Inscribing behaviour in information infrastructure standards

We focus on the processes producing the standards which make up the technical back-bone of an information infrastructure (II). These standards are neither ready-made nor neutral. They are currently being developed, and they “inscribe” behaviour in complex and non-transpar ent ways. Behaviour at individual, organisational and inter-organisational level is inscribed. 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 II, 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 mor e 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 two standardisation processes of II from the Norwegian health care sector.