Shirley Gregor
Shirley Gregor is Professor of Information Systems and Head of the School of Business and Information Management, Faculty of Economics and Commerce, and Head of the National Centre for Information Systems Research at The Australian National University. Her research work has been widely published in many articles in international and national journals and conferences.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0686-8674
Information Systems Foundations: Theory Building in Information Systems »
Edited by: Dennis N. Hart, Shirley Gregor
Publication date: October 2012
This volume presents the papers from the fifth biennial Information Systems Foundations Workshop, held at The Australian National University in Canberra from 30 September to 1 October 2010. The focus of the workshop was, as for the others in the series, the foundations of information systems as an academic discipline. The emphasis in the 2010 workshop was on theory building in information systems, which is a non-trivial and difficult issue because the field deals with such a wide range of phenomena, from the highly technological in nature to the distinctly human and organisational in focus. The theory building problem stems from the fact that the sciences that underlie and deal with technologically-oriented fields generally result in theories that fit within the ‘covering law’ model—that is, are assumed and believed to have universal applicability and explanatory and predictive power—whereas, by contrast, theories in the human sciences are generally much more conditional, contextual, tentative and open to exceptions. Successfully marrying the two is, not surprisingly, a challenge that the chapters in this volume explore.
Information Systems Foundations: The Role of Design Science »
Edited by: Dennis Hart, Shirley Gregor
Publication date: December 2010
This volume presents papers from the fourth biennial Information Systems Foundation Workshop, held at The Australian National University in Canberra from 2–3 October, 2008. The focus of the workshop was, as for the others in the series, the foundations of Information Systems as an academic discipline. The emphasis in this workshop was on the movement known as ‘Design Science’ and its importance in practical disciplines such as Information Systems. The chapters in the volume provide a critical examination of current design science ideas, with the role of human creativity given special mention. The philosophical underpinnings of design science thinking are also examined. Practically, the volume shows how the design science approach can be used in academic research that leads to artefacts that add value for individuals, organizations and society.
The Information Systems Academic Discipline in Australia »
Edited by: Guy G. Gable, Shirley Gregor, Roger Clarke, Gail Ridley, Robert Smyth
Publication date: September 2008
This book represents the second phase of a multi-method, multi-study of the ‘Information Systems Academic Discipline in Australia’. Drawing on Whitley’s Theory of Scientific Change, the study analysed the degree of ‘professionalisation’ of the Information Systems Discipline, the overarching research question being ‘To what extent is Information Systems a distinct and mature discipline in Australia?’
The book chapters are structured around three main sections: a) the context of the study; b) the state case studies; and c) Australia-wide evidence and analysis. The book is crafted to be accessible to IS and non-IS types both within and outside of Australia. It represents a ‘check point’; a snapshot at a point in time. As the first in a hoped for series of such snap-shots, it includes a brief history of IS in Australia, bringing us up to the time of this report.
The editorial team comprises Guy Gable, architect and leader; Bob Smyth, project manager; Shirley Gregor, sponsor, host and co-theoretician; Roger Clarke, discipline memory; and Gail Ridley, theoretician. In phase two, the editors undertook to examine each component study, with a view to arriving at an Australia-wide perspective.
Information Systems Foundations: Theory, Representation and Reality »
Edited by: Dennis Hart, Shirley Gregor
Publication date: November 2007
This volume contains the papers presented at the third biennial Information Systems Foundations (‘Theory, Representation and Reality’) Workshop, held at The Australian National University in Canberra from 27-28 September 2006. The focus of the workshop was, as for the others in the series, the foundations of Information Systems as an academic discipline. The particular emphasis was, as in past workshops, the adequacy and completeness of theoretical underpinnings and the research methods employed. At the same time the practical nature of the applications and phenomena with which the discipline deals were kept firmly in view. Accordingly, the papers in this volume range from the unashamedly theoretical n their focus (Designing for Mutability in Information Systems Artifacts; Towards a Unified Theory of Fit: Task, Technology and Individual) to the much more practically oriented (An Action-Centred Approach to Conceptualising Information Support for Routine Work).
The contents of this volume will be of interest and relevance to academics and advanced students as well as thoughtful and reflective practitioners in the Information Systems field.
Information Systems Foundations: Constructing and Criticising »
Edited by: Dennis Hart, Shirley Gregor
Publication date: June 2005
This volume contains the papers presented at the second biennial Information Systems Foundations (‘Constructing and Criticising’) Workshop, held at The Australian National University in Canberra from 16-17 July 2004. The focus of the workshop was, as for the first in the series, the foundations of Information Systems as an academic discipline. The particular emphasis was on the adequacy and completeness of theoretical underpinnings and the research methods employed. At the same time the practical nature of the applications and phenomena with which the discipline deals were kept firmly in view. The papers in this volume range from the unashamedly theoretical (‘The Struggle Towards an Understanding of Theory in Information Systems’) to the much more practically oriented (‘A Procedural Model for Ontological Analyses’).
The contents of this volume will be of interest and relevance to academics and advanced students as well as thoughtful and reflective practitioners in the Information Systems field.