[AISWorld] What is IS?

[MurphJen at aol.com]

The last few months I've received comments on articles and journals that  
say they aren't IS enough.  This is something I hadn't heard before I have  a 
couple of questions:
 
What is considered IS?
 
Is there a move to limit the definition of IS?
 
A little background.  I am the editor in chief of the International  
Journal of Knowledge Management and the International Journal of Information  
Systems for Crisis Response and Management.  I have received comments that  
these journals are not IS enough.  This perplexes me.  Has the IS  field decided 
that knowledge management or knowledge systems are not information  
systems?  I do understand that information and knowledge are not the same,  but are 
we deciding that these are completely different disciplines?  Are  we know 
saying that we need a AKS in additions to AIS?  
 
The same for IS for crisis response and management, are we saying this is  
not part of the IS discipline?
 
My view is that the IS discipline has morphed into knowledge systems and  
that IS for crisis response is much like database with respect to the IS 
field,  it is an application of IS.  Is this an incorrect assumption?
 
My last question is why now?  Why after several years of IS journals  
having special issues on KM and crisis response systems as well as having tracks  
and minitracks at major conferences such as ICIS, HICSS, AMCIS, ECIS, and  
PACIS are we all of  a sudden saying these topics are no longer  IS?
 
One suspicion I have is that as faculty IS positions have been  declining 
the last few years there is a move to protect traditional IS and keep  the IS 
faculty positions traditional IS positions.  Assuming that is so, is  this 
a wise move?  I personally believe that traditional IS is moribund and  that 
the exciting research is in areas like social media, business intelligence, 
 knowledge management, crisis response, health care informatics, project  
management, information security/assurance, etc. using new research 
approaches  such as design science and action research.
 
Thanks and is customary I will post a summary of responses.....murray  
jennex
 
Murray E. Jennex, Ph.D., P.E., CISSP, CSSLP, PMP
San Diego State University
Editor in Chief International Journal of Knowledge Management
Coeditor in Chief International Journal of Information Systems for Crisis  
Response and Management
 
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