Technology in Action

Despite the extraordinary advances in digital and communication technology over recent years, we know very little about the way these complex systems affect everyday work and interaction. This book seeks to explore these issues through a series of video-based field studies. It begins by discussing the introduction of basic information systems in general medical practice and ends with an exploration of interpersonal communication in advanced media spaces; in the process also looking at news production, the control room of London Underground and computer aided design in architectural practice. Social interaction forms a particular focus of these studies as they explore the way individuals use various tools and technologies and coordinate their actions and activities with each other. The authors also show how video-based field studies of work and interaction can inform the design, development and deployment of new technology, in this valuable new resource for academics, researchers and practitioners.

• Explores how people use new technologies in their work, particularly how those technologies inform their communication and collaboration
• Examines work and technology in a range of settings including the control rooms of the London Underground, architectural practices, primary health care and newsrooms
• Uses video-based field studies to examine the details of action and interaction, and suggests ways in which such studies can inform the design, development and deployment of new technologies