Social informatics: Principles, theory, and practice

Steve Sawyer, Michael Tyworth

Research output: Chapter in Book/Entry/PoemConference contribution

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Through this paper we make two contributions to social informatics: the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, uses and consequences of information and communication technologies that takes into account their interaction with institutional and cultural contexts. Our first contribution is to make a connection from social informatics to general principles of socio-technical theories. We do this to both connect social informatics scholarship more directly to the large and growing literature(s) that engage socio-technical theorizing and to advance these principles more directly through social informatics. Our second contribution to social informatics is to engage two contemporary theoretical approaches that draw on social informatics principles: socio-technical interaction networks and principles of social actors and apply them to current practice. We do so to demonstrate that these analytic approaches are the needed tools to help scholars and reflective professionals in practice engage social informatics analyses. By doing this we highlight the potential of social informatics while honouring Rob Kling's legacy in helping to establish this transdiscipline.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationSocial Informatics
Subtitle of host publicationAn Information Society for all In Remembrance of Rob Kling: Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Human Choice and Computers (HCC7), IFIP TC 9, Maribor, Slovenia
EditorsJacques Berleur, Markku Nurminen, John Impagliazzo
Pages49-62
Number of pages14
DOIs
StatePublished - 2006
Externally publishedYes

Publication series

NameIFIP International Federation for Information Processing
Volume223
ISSN (Print)1571-5736

Keywords

  • Integrated criminal justice information systems
  • Social actors
  • Social informatics
  • Socio-technical interaction networks
  • Socio-technical principles

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Information Systems and Management

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