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The Author: Anthony Debons, PhD
Debons earned a Ph.D. and an M.S. in Psychology from Columbia University in 1954, and a B.S. in Psychology and Sociology from Brooklyn College in 1948.
Debons established an information counseling service in which graduate students were trained to apply the knowledge gained through their research to the real-world needs of walk-in clients. Client interaction revealed that most clients were in search of how and/or why knowledge issues rather than when/where/who/what information items. In 1986, Debons retired from the University of Pittsburgh as Professor Emeritus. Video interview with Dr. Debons, Aug 2008, on teaching Information Science via the internet. Some PublicationsDebons, A. 2008. Information Science 101. The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Debons, A. Horne, E., and Cronenweth, S. 1988. Information Science: An Integrated View. Boston, MA: G.K. Hall Publications. Best Book Award, American Society of Information Science. G.K. Hall Publications, Boston, MA, 1988. Best Book Award, American Society of Information Science. Information Systems : Failure Analysis by John A. Wise, Anthony Debons, North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Springer Verlag. 1987 Debons, A. 1984. Introduction to Information Science, Study Guide. UESP: University of Pittsburgh. Debons, A., and Larson, Arvid, eds. 1983. Information Science in Action: System Design. Boston, MA: Martinus Nijhoff. |
Anthony (Tony) Debons is an experimental psychologist who helped develop the U.S. Air Force's command and control systems during the 1950s and early 1960s. His speciality is human information processing. He is an expert in psychology, engineering, and the social significance of computers. Debons' initial theoretical contribution is his EATPUT (Event, Acquisition, Transmission, Processing, Utilization, and Transfer) model of a reiterative information system.
In 1986 Debons proposed that the words when, where, who, and what serve as cognitive elements central to human awareness and are therefore information, measured in units he called Informs. He also proposed that the words how and why serve as explanation and understanding and are therefore knowledge, in units he called Knowgs. Information supports knowledge and makes it operational. Debons argued that it would be difficult to act on knowledge without having the supporting information.