Information Technology and the Cultural Reproduction of Social Order: A Research Paradigm

Abstract

This paper introduces the critical social theory of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. The objective of Bourdieu's theoretical framework is to uncover the buried organizational structures and mechanisms that are used to ensure the reproduction of social order. This theoretical framework will be used in a research program that examines the structural processes by which information technology may be constrainedfrom emancipating humankind, and may actually be disempowering and abandoning significant numbers of societal members.

Conceptualising technology practice in education using Bourdieu's sociology

“…and his language is often perceived as ambiguous (Jenkins 1992 Drawing on review of the above empirical studies and relevant conceptual work (Ignatow and Robinson 2017;Kvasny and Truex 2000;Selwyn 2004) the following conceptualisation of school students' technology practices (Table 2) was developed and refined through two doctoral studies (Apps 2015;Beckman 2015). Table 2 outlines technological manifestations of Bourdieu's field, habitus and capital.…”

The contradictions of CRM – A critical lens on call centres

“…The CRM software product is embedded or inscribed with assumptions, values and opinions about patterns of use, the nature of work, and organizational structures, and the user is configured to respond to the software in Ôsanctionably appropriate waysÕ (Grint & Woolgar, 1997, p. 93). These scripts are developed by technologists who often lack understanding of the situated work practices of their systemsÕ user communities (Kvasny & Truex, 2000). These scripting mechanisms -metaphorically, if not physically -weld the worker and machine into a streamlined and controlled knowledge system and are a distinctive and widespread feature of the call centre sector.…”

“…By drawing upon the work of Bourdieu this study attempts to give a wider political picture and to question the assumptions surrounding the adoption and use of information systems in organizations. Finally, Bourdieu has had limited exposure in IS studies, aside from the work of Schultz and Boland (2000) who applied BourdieuÕs key concepts to their study of Ôinfor-mation gatekeepersÕ and also that of Kvasny and Truex (2000) who established a research agenda using the work of Pierre Bourdieu. These studies provide excellent illustrations of the value of the Ôintellectual scaffoldingÕ (Walsham, 2001) of Bourdieu and this paper aims to add to these existing studies.…”

Responsible Management of Digital Divides: An Oxymoronic Endeavor?

“…The counterargument would thus be that the reflective approach at least offers the possibility of overcoming the shortcomings of heroic responsibility and that such an attempt should be worth the cost, first because it can help overcome organizational problems, and second because it is a morally acceptable way to deal with the other. There are, of course, other counterarguments, which aim at the heart of participatory approaches, which I cannot discuss here (see Kvasny and Truex 2000;Wilson 1997). …”

“…They can even be expressions of Western cultural imperialism that promotes a particular view of the problem and thereby of the possible solution. Despite these problems, it seems reasonable to assume that digital divides are relevant ethical problems that may react to moral intervention (see Kvasny and Truex 2000).…”