Welfare-to-work Policies Meeting Complex Realities of Unemployed Citizens:Examining Assumptions in Welfare

This paper draws on a longitudinal ethnographic study conducted at one of the largest municipal jobcenters in Denmark. It investigates what happens when welfare-to-work policies meet the complex lived realities of unemployed citizens. I examine the nature of welfare policies, and show how these inscribe neoliberal economic discourse, which are not easily applicable to the lived reality of unemployed citizens. Findings from this study illustrate that there are incongruences between the nature of policies and the policies-in-use. I argue that these incongruences are a result of myriad of assumptions that are inscribed in the welfare apparatus, constituting tools, people, policies, and practices. I, therefore, unpack assumptions about caseworkers as well as benefit recipients, appointments they must attend, and activation programs assigned to them. This way, the paper aims at initiating a discussion about finding ways to develop policies that are better applicable to the citizen’s lived realitie

Tactics for Constructing Visions about Electronic Health Records (EHRs)

Background Many qualitative studies focus on the ways healthcare technologies affect situated practices. Although these studies are undeniably important, it is equally important to pay attention to visions about these technologies. This article investigates the media discourse surrounding electronic health record (EHR) initiatives in Northm America.Analysis Drawing upon Bruno Latour’s (1987) framework for analyzing the process of constructing scientific facts, this article examines the tactics through which media discourses construct visions of EHR technologies.Conclusions and implications The analysis shows how these are used to highlight the potential of EHR initiatives in spite of weak empirical evidence. Furthermore, the article demonstrates how visions can be constructed and to support specific agendas by encouragingm and discouraging particular interpretations, expectations, and practices.RÉSUMÉContexte De nombreuses études qualitatives portent sur les manières dont les technologies des soins de santé affectent les pratiques situées. Bien que ces étudesm soient incontestablement importantes, il est tout aussi important de se soucier des visions envers ces technologies véhiculées par des parties intéressées. Cet article examine le discours médiatique sur certaines initiatives nord-américaines envers les dossiers de santé informatisés (DSI).Analyse Cet article s’inspire du cadre développé par Bruno Latour (1987) pour analyser lamconstruction du savoir scientifique. L’article a recours à ce cadre afin d’examiner les tactiquesnemployées par les médias pour développer des visions particulières à l’égard des technologies DSI.Conclusions et implications L’analyse montre comment certains médias vantent lepotentiel d’initiatives DSI sans fournir de données empiriques à l’appui. L’article montre en outre comment ces médias construisent leur perspective en encourageant ou endécourageant certaines interprétations, attentes et pratiques, et ce sous l’influence de partiesnprenantes particulières

Managing Normative Criteria in Action Research: A reflexive analysis

A much revisited question within the field of Information Systems is how researchers can intervene in the context of large-scale, complex and heterogeneous information infrastructures, while ensuring impact on field settings. To explore this question, I draw upon my interventions and fieldwork experiences from an action research project in a healthcare infrastructural setting. I use these experiences as a basis for appraising the normative criteria for rigor and relevance that are enacted in IS action research literature. I argue that while these criteria originally had important contributions, there are also weaknesses with normative approaches. Specifically, these norms of action research leave relatively little space for understanding and managing emerging empirical uncertainties. These norms are important because they have implications not only on how we conduct action research in practice, but also on how we share research experiences, document and report research processes, and on how we use this literature for teaching and training purposes. Therefore, we need methodological perspectives more adequate to the varied experiences of empirical IS research. I propose replacing the normative frameworks found in some IS action research literature with a reflexive framework that encourages researchers to investigate critically how their methods are enacted and practiced in the field. The contribution of this paper lies in providing a reflexive analysis of the situated and emergent challenges encountered when handling action researcher’s dual agenda of combining academic and practical contribution

Action Research as a Network:Collective Production of Roles and Interventions

This paper explores roles and interventions in IS action research. I draw upon a four-year research project about electronic medical records, conducted in close collaboration with a community partner. Following a self-reflexive stance, I trace the trajectory of the research engagement and the different roles I occupied. To better understand the complex nature of collaboration found within action research projects, I propose conceptualizing action research as a network. The network framework directs our attention to the collective production and the conditions through which roles and interventions come to exist. Thus, interventions and roles can be seen as network effects?they are enacted and supported by the network. Accordingly, roles and interventions are neither simply static and fixed nor fluid and flexible; rather, these are products of past and present attachments. I demonstrate how the different attachments existing in the network at different points in time enable the configuration of particular actors with capacities to enact different roles and interventions in a diversity of contexts and settings. Finally, I illustrate what happens when these attachments are missing and how this influences the researcher?s agency