In response to the call for research that considers the human as well as the technical aspects of information systems implementation, the authors report on an interpretive case study which explores the adoption and use of an agricultural decision support system (DSS) CottonLOGIC in the Australian cotton industry. The study was informed through the innovation-decision model by Rogers and the technology-in-practice model by Orlikowski using a socio-technical approach. It was found that participants who achieved a high level of implementation success were reflexive and resourceful in adapting the technology to their changing needs, often in ways unanticipated by DSS builders.

This paper discusses the adoption of a pluralist theoretical framework – one that is also multiparadigmatic – for conducting and publishing information system (IS) research. The discussion is illustrated by a single case study involving the Australian cotton industry. The theoretical framework is informed by three sociological theories, each with its particular paradigmatic assumptions: structuration theory as a meta‐theory, and diffusion of innovations and gender relations as lower‐level theories from notionally opposing paradigms. Theoretical pluralism helped to produce rich findings, illuminating both the social nature of women farmers' roles, the materiality of the cotton farming context, the characteristics of the decision support systems in use and the recursive way in which human agency and institutional pressures shape each other. Because users of so‐called divergent paradigms often face criticism based on the incommensurability issue, one of the main contributions of this paper is to discuss the value of a pluralist and multiparadigmatic theoretical framework in dealing with complex IS social phenomena.

This paper reports on the educational aspects of an information systems work-integrated learning (WIL) capstone project for an organization which operates to alleviate homelessness in the Australian non-profit sector. The methodology adopted for the study is Action Design Research (ADR) which draws on action research and design research as a means for framing a project's progress. Reflective insights by the project stakeholders, namely, students, academics, and the non-profit client, reveal a curriculum at work through internal features of the organization; personal features of the participants and features of the external environment. Preliminary findings suggest that students in a WIL project for a non-profit are highly engaged, especially when they become aware of the project's social value. As well, the improvement of professional skills and emotional intelligence by students is more likely in real-life practice settings than in other less authentic WIL activities, equipping graduates for the workforce with both strong disciplinary and generic skills. Win-win-win synergies through project collaboration represent worthwhile outcomes to education, industry and research.

This paper is based on an ongoing study that looks at farm management practices by Australian women cotton growers using farm management software, most particularly an agricultural decision support system, CottonLOGIC. The study is informed through a theoretical framework of structuration theory as a metatheory for probing the recursiveness of farm management and technology usage, and diffusion of innovations theory as a lower-level theory for analysing software adoption characteristics. Empirical research indicates that effective information exchange flows from homophilous communication. In this paper, the principles of homophily and heterophily in communication networks were initially drawn from diffusion theory. The findings suggest that despite apparent gender disparities, the presence of empathy and shared goals between farming partners overrides 'gender heterophily' to become gender homophily. Therefore cotton growers are informed of scientific research through homophilous communication, influencing the construction and reconstruction of innovative software usage and existing farm management practices.

In this chapter, the authors outline how feral information systems are part of a sensemaking process for employees. The core argument lies in the notion of sensemaking as a creation of a conceptual framework to explain disruptions in the flow of working life. As a response to disruptive ambiguity, those “making sense” often revert to causal explanations that help them come to grips with the situation at hand. The authors argue that, when work processes create disruptive ambiguity because of information systems, people in the system are likely to use feral systems to help them understand and tame (or make sense of) the ambiguity faced. They introduce a small case for discussion and conclude with some research questions.