Defining connectivity

From my Inaugural Lecture, 15 September 2015.

Title: 'Connectivity isn't everything (but it's almost everything)'

Defining Connectivity

In my 2008 Organization Studies article, I define connectivity as being socio-material in nature. It includes the physical and technical along with multiple social dimensions of connectivity:

“Connectivity is defined here as the mechanisms, processes, systems and relationships that link individuals and collectives (e.g. groups, organisations, cultures, societies) by facilitating material, informational and/or social exchange.  It includes geo-physical (e.g. space, time and location), technological (e.g. information technologies and their applications) as well as social interactions and artefacts, including shared histories, travel, trade, migration, culture, politics and other social activities.” (Kolb, 2008, p. 128)

It is a comprehensive definition.  You can see why I say that ‘connectivity is almost everything.’ J

In that same paper, I have drawn upon information theory to identify a duality of connects and disconnects across ten (10) dimensions.