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Action Research as a Bridge Between Two Worlds: Helping The NGOs and Humanitarian Agencies Adapt Technology to Their Needs

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Abstract

This paper reflects upon the process of introducing social media systems into supported employment programs for peoples with severe mental illness in Taipei. Such intervention represents the encounter of two different worlds that are often-unknown to each other, i.e. IT student engineers and job coaches in NGOs. With the participatory and cyclic feature of action research approach, the process can be divided into three stages: technology-led stage, mutual infusion stage, and service-led stage. The focus of this research is to illustrate how action research provides a site for the infusion of two different horizons, that is technology experts in academia and social service providers in NGOs. The existing problems in the use of IT within NGOs were studied and changes through co-inquiry and interventions were implemented towards better utilization of IT and higher levels of service qualities. The researchers utilized an action research approach to investigate the problems, plan the actions, intervene, assess the effectiveness resulting from the actions, and specify learning outcomes.

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Acknowledgments

The work presented in this paper has been funded by the National Science Council, Taiwan, NSC 95-2627-E-008-002-.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung Li, Taiwan, ROC

    Yao-Jen Chang

  2. Institute of Sociology, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC

    Rui-Hua Liao

  3. Institute of Health and Social Welfare, National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

    Tsen-Yung Wang

  4. Institute of Business & Management, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, ROC

    Yao-Sheng Chang

Authors
  1. Yao-Jen Chang
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  2. Rui-Hua Liao
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  3. Tsen-Yung Wang
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  4. Yao-Sheng Chang
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Correspondence to Yao-Jen Chang.

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Chang, YJ., Liao, RH., Wang, TY. et al. Action Research as a Bridge Between Two Worlds: Helping The NGOs and Humanitarian Agencies Adapt Technology to Their Needs. Syst Pract Action Res 23, 191–202 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-009-9154-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-009-9154-8

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