Information System Foundations: Constructing and Criticising

Information Systems:

Information System Foundations:
Constructing and Criticising

Dennis Hart and Shirley Gregor (eds)

Published by ANU E Press
The Australian National University
Canberra ACT 0200, Australia
Email: anuepress@anu.edu.au
Web: http://epress.anu.edu.au

Table of Contents

Preliminary Pages

Information systems foundations

I. Foundations of information systems theory and research

1. Towards an understanding of theory

Introduction

The lingering death of positivism

A ‘scientific’ perspective

Interpretivism and constructivism

A typology of theory for information systems

Concluding remarks

2. The development of ‘grand’ theory

Introduction

Information systems: fading into the background

‘Information systems as a reference discipline’ – Baskerville and Myers

A problem of visibility

The value of cultural capital

Theory as symbolic capital

Finding a site for grand information systems theory

Existing portfolio-level theory

Toward a structural theory of information systems

Conclusions and recommendations

3. The reality of information systems research

Introduction

Characterising information systems research

Ontology

Approaches to categorisation

Approaches to the literary work of art

Providing for perspectives: identifying an appropriate reference ontology

Establishing and empirically validating ontological categories

Conclusions

4. Qualitative research in information systems

Introduction

Qualitative research perspective

Grounded theory

Personal construct theory

Narrative inquiry

Conclusions

II. Research methods, reference theories and information systems

5. Issues and design

Introduction

Background

Grounded theory and case study

Walking the research model

Particular characteristics of the method

Demands and risks of grounded theory

Conclusion

6. The Denver International Airport Baggage Handling System

Introduction

Making sense of hermeneutics

Practical hermeneutics

Research method

First cycle

Second cycle

Third cycle

Fourth cycle

Fifth cycle

Sixth cycle

Reflections

Conclusions

7. Institutional facts

Introduction

Success at the local scale

If logical databases are the solution, what is the problem?

What sorts of applications satisfy the requirements for logical databases?

How does this view help?

How can we build on this?

8. A fresh approach to IS/IT gender research?

Introduction

Background

Method

Findings

Validity

Discussion

Conclusions

9. Reflection in self-organised systems

Introduction

Reflection

Reflection types

Reflective culture

Self-organisation

Reflection in self-organisation

Description of process

Conclusion

Future research

10. Strategic knowledge sharing

Introduction

Wicked problems and wicked systems

Self-organisation

Small-worlds

Examples

Implications and conclusion

11. Explaining organisational change

Introduction

Closed systems and organisational theories

Open systems and organisation theories

Organisational life cycle: growth, maturity, decline and death

The dissipative systems model

Implications for organisations

Order through fluctuations and system transformation

Model synthesis and discussion

Tools for system manipulation

Bifurcations and self-organisation

Conclusion

Acknowledgement

III. Linking information systems theory and practice

12. Research as an information systems domain

Introduction

e-Science and e-Research

Information systems

Research, human activity systems, and ICT

Information systems in research

Research and practice interoperability

Conclusion

13. A procedural model for ontological analyses

Introduction

Shortcomings of current ontological analyses

Reference methodology for conducting ontological analyses

Summary and future work

14. Lessons learned from manual systems

Introduction

Information systems design and theories of agency

Learning from evolved manual systems

Discussion and conclusions

15. Conversations at the electronic frontier

Introduction

Language and power

Information systems with social autonomy

The information systems business language (ISBL)

Actor network theory

Social impacts of the ISBL

Imposing the ISBL

Vocabulary control

The scope of the ISBL

Conclusion

References

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