website of ISTOS workshop: www.cbs.dk/staff/lars.heide/ ISTOS/workshop-index.htm

This workshop is a part of the research network 'Tensions of Europe: Technology and the Making of 20th Century Europe', sponsored by the European Science Foundation.

The workshop will examine the role of information systems and technologies (IST) at different levels in society, ranging from individuals and organisations to society as a whole. It will cover developments in Europe during the twentieth century, looking in detail at three themes: user practices, the role of intermediaries and European competitiveness.

Information systems and technologies are broadly defined as objects of research. For the latter part of the twentieth century, they include computer hardware, software, software-based organisation systems and different forms of information exchange. For earlier periods, IST includes predecessors of the computer, such as punch card-systems and keyboard office machines.

1. USER PRACTICES, focusing on how IST has influenced the work and tasks of individuals (both at the shop floor and in offices) as well as the formal and informal organisational structures, which contain and accommodate users. This theme also welcomes studies of the implementation of IST in multinationals.
   
2. INTERMEDIARIES between producers and users (e.g. user communities, consulting firms, the media and government agencies), examining how they have influenced the development and implementation of IST in the European context. This theme includes the origin and evolution of consulting and software contracting firms.
   
3. EUROPEAN COMPETITIVENESS, looking mainly at the dynamics of corporate strategies in European IST industries related to other companies (including internationalisation, alliance formation and mergers) and related to governments (e.g. lobbying). Also, this theme includes studies of industrial policies on the national and trans-national levels. Comparative approaches are particularly welcome.

The overall objective of this workshop will be to contribute to the development of a research programme on information systems and technology in organisations and society. The current research programme is available at the "Tensions of Europe" web site (above). We intend to publish some or all of the papers from the workshop.

Please e-mail a one-page abstract of your paper together with a few lines of biographical information and your contact details by 31 October 2002 to Lars Heide (heide.lpf@cbs.dk). Please send it as an attachment in pdf or MS Word (any Word version) format.

The proposals will be reviewed by the Project Team on Information Systems and Technology in Organisations and Society.

The organisers will pay local costs (accommodation and food) for all those giving a paper (one person per paper). Some help with transportation costs might also be available, especially for those currently completing or having recently completed a dissertation. Please contact Matthias Kipping (matthias.kipping@econ.upf.es) for further details.

For more information you can visit a website of ISTOS workshop:
www.cbs.dk/staff/lars.heide/ISTOS/workshop-index.htm