title: Focus and diversity in information systems research: Meeting the dual demands of a healthy applied discipline

authors: Taylor, Hazel

subjects: IS discipline

abstract: Drawing on sociology of science foundations, we argue that, in order to survive and prosper, healthy applied disciplines must meet the dual demands of academic and practitioner audiences by demonstrating both focus and diversity in their research. First, we use this concomitant modality to explain why previous studies into the structure of the Information Systems discipline have reported contradictory results, with some finding a focused field while others conclude that the field is diverse. In support of our argument, we then present the results of a longitudinal, author co-citation analysis, looking across the full range of journals in which IS research is published. Our results suggest that the IS field has sustained a focus on research within three subfields over a 20-year period from 1986 to 2005: (1) a thematic miscellany of research on development, implementation, and use of systems in various application domains; (2) IS strategy and business outcomes; and (3) group work and decision support. At the same time, the field has demonstrated considerable diversity within and around these core subfields, with researchers responding flexibly to the rapidly changing field by investigating these areas with new paradigms and in new contexts, and by exploring new topics including inter-business and Internet applications, computer-supported collaborative work, virtual teams, and knowledge management. Finally, we demonstrate that, over the 20-year period from 1986 to 2005, the discipline has shifted from fragmented adhocracy to a polycentric state, which is particularly appropriate to an applied discipline such as IS that must address the dual demands of focus and diversity in a rapidly changing technological context.

text: Focus and diversity in information systems research: Meeting the dual demands of a healthy applied discipline Drawing on sociology of science foundations, we argue that, in order to survive and prosper, healthy applied disciplines must meet the dual demands of academic and practitioner audiences by demonstrating both focus and diversity in their research. First, we use this concomitant modality to explain why previous studies into the structure of the Information Systems discipline have reported contradictory results, with some finding a focused field while others conclude that the field is diverse. In support of our argument, we then present the results of a longitudinal, author co-citation analysis, looking across the full range of journals in which IS research is published. Our results suggest that the IS field has sustained a focus on research within three subfields over a 20-year period from 1986 to 2005: (1) a thematic miscellany of research on development, implementation, and use of systems in various application domains; (2) IS strategy and business outcomes; and (3) group work and decision support. At the same time, the field has demonstrated considerable diversity within and around these core subfields, with researchers responding flexibly to the rapidly changing field by investigating these areas with new paradigms and in new contexts, and by exploring new topics including inter-business and Internet applications, computer-supported collaborative work, virtual teams, and knowledge management. Finally, we demonstrate that, over the 20-year period from 1986 to 2005, the discipline has shifted from fragmented adhocracy to a polycentric state, which is particularly appropriate to an applied discipline such as IS that must address the dual demands of focus and diversity in a rapidly changing technological context.

year: 2010

title: Enablers and Disablers in the Communication of Sustainability Discourses between Local Government and Businesses

authors: Whitaker, Scott

subjects: Sustainability

abstract: Abstract New Zealand businesses have looked to position themselves within the global market place as pioneers of environmentally sustainable business practice. This strategic development of environmental sustainability as part of our national ‘brand’ gives us an innovative edge in the market place. But as environmental sustainability becomes an ever more contentious issue we need to ask questions about how we will continue to define and negotiate our understanding so we can continue to compete within a growing market of educated consumers. Our ideas of what it means to be environmentally sustainable are continually shifting under the influence of competing worldviews. And for New Zealand to continue to compete we must understand the negotiation of the meaning of environmental sustainability and ensure that each party is represented in this negotiation. Within wider society government and business operate to set benchmarks for environmentally sustainable practice. Thus the communication between these two stakeholder groups is to negotiate and create discourses and ideas about sustainable business practice which businesses take to the market place as their competitive advantage. The ways in which discourses regarding the issue are communicated between government and businesses within New Zealand’s Waikato region are important to understand in order to understand how this affects the potential for business to use sustainable practices within local and global market places. This is because our understanding of what sustainable business practice is directly affects the ways in which we in act it. The way we think is the way we act. This paper uses stakeholder theory to address two key research questions; what discourses are employed by key stakeholders in understanding and negotiating issues of sustainability within and between local government and local business sectors? And how do these discourses facilitate or impede the implementation of sustainable business practices? Using a mixed method approach of both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews of business leaders and governmental agencies this case study develops a snapshot of negotiated meanings of environmentally sustainable business practice. This project identifies distinct difficulties in the areas of stakeholder engagement stemming from a lack of clearly defined shared goals, differences which exist between the communication styles of various stakeholders, the presence of stakeholder hegemony and the lack of a clearly defined authority on sustainable action. The results from this project have drawn the researcher to provide recommendations to local government institutions which include a realignment of communication goals to more closely match business interests, a use of business orientated language and the development of a stream of communication which is aimed at educating small to medium enterprises on the benefits of sustainable action both within the local market place and within the international market place for those looking to trade internationally.

