Representing human and non-human stakeholders

on speaking with authority

Athanasia Pouloudi

Edgar A. Whitley

pp. 339-354

in: Richard Baskerville, Jan Stage, Janice DeGross (eds), Organizational and social perspectives on information technology, Berlin, Springer, 2000

Abstract

Information systems research is concerned with complex imbroglios of human and non-human components. As researchers, we need ways to represent the intricacies of the different stakeholders in such situations. Traditionally, it is assumed that representing the views of human stakeholders is relatively unproblematic, but that doing this for non-humans is far more complex. This paper addresses this assumption, drawing on the philosophy of science of Isabelle Stengers. It considers the case of the UK NHSnet project and focuses on two stakeholders in the project, one human (the patients) and one nonhuman (the encryption algorithm used to encode confidential patient data). As the case study shows, representing either stakeholder is equally problematic and the paper reflects on the implications of this for information systems research.

Cited authors

Stengers Isabelle