Getting Work Done : The Significance of the Human in Complex Socio-Technical Systems

• This thesis aims to deepen the understanding of the role and relevance of the worker in the functioning of complex socio-technical systems. The perspective adopted is profoundly human-centred and the worker is considered as a resource. This stands in stark contrast to the performance-related measurements and accident investigations which have typically formed much research on work in complex safety-critical systems and conveyed a perspective of the human as merely a system cog. The empirical material in this thesis is based on ethnographic fieldwork in the shape of workplace studies conducted across two distinct work domains: manufacturing and operational train traffic. The studies are informed by distributed cognition (DCog) and activity theory (AT) as prominent theoretical approaches for developing in-depth understandings of how work activities are accomplished in situations where the interplay between humans and their socio-cultural and material environment is of interest. The findings are illustrated by empirical work that provides detailed accounts of work practices derived from a total of four work settings. It is illustrated how acquired experiences and skills allow the workers to simultaneously use and create resources in the socio-material environment. The findings also reveal novel characteristics of adaptations as driven by a human agency rather than being a result of external demands, which is the common view in literature on work in safety-critical domains. Based on the findings, the role of the worker is illustrated as a meaning-making actor – not only participating in, but also actively contributing to the system and its functioning. In that capacity, the worker is acting as a driving force for a process of continuous development, allowing the system to continue to function although frequently exposed to uncertainties and unexpected events. This thesis contributes to a deepened understanding of the role of human workers in socio-technical systems, highlighting how workers are an invaluable asset when it comes to managing large variations and unexpected events in technology-mediated complex work. This contribution is complementary to the current understanding of how to uphold system safety and provides insight into what underlies a mutually beneficial relationship between humans and technology to which both parties can contribute with what they do best.

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Data- och informationsvetenskap -- Människa-datorinteraktion (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Computer and Information Sciences -- Human Computer Interaction (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

work

work practice

socio-technical system

workscape

workplace studies

ethnography

distributed cognition

activity theory

operational train traffic

manufacturing

human-computer interaction

HCI

safety-critical domain

Computer Science with specialization in Human-Computer Interaction

Datavetenskap med inriktning mot människa-datorinteraktion

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

dok (ämneskategori)