| 1. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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A Double Helix Metaphor for Use and Usefulness in Informing Systems
- 2007
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Ingår i: Use and Redesign in IS: Double Helix Relationships?. - 9781932886054 ; 10, s. 273-295
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Following the theme of this monograph, this paper discusses a dialectic we perceive to subsist between meaningful use and reflection upon use. This dialectic between experiencing use and reflecting upon experiencing use (or thinking, and thinking about thinking) may be considered in the following way. Each of these elements is subject to change. As reflection triggers change in use, and such change triggers further reflection, a spiral comes about. Lived human experience, and reflection upon that experience, seems to shape a double helix. In this paper, the authors suggest a need for a hermeneutically-informed, phenomenological approach when considering the complexities of informing systems, viewed as human activity systems. It is suggested that human actors, as users of informing systems, must own and control any inquiry into use in relation to design for themselves, and that individual sensemaking processes are the key to successful interaction within the double helix metaphor.
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| 2. |
- Nissen, Hans-Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Double Helix Relationships in Use and Design of Informing Systems: Lessons to Learn from Phenomenology and Hermeneutics
- 2007
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Ingår i: Use and Redesign in IS: Double Helix Relationships?. - 9781932886054 ; 10, s. 001-019
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The theme of this monograph of Informing Science is a dialectic we perceive to exist between meaningful use and reflection upon use. This dialectic between use and reflection on use (or thinking, and thinking about thinking) may be considered in the following way. Each of these elements is subject to change. As reflection triggers change in use, and such change triggers further reflection, a spiral comes about. Lived human experience, and reflection upon that experience, seems to shape a double helix. The monograph contains contributions exploring particular ways in which studies of use could benefit from a relationship to philosophical frameworks such as hermeneutics and phenomenology.
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| 3. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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STPIS’23 Proceeding Preface
- 2023
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Ingår i: CEUR Workshop Proceedings 2023 9th International Conference on Socio-Technical Perspective in Information Systems Development, STPIS 2023. - : CEUR-WS. ; 3598
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 4. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Crisis! What Crisis?
- 2008
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Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. ; , s. 1-8
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is a crisis discussed in the discipline of Information Systems. Those who perceive such a crisis to exist are by no means agreed, as to its nature and origins. Our inquiry shows that there are a three distinct ‘crises’ being debated. The first of these relates to the substance and boundaries of the discipline itself and if it is even a discipline at all. Another ‘crisis’ relates to higher education and a fall in demand for IS courses from new students. Commentators perceive this to threaten the existence of IS departments in Universities, and to have potentially serious consequences for both research strategies and career paths of academics. Thirdly, there is perception of a crisis in the wider world, characterised by fewer vacancies in IS-relevant occupations whilst, at the same time, employers complain of a shortage of suitably skilled applicants for the vacancies available. This paper examines evidence for the three ‘crises’, real or imagined, suggested above, in the Information Systems field.
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| 5. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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‘Critical systemic thinking as a philosophy for “design” practice.’
- 2008
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Ingår i: Program and Discussion Papers. ; , s. 67-72
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Some systems approaches tend to conceptualize social systems as collective entities, in which emergent properties of the whole can render individuals within a social system invisible. As critical systemic thinkers, however, we choose to see a social system as an emergent property of the interactions between unique individuals whose social relations are of interest. Thus, within the field of critical social research, we include work with a focus on sense-making and learning in the context of systems of human interaction. Such work tends to encourage challenging of taken-for-granted assumptions and ‘received wisdom’. It is oriented towards supporting individuals and groups to reflect in context, to learn and hence to bring about beneficial change for themselves. In this class of research, we include work influenced by, for example, Gregory Bateson. His taxonomy of orders of learning, and his exploration of human interaction have informed work of many other researchers. His insights have been influential in highlighting concepts such as ‘otherness’, ‘in-betweenness’ and ‘immanence’ as relevant aspects to explore in relation to human systems. Another author whose work has informed that of many other researchers is Claudio Ciborra. An on-going critique of rationality characterizes his contribution to investigation of human systems. Ciborra highlights differences between logical descriptions of social behavior that people make and their actual, contextualized experiences. This social behavior includes play as an emergent property of improvisation in problem solving practice and expressionism as communicative practice. This paper will discuss the contributions of critical systemic thinkers to the development and application of critical social research.
