| 1. |
- Dittrich, Yvonne, et al.
(author)
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Making e-Government Happen. Everyday co-development of services, citizenship and technology.
- 2003
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In a joint research project concerning the use and design of IT in public services, we are using a simple figure of on-going, design-oriented interactions to highlight shifting foci on relationships of codevelopment of services, citzenship and technology. We bring together a number of concrete examples of this on-going everyday co-development, presented from the different perspectives that we, as researchers from different disciplines and traditions, represent in the project. The article explores and discusses wokring relations of technology production and use that we see as central to what is actually making e-government happen - or not happen. The main challenge in this area, as we see it, concerns making visible, and developing supportive infrastructures for, the continuing local adaptation, development and design in use of integrated IT and public services.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Elovaara, Pirjo
(author)
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Heterogeneous hybrids : Information Technology in Texts and Practices
- 2001
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Licentiate thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- How could one understand and interpret the phenomenon of information technology, is the overall research question of this licentiate dissertation. The point of departure is the way some official texts in Sweden define the concept of information technology. It is possible to identify two dominating discourses; the technical and the social. In the first paper, empirical material from the Women Writing on the Net-project is mirrored against these dominating discourses. In the second paper, the focus is on how the dominating discourses are translated into librarians´ work practices and how librarians shape and transform information technology. How could one understand librarians´ ways of talking about information technology where the two separate discourses of information technology identified in the official texts do not seem to be identified as pure and separable phenomena? Feminist theories, feminist technoscientific studies and ´actor-network theory´ offer epistemological and analytical frames and screens necessary to understand information technology as a hybrid involving numerous heterogeneous elements. Introduction to the Papers Paper One, Discourses and Cracks - A Case Study of Information Technology and Writing Women in a Regional Context, is the first paper where empirical material from a local IT project is used and discussed and where it is mirrored against the dominating discourses of information technology. The first part of this paper discusses information technology as a political and practical discourse which is in part shaped by the repetition of an exalted rhetoric. This repetitive discursive model can be distinguished in global, regional and local contexts and reflects an optimistic belief in technology as an independent power that automatically furthers democratic development. Is it really this simple? The analysis includes a discussion of the concept of ´universal citizenship´ in a context of women's experiences in Sweden. The second part of the paper presents empirical material and experiences from the Women Writing on the Net-project (this is included in the framework of the DIALOGUE project, which was partly funded by ISPO/EU). The aim was to create a virtual space for women on the Internet and to explore the writing process in terms of aim, tool and method. The method of approach incorporated reflections and discussions about empowerment, democracy and representation of women. This created a more complex understanding of the values of the predominant IT discourses, and revealed the "cracks" in, and possibilities of feminist redefinitions of these values. In Paper Two, Translating and Negotiating Information Technology: Discourses and Practices, I continue exploration of my overall research question "What is information technology?" I study the dominating discourses of information technology; these I call "the technical suit" and the "social suit." In my empirical field studies among librarians in southeast Sweden I explore how the two faces of information technology - the technical and the social - are translated into librarians´ work practices. I study a project which was defined by the librarians themselves as an information technology project. I investigate how this project complies with the social/societal definitions of information technology, and how it complies with the technical definitions of information technology. In my second empirical study, I use two case studies with librarians involved in constructing web sites on the Internet. The Internet and the web are often seen in part as an open and undefined landscape in which new actors can move freely and build new partnerships, and partly as a shadow landscape of existing structures and relationships which can close up new openings. In the concluding discussion, I state that information technology seems to be both an amoeba and a chameleon. One minute it is a very pure and complicated technical story told by technicians. The next minute, it changes and turns into a financial story told by business people. It subsequently turns out to be an educational story told by teachers. It is also, however, a household story told by computer people. I suggest that information technology is impure. It is a hybrid. Inspired by Donna Haraways´s technoscientific metaphor of cyborg I claim that information technology is a cyborg in itself. In the third paper, From Networks to Fluids and Fires - A Prelude to Actor-Network Theory, I discuss a method of analysis I have tried to apply to my empirical material. I explore the notions of Actor-Network Theory (ANT), and Actor-Network Theory and After (ANTA). My point of departure is the way some official texts in Sweden define the concept of information technology by stressing the technical aspects of IT; at the same time they present information technology as a motor and a driving force for many sectors of society. In my research, I have discussed with librarians how they shape and transform information technology in their own work practices. The problems of analysing this empirical material started when the librarians started to talk about people, machines and money all in one breath. How could one understand their way of talking about information technology where the two separate lines of information technology identified in the official texts did not seem to be identified as pure and separable phenomena? How was it possible to understand the concept of information technology as it was used by the librarians, who seemed to involve all kinds of different heterogeneous elements which at first sight were very far away from information technology? It was when asking these questions that I discovered ANT and ANTA. In this paper, I present some basic ideas about these two research approaches by reading and analysing articles published between 1980 and the year 2000. In addition to the ANT and ANTA perspectives, I also introduce my own research questions: story telling and epistemological problematisations closely connected with feminist theories are, for example, closely intertwined in this paper.
