Abstract
This paper focuses on the processes producing the standards which
make up the technical back-bone of an information infrastructure.
These standards are neither ready-made nor neutral. They are currently
being developed, and they ‘inscribe’ behaviour in complex and non-transparent
ways. We explore how this takes place, identifying by whom, where
and how inscriptions are made. Our principal aim is to uncover the
socio-technical complexity of establishing an information infrastructure,
a complexity which so far has been severely underestimated by those
involved. By studying the process of aligning and linking one inscription
to other inscriptions, we also hope to learn more about the strength
of inscriptions, that is, the degree to which an inscription actually
succeeds in enforcing a desired behaviour. The empirical basis of
our analysis is a case-study of standardization processes of health
information infrastructure from Norway.
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