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| 6. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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“Think with your Senses – Feel with your Mind”: Cognitive and Affective Domains in Knowledge Creation and Sharing.
- 2008
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Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. - 9781906638108 ; , s. 43-50
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- On a recent trip to Venice, an advertising hoarding was spotted which read ‘Think with your senses, feel with your mind!’ This reminded the authors to think about the relationship between cognitive aspects of individual and organizational knowledge on one hand and feelings/emotions – the affective domain – on the other. When using knowledge within an organizational context, an individual cannot divorce her understandings from the full range of experiences within which they were developed, i.e. life as it is lived. In last year’s keynote address, Daniel Andriessen referred to love as a metaphor in the context of knowledge management discourse. The relationship between feelings, cognitive processes and the creation of ‘knowledge’ is a fascinating area of inquiry in its own right. In drawing on the disparate but existing body of work while addressing this aspect of knowledge creation and sharing the authors draw out some useful conclusions in the context of knowledge management in organisational practices.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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A Case for Holistic, Multicriteria Benefit Analysis
- 2013
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Ingår i: Organizational Change and Information Systems: Working and Living Together in New Ways. - 9783642372278 ; 2, s. 337-344
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper discusses the ways in which a critical systemic approach to systems analysis can provide support for a holistic, multicriteria benefits analysis. It highlights the importance of inquiry into the nature and boundaries of a perceived organizational problem space, taking into account unique perspectives of the living, engaged actors who desire beneficial change in their working systems. The role of the IS professional within a collaborative inquiry is explored, taking into account creation of relevant methodological frameworks (in contrast to uncritical, rigorous application of standardized methods). The paper discusses the ways in which collaborative teams can approach identification of desirable benefits.
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| 9. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Beyond the Usual Suspects: Critically Informed Research.
- 2008
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Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. - 9781906638030 ; , s. 73-80
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- A number of researchers have attempted to define and encapsulate the essence of ‘critical research’. It has been suggested to encompass interpretation of social phenomena, and seeks for understandings that could support efforts to bring about beneficial change. It has been further suggested that such work is characterised by: concern with substantive social issues (e.g. power, values); foundation in a cohesive socio-theoretical core; and a distinctive role in informing the work of others. Within this definition, critical researchers tend to fall into a number of distinct traditions of thought/practice. For instance, some concern themselves with issues relating to emancipation of (other) people within society (e.g. those influenced by the work of Habermas). Some focus upon issues of self-emancipation (e.g. those deriving from Foucault’s discussion of external power relations). Others highlight issues relating to social stratification and discriminatory practices in society (e.g. those taking inspiration from work by Bourdieu). This paper introduces discussion of a further category of critical systemic thinking, exemplified by Gregory Bateson and Claudio Ciborra. Critically-informed research from a systemic perspective involves a desire to explore the unique and to question assumptions. Through engagement with reflection and exploration, perceptions of individual emergence form an important aspect of this strand.
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| 10. |
- Bednar, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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Bias, Misinformation and the Paradox of Neutrality.
- 2008
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Ingår i: [Host publication title missing]. ; 11, s. 85-106
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- What is normally described as bias? A possible definition comprises attempts to distort or mislead to achieve a certain perspective, i.e. subjective descriptions intended to mislead. If designers were able to exclude bias from informing systems, then this would maximize their effectiveness. This implicit conjecture appears to underpin much of the research in our field. However, in our efforts to support the evolution and design of informing systems, the way we think, communicate and conceptualize our efforts clearly influences our comprehension and consequently our agenda for design. Objectivity (an attempt to be neutral or transparent) is usually regarded as non-biased. However, claims for objectivity do not, by definition, include efforts to inquire into and reflect over subjective values. Attempts to externalize the mindset of the subject do not arise as part of the description. When claims to objectivity are made, this rarely includes any effort to make subjective bias transparent. Instead, objectivity claims may be regarded as a denial of bias. We suggest that bias can be introduced into overt attempts to admit subjectivity. For example, where people are asked to give subjective opinion according to an artificially enforced scale of truth-falsity (bi-valued logic), they may find themselves coerced into statements of opinion which do not truly reflect the views they might have wished to express. People do not naturally respond to their environment with opinions limited to restricted scales; rather, they tend to use multivalued logic. This paper examines the impact of bias within attempts to establish communicative practice in human activity systems (informing systems).
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