A Semiotic Perspective on Semantic Interoperability

While information technology enables us to access more material than ever before, we need to come to grips with the disagreeable fact that data is not information. Sharing data without safeguarding comprehension may lead to confusion at best and disaster at worst. The issue at hand is one of ensuring semantic interoperability between actors from disparate contexts. Research into this problem is plentiful, but typically focused around specific subject matters, limiting its appeal to a limited range of scholars and practitioners. Based upon a literary study, we identify two extreme approaches to managing semantic interoperability. These are denoted top-down and bottom-up. We illustrate real world instances of these approaches using the TFI-model based on a case study encompassing two organizations. Our theoretical model is found to be a viable lens through which to generalize and interpret issues pertaining to semantic interoperability between human actors. We therefore see a need for further research into human-based on semantic interoperability.