How to Do Things With Words

Normal accidents. Living with high-risk technologies

Increased processing power and higher transmission and storage capacity have made it possible to build increasingly integrated and versatile Information Technology (IT) solutions whose complexity has grown dramatically (BCS/RAE, 2004; Hanseth and Ciborra, 2007; Kallinikos, 2007) Complexity can be defined here as the dramatic increase in the number and heterogeneity of included components, relations, and their dynamic and unexpected interactions in IT solutions Unfortunately, software engineering principles and design methodologies have not scaled up creating a demand for new approaches to better cope with this increased complexity (BCS/RAE, 2004) The growth in complexity has brought to researchers’ attention novel mechanisms to cope with it like architectures, modularity or standards (Parnas, 1972; Schmidt and Werle, 1998; Baldwin and Clark, 2000) Another, more recent stream of research has adopted a more holistic, socio-technical and evolutionary approach putting the growth in the combined social and technical complexity at the center of an empirical scrutiny (see, eg, Edwards et al, 2007) These scholars view these complex systems as new types of IT artifacts and denote them with a generic label of Information Infrastructures (IIs) So far, empirical studies have garnered significant insights into the evolution of IIs of varying scale, functionality and scope including Internet (Abbate, 1999; Tuomi, 2002), electronic market places and EDI networks (Damsgaard and Lyytinen, 2001; Wigand et al, 2006), wireless service infrastructures (Funk, 2002; Yoo et al, 2005) or ERP systems (Ciborra et al, 2000)

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Design theory for dynamic complexity in information infrastructures: the case of building internet

The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It Jonathan Zittrain. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008. 342 pages. $30.00.Jonathan Zittrain's book, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It, discusses the tension between generativity, the "capacity to produce unanticipated change through unfiltered contributions from a broad and varied audience" and the security problems inherent in today's personal computers and Internet system (70). This generativity, Zittrain argues, is the greatest strength of personal computers and the Internet and had led to great innovations, including creative software, peer-to-peer networking, blogs and content sites such as Wikipedia, and even the Internet itself. Yet this same generativity has also spawned security, legal, and social problems that may lead to the demise of personal computers and the Internet as they exist today (101). If we do not find solutions for these problems, Zittrain warns, we will be faced with government or corporate control of personal computers and the Internet, similar to current controls of cellular telephones and cable converter boxes, which will effectively shut down the innovations that personal computers and the Internet currently enable (245). Personal computers, according to Zittrain, will become nothing but appliances programmed by the manufacturer, capable only of limited tasks, and stripped of the tools and capabilities necessary for innovation.The first part of the book traces the history of personal computers, mainframes, proprietary servers, and the Internet. This section highlights how differences in technology and administration fostered generativity in personal computers and on the Internet and prohibited innovation on the mainframes and proprietary networks. Yet the innovations made possible by the generative nature of the Internet and personal computers also created its vulnerabilities: viruses, worms, malware, and spyware. Despite his obvious support of generativity, Zittrain admits that the current situation is "not sustainable" (43), but warns that the obvious solutions-such as limited functionality, governmental controls, and censorship-completely undermine the creativity made possible by personal computers and the Internet. The sec- ond part of the book defines generativity and explores its benefits and detriments. Here, Zittrain proposes that information technology functions best when generative, while admitting that we cannot ignore the problems caused by generativity (64), and warns equally of the dangers of controlled appliances: censorships, surveillance, forced legal compliance, and unannounced changes in machine functions. Chapter 6 in this section considers Wikikpedia as a self-regulating generative system that functions imperfectly but well. Part Three proposes technological, legal, and social solutions to the problems discussed earlier in the book.The Future of the Internet intertwines its analysis of current personal computer/Internet problems with current and historical examples from business, law, culture (Internet and otherwise), and technology. These examples, often worthwhile and interesting in and of themselves, underpin Zittrain's analysis rationally and support his conclusions. The examples show that the kind of sledgehammer solutions that Zittrain predicts are not merely possibilities or potentialities, but already have been and are being employed by various companies and governments. Perhaps best of all, Zittrain's use of these historical and current examples avoids the sensationalism often seen in other works that predict governmental and corporate control of options, behavior, and creativity. …

The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It

The current literature on digital infrastructure offers powerful lenses for conceptualizing the increasingly interconnected information system collectives found in contemporary organizations. However, little attention has been paid to the generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure, that is, the causal powers that explain how and why such infrastructure evolves over time. This is unfortunate, since more knowledge about what drives digital infrastructures would be highly valuable for managers and IT professionals confronted by the complexity of managing them. To this end, this paper adopts a critical realist view for developing a configurational perspective of infrastructure evolution. Our theorizing draws on a multimethod research design comprising an in-depth case study and a case survey. The in-depth case study, conducted at a Scandinavian airline, distinguishes three key mechanisms of digital infrastructure evolution: adoption, innovation, and scaling. The case survey research of 41 cases of digital infrastructure then identifies and analyzes causal paths through which configurations of these mechanisms lead to successful evolution outcomes. The study reported in this paper contributes to the infrastructure literature in two ways. First, we identify three generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure and how they contingently lead to evolution outcomes. Second, we use these mechanisms as a basis for developing a configurational perspective that advances current knowledge about why some digital infrastructures evolve successfully while others do not. In addition, the paper demonstrates and discusses the efficacy of critical realism as a philosophical tradition for developing substantive contributions in the field of information systems.

