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IS Evaluation in the Fusion View : An Emergence Perspective

Carlsson, Sven LU and Tona, Olgerta LU (2012) European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation p.41-46
Abstract
Different theories have changed the way we address to technol-ogy. In the debate on the core of Information System (IS), El Sawy identi-fied three faces of IS views: connection, immersion, and fusion. El Sawy contends that it may be time for a natural shift of emphasis from the con-nection view to the immersion view to the fusion view as IT continues to morph and augment its capabilities. In the fusion view, IT and IS are fused within the business environment, such that business and IT and IS are in-distinguishable to standard time-space perception and form a unified fab-ric. There exist different traditional IS evaluation approaches, like experi-mental, pragmatic, constructivist, pluralist and realist IS evaluation re-search. These... (More)
Different theories have changed the way we address to technol-ogy. In the debate on the core of Information System (IS), El Sawy identi-fied three faces of IS views: connection, immersion, and fusion. El Sawy contends that it may be time for a natural shift of emphasis from the con-nection view to the immersion view to the fusion view as IT continues to morph and augment its capabilities. In the fusion view, IT and IS are fused within the business environment, such that business and IT and IS are in-distinguishable to standard time-space perception and form a unified fab-ric. There exist different traditional IS evaluation approaches, like experi-mental, pragmatic, constructivist, pluralist and realist IS evaluation re-search. These approaches evaluate IS when it is positioned either in the connection or immersion view. However, we believe that the fusion view will influence the way IS is evaluated. This paper uses the relational emer-gence theory, based on the philosophy of critical realism where emergence refers to an entity as a ‘whole’ whose parts are structured by the relations among each other. Emergent entities possess properties different from its individual parts’ properties. Considering the similarity to fusion concept, the emergence concept is used to theorize and operationalize the fusion view, as it lacks a theoretical grounding. Based on this, we present and discuss the implications for IS evaluation in terms of how to evaluate a process as well as the output of the process. The discussion on IS evalua-tion is illustrated through an empirical example, drawn on a research study within a police organization. This paper concludes that in the fusion view, the evaluation process shall embrace a holistic perspective. The focus of the evaluation process shall be the emergent entity which consist of IS,users, task and processes structured by means of relationships among each other. The properties exhibited by this emergent entity shall be evaluated. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
IS evaluation, fusion view, emergence
host publication
[Host publication title missing]
pages
41 - 46
publisher
Academic Conferences
conference name
European Conference on Information Management and Evaluation
conference location
Cork, Ireland
conference dates
2012-09-13
external identifiers
  • wos:000321564000006
  • scopus:84893126364
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
5c761ac0-3e6b-42c7-b95a-759f50ab9e11 (old id 3054607)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 10:54:07
date last changed
2022-01-29 21:03:51
@inproceedings{5c761ac0-3e6b-42c7-b95a-759f50ab9e11,
  abstract     = {{Different theories have changed the way we address to technol-ogy. In the debate on the core of Information System (IS), El Sawy identi-fied three faces of IS views: connection, immersion, and fusion. El Sawy contends that it may be time for a natural shift of emphasis from the con-nection view to the immersion view to the fusion view as IT continues to morph and augment its capabilities. In the fusion view, IT and IS are fused within the business environment, such that business and IT and IS are in-distinguishable to standard time-space perception and form a unified fab-ric. There exist different traditional IS evaluation approaches, like experi-mental, pragmatic, constructivist, pluralist and realist IS evaluation re-search. These approaches evaluate IS when it is positioned either in the connection or immersion view. However, we believe that the fusion view will influence the way IS is evaluated. This paper uses the relational emer-gence theory, based on the philosophy of critical realism where emergence refers to an entity as a ‘whole’ whose parts are structured by the relations among each other. Emergent entities possess properties different from its individual parts’ properties. Considering the similarity to fusion concept, the emergence concept is used to theorize and operationalize the fusion view, as it lacks a theoretical grounding. Based on this, we present and discuss the implications for IS evaluation in terms of how to evaluate a process as well as the output of the process. The discussion on IS evalua-tion is illustrated through an empirical example, drawn on a research study within a police organization. This paper concludes that in the fusion view, the evaluation process shall embrace a holistic perspective. The focus of the evaluation process shall be the emergent entity which consist of IS,users, task and processes structured by means of relationships among each other. The properties exhibited by this emergent entity shall be evaluated.}},
  author       = {{Carlsson, Sven and Tona, Olgerta}},
  booktitle    = {{[Host publication title missing]}},
  keywords     = {{IS evaluation; fusion view; emergence}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{41--46}},
  publisher    = {{Academic Conferences}},
  title        = {{IS Evaluation in the Fusion View : An Emergence Perspective}},
  year         = {{2012}},
}