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Journal articles on the topic 'Sociotechnical context'
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Monteiro Cavalieri Barbosa, Adriane, and Manoel Carlos Pego Saisse. "Hybrid project management for sociotechnical digital transformation context." Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management 16, no. 2 (May 26, 2019): 316–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.14488/bjopm.2019.v16.n2.a12.
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Goal: The path to implement Digital Transformation (DT) in modern industries is far from clear, particularly in Brazil. From the point of view of operations management, authors developed a Conceptual Framework (CF) to support DT implementation in Discrete Manufacturing Industries (DMI). The CF applies knowledge management, hybrid project management (HPM) and Sociotechnical values to implement DT, using New Product Development (NPD) as a ground. The work aims to depict the HPM approach of this CF.
Design / Methodology / Approach: this is a qualitative research based on a systematic literature review carried out over a period of five years. It was performed in the Web of Science database, applying PRISMA flowchart, to evaluate which project management models, addressed in the literature, are more suitable for DT implementation projects in light of sociotechnical and innovation-shared-values approach.
Results: A Hybrid “Stage-Gate – Agile - Design Thinking” project management model to support DT implementation in DMI. This is a preliminary proposal that can be explored in future empirical research.
Limitations of the investigation: Some quality papers may have been left out due to the research methodology.
Practical implications: The CF can be applied by professionals to support Digital Transformation while incorporating sociotechnical values and reducing the excessive technological bias in NPD projects.
Originality/Value: The authors propose a new Digital Transformation (DT) approach, named Sociotechnical Digital Transformation (SDT) and an HPM to support DT in light of a Sociotechnical approach.
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Ehsan, Upol, Koustuv Saha, Munmun De Choudhury, and Mark O. Riedl. "Charting the Sociotechnical Gap in Explainable AI: A Framework to Address the Gap in XAI." Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction 7, CSCW1 (April 14, 2023): 1–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3579467.
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Explainable AI (XAI) systems are sociotechnical in nature; thus, they are subject to the sociotechnical gap-divide between the technical affordances and the social needs. However, charting this gap is challenging. In the context of XAI, we argue that charting the gap improves our problem understanding, which can reflexively provide actionable insights to improve explainability. Utilizing two case studies in distinct domains, we empirically derive a framework that facilitates systematic charting of the sociotechnical gap by connecting AI guidelines in the context of XAI and elucidating how to use them to address the gap. We apply the framework to a third case in a new domain, showcasing its affordances. Finally, we discuss conceptual implications of the framework, share practical considerations in its operationalization, and offer guidance on transferring it to new contexts. By making conceptual and practical contributions to understanding the sociotechnical gap in XAI, the framework expands the XAI design space.
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Witte, Thomas E. F., Jessica Schwarz, and Verena Nitsch. "On the Importance of Embodiment for Artificial Design Intelligence in the Context of Sociotechnical Systems." IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering 1261, no. 1 (October 1, 2022): 012025. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1757-899x/1261/1/012025.
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Abstract Artificial intelligence methods are increasingly used in the design of sociotechnical systems. The design of such systems can be described as an ill-defined problem. The problem space often changes while working on a design solution. Further, an anticipation of future system states is challenging, because of possible changes of organisational, technological or other environmental aspects during the lifecycle of a sociotechnical system. Embodied artificial intelligence can help to structure the problem space. It can also act as a feedback mechanism of the inner workings of a system and its surroundings for a designer. Therefore, this short article discusses the emphasis of embodied artificial intelligence for the theory of design in the context of sociotechnical systems and its implications.
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Reutter, Lisa. "Constraining context: Situating datafication in public administration." New Media & Society 24, no. 4 (April 2022): 903–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448221079029.
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The imaginary of data-driven public administration promises a more effective and knowing public sector. At the same time, corporate practices of datafication are often hidden behind closed doors. Critical algorithm studies, therefore, struggle to access and explore these practices, to produce situated accounts of datafication and possible entry points to reconfigure the emerging data-driven society. This article offers a unique empirical account of the inner workings of data-driven public administration, asking the overall question of how sociotechnical imaginaries of datafication are constrained in the context of public administration. Teams working on datafication in two Norwegian public sector entities have been followed and interviewed over the course of 2 years (2018–2020). While sociotechnical imaginaries thrive in organizational culture and policy discourse alike, the observed data teams struggle to realize data assemblages due to a variety of structural and institutional constraints.
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Jiang, Huaxiong, Stan Geertman, and Patrick Witte. "A Sociotechnical Framework for Smart Urban Governance." International Journal of E-Planning Research 9, no. 1 (January 2020): 1–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijepr.2020010101.
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Over the past decade, the dominant entrepreneurial form of urban governance has seriously hindered the transformation of cities by neglecting the role of urban contexts in shaping governance structures and outcomes. To promote alternatives, this article presents a sociotechnical framework for smart urban governance. This framework explicitly examines the impacts of urban contexts on the sociotechnical interaction between urban technological innovation and urban governance in the realm of smart cities. Three real-world cases were used to demonstrate how the framework can be applied in different urban contexts. The results show that the alleged smartness in smart urban governance by no means implies the simple acceptance, adoption, and use of technology; instead, it needs to be conditionate. For successful smart urban governance, urban technological innovation should be effectively attuned to the wider urban actors and preexisting urban challenges (i.e., the urban governance process), with a special focus on the urban context.
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Regmi, A. "Dyadic design interface between energy and agriculture: the case of Pinthali micro hydro system in Nepal." Water Science and Technology 47, no. 6 (March 1, 2003): 193–200. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wst.2003.0395.
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Technology, like society, is heterogeneous. It mirrors the context in which it operates. Micro hydro development in Nepal is a rural energy strategy, which relies on technology and innovation and takes place in a specific social context. In designing this energy strategy, both technology and its social context, therefore, need to be considered seriously. In technical design processes, the interplay between the content (technology) and the context (society) needs to be considered, as the outcome will affect the people. For example, the content - micro hydro system - in the domain of the context - agriculture - provides an arena for an integrated water control system. Thus, it is possible to control water for two purposes: to produce power and to provide irrigation. The end product will be “energy” as a “consumptive” output and improved food security as a “productive” output of water. Therefore, within a sociotechnical framework, energy and irrigation become constitutive outputs of the sacrosanct “water”. Thus, the metaphor of power - the “sociotechnical code” of “content” and “context” - can be used with the term “agro-energy” in the design process of micro hydro systems. Evidence suggests that this interaction can lead to a transformed water use system for both productive and consumptive output for the benefit of rural communities.
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Werner, Nicole, Barbara Stanislawski, Katherine Marx, Daphne Watkins, Marissa Kobayashi, Helen Kales, and Laura Gitlin. "Getting what they need when they need it." Applied Clinical Informatics 26, no. 01 (2017): 191–205. http://dx.doi.org/10.4338/aci-2016-07-ra-0122.
