INFORMATION-BASED DESIGN OF SOCIAL-SYSTEMS

The dominant framework for Systems Design is seen to be problematic du e to an underconceptualized definition of information. A more robust i nformational foundation is proposed. The Csanyi-Kampis notions of refe rential and nonreferential information are operationalized in terms of the informational aspects of Miller's living systems theory (LST). Fo llowing the work of Rosen it is noted that a particular entailment ord ering arises among the modeling relations of systems. This ordering re nders the dominant approaches to systems design problematic. A new cat egory of state-referential information is introduced in order to handl e the entailment anomalies. The structure-process mappings in LST are seen as appropriate for preserving informational distinctions in livin g systems, and are proposed as a means of increasing the overlap betwe en the ontological and epistemological bases of systems. Consequences for the theory and practice of social systems design are briefly discu ssed.