Michel Thomsen

Ethics in health promoting PD: designing digital peer support with children cured from cancer

Innovative design targets new user groups and application areas. One example is health promoting digital services. In such design contexts it is essential to take social and ethical challenges into consideration. In this paper we report from an on-going design research project aimed at designing digital peer support (DPS) for children cured from cancer. Peer support can meet the childrens imperative need for social support. However, the design context is sensitive and gives rise to ethical challenges and considerations. We illustrate how participatory design (PD) activities can be designed to handle, ethical challenges when designing for and with children. We present lessons learned, including using familiar activities, using personas and including healthy children when possible. Further, we reflect on the need to proactively design an ethical perspective into the entire design process, introducing the concept Ethics in Design.

Understanding ISD and Innovation through the Lens of Fragmentation

Information systems development (ISD) and innovation is a complex and challenging endeavor. In this paper we inquire into the process of ISD and innovation to shed light on the ambiguous nature of such processes. This was done in an interpretive study of 10 governmental ISD projects where 14 interviews with key persons were conducted. In addition 11 interviews with senior IT consultants were conducted. Based on this study we propose an analytical lens to understand ISD and innovation. This lens is based on a metaphor grounded in the empirical material. This metaphor, fragmentation, mediates a deeper understanding of ISD and innovation regarding three aspects of complexity: knowledge, culture and discourse, and time and space.

A blended model for student-centered supervision of thesis work in higher education

Thesis work is challenging to both students and supervisors. The traditional model of supervision is that one supervisor individually supervises thesis work. In higher education this model has been ...

Digital Innovation and Social Dilemmas

Digital innovation is rapidly reshaping society, affecting fundamental aspects of our everyday activities and lives. This development is accompanied with benefits as well as social dilemmas. In this paper we approach this class of challenges in IS digital innovation research. We investigate how social challenges are attended in research agendas, and reflect upon social challenges emerging from a digital service innovation project. Based on the empirical case, we present a scenario that illustrates how social challenges can unfold in digital service innovation. The case exemplifies three conflicts of interest that are used to discuss implications for the research agendas for digital innovation. We propose that explicit attention is paid to social and ethical challenges, taking a large scale and interdisciplinary approach on social and ethical challenges in digital ecosystems.