The papers in this edition are a selection from a 2 day intensive workshop conducted in June, 1997 at the University of Wollongong, Australia. This workshop entitled Philosophical Traditions in Information Systems - Challenges of an Interdisciplinary View looked at Information Systems philosophy across the Commerce subject area. Views were also represented from outside the University with presentations by guest speakers from North America and Europe.

The subjects of these papers cover areas such as Activity Theory and Information Systems, the Ethics of Web Site Development, Information Systems and Inquiring Organisations and Information Technology and Systems as Tools.

These papers represent many diverse views on the Philosophy of Information Systems and are in many different stages of development. Some are more representative of working papers while others are more complete in their analysis. All contributing authors welcome comments and input on their papers, and would like to hear from those of you working in similar areas.

Some of these papers appeared in the Australian Journal of Information Systems (see their website at http://www.uow.edu.au/ajis/ajis.html) and are reproduced here with permission.

This workshop was an effective way of facilitating dialogue between those of us with an interest in the Philosophy of Information Systems. I hope these papers are a useful source of information and an effective point of continuing debate on these topics.

Deborah Bunker
Senior Lecturer
The Business School
University of Wollongong NSW AUSTRALIA
deborah_bunker@uow.edu.au