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The purpose of this paper is to propose a new approach for categorizing the body of knowledge captured in the existing literature, past and present in such a way that contributions to the use side of systems development are made explicit. The new twist of this approach is that it seeks to bridge the most prevalent divides currently fragmenting the IS literature by offering an integrative classification framework for "use side" oriented IS research. We call our approach to literature classification "substance oriented", because it builds on social theory concepts related to user concerns. It follows neither the latest paradigmatic nor earlier inductive citation or key word based literature classification schemes. Instead, it explicitly builds on the core concepts of Giddens' Structuration Theory (ST), at least at its highest level. The approach has some affinity to Ritzer's (1991) "metatheorizing". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examining communities in all their meanings, the paper locates User-Centred Design (UCD) in the amplified scope of approaches to Information Systems Design (ISD). Culture in communities is explained in structurational terms, in which human action and social structure (including ICT) interact to produce and reproduce the social patterning that both supports and constrains action. The widening of the spectrum of ISD approaches has paralleled the supplementing or superseding of Fordist methods of production by knowledge-based production. The transition to an ICT world characterised by personal computing and the Internet is identified as key threshold (referred to as the PC/I or Personal Computing/Internet threshold) necessitating the development of user-centric concepts alongside more established technocentric approaches. Noting the diversity of understandings in UCD, the paper proposes an approach to consider the wider relationship of tasks and community cultures. The aim is to explore the feasibility of a participative and reflexive design, resulting in design practices that are an emergent property of community culture. The research is based on case studies in the cultural institutions' sector, and one of the cases is outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a study of information and communication technology (ICT) use in Norway and the United States. Forty-two depth interviews completed in both countries provide the data source. Using grounded theory as a research method, and Adaptive Structuration Theory as our conceptual base, we analyze these interviews to generate an empirical model of ICT use. The 1490 incidents identified in our analysis are first reduced to 49 categories. These categories are further reduced to four: satisficing, communication channels, communication structure, and environmental agents. These four categories comprise the major parts of the reflexive model. The findings suggest that the parts of the model are interdependent and mutually causal in that individuals consider and even reconsider the use of multiple communication channels within and between tasks. As a conclusion we address future research including, credibility and time issues in ICT use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on an ongoing study that looks at farm management practices by Australian women cotton growers using farm management software, most particularly an agricultural decision support system, CottonLOGIC. The study is informed through a theoretical framework of structuration theory as a metatheory for probing the recursiveness of farm management and technology usage, and diffusion of innovations theory as a lower-level theory for analysing software adoption characteristics. Empirical research indicates that effective information exchange flows from homophilous communication. In this paper, the principles of homophily and heterophily in communication networks were initially drawn from diffusion theory. The findings suggest that despite apparent gender disparities, the presence of empathy and shared goals between farming partners overrides 'gender heterophily' to become gender homophily. Therefore cotton growers are informed of scientific research through homophilous communication, influencing the construction and reconstruction of innovative software usage and existing farm management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the way women perceive and talk about the nature of their work, in the context of the declining participation of women in the Information Technology (IT) industry. The study is part of an ongoing project (WinIT), commenced in 1995, that has examined the attitudes of high school and university students and IT personnel towards IT education and careers. The research so far has shown that most students have a poor understanding of IT education and work and perceive IT as a difficult, boring and masculinised domain. IT education is not attracting high achieving students in general and female students in particular. Interviews of women working in IT reinforce widely held impressions of the IT industry. This paper discusses a recent study (1999-2000) in which 32 female and 2 male IT professionals were interviewed. The data were initially sorted and analysed by the third author, using NUD*IST, an Australian qualitative analysis software tool. Giddens' Structuration Theory (1984) was used to interpret the discourse, revealing that the professional women's discourse is characterised by dualisms that are not always consistent with the women's lived experiences. The dualisms discussed in this paper are those relating to skills and attributes, such as technical and people skills, as well as gender specific dualisms, such as attention to detail and assertiveness. The dualisms in the interview discourse represent skills and attributes as either/or propositions associated with gender. The interview data, however, also reveals contradictions in these dualisms, indicating that these polarised views of women and IT work are being undermined by women in the IT industry. The perceptions of the interviewees are discussed as structures of signification that need to be altered in order to successfully challenge these dualisms. For example, the gendering of IT work is being undermined by men as well as women who are discouraged by the need to adapt to the... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ongoing investigation into the declining participation of women in IT education and professional level work has recently focused on professional women's perceptions of the IT industry. This paper presents some of the findings from a discourse analysis of interviews with thirty-two female and two male IT professionals. The analysis identified a distinctive characteristic of the women's discourse in the representation of mutually exclusive attributes, skills and attitudes as closely identified with gender. This paper explores two of these dualisms - women's perceptions of the rapid and continuous change characteristic of the IT industry and the dualism of the public (work) and private (domestic) spheres. The implications of rapid change and the concomitant long working hours characteristic of the IT industry, are discussed in relation to women's continued responsibility for social and domestic life. Discourse analysis is used to identify contradictions in the women's talk and to relate this to tensions in the IT industry and the wider social context. Although these women characterise themselves as 'different' from most women, in their skills, aptitudes and attitudes towards IT, this characterisation shows tensions and contradictions. The authors use Giddens' perspective on identity formation and the structuration of institutions (Giddens, 1984; 1991) to identify factors, which may further discourage women from participating in IT education and work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings of a recent study which explores rural women's use of an agricultural decision support system, CottonLOGIC, within the Australian cotton industry. Meta-analysis is applied through the theoretical framework of structuration theory while diffusion theory is used for lower level analysis. The concept of communication is applicable to both theories. The significance of CottonLOGIC as a communication medium for technology transfer of industry re-search to cotton farms is evaluated in this paper. The findings suggest that CottonLOGIC is a recognised means of information exchange but even more valuable is the cooperation of stake-holders to influence effective reconstruction of farm management practices and technology usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]