On the Preconditions for Intervention in Systems Design

I am currently participating in a project at the University of Oslo aimed at introducing an extension of the publication registration system, which supports research ethics. The current system allows researchers to register their publications, and administrators to count them. The number of publications is the basis for a part of the funding to the University and internally in the University. A couple of scandals concerned with fake data and fake co-authorship have triggered a wish to bring the ethical awareness more to the foreground. Together with a colleague from Dept. of Sociology I have been asked to evaluate the system: he investigates the attitudes towards research ethics and how they change, I evaluate the system as a work tool. Our reports will be the basis for decisions about the system by the University management

The dynamics of computerization in a social science research team : a case study of infrastructure, strategies, and skills

This paper examines the dynamics of Computerization in a PC-oriented research group through a case study. The time and skill in integrating computing into the labor processes of research are often significant "hidden costs" of computerization. Computing infrastructure plays a key role in reducing these costs may be enhanced by careful organization. We illustrate computerization strategies that we have found to be productive and unproductive. Appropriate computerization strategies depend as much on the structuring of resources and interests in the larger social setting, as on a technical characterization of tasks

SA++ : how to bring organizational aspects into teaching analysis and design

Because of the close connection between computer systems and organizations, organizational aspects should be taught in system development courses. Dataflow diagramming is a frequently taught technique that can model formal aspects of information processing. Socio-technical methods are intended to cover relations between people and technology in an organization. To avoid learning two techniques, the dataflow technique has been extended with two organizational aspects from socio-technical methods: goals and exceptions. Two versions of the extended technique have been used in a university course for systems analysis and design. Organizational issues were taught together with the technique. The students’ work has been evaluated. The technique is sufficiently easy to learn for students. The students also learnt to involve users in analysing their tasks through a wall graph session. However, many students did not learn sufficiently well to consider organizational impacts of computer systems or to design systems to fit organizational requirements. A possible way to cope is to give the students better background in knowledge of organizations

Az interpretatív rugalmasság eszközei: az információs rendszeren kívüli felhasználói rutinok = Means of interpretive flexibility: User workarounds next to information systems

Napjainkban általánosan elterjedt az információs rendszerek alkalmazása szervezetekben. Az informatikai összetevő és a felhasználók alapvető logikája közötti eltérés miatt a rendszerek bevezetését egy kölcsönös alkalmazkodási folyamat követi. Disszertációmban ezt a kölcsönös alkalmazkodási folyamatot vizsgálom a társas konstrukció megközelítésével. A felhasználók alkalmazkodnak a számítógépes rendszerek folyamataihoz, használatához és használati szabályaihoz. Mindeközben az informatikai rendszer ugyanúgy alakul, formálódik: belső fejlesztések, használati szokások és felhasználói szokások alakulnak ki. A rugalmatlanabb informatikai tényező mellett rendszeren kívüli megoldások alakítanak ki a felhasználók. A gyakorló informatikusok által széles körben ismert „workaround”-ok olyan megoldások, melyekkel a felhasználók a rendszert megkerülik, helyettesítik, vagy kiegészítik. Ezekkel az általánosan elterjedt felhasználói megoldásokkal igen kevés tudományos munka foglalkozik

Interdisciplinary operational decisions in the subsurface domain: An exploratory discussion of information requirements and support from integrated technologies

-Denne rapporten utforsker mulighetene innen IO når det gjelder potensialet for å støtte operasjonelle beslutningsprosesser i reservoardomenet. Utgangspunktet er at modellerings og simuleringsteknologi i dag først og fremst brukes for beslutninger med lengre horisonter f.eks. reservoar og geomodell. Reservoar-, og geoinformasjon inngår ofte i operasjonelle beslutninger f.eks. under boring men real time data tilbakeføres i liten grad til modeller og simuleringer. Denne rapporten gir et glimt av den ”informasjonsøkologien” evt nye verktøy i retning av ”closed loop reservoir management” må forholde seg til om de skal bevege seg inn i det tverrfaglige operasjonelle domenet. Rapporten er dels en teoretisk diskusjon og dels basert på uformelle intervjuer og besøk i undergrunnsmiljøer i StatoilHydro

Investigating Mutual Adaptation Process between Users and E-Learning System: A Knowledge Access Efficiency Approach

For its advantages in being able to provide rapid and comprehensive access to knowledge, e-learning system has been widely adopted in education to improve learning processes. However, such IT-mediated processes involving both users and system are subject to changes. There exists adjustment in browsing behavior on user side and web structure refinement on system side. It would impose uncertainty and influence on learning quality and thus create a strong need for rapid adaptation between users and the e-learning system. Focusing upon knowledge organization in terms of web structure management, this study intends to find out an effective way to speed up the adaptation process. It consists of two stages. In the first stage, we would like to study the general adapting behaviors of e-learners, and analyze how they are affected by the web structure. Through analytical modeling, Knowledge Access Efficiency (KAE), which is capable of reflecting the quality of adaptation, is conceptualized mathematically. In the second stage, the dynamics of KAE during the whole adaptation process will be carefully investigated. It is hoped that this study can give us useful clues regarding knowledge organization of e-learning system, and by improving web structure management it can elicit better performance of elearners