In search of an integrative vision for technology : interdisciplinary studies in information systems

In Search Of An Integrative Vision For Technology will stimulate its readers to consider the 'whole story that is information systems' within the context of an integrative vision of technology. It integrates disparate areas of debate and research while appreciating the contribution that philosophy can make to such thinking. It is deliberately broad in coverage, and designed to provide useful pointers so that researchers, students, practitioners, and developers can easily apply each point as needed. "Human issues of technology and their normative aspects" is a theme that runs throughout the entire book.

The integrative vision is centered on an understanding of human practice -- the twin notions of structure and direction, and the leading and the founding functions of such practice. While this understanding applies to all technologies, it is worked out in more detail for information technology. From this philosophical understanding, many interdisciplinary areas of interest are identified.

Author Notes

Sytse Strijbos lectures philosophy of technology at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam and North West University (Potchefstroom Campus), South Africa.
Andrew Basden is Professor of Human Factors and Philosophy in Information Systems at the University of Salford, U.K.

S. Strijbos and A. BasdenA. BasdenB. Bergvall-KårebornM. Winfield and A. BasdenA. Mirijamdotter and B. Bergvall-KårebornS. StrijbosJ. van der StoepJ. van der StoepA.E. Vlug and J. van der LeiD.M. ErikssonA. BasdenS. StrijbosD.M. ErikssonS. StrijbosG. MidgleyC. Mitcham