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SummaryBackground: Consumer health informatics (CHI) such as web-based applications may provide the platform for enabling the over 15 million family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s Disease or related dementias the information they need when they need it to support behavioral symptom management. However, for CHI to be successful, it is necessary that it be designed to meet the specific information needs of family caregivers in the context in which caregiving occurs. A sociotechnical systems approach to CHI design can help to understand the contextual complexities of family caregiving and account for those complexities in the design of CHI for family caregivers. Objectives: This study used a sociotechnical systems approach to identify barriers to meeting care-givers’ information needs related to the management of dementia-related behavioral symptoms, and to derive design implications that overcome barriers for caregiver-focused web-based platforms. We have subsequently used these design implications to inform the development of a web-based platform, WeCareAdvisor,TM which provides caregivers with information and an algorithm by which to identify and manage behavioral symptoms for which they seek management strategies.Methods: We conducted 4 focus groups with family caregivers (N=26) in a Midwestern state. Qualitative content analysis of the data was guided by a sociotechnical systems framework. Results: We identified nine categories of barriers that family caregivers confront in obtaining needed information about behavioral symptom management from which we extrapolated design implications for a web-based platform. Based on interactions within the sociotechnical system, three critical information needs were identified: 1) timely access to information, 2) access to information that is tailored or specific to caregiver’s needs and contexts, and 3) usable information that can directly inform how caregivers’ manage behaviors.Conclusions: The sociotechnical system framework is a useful approach for identifying information needs of family caregivers to inform design of web-based platforms that are user-centered.
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Cardoso, Joana L. F. P., Donna H. Rhodes, and Eric Rebentisch. "Enterprise Digital Transformation using a Sociotechnical System Approach." INCOSE International Symposium 33, no. 1 (July 2023): 448–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/iis2.13032.
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AbstractDigital transformation is gaining increased attention due to its potential to change the way companies operate and unveil new business strategies. In consideration of the fact that digital transformations occur under specific sociotechnical environments and with particular intentions, success highly depends on the ability of companies to explicitly characterize their sociotechnical context and intended transformation. This paper sheds some light on how companies might approach digital transformation efforts through an enterprise‐level sociotechnical system approach that centers on digital twins and model‐based methods. Research findings and intervention strategies are derived from observations and interviews on ongoing projects, supplemented by findings from the literature. Core systems engineering analysis methods such as Concept of Operations analyses are part of such strategies given their potential to accelerate the sociotechnical system redesign cycle and generate actionable decisions toward digital transformation. A sociotechnical system analysis framework intended to guide organizations in developing their strategic approaches for adopting digital twins as transformation strategy is also shared. This framework and the entire paper assert the importance of taking a sociotechnical system perspective in defining, designing, and implementing a digital transformation.
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Hockenhull, Michael, and Marisa Leavitt Cohn. "Hot air and corporate sociotechnical imaginaries: Performing and translating digital futures in the Danish tech scene." New Media & Society 23, no. 2 (February 2021): 302–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444820929319.
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This article analyzes the role of hype in performing and translating corporate sociotechnical imaginaries of digital technologies, into the context of Danish society. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork of technology events in Denmark, this article proposes “hot air” as a concept to describe how hype for the future performs these imaginaries. This article describes the overlapping sociotechnical imaginaries that dominate these events and the performative effects of hype and its critique, in articulating and translating them. This article makes an empirical and conceptual contribution to the study of sociotechnical imaginaries, in particular, their socio-material performance, the role of corporations in articulating them, and how hype is central to their translation.
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Pereira, Gabriela Viale, Marie Anne Macadar, and Maurício Gregianin Testa. "A Sociotechnical Approach of eGovernment in Developing Countries." International Journal of Systems and Society 3, no. 1 (January 2016): 67–79. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/ijss.2016010105.
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In the context of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for development (ICT4D) the capability approach raises questions about the best way to generate human development outcomes through governments' implementation of ICT, encompassing specific demands of the people. Considering that quality of working life was an emergent value for the sociotechnical supporters and could foster human development, this perspective can also be used to explain the use of ICT in government. This research proposes a conceptual model to explain how governments' implementation of ICT contributes to improved human development through a sociotechnical perspective and its alignment with users' needs and expectations. The contribution of this study is the extending of the ICT4D research in a sociotechnical view and its impact in human development. By including the social context in the model, it emphasizes the differences between countries in different levels of development, the differences between users' demands and the differences in human development outcomes.
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Aminoff, Hedvig, and Sebastiaan Meijer. "Context and Complexity in Telemedicine Evaluation: Work Domain Analysis in a Surgical Setting." JMIR Perioperative Medicine 4, no. 2 (September 16, 2021): e26580. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/26580.
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Many promising telemedicine innovations fail to be accepted and used over time, and there are longstanding questions about how to best evaluate telemedicine services and other health information technologies. In response to these challenges, there is a growing interest in how to take the sociotechnical complexity of health care into account during design, implementation, and evaluation. This paper discusses the methodological implications of this complexity and how the sociotechnical context holds the key to understanding the effects and outcomes of telemedicine. Examples from a work domain analysis of a surgical setting, where a telemedicine service for remote surgical consultation was to be introduced, are used to show how abstracted functional modeling can provide a structured and rigorous means to analyze and represent the implementation context in complex health care settings.
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Nousala, Susu. "Collaboration and Sociotechnical Systems—A Question of Context and Framing." She Ji: The Journal of Design, Economics, and Innovation 2, no. 2 (2016): 118–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sheji.2016.12.003.
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De Albuquerque, João Porto. "Aspectos sociotécnicos da computação: contextualizando o desenvolvimento de sistemas de computação com o modelo Mikropolis." Revista de Informática Teórica e Aplicada 14, no. 2 (December 20, 2007): 181–97. http://dx.doi.org/10.22456/2175-2745.5695.
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This paper discusses the need of considering sociotechnical aspects
in the scientific and professional practice of computing. In the pursuit of this goal, the paper firstly places the research on sociotechnical aspects of computing in a historical context and outlines the current research scenario in the area. Subsequently, the Mikropolis Model is explained—a model developed to provide orientation to the practical activities of the computing professional in respect to the social aspects of these activities. Furthermore, the paper discusses how to bring the model closer to the particular Brazilian context, in order to achieve analytical and didactic instruments especially suited to the reality in Brazil.
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Fazelpour, Sina, and Maria De-Arteaga. "Diversity in sociotechnical machine learning systems." Big Data & Society 9, no. 1 (January 2022): 205395172210820. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20539517221082027.
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There has been a surge of recent interest in sociocultural diversity in machine learning research. Currently, however, there is a gap between discussions of measures and benefits of diversity in machine learning, on the one hand, and the broader research on the underlying concepts of diversity and the precise mechanisms of its functional benefits, on the other. This gap is problematic because diversity is not a monolithic concept. Rather, different concepts of diversity are based on distinct rationales that should inform how we measure diversity in a given context. Similarly, the lack of specificity about the precise mechanisms underpinning diversity’s potential benefits can result in uninformative generalities, invalid experimental designs, and illicit interpretations of findings. In this work, we draw on research in philosophy, psychology, and social and organizational sciences to make three contributions: First, we introduce a taxonomy of different diversity concepts from philosophy of science, and explicate the distinct epistemic and political rationales underlying these concepts. Second, we provide an overview of mechanisms by which diversity can benefit group performance. Third, we situate these taxonomies of concepts and mechanisms in the lifecycle of sociotechnical machine learning systems and make a case for their usefulness in fair and accountable machine learning. We do so by illustrating how they clarify the discourse around diversity in the context of machine learning systems, promote the formulation of more precise research questions about diversity’s impact, and provide conceptual tools to further advance research and practice.
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Carroll, John S. "The Organizational Context for Decision Making in High-Hazard Industries." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 38, no. 14 (October 1994): 922–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/154193129403801428.
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The study of decision making in high-hazard industries has recently shifted from the traditional focus on control room operators to other actors in the sociotechnical system, including designers and management. I discuss the importance of hierarchy and specialization in organizational decision making, drawing on research in organizational psychology, sociology, and related disciplines.
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Moore, Steven A., and Andrew Karvonen. "Sustainable Architecture in Context." Science & Technology Studies 21, no. 1 (January 1, 2008): 29–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.23987/sts.55232.
