[AISWorld] Why top IS journals ignore research in one of the most valuable assets: Data Centers?

[Manuel Mora]

Colleague Geoffrey,
Thanks for sharing these ideas. My general critique to our discipline in
modern times and top journals, is a rare concentration in minuscule topics
OR repetitive minor variations on fashion models with a required large
textual argumentation supported with state of the art statistics techniques
for the sake of publishing and advancing in our tenure academic positions.
In the past, 70's and 80's, top journals and research papers were focused
directly in relevant problems and written in a normal academic style (not
required a 600-points toefl score). As example, the ToC of MIS Quarterly
March 1979 issue reports an interesting mix of engineering and managerial
oriented papers. Some of them with a didactical viewpoint or with practical
direct implications. It has been lost in nowadays.
Manuel

http://www.misq.org/contents-03-1/
*Volume 3, Number 1 — March 1979*

*Research Articles*

Heuristic Development: A Redesign of Systems Design
<http://misq.org/heuristic-development-a-redesign-of-systems-design.html?SID=levirfev41acklr71pg23tc3l0>
Thomas Berrisford and James C. Wetherbe
(pp. 11-19)

Cryptographic Protection of Computer-Based Data Files
<http://misq.org/cryptographic-protection-of-computer-based-data-files.html?SID=levirfev41acklr71pg23tc3l0>
Thomas J. Murray
(pp. 21-28)

A Framework for MIS Software Development Projects
<http://misq.org/a-framework-for-mis-software-development-projects.html?SID=levirfev41acklr71pg23tc3l0>
Jeffrey H. Moore
(pp. 29-38)

*Theory and Review Articles*

A User’s Behavior Toward His MIS
<http://misq.org/a-user-s-behavior-toward-his-mis.html?SID=levirfev41acklr71pg23tc3l0>
Alexander M. Maish
(pp. 39-52)

A Team Approach to Managing the Development of a Decision Support System
<http://misq.org/a-team-approach-to-managing-the-development-of-a-decision-support-system.html?SID=levirfev41acklr71pg23tc3l0>
William B. Locander, H. Albert Napier, and Richard W. Scamell


On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 2:04 PM, Geoffrey Hubona <ghubona at gmail.com> wrote:

> Manuel - Regretfully, this has always been the practical context of the
> IS/IT 'behavioral' and 'technical' research articles published in our top
> journals (MISQ, MISQ Executive, ISR, JMIS) to 'real world' IS and IT
> executives and other business-oriented and profit-oriented organizational
> practitioners. The truth is that this research is rarely immediately
> valuable to finding useable, actionable, practical insights in dealing with
> the thorny issues of making information systems more effective
> and/or useful to increasing profit or strategic effectiveness.​
>
> CIOs and senior IT managers do not read these articles and have long
> complained that they have little relevance to their jobs. These articles
> are read almost exclusively by grad students and other university faculty
> in these fields because it is a prime criterion by which they are assessed
> on the job.
>
> There is a "reality gap," always has been, between the direction and
> guidance afforded by this research and what is actually used in real
> businesses to cope with their problems. I know this to be true because I
> have spent a significant amount of my professional life in both camps.
>
> Real CIOs and senior IT managers in corporations and government
> organizations who have to wrestle with practical, day-to-day problems of
> how to extract value, utility, and effectiveness from either the human
> side, or the technical side of implementing and using information systems
> do not read these research articles in our 'top' IS/IT journals because
> these research articles offer little or nothing of immediate value to them.
>
> Best, Geoffrey Hubona, Ph.D.
>
>
>
> On Fri, Mar 4, 2016 at 12:40 PM, <mmora at securenym.net> wrote:
>
> > Dear AIS colleagues:
> >
> > Well, it is well known that IS/IT area is a mix of managerial and
> > engineering disciplines. However, it is sad that most top IS journals
> > (MISQ, MISQ Executive, ISR, JMIS) ignore totally one of the main
> > constructs of our discipline:  data centers.  A search for research
> papers
> > on this construct and real entity (where all ICT operations run daily in
> > the largest worldwide organizations) in these top journals reports a
> > scarcity of them.
> >
> > Are we really researchers in IT (technology side)?  I believe AIS must
> > re-design it and make a real self-valuation on it. IT needs technical and
> > engineering oriented people and top journals and their followers only
> > value managerial soft issues.
> >
> > I have not renewed my subscription to AIS for it, but most important is
> an
> > inquiry: are we really preparing IT technical people correctly?
> >
> > I am afraid that AIS is not helping too much. Our behavioral colleagues
> > are welcome but AIS should be controlled by Engineering ICT people !
> >
> > Well, this is a discussion list, so my 5 cents contribution !
> > Manuel Mora
> >
> > PS Interested in engineering topics on Data Centers please consider:
> >
> >
> >
> http://www.issip.org/cfp-engineering-and-management-of-data-centers-an-it-service-management-approach/
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > AISWorld mailing list
> > AISWorld at lists.aisnet.org
> >
> _______________________________________________
> AISWorld mailing list
> AISWorld at lists.aisnet.org
>



-- 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Manuel Mora, EngD.
Full Professor and Researcher Level C
ACM Senior Member / SNI Level I
Department of Information Systems
Autonomous University of Aguascalientes
Ave. Universidad 940
Aguascalientes, AGS
Mexico, 20131
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------