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| 4. |
- Eriksén, Sara
(author)
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Is TANGO a feminist project? (Or just a multitude of rhythms and a bunch of sore feet?)
- 2003
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Other publication (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The TANGO e-government arena is an on-going project in Southern Sweden, funded by the Innovative Actions of the European Regional Development Fund. The aim of the project is to establish cooperation between the public sector, private enterprise and university-based research in designing public e-services. Our starting point is e-government understood as co-construction of technology, society and citizenship in everyday life. This approach is based on the Scandinavian Tradition of Participatory Design, but also motivated by ongoing technological development. In cooperating around development of new, integrated services, catering to various categories of users as well as to a growing diversity of mobile technologies, we are aiming to establish feedback channels between practice and theory, between use and design, and between different academic disciplines where we see a need to synchronize the models and methods we work with. Our current research questions focus on exploring and managing multi-perspectivity as a resource for design. Some of us involved in the research and development projects within the TANGO arena are women. Some of us are feminists (some more so than others). We are trying to cross boundaries, synchronize different rhythms, pull in the same direction, although from different positions. Does this make TANGO a feminist project? And if so, what (ouch!) can be learned from it?
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| 5. |
- Gislén, Ylva
(author)
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Rum för handling. Kollaborativt berättande i digitala medier
- 2003
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Avhandlingen fokuserar på kollaborativt berättande i digitala medier, och tar avstamp i relativt detaljerade beskrivningar av de designprojekt som utgör avhandlingsarbetets ryggrad. Kännetecknande för dessa designprojekt är att de kombinerar fysiska och virtuella rum och/eller flera medieplattformar. Utifrån kritiska läsningar av designval och bruk av de koncept och prototyper som designprojekten utmynnat i presenteras argument för föreslagna "sätt att se" på design av berättande i digitala medier och centrala kvaliteter i miljöer för kollaborativt berättande. Grundläggande är att se berättande som en överenskommelse, som måste springa ur den berättarsituation, den fysiska och sociala verklighet, som utgör en oavvislig del av allt berättande. Denna överenskommelse upprättar ett "rum" för att undersöka och värdera möjlig mänsklig handling, ett rum vars estetiska egenskaper inte kan skiljas från de etiska och politiska frågeställningar som sätts i rörelse av allt berättande. Utifrån detta grundläggande synsätt diskuteras frågan om utformandet av handlingsutrymme i relation till interaktivitet i digitala medier, begrepp som roll, karaktär, samarbete och konflikt samt rytm, poesi och mångtydighet. Argumenten och resonemangen grundas, utöver i den kritiska läsningen av designprojekten, också i en bredare översikt av narrativitetsbegreppets utveckling inom human- och samhällsvetenskaperna de senaste två decennierna samt i en diskussion av teorier, synsätt och vanliga grundantaganden kring berättande i digitala media. Utrymme i avhandlingen ges också åt en kunskapsteoretisk diskussion kring frågan om design som forskning, främst ur ett perspektiv grundat i STS-fältet men också i relation till förda resonemang ifråga om praxisbaserad forskning i allmänhet och designforskning och designteori i synnerhet.
