Semiotics

Semiotics Summary

For each of us and for organisations in general the effective use of information is a critical success factor. You only need to think of the assignments you need to complete and the demand for a diverse and unified communication of information being required.

There are two broad paradigms for dealing with information:

• Information as a ‘substance’ flowing through a system (Stamper et.al.)

• Information as a ‘process’ ie a social activity of making and maintaining relationships (Cheek et.al.)

We have chosen the later paradigm, however both need modelling approaches which allow us to collect and communicate knowledge and information effectively.

Daniel Bell (1973) coined the expression ‘the post-industrial society’. In this society a substantial proportion of the population are employed or involved in the work of information collection and communication. In this sense we can see that information has become a commodity which can have a value and is therefore marketable. It also can be seen as an indispensable component of our social fabric.

The general concept of ‘information’ is used in a confused manner. By some it is seen as something we distil from data in order to make decisions, and to a point this could be a true observation. By others it is seen in terms of the understanding that we gain from messages or the knowledge that one person communicates to another and the meanings we create and exchange.

Stamper, Lui, Schaik (unpublished) suggest:

‘… To obtain something resembling a scientific handle on the concept of information we need to begin with a clear picture of what we are observing. Physics is concerned with physical bodies of all kinds, their properties and their behaviour. We do not have to define the concept of a body in so many words because we can show a person so many concrete examples that he can learn to use the word ‘body’ as competently as we do ourselves. Similarly, we can start our exploration of information by using the concept of a sign. We might tell someone that a sign is any physical object, event, or property of an object or event which can stand for something else. But we do not leave it at that. We show them hundreds of diverse examples until they know what a sign is by ostensive definition (that is, by demonstration). In this way we escape the tyranny of a verbal regression into the domain of practical, concrete action.