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CALL FOR PAPERS

WORKSHOP ON UNDERSTANDING SOCIOTECHNICAL ACTION

Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.    3-4 June 2004


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IMPORTANT DATES:
Submission Deadline: 22 March 2004 (4 pg. extended abstracts)

Notification to authors: 26 April 2004

Workshop:  3/4 June 2004


OVERVIEW:
Where problems arise with computerization projects it is often because
those involved have failed to grasp the complexities of sociotechnical
action involving ICTs. For us, the lack of a hyphen in the term
sociotechnical is significant, reinforcing the mutually constitutive
nature of aspects that might otherwise have been viewed as related, but
ontologically distinct.

Existing approaches to design and implementation are constrained in a
number of different ways. These constraints often arise as a result of the
ways in which such approaches try to address (or not, as the case may be)
sociotechncal aspects - or more likely, technical, and possibly some
social dimensions. In some cases, action is modelled as a series of
disembodied socially neutral tasks, articulated as a set of activities and
goals (or as organisational processes) that are defined by a designer
working with the metaphor of the ‘systems life cycle’. Such approaches
often assume a development that involves a ‘system’ being built from
scratch, and yet increasingly, it is pre-developed ‘packages’ of
technology that have to be configured in, and with, institutional settings.

Furthermore, in so far as they are considered, social dimensions are often
addressed in terms of multiple points of view that take account of local
circumstances. However, the time frame of inquiry is often limited, and
emergent effects cannot be explored. Other approaches are more
comprehensive and accommodate social awareness, and organisational history
and geography, though these, by virtue of their richness, are difficult to
apply in design and implementation work as they are concerned with ongoing
configuration of ICTs in working life, rather than life ‘cycles’.
Similarly, while there are many metaphors (e.g. intertwining, web,
shaping, patterns, soft systems…) employed to encourage an understanding
of the way in which social and technical aspects are ‘related’, it is
debateable as to whether they add anything in practice.

One way of improving this situation would be to adopt a truly
sociotechnical approach to understanding action - i.e. not merely looking
at the ‘social’ and the ‘technical’, but endeavouring to address the
mutually constitutive nature of ‘sociotechnical’ action. The questions we
pose as a focus for this workshop relate to whether the concept of
sociotechnical action has validity, is feasible, and has any utility, both
for researchers and practitioners.

With this in mind, we seek contributions to a two-day workshop from active
researchers who are engaged in empirical work with a critical focus that
will explore the complexities of researching sociotechnical action and the
validity of different approaches

Co-Chairs: Keith Horton and Elisabeth Davenport (both: Social Computing
Research Group, Napier University).

This Workshop will be limited to a maximum of 30 participants.
After the workshop selected authors will be invited to submit a full paper
for review and publication in a book.

Confirmed speakers:

Prof. Liam Bannon (University of Limerick) (provisional)
Dr. Geraldine Fitzpatrick (University of Sussex)
Dr. Howard Rosenbaum (Indiana University)
Prof. Robin Williams (University of Edinburgh)
Prof. Trevor Wood-Harper (UMIST & Univ. of South Australia)

 Outline Programme

The workshop is scheduled for Thursday 3rd June 2004 and Friday 4th June
2004.
The venue will be at Napier University, Edinburgh, UK.


Submission of proposed papers:

4 page extended abstracts are requested.
Abstracts should be A4, single spaced in a 12 point font (Arial).
Abstracts should be submitted as an email attachment in MSWORD or RTF
format by
22 March 2004. Author names and other attributions should be omitted from
the abstract but should accompany the email.
The abstracts should be sent to Fiona Dick ([log in to unmask]).

Peer Review:
Abstracts will be blind reviewed by two people.
Authors submitting to the workshop may be asked to review up to three
papers.

Workshop url: http://www.dcs.napier.ac.uk/~keith/usta04.htm

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