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The development and deployment of chatbot technology, while spanning decades and employing different techniques, require innovative frameworks to understand and interrogate their functionality and implications. A mere technocentric account of the evolution of chatbot technology does not fully illuminate how conversational systems are embedded in societal dynamics. This study presents a structured examination of chatbots across three societal dimensions, highlighting their roles as objects of scientific research, commercial instruments, and agents of intimate interaction. Through furnishing a dimensional framework for the evolution of conversational systems — from laboratories to marketplaces to private lives— this article contributes to the wider scholarly inquiry of chatbot technology and its impact in lived human experiences and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past two decades, thought leaders positioned Building Information Modeling (BIM) as a driver to change the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. However, instances of unexpected BIM use have surfaced, with projects often shifting from BIM to hybrid or even solely 2D practices midway. What technology use conditions cause these practice-based rejections of BIM use and how these happen have not been fully explored and make BIM cannot fully play its role in a project. To fill this gap, we use structuration theory as a theoretical lens to analyze the interactions between BIM and project teams and explore how three technology use conditions, (interpretive, technological, and institutional), impact the interactions, which finally shape technology use practices. Specifically, a case study method has been selected. The research team attended a project for two years, collected meeting observations, and conducted surveys and interviews to track the emergent and situated BIM use practice in an integrated project setting with technology use conditions that changed over the course of the project. We analyzed how the three technology use conditions impacted the interactions between BIM and project teams in different ways and how these impacted change in different project phases. We conclude that the sustained use of BIM requires the alignment of project organizations with BIM features and alignment with both top-down and bottom-up investment in practice change, which includes motivation for senior management investment in a sustained project team, in individual capability training, and in early planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technologies are often expected to enhance inclusive employment for people living with a disability. Following conventional dichotomies, policy actors generally consider technologies to either provide a prosthetic fix to 'able' people with disabilities, or become instruments for social transformation. In three pilot projects within a national initiative for enhancing inclusive employment through technologies, we empirically explore the potential of such conceptually opposed approaches for realising inclusive employment in practice. Reporting on a transdisciplinary 'learning evaluation', we combine semi-structured interviews with participant observation and transformation-oriented methods from Reflexive Monitoring in Action, involving a myriad of stakeholders. We introduce the notion of scripts to explore how we as researchers become part of the de- and re-inscription of technologies for inclusive employment. We find that regardless of an initial prosthetic- or transformative approach, technology can support a transformation toward inclusive employment through the work and effort of the actors involved. Whether the initial approach to inclusion through technology is to 'fix' disability or 'transform' work practices, the concerted effort of the people involved can generate transformative potential For technology to attain this transformative potential it is imperative that the sociocultural environment is shaped accordingly To understand the dynamics that work for transformation, it is critical that technology is seen in practice, in specific situations To understand how disability is made through technology we recommend deconstructing the 'scripts', that is the user-assumptions and roles, embedded in the technology To support that technologies contribute to inclusive employment, a method is needed that supports reflexivity and involves people from various backgrounds actively participating [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of crowdsourcing (CS) systems depends on sustained participation, which is an ongoing challenge for the majority of CS providers. Unfortunately, participants are frequently demotivated by technical difficulties and the incorrect use of CS systems, which can result in CS failure. Although the literature generally assumes that sustained participation in CS is determined by a shift between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the role of system‐use practices in facilitating such a shift remains unknown. We explore how CS system‐use practices influence participants' sustained motivation, evolving from initiation to progression to sustention. Using the notion of technology‐in‐practice as a lens, we develop and examine a process model using an in‐depth case study of a large‐scale ongoing CS project, the Australian Newspaper Digitisation Program. The findings suggest that CS participants' motivation is shaped by an evolving combination of three basic components (i.e., contextual condition, outcome and action intensity) and mediated by two types of system‐use practice (i.e., passive and active). Passive‐use practices facilitate sustaining motivation from initiation to progression, whereas active‐use practices have a key role in sustention. Our study contributes to the emerging literature on the substantial role of system‐use practices in sustaining motivation, resulting in sustained participation. The findings also offer actionable insights into improving the viability of CS systems in retaining and motivating continuous and increased contributions from participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open e-Government scholarship is meant to address the twin dimensions of openness: greater transparent access to data and more inclusive participation in design. Extant research, however, rarely addresses the inclusive design of e-Government, which is the focus of our research. We focus on broad desire for inclusive e-Government design by analyzing data from three countries – United Kingdom, Lebanon, and Qatar – involving (a) a qualitative survey of users seeking their input on e-Government design improvements and (b) interviews with service providers to elicit their views on inclusive e-Government design. Our findings highlight that inclusion may begin with seeking design input only; however, once the process is triggered, it can lead to what we call a landscape of inclusive e-Government design. More importantly, our paper contributes to the literature by elaborating the granular underpinnings of this landscape encompassing an emergent mechanism of inclusive e-Government design that consists of the following three components: (i) the enabling social inclusion affordances; (ii) the supporting processes; and (iii) the enabling organizational capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers an analysis of how an energy-monitoring system was implemented and eventually adopted by the crew members in a shipping company. It illustrates how the social process of enacting the system as a collaborative technology-in-practice, enabling a significant reduction in energy consumption, was contingent on the negotiation of meaning and mutual learning among crew members in their community of practice. The case study contributes to the literature on the relation between information technology, organization and energy efficiency by investigating the socially situated nature of technology implementation and work practice change. The findings' implications for the role of information technology