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| 6. |
- Lennstrand, Bo, et al.
(author)
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Net Society. Content Creation in Broadband Systems
- 2000
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The development of a broadband application which integrates TV, Internet, picture telephones etc has been going on for several years within Telia, Sweden's leading telecom operator. The prototype solutions have been developed from a vision of how the distant communication of the future could function. Results of a qualitative study of how the prototype is perceived by consumers and service providers are presented. Compared to the Internet, the NNS prototype was perceived as being simpler, less confusing, faster to navigate and suited for all kinds of people. This paper has two aims: to provide an inspiration for new applications in a broadband environment, and to indicate problems connected with presenting content in a broadband environment.
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| 7. |
- Persson, Christian, 1960-
(author)
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Concurrent Enterprising by means of a Broadband Portal
- 2002
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In: 8th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising. - Nottingham : University of Nottingham. - 0 85358 113 4
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The analysis in this paper is based on a hypermedia interface strategy. A broadband portal issued from the concept of the local metaphor (Fidler 1997) has been developed as a prototype. The prototype has been used as a demonstrator and is evaluated in focus group interviews with users and service providers. The prototype represents an example of a true Concurrent Enterprising system since the broadband portal gives independent customers and service providers the opportunity to cooperate and interact by help of a common technological platform.
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| 8. |
- Persson, Christian, 1960-
(author)
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Customisation of Information in The Manufacturing Industry
- 2004
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In: eAdoption and the Knowledge Economy: Issues, Applications, Case Studies. - Amsterdam : IOS Press. - 1 58603 470 7 ; , s. 1148-1155
-
Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The production and distribution of information in connection with products and services is one of the most important functions in today’s business world. The ability to produce and deliver information to the right place on time is often crucial for the company’s reputation and sales. This paper address questions about how companies can establish a dynamic information system with the help of digital media technology and customisation of information. Customisation of information is a process where information is adapted and distributed on different media platforms. A case study of a manufacturing company with global information activity is presented. The case describes a renewal of the company's information strategy in relation to its customer’s preferences. The case demonstrates how multi-channel publishing, including electronic on-line medias, combined with digital printing can offer efficient tools to reach out to the customers with customized information.
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| 9. |
- Persson, Christian, 1960-, et al.
(author)
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From printed matters to information distribution New strategies in the Graphic Arts industry
- 2004
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Since the start of digitalization and the introduction of electronic medias suitable for publishing, i.e., the Internet, the printing industry has been struggling to find business models that can survive under these new conditions. Their main strategy up until now has been to find the niches where traditional printing matter is still unthreatened. Another strategy has been to approach the interactive electronic medias and personalize the printed matter with the help of digital printing presses, e.g., print-on-demand and personalized printing. However, long-term survival will demand a broader perspective. Far-sighted printing companies are therefore developing strategies that radically redefine their business. This paper discusses the reasoning behind the new strategies and presents a case study of a printing company that is transforming its activities from traditional printing into multi-channel production and information distribution.
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| 10. |
- Wikström, Solveig, et al.
(author)
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E-commerce after the dot com descent
- 2002
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In: Challenges and Achievements in E-business and E-work. - Amsterdam : IOS Press. - 1 58603 284 4 - 4 274 90541 1 ; , s. 69-76
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Following a period of immense expectations for electronic commerce and its future role in buying and selling, the e-commerce business idea almost collapsed during the year 2000 when an image of e-commerce as a failure started to become widely spread. However, there are companies that run a profitable and healthy e-commerce business with no dependence on venture capital. In this paper we present new empirical material from ongoing research of successful e-commerce companies. We compare the service qualities of these companies with the success criteria derived from our previous research on consumers’ evaluation of the e-channel, where we hypothesized that the e-channel should be seen as a complementary channel to the traditional channels. Therefore, the focus in this paper is on multi-channel retailers and their interaction with the consumers. The aim is to identify the qualities that seem to characterize profitable e-commerce activities.
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