Dear colleagues<br><br>This is the first call for papers for the AMCIS 2013 mini-track on "Transdisciplinary Wisdom in IS Research" (IS Philosophy)<br><br>
Mini-Track Title: <font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Transdisciplinary
Wisdom in IS <font>R</font>esearch</span></span></font><br>
Track Title: IS Philosophy (<a href="http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=58">IS Philosophy</a>)<br>
<br>
19th Americas Conference on Information Systems (AMCIS 2013)<br>
Hyperconnected World: Anything Anywhere Anytime<br>
Chicago, Illinois, USA<br>
15-17 August 2013<br>
<br>
Deadline for paper submissions: February 22, 2013 (the Bepress system will open on January 4, 2013 for submissions)<br>
<br>
Instructions for authors at: AMCIS website<<a href="http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/" target="_blank">http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/</a>><br>
(<a href="http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/" target="_blank">http://amcis2013.aisnet.org/</a>)<br>
<br>
Description:<br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This mini-track has two intertwined themes:
wisdom and transdisciplinarity in IS research. Wisdom goes beyond knowledge and
is concerned with inquiry on what is of true value for the individual and for
the collective good.<span style> </span>Wisdom arises in a
person-context interaction but can also be conceived in terms of groups, organizations,
communities, and nations. Transdisciplinarity refers to a holistic blended
approach that brings together collaborators from various disciplines to solve
complex practical problems. This mini-track offers an opportunity to reflect on transdisciplinary
wisdom as a goal of IS research and as a means for studying IS issues.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">In today’s troubled world ridden with
alarming crises of all kinds, the importance of wisdom cannot be
underestimated.<span style> </span>“If there is anything
the world needs, it is wisdom. Without it, I exaggerate not at all in saying
that very soon, there may be no world. . .” warns Robert J. Sternberg, eminent
wisdom researcher and 2003 President of the American Psychological Association
(Sternberg, 2003). Being at the pinnacle of the
data-information-knowledge-wisdom pyramid (Ackoff, 1989; Zeleny, 1987), wisdom needs
to be seen as an important goal of information systems but there is little
understanding of how to transform knowledge to wisdom (Rowley, 2007). The IS
field, with its interdisciplinary focus on the relationship between information
technologies and diverse individual, organizational, and societal issues, is
well positioned to advance wisdom computing research (Dalal, 2012). Wisdom is
both an end and a means in IS research. Wisdom is inextricably connected with
knowledge, decision making, decision support, inquiry, inquiring systems
(Churchman, 1971), inquiring organizations (Courtney, Haynes, and Paradice,
2005), systems thinking, business thinking (Mitroff, 1993), and learning
organizations (Senge, 1990) among other topics of interest to IS researchers.
Transdisciplinary wisdom is a means to IS research as the diversity enriching
IS goes further than the social sciences and may include the humanities as well
(Kroeze, 2010; Kroeze et al., 2011). Historical, philosophical and linguistic
fields are only three humanities disciplines that are relevant for IS.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">According to Sternberg’s balance theory
(2003), wisdom is the application of intelligence, creativity and knowledge for
the common good by balancing intrapersonal, interpersonal and extrapersonal
(institutional and other larger) interests. Wisdom has been related to
cognitive, reflective, and affective personality characteristics including
multiple perspectives and insight (Ardelt, 2004) and to self-actualization and
beyond (Maslow, 1971). </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style lang="EN-US">Wisdom’s
emphasis on intelligence and creativity provides a link to transdisciplinarity.
The criteria of novelty and importance seem to differentiate transdisciplinarity
from interdisciplinarity, which is the integration of insights from multiple
disciplines (Weber, 2012). This is where research in IS can make a huge
contribution since a strong focus on problem solving is typical of both IS and transdisciplinary
research (De Albuquerque and Simon, 2007:1460). Critical theory and action
research are examples of IS paradigms and research methodologies that focus on
improving organisations and society.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style lang="EN-US">The
practical focus of transdisciplinary IS is very clear in several publications.
Elliot (2011) encourages it in order to promote environmental sustainability.
