The ITAR-project
This project started in september 1998 and focuses on IT as "technologies of representation" and the effects they have in organizations and societies at large. At present, two pilot studies are completed. They are described below. For more detailed information, please contact Jonny Holmström
The first study analyzes an IT application used by rescue units of various
kinds. The application is used for better dealing with accidents where hazardous
fluids are involved. This includes activities such as planning for potential
accidents, in order to be better prepared for them and possibly reduce risk,
as well as to better deal with accidents in situ. Preliminary observations
indicate that the application has to a large extent extended the possibilities
to deal with accidents where hazardous fluids are involved, concerning planning
for accidents as well as better dealing with them on an operational level.
This was shown in practice during the summer of 1997, where the application
was used to deal with a train accident involving hazardous fluids. The IT
application was described by media as a key element in succeeding to secure
human lives, but despite of the hype surrounding the application the preliminary
results of this study indicates some severe problems attached to the use
of the technology. First and foremost, the risk of relying too much on the
computer-generated representations was identified as important to deal with.
At present, there is no critical debate concerning the distinction between
"representation" and "reality", which in the end has to do with the limits
of the application. This debate has to be encouraged and this study hopes
to contribute to this.
The second study analyzes how graphical representations of economic data, combined with drill-down possibilities, changes the work for controllers in a large organization. Preliminary observations indicates that there exists a conflict between the production and use of economic budgets with these new technologies and the traditional approach to budget work. The new approach presents the organization with a challenge, not only in terms of technological adaptation from the controllers side, but also concerning the ways in which the organization implements an awareness of the economic situation the organization is dealing with.