Rodney Clarke, Department of Business Systems, University of Wollongong, Australia: Recent Progress in the Textual Description of Information Systems

Abstract:

Over the last 18 years or so, semiotic theories of information systems in organisations have been developing in a number of European countries and in Australia. By contrast, the literature dealing with information systems from a specifically linguistic point of view is generally restricted to European audiences and often utilises models of language which are problematic. The project, of which this seminar is a part, concerns the production of participative systems development practices for the analysis, design, and implementation of information systems in organisational contexts. It includes the production of methods, a methodology and a life cycle with supporting tools for analysts and end-users to rapidly develop, contest and change systems. It utilises a semiotic model of language called systemic-functional linguistics (SFL) developed originally by Halliday and currently being refined by Hasan, Martin, Mathiesson and others. The description of information systems in organisational contexts is unusual within the information systems literature. However, the description of information systems from a semiotic and linguistic point of view is unusual enough to warrant an overview. This paper is a brief overview and appraisal of SFL applied to information systems in organisational contexts.

About the Author:

Rodney Clarke is a lecturer in the Department of Business Systems, University of Wollongong, Australia, and leader of the Wollongong Semio-informatics Group. Recent activities include membership on the Program Committee for the Organisational Semiotics Workshop at Twente University; co-convenor (with Dr. S. Little) of the forthcoming

Semiotics, Information, Organisations (SIO) Research Workshop 2: Reading and Writing Organisations to be hosted by Business Systems in December 1995, and the membership of the Organising Committee for the forthcoming

OZ-CHI Conference also hosted by Business Systems in mid August 1995.

Relevant publications include:

Clarke, R. J. (1995b) "Persistence of Systems in Organisations: Genre Analysis of Systems Decommissioning" in Holmqvist, B.; Anderson, P. B. and R. Posner eds/ (1995) Semiotics of the Workplace in press

Clarke, R. J. (1995a) "(Hyper)text in Context: Applying Systemic-Functional Linguistics to Hypersystems Development" Workshop on the Social Contexts of Hypermedia, Department of Informatics, Umea University, Sweden, 16th-17th February 1995, 4pp.

Clarke, R. J. (1992d) "Some Applications of Social Semiotics in Information Systems Discipline and Practice" in MacGregor, R.; Clarke, R. J.; Little, S.; Gould, E. and A. Ang eds/ (1992) Proc. 3rd Aust. Conf. Info. Sys.: ISOP-92 Wollongong, NSW, Australia 5-8 October 1992, Department of Business Systems, University of Wollongong, 67-79

Välkommna!
Kenneth Nilsson