Social impact of information technology : implications for a tertiary institute

Abstract

Tertiary educational institutes have had many Information Systems developed and implemented for the use of students and lecturers. The problem is that more often than not, the impacts of Information Systems on social communities of organisations have not been taken into account, or insufficient attention has been paid to them. The social impact of Information Systems are rarely taken into account when systems are being designed or implemented, and as a result lead to many Information System failures. This research explores the issues of the interface between information systems and society, and addresses the social impact of these systems. A thorough investigation of the Information Systems and users of those systems at the University of South Africa has been undertaken in this study Details regarding certain social impact of Information Systems will be discussed. This research proposes a set of guidelines to help ensure that the social impacts of tertiary institutes’ Information Systems are taken into account in the design and implementation of these systems, thereby increasing the chance of success of those systems. Those who stand to benefit from information contained in this study include various tertiary institutes’ faculties of Information Systems and Technology, the departments responsible for the development of those Information Systems, users of those systems, and the social community encompassing those systems.