In June 2019, Binny Samuel and I had an informal meeting of former SIGSAND officers. A key outcome of the meeting was the decision to create a website for SIGSAND.
Indeed, the situation was absurd. A special-interest group focused on global development of information technologies lacked its own online presence! As I began planning the structure and the design of the website, it occurred to me that naturally SIGSAND needs a logo!
That forced me to do some soul-searching. Effectively, SIGSAND being the core of information systems development and IT, was at the point of transition between digital and physical worlds.
Indeed, this is what information technology development is: it allows to create artifacts that permit humans (and other members of the physical reality, think smart cars or TVs) to interact with the digital world of bits and bytes. These bits and bytes then in turn can help us manage our physical world more effectively, and also create new virtual realities.
Realization: SIGSAND gives birth and fosters new forms of life! The forms which combine elements of digital and physical into one. To symbolize the birth and growth of new entities precipitated by SIGSAND, I chose the symbol of a tree.
However, this is no ordinary tree. It is phygital – a new species of trees half of which are physical and half – digital.
The phygital tree of SIGSAND symbolizes our dependence on the digital world and the complex entwining between physical and digital realities.
Increasingly, the world of digital and physical are becoming one: inseparable from one another. Losing one means losing the other.
The mirroring of the digital and physical branches underscores the important role of representations for SIGSAND. The mirroring is intentionally imperfect: the two worlds resemble each other, but can never be exactly the same.
Furthermore, this is not quite only mirroring. It is a symbiosis. The role of systems analysis and design is to nurture this symbiosis for the benefit of human society. This is done, for example, by conceptual models – prominent artifacts of systems analysis and design. Conceptual models not only help represent physical reality in the digital world, they also facilitate the mediation between the two worlds. It is with the help of conceptual models, for example, we can design technologies that are in digital and physical worlds at the same time (e.g., driverless cars, artificial intelligent robots).
And there we have it: a SIGSAND logo which is also a testimony to what we as humans have become.
We are phygital.
What kind of tree is SIGSAND?
In June 2020 the 2020 Executive Committee voted to recognize and honor outstanding contributions to the field of systems analysis and design, the AIS SIGSAND organization, and its community. This is how the The AIS SIGSAND Outstanding Contribution Award (ASOCA) was established. The award recognizes contributions that are of a scientific, pedagogical, administrative and/or service nature.
Asoca, however, has another meaning.
Asoca or saraca asoca or the ashoka tree is a tree belonging to the Detarioideae subfamily of the legume family.
By J.M.Garg – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3617851
The asoca (ashoka) tree is considered sacred throughout the Indian subcontinent, especially in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. This tree has many folklorical, religious and literary associations. Highly valued as well for its handsome appearance and the color and abundance of its flowers, the asoca tree is often found in royal palace compounds and gardens as well as close to temples throughout India. It is believed Buddha was born under an asoca tree in Lumbini Garden.
We now know what kind of tree the SIGSAND tree is. It is a phygital asoca tree!
– Mr Singh-Sand, as Binny jokingly calls me 🙂
August 2019, update, July 2020
