James L. Parrish

Inquiring Systems: Theoretical Foundations for Current and Future Information Systems

Inquiring systems have been a part of the information systems discipline for the past 40 years. In this chapter, we highlight the impact that the inquiring systems have had on the information systems in use in contemporary organizations as well as the potential for inquiring systems to form the theoretical foundations of the information systems of tomorrow.

Using Social Media to Capture and Convey Cultural Knowledge: A Case of Chamorro People

The purpose of the paper is to understand if information and communication technologies, specifically social media, are used to capture and convey Chamorro cultural knowledge. Two data collection methods were used to understand the type(s) of Chamorro cultural knowledge that is valued, and what social media is used by the Chamorro people today to capture and convey cultural knowledge. The results indicate that the Chamorro people today share the core Chamorro cultural values, and do use information and communication technologies, including social media to capture and convey Chamorro cultural knowledge.

New Inquiring Systems as Kernel Theories for Knowledge Management: The Case of the Sense Man System

This paper details a conceptual extension of inquiring systems to help in environments of high complexity and uncertainty that is based on the concept of sense making. The conceptual inquiring system was then used as a kernel theory to guide the design of a knowledge management system designed to assist a local government agency with knowledge management issues in a complex, uncertain software environment. Both the conceptual system and the knowledge management system are discussed as well as an evaluation of the systems efficacy in promoting sense making in the organization.