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There has been little emphasis in STS scholarship to date on the design of the built environment. This paper attempts to address this oversight by examining alternative design practices in the growing field of sustainable architecture. We propose a geohistorical framework that includes three design dispositions?"context-bound, context-free, and context-rich?"and illustrate each with a prominent sustainable building practice. The principal argument of the paper is that each of these dispositions embodies distinct assumptions and attitudes about how to improve social and material conditions of the built environment, and as such, offers unique opportunities for STS scholars to shape the sociotechnical aspects of cities through intervention in design activities.
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Said, Saloua, Hafida Bouloiz, and Maryam Gallab. "A new structure of sociotechnical system processes using resilience engineering." International Journal of Engineering Business Management 11 (January 1, 2019): 184797901982715. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1847979019827151.
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In the context of a world dominated by growing uncertainty, complex sociotechnical systems find themselves confronted with unexpected disruptions, which may lead to significant losses. To cope with these adverse events, modern sociotechnical systems constantly seek out ways of enlarging their ability to absorb and recover from disturbance, a capacity that we call resilience. With the aim of helping systems fulfill this mission, many research works have been conducted to develop methods for measuring, evaluating, and increasing the system’s resilience. One of the approaches, which arise from these works, is resilience engineering, a paradigm within which this article proposes a new structure of sociotechnical system processes, characterized by the introduction of resilience processes and their association with the other process categories. To illustrate the new proposed structure, we implemented a metamodel using the systems modeling language. Then, we focused on the resilience process behavior in a crisis through a qualitative and quantitative study accomplished by applying system dynamics approach. This article also develops a scoring system to assess the resilience of sociotechnical system processes and rank them based on the results.
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Van Horn, David, and Kemper Lewis. "The use of analytics in the design of sociotechnical products." Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing 29, no. 1 (August 27, 2014): 65–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0890060414000614.
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AbstractThe use of analytics has been emerging as a way to better understand the complex dynamics and resulting trends that occur when social and technical systems intersect. For instance, web analytics studies the intersection between society and the Internet to better understand use patterns and preferences. Business analytics studies the interfaces between human capital and technical systems in the context of corporate management and industrial production. Engineering design is ripe with such sociotechnical systems where consumers and engineered systems intersect producing a complex sociotechnical system marked by difficult to predict behavior and trends. In this paper, the paradigm of design analytics is further developed and used to study a diverse sociotechnical product. The product is a refrigerator that is hypothetically equipped with sensors and feedback mechanisms, and a simulator models the interactions of a population of 1000 users. Analyzing this sociotechnical product using design analytics demonstrates the ability to extract valuable insights at the juncture of people and technology. Insights into the leading behaviors of different populations are presented, and it is shown that design analytics and the associated tools can provide a platform for designers to develop better performing products that meet both explicit and implicit customer needs.
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Abbott, Michael B. "The 3rd Danish Hydraulic Institute Software Conference within its sociotechnical context." Journal of Hydroinformatics 1, no. 2 (October 1, 1999): 139–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.2166/hydro.1999.0012.
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Jahn Holbrook, Michelle, and Barrett S. Caldwell. "Development of a Multi-Layer Systems Engineering Visualization for Diabetes Team Coordination." Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting 63, no. 1 (November 2019): 643–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1071181319631195.
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Systems engineering tools have proven helpful for healthcare organizations to map sociotechnical systems, particularly prior to health IT implementation. However, these systems engineering tools are limited in that they cannot easily capture the complexities of chronic care activities. The purpose of this work is to introduce Diabetes care Roles, Information Flows and Team coordination (DRIFT), a tool and visualization framework that addresses system granularity, temporal dynamics, and sociotechnical factors within a chronic care context. Task analyses, process mapping, and information flow attributes from (N=30) semi-structured interviews of diabetes care team members were synthesized in the creation of DRIFT, including recommendations for incorporation into clinical care team coordination tasks.
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van Dijck, José, and Bart Jacobs. "Electronic identity services as sociotechnical and political-economic constructs." New Media & Society 22, no. 5 (September 9, 2019): 896–914. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444819872537.
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Electronic identification services (eIDs) have become strategic services in the global governance of online societies. In this article, we argue that eIDs are sociotechnical constructs that also have political-economic dimensions. In the European context, governmental and corporate efforts to develop eIDs are shaped by legal EU frameworks, which are almost exclusively focussed on technical and legal interoperability, such as the European Interoperability Framework (EIF) and the European Interoperability Reference Architecture (EIRA). Public concerns such as privacy, security, user empowerment and control over one’s personal information prompts developers to propose a decentralized, attribute-based system governed on a nonprofit, nonstate basis (DAN-eID). To illustrate our argument, we explore a single emerging eID system (IRMA; acronym for I Reveal My Attributes) that is developing in a national context (The Netherlands). We argue that developing eIDs requires more than engineering ingenuity and legal compliance; as sociotechnical and political-economic constructs, they involve negotiation of conflicting social and political values.
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Creanor, Linda, and Steve Walker. "Symposium 2: Interpreting Complexity." Proceedings of the International Conference on Networked Learning 7 (May 3, 2010): 519–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.54337/nlc.v7.9223.
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In this paper we highlight challenging issues in current learning technology research, particularly in relation to emerging collaborative technologies and the growing body of evidence on the learner experience. The complex nature of the interplay of social, technical and environmental factors is examined along with an overview of the key theoretical models which are currently in play. Limitations are identified in the learning technology literature in which a technological determinism is often evident, despite repeated calls for an approach which takes fuller account of the technology’s pedagogical, organisational, social and technical aspects. We propose that interdisciplinary collaboration has the potential to help us address the demanding task of analysing these interconnected factors, and may also go some way towards mitigating over-charged claims of the impact and effectiveness of learning technology against the reality of its use. The focus of this paper is on sociotechnical approaches, particularly those derived from a social informatics tradition, which to date appear to have received little attention in learning technology research. We identify potential benefits in applying these approaches to today’s learning environment which encompasses fast-moving technology developments along with changing communicative behaviours among learners, whether on campus, in the workplace or in everyday life. Most importantly, sociotechnical frameworks address the issue of technological determinism by explicitly recognising that agency also resides in individual learners, social structures, the design of learning artefacts and context in which the learning takes place. In order to demonstrate the value of such approaches, we go on to outline findings from the application of one of these concepts, namely a sociotechnical interaction network (STIN), to a transnational networked learning context. The paper concludes by proposing that these approaches in general, and the sociotechnical interaction network concept in particular, are important conceptual tools in dealing with issues currently confronting contemporary learning technology research, such as the spread of web 2.0 and mobile technologies and the increasingly complex social and technological contexts of many learners. They may also provide a valuable means of exploring the increasingly blurred distinction between abstract and formal learning, and situated informal learning, particularly in relation to the workplace.
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Kehagia, Fotini. "The Transition to a Low-Carbon Smart Mobility in a Sociotechnical Context." Sustainability 13, no. 11 (June 1, 2021): 6222. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13116222.
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Tafdrup, Oliver. "Mediating imaginaries." Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies 8, no. 2 (November 19, 2020): 33–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.5324/njsts.v8i2.3560.
