Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems

by Mingers, John; Willcocks, Leslie P.

• ISBN13: 9780470851173
• ISBN10: 0470851171
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-07-30
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

As Information Systems matures as a discipline, there is a gradual move away from pure statistics towards consideration of alternative approaches and philosophies. This has not been incorporated into the literature of the field. Until now. Collecting major social theorists and philosophers into one volume, "Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems provides a historical and critical analysis of each that is both authoritative and firmly focused on practical relevance to IS. The result is an insightful text for researchers, academics and students that will provide an up-to-date starting point for those considering alternative approaches.

Author Biography

<B>John Mingers</B> is Professor of OR and Information Systems and Director of Research at Kent Business School, University of Kent, UK. His research interests include the use of systems methodologies in problem situations, particularly the mixing of different methodologies within an intervention (multimethodology); the development of critical realism as a philosophy for information systems; the development of theory concerning the nature of information and meaning; and autopoiesis and its applications. He has published several books, including <I>Self-Producing Systems: Implications and Applications of Autopoiesis</I> and <I>Information Systems: An Emerging Discipline?</I> (with Professor Frank Stowell). <p> <B>Leslie P. Willcocks</b> is Professor of Information Management at Warwick Business School. He received a doctorate from the University of Cambridge, is visiting professor at Erasmus and Melbourne Universities, and joint Editor-in-Chief of the <I>Journal of Information Technology</I>. He is co-author of 23 books and has published over 140 papers in journals ranging from <I>Harvard Business Review</I> to <I>MIS Quarterly, MISQ Executive</I> and <I>Journal of Management Studies</I>. His research interests include organizational issues, politics, outsourcing, implementation, e-business and evaluation.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	ix
Series Preface	xiii
Preface	xiv
Thinking about Social Theory and Philosophy for Information Systems	1	(26)
Allen S. Lee
Fit for Function: Functionalism, Neofunctionalism and Information Systems	27	(29)
M. Lynne Markus
Phenomenology, Screens, and the World: A Journey with Husserl and Heidegger into Phenomenology	56	(47)
Lucas D. Introna
Fernando M. Ilharco
Hermeneutics in Information Systems Research	103	(26)
Michael D. Myers
Adorno: A Critical Theory for IS Research	129	(28)
Stephen K. Probert
The Critical Social Theory of Jurgen Habermas and its Implications for IS Research	157	(81)
Heinz K. Klein
Minh Q. Huynh
Foucault, Power/Knowledge and Information Systems: Reconstructing the Present	238	(59)
Leslie P. Willcocks
Structuration Theory and Information Systems: A Critical Reappraisal	297	(32)
Matthew Jones
Wanda Orlikowski
Kamal Munir
What We May Learn from the Social Shaping of Technology Approach	329	(43)
Debra Howcroft
Nathalie Mitev
Melanie Wilson
Re-establishing the Real: Critical Realism and Information Systems	372	(35)
John Mingers
Complexity and Information Systems	407	(40)
Yasmin Merali
Index	447