1 Introduction: In Search of an Integrative Vision for Technology	p. 1
1 Introduction	p. 1
2 The Need for an Integrative Vision for Technology	p. 2
2.1 The need as felt by technologists	p. 2
2.2 The need as felt by systems methodologists	p. 3
2.3 The need as felt by philosophers of technology	p. 4
3 Outline of an Integrative Vision for Technology	p. 5
3.1 Society	p. 6
3.2 Technology	p. 7
3.3 Information technology as exemplar	p. 8
4 Interdisciplinary Areas of Interest	p. 8
4.1 Area 1 - Artifacts and their Development	p. 8
4.2 Area 2 - Socio-technical Systems	p. 9
4.3 Area 3 - Human Practices	p. 10
4.4 Area 4 - Directional Perspectives	p. 10
5 Overview of the Chapters	p. 11
Part I Artifacts and their Development	p. 11
Part II Socio-technical Systems	p. 13
Part III Human Practices	p. 14
Part IV Directional Perspectives	p. 15
Part V Critical Reflections	p. 16
Part I Artifacts and Their Development
2 Aspects of Knowledge Representation	p. 19
1 Introduction	p. 19
1.1 Knowledge representation	p. 20
2 Knowledge Representation Problems	p. 21
2.1 Representing knowledge to be used	p. 23
2.2 Appropriate KRFs	p. 23
2.3 Problems of inappropriateness	p. 25
2.4 Need for ontology	p. 27
3 Dooyeweerd's Aspects as Basis for Appropriate Knowledge Representation	p. 27
3.1 Modal aspects	p. 27
3.2 Roles of aspects	p. 28
3.3 Characteristics of aspects	p. 29
4 A Dooyeweerdian Approach to Appropriateness	p. 31
4.1 Aspects of knowledge and individual KRFs	p. 31
4.2 Change and qualitative values	p. 33
4.3 New aspects?	p. 34
4.4 Integrating KRFs	p. 34
4.5 Discussion	p. 35
5 Conclusion	p. 37
3 Reflecting on the Use of the Concept of Qualifying Function in System Design	p. 39
1 Introduction	p. 39
2 Exploring the Qualifying Function as an Intellectual Tool	p. 40
3 Soft Systems Methodology	p. 45
4 The Case Study	p. 49
5 Research Methodology	p. 50
6 Applying the Concept in a Practical Study	p. 52
6.1 Two conceptual models based on different qualifying functions	p. 55
7 Learning	p. 58
8 Conclusion	p. 61
4 Elicitation of Highly Interdisciplinary Knowledge	p. 63
1 Introduction	p. 63
2 Multiple Facets of Knowledge	p. 63
2.1 Elicitation of multifaceted knowledge	p. 64
2.2 Existing methods of eliciting interdisciplinary knowledge	p. 65
3 A Philosophical Understanding of the Multi-Aspectual Nature of Knowledge	p. 67
3.1 Why philosophy?	p. 67
3.2 Aspects	p. 68
3.3 Aspectual perspectives	p. 69
3.4 Disciplines	p. 70
3.5 Interdisciplinary shared understanding	p. 71
4 MAKE: Multi-Aspectual Knowledge Elicitation	p. 72
4.1 The method of MAKE	p. 72
4.2 Discussion of MAKE	p. 74
5 Conclusion	p. 77
5 An Appreciative Critique and Refinement of Checkland's Soft Systems Methodology	p. 79
1 Introduction	p. 79
2 Soft Systems Methodology	p. 81
3 Dooyeweerdian Philosophy and its Framework of Dimensions	p. 84
4 Enriching SSM'S Rich Picture	p. 87
5 Enriching SSM'S Design and Comparing Phase	p. 92
6 Conclusion	p. 101
Part II Socio-Technical Systems
6 The Systems Character of Modern Technology	p. 105
1 Introduction	p. 105
2 From Tool to Environment	p. 106
3 The Scientific Foundation of Modern Technology and Society	p. 109
4 The Role of Computer and Information Technology	p. 113
5 Final Notes	p. 117
7 Communication Without Bounds?	p. 119
1 Introduction	p. 119
2 Early Modern Navigational Technologies	p. 120
3 Modern Industrial and Social Organisational Technologies	p. 123
4 Late Modern Technologies of Self-Organisation	p. 125
5 Communication and Hypercommunication	p. 128
6 Conclusions	p. 131
8 Norms of Communication and the Rise of the Network Society	p. 133
1 Introduction	p. 133
2 Computer Mediated Communication	p. 135
2.1 Electronic writing and reading	p. 136
2.2 Interactive communication	p. 137
3 The Meaning of Information	p. 139
4 Communication and Social Differentiation	p. 142
5 Conclusions	p. 146
Part III Human Practices
9 Evaluation of Systems in Human Practice	p. 149
1 Introduction	p. 149
2 Methods	p. 152
3 Results	p. 154
3.1 Hard Systems Methodology: concepts and methods	p. 154
3.2 Discussion on Hard Systems Approach: unanswered questions, objectivity and methodological weakness	p. 155
3.3 Soft Systems Methodology: concepts and methods	p. 156
3.4 Discussion on Soft Systems Approach: unanswered questions, objectivity and methodological weakness	p. 158
3.5 Critical Systems Methodology: concepts and methods	p. 159
