The Role of Information Systems in Information-Level SecurityManagement

Proliferation of computers and networks in the age of the Internet has not only enabled novel services, such as email, the web, and electronic commerce, but also new ways to affect companies, their businesses, and their reputations. A look at the relevant literature suggests that so-called information-level threats are not yet sufficiently addressed. In this paper, we provide a summary of the current situation and outline the role of information systems in helping organizations cope with information-level online activities

Myth-making as social exchange: Organizing a web-based community

In this paper we make a contribution to the theoretical and empirical discourses regarding Web-based communities and online social interaction. The significance of myth-making within a web-based community is the primary consideration for this paper. This phenomenon provides the critical framework for deconstructing and understanding the interaction and identification of participants within Web-based communities. In order to do this we have utilized empirical evidence drawn from the complete archive of a well-established Web community that has been in operation since 1997. The paper draws upon an interdisciplinary analysis incorporating information systems research, anthropological, sociological and management studies to argue that myth-making is integral to the organizational practices of web-based communities. This work contributes to knowledge regarding the organization of web-based communities by recognizing the significance of activities that maintain long-term social solidarity. Examination of longitudinal data from the online community also reveals the dominance of a small number of participants who construct a negotiated but dominant identity for the group. Myth-making is consequently shown to be an activity that assists in the creation of a participatory community that maintains a social hierarchy and ensures order through tacit forms of governance