Dr Ana Cristina Vasconcelos

BA (Lisboa, Portugal), PGDip (Lisboa, Portugal), PhD (Sheffield Hallam)
Senior Lecturer in Corporate Information Management

Background

I joined the Information School in 2005 and am currently Senior Lecturer in Corporate Information Management, as well as head of the Knowledge and Information Management Research Group. I have previously lectured at Sheffield Hallam University and at Leeds Metropolitan University. Prior to that, I worked as research assistant at the National Research Institute for Industrial Technology and Engineering (INETI), in Portugal. My background, like those of many researchers in this area, is varied. I hold a first degree in History and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Information Science from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, and a PhD from Sheffield Hallam University on “Defining discourses: the role of discourse in the organizational adaptation of information systems’. I have carried out research evaluation in the field of information technologies and the information society for the European Commission since 1992.

Professional standing

Expert member on European Commission funding panels, both as evaluator, as reviewer and panel rapporteur, (1992- present).

Member of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Peer Review College, 2009 to present.

Evaluator for the NHS National Institute for Health Research Service Delivery and Organisation Programme (NIHR SDO), 2009.

External examiner at Northumbria University, School of Computing, Engineering and Information Sciences 2009 - .

Research interests

My research are centered on the interface between the management of information and knowledge and the implementation and adaptation of information systems, with a focus on arenas/social worlds, discourse and identity. Specific interests are: organisational arenas and boundary spanning practices; knowledge absorption and integration, communities of practice and virtual communities; professional discourses and identity, the role of discursive practices in IS adaptation.

Teaching activities

My teaching activity falls into two main areas: i) information and knowledge management and ii) research methods and at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In Information and knowledge management, I cover a variety of subjects, including organizational culture and organizational learning, communities of practice and boundary practices, absorptive capacity, core competences and intellectual capital valuation. In research methods, my teaching is focused primarily on qualitative approaches, including Grounded Theory, discourse analysis and situational analysis. Most of my sessions are grounded in practical case studies and examples of known organizations, such as NASA, Xerox, Skandia and a variety of consultancies. I enjoy bringing a variety of approaches, media and resources to my sessions, which are predominantly interactive.

Key publications

Vasconcelos, A., Sen, B. Rosa, A., Ellis, D. (in press). Elaborations of Grounded Theory in Information Research: Arenas/Social Worlds Theory, Discourse and Situational Analysis. Accepted for publication in Library and Information Research.

Ellis, D.; Vasconcelos, A. C. (2010). Knowledge management, in Bigdoli, H. (ed.). Handbook of Technology Management, vol.1: Core Concepts. New York: John Wiley & Sons, p. 132-143.

Vasconcelos, A.C. (2008). Dilemmas in knowledge management, Library Management, 29 (4/5), p. 422-443.

Fahey, R., Vasconcelos, A. and Ellis, D. (2007). The impact of rewards within Communities of Practice: a study of the SAP online global community, Knowledge Management Research and Practice, 5(3), p. 186-198.

Vasconcelos, A.C. (2007a). The role of professional discourses in the organisational adaptation of information systems. International Journal of Information Management, 27(4) p.279-293.

Vasconcelos, A.C. (2007b). The use of Grounded Theory and of the Arenas/Social Worlds Theory in Discourse Studies: a case study on the discursive adaptation of information systems, Electronic Journal of Business Research Methods, 5 (2), p. 125-136.

Ellis, D.; Oldridge, R; Vasconcelos, A. (2004). Community and Virtual Community. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 38, p.145-186.

Contact details

Email address: a.c.vasconcelos@sheffield.ac.uk
Tel: 0114 2222643 (External) 22643 (Internal)
Fax: 0114 2780300
Room Location: Room 232, Second Floor, Regent Court

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