Designing Socