This essay proposes that humans are in the midst of a cultural shift from the Industrial Age to an Ecological Era, which demands that one re-conceptualize the world and operate within it differently. It discusses the opportunities raised by Actor Network Theory (ANT) in helping one navigate the transition from an objectcentred view of reality, towards one that also engages with process-oriented...

Both actor-network theory and activity theory call attention to the coexistence of people and technology. Although both theories provide analytical tools to understand the nature of the reciprocal action-shaping of humans and nonhumans, each puts emphasis on different conceptual elements of human activity. In this paper, the authors examine both activity theory and actor-network theory and pres...

In this paper we argue that a combination of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Genre Theory can constitute a theoretical framework for understanding how digital genres evolve. Genre theory states that genres evolve over time through reciprocal interaction between institutionalized practices and individual action; that they develop from actors’ responses to recurrent situations, and are shaped ar...

The privacy implications of social robots are far-reaching and concern both informational and physical privacy. In this contribution we address the topic of healthcare robots and privacy. We use actor network theory (ANT) to shed light on the privacy implications of healthcare robots from a specific theoretical point of view. ANT is a descriptive, constructivist approach that takes into account...

We developed BIZ2BIS (from Business Models to the Blueprint of the Information System), an approach to help design, discuss, and evaluate inter-organizational business models, and also derive high-level requirements for their underlying IS. It consists of an iterative process that involves the various stakeholders in seeking a set of value propositions that ensure that the various elements are ...

This paper proposes a new research program and presents a current analysis of the potential of health information systems (HIS) to improve primary care delivery in rural Indonesia. A new HIS will be implemented to facilitate patient centred primary care and to support the interactions and collaborations between three types of participants including the patient, their doctors and pharmacist in M...

Research on existing actor-networks has focused traditionally on outcomes, achievements and success at the expense of a detailed consideration of their formation and ability to function. In recognition of this lacuna, this study examined the formation and functioning of tourism-related actor-networks involved in environmental protection and the management of tourism in the coastal city of Hurgh...

The deployment of large-scale information systems is a major trend in the corporate world today due to a number of driving forces such as the Internet, globalization, and the use of IT for distributed knowledge. However, the adaptation process of such new technologies is not yet well understood. With its theoretical basis on structuration theory and actor network theory (ANT), this study employ...

This study investigates how environments into which new technologies are introduced interact and interfere with the deployment process, the deployed technologies as well as the research conducted. The material that is used in this study draws from the N4C project development and deployment of Delay Tolerant Network (DTN) technology in the remote Arctic villages of Ritsem and Staloluokta. As the...