Catherine Middleton

Is mobile email functional or dysfunctional? Two perspectives on mobile email usage

This paper offers a study of contradiction in the usage of mobile email. Using qualitative data, the paper identifies mobile email usage patterns that are dangerous, distracting, anti-social and that infringe on work-life boundaries. Mobile email users were forthcoming in describing these dysfunctional usage patterns, but they made a convincing argument that their mobile devices are highly functional and allow them to be efficient, to multitask without disruption to others, and to respond immediately to messages, as well as offering them the freedom to work from anywhere. These dual perspectives on mobile email (dys)functionality are explored through a metaphorical lens, showing how organisational cultures can reinforce the functional perspective while simultaneously suppressing the dysfunctional view. It is argued that it is important to understand and explore the dysfunctional perspective of mobile email adoption. The paper concludes with a series of questions that challenge organisations to reflect critically on their assumptions about mobile email usage.

A critical analysis of media discourse on information technology: preliminary results of a proposed method for critical discourse analysis

Since the 1980s, there has been a growing body of critical theory in information systems research. A central theoretical foundation of this research is Habermas’ theory of communicative action, which focuses on implications of speech and proposes general normative standards for communication. Habermas also places particular emphasis on the importance of the public sphere in a democratic society, critiquing the role of the media and other actors in shaping public discourse. While there has been growing emphasis on critical discourse analysis (CDA), there has been limited effort to systematically apply Habermas’ validity claims to empirical research. Moreover, while critical research in information systems has examined communication within the organizational context, public discourse on information technology has received little attention. The paper makes three primary contributions: (1) it responds to Habermas’ call for empirical research to ground and extend his theory of communication in every day critical practice; (2) it proposes an approach to applying Habermas’ theory of communication to CDA; and (3) it extends the reach of critical research in information systems beyond micro‐level organizational concerns and opens up to critical reflection and debate on the impact of systematically distorted communication about technology in the public sphere.

Illusions of Balance and Control in an Always-on Environment: a Case Study of BlackBerry Users

This paper presents a qualitative case study of Canadian BlackBerry users. It begins with a brief description of the BlackBerry, a handheld wireless mobile e-mail device developed by Research in Motion. BlackBerry users find their devices to be empowering, allowing them more control over their environments. The BlackBerry does give its users a mechanism to exert control over the management of daily communication tasks, but by virtue of its always-on, always-connected nature, it also reinforces cultures that expect people to be accessible outside normal business hours. Rather than just a tool of liberation for its users, the BlackBerry can also be understood as an artefact that reflects and perpetuates organizational cultures in which individual employees have little control and influence. While this case study focuses on BlackBerry users, it is suggested that the findings are not unique to this device. BlackBerries and other mobile technologies have been envisioned by some as means of enforcing work–life boundaries, but this paper concludes that the use of always-on mobile devices can lead to situations where conflict between work and personal activities is exacerbated rather than reduced. Since its launch in 1999, the BlackBerry has established itself as the mobile e-mail device of choice for business and government sectors. Although it offers a mobile phone, calendaring, contact and task management, and Web browsing, the main

Applying Habermas’ Validity Claims as a Standard for Critical Discourse Analysis

It has been proposed that the theory and practice of information systems development could benefit from a more explicit consideration of concepts of rationality. Habermas’ communicative rationality has been proposed as an approach to improve the conditions for rational discourse in systems development, thereby improving outcomes (Klein and Hirschheim 1991), and applied at the project level (Ulrich 2001) and to specific episodes of managerial communications (Ngwenyama and Lee 1997). At the same time, it is understood that societal discourses and ideologies shape the external environments of organizational decision making. A variety of approaches has been proposed to analyze these discourses including qualitative techniques for reading or interpreting texts, artifacts, and social practices (Philips and Hardy 2002). This paper examines the way in which Habermasian validity claims can provide an explicit and ethical standard for critical discourse analysis in order to reveal the distortions that shape the institutional environments of technology decision making. It offers an approach to operationalizing Habermas’ validity claims for an analysis of media texts related to a case study involving learning technology.

What if there is no killer application? An exploration of a user-centric perspective on broadband

This paper explores user and provider experiences with broadband networks. Drawing on data from an early broadband trial and from recent studies of consumer broadband usage, the validity of the commonly held view that widespread adoption of broadband is dependent upon the development of a killer application is challenged. It is argued that access to broadband can be valuable for users without the provision of a killer application and that the dynamics of broadband development are shifting. As more users become content creators and distributors and as it becomes easier for consumers to establish broadband networks without help from traditional providers, the existing relationships within the broadband industry will change. Broadband researchers and stakeholders in the development of broadband networks are encouraged to explore and understand the implications of these changes, recognizing that there is much to be learned about deploying broadband in ways that will create the broad societal benefits promised by its promoters.