Not only should IT try to minimise its own impact on the environment but it
should also be used to address the carbon footprint of other industries
(Elliot, 2011: 200). This necessitates the collaboration of different
disciplines to approach a common problem and to find solutions which may change
business practices in the process (Elliot, 2011: 204). The impact-orientation
of transdisciplinary work may especially be a contribution from IS side –
information systems are today pervasive in all business endeavours and they are
used to change processes and behaviour to complement insights from other
disciplines and to enhance efficiency. In the academic world, our community
engagement is one attempt to use our knowledge and skills in a practical way. This
enables academic staff to reach out to the community, while they also enrich
their pedagogy and research at the same time.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="citation" style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt">The idea of novelty
is also very important in transdisciplinarity with regard to its theoretical
contributions. Weber’s (2012) suggested framework and criteria (including
novelty and importance) can be used to evaluate and develop new innovative
theories in the IS discipline. The static borders of a settled discipline often
need to be deconstructed in order to see and solve new problems. Deconstruction
is the idea that all phenomena are deeply embedded in cultural environments and
that these layers must be uncovered in order to properly understand the core of
the issues (De Albuquerque and Simon, 2007:1460). When a discipline becomes
established it becomes a “self-bounded entity”, and its scope is determined by
the specialities of its researchers, journal editors’ and reviewers’ agendas
and the needs of universities and colleges offering the subject (Hovorka, 2010:
6). The individuality of a discipline is not a given, but something that
evolves and changes as the academic society and the wider society changes (Teo
and Srivastava, 2007:525). Deconstruction is typical of the postmodern era of
our times, while the related call for a pluralistic approach to solve complex
problems is typical of the related concept of postpositivism. Hirschheim (1985)
already pleaded in 1985 for methodological pluralism in IS theory which
transcends the limitations of the scientific method (positivism).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">This minitrack will provide a platform to
reflect on transdisciplinary wisdom as an end and means of IS research through
the application of social science and the humanities. Three main approaches are
possible: multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary.
Multi-disciplinarity refers to the study of a phenomenon from divergent angles,
with little or no integration. Interdisciplinarity amalgamates two or more
perspectives, and transdisciplinarity is a holistic, blended approach
transversing disciplinary limits (Van Biljon, 2011).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span><br></p>
Suggested Topics:<br>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Potential themes/topics include but are not
limited to the following:</span></p>
<ul style="margin-top:0cm" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Understanding
wisdom as a goal for IS and its operational definitions and dimensions</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Exploring
present and potential contributions of the humanities (Linguistics,
History, Art, Philosophy, Theology, Law, etc.) to IS</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Probing the
enrichment between IS and other disciplines, such as the natural and
social sciences</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Reflecting
on multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approaches in IS theory and
practice </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Categorization
of existing IS research as either multi-, inter- or transdisciplinary</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Reflections
on bridging divisions between diverse methodologies, assumptions, and
communities of practice in IS research</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Reflections
on the wise use of technologies in a digital age</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Understanding
differences between knowledge and wisdom</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Applications
of diverse wisdom philosophic perspectives (e.g. Eastern, Western,
African, Native American, etc.) to IS </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Reflections
on the role of IS in producing, sharing, impacting, and supporting wisdom
at the level of the individual, organization, community (real and
virtual), society, culture, nation, nation-bloc, and globe </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style><span lang="EN-US">Implications
of transdisciplinary wisdom research for IS as a discipline<span style> </span></span></li></ul>
<br>
Mini-Track Chairs:<br>
<h3><span style="font-weight:normal"><font><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span lang="EN-US">Jan H. Kroeze <br></span></span></font></span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">School of Computing, University of South
Africa, Pretoria, South Africa</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Email: <a href="mailto:kroezjh@unisa.ac.za">kroezjh@unisa.ac.za</a></span></p>
<h3><font><span style="font-weight:normal"><span lang="EN-US">Nik Dalal</span></span></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">Management Science and Information Systems,
Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style lang="FR">Email:
<a href="mailto:nik@okstate.edu">nik@okstate.edu</a></span></p>
<br>
References<br>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US"><br></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Ackoff, R.L. (1989) ‘From data to wisdom,’ Journal of Applied
Systems Analysis, Vol. 16, pp.3-9.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Ardelt, M. (2004) ‘Wisdom as expert knowledge system: A critical
review of a contemporary operationalization of an ancient concept,’ Human
Development, Vol. 47, pp.257-285.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Churchman, C. West. (1971) The Design of Inquiring Systems: Basic
Concepts of Systems and Organization, Basic Books, New York.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Courtney, J.F., Haynes, J. and Paradice, D.P. (2005) Inquiring
Organizations: Moving From Knowledge Management To Wisdom, IGI Global.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Dalal, N., ‘Wisdom Computing: Toward a Framework for Wisdom Research
in Information Systems’ (July 29, 2012). <i>AMCIS 2012 Proceedings.</i> Paper
14. </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style>D</span>e Albuquerque, J. and Simon, E. (2007) ‘Dealing with
socio-technical complexity: Towards a transdisciplinary approach to IS research,’
<em><span style>ECIS 2007 Proceedings,</span></em>
paper 149. Available at: <a href="http://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2007/149"><span style>http://aisel.aisnet.org/ecis2007/149</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:35.45pt"><span style lang="EN-US">Elliot, S. (2011) ‘Transdisciplinary
perspectives on environmental sustainability: A resource base and framework for
IT-enabled business transformation,’ </span><em><span style lang="EN-US">MIS
Quarterly</span></em><span style lang="EN-US">, vol.
