Information Technology and the Cultural Reproduction of Social Order: A Research Paradigm

In this chapter, the authors review the landscape of research methodologies and paradigms available for Information Technology (IT) and Software Engineering (SwE). The aims of the chapter are two-fold: (i) create awareness in current research communities in IT and SwE on the variety of research paradigms and methodologies, and (ii) provide an useful map for guiding new researchers on the selection of an IT or SwE research paradigm and methodology. To achieve this, the chapter reviews the core IT and SwE research methodological literature, and based on the findings, the authors illustrate an updated IT and SwE research framework that comprehensively integrates findings and best practices and provides a coherent systemic (holistic) view of this research landscape.

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‘Open source has won and lost the war’: Legitimising commercial–communal hybridisation in a FOSS project

New Media & Society ◽

10.1177/1461444820907022 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 146144482090702

Author(s):

Mathieu O’Neil ◽

Laure Muselli ◽

Mahin Raissi ◽

Stefano Zacchiroli

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Open Source ◽

Open Source Software ◽

Social Order ◽

Online Survey ◽

Work Relations ◽

The Social ◽

Recent Phase ◽

Fair Distribution ◽

Hybrid Forms

Information technology (IT) firms are paying developers in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) projects, leading to the emergence of hybrid forms of work. In order to understand how the firm–project hybridisation process occurs, we present the results of an online survey of participants in the Debian project, as well as interviews with Debian Developers. We find that the intermingling of the commercial logic of the firm and the communal logic of the project requires rhetorical legitimation. We analyse the discourses used to legitimise firm–project cooperation as well as the organisational mechanisms which facilitate this cooperation. A first phase of legitimation, based on firm adoption of open licenses and developer self-fulfilment, aims to erase the commercial/communal divide. A second more recent phase seeks to professionalise work relations inside the project and, in doing so, challenges the social order which restricts participation in FOSS. Ultimately, hybridisation raises the question of the fair distribution of the profits firms derive from FOSS.

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Hazing Practices in South African Schools: A Case of Grade 12 Learners in Gauteng Province

SAGE Open ◽

10.1177/21582440211032177 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 215824402110321

Author(s):

Carolyn Huysamer ◽

Johannes Seroto

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Grounded Theory ◽

Social Identity ◽

South African ◽

Social Order ◽

Moral Disengagement ◽

Cultural Reproduction ◽

Full Membership ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

Gauteng Province

Hazing is an ancient, universal practice. In past and modern societies, the need to join a group is an aspect of humanity. The process of joining a group frequently includes the need to be hazed to legitimate full membership. This article uses the theoretical frameworks of Foucault and Bourdieu’s perspectives of social order, Tajfel and Turner’s theory of social identity, and Bandura’s theory of moral disengagement to inform the phenomenon of individuals joining groups. In particular, the study has sought to ascertain why those who haze are motivated to act. A grounded theory was developed through interviewing young adults, who planned hazing activities while in positions of leadership as Grade 12 learners in Gauteng schools. The grounded theory shows that hazing although enacted by an individual is not solely driven by that person, but rather hazing is a means of cultural reproduction. The developed theory is grounded and was verified through interviewing stakeholders in the school community who had extensive knowledge of the school culture and of Grade 12 learners.

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Dental health services research utilizing comprehensive clinical databases and information technology

Journal of Dental Education ◽

10.1002/j.0022-0337.1997.61.1.tb03111.x ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 61 (1) ◽

pp. 47-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

WJ Hayden

Keyword(s):

Information Technology ◽

Health Services Research ◽

Health Services ◽

Dental Health ◽

Services Research ◽

Dental Health Services ◽

Clinical Databases

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Business: The Electronic Health Record: Front Line Experience

Perspectives on Administration and Supervision ◽

10.1044/aas21.1.18 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

pp. 18-22

Author(s):

Rosemary Griffin

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Information Technology ◽

Electronic Health Record ◽

Financial Incentives ◽

Best Practice ◽

Health Care Systems ◽

The United States ◽

Health Record ◽

Health Trends ◽

Electronic Health

National legislation is in place to facilitate reform of the United States health care industry. The Health Care Information Technology and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) offers financial incentives to hospitals, physicians, and individual providers to establish an electronic health record that ultimately will link with the health information technology of other health care systems and providers. The information collected will facilitate patient safety, promote best practice, and track health trends such as smoking and childhood obesity.

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