3.6 Discussion on Critical Systems Approach: unanswered questions, objectivity and methodological weakness	p. 160
3.7 Multimodal Systems Thinking: concepts and methods	p. 161
3.8 Discussion on Multimodal Systems Approach: unanswered questions, objectivity and methodological weakness	p. 162
4 Conclusions and Recommendations	p. 163
10 Multimodal Investigation of Technology-Aided Human Practice in Business Operations	p. 165
1 Introduction	p. 165
2 Multimodal Systems Thinking	p. 167
2.1 Multimodal Systems Thinking in the context of three established system thinking paradigms	p. 167
2.2 Various dialects of Multimodal Systems Thinking: position allocation	p. 168
2.3 A brief map of Dooyeweerdian theories	p. 169
2.4 Multimodal Theory	p. 169
3 The Investigated System	p. 171
3.1 Organisational background	p. 171
3.2 The sales process prior to its re-design	p. 171
3.3 Re-designed sales process	p. 173
3.4 Motivation for the sales process re-design	p. 173
3.5 Juxtaposition of the two versions of the sales process	p. 174
3.6 Some unanticipated consequences of the sales process re-design	p. 174
4 Analysis of the Investigated System	p. 175
4.1 Further description of the buyer-salesman relation	p. 175
4.2 Analysis of the buyer-salesman relation	p. 176
5 Reflections and Discussion of the Employed Theory	p. 182
6 Conclusions	p. 183
11 An Aspectual Understanding of the Human Use of Information Technology	p. 185
1 Introduction	p. 185
2 Usefulness of Information Systems	p. 186
2.1 A sizeable failure	p. 186
2.2 A small success	p. 186
2.3 Issues in usage	p. 188
3 A Philosophical Approach to Usage	p. 190
3.1 Aspects of reality	p. 190
3.2 Functioning	p. 191
3.3 Multi-aspectual human functioning	p. 192
3.4 Impact of using IT	p. 193
3.5 Normativity	p. 195
3.6 Success and failure in using IT	p. 196
4 Discussion	p. 197
4.1 Use of the aspectual analysis	p. 197
4.2 The validity of the aspects	p. 198
5 Conclusion	p. 200
Part IV Directional Perspectives
12 The Idea of a Systems Ethics	p. 203
1 Introduction	p. 203
2 Ethics of Adaptation and Control	p. 204
3 Ethics of Liberation	p. 208
4 Ethics of Disclosure	p. 211
13 Normative Sources of Systems Thinking: An Inquiry into Religious Ground-Motives of Systems Thinking Paradigms	p. 217
1 Introduction	p. 217
2 The Model of Religious Ground-Motives	p. 219
2.1 The Matter-Form Ground-Motive	p. 220
2.2 The Creation-Fall-Redemption Ground-Motive	p. 221
2.3 The Nature-Grace Ground-Motive	p. 221
2.4 The Nature-Freedom Ground-Motive3	p. 222
3 Four Paradigms of Systems Thinking and their Religious Ground-Motives	p. 223
3.1 Hard Systems Thinking: presentation and analysis	p. 223
3.2 Soft Systems Thinking: presentation and analysis	p. 224
3.3 Critical Systems Thinking	p. 225
3.4 Multimodal Systems Thinking: presentation and analysis	p. 228
4 A Comparison of the Model of Religious Ground-Motives with Jackson's Employment of the Burrell-Morgan Model	p. 230
5 Summary and Conclusions	p. 232
14 Towards a 'Disclosive Systems Thinking'	p. 235
1 Introduction	p. 235
2 An Evaluation of Current Systems Methodologies	p. 236
2.1 Systems methodology entails systems ethics	p. 236
2.2 From 'Hard Systems Thinking' to 'Critical Systems Thinking' and beyond	p. 240
3 Normative Principles of 'Disclosive Systems Thinking'	p. 244
3.1 Disclosure and intrinsic normativity	p. 245
3.2 Simultaneous realization of norms led by a qualifying norm	p. 248
3.3 Disclosure as multi-actor activity	p. 252
3.4 Critical awareness of the social-cultural context	p. 254
4 Concluding Remarks	p. 255
Part V Critical Reflections
15 Reflections on the CPTS Model of Interdisciplinarity	p. 259
1 Introduction	p. 259
2 The Strengths of the CPTS Model	p. 260
2.1 The value of explicit theory	p. 260
2.2 The incorporation of ethical considerations	p. 260
2.3 The systems approach	p. 261
2.4 Applicability to a broad range of technologies	p. 262
2.5 The incorporation of a wide range of disciplines	p. 263
3 Critiques of the CPTS Model	p. 264
3.1 Ecosystems research	p. 264
3.2 Dealing with conflicts over normative beliefs	p. 265
4 Conclusions	p. 267
16 Technology and Systems - But What About the Humanities?	p. 269
1 Introduction	p. 269
2 Systems Distinctions	p. 271
3 Hubris Pro and Con	p. 273
4 The Hierarchy of System Levels	p. 274
References	p. 277
Index	p. 295

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