35, no. 1, pp. 197-236.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:35.45pt"><span style lang="EN-US">Hirschheim, R. (1985) ‘Information
systems epistemology: An historical perspective,’ In <i style>Research Methods in Information Systems,</i> E. Mumford, R. Hirschheim,
G. Fitzgerald and T. Wood- Harper, Eds. North-Holland, Amsterdam, </span><em><span style lang="EN-US">IFIP
WG 82 Colloquium Research Methods in IS, p</span></em><span style lang="EN-US">p. 13-36. </span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:35.45pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Hovorka, D.S. (2010) ‘Moving beyond IS identity: Concepts and discourses,’ <em><span style>ICIS 2010 Proceedings, p</span></em>aper 267. Available at: <a href="http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2010_submissions/267"><span style>http://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2010_submissions/267</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Kroeze, J.H. (2010) ‘The mutualistic relationship between
Information Systems and the Humanities’ (full paper, edited version of
inaugural lecture), Proceedings of the 15th International Business Information
Management Association Conference (15th IBIMA), 6 - 7 November 2010, Cairo,
Egypt, pp. 915-927. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Kroeze, J.H., Lotriet, H.H., Mavetera, N., Pfaff, M.S., Postma,
D.J.V.R., Sewchurran, K. & Topi, H. (2011) ‘ECIS 2010 panel report:
Humanities-enriched Information Systems,’ Communications of the Association for
Information Systems (CAIS), Vol. 28, No. 1, Article 24, pp.373-392. Available:
<a href="http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol28/iss1/24">http://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol28/iss1/24</a> and
<a href="http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4651">http://uir.unisa.ac.za/handle/10500/4651</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Maslow, A.H. (1971) Chpt 3, ‘Self-actualizing and beyond’ in ‘The
farther reaches of human nature,’ Penguin Compass, New York. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Mitroff, I. and Linstone, H.A., The Unbounded Mind: Breaking the
Chains of Traditional Business Thinking, Oxford Univ. Press, New York, 1993.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Rowley J. (2007) ‘The wisdom hierarchy: representations of the DIKW
hierarchy,’ <i style>Journal of Information
Science</i>, Vol. 33, No. 2, pp. 163-180.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Sternberg, Robert J. (2003) Wisdom, Intelligence, and Creativity
Synthesized, Cambridge University Press, New York.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Teo, T.S.H. and Srivastava, S.C. (2007) ‘Information Systems (IS)
discipline identity: A review and framework,’ </span><em><span style lang="EN-US">Communications of the Association
for Information Systems, </span></em><span lang="EN-US">vol. 20, article 33.Van
Biljon, J. (2011) ‘A critical review on the reporting of surveys in
transdisciplinary research: A case study in Information Systems,’ The Journal
for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa, Vol. 7, Issue 2, pp.
337-350. </span><span style lang="FR">Available:
<a href="http://search.sabinet.co.za/WebZ/Authorize?sessionid=0&next=ej/ej_content_transd.html&bad=error/authofail.html">http://search.sabinet.co.za/WebZ/Authorize?sessionid=0&next=ej/ej_content_transd.html&bad=error/authofail.html</a>
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span style lang="EN-US">Weber, R. (2012) ‘Evaluating and
developing theories in the Information Systems discipline,’ </span><em><span style lang="EN-US">Journal
of the Association for Information Systems</span></em><span style lang="EN-US">, vol. 13, iss. 1, article 2. Available at: </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss1/2"><span style>http://aisel.aisnet.org/jais/vol13/iss1/2</span></a>Wenger,
E., McDermott, R., & Snyder, W.M. (2002). Cultivating communities of
practice: A guide to managing knowledge. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:36.0pt"><span lang="EN-US">Zeleny, M. (1987) ‘Management support systems: towards integrated
knowledge management,’ Human Systems Management, Vol. 7, No. 1 pp. 59-70.</span></p>
<br>Sincerely<br>Jan H. Kroeze and Nik Dalal<br><br>