Affordance for municipal crisis management

This paper presents findings from ethnographic studies on situation rooms in municipalities. The purpose has been to visualize affordance for the practice pf crisis management. The study argues that organizational and material dimensions are affecting the perceived affordance. The organizational dimension needs to be have a good leadership in the situation room, be scalable, and well trained in order to infuse trust in the staff. From the dimension of materiality, it is also important with trust in the infrastructure and that they are able to handle the tools required in work. Furthermore, materiality needs to be editable, visible and scalable

Personas in Uniform: Police Officers as Users of Information Technology

This paper discusses information technology in the contemporary policing context and presents a research approach that aims to capture and describe a multifaceted account of police work. There is a need to further analyze the constitution of the uniformed user and the use environment in this domain. Data from extensive ethnographic fieldwork are analyzed. Personas and scenarios are used in this paper to illustrate the properties and conditions of police work. Evidence from the study suggests that personas and scenarios can make the daily work visible and support the emergent design of information systems in the dialogue between designers and users. The paper concludes that personas and their scenarios provide a richer description of the specifics of a context and a design space. A scenario is used to show characteristic properties and the emergence of work practice in relation to the design of information systems

Regulating Police Body-Worn Camera Practice - A Four Modality Perspective

Police authorities in a number of countries have recently introduced body-worn cameras (BWC). With the use of body-worn cameras, the police have gained access to new forms of wearable and powerful law enforcing technologies. The cameras enable collection of large volume of personal information and in some cases even sensitive information that must be managed and stored within the organisationin line with rules of law. As is often the case when technology develops faster than societal norms and values, a range of questions concerning issues related to regulation of these practises are still uninvestigated. Therefore, this paper will analyse what actually regulates individual police officers’ body- worn camera practice. Empirically, we use the Swedish police as a case and our study is based on qualitative interviews. Theoretically we draw upon Lawrence Lessig’s four modality model - law, norms, market, and architecture - and we conclude that i) law is considered important although law regarding BWC is still in its infancy, ii) while law and official directives have a more macro applicability, norms are developed and maintained more locally, iii) market regulate indirectly via availability and cost, and iv) architecture is not necessarily as self-executed as often stated

IRIS Conference Health Check. Traditions, tensions, and reformations

Regional conferences support researchers to network in a cost-efficient way. Quite often, such conferences become tight communities where friends and colleagues meet and share ideas regularly, year after year. However, with increasing public interest towards universities and the ideology of private-public management, deans and other managers have started to urge for high-quality scientific impact. Under the circumstances, regional conferences, with limited publication opportunities and lesser worldwide visibility among academics, have begun to lose their status as an important venue for science and networking. It is equally easy and cheap to travel and attend more prestigious venues. In this paper, we analyze the main conference of the Scandinavian Chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), aka IRIS association, namely IRIS, Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia. We aim to understand what makes regional conferences (and chapters) sustainable. Our argumentation is based on two empirical studies; an analysis of the IRIS participants between 2011-2019 and a survey among senior scholars in the region

Operational use of electronic records in police work

Introduction. This research is about how police officers use electronic records in their operational work, reacting to calls from the dispatch centre. Method. Three different qualitative studies, involving interviews and observations, were used to collect data. The studies were performed at a police county in the north of Sweden during 2003. Analysis. The empirical data were analysed using a hermeneutical analysis technique without computer-based support. Iterative analysis was performed, where empirical data related to the use of electronic records were identified and grouped together into larger categories, which were named descriptively. Results. There is a widespread use of information retrieved from electronic records. This has changed the possibilities for police officers to get reliable and authentic information for both tactical and legal decisions, which increases the officers' ability to make correct decisions within operational work. Information technology and information systems now handle many administrative tasks, and allow access to and searching of electronic information independently of the physical location of the officer. This opens up a possibility for mobile access to trustworthy information that supports police work. Conclusion. Operational police work has changed in a positive direction by the use of electronic records, and it is possible to develop this change even further. Record management systems designed to support access independent of physical location of the police officer could open up new possibilities for working police officers

A predictive model for attaining quality in recordkeeping

Records are a subset of information and recordkeeping requirements demand that a record is managed with maintained authenticity and reliability, i.e. with high quality. Records are evidence of transactions and are used and managed in daily work processes. Records may be preserved for anything from milliseconds to eternity. With computer based information systems the electronic record was born: a record that is born digital. With electronic records problems regarding maintenance of authenticity and reliability have been identified. Electronic records are no longer physical entities as traditional records were. An electronic record is a logical entity that can be spread over different locations in a computer based information system. In this research the aim is to improve the possibility of reaching high quality in recordkeeping systems, i.e. to maintain reliability and authenticity of electronic records, which is necessary if electronic records are to be usable as evidence of transactions. Based on case studies and literature studies, a recordkeeping quality model is presented: a predictive model for attaining quality in recordkeeping. The recordkeeping quality model consists of four major concepts which are interrelated with each other: Electronic records, Records use, Electronic record quality, and Multidimensional perspective. The model is proposed for use when designing and developing computer based information systems which are required to be recordkeeping, systems which manage electronic records. In this research two results beside the recordkeeping quality model are emphasized. The first is that quality in recordkeeping must be seen in a multidimensional perspective, and the second is that recordkeeping systems are information systems with a partially unknown purpose

