"Without libraries what have we?" Public libraries as nodes for technological empowerment in the era of smart cities, AI and big data

Since 2014, a growing body of critical research has pointed out flaws in smart city development. It has been described as too technology-led and business-oriented, diminishing citizens' agency and causing digital divides. As the agenda keeps spreading, there is an urgent need to develop more participatory, inclusive and bottom-up approaches to balance interests of those currently in strong power positions, such as large corporations. Participatory design (PD) and participatory approaches in general have been suggested as a remedy, but they often tend to be local, small-scale and short-term. Therefore, their impacts are often modest as well. We suggest that we need to start thinking about ways to create scalable approaches that would grow the temporal and spatial impact of actions and practices that intend to increase citizens' understanding and control over new technologies, i.e. their technological agency. Without making sure that more people have adequate knowledge and sufficient control and mastery of technologies, societal discussion and ultimately, political decisions, are left to few experts. We explore the potential of public libraries to act as an ally and cooperation partner in participatory design and technology education in general, with a significant potential to broaden micro-level actions' impact. The paper consists of a broad literature review mapping the central challenges of current smart city development; this is followed with an introduction to the Finnish library system as a democratic project; finally, we present three examples of how libraries are carrying out technological education connected to emerging technologies, particularly to 3D printing, robotics and virtual reality. Our central argument is that there is a need to bridge micro-level actions, such as those connected to participatory design projects, with the macro-level technopolitical development by collaborating with meso-level actors and networks.Peer reviewe

Gender inclusiveness in the adoption and use of home energy technologies

Home energy technologies, such as smart home energy management systems (SHEMS), are important in reducing energy-related emissions and empowering energy users. However, there are concerns on gender inclusiveness of the adoption and use of SHEMS. So far, information systems research has failed to address this significant challenge. This study examines factors shaping gendered adoption and use of smart home technologies, particularly SHEMS, and the implications this has for sustainability and energy equality. Applying a critical lens, we examine findings from a sensory ethnographic study on the adoption of SHEMS in households. The findings underline the need for more inclusive energy technology design, more understanding of diversity of households and more variety in the approaches for increasing awareness on and facilitating the adoption of energy technologies. We contribute to research on gender and home energy technologies, and to the larger discussion of gender and energy

Gender inclusiveness in the adoption and use of home energy technologies

Home energy technologies, such as smart home energy management systems (SHEMS), are important in reducing energy-related emissions and empowering energy users. However, there are concerns on gender inclusiveness of the adoption and use of SHEMS. So far, information systems research has failed to address this significant challenge. This study examines factors shaping gendered adoption and use of smart home technologies, particularly SHEMS, and the implications this has for sustainability and energy equality. Applying a critical lens, we examine findings from a sensory ethnographic study on the adoption of SHEMS in households. The findings underline the need for more inclusive energy technology design, more understanding of diversity of households and more variety in the approaches for increasing awareness on and facilitating the adoption of energy technologies. We contribute to research on gender and home energy technologies, and to the larger discussion of gender and energy.© 2023 the Authors. This material is brought to you by the ECIS 2023 Proceedings at AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). It has been accepted for inclusion in ECIS 2023 Research Papers by an authorized administrator of AIS Electronic Library (AISeL). For more information, please contact [email protected]=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

How Information Systems are Shaped from the Decision-Making Level to Technical Implementation: Case Trucking

Digitalization is advancing in all walks of life. One of the areas undergoing a sector-wide transformation is trucking, as part of the logistics sector. This will have a profound impact from societal and economic level down to the individual trucker. Information Systems research has for long focused on system design and deployment on organizational level, implying that this level has the actual power to decide about the design directions. However, our study shows that the transformation is more complex and involves technical and societal aspects that shape the decisions before a single organization, or a network of companies get involved. We thus argue that there is a need to take a broader view to the change. We interviewed 14 high-profile actors in Finland and at the European Union level, trying to understand the highest level of this transformation, how the forces are shaped into drivers, what technical manifestations are foreseen, and how the voice of the individual worker can be heard at this level of the process

IT INNOVATIONS AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN EMERGING ECONOMIES - IS CLOUD COMPUTING A MAGIC INGREDIENT FOR EGYPTIAN ENTREPRENEURS?

Using the concept of affordances as an analytical lens, this study aims to understand the use of Cloud Computing (CC) by Egyptian entrepreneurs. The study analyses impact of CC on their businesses and its inhibiting and enabling factors. In general, Egyptian entrepreneurs have positive perceptions of CC and note its various actualized affordances: accessing information technology (IT) resources rapidly, broadening reach and transferring responsibility. The use of CC has yielded diverse effects: shortened time to market, reduced costs, a diversified audience and more useful feedback. We also identify what inhibits the use of CC, including transparency and corruption problems, limited support for online transactions, unsupportive government policies, low appreciation from the domestic market, cumbersome bureaucracy, account hacking and unreliable infrastructure. Finally, we also reveal some enabling factors, including institutional support, overseas market potential and CC uptake (i.e., growing use)

How Teachers Participate in the Infrastructuring of an Educational Network

The evolution of Digital technologies has changed the ways in which people interact with and through technologies. Despite longstanding investment in technical and pedagogical infrastructure, schools vary greatly in the degree to which they have digitalized. New curricula in Finland have put additional pressure on education to meet the goals set for learning in the 21st century. In information systems (IS) research, digitalization increases an interest for understanding contemporary IS projects as infrastructuring. In this study, we examine how teachers as influential actors in transforming their environment participated in shaping the infrastructuring of the educational network of a Finnish city. A nexus analysis of teachers’ interviews revealed three main discourses. The first discourse depicted teachers balancing between traditional and new educational solutions when aligning their pedagogy-driven practices with curriculum objectives. The second discourse concerned infrastructuring activities for establishing pedagogical ICT use successfully. The third discourse highlighted practices that teachers used to share resources as an organizational-balancing effort. The results reveal tensions between collegiality and leadership, submissive and empowered agency, and discontinuities and anticipation in ensuring continuity in infrastructuring. We discuss implications for organizing in-service training and developing local practices as contributing to infrastructuring in the educational network