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Significance pp 141–173Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Data systems: Patterns of forma

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Abstract

In the previous chapter we elevated the idea of data to that of forma: the physical nature of signs. In this chapter we focus upon systems of such forma. Symbols relate together and are operated upon in data systems. A data system is a physical symbol system consisting of physical patterns (symbols) which can be combined into structures and manipulated to produce new structures. We suggest a particular interest in those data systems in which the symbols have some persistence. By persistence we mean that symbols exist for some duration over and above the communication within which the symbols were used.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, UK

    Paul Beynon-Davies (Professor of Organisational Informatics)

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  1. Paul Beynon-Davies
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© 2011 Paul Beynon-Davies

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Beynon-Davies, P. (2011). Data systems: Patterns of forma. In: Significance. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230295025_7

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