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The aim of this article is to illustrate how visions of the future—sociotechnical imaginaries— mediate and thus shape sociotechnical practices involving educational robots in a Danish school context. In the analysis I show how imaginaries are manifested both in technological artefacts, teachers’ discourse and in policy documents from political bodies such as the OECD and the Danish Agency for Digitisation (DIGST). To show this manifestation, I apply two concepts: The Science and Technology Studies (STS) concept of ‘sociotechnical imaginaries’ as formulated by Sheila Jasanoff (2015) and the concept of ‘mediation’ known from postphenomenological tradition. I develop an analytical framework based on these two concepts and coin a third — ‘symbolic mediation’ — to present and analyse a case study based on an ethnographic field study that included semi-structured interviews conducted in a Danish school setting. The case study shows how the use of the robot NAO—an educational technology—is driven by two related imaginaries that both serve as arguments for implementing and using the robot—the imaginary of the digital future and the imaginary of educational optimization.
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Pereira, Roberto, Andressa Sebben, Krissia Menezes, Patricia Castellano, Leticia Mara Peres, Guilherme Derenievicz, Marcos Castilho, Nadja Rodrigues, and Silvério da Cruz. "Analyzing the Logistics of the Brazilian Book and Teaching Material Program: a sociotechnical strategy to inform optimization." Journal on Interactive Systems 15, no. 1 (July 11, 2024): 695–711. http://dx.doi.org/10.5753/jis.2024.4001.
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The National Book and Teaching Material Program, formulated and executed by the Brazilian Ministry of Education and the National Education Development Fund, aims to ensure that students and teachers in Brazilian public schools have the constitutional right to access teaching materials. The program's logistics are complex, requiring the timely and cost-effective delivery of thousands of tons of teaching materials to public schools across thousands of Brazilian municipalities. A sociotechnical analysis is essential to comprehend the logistics challenges of such a program, as it enables considering social, normative, and technical aspects in a comprehensive and integrated manner. This article presents a qualitative analysis of the program logistics by applying different sociotechnical artifacts. The findings reveal a complex problem involving diverse processes and stakeholders who must adhere to several norms, adopt different computer systems, and rely on a direct and intense communication culture. Identifying key attention points and acknowledging the unique Brazilian context, the article argues that a sociotechnical perspective is crucial for understanding the problem's complexity and informing the design of solutions to optimize the program’s logistics.
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Dubrovsky, David, and Sergey Sergeev. "THE PROBLEM OF ERGONOMIC EVALUATION OF EVOLVING SOCIOTECHNICAL SYSTEMS WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE." Ergodesign 2022, no. 3 (September 7, 2022): 206–13. http://dx.doi.org/10.30987/2658-4026-2022-3-206-213.
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Evolving the technogenic world, developing network and cyber-physical systems include mechanisms of social and environmental self-organization due to transforming human experience within the cycles of autopoetic techno-environment self-organization. At the stages of forming and implementing a technical project, an important role in creating new forms of socio-technical systems (artificial intelligence technology) is played by the concept adopted by the developers including the mechanisms of self-organization and the system development, associated with the methodology for evaluating the ergonomic properties of the systems being created. Ergonomic evaluation plays a special harmonizing and corrective role in creating human-machine sociotechnical systems. The article shows the decisive importance in forming an ergonomic evaluation of sociotechnical systems of the reduction mechanisms, which determine the evolution of these systems in the required direction. A sociotechnical system with artificial intelligence a priori does not have all the properties known and understandable to authors and users in advance, it manifests the properties only in a working context, which does not allow using the usual methods of ergonomic appraisal applied in evaluating the constant qualities of a sociotechnical system in relation to the user.
The special role of symbiotic relationship in maintaining the effective operation of sociotechnical systems with distributed artificial intelligence is noted. The processes of coherence-decoherence that affect changing forms of organized complexity and determine the system viability in the environment are considered. The problem of deactivating the elements of the technical environment generated by technologies into the evolving part of the socio-technical system is posed. On the example of the Internet, the paper shows that the free evolution of the technical environment associated with the excessive information diversity of the network social component leads to accelerating its evolution, but reduces its social sustainability and stability. The extreme danger of total digitalization is emphasized.
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Kleba, John Bernhard, and Cristiano Cruz. "Empowerment, Emancipation and Engaged Engineering." International Journal of Engineering, Social Justice, and Peace 8, no. 2 (October 18, 2021): 28–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.24908/ijesjp.v8i2.14380.
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The field of engaged engineering encompasses a wide diversity of intervention approaches and ideals that span from Enactus’ social entrepreneurship to grassroots engineering’s liberating co-construction of other possible sociotechnical orders. In common, these initiatives intend to be empowering, even though this concept is hardly thematized in their publications and has never undergone a more systematic analysis. In this paper, departing from an illustration of that lack of reflection (or rigor) concerning empowerment, a general definition for it is first provided to, subsequently, be specified in seven different dimensions related to the assisted community’s empowerment that can be addressed via sociotechnical interventions, from social inclusion to political emancipation. Thus, it analyzes the relationship between empowerment and emancipation, including the risk of disempowering. Next, an analysis of the interventions practiced by Brazilian Enactus’ leading teams and some grassroots engineering initiatives illustrates the provided conceptual framework. The paper concludes by highlighting key issues of empowerment and its relation to emancipation, and addressing some further research themes related to this investigation: refining the presented dimensions of community empowerment, and analyzing empowerment to the broader context of a sociotechnical intervention (e.g., academia, the the state, civil society and economic actors).
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Wang, Ju, Hongyuan Liang, Hong Kang, and Yang Gong. "Understanding Health Information Technology Induced Medication Safety Events by Two Conceptual Frameworks." Applied Clinical Informatics 10, no. 01 (January 2019): 158–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-1678693.
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Background While health information technology (health IT) is able to prevent medication errors in many ways, it may also potentially introduce new paths to errors. To understand the impact of health IT induced medication errors, this study aims to conduct a retrospective analysis of medication safety reports. Methods From the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience database, we identified reports in which health IT is a contributing factor to medication errors. We applied two conceptual frameworks, Sittig and Singh's sociotechnical model and Coiera's information value chain, to examine the identified reports. Results We identified 152 unique reports on health IT induced medication errors as the final report set for review. The majority (65.13%) of the reports involved multiple contributing factors according to the sociotechnical model. Three dimensions, that is, clinical content, human–computer interface, and people, were involved in more reports than the others. The transition of the effects of health IT on medication practice was summarized using information value chain. Health IT related contributing factors may lead to receiving wrong information, missing information, receiving partial information and delayed information, and receiving wrong information and missing information tend to cause the commission errors in decision-making. Conclusion The two frameworks provide an opportunity to understand a comprehensive context of safety event and the impact of health IT induced errors on medication safety. The sociotechnical model helps identify the aspects causing medication safety issues. The information value chain helps uncover the effect of the health IT induced medication errors on health care process and patient outcomes.
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Hassan, Isyaku, and Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi. "Analysis of Sources and Channels of Disinformation Reported by Electronic Newspapers in Malaysia." Malaysian Journal of Qualitative Research 10, no. 01 (May 31, 2014): 76–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.61211/mjqr100107.
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Disinformation is viewed as an intractable social problem. In Malaysia, a total of 260 disinformation cases were recorded as of September 2020. This situation needs urgent attention to curtail the spread of disinformation and its impact on society. Despite important steps taken by the government to guarantee people’s access to accurate and trusted information, the formation and sharing of disinformation continue to occur. Additionally, research into the sources and channels of disinformation is either lacking or inadequate, particularly in the Malaysian context. Therefore, using the sociotechnical model of media effects, this research sought to explore the agents and channels through which disinformation spreads in Malaysia. The sociotechnical model of media effects explains how social and technological factors interact to shape the use of information channels by individuals and society. In the current research, a total of 48 news articles directly related to disinformation cases were subjected to qualitative content analysis. The articles were gathered from the digital archives of the three most widely read Malaysian English newspapers: The Star, Malay Mail, and New Straits Times. The findings reveal that individuals from various professions are identified as agents of disinformation in the reported cases. The agents are more likely to be identified by their professions rather than age or gender. For channels of disinformation, Facebook represents the dominant theme, followed by WhatsApp, Twitter, and websites. It is envisaged that this study could provide valuable insights for policymakers, media organizations, and the government to curtail the phenomenon of disinformation. Keywords: digital newspapers, disinformation, media effects, sociotechnical model
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Belkina, Viktoria A. "Ecological Technosphere as the Basic Context of the Formation of the Sociotechnical Landscape." Proceedings of the Southwest State University. Series: Economics, Sociology and Management 12, no. 1 (2022): 232–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.21869/2223-1552-2022-12-1-232-243.
