digital libraries; information-seeking behaviors; and interaction between humans and information retrieval systems.Dr...
Further reading
- Bottle, R. T., Brookes, B. C. & Yates-Mercer, P. A. (1986). "Jason Farradane: a biobibliography," in: Journal of Information Science, Vol. 12, No. 1-2 (January 1986) Special issue: Twenty-five years of teaching information science at the City University, pp. 19-21.
- Brookes, B. C. (1986). "Jason Farradane and Relational Indexing," ibid, pp. 15-18.
- Sweeney, Russell & Brimelow, Tom, interviewers (1976) Jason Farradane. Leeds: Department of Librarianship, Leeds Polytechnic. (Videotape, VHS, of interview in 1975; audio tape of same interview)