[AISWorld] Question: do we really want to risk turning AIS into a political lobbying organization?

[Kappelman, Leon]

The question is not what we as academics individually should do. The question is what AIS should be about and what AIS should be involved in.  If AIS develops into an organization that speaks out about everything that bothers us as individuals, then AIS loses its power to speak for us as an academic community. We let the nose of that political camel into this tent, and it could be downhill for AIS from there.


- From iPhone - Please excuse typos -
Leon A. Kappelman, Ph.D., Professor of Information Systems
 Director Emeritus, Information Systems Research Center
 College of Business, University of North Texas
  Voice: 940-565-4698<tel:940-565-4698>   kapp at unt.edu<mailto:kapp at unt.edu>


On Jan 29, 2017, at 1:44 PM, Robert Willis <Robert.Willis at viu.ca<mailto:Robert.Willis at viu.ca>> wrote:

"Seems to me we should keep AIS focused on the issues that concern us as academics"

Seems to me that we, as academics, are supposed to be participants in the social and political discourses that surround us: ethics of use (or normatively, ought to be) a fundamental part of our research and attention (remembering the Manhattan Project, among other instances).  The narrow focus that you suggest academics adopt goes against a large part of what being an academic is all about: which is why academics are one of the first social groups to be targeted.

Dr. R. A. (Bob) Willis BA MBA PhD
Professor
Faculty of Management
Vancouver Island University
Nanaimo, BC, CANADA




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From: AISWorld [aisworld-bounces at lists.aisnet.org<mailto:aisworld-bounces at lists.aisnet.org>] on behalf of Kappelman, Leon [Leon.Kappelman at unt.edu<mailto:Leon.Kappelman at unt.edu>]
Sent: January-29-17 10:29 AM
To: aisworld at lists.aisnet.org<mailto:aisworld at lists.aisnet.org>
Subject: [AISWorld] Question: do we really want to risk turning AIS into a political lobbying organization?

Question: do we really want to risk turning AIS into a political lobbying organization or are there already other venues for the political activities in which AIS members may wish to engage?

Seems to me we should keep AIS focused on the issues that concern us as academics - our research and teaching - and keep government policies on immigration, healthcare, gun rights, taxes, abortion, tariffs, and everything else in the venues where they belong.

"Let us be men, not monkeys minding machines, or sitting with our tails curled, while the machine amuses us." - D. H. Lawrence
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Leon A. Kappelman, Ph.D.
 Professor of Information Systems<http://www.cob.unt.edu/profiles/112>
 Director Emeritus, Information Systems Research Center
   College of Business, University of North Texas
   Voice: 940-565-4698   Email: kapp at unt.edu<mailto:kapp at unt.edu><mailto:kapp at unt.edu>
 Primary Investigator, SIM's Annual IT Trends Study<http://www.simnet.org/?ITTrendsStudy>
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