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Relevance. The rapid development of the technosphere has played a huge role in the qualitative change of numerous processes in all spheres of human social life. The evolution of the modern anthropo-techno sphere, including the formation of the latest technologies, has led to the emergence of the sociotechnical landscape (STL). STL, being a system of representation of various phenomena of the ecological technosphere, at the same time causes various problems and provides significant opportunities for humanity. All this makes it necessary to determine the prospects for the greening of the technosphere, as well as the main trends in the influence of STL models on modern society, man and the environment. The purpose is conducting a philosophical analysis of the ecological technosphere as the basic context of the formation of the sociotechnical landscape (STL). Objectives: to define the essence of the concept of "ecological technosphere" in its relationship with the new socio-cultural model of the lifestyle of human civilization; consider the TABLE construct as an explication of the ecological technosphere and the anthropoecological system as a whole; to trace the formation of STL through the prism of industrial revolutions; describe Industry 4.0 as a result of the integration and combination of the effects of multiple technologies; to identify the main prospects for further interaction between the technosphere and the ecosphere. Methodology. To substantiate the concept of anthropological complementarity, assuming the fact that human activity includes simultaneous subordination to nature and control over it, an analysis of the processes and mechanisms that underlie the formation of STL as an explication of the ecological technosphere was carried out. Results. The presented manuscript presents the results of the philosophical analysis of the STEEL construct as an explication of the ecological technosphere and the anthropoecological system as a whole. In the course of this study, the formation of STL was considered through the prism of industrial revolutions, and the main prospects for further interaction between the technosphere and the ecosphere were identified. Conclusions. Conducting an interdisciplinary analysis of the role of the technosphere as a determining factor in the development and formation of all other technical systems and products is an urgent and significant problem. A comprehensive study of the ecological technosphere as the basic context of the formation of STL is necessary, due to the fact that it created the prerequisites for the emergence of artificial intelligence and convergent technologies, which currently determine global economic, cultural, social and industrial trends.
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Tapsoba, Parfait K., Augustin K. N. Aoudji, Madeleine Kabore, Marie-Paule Kestemont, Christian Legay, and Enoch G. Achigan-Dako. "Sociotechnical Context and Agroecological Transition for Smallholder Farms in Benin and Burkina Faso." Agronomy 10, no. 9 (September 22, 2020): 1447. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10091447.
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West Africa is facing the challenge of its population’s food insecurity in a context of accelerated degradation of natural resources. In order to efficiently face this double bottleneck, agroecological interventions were implemented as a way to promote best agricultural practices. Agroecology is a mode of production that nowadays questions our food system which, despite technological progress, still struggles to feed the world’s population. This systematic review is part of the vision of a deep agroecology and aims at analyzing the institutional, political, organizational, and social obstacles and levers for an agroecological transition and its amplification in Burkina Faso and Benin. For this purpose, a structured literature review was conducted using grey and published literature. It appears that despite the mitigated results of the implementation of the Green Revolution model of agricultural production in West Africa, African public authorities seem to have placed once again their faith in conventional production practices to respond to the challenges facing agriculture in the region. This situation goes beyond the regional framework to take root at the national level, (e.g., Burkina Faso, Benin), with the corollary of an apparent lack of institutional interest in sustainable modes of production. However, there is a network of stakeholders who are developing promising initiatives for scaling up agroecological practices.
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Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein, Gemma Newlands, Min Kyung Lee, Christine T. Wolf, Eliscia Kinder, and Will Sutherland. "Algorithmic management in a work context." Big Data & Society 8, no. 2 (July 2021): 205395172110203. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20539517211020332.
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The rapid development of machine-learning algorithms, which underpin contemporary artificial intelligence systems, has created new opportunities for the automation of work processes and management functions. While algorithmic management has been observed primarily within the platform-mediated gig economy, its transformative reach and consequences are also spreading to more standard work settings. Exploring algorithmic management as a sociotechnical concept, which reflects both technological infrastructures and organizational choices, we discuss how algorithmic management may influence existing power and social structures within organizations. We identify three key issues. First, we explore how algorithmic management shapes pre-existing power dynamics between workers and managers. Second, we discuss how algorithmic management demands new roles and competencies while also fostering oppositional attitudes toward algorithms. Third, we explain how algorithmic management impacts knowledge and information exchange within an organization, unpacking the concept of opacity on both a technical and organizational level. We conclude by situating this piece in broader discussions on the future of work, accountability, and identifying future research steps.
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Karimi, Nishtman, Hossein Azadi, and Kobe Boussauw. "The Water Management Regime in Western Iran: A Retrospective Analysis through a Hybrid Transitions Framework." Sustainability 13, no. 6 (March 17, 2021): 3323. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13063323.
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Continuously changing conditions of sociotechnical systems are the basis of structural changes in communities. Relationships between transition contexts and regime transformation processes and their driving factors in sociotechnical regimes are poorly understood. Moreover, not all changes in multilevel governance regimes are geared towards sustainability, as demonstrated by the case of the water management regime in Sanandaj county in the west of Iran between 1962 and 2018. The current study shows how the management regime of water resources in the case study has changed over time and identifies the institutional arrangements through a retrospective analysis. The analysis is based on three stages of data collection which included a discussion group, a Delphi survey, and a focus group survey among various types of stakeholders. The “Hybrid Transitions” framework is introduced in order to denote processes of regime change that take place in a range of different transition contexts. The findings do not identify a single transition pathway but show that a number of parallel transition pathways have occurred in the context of groundwater and surface water management and their respective institutional arrangements. The study provides a better understanding of the complexity of transition pathways that were devised at the management regime level.
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Khreiche, Mario. "Gamified Flow and the Sociotechnical Production of AI." Eludamos: Journal for Computer Game Culture 10, no. 1 (April 21, 2020): 55–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.7557/23.6172.
