Paradox regained: Information systems in the age of globality

Abstract

I take as my text for this keynote presentation, the above quote from Mahatma Gandhi. I shall attempt to apply Gandhi's sentiment to the field of Information Systems - a field that I perceive to be quintessentially global in its reach and traditions, and quintessentially trans-disciplinary in its nature - and, importantly, for its future well-being. I find it paradoxical that the field has its adherents who wish to focus our attention solely on the information technology artefact itself, often seeing the field purely in design terms; I find it equally paradoxical that the field's gate keepers often view quality research from a limited, parochial perspective. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.