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Introduction to content of this document:

The theme, Antithesis refers to ideas presented in the literature that purport that the use of computers and other information technologies in health care is a threat: in fact it is the antithesis or opposite of providing compassionate, caring and client-centered nursing care. The Artifact view refers to the notion that technology of all kinds, including the contemporary inclusion of information technologies in nursing is an inherent, almost seamless cultural phenomenon, one that is long-standing and can be taken for granted as part of nursing evolution. Utility literature presents information technologies as simple, benign, and useful tools that nurses control and apply to their practice, research, studying, and management activities. The concept of Technique focuses on the application of information technologies in nursing aimed to boost productivity and efficiency, promote best practices and evidenced-based practice, and concretely record nursing activities electronically.

A focus on Agency incorporates actor-network theory, technological agency in its' own right, and how nurses interact with ICTs in an interactive and intense, almost reciprocal way. The notion of Networks entails an examination of the application of information technologies in a collaborative way: in interactions with other people, such as colleagues, interdisciplinary team members, clients, and communities of practice and inquiry, sometimes on a global scale. Finally, the theme of Power will be investigated from a disciplinary perspective, including the consequences of prestige, influence, legitimacy, governmentality, and social access. Together, these seven themes provide a rich, sometimes discordant yet crucial analysis of the varied philosophical and active ways that information technology and informatics are enacted and applied in the nursing arena.