263 THE APPLICATION OF NEOHUMANIST PRINCIPLES IN INFORMATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT Heinz K. Klein School of Management State University of New York at Binghamton, USA Rudy Hirschheim College of Business Administration University of Houston, USA ABSTRACT While increasing attention is being given to neohumanist principles in information systems development, much of the literature on the subject is enigmatic. Examples of neohumanist principles application are also lacking. In this paper, we attempt to articulate, in general terms, various neohumanist principles which can hopefully become part of the value system of the systems developer. Additionally, we offer four brief examples of research projects which illustrate how the neohumanist principles of mutual understanding and emancipation might be implemented in information systems development. 1. INTRODUCTION There has been a growing interest in using neohumanist principles to gain a deeper understanding of the technical and social issues of information systems development (ISD). This interest has particularly focused on Critical Social Theory (CST). Whereas the attention given to CST has led to many interesting conceptual developments (cf. Lyytinen and Klein 1985; Lyytinen 1986; Lyytinen and Hirschheim 1988; Ngwenyama 1987, 1991; Lee 1991), it is not very clear how its maxims and principles can be applied in practice for two reasons. One, although there are a number of books on Critical Social Theory written by Jurgen Habermas and his colleagues, the language is fairly obscure and difficult to understand even for those with some philosophical background. Two, there is virtually a total lack of illustrative cases and procedural guidelines for practical applications of CST. Habermas himself has unfortunately not addressed this issue satisfactorily. Therefore, this paper has two primary purposes: (1) to provide a brief overview of the major tenets of CST arising from our interpretation of Habermas' seminal writings and (2) to provide four brief examples of projects which illustrate how some key principles of CST could be implemented, particularly those associated with emancipation. This latter point amounts to a reinterpreting of the projects from the vantage point of Critical Social Theory. Note, however, that this does not require that the projects were actually informed by CST. Although this paper is concerned with the application of neohumanist principles in information systems development, the notion of neohumanism itself needs some elaboration. Neohumanism may be described as a ``paradigm'' (cf. Burrell and Morgan 1979; Hirschheim and Klein 1989) whose assumptions are associated with seeking change, emancipation and potentiality, and with