1. Why Can't We Practice What We Teach? Ralph Westfall Cal Poly, Pomona rdwestfall@csupomona.edu www.csupomona.edu/~rdwestfall/metenemy.ppt

2. Do as We Say... we teach –just in time, rapid response, time to market context: "Internet time," machines with clock cycles in billionths of a second –adaptation, flexibility, mass customization –knowledge management –innovation, diffusion of of new technologies –importance of technical competence

3. Not as We Do however, our field is characterized by –slow research publishing cycles –institutional disincentives to adaptation to needs of our constituents ever hear of people not getting tenure due to out-of-date IT technological skills? –poor dissemination of research findings intellectual access: stylistic problems physical access: not much available online

4. "We Have Met The Enemy..." "And He Is Us" Pogo Possum

5. Indicators of the Problem 1999 "flame war" on ISWorld, initiated by a call for papers on Redefining the Organizational Roles of Information Technology in the Information Age, to be published in two years spirited discussion in 2001 on similar issues

6. Westfall Responses to Issues An IS Research Relevance Manifesto (CAIS, 1999) Dare to Be Relevant (CAIS, 2001) project: HTML code generator to help IS researchers set up web sites to make their research more accessible to organizations and the general public Vote With Your Feet paper (in progress)

7. IS Research Relevance Manifesto 1999 paper in CAIS –ranked #34 in a recent survey of "Exemplary Works on Information Systems Research" –main point of article was that, given our strengths and weaknesses vis a vis competitors, we should focus on areas where we realistically can make a viable contribution

8. Relevance Manifesto - 2 IS faculty competitive advantage areas –issues contrary to commercial interests –unsolved problems –issues economically unattractive to commercial researchers –issues where management aspects are more important than technical aspects – research on teaching IS

9. Dare to Be Relevant 2001 paper in CAIS –sellers market for IS academics provides opportunities to influence institutional systems toward greater recognition of relevant research –the Internet makes it much easier to disseminate IS research to external audiences, so that our stature is not just based on recognition in academia

10. IS Research Web Site Generator commented exemplar FAQs current model (under development)current model

11. Vote With Your Feet for IS Publishing Reform paper under development –PowerPoint summary presentationpresentation