Power and politics in the adoption of information systems by organisations: the case of a research centre in Latin America

This thesis applies contributions from the social sciences to the study of power to examine how and why organisations adopt information systems. Its main concern is the set of events, actions and factors that induce an information system to become routinised in the organisational life; that is how information systems become institutionalised. I argue that the actions and events that lead to the adoption and subsequent institutionalisation of an information system are politically motivated and facilitated by power relations because information systems are chiefly instruments used by organisational actors to achieve their goals. To develop the argument I have adapted and interpreted a model rooted in social and organisational sciences. This model is used as a theoretical framework for the collection and analysis of data of two case studies. the first case centres on the collapse of the London Ambulance Service in 1992. The second and major case study focuses on a research centre in Latin America. This case study accounts for the adoption and institutionalisation of three information systems in that organisation. The application of the theoretical framework constitute a contribution in researching power and politics of information systems because it illustrates how to link data to the theory. This thesis also contributes to the theory of power and information systems because the findings of the two case studies allowed us to make inferences that complement the original theoretical model. Furthermore, those findings are propositions that information systems practitioners might convert into useful principles in assessing the political base and power relationships of the organisation for which they work. The thesis concludes by asserting that the adoption and institutionalisation of an information system necessarily imply the exercise of power of those organisation actors that own or propose the system

Reusable silica surface-insulation material

Material was specifically developed for manufacture of insulating tiles, but it can be molded into other shapes as required. Basic raw materials are high-purity silica fiber, fumed-silica powder, and reagent-grade starch. Only purest materials are used, and care must be taken to avoid contamination during processing

Sol-gel synthesis and densification of aluminoborosilicate powders. Part 2: Densification

Aluminoborosilicate (ABS) powders, high in alumina content, were synthesized by the sol-gel process utilizing four different methods of synthesis. The effect of these methods on the densification behavior of ABS powder compacts was studied. Five regions of shrinkage in the temperature range 25-1184 C were identified. In these regions, the greatest shrinkage occurred between the gel-to-glass transition temperature (T sub g approximately equal to 835 C) and the crystallization transformation temperature (T sub t approximately equal 900 C). The dominant mechanism of densification in this range was found to be viscous sintering. ABS powders were amorphous to x-rays up to T sub t at which a multiphasic structure crystallized. No 2Al2O3.B2O3 was found in these powders as predicted in the phase diagram. Above T sub t, densification was the result of competing mechanisms including grain growth and boria fluxed viscous sintering. Apparent activation energies for densification in each region varied according to the method of synthesis

Fibrous refractory composite insulation

A refractory composite insulating material was prepared from silica fibers and aluminosilicate fibers in a weight ratio ranging from 1:19 to 19:1, and about 0.5 to 30% boron oxide, based on the total fiber weight. The aluminosilicate fiber and boron oxide requirements may be satisfied by using aluminoborosilicate fibers and, in such instances, additional free boron oxide may be incorporated in the mix up to the 30% limit. Small quantities of refractory opacifiers, such as silicon carbide, may be also added. The composites just described are characterized by the absence of a nonfibrous matrix

Silica reusable surface insulation

A reusable silica surface insulation material is provided by bonding amorphous silica fibers with colloidal silica at an elevated temperature. The surface insulation is ordinarily manufactured in the form of blocks (i.e., tiles)

High temperature glass thermal control structure and coating

A high temperature stable and solar radiation stable thermal control coating is described which is useful either as such, applied directly to a member to be protected, or applied as a coating on a re-usable surface insulation (RSI). It has a base coat layer and an overlay glass layer. The base coat layer has a high emittance, and the overlay layer is formed from discrete, but sintered together glass particles to give the overlay layer a high scattering coefficient. The resulting two-layer space and thermal control coating has an absorptivity-to-emissivity ratio of less than or equal to 0.4 at room temperature, with an emittance of 0.8 at 1200 F. It is capable of exposure to either solar radiation or temperatures as high as 2000 F without significant degradation. When used as a coating on a silica substrate to give an RSI structure, the coatings of this invention show significantly less reduction in emittance after long term convective heating and less residual strain than prior art coatings for RSI structures

