All actors perform activities and participate in socio-economic interactions.
An actor's participation in an interaction is in a role.
Rather than having each actor describing the activities in which it participates from its own perspective, the interaction dictionary will provide shared descriptions of "common" interactions. Enormous savings can be achieved by using such shared descriptions as an input for an actor's "configuration of business processes" on the basis of the roles the actor performs.
One area where social savings can be achieved is in the area of regulatory compliance by all, as illustrated in VAT compliance in ERP systems case.
This dictionary lists and describes as patterns:
- the interactions that occur among the actors (described in the Actor Atlas); and
- the interactions that actors have with other entities in the natural, social and technical orders in which they dwell, as described in the Entity Dictionary;
- contracts in which each party agrees to perform its share in a sequence of activities.
Several classes of interactions are included depending on the entities and actors involved.
Our interest in these interactions is justified by a commitment to explore the social web option as part of a global risk mitigation approach responding to (global) systemic flaws in current (semiotic and regulative) practices. These flaws are inducing growing vulnerabilities in the cross-society deliberative capabilities.
Reduced deliberative and institutional capabilities feed a condition of uncontained complexity (in the techno-commercial and institutional spheres). Not being capable to cope with the complexity increases the likelihood and severity of global risk scenarios.
Services, Systems and Policies
The interactions via which individuals, associations, organizations, agencies or governments provide benefits, structured programmes and operations to meet the needs of individuals, as included in the chapter 5 Services, Systems and Policies (e5) of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).
Semiotic Interactions
A semiotic interaction involves a person, or a sensing/actuating system (the interpretant), a sign (often content on an information carrier), and a referent (that is denoted by the sign).
Modelling and learning are typical examples of semiotic interactions.
Why are semiotic interactions important?
It is because of the cognitive efficiencies that one can achieve in the age of internet (and wikis).
Performing semiotic interactions with a printed-matter mindset in the age of internet induces an enormous waste of resources.
Regulative Interactions
A regulative interaction is one in which one or more persons seek to affect (improve or detoriate) the condition of another actor, a livelihood or a worksystem, usually with a specific target (see also CRB Methodology).
Health care and education could be classified as particular forms of regulative interactions.
The legislative process is also a regulative interaction via which the legislative organs of state aims to improve a socio-technical order within its territory, for its members (subjects).
Regulative interactions matter because of reasons explained at the methodology pages (see the links below).
Socio-cultural Interactions
A socio-cultural interaction is among persons and is usually based on kinship, friendship, or it is implied by an encounter that is non-commercial or non-institutional.
Socio-cultural interactions are not highlighted in the common parts of the dictionary.
Yet one must be aware of them when launching change initiatives, or when localizing technological or institutional innovations.
Techno-commercial Interactions
A techno-commercial interaction is among persons and organisations that are involved in the trade, production and consumption of commercial goods and services, where exchanges involve money. Also employment contracts are related to such interactions.
Techno-commercial interactions tend to become more complex with the products and services they produce. In such case it is important to shield such complexity.
Institutional Interactions
An Institutional interaction is one in which at least one of the parties involved is a collective or government agency in its capacity defined by statutory or customary law.
Usually Techno-commercial interactions will be regulated. In that case the regulation may establish an agency as a party in the interaction. The case of taxes illustrates this: tax law establishes the tax office as a party in the commercial interaction.
In a modern economy, many techno-commercial interactions are also institutional.
Also institutional interactions become more complex as the underlying socio-technical eco-system grows more complex. Improved use of internet in semiotic and regulative interactions forms the basis of a strategy to mitigate the complexity risks.
For an illustration of the possible content of this dictionary, see the "activities and participation" division of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). This classification matters to the person as pico-level actor.
For macro, meso and micro level actors, the relevant interactions are related to chapters 8. Major Life Areas (d8), 9. Community, social and civic life (d9) of the "activities and participation" division, and to chapter 5 Services, Systems and Policies (e5) of the "environmental factors" division.
A link to the dictionary (forthcoming).