Realigning Research and Practice in Information Systems Development The Social and Organizational Perspective

Given the pervasive nature of information technology and information systems in the modern world, the design and development of IS and IT are critical issues of concern. New research topics continuously emerge in tandem with the latest developments in technology-E-Business, Knowledge Management, Business Process Reengineering, for example. However, when the initial flurry of research abates and the "gloss" of these areas has diminished somewhat, as it inevitably does, the enduring core issue remains as to how to develop systems to fully exploit these new areas. Both information systems and information technology are interpreted fairly broadly in this book. Of particular interest to the editors were research studies that facilitate an understanding of the role and impact of information technology on society, organizations, and individuals, and which strive to improve the design and use of information systems in that context.
The contributions to the book are categorized into four broad themes. First is the core issue of developing information systems in the current environment. In this section several fundamental challenges to current assumptions and conventional wisdom in information systems development are posed. The second section considers the management of information systems. Again, the conventional wisdom is challenged. The penultimate section focuses on researching information systems. Here, various issues to do with research methods are surfaced, and the use of leading-edge research methods in information systems development is pioneered and discussed. Finally, a section is devoted to understanding information systems. This section addresses the perennial challenge in the IS field in relation to the conceptual foundations of the field.
This volume comprises the proceedings of the Working Conference on Realigning Research and Practice in Information Systems Development: The Social and Organizational Perspective,which was sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) and held in Boise, Idaho, USA in July 2001.
Given the central importance of information systems development in the current age, this eclectic book, which considers the topic from a rich and varied set of perspectives, will be essential reading for researchers and practitioners working in all areas of IS and IT.

1 Directions in Information Systems Development: Integrating New Technologies, Research Approaches, and Development Practices.- 1: Developing Information Systems.- 2 Accommodating Emergent Work Practices: Ethnographic Choice of Method Fragments.- 3 Information Systems Development as Flowing Wholeness.- 4 Racing the E-Bomb: How the Internet Is Redefining Information Systems Development Methodology.- 5 The Use of Research-Based Information System Development Methods.- 6 Techniques and Methodologies for Multimedia Systems Development: A Survey of Industrial Practice.- 7 Enterprise Network Design: How Is it Done?.- 8 A Role-Based Framework for Information System Self-Development.- 2: Managing Information Systems.- 9 Developing a Methodology to Evaluate the Impact of Staff Perceptions on the Strategic Value of Information Systems in a Small to Medium Sized Enterprise.- 10 Due Process and the Introduction of New Technology: The Institution of Video Teleconferencing.- 11 Enterprise Resource Planning Implementation: Stories of Power, Politics, and Resistance.- 12 Web Information Systems Management: Proactive or Reactive Emergence.- 13 Better Safe than Sorry? In Search of an Internet Business Model in Online Entertainment.- 14 Consumer Privacy and Online Marketing: Bringing the Human Back into the Picture.- 15 Observations from a Field Study on Developing a Framework for Pre-Usage Evaluation of CASE Tools.- 16 Software Process Maturity and Organizational Politics.- 17 Implications of a Service-Oriented View of Software.- 3: Researching Information Systems.- 18 Method Diffusion as a Social Movement.- 19 Using Structuration Theory in Action Research: An Intranet Development Project.- 20 Cultivating Recalcitrance in Information Systems Research.- 21 Implications of the Theory of Autopoiesis for the Discipline and Practice of Information Systems.- 22 Absent Friends? The Gender Dimension in Information Systems Research.- 23 A New Paradigm for Considering Gender in Information Systems Development Research.- 24 Two Times Four Integrative Levels of Analysis: A Framework.- 25 Thoughts on Studying Open Source Software Communities.- 26 Managing Knowledge Development in the Network Economy: Methodological Contributions.- 4: Understanding Information Systems.- 27 Defining Away the Digital Divide: A Content Analysis of Institutional Influences on Popular Representations of Technology.- 28 Doing Politics Around Electronic Commerce: Opposing the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Bill.- 29 The Technology Imperative in Education.- 5: Panels.- 30 What Do We Mean by Information Technology? Perspectives on Studying Computing.- 31 Collaboration Between Academics and Practitioners Using Action Research.- 32 Knowledge Management Systems: Hype, Hope, or Folly?.- Index of Contributors.