The enactment of significance: a unified conception of information, systems and technology

Abstract

This paper introduces a new perspective that helps unpack the relationship between information, systems and technology within the nature of human organisation. We argue for an area of interest located at the intersection of signs and systems, which involves the enactment of forma, informa and performa. To demonstrate the utility of this perspective, we deliberately consider a ‘strange’ case from a different time, space and culture. We discuss the nature of human organisation among the Inka Empire and how this organisation was reliant upon the enactment of significance, particularly in relation to an artefact known as the khipu. We conclude with a discussion of the value of our framework in helping us understand the complex entanglement of information, systems and technology within human organisation.

Keywords:

• activity systems
• information systems
• data systems
• signs
• sociotechnical
• sociomaterial

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Paul Beynon-Davies

About the author

Paul Beynon-Davies is currently Professor of Organisational Informatics at Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University. Before taking up an academic post, Professor Beynon-Davies worked for several years in the Informatics industry in the U.K. He has published widely in the field having 11 books and over 70 refereed academic papers to his name, and has engaged in a number of government-funded projects related to the impact of ICT on the economic, social and political spheres.