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Recent advances in AI, computer algorithms, and automation applications across industries have generated hyperbolic discourses about disruptive technologies. Futurists envision fleets of driverless cars delivering human bodies, armies of robots taking over jobs, and advanced AI systems outgrowing their superfluous masters. Extending into science fiction, such predictions distract from scrutinizing contexts in which lesser versions of these technologies already proliferate and appreciating subtler, long-term implications. Particularly the interfaces of a rapidly expanding attention capitalism and its gamified operations warrant closer analysis. Here, demands for frictionless services and coordinated mobilities necessitate strict surveillance protocols and continued engagement with platforms that transform attention into revenue. More than the formalized and singular manifestation, for instance, DeepMind’s AlphaGo, AlphaGo Zero, and most recently AlphaStar, the current logic of accumulation desires the continued sociotechnical production of active participants in evermore data networks. The most lucrative and transformative AI systems of the future will rest on a gamified subjectivity, whose datafied claims to entertainment, movement, and income coincide with increasingly vertical corporate network structures.Attention capitalism appeals to sensibilities of entertainment and, in no small part, competition. Applications therefore feature score-based systems, monetary and nonmonetary rewards, and certain privileges of access. Habit-forming interface design represents a crucial strategy whereby corporate platforms inject their on-demand services, automations, and AIs with life. To guarantee uninterrupted consumer experiences and efficient processing of goods and people, service environments are increasingly designed around concept emulating “flow,” a state that psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (2009) describes as an “optimal experience” in which the constraints of the inner and outer world are suspended. Csikszentmihalyi derives his ideas primarily from athletes and artists, but anybody losing themselves in an enjoyable and challenging activity can relate. In Csikszentmihalyi hands, however, flow remains largely a phenomenological account, abstracted from social and historical context. A more critical concept of flow might follow Natasha Dow Schüll’s (2012a) “machine zone,” a space in which addictive algorithms, ergonomics, and built environments capture gamblers’ attention. Dow Schüll grasps rising figures of machine gambling in Las Vegas and elsewhere not merely for flow’s own sake, but rather as a result of bankrupt states betting on casinos to fill their cashboxes. In other words, flow must be theorized as a priced commodity, a history of deregulation, and a market that continues to show immense potentials for global capital.
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Thynne, Lara, and John Rodwell. "Diagnostic Convergent Interviewing to Inform Redesign Toward Sustainable Work Systems for Paramedics." Sustainability 11, no. 14 (July 19, 2019): 3932. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11143932.
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Many paramedics are working under levels of fatigue that would warrant immediate removal from the workplaces in other industries and such high levels of fatigue indicate a work system that is not sustainable. Sustainable work systems (SWS) build on a sociotechnical systems approach to work redesign. To diagnose the key issues in a work system, and inform any redesign or interventions, a powerful diagnostic tool, such as convergent interviewing, may be helpful. Convergent interviewing was applied to a paramedic context, extending the standard sociotechnical systems approach to work and non-work systems. The inductive convergent interviewing process was able to encapsulate the complexity of the key issues associated with fatigue and recovery in the system that is the paramedics’ lives. The issues raised could then be used to inform system changes in a move toward more sustainable work practices for paramedics.
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Брынцев, А. Н., and Е. В. Левина. "Роль социотехнических агентов в продвижении продуктов." Management and Business Administration, no. 4 (December 26, 2024): 159–66. https://doi.org/10.33983/2075-1826-2024-4-159-166.
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Цель статьи. В представленной статье авторами рассматриваются вопросы места и роли социотехнических агентов в продвижении товаров и услуг в условиях платформенно-сетевой экономики и в экономической деятельности бизнес-структур в целом. Целью предложенного исследования стало выделение особенностей и принципов взаимодействия социотехнических агентов в условиях неопределенности. Материалы и методы. Методологическую основу работы составили результаты исследований отечественных и зарубежных ученых в области функционирования социотехнических систем и управления маркетинговой деятельностью современных предприятий. Авторами статьи были использованы следующие общелогические методы: анализ, синтез, систематизация, структуризация и обобщение в выделении принципов маркетингового взаимодействия социотехнических агентов и их свойств. Необходимость применения ситуационного подхода связана с переходом экономики страны к платформенно-сетевому этапу и масштабированием цифровых платформ. Математико-статистический и экономико-математический аппарат позволили выявить тенденции роста объема данных, на которых строится прогнозирование уровня продаж и потребления. Результаты. Авторы статьи представили результаты анализа взаимодействия сложных систем в условиях платформенно-сетевой экономики и обусловили необходимость расширение понятийного аппарата теории цифровой экономики за счет выделения социотехнического агента, особенностей и принципов взаимодействия в контексте продвижения продуктов. Выводы. В результате предложенного исследования авторами были сформированы принципы взаимодействия социотехнических агентов в контексте маркетинговой деятельности и продвижения продуктов. Применение. Представленные результаты требуют дальнейшего исследования, а также могут быть использованы маркетологами и экономистами в их практической деятельности. The purpose of the article. In the presented article, the authors consider the issues of the place and role of sociotechnical agents in the promotion of goods and services in the conditions of the platform-network economy and in the economic activity of business structures in general. The purpose of the proposed study was to identify the features and principles of interaction of sociotechnical agents in conditions of uncertainty. Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the work is the results of research by domestic and foreign scientists in the field of functioning of sociotechnical systems and management of marketing activities of modern enterprises. The authors of the article used the general logical methods: analysis, synthesis, systematization, structuring and generalization in highlighting the principles of marketing interaction of sociotechnical agents and their properties. The need to apply a situational approach is associated with the transition of the country's economy to the platform-network stage and the scaling of digital platforms. The mathematical-statistical and economic-mathematical apparatus made it possible to identify the growth trends in the volume of data on which the forecasting of sales and consumption is based. Results. The authors of the article presented the results of the analysis of the interaction of complex systems in the conditions of the platform-network economy and determined the need to expand the conceptual apparatus of the theory of digital economy by highlighting the sociotechnical agent, features and principles of interaction in the context of product promotion. Conclusions. As a result of the proposed research, the authors formed the principles of interaction of sociotechnical agents in the context of marketing activities and product promotion. Application. The presented results require further research, and can also be used by marketers and economists in their practical activities.
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van Nuenen, Tom. "Algorithmic authenticity: Sociotechnical authentication processes on online travel platforms." Tourist Studies 19, no. 3 (March 14, 2019): 378–403. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1468797619832314.
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This article discusses the touristic production of authenticity in the context of algorithmic culture. It notes that the dominant sociological framework of authenticity has, in the last decades, shifted from an objectivist to a constructionist one, a central issue becoming “who has the right to authenticate.” I argue here that “who” needs to be supplemented with “what” due to the operations of mainstream algorithmic platforms for the production and reception of travel information. Review websites such as TripAdvisor construct and confirm the authenticity of places and people through a double orientation of highly subjective, “hot” authentication processes and quantified appeals to “cool,” objective authenticity (Selwyn). This double orientation is explored in the algorithmic affordances of and user interactions on TripAdvisor. In conclusion, the article considers the sociotechnical fusion of both quantitative and experiential appeals to be productive of an algorithmic authenticity.
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Painter, Gilbert, Pamela Posey, Douglas Austrom, Ramkrishnan Tenkasi, Betty Barrett, and Betsy Merck. "Sociotechnical systems design: coordination of virtual teamwork in innovation." Team Performance Management 22, no. 7/8 (October 10, 2016): 354–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/tpm-12-2015-0060.
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Purpose This paper aims to report on a qualitative comparative case study of coordination in three ongoing research and development projects, each conducted by teams working virtually across multiple, geographically dispersed sites and involving varying degrees of task uncertainty at differing stages on an innovation continuum, from basic fundamental research to scale-up and commercial development. Design/methodology/approach This study investigated characteristics of effective virtual innovation teamwork, primarily using structured interviews, observation and a limited number of surveys. The analysis was based upon Pava’s (1983) methodology of sociotechnical systems (STS) for non-linear work and was used to assess the influence of virtuality and task uncertainty on the quality of team deliberations and the knowledge development barriers experienced at the various stages on the innovation continuum. Findings The study identified different technical and social coordination mechanisms and their impact in mitigating knowledge barriers for differing levels of task uncertainty. Technical elements, many based in digital information technology, appeared most significant for coordination where task uncertainty and ambiguity were low. However, with high task uncertainty, the most significant mechanisms were closely tied to the formal and informal social systems of virtual organization. Research limitations/implications The key implication for future research is the development of further applications to evaluate this coordination model for modern teamwork in virtual contexts. Practical implications The findings extend previous theory about coordination of innovation to include fundamental research and virtual collaboration. Based on the results, a four-step STS methodology for design of virtual team coordination mechanisms was developed and piloted successfully by scientific teams at a prominent North American research laboratory. Originality/value This research project has shown that modern STS methodology, updated for non-routine work in a virtual context, can provide a way to assess and mitigate “coordination costs” associated with virtual teamwork. Further, it has identified clear categories of coordination mechanisms that are most effective when teams are working at different stages in the innovation process.
