ERIC Number: EJ864702
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 25
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1074-9039
EISSN: N/A
Living with Contradictions: Complementing Activity Theory with the Notion of "Installed Base" to Address the Historical Dimension of Transformation
Igira, Faraja; Aanestad, Margunn
Mind, Culture, and Activity, v16 n3 p209-233 2009
This article addresses the historical dimension of the relation between information systems innovation and organizational transformation. We analyse findings from a study of ongoing transformations in the healthcare sector in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The process is described with a particular focus on instances where some contradictions in the old activity system were not resolved but inherited by the new activity system. To address this we complement the activity theory framework with the notion of "installed base" from studies of information infrastructures. This helps to illuminate the theme of unresolved and continuing contradictions, and thus contribute to the concept of historicity in CHAT-informed studies. (Contains 5 figures.)
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Information Systems, Computer System Design, Organizational Change, Organizational Development, Health Services, Time Perspective
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Tanzania
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A