in improving energy efficiency in shipping are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents some findings of an ethnographic research concerning Air Traffic Control Officers (ATCO) working in four Italian Aerodrome Control Towers (TWR) and Area Control Centres (ACC). Specifically, drawing on the theoretical model of workplace studies, the attention is mainly focused on situated working practices. In particular, we deepen the analysis of two key themes within the literature on centers of coordination: technologies as material practice and structures of participation. In addition we suggest other relevant issues able to improve the knowledge of working practices in these contexts: the use of discretion and, specifically, the exercise of the so-called best judgment and the «creative» use of technological artifacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study explores the design requirements for mobile applications for second language learning in online/distance higher education settings. We investigate how students use technology and how they perceive that these technologies-in-practice facilitate their language learning. Structuration Theory is used for the analysis. Results show that design needs to consider that (i) students use their private mobile technologies frequently when conducting self-initiated learning tasks, (ii) students' mobile technologiesin-practice are important, and course designers should design materials and tools for such use practices, and (iii) students prefer to work on their own due to the limited time they want to devote to their learning. Consequently, in regard to the pervasive nature of mobile technology integration in society and into students' habitual use, they need various software tools on such devices to support individual learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses mediation in the patient–provider relationship arising from the introduction of digital technology for a specific form of monitoring: 'clinical self-tracking'. Focusing on the management of type 1 diabetes, a condition that requires significant self-management by patients, we describe how the actors negotiated a new ICT-mediated relationship in three hospital departments. The analysis followed a qualitative design and was carried out by interviewing patients, clinicians and technology developers and by analysing messages exchanged through the ICT tool. We first show how each department customised the system by drawing on already existing care practices, organisational goals and representations of the department's desired relationship with the patients. We then focus on patient–provider relationships, showing that, while the clinical self-tracking sometimes followed the path desired by the providers, at other times, it developed in unexpected ways. We distinguish among three emerging categories of self-tracking: self-tracking for remote management, self-tracking for e-learning and self-tracking as boundary setting. The analysis reveals how the new patient–provider relationship arises from an open-ended process. Providers can push self-tracking practices but cannot steer them; and patients, through an unexpected use of the self-tracking technologies, are able to negotiate a desired relationship with providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the adoption of a pluralist theoretical framework - one that is also multiparadigmatic - for conducting and publishing information system (IS) research. The discussion is illustrated by a single case study involving the Australian cotton industry. The theoretical framework is informed by three sociological theories, each with its particular paradigmatic assumptions: structuration theory as a meta-theory, and diffusion of innovations and gender relations as lower-level theories from notionally opposing paradigms. Theoretical pluralism helped to produce rich findings, illuminating both the social nature of women farmers' roles, the materiality of the cotton farming context, the characteristics of the decision support systems in use and the recursive way in which human agency and institutional pressures shape each other. Because users of so-called divergent paradigms often face criticism based on the incommensurability issue, one of the main contributions of this paper is to discuss the value of a pluralist and multiparadigmatic theoretical framework in dealing with complex IS social phenomena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In unpredictable and unforgiving environments, organizations need to act with care and reliability, often referred to as collective mindfulness. We present a theory-generating, interpretative field study of a highly complex and successful building project by architect Frank O. Gehry. We argue that what has been labeled collective mindfulness is only possible through a dialectic process of collective minding, in which organizational actors simultaneously exhibit elements of being mindful and mindless. Our analysis reveals that collective minding emerges from struggling with contradictions in the five elements of mindfulness. We argue that when actors struggle with these dialectic tensions, the same information technology capabilities are enacted as multiple, contradictory technologies-in-practice. Implications for the further study of collective minding and the appropriation of IT capabilities are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore the contributions of Structuration Theory to the understanding of how technology is used in organizations. Based on literature analysis we decide to take a practice-oriented approach. In contrast with previous research we focus not on the behavioral aspect but on the interpretive aspect (emergences of meanings) of technology use in context. Moreover, we are interested in exploring the relationship between a practice-oriented approach to technology use and organizational discourse. Our findings bring contributions to several concepts related to ST by extending them: relevant groups, interpretive flexibility of technology and power. External environment emerges as an important aspect which influence the way technology is used in organization. We propose a combination between ST and institutional theories in order to account for this influence. Our findings have also relevance for organizational discourse field in at least two aspects: managers' discourse in relation to the use of technology and technology as a carrier for intra- and inter-organizational symbolic communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses calls for more detailed studies of small tourism enterprises. Researchers report a lack of adoption and ineffective utilisation of digital technologies in smaller tourism businesses. The study focuses on two university-facilitated projects of digital marketing adoption and utilisation by 53 small and medium sized tourism businesses in the South of England. The framework for this study was driven by Modes of Knowledge Transference and Technology-In-Practice. The findings describe peer-to-peer knowledge acquisition and sharing that take place in university-led projects and suggests that a combination of Mode 1 and Mode 2 knowledge helps entrepreneurs to advance their digital marketing knowledge. Peer-to-peer clusters are an effective means of placing digital marketing knowledge and technology in the context of small and medium tourism business practice. The paper provides implications for destination marketing organisations and policymakers and suggestions for future avenues of research are offered. • Entrepreneurs acquire digital marketing knowledge and develop strategy through peer-sharing. • Entrepreneurs seek digital marketing solutions appropriate to their business model. • Knowledge sharing within peer clusters provides co-creation opportunities. • Combined Mode 1 and Mode 2 knowledge is most effective for digital marketing knowledge acquisition and transfer. • Technology-in-practice theory is a useful paradigm for studying small business digital marketing adoption and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]