text: Enablers and Disablers in the Communication of Sustainability Discourses between Local Government and Businesses Abstract New Zealand businesses have looked to position themselves within the global market place as pioneers of environmentally sustainable business practice. This strategic development of environmental sustainability as part of our national ‘brand’ gives us an innovative edge in the market place. But as environmental sustainability becomes an ever more contentious issue we need to ask questions about how we will continue to define and negotiate our understanding so we can continue to compete within a growing market of educated consumers. Our ideas of what it means to be environmentally sustainable are continually shifting under the influence of competing worldviews. And for New Zealand to continue to compete we must understand the negotiation of the meaning of environmental sustainability and ensure that each party is represented in this negotiation. Within wider society government and business operate to set benchmarks for environmentally sustainable practice. Thus the communication between these two stakeholder groups is to negotiate and create discourses and ideas about sustainable business practice which businesses take to the market place as their competitive advantage. The ways in which discourses regarding the issue are communicated between government and businesses within New Zealand’s Waikato region are important to understand in order to understand how this affects the potential for business to use sustainable practices within local and global market places. This is because our understanding of what sustainable business practice is directly affects the ways in which we in act it. The way we think is the way we act. This paper uses stakeholder theory to address two key research questions; what discourses are employed by key stakeholders in understanding and negotiating issues of sustainability within and between local government and local business sectors? And how do these discourses facilitate or impede the implementation of sustainable business practices? Using a mixed method approach of both quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews of business leaders and governmental agencies this case study develops a snapshot of negotiated meanings of environmentally sustainable business practice. This project identifies distinct difficulties in the areas of stakeholder engagement stemming from a lack of clearly defined shared goals, differences which exist between the communication styles of various stakeholders, the presence of stakeholder hegemony and the lack of a clearly defined authority on sustainable action. The results from this project have drawn the researcher to provide recommendations to local government institutions which include a realignment of communication goals to more closely match business interests, a use of business orientated language and the development of a stream of communication which is aimed at educating small to medium enterprises on the benefits of sustainable action both within the local market place and within the international market place for those looking to trade internationally.

year: 2011

title: An exploration of the role of semantic relations in the theory and practice of translation (with special reference to English/Māori and Māori/English translation)

authors: Roa, Tom

subjects: clause relations

abstract: It is over forty years since Beekman and Callow, working within the context of the tagmemic tradition, drew attention to the potential significance so far as the theory and practice of translation are concerned of inter-propositional relations (also referred to as ‘discourse relations’, 'semantic relations', ‘semantico-pragmatic relations’, 'rhetorical relations’ and ‘clause relations’).  Since then, the importance of these relations has been increasingly acknowledged within linguistics and a range of other disciplines, including artificial intelligence. In spite of this, inter-propositional relations remain largely unexplored by the vast majority of those involved in translation. My aim in this research project was to determine (a) what impact, if any, a short training course in inter-propositional relations and inter-propositional relational signalling had on novice Māori-English/ English-Māori translators, and (b)  what impact my own understanding of these relations has had on my own practice as a translator. In connection with this, I conducted two studies.  

