Research of Andrew Basden

For full details, see my full curriculum vitae, including:

RECENT RESEARCH

1. Overall motivation: In view of my background, I seek to understand the relationship between information technology/systems (IT/IS) and human everyday living in a more sophisticated way than merely a 'socio-technical' approach allows. This requires systematic application of philosophy.

2. Overall approach: To take an 'everyday' ('lifeworld') attitude rather than a theoretical one. To be open to the diversity of everyday experience. This requires a philosophical way of thinking.

3. Areas of research interest: Over the years, I have worked in five major areas of research and practice in IT/IS (details outlined below):

Human usage of computers (HCI, ERC & HLC)
IS development (four human activities)
Creating the underlying technologies and KR languages
Nature of computers and information
Information society - IT as our ecology

4. Integration: Now I am particularly interested in what might be called 'the whole story that is IT/IS' - how all these areas integrate with each other and can support each other, to yield what Egbert Schuurman called 'a liberating vision for technology'. With this, I hope to be able to contribute to any area from the point of view of the others (and of stances outwith IS; e.g. environmental, theological).

5. Philosophy: Philosophy is needed for this, because while theoretical scientific thinking focuses on a single aspect (e.g. the physical, social aspects) it is philosophy that addresses the relationship between different aspects. To this end, I am exploring a little-known philosopher, Herman Dooyeweerd, see The Dooyeweerd Pages.

6. Understanding Each Area: This has enabled me to propose a systematic, philosophical framework for understanding each of the five areas from an 'everyday' point of view. See my recent book: Philosophical Frameworks for Understanding Information Systems (publ. 2008, IGI Global).

PREVIOUS RESEARCH

Research into human use of computers

Human-computer interaction: Donald Norman once said (1990), "The real problem with the interface is that it is an interface. Interfaces get in the way. I don't want to focus my energies on an interface. I want to focus on the job." I found the 'point-n-click' user interface too clumsy, especially when wanting to express knowledge diagrammatically or when playing a computer game. So I devised the notion of, principles for, and working demonstration of, proximal user interface, a style of UI that does not consume our energies.
Human living with computers: Our use of IS impact our lives and work either beneficially or detrimentally, in a diversity of ways, many of them indirect, unexpected or long-term. This issue also relates to success and failure of IS. See details.
Engaging with represented content: When I'm fighting a dragon in a computer game, I am fighting a dragon, not interacting with shapes on the screen! I am engaging with the content, as well as interacting with the computer. Likewise a nurse engages with the content when accessing a patient database. This area of research has had little discussion, and usually it is not even differentiated from HCI and HLC. But it needs to be in order to differentiate virtual reality from the real, in order to address the issue of disguised identity in social networking and email, as well as in order to provide criteria for designing and evaluating the content of IS. Only low level research so far and one presentation about evaluation of Facebook.

A framework for understanding the structure of, and norms that could guide, each of these, is found in chapter IV of my book, Philosophical Frameworks for Understanding Information Systems (2008, IGI Global).

Research into IS Development

Information systems development is seen as a harmony of several human activities, in three of which I have been involved in a research capacity:

The overall ISD project: A 'Client Centred Approach', which centres on responsibility of the client and attempts to overcome the problems of both linear and cyclical methods by approaching from a new direction.
Knowledge acquisition: From my professional experience in building expert systems, came an approach that seeks understanding as well as experience. Later, with Mike Winfield and Suzanne Kane, I explored multi-aspectual techniques.
Anticipating use: Rather more than systems analysis, this is concerned with anticipating all aspects and sides of use. My research in this area has been mainly to enrich soft systems methodology using Dooyeweerd's ideas.

Research in Creation of IT Resources

To be written. See IRKit and Proximal User Interface.

Research into Nature of Computers and Information

To be written.

Levels of meaning in computers. An extension of Allen Newell's notion of levels.
Nature of diagrams and drawing. Work with Kamaran Fathulla.

Research into the Information Society

To be written. Mainly in the area of sustainability.

BACKGROUND

1969: BSc in Electronics (Science) at University of Southampton
1975: PhD in Computer Aided Design of Electronic Circuit Boards
Work outside Academia as system developer:
- 1974: Pharmaceutical industry: data processing
- 1974-1980: Aldermoor Health Centre, Southampton: design and construction of database for medical records of general practice
- 1980-1986: ICI plc, Runcorn: expert systems, business information systems
- 1986-1987: Surveying profession: ELSIE project, expert system for quantity surveyors
Lecturer in University of Salford Information Technology Institute (and subsequent manifestations of post) in databases, knowledge based systems, business information systems, multimedia, human factors & user interface, philosophy: 1987 - present.