ABSTRACT The last few decades have seen extensive changes in how organisations rely on Information Technology (IT) to account for key aspects of their operations. Understanding accounting as a process through which organisational reality is shaped, Information infrastructures (II) offers a means for analysing the role of IT in organisational change and how IT over time shapes how organisations account for what they are doing. We investigate changes to organisational II at the University of Sydney's Fisher Library from 1963 to 1975, following the introduction of manual automation systems, the use of mainframe computers, and the introduction of minicomputers into the fabric of the organisation. At Fisher Library, II changed two key functions for which the library is accountable for providing information: (1) what items does the library hold? and (2) where is a specific item when it is not on the shelf? We demonstrate that II becomes visible as a thing when it is of interest to organisational change, whereas over time, II sinks into the organisation, becoming a transparent medium that is nonetheless shaping organisational reality. This study uses Fritz Heider's theory of thing and medium to describe how over time IT changes an organisation's account for key aspects of its operation.

中文翻译：

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将信息基础设施作为组织变革的媒介

摘要 在过去的几十年里，组织如何依赖信息技术 (IT) 来解决其运营的关键方面发生了巨大变化。将会计理解为塑造组织现实的过程，信息基础设施 (II) 提供了一种分析 IT 在组织变革中的作用以及 IT 如何随着时间的推移塑造组织如何解释他们正在做的事情的方法。我们调查了 1963 年至 1975 年悉尼大学费舍尔图书馆在引入手动自动化系统、使用大型计算机以及将小型计算机引入组织结构后组织 II 的变化。在费舍尔图书馆，II 改变了图书馆负责提供信息的两个关键职能：(1) 图书馆藏有哪些物品？(2) 货架上没有的特定物品在哪里？我们证明，当 II 对组织变革感兴趣时，它就会变得可见，而随着时间的推移，II 会沉入组织中，成为一种透明的媒介，但仍然塑造着组织的现实。本研究使用 Fritz Heider 的事物和媒介理论来描述 IT 如何随着时间的推移改变组织对其运营关键方面的帐户。