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Call for Papers: Journal for the Association for Information Systems
Special Issue

ENID MUMFORD'S CONTRIBUTION TO INFORMATION SYSTEMS THEORY AND THEORETICAL
THINKING

Guest Editors

Rudy Hirschheim, Louisiana State University (rudy@lsu.edu )
Jaana Porra, University of Houston (jaana@uh.edu )

Overview

Enid Mumford, Emeritus Professor of the Manchester Business School, is a
recognized world leader in the application of socio-technical concepts to
information systems development. The socio-technical school of thinking was
largely born in England after the Second World War. The key organization
that led in this development was the Tavistock Institute, which got
involved in solving productivity and absenteeism problems in various
industries.

 From the management perspective, the root of the problem was that
Tayloristic management practices did not lead to the expected gains in
productivity. The socio-technical approach led to the discovery that the
focus on efficiency and technology had left employees with little control
over their work and future at the work place. Enid Mumford adopted the
socio-technical principles and produced ETHICS - a participative method for
designing computer based information systems. The basic principle behind
ETHICS is that individuals who participate in designing their information
systems, will be happier with their working circumstances, which will
increase their productivity.
In recent years, Enid has turned her attention to broader social issues.
She has applied socio-technical concepts to solving complex, wicked global
problems related to cyber-crime and drugs. She says:

"The groups and networks that surround criminal activity may be hard to
penetrate because they are shifting and impermanent, with many hidden
structures and boundaries. They can be similar to the structures described
by mathematicians as 'chaotic.' They are prone to instability and breakdown
if one of the connecting linkages is broken. These very complex systems
have far reaching effects. At one end of the drug market the BMW stolen
from someone's driveway may be sold to fund the drugs an addict must have.
At the other end, the poppy crop grown by a poor village in the Andes may
start the long spiral of relationships that snakes across the world and
eventually leads to the car theft." (Mumford, 1999, p. 17)

Enid argues that solving complex problems requires equally complex
solutions and that current thinking concerning problem solving may be too
simplistic. The new situation requires a new management approach. The
corporate world is also being affected:

"...today there is another set of challenging problems that managers are
confronted with. These are very complex, and are very threatening. They are
outside the manager's normal day-to-day experience, and there may be few
experts available to give advice; but the consequence of not tackling them
may send a company on a route to commercial disaster." (Mumford, 1999, p. 1)

Enid's approach to information system design and solving problems of crime
and management is ethical, practical and participative. Computers should be
used in all areas to enhance the quality of human life. Ideals must be
translated into pragmatic steps to make an impact. Problem solvers should
spend time with the people whose problems they are attempting to solve.
When computers are used in a responsible way, a positive economic impact
follows.

Enid has always been a pioneer. She was the first woman to set foot
underground in the mines of the North West Coal industry. At the Manchester
Business school she was the first person to do research on the human side
of computing. She was amongst the first to introduce the principals of the
Tavistock Institute and the socio-technical school to the information
systems field. She was also amongst the first to receive the Association
for Information Systems LEO award. She was also the recipient of the
prestigious Warnier Award. Over her significant career, Enid Mumford has
influenced the thinking and research of scholars all over the world.

The Call

We are pleased to announce a call for a special issue of the Journal for
the Association for Information Systems on Enid Mumford's contribution to
thinking and research in the Information Systems Research field. The
purpose of the special issue is to stimulate discourse that advances the
field of information systems research through demonstrating how Enid
Mumford's work has influenced and continues to influence theory and
practice within the discipline and beyond.

The overarching goal of the special issue is to celebrate, build on and
push forward the intellectual contributions of Enid Mumford. This goal
includes but is not limited to exploring emergent research frontiers,
advancing theory, method, ethics, research practice, information systems
design, complex problem solving and building a cross disciplinary community
of scholars who have benefited or can benefit from Enid's contribution to
the academia at large. We aim to stimulate lively debate and conversation
among scholars with diverse backgrounds and interests.
Papers must touch upon Enid Mumford's themes. They need to relate to her
thinking and/or practice. We seek original, archival pieces that
demonstrate solid scholarship in terms of theory, method, organization and
writing. All papers must meet standards expected of regular JAIS submissions.

Useful readings written by Enid Mumford include:

Mumford, E. (2003). Redesigning Human Systems. Information Science
Publishing, UK.
Mumford, E. (2000). A Socio-Technical Approach to Systems Design. Requirements
Engineering, 5, pp. 125-133.
Mumford, E. (1999). Dangerous Decisions - Problem Solving in Tomorrow's World.
Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, NY.
Mumford, E. (1996). Systems Design - Ethical Tools for Ethical Change.
Antony Rowe
Ltd. Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK.
Mumford, E. (1995). Effective Systems Design and Requirements Analysis.
Anthony
Rowe Ltd. Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK.
Mumford, E. (1983). Designing Human Systems for New Technology - The ETHICS
Method. Wright's Limited, Sandbach, Cheshire, UK. (Reprinted in 1990).
Mumford, E. (1983). Designing Secretaries. The Participative Design of a Word
Processing System. Wright's Limited, Sandbach, Cheshire, UK.

Editorial Board

Jim Backhouse (London School of Economics)
Gordon Davis (University of Minnesota)
Robert Galliers (Bentley College)
Juhani Iivari (University of Oulu)
Frank Land (London School of Economics)
Allen Lee (Virginia Commonwealth University)
Kalle Lyytinen (Case Western Reserve University)
Ann Majchrzak (University of Southern California)
M. Lynne Markus (Bentley College)
Lars Mathiassen (Georgia State University)
John Mingers (Kent University)
Michael Myers (University of Auckland)
Mike Newman (University of Manchester)
Leiser Silva (University of Houston)
Geoff Walsham (Cambridge University)

Deadlines and Submission Instructions

Submissions to the special issue are due on September 30th, 2006. They
should follow the general submissions instructions of the Journal for the
Association for Information Systems. A short abstract not exceeding four
pages including the references should be submitted to the guest editors by
March 30th 2006. The editorial board of the special issue will review the
abstracts. Within six weeks authors will be notified of the suitability of
their manuscript for the special issue and about potential suggestions for
preparing a full length paper for the special issue. Full papers will be
reviewed according to the reviewing policies of the Journal for the
Association for Information Systems. Authors will be notified by January
1st, 2007 as to whether the manuscript will be considered for publication
in the special issue or be rejected. We expect the final decision on
manuscripts to be made in Summer 2007 and the special issue to be published
in early fall 2007.

Rudy Hirschheim
Department of Information Systems and Decision Sciences
E. J. Ourso College of Business
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
Tel. (225) 578-2514
Fax: (225) 578-2511
email: rudy@lsu.edu

Jaana Porra
Department of Decision and Information Sciences
C.T. Bauer College of Business
University of Houston
Houston, TX 77204-6240
Tel. (713) 743-4583
Fax. (713) 743-4940
EEmail: jaana@uh.edu