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Towards Theorizing Information Systems from a Neurobiological Perspective

Towards Theorizing Information Systems from a Neurobiological Perspective. Lars Taxén Linköping University. Motivation. It could be a surprise that what an IS is is not established (Ray Paul , 2007). Point of departure.

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Towards Theorizing Information Systems from a Neurobiological Perspective

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  1. Towards Theorizing Information Systems from a Neurobiological Perspective Lars Taxén Linköping University

  2. Motivation It could be a surprise that what an IS isis not established(Ray Paul, 2007)

  3. Point of departure The mental is inextricably interwoven with body, world and action: the mind consists of structures that operate on the world via their role in determining action(Love, 2004) Neural realm Mind Social realm World ?

  4. Action requires coordination I do not see any way to avoid the problem of coordination and still understand the physical basis of life(Pattee, 1976) Neural realm Mind Social realm World coordination?

  5. IS in the wild

  6. The project

  7. The IT platform

  8. The information model

  9. The IT application

  10. Where is the IS? The information model The IT platform The project The people The IT application Neural realm Social realm coordination?

  11. Acting in the wild- what enables every-day action?

  12. An ordinary activity… About something Context of relevance

  13. Coordinating individual action Normative Spatial Temporal Notation is more than 1000 years old! Harmonized with human mental organization

  14. Reliant on

  15. Dimensions of activity About something – an object Context of relevance Spatial orientation Sequencing of actions Routinization of relevant actions Cooperation between activities

  16. The Activity Modalities Objectivation Contextualization Spatialization Temporalization Stabilization Transition

  17. Coordination as a mental functional system Activity modalities Neural realm Social realm

  18. Activity modalities Artefacts Social realm Action Neural realm Mind Functional organs

  19. Functional organs (Luria) “External, historically formed artefactssuch as tools, symbols, and objects ‘tie new knots inthe activity of man’s brain’” “It is the presence of these functional knots, or, as some people call them ‘new functional organs’ that is one of the most important features distinguishing the functional organization of the human brain from an animal’s brain”

  20. Functional organs “There no longer exist relations between us. Some time ago I lost my sense of the border between us…. I experience no difficulty in playing sounds…. The cello is my tool no more” Activity modalities Artefacts Social realm Action Neural realm Mind Mstislav Rostropovich (1927 –2007)

  21. Joint action- individuals acting together

  22. Common identifier temporalization spatialization stabilization Activity modalities Joint action Social realm Common Neural realm Idiosyncratic

  23. Common identifier Activity modalities Joint action Social realm Common Neural realm Idiosyncratic spatialization

  24. IS conceptualization

  25. Homer’s functional organ Lars’ functional organ The IT artefact Individual Common Individual

  26. Homer’s Information System The IT artefact

  27. Lars’ Information System The IT artefact The IS is the entity constituted by the IT artefact and the functional organ in the brain of the user IS intrinsically related to the individual; without the individual, no IS

  28. Implications for the IS discipline

  29. Sociomateriality …entities (whether humans or technologies) have no inherent properties, but acquire form, attributes, and capabilities through their interpenetration… the social and the material are inherently inseparable (Orlikowski & Scott, 2008)

  30. Conflation of “social” and “human” “… human beings and things—the social and the material…” (Cecez-Kecmanovic et al., 2014) “… the material/technical and the human/social…” (ibid.) “…the technical/material as well as the social/human…” (ibid.)

  31. The neurobiological approach ISC ISA C A ISB B Integration of individual, material, and socialaspects Neurobiological p.o.d., functional organs, and joint action

  32. “Integrational realism” • Derived from the sine qua non for human existence • Brains evolved to control the activities of bodies in the world • Currently in a nascent state • Potential to address profound issues in IS research • IS conceptualization • Epistemology • Ontology • “Representation”? • “Distributed” mind? • “Shared” understanding, knowledge, meaning, etc.?

  33. Ray Paul (2010) After a nigh-on 20-year search for the answer to the ‘What is I.S.?’ question, I have come up with a concise and precise answer: Information Systems is Information Technology in Use

  34. That’s it!

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