In the first of these studies, two small groups of novice translators were asked to translate seven text segments - some from English into te reo Māori, others from te reo Māori into English. They were then given a two-day workshop on inter-propositional relations and inter-propositional relational signalling in English and te reo Māori. No translation exercises were included in the workshop. The novice translators were then asked to translate the same text segments again. Comparison of the two sets of translations revealed some interesting differences, the second set indicating a higher level of sensitivity to inter-propositional relations and their signalling in the original text segments. This resulted in, it is argued here, translations that more accurately reflect authorial intentions as indicated in the source texts (see Chapter 3). In connection with this, it is relevant to note that, as indicated in the introductory chapter (Chapter 1) and in parts of the literature review (Chapter 2), while some of those involved in the Western tradition of translation theory and practice have argued that authorial intention is largely irrelevant in relation to textual interpretation, this essentially post-structural positioning is not available to those involved in translating indigenous texts within the context of indigenous worldviews.

In the second study, I used self-reflective think-aloud protocols to record my thoughts during the process of translating, from English into te reo Māori, text segments from five very different texts, all of these translations having been commissioned by different commissioning agencies. I then, making reference to the think-aloud transcripts, compared the source texts with the translations to determine the ways in which my reflections on inter-propositional relations and their signalling had impacted on the translations (Chapter 4).

My overall conclusion is that an understanding of inter-propositional relations and inter-propositional relational signalling can make a positive contribution to the theory and practice of translation and should be included in translator training and in the teaching of additional languages more generally (Chapter 5).

text: An exploration of the role of semantic relations in the theory and practice of translation (with special reference to English/Māori and Māori/English translation) It is over forty years since Beekman and Callow, working within the context of the tagmemic tradition, drew attention to the potential significance so far as the theory and practice of translation are concerned of inter-propositional relations (also referred to as ‘discourse relations’, 'semantic relations', ‘semantico-pragmatic relations’, 'rhetorical relations’ and ‘clause relations’).  Since then, the importance of these relations has been increasingly acknowledged within linguistics and a range of other disciplines, including artificial intelligence. In spite of this, inter-propositional relations remain largely unexplored by the vast majority of those involved in translation. My aim in this research project was to determine (a) what impact, if any, a short training course in inter-propositional relations and inter-propositional relational signalling had on novice Māori-English/ English-Māori translators, and (b)  what impact my own understanding of these relations has had on my own practice as a translator. In connection with this, I conducted two studies.  

In the first of these studies, two small groups of novice translators were asked to translate seven text segments - some from English into te reo Māori, others from te reo Māori into English. They were then given a two-day workshop on inter-propositional relations and inter-propositional relational signalling in English and te reo Māori. No translation exercises were included in the workshop. The novice translators were then asked to translate the same text segments again. Comparison of the two sets of translations revealed some interesting differences, the second set indicating a higher level of sensitivity to inter-propositional relations and their signalling in the original text segments. This resulted in, it is argued here, translations that more accurately reflect authorial intentions as indicated in the source texts (see Chapter 3). In connection with this, it is relevant to note that, as indicated in the introductory chapter (Chapter 1) and in parts of the literature review (Chapter 2), while some of those involved in the Western tradition of translation theory and practice have argued that authorial intention is largely irrelevant in relation to textual interpretation, this essentially post-structural positioning is not available to those involved in translating indigenous texts within the context of indigenous worldviews.

In the second study, I used self-reflective think-aloud protocols to record my thoughts during the process of translating, from English into te reo Māori, text segments from five very different texts, all of these translations having been commissioned by different commissioning agencies. I then, making reference to the think-aloud transcripts, compared the source texts with the translations to determine the ways in which my reflections on inter-propositional relations and their signalling had impacted on the translations (Chapter 4).

My overall conclusion is that an understanding of inter-propositional relations and inter-propositional relational signalling can make a positive contribution to the theory and practice of translation and should be included in translator training and in the teaching of additional languages more generally (Chapter 5).

year: 2016