[AISWorld] ICT and Societal Challenges: A Pre-ICIS Research Workshop

[Harminder Singh]

ICT and Societal Challenges: A Pre-ICIS Research Workshop

Date/Time: Sat 14 December 2013, 12 noon - 5 pm 
Venue: At Bocconi University (the conference venue)- room TBA

Deadline for Applications: 25 November, 2013

Refreshments sponsored by ESADE and Clemson University

This workshop is intended for all IS researchers (design scientists and social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) researchers) interested in ICT's role in either solving or contributing to societal challenges.

We're no luddites! We know that ICT has had enormous benefits and remains an important catalyst for national progress and societal transformation. But, as Rob Kling reminded us, ICT's consequences are not universally positive: Cyberbullying and gaming addiction can undermine social cohesion; ICT can promote unemployment, economic inequality, and financial market instability.  All technological innovations have unintended consequences, many of them positive. Some negative consequences cannot be foreseen or avoided. But some unintended negative consequences can be anticipated and avoided with vigilance against "technological solutionism" (uncritical utopian views about the benefits of technology) and by careful upfront analysis of the societal and organizational context as an input to better technology design.

We believe the time has come for the IS field to critically assess the SBE evidence about ICT's societal consequences and to develop better theories about the role of ICT in complex problems and their solutions. We believe the time has also come to feed SBE insights forward into the early stages of IS design rather than waiting for post-development evaluation. We are hosting a pre-ICIS 2103 (Milan) workshop to discuss these and related issues.

The topic of ICT and societal challenges is one of growing interest in our field. It was the theme of a recent professional development workshop at the Academy of Management in Orlando.  The negative consequences of ICT are the focus of an Information Systems Journal special issue (CFP closes 30 November, 2013). ICIS 2014 (Auckland) will have a track on the Societal Impacts of ICT. ICT and societal challenges is also the theme of a forthcoming MIS Quarterly Special Issue. In order to allow time for attendees of the pre-ICIS 2013 (Milan) workshop to enhance their work-in-progress for submission to the MISQ Special Issue, the deadline for the MISQ Special Issue has been extended to 31 March 2014. 

The pre-ICIS 2013 (Milan) workshop on ICT and Societal Challenges is an opportunity for all interested colleagues-regardless of their intentions to submit to the MISQ Special Issue-to discuss ideas for SBE research on ICT's role in societal challenges and the implications for IS design science. Details of the workshop format follow.

People interested in participating in the pre-ICIS 2013 workshop should submit a short (2 page maximum) position statement or an abstract describing your research interests to M. Lynne Markus (mlmarkus at bentley.edu) by 25 November, 2013. 


The workshop will consist of three parts as follows. 

Part 1 (1.5 hours)
We will introduce attendees to the theme of ICT and societal challenges and hold a short panel debate on some of the points-of-interest raised by the theme (e.g., "what are the pros and cons of devoting explicit IS research attention to ICT's 'Dark Side', in addition to ICT's benefits and its role as a solution to societal problems?" and "how can IS research, teaching and outreach effectively address complex social impacts of IT"). 

Coffee Break (15 minutes)
Sponsored by ESADE and Clemson University

Part 2 (2 hours)
(In advance of the workshop, attendees and faculty will have been assigned to small groups based on similarity of their research ideas or positions. Abstracts and position papers will have been distributed to group members.) In the second part of the workshop, participants will discuss their previously prepared position statements or abstracts of research ideas. Faculty members will facilitate discussion and record ideas.

Part 3 (1 hour 15 minutes)
The workshop will conclude with each group presenting the key themes that emerged in their discussions. The main findings derived from the workshop will be summarized overall. We will also discuss potential future events and initiatives for pursuing this research area.

Session Chair: 

Monideepa Tarafdar, Lancaster University Management School (monideepa.t at gmail.com) 

Workshop Faculty and Co-Organizers:

M. Lynne Markus, Bentley University (mlmarkus at bentley.edu) 
Anne-F. Rutkowski, University of Tilburg, NL (A.Rutkowski at uvt.nl) 
Carol Saunders, University of Central Florida (csaunders at bus.ucf.edu) 
Harminder Singh, Auckland University of Technology, NZ (harminder.singh at aut.ac.nz )
Christina Soh, Nanyang Technological University, SG (acsoh at ntu.edu.sg) 
Jason Bennett Thatcher, Clemson University (jthatch at clemson.edu) 
Jonathan Wareham, ESADE - Ramon Lull University (jonathan.wareham at esade.edu) 
Ann Majchrzak, University of Southern California (majchrza at usc.edu) (co-organizer, but will not be able to attend the workshop)