The generative mechanisms of digital infrastructure evolution

This book originates from a multiple year research project on ICT and justice in a number of EU countries. Among the project's major objectives was the development of new methodologies for facilitating ICT-based innovation in the judiciary.

ICT and Innovation in the Public Sector: European Studies in the Making of E-Government

The article analyses recent European experience in applying new managerial mechanisms of accountability to justice systems. A common outcome has been a confrontation between demands for accountability faced with appeals to judicial independence. We analyse the traditional forms of legal (or judicial) and managerial accountability, identifying the source of the values on which each is based, and the consequences of each. This highlights the different epistemic orientation: the legal system deals with individual cases and the proper application of the law, the managerial system with aggregate of activity, outputs, and expenditure. To overcome the stalemate that so often results, we review the concept of accountability, drawing attention to the breadth of values and interests to which courts must respond. We further note that independence is not an end in itself, but must be appreciated instead as the guarantee of judicial impartiality. We are then in a position to compare different European case studies of implementation of new mechanisms of accountability with the goals and values of the justice system. Poor efforts are typically ritualistic zero-sum games, devoting increasing amounts of energy to measurement while losing sight of why anything is being measured. Successful review mechanisms bring together various interested parties to identify important outcomes that are readily measurable and capable of improvement.

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Reconciling independence and accountability in judicial systems

ICT and Innovation in the Public Sector

Foreword G. Di Federico. Acknowledgements. Acronyms. Introduction: State of the Art, Critical Issues, and Trends of ICT in European Judicial Systems M. Fabri. European Seminar on Court Technology: Report Structure. Part One: Developing E-Justice from Case Management Systems. 1. Approaching Integration: ICT in the Finnish Judicial System K. Kujanen, S. Sarvilinna. 2. A Show Case for the Future: E-Justice in Austria P. Bauer. 3. Developing New Integrated Technologies for the Future: ICT in the Irish Judicial System J. Coyle. 4. Paving the Road for Second Generation ICT in the Norwegian Judicial System M.S. Hagedal. 5. Assessing the Needs of a Consistent Flow of Information: ICT in the Swedish Judicial System A. Sehlstedt, L. Grunditz. 6. How `Digital' Are Belgian Courts? J. Dumortier, C. Goemans. 7. Re-Engineering Independence and Control: ICT in the Dutch Judicial System A. Schmidt. 8. The Development of Case Management Systems: ICT in the Danish Judicial System K. Bork, R. Schroeder. Part Two: Developing ICT in Centralized Fragmented Judicial Systems. 9. The First Step in a New Era: ICT in the French Judicial System Y. Rabineau, D. Beltrame. 10. An Innovation Process Embedded in a Strict Institutional Setting: ICT in the Italian Judicial System D. Carnevali, M.C. Di Cocco. 11. Federalism and Innovative Competition: ICT in the German Judicial System C.F. Fitting. 12. The Technological Challenge of a Fragmented Justice System: ICT in England and Wales J. Plotnikoff, et al. 13. Towards the Integration of Case Management and Case Law: ICT in the Spanish Judicial System I. Sanchez, P.A. Gonzalez. 14. The Struggle for Integration in the Greek Judicial System. Issues and Recent Developments G.O. Tsobanoglou. 15. Judicial Reform in Latin America: Towards a Strategic Use of Information and Communication Technologies W.H. Malik. Conclusion: Dynamics of ICT Diffusion in European Judicial System F. Contini. About the Authors.

Justice and Technology in EUrope: How ICT is Changing the Judicial Business

Information systems development methodologies are still mainly concerned with the research of better ways to provide technical solutions for given organisational problems. The paper challenges the appropriateness of this scope of development methodologies when system development deals with the deployment of information infrastructures. The attempt of the Italian Ministry of Justice to deploy e-justice, a new information infrastructure for the judiciary, is taken as an explanatory case. The research data suggests that development methodologies supporting information system development that focus on the solution of technical problems result that are appropriate to match design and adoption processes in simple organisational contexts, such as in the case of the automation of bureaucratic procedures supporting judicial activities. When the involved context and adoption process is more complex and challenging, as in the e-justice case, it seems necessary to change the aim and scope of the chosen system development methodologies. The conceptual shift from information systems to information infrastructures allows one to grasp this growing complexity and to propose development methodologies, such as cultivation, that eases the deployment of such initiatives.

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Francesco Contini

Papers

ICT and Innovation in the Public Sector: European Studies in the Making of E-Government

Reconciling independence and accountability in judicial systems

ICT and Innovation in the Public Sector

Justice and Technology in EUrope: How ICT is Changing the Judicial Business

Information system and information infrastructure deployment: the challenge of the Italian e-justice approach