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Chen, Diana A., Mark A. Chapman, and Joel Alejandro Mejia. "Balancing Complex Social and Technical Aspects of Design: Exposing Engineering Students to Homelessness Issues." Sustainability 12, no. 15 (July 23, 2020): 5917. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12155917.
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This paper describes the development and implementation of a classroom experience involving problem-based and project-based learning with community engagement in an engineering design context. While most User-Centered Design courses ask students to critically analyze and synthesize user needs, particularly of users who they see as “not like them”, our version is unique in having students wrestle with concepts of power, privilege, and oppression alongside developing prototypes that address sociotechnical aspects of engineering design that are rarely discussed in engineering courses. The course project described in this paper was developed to integrate issues of homelessness with engineering design. To achieve this goal, we partnered with a local non-profit organization that provides access to safe, mobile showers for our unhoused neighbors. Considering the context and needs of people who experience homelessness, students built solar water heater prototypes that integrated with the mobile shower units of our partners. Our goal with this course is to demonstrate to students that technical solutions are often insufficient for solving sociotechnical problems. In this case, the partnership with the non-profit organization was critical to conveying to students that engineering alone cannot solve homelessness.
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Prado, Alysson, and Cecilia Baranauskas. "Understanding and designing sociotechnical scenarios: a multi-theoretical approach." Journal on Interactive Systems 9, no. 3 (December 5, 2018): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.5753/jis.2018.706.
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Technology evolution is pushing the limits of our comprehension of the world and of ourselves, blurring the boundaries between people and objects. To understand this interweaving of ubiquitous computer systems and their dynamic social relations different theoretical sources are necessary. Socially Aware Computing provides a deep understanding on how information systems emerge from and interact with the social context, whereas Actor-Network Theory represents a promising referential to explain how people and artifacts mutually actuate to render social structures. In this paper, we assess the paradigmatic compatibility of these two theories, proposing a blend that provides a single basis to enrich the understanding of complex scenarios for designers of sociallyaware technology. In the sequence, we present an application of such proposal in a real-world problem. Finally, we discuss how this approach can be further extended to model nondeterministic interactions involving people and devices in social situations.
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Wijermars, Mariëlle, and Mykola Makhortykh. "Sociotechnical imaginaries of algorithmic governance in EU policy on online disinformation and FinTech." New Media & Society 24, no. 4 (April 2022): 942–63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448221079033.
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Datafication and the use of algorithmic systems increasingly blur distinctions between policy fields. In the financial sector, for example, algorithms are used in credit scoring, money has become transactional data sought after by large data-driven companies, while financial technologies (FinTech) are emerging as a locus of information warfare. To grasp the context specificity of algorithmic governance and the assumptions on which its evaluation within different domains is based, we comparatively study the sociotechnical imaginaries of algorithmic governance in European Union (EU) policy on online disinformation and FinTech. We find that sociotechnical imaginaries prevalent in EU policy documents on disinformation and FinTech are highly divergent. While the first can be characterized as an algorithm-facilitated attempt to return to the presupposed status quo (absence of manipulation) without a defined future imaginary, the latter places technological innovation at the centre of realizing a globally competitive Digital Single Market.
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Draude, Claude, Goda Klumbyte, Phillip Lücking, and Pat Treusch. "Situated algorithms: a sociotechnical systemic approach to bias." Online Information Review 44, no. 2 (November 12, 2019): 325–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/oir-10-2018-0332.
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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose that in order to tackle the question of bias in algorithms, a systemic, sociotechnical and holistic perspective is needed. With reference to the term “algorithmic culture,” the interconnectedness and mutual shaping of society and technology are postulated. A sociotechnical approach requires translational work between and across disciplines. This conceptual paper undertakes such translational work. It exemplifies how gender and diversity studies, by bringing in expertise on addressing bias and structural inequalities, provide a crucial source for analyzing and mitigating bias in algorithmic systems. Design/methodology/approach After introducing the sociotechnical context, an overview is provided regarding the contemporary discourse around bias in algorithms, debates around algorithmic culture, knowledge production and bias identification as well as common solutions. The key concepts of gender studies (situated knowledges and strong objectivity) and concrete examples of gender bias then serve as a backdrop for revisiting contemporary debates. Findings The key concepts reframe the discourse on bias and concepts such as algorithmic fairness and transparency by contextualizing and situating them. The paper includes specific suggestions for researchers and practitioners on how to account for social inequalities in the design of algorithmic systems. Originality/value A systemic, gender-informed approach for addressing the issue is provided, and a concrete, applicable methodology toward a situated understanding of algorithmic bias is laid out, providing an important contribution for an urgent multidisciplinary dialogue.
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Berg, Marc, Chris Langenberg, Ignas v. d. Berg, and Jan Kwakkernaat. "Considerations for sociotechnical design: experiences with an electronic patient record in a clinical context." International Journal of Medical Informatics 52, no. 1-3 (October 1998): 243–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s1386-5056(98)00143-9.
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Mulder, Johannes. "Average Is the New Loudest." Leonardo Music Journal 26 (December 2016): 56–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/lmj_a_00976.
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This article discusses new sound pressure level (SPL) measurement strategies in the context of live music. A brief overview of the introduction of loudness normalization in broadcast audio engineering precedes a discussion of using average sound levels in measurements at concerts. The article closes with a short analysis of the implications of these developments for the notion of agency in the sociotechnical domain of audio production.
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Wu, Bing. "Sociotechnical fit and perceived usefulness of enterprise social networks." Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal 47, no. 12 (December 5, 2019): 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.2224/sbp.8458.
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I aimed to show how the sociotechnical fit model may be employed to understand users' perception of the usefulness of enterprise social networks (ESNs). Specifically, I examined the fit between organization, technology, and employee as a determinant of the perceived usefulness of ESNs. Participants were 275 employees of JA Company who had previously used an ESN, and they completed measures of organizational factors, ESN characteristics, task characteristics, organization–technology fit, task–technology fit, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness. Results of structural equation modeling showed that organization–technology fit differed based organizational support but not the technological characteristics of ESNs; task–technology fit was influenced by ESN technological features, task features, and organization–technology fit; and there were significant relationships between organization–technology fit and perceived usefulness, between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, and between task–technology fit and perceived ease of use. The research findings contribute to understanding of the roles of organization–technology–human fit constructs that drive people's perception of usefulness in the context of ESNs.
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Senabre Hidalgo, Enric, Antonio Calleja, Ricard Espelt, Sara Suárez Gonzalo, Mayo Fuster Morell, and Andreu Belsunces. "Co-creation of the Digital Democracy and Data Commons Manifesto: alternative sociotechnical visions of data." Open Research Europe 4 (March 1, 2024): 45. http://dx.doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.17020.1.