The Discourse of Learning Technology in Canada: Undestanding Communication Distortions and Their Implications for Decision Making

Discourse is an important part of the institutional environment of organizations, but the potential influence of societal discourse on learning technology decision making has not been examined. This paper explores societal discourse on technology in education, with a particular emphasis on costs and benefits, and the significance of this discourse to management practice and policy making. It uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques in an effort to assess communications distortions, guided by Habermas ’ standards of validity claims for communications: truth, clarity, sincerity, and legitimacy. While the findings are preliminary, it suggests that there are significant distortions in the societal discourse. A potential consequence of these distortions is impaired decision making at the organizational and political levels.

The Multi-layers of Digital Exclusion in Rural Australia

Despite many policy interventions, Australias rural areas continue to be at a digital disadvantage. With the increasing penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into all public and private realms, there is a need to examine the deeply rooted digital divide and how it relates to multiple dimensions of infrastructure, services and demand in rural communities. This paper reports findings from a workshop with seven rural local governments from the State of New South Wales, Australia. The findings suggest that rural digital exclusion results from a multi-layered divide where elements of infrastructure, connectivity and digital engagement are intertwined.

Regulation, investment and efficiency in the transition to next generation broadband networks

The impact of public policy on the quality of Internet connectivity.Determinants of broadband network performance between 2007 and 2012 in the EU.Countries with more service-based competition have relatively higher quality broadband networks.Third party access/interconnection obligations conducive to broadband infrastructure development. This article explores the impact of public policy on technological change and the development of broadband infrastructure in EU member countries. The analysis explores contradictory findings in previous empirical literature on the interplay between regulation, competition, and investment, noting the importance of the construction of indicators employed to evaluate these interactions. Furthermore, the article points out that the traditional policy model and related empirical literature treat fixed capital inputs in networks as a measure of broadband infrastructure quality. However, relatively higher capital inputs do not necessarily translate into the development of relatively higher quality broadband networks. Using broadband network performance measurements between 2007 and 2012, the article addresses this contradiction in the literature and evaluates the determinants of broadband infrastructure quality in the EU. The analysis suggests countries that have been more effective at promoting entry and competition in the provision of Internet access services have developed relatively higher quality broadband networks.

A Digital Health Intervention to Lower Cardiovascular Risk: A Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE South Asian individuals have a high burden of premature myocardial infarction (MI). OBJECTIVES To test whether a digital health intervention (DHI) designed to change diet and physical activity improves MI risk among a South Asian population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This single-blind, community-based, randomized clinical trial with 1-year follow-up was performed among South Asian men and women 30 years or older and living in Ontario and British Columbia who were free of cardiovascular disease. Data analysis was by intention to treat. Data were collected from June 3, 2012, to October 27, 2013. Final follow-up was completed on December 2, 2014, and data were analyzed from April 2, 2015, to February 29, 2016. INTERVENTIONS Participants were randomized 1:1 to the DHI or control condition. The goal-setting DHI used emails or text messages and focused on improving diet and physical activity that was tailored to the participants self-reported stage of change. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The change in an MI risk score from baseline to 1 year was the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes included the change in each objectively measured component of the MI risk score (ie, blood pressure, waist to hip ratio, hemoglobin A1c level, and the ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A). Genetic risk for MI was determined by counting the 9p21 risk alleles; results were provided to each participant at baseline. RESULTS A total of 343 South Asian men and women (178 men [51.9%]; mean [SD] age, 50.6 [11.4] years) who were free of cardiovascular disease were randomized to the control condition (n = 174) or the DHI (n = 169). The mean (SD) MI risk score was 13.3 (6.6) at baseline. No significant difference was found in the change in MI score after 1 year between the DHI and control groups (-0.27; 95% CI, -1.12 to 0.58; P = .53) after adjusting for baseline scores, and no difference was found in the fully adjusted model (-0.39; 95% CI, -1.24 to 0.45; P = .36). No association between knowledge of the genetic risk status at baseline and the change in MI risk score was found (0.19; 95% CI, -0.40 to 0.78; P = .53). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Among South Asian individuals, a DHI was not associated with a reduction in MI risk score after 12 months and was not influenced by knowledge of genetic risk status. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01841398.

Connected OFCity: Technology innovations for a smart city project [Invited]

Around the world, municipalities have been making substantial investments into broadband access infrastructure to accelerate the build-out of an urban phenomenon that has become known as a smart or connected city. At the 2016 Optical Fiber Communications Conference, a team contest, the Connected OFCity Challenge, was held to discuss the technological innovations and to examine dependencies and intricacies of a connected city project. The participants, four teams of experts coming from a cross-section of the industry, presented and defended their visions of future applications and innovative architecture and technologies to realize the interconnection. This paper provides a synthesis of the four competitive proposals offered for the contest and their ensuing discussions.