EXPANDING THE HORIZON OF INFORMATION-SYSTEMS DESIGN

The introduction of information technology in society during the last 30 years has brought mixed results. There is evidence that the benefit s to society may not outweigh the detrimental effects that have follow ed this technology. This is partly because its inclusion in the affair s of humanity has been guided by a mechanical and utilitarian world vi ew that considers humanity as a mean of production and subject to indu strial goals. This paper reverses this subjection and presents a frame work that integrates information systems design with an overall system design approach and which makes machines the servant of humanity. The design approach is based on a combination of Dooyeweerd's theory of m odalities and general systems theory.