There are three different uses of the term 'information' in ordinary language: in the restricted sense, it means diverse types of material objects, such as data or documents ('information as thing'); alternatively, the term is used as in reference to the act of informing or becoming informed ('information as process'), or to equate to knowledge ('information as knowledge'). Each of these connotations represents a legitimate view of information in its own right, being equally significant to information-intensive organisations. The literature lacks studies that approach information from an integrative viewpoint, however. The purpose of this study was to explore and develop the notion of 'information governance' as an integrative, systemic approach to information in the context of research organisations. Soft Systems Methodology was used in a case study involving the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. Qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with researchers and information/knowledge managers, followed by a thematic, two-level analysis. From a 'macro level' of analysis (the wider Brazilian agricultural research system) it was found that, to solve increasingly complex research problems, collaborative, multidisciplinary networking is needed. On the other hand, competitive forces are continuously emanating from the systems of research steering, funds and resources' allocation, quality control, and recognition and reward. This conflict inhibits the collaborative sharing of 'information as thing' and 'as knowledge', disturbs internal communication flows and contributes to low levels of synergy and cross-departmental partnerships, ultimately affecting research outcomes. At a 'meso level' (the local practices and culture of agricultural knowledge production), different epistemic cultures were identified (named in vitro, in situ and in silico research), which respond differently to the opposing forces of collaboration and competition. Based on a deep understanding of the agricultural research system and underlying epistemic cultures, a framework for effective governance of information was developed. Action to improve the governance of information at Embrapa would involve nurturing an information culture that supports collaborative work. Given that interactions between researchers are determined by their individual pursuits and struggles, this would require a change in the corporate system of performance evaluation and reward, according to the different epistemic cultures.

Data-driven decision support systems, such as data warehouses, are extremely costly to develop. Forty one per cent of data warehouse development practitioners have experienced project failures. These projects were either completed after exceeding budget and time limits, or not at all. Some influential data warehousing authors advocate user involvement as a solution, while others focus on technical factors to improve data warehouse success. This study proposes a framework for data warehousing success based on systems thinking methodology. Systems thinking implies a holistic approach to problem solving. A system is a set of interrelated elements. A systems approach represents a broad view, taking all aspects into account and concentrating on interactions between different parts of the problem. This study investigates the practices of data warehousing professionals from a systems thinking point of view, before proposing a framework for the explicit use of specific systems thinking methodologies in data warehouse development. Interpretive case study research is used to investigate practices of data warehousing professionals in three different organisations. Pattern matching is used to analyse collected data. This is done by mapping practices to different systems thinking perspectives. However, the theory component of the thesis is not a description of current data warehousing practices from a systems thinking point of view, as in typical interpretive research. The theory component relates more to critical research in that it is meant to change data warehousing practices towards specific systems thinking methodologies. The proposed framework incorporates three sources of information. These are a literature study on systems thinking philosophy, methodology and practice; a literature study on data warehousing and data warehousing success factors; and the results of case studies on current practices of data warehousing professionals analysed from a systems thinking perspective. The framework gives a methodological foundation for a holistic approach to data warehousing with maximum user involvement. It views a data warehouse as a system with typical systems characteristics, such as specified objectives relating to the organisation’s objectives, an environment, available resources, specified components and effective management. / Thesis (PhD (Information Technology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Informatics / unrestricted

The evidence from the literature suggests that Information Technology adoption (IT) governance in organisations is still a challenge. The diversity of application and the ever-increasing use of IT results in making decisions on IT adoption a major challenge for organisations. The decision about using a particular technology from an organisational perspective is problematic since individual users have different worldviews. The implicit assumption in IT adoption literature is that stakeholders always reach consensus during IT adoption decision making in organisations. This study explored the existing models and frameworks in order to develop a preliminary improved IT adoption governance framework. This study used a case study sequential explanatory mixed methods research approach to validate the preliminary IT adoption governance framework. The first validation phase of the framework was done using a quantitative approach followed by the second validation phase based on qualitative interviews. The last validation was done after integrating the quantitative and qualitative results to produce the refined framework. The results suggest that the developed framework may improve IT adoption governance in organisations. The results showed that the framework components facilitate IT adoption governance in organisations. The results also suggest that the components have an association with each other except for the Technology Acceptance Model component. The results indicate that stakeholder participation and hard systems thinking components have a strong predictive impact on IT governance framework component perception in organisations. The study results suggest that IT adoption decision makers need to balance different stakeholders’ demands during IT adoption decision making in organisations. The framework helps in that regard by reconciling different stakeholders’ demands through collective IT adoption decision making. The strength of the framework is its integration of theories from various disciplines in understanding stakeholder expectations. On that basis the framework is in a better position to offer more insight into understanding challenges of IT adoption decision making than existing frameworks and models. The framework offers a potentially valuable basis for future research in IT adoption decision making in organisations. The results suggest that the framework may facilitate IT adoption in organisations using different components. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information systems)

The evidence from the literature suggests that Information Technology adoption (IT) governance in organisations is still a challenge. The diversity of application and the ever-increasing use of IT results in making decisions on IT adoption a major challenge for organisations. The decision about using a particular technology from an organisational perspective is problematic since individual users have different worldviews. The implicit assumption in IT adoption literature is that stakeholders always reach consensus during IT adoption decision making in organisations. This study explored the existing models and frameworks in order to develop a preliminary improved IT adoption governance framework. This study used a case study sequential explanatory mixed methods research approach to validate the preliminary IT adoption governance framework. The first validation phase of the framework was done using a quantitative approach followed by the second validation phase based on qualitative interviews. The last validation was done after integrating the quantitative and qualitative results to produce the refined framework. The results suggest that the developed framework may improve IT adoption governance in organisations. The results showed that the framework components facilitate IT adoption governance in organisations. The results also suggest that the components have an association with each other except for the Technology Acceptance Model component. The results indicate that stakeholder participation and hard systems thinking components have a strong predictive impact on IT governance framework component perception in organisations. The study results suggest that IT adoption decision makers need to balance different stakeholders’ demands during IT adoption decision making in organisations. The framework helps in that regard by reconciling different stakeholders’ demands through collective IT adoption decision making. The strength of the framework is its integration of theories from various disciplines in understanding stakeholder expectations. On that basis the framework is in a better position to offer more insight into understanding challenges of IT adoption decision making than existing frameworks and models. The framework offers a potentially valuable basis for future research in IT adoption decision making in organisations. The results suggest that the framework may facilitate IT adoption in organisations using different components. / Information Science / D. Litt. et Phil. (Information systems)