Reaction cured glass and glass coatings

The invention relates to reaction cured glass and glass coatings prepared by reacting a compound selected from the group consisting of silicon tetraboride, silicon hexaboride, other boron silicides, boron and mixtures with a reactive glass frit composed of a porous high silica borosilicate glass and boron oxide. The glassy composites of the present invention are useful as coatings on low density fibrous porous silica insulations used as heat shields and for articles such as reaction vessels that are subjected to high temperatures with rapid heating and cooling and that require resistance to temperature and repeated thermal shock at temperatures up to about 1482C (2700PF)

Das Identische, das Binäre, das Trianguläre: die Sexuation in unse­rer Kultur

Die Konstruktion des Geschlechts wird in den aktuellen Diskursen psy­choanalytischer und/oder feministischer Provenienz weitgehend vom Männlichen als dem Ort gesicherter Identität aus gedacht. Nach dem Sche­ma "Phallus haben / nicht haben" (Lacan), "offen/abgeschlossen" (J. Ben­jamin) oder "Selbst / negatives Spiegelbild" (Irigaray) wird ein Modell des Patriarchats entworfen, das letztlich auf Hegels Herr-Knecht-Ver-hältnis hinausläuft. Anhand von zwei Faktoren wird hier die Kulturspezifik der Sexuation ins Spiel gebracht. Freuds Texte zur Religion können hel­fen, die Strukturierungseffekte des Monotheismus auf die Form des Iden­tischen, des Binären und des Triangulären in unserer Kultur neu zu den­ken. Und die Untersuchung des argentinischen Philosophen Rozitchner zur Figur von Mutter und Vater beim Kichenvater Augustinus als Muster für Sexuation und Triangulation in unserer Kultur stellt einiges zu diesem Thema gewöhnlich Gedachte auf den Kopf.\ud \ud Summary \ud \ud In the current discourses of psychoanalytical and/or feministic provenance the construction of sex is largely conceived starting from the male pole as the site of an ensured identity. According to the scheme "have / not have a phallus" (Lacan), "open/secluded" (J. Benjamin) or "self / negative mirror­image" (Irigary), a model of patriarchy is drawn which eventually ends up in the "master-serf"-relationship of Hegel. On the basis of two factors the cultural specifics of sexuation are brougt into play. Freuds texts about religion can serve to reconsider the structural effects that monotheism brings to bear on the form of the identical, the binary and the triangular. And the investigation carried out by the argentine philosopher Rozitchner concerning the figure of mother and father which we find in St. Augustinus, father of the catholic church, taken as a paradigm of sexuation and triangulation in our culture, turns upside-down some of the arguments commonly brougt up relative to this topic

Post-positivist Review of Technology Acceptance Model.

This paper reflects upon the technology acceptance model (TAM) from the perspective of the post positivistic philosophy of science. I explore what it is to know, what a theory is, and what it means to be scientific in the context of TAM. In particular, I review criteria for determining whether TAM is scientific or not in light of post-positivistic debates about the nature of science. For this purpose, I apply Popper’s principle of demarcation, which determines whether a theory-like TAM-is falsifiable and the logical connection argument to show that connections between actions and intentions cannot be subjected to empirical testing similar to connections between chemical entities. I also draw on Kuhn’s notion of scientific revolutions to observe the degree to which TAM has become normal science. Finally, I review TAM from the Lakatosian perspective of scientific research programs to evaluate whether the program is advancing or declining. My main objective is not to provide a conclusive evaluation of TAM as a research program or a paradigm, but to open the philosophical foundations of TAM for scrutiny so that it can be evaluated not only within the validation rules followed by its proponents, but by applying a set of well known criteria established in the post-positivistic views of science

Constructivism, epistemology and information processing

The author analyzes the main models of artificial intelligence which deal with the transition from one stage to another, a central problem in development. He describes the contributions of rule-based systems and connectionist systems to an explanation of this transition. He considers that Artificial Intelligence models, in spite of their limitations, establish fruitful points of contact with the constructivist position.El autor analiza los principales modelos de inteligencia artificial que dan cuenta del paso de la transición de un estudio a otro, problema central del desarrollo. Describe y señala las aportaciones de los sistemas basados en reglas así como de los sistemas conexionistas para explicar dicha transición. Considera que los modelos de inteligencia artificial, a pesar de sus limitaciones, permiten establecer puntos de contacto muy fructiferos con la posición constructivista