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How to Develop a Multi-Grounded Theory: the evolution of a business process theory
Get PDFIn the information systems field there is a great need for different theories. Theory development can be performed in different ways – deductively and/or inductively. Different approaches with their pros and cons for theory development exists. A combined approach, which builds on inductive as well as deductive thinking, has been put forward – a Multi-Grounded Theory approach. In this paper the evolution of a business process theory is regarded as the development of a multi-grounded theory. This evolution is based on empirical studies, theory-informed conceptual development and the creation of conceptual cohesion. The theoretical development has involved a dialectic approach aiming at a theoretical synthesis based on antagonistic theories. The result of this research process was a multi-grounded business process theory. Multi-grounded means that the theory is empirically, internally and theoretically founded. This business process theory can be used as an aid for business modellers to direct attention towards relevant aspects when business process determination is performed
Case Study: The State of Information Systems in Queensland Universities
Get PDFnature of the state. Relative to its population, Queensland has a large number of universities, each of which is engaged in Information Systems teaching and research. The study reveals little evidence of a distinctive Queensland-flavour of Information Systems. Rather, there is a diversity of curriculum approaches and an equally broad range of research foci and approaches to research. Two of the state’s regional universities are notable for the relative strength of their IS presence, in terms of number of IS staff, number of IS students and range of campuses across which IS is taught. The breadth of topics and approaches to IS in Queensland is evidenced by the existence of separate, competing IS groups in two of the largest universities; in each case, one of the IS groups is highly technical in orientation while the other is Business oriented. Across the nine Queensland universities there is wide variability in terms of the administrative location of the Information Systems academic staff in the university structure. The study assesses the state of IS in Queensland universities in relation to criteria indicative of the maturity of a discipline. Measured against these criteria, Information Systems in Queensland universities cannot be considered a mature, distinct academic discipline
Key Aspects of the History of the Information Systems Discipline in Australia
Get PDFThe Information Systems discipline is 40 years old, in Australia, as in Scandinavia, the U.S.A., the U.K. and Germany. This paper presents what may be the first formally published attempt at a history of the discipline in this country. It identifies the precursors to the discipline, and its emergence in colleges and universities. It identifies institutions and individuals who were present at the birth, and traces key steps in organisational and political history. More controversially, it provides interpretations of the nature of the discipline and its key intellectual themes, and identifies threats to its survival
Information Privacy: Culture, Legislation and User Attitudes
Get PDFInformation privacy has received much public and research interest in recent years. Globally this has arisen from public anxiety following the September 11 attacks and within Australia a progressive tightening of privacy legislation in particular the privacy amendment (private sector) Act of 2000 which became operative in 2001. This paper presents the results of a study into attitudes towards information privacy. Based on an instrument developed and validated by Smith et al (1996a) this study sets out to measure individual concerns regarding organisational use of information along four dimensions: collection, errors, unauthorised secondary use, and improper access. The survey was completed by 67 undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in an e-commerce security subject at the University of Queensland. Comparisons are drawn between the results of this study and an identical one carried out at the University of North Alabama. Whilst it is too early to draw conclusions about the impact of these attitudes on the success of e-commerce in general, the results should be of interest to those within universities seeking to expand the use of networking technologies for handling sensitive information such as enrolment and fee processing (Vanscoy & Oakleaf 2003
Using Contradictions to Appreciate the History of I.S. Education in South Australia
Get PDFThis paper presents one person's interpretation of the history of Information Systems (IS) education in South Australia (SA). The stance used to think about the history was that of seeking the contradictions, underlying tensions, which worked over time to create the present. The paper will argue this stance, suggested to the author, that IS education in SA was influenced significantly by maintaining a "how to" view of teaching IS which failed to distinguish itself from the engineering worldview. It is suggested that a 'trade school' mentality never turned into a critical academic perspective relevant to modern business schools. After explaining the underlying tension stance this paper will use extracts from a long semi-structured interview with two seminal IS educators to support this argument
Technology for the Humdrum: trajectories, interactional needs and a care setting
Get PDFWe report on a care setting where staff looking after ex-psychiatric hospital patients used mobile and stationary communications technology (e.g. mobile phones and a messaging system) and physical artefacts (e.g. whiteboards and Post-It notes). Building on previous ethnographic investigations, we show that the concept of trajectory (or an ongoing course of action) was important when generating a particular understanding of staff’s care work. We argue that sensitivity to this concept and related subconcepts was helpful in identifying the key transitions, cycles, plans and management issues in staff’s ongoing work. We present verified trajectory-informed scenarios and themes emerging from fieldwork and show that the snapshots of work described in the scenarios were useful for establishing current and future interactional needs among staff and residents. We also show how trajectory helped ground a design for a situated display. Finally, we describe the strengths and benefits of trajectory as ‘a way of looking’ in fieldwork aimed at socio-technical system design in settings where supporting collective, ongoing, contingent care is important