Design for Recordkeeping: Areas of Improvement

This thesis is about problems related to design of information systems in which records are born and managed. The proactive approach has been derived from new archival theories suited for electronic recordkeeping, and implies that electronic records must, at the time of creation fulfil their current and future requirements. Information systems where records are born and managed should, based upon a proactive approach, meet recordkeeping requirements. This thesis is based upon a four-year research effort and consists of seven research articles that present the results of the research. The objective is to contribute to knowledge of design recommendations for information systems, in which records are born and managed. The main result of this thesis is identification of five areas that can affect and improve the design of information systems in which records are born and managed. First: A set of empirically and theoretical grounded characteristics of records are presented. Those characteristics have to be complemented with organization-defined characteristics. Second: this research has contributed a conceptualization of use of records and users of records. The notion of known use/user, and unknown use/user has been introduced. Design becomes difficult because requirements of unknown users are difficult to conceptualize. Third: The Recordkeeping Quality Assessment model (RQAM) is presented. The model implies a holistic quality approach to recordkeeping, and intends to be used as a basis for quality assessment, and as a reference model in design situations to achieve high recordkeeping quality. Fourth: Two dominant different views on records are presented. Private organizations appraise records principally upon business values, and public organisations base their appraisal criteria upon accountability and legislative values. The two views on records should be brought into one view and form a risk management-like appraisal. Fifth: Proactivity is a way of thinking and should be applied on several levels in the recordkeeping environment: to the electronic record, to the information system where the electronic record is born and managed, to the organization, and to the user.Denna avhandling handlar om hur informationssystem skall designas, i vilka arkivinformation skapas och hanteras över tid. Modern arkivteori förordar en proaktiv ansats vid hantering av elektronisk arkivinformation. Proaktiviteten innebär att arkivinformationen senast vid sin tillkomst måste uppfylla arkivvetenskapliga krav. Det medför att design av informationssystem, i vilka arkivinformation skapas och hanteras måste uppfylla arkivvetenskapliga krav och följa en proaktiv ansats. Denna avhandling är ett resultat av fyra års forskning och består av sju vetenskapliga artiklar, vilka utgör avhandlingens resultat. Syftet med avhandlingen har att bidra med ny kunskap till hur informationssystem, i vilka arkivinformation skapas och hanteras över tid, skall designas. Avhandlingens huvudsakliga resultat är fem områden som alla kan påverka och förbättra design av sådana informationssystem. 1. Ett antal karaktäriska egenskaper hos arkivinformation har identifierats utifrån både teori och empiri. Dessa har visats sig behöva kompletteras med organisationsspecifika karaktäristiska egenskaper. 2. Begreppen användare av arkivinformation och användning av arkivinformation har konceptualiserats. Begreppet känd och okänd användare/användning av arkivinformation har introducerats. Design för okända användare är en svår utmaning, bland annat då krav från okända användare är svåra att fånga. 3. En kvalitetsmodell (RQAM) är presenterad som anger att kvalitet kring hantering av arkivinformation måste ske med en holistisk ansats. Modellen skall kunna användas som en hjälp vid kvalitetsmätning, men även som en referensmodell vid design av informationssystem. 4. Två dominerade värderingsperspektiv har identifierats avseende arkivinformation. Privata organisationer värderar arkivinformation mestadels utifrån ett verksamhetsvärde, medan offentliga organisationer värderar arkivinformationen mestadels baserat på legala krav och ansvarsspårbarhet. 5. Den proaktiva ansatsen skall ses som ett strategiskt angreppssätt på hantering av elektronisk arkivinformation. Den skall användas i flera nivåer av hantering av arkivinformation, på arkivinformationsnivå, informationssystemsnivå, organisationsnivå och på användarnivå

Personas in uniform : Police officers and information technology

This paper apply personas to explore and analyze the highly regulated and (seemingly) uniform work practice of police officers. Historically, many information systems and information technology applications for the police has failed to meet the requirements of officers working in the field. It is claimed that a richer understanding of the practice outside the police station can result in more successful implementations of information systems for the police. An analysis of police practice is conducted through four personas of officers. The personas are derived through an analysis of an extensive set of qualitative data data from both police experience, and from observations and interviews. The personas are then situated in scenarios to visualize information related problems in the practice. The paper conclude that persona is a useful technique to analyze police work for design purpose