At the Centre of Coordination for Train Traffic : Activity Theory and Distributed Cognition in times of digitalisation

• The field of computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) is growing extensively, addressing a wide range of coordinative and technological applications from several perspectives. In this paper, we analyse and describe the use of technology in work practices within train traffic control rooms as they unfold in these complex technology-dense environments. With a workplace study, we focus on how traffic controllers and information officers deal with situations involving delays and disruptions of the traffic flow. In particular, we describe how the workers keep the trains running as well as how the activities of traffic controllers and information officers are shaped by the conduct of others, whether they are located in the same space or not. Part of our empirical work is a detailed analysis of the coordinative practices and technology use that is enacted in this setting based on two theories often applied within CSCW: Distributed Cognition (DCog) and Activity Theory (AT). We have three purposes with this paper: 1) addressing to what extent the ongoing digitalisation impacts the technology usage and if there are any novel insights on work practices to CSCW, 2) contributing to the discussion on the future use of DCog and AT in workplace studies in the increasingly digitalised nature of control room work, and 3) stimulating future research into the impacts of digitalisation from the viewpoint of how the workers contribute to upholding the traffic flow and how it should shape future work within operational train traffic from a holistic perspective.

Ämnesord

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

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

Nyckelord

Activity theory

Centre of coordination

Control room

Distributed Cognition

Operational train traffic

Railway

Theory

Traffic control

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)