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Amid public concern surrounding the proprietary and exploitative use of personal data by corporations and public institutions, and its consequences from a sociotechnical perspective, narratives around digital commons have recently emerged, framing potential alternatives. This paper presents the results of an experimental approach, methodology, and process, through which two main questions are addressed. Firstly, how to articulate co-creation dynamics for the structured and participatory elaboration of the Digital Democracy and Data Commons Manifesto, following principles of openness, diversity, and inclusivity. Secondly, how the manifesto, as a narrative and discursive artefact, can follow and conclude a wider process of sociotechnical discussion and positioning about data commons. Our approach is based on participatory design methods, more concretely on a collaborative writing sprint, to co-create a manifesto on alternatives to current datafication, digital inequalities, and lack of citizen control over personal data. On the one hand, we describe the process of implementing a sprint approach for collaboratively writing a topic-specific manifesto, in the context of the broader EU project DECODE (Decentralised Citizen Owned Data Ecosystems). On the other hand, we present and analyse the main results from the content structure of the manifesto over its initial and final versions, which moved progressively as a cohesive text away from a scholarly and policy-oriented tone.
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Creanor, Linda, and Steve Walker. "Symposium 2: Exploring sociotechnical theories of learning technology." Proceedings of the International Conference on Networked Learning 7 (May 3, 2010): 517–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.54337/nlc.v7.9222.
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Research into learning technology has often been criticised for being mechanistic (e.g. Laurillard, 2005), with a technological determinism implicit in many of the assumptions about the relationships between people, technology and learning. More recent research has begun to recognise the social elements of technology, as in the emphasis on the learner perspective (e.g. Hardy & Bates, 2009) which provides a highly important, though incomplete corrective to technology-centred views of the learning experience. However there are traditions of studying technology generally, and information and communications technology in particular, which view it as the outcome, rather than the instigator, of complex interactions between people and the material world (Law and Hassard, 1999). These traditions include social informatics (Kling, 2000), social shaping of technology (Mackenzie & Wacjman, 1999), soft systems (Checkland & Holwell, 1998), sociotechnical systems (Trist & Bamforth, 1951) and others. They have yielded a rich heritage of ‘mid-range’ theories and concepts which, we suggest, have been under-utilised in studies of learning technology. Further, this lack of consideration of the interaction between social agency and learning artefacts has frequently resulted in stark discrepancies between the claims made about the potential of particular technologies and the subsequent realities of their use, particularly in a learning context (e.g Selwyn, 2007). Learning theories themselves have been small in scope, looking at changes within and between individuals, whereas learning with technology is associated with changes of increasingly large scope, in organisations and in society in general, and impacting on more individuals, engaged in formal and informal learning. The increased scope makes the impact of unrealistic claims even greater. The aim of this symposium is to highlight these theoretical traditions and to instigate discussion around their potential contribution to research and practice in learning technology and networked learning. By addressing theories for research alongside impact on practice, it draws together two of the main conference themes. The format of the symposium will be short presentations of each paper, followed by a round table discussion of the issues raised and possible ways forward in developing sociotechnical perspectives on networked learning. The four papers, listed below, illustrate the application and significance of distinct sociotechnical perspectives to cases of learning technology and consider their potential future relevance. Creanor, L. & Walker, S., Interpreting Complexity: a case for the sociotechnical interaction framework as an analytical lens for learning technology research Bell, F., Network theories for technology-enabled learning and social change: what do Connectivism and Actor Network Theory have to say to each other? Bissell, C., The social construction of educational technology through the use of proprietary software Kear, K., Social presence in online learning communities The first paper (Creanor & Walker) sets the scene by outlining the case for sociotechnical theories and providing an illustrative example, drawing on the social informatics literature and the concept of the sociotechnical interaction network. in the second paper (Bell) compares and critiques connectivism and actor network theory in to explore how they might help a range of stakeholders to understand change and make plans for taking action in a fluid context. Paper three (Bissell) addresses the issue of technological determinism directly by making the case for the social construction of educational technology by users and teachers. Finally, paper four (Kear) focuses on the concept of social presence and how it is influenced by the behaviour and interactions of participants, as well as by the characteristics of the communication medium This will form the basis of a discussion organised around the following questions: - Can, and if so how, can sociotechnical theories inform and enrich our understanding of the complexity of the relationships between ICT and both formal and informal learning? - What are the particular strengths and weaknesses in the differing formulations the papers offer of the relationship between the technical and the social, in particular as they relate to learning technologies? - Do such approaches help us to consider the changing scope of learning with technology?
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Hsu, Jinn-Yuh. "Hsinchu Technopolis: A Sociotechnical Imaginary of Modernity in Taiwan?" Critical Sociology 44, no. 3 (June 3, 2017): 487–501. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0896920517705440.
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The Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (HSIP) – a special zone established by the Taiwanese government to attract overseas talented engineers back to Taiwan – has been referred to as ‘a Silicon Valley of the East’. As a dreamscape of Taiwan’s modernity, the HSIP aimed to exhibit futuristic ways of organizing employment and living a modern lifestyle. However, the success of the HSIP has created and deepened social and urban contradictions with its neighboring, mostly rural, areas. The government subsequently proposed the Hsinchu Science City (HSC) plan and the Unpolished Jade Project (UJP) to ‘harmonize’ the contradictions between these areas. Consequently, it led the HSIP to turn from an industrial enclave to an urban megaproject, or zone-city. The zone-city has shaped fantasies of modernity in the local people and inspired in them a will to improve. At the same time, it has raised suspicions of land grabbing and dispossession. This article argues that the production of space through zone-cities, an urban form that has been phenomenal in the East Asian context, revolves around a dialectic between the desire for regional improvement and the greed of land speculation. The inherent tension between both sides of this dialectic thus poses an ethical and practical challenge for critical approaches in urban studies.
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Jonoski, Andreja, and Mariele Evers. "Sociotechnical Framework for Participatory Flood Risk Management via Collaborative Modeling." International Journal of Information Systems and Social Change 4, no. 2 (April 2013): 1–16. http://dx.doi.org/10.4018/jissc.2013040101.
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This article introduces a sociotechnical framework for conceptualization, design and development of participatory Flood Risk Management (FRM) processes. The framework enables a collaborative modeling approach, in which FRM activities are jointly carried out by authorities responsible for FRM, key stakeholders and the potentially affected citizens. Given the technical and social complexity of FRM, the article argues for adoption of the proposed framework as a means for realizing individual and social learning among all involved actors, which leads to shared understanding of the identified flood risks and potentially to commonly agreed FRM alternatives and strategies. Implementation of the framework critically depends on a web-based collaborative platform – a tool that supports all collaborative modeling activities. The framework is presented from within European context of FRM, but its relevance is broader and it can potentially be adopted in other social and geographical areas.
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Bakunzibake, Pierre, Gunnar O. Klein, and Sirajul M. Islam. "E-Government Implementation Process in Rwanda: Exploring Changes in a Sociotechnical Perspective." Business Systems Research Journal 10, no. 1 (April 1, 2019): 53–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/bsrj-2019-0005.
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Abstract Background: Failures in e-government projects to deliver expected results are frequent in the context of developing countries. These are partly attributed to the lack of balanced attention to both technical and social aspects in the implementation. However, there has been limited research on these aspects in the least Developed Countries. Objectives: Taking a socio-technical perspective, this study aims at exploring the extent of changes and effects in the implementation of e-government service-oriented initiatives in Rwanda, one of the Least Developed Countries. Methods/Approach: An empirical investigation was conducted, via interviews at 8 agencies during the period from January 2017 to May 2018. This involved two case projects, an Enterprise Content Management System and a One-Stop e-government system. Furthermore, government documents and online material were analyzed. Results: A number of changes in technology, processes and people aspects were faced in both projects. However, those changes are coupled with secondary effects; there is a need for a better fit between technical systems and social systems of organizations implementing e-government; a larger gap was identified in the first case project. Conclusions: Addressing the issues as a socio-technical system would contribute to improved work systems of agencies and better services.