Information Systems Research: Scientific Concepts, Language and Change in Evolving Problem Solving Activity

There are several types of approaches to specify the contents and boundaries of the IS field, some of which are normative and some descriptive. However, they do not consider the role of scientific language change in problem solving. Research is an ever-continuing “intellectual voyage”, in which both a research community and each individual researcher progress from one understanding to another during time. An essential part of the problem solving activity and its progress and thereby the progress of the field is evolution of language through problem solving. If a conceptual core for Information Systems is ever to be formed, it should at least make sense in regard to the progress of the IS field among its reference disciplines. Currently, such core cannot be identified due to the use of theoretically and linguistically isolated viewpoints to IS research. We need to strive to change our scientific language to convey and bridge gaps between different viewpoints and schools. In this, new conceptual innovations and active reinterpretation of used theories are needed. An inclusive view of the ontology of the field and willingness to actively pursue to evolve one’s language, concepts, and conceptual viewpoints innovatively in research is essential for this

Assessing the Usefulness of Visualization Tools to Investigate Hidden Patterns with Insider Attack Cases

The insider threat is a major concern for organizations. Open markets, technological advances, and the evolving definition of employee have exacerbated the insider threat. Insider threat research efforts are focusing on both prevention and detection techniques. However, recent security violation trends highlight the damage insider attacks cause organizations and illuminate why organizations and researchers must develop new approaches to this challenge. Although fruitful research is being conducted and new technologies are being applied to the insider threat problem, companies remain susceptible to the costly damage generated by insider threat actions. This research explored how visualization tools may be useful in highlighting patterns or relationships in insider attack case data and sought to determine if visualization software can assist in generating hypotheses for future insider threat research. The research analyzes cases of insider attack crimes committed during the period of 1998 to 2004 with an information visualization tool, IN-SPIRE. The results provide some evidence that visualization tools are useful in both finding patterns and generating hypotheses. By identifying new knowledge from insider threat cases, current insider threat models may be refined and other potential solutions may be discovered