Inclusive Design-Theory: How to take advantage of diversity in information Systems Design

Date

2013

Authors

Olbrich, Sebastian
Gregor, Shirley
Niederman, Fred
Trauth, Eileen M.
Urquhart, Cathy

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Conference Organising Committee

Abstract

The theme of ICIS 2013 in Milan is "Reshaping Society through Information Systems" (http://icis2013.aisnet.org/). One aspect of reshaping society that has been recently discussed in central Europe is that of social inclusion (http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=750&langId=en). Yet, after decades of research and ambitious political programs, we still observe an imbalanced treatment toward groups of different gender, age, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, disability, and social background. Such an issue raises questions about the degree to which information systems can help to overcome such imbalance; for instance, if design principles can be formalized in order to reshape the information systems design into a different, more-inclusive direction. We contend that IS falls short in tackling this issue. In this panel, Shirley Gregor, Fred Niederman, Eileen Trauth, and Cathy Urquhart reflect on the multiple aspects of social inclusion in the design and the resulting shape of Information Systems. This panel intends to deliver more in-depth results than merely advocating a stance for more diversity in the IS workforce. Building on the principles of Design Science, we believe that our discipline can help reshape the digital economy. As a key takeaway, the panel provides guidance on the impact of gender in IS theorizing as a demonstration example, and reflect on the trend towards Social Design in the IS research community.

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Citation

Source

International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS 2013): Reshaping Society Through Information Systems Design

Type

Conference paper

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Access Statement

Free Access via publisher site

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DOI

Restricted until

2037-12-31