Jenny Lagsten

The capability approach as a tool for development evaluation – analyzing students’ use of internet resources

Internet resources have been ascribed transformative powers in the development of educational organizations and students in developing regions. However, most development projects relating to Internet resources focus on publishing material without much analysis of the actual use. The question then is how we can go deeper in our analysis and study actual development outcomes. The analysis in this paper is based on Amartya Sens Capability Approach, where both the means and ends are evaluated. The research question is “What are the benefits of using Amartya Sens Capability Approach when evaluating development outcomes?”. We answer the question by evaluating what capabilities and functionings Internet resources can enable for students in higher education. Findings show that the Capability Approach enables us to gain a deeper understanding of why and how development outcomes are achieved. We are also able to follow the development process from the intervention to the realized outcomes. Annika Andersson, Åke Grönlund and Gudrun Wicander are the accepting Guest Editors for this article.

Use of information systems in social work – challenges and an agenda for future research

ABSTRACT In the age of digitalisation social work is transforming. With the increased use of information systems, social workers are meeting new professional challenges. In this paper, we report findings covering a nine-year longitudinal study on critical issues in the use of a Case Management System in a Swedish social work agency. The study includes a stakeholder-based evaluation, interviews and document analysis. Comparing the evaluation findings with the literature helped us identify six areas in need of intensified research: (i) Usability and interface design; (ii) Mismatch between social conceptualisation and system conceptualisation of the case; (iii) Skills and training for information systems use; (iv) Statistical production for accountability and quality assurance; (v) Terminology for interpersonal understanding; (vi) IT Governance. As can be seen from the areas above, this kind of research depends on professional knowledge from the social work field – but also from the field of information systems. Hence, we suggest deeper collaboration between the two areas of knowledge in order to scrutinize the complexity of social work information systems. Clearly, the intersection of social work and information systems is a neglected research area, and we attempt to contribute by providing guidance for intensified research and practical knowledge generation.

Conflicting Institutional Logics in Healthcare Organisations: Implications for IT Governance

IT governance is a challenging area in healthcare organisations. Healthcare organisations are under pressure to transform and make use of new information technologies in order to be more effective and serve a growing number of patients. Healthcare IT implementation projects typically involve multiple stakeholders whose ideas and images of processes and results can differ severely. In this case study, at a large Swedish hospital, we investigate how different institutional logics conflict and interplay in a Health IT project and what this implies for IT governance. Our research questions are (i) How do institutional logics influence IT project activities and interactions? (ii) What implications have an institutional logics perspective for IT governance in healthcare organisations? Institutionalised views of different stakeholders may enable or slow down IT development and implementation. We have identified four logics affecting actions and interactions in the studied project which are; medical logic, management logic, IT function logic and vendor logic. The institutional logics perspective contributes to important understanding on complexities in Health IT projects and guidance on how to overcome complications providing important implications for IT governance.