ABSTRACT
As shown in Chapter 3 the system sponsors at Bancroft had to acknowledge and enrol key social groups. This proved difficult, in part because the implementation of MAC involved attempts to standardise practices in an environment that was organised around a narrative of structural autonomy. Enrolling key users in an acquisition process also requires sensitivity to other forms of autonomy. One such example is the formation of groups around the prestige of being professional (Freidson 1988). From the perspective of system sponsors, professional groups are crucial users from whom they must gain approval, even though the technology may alter the basis on which such groups have traditionally gained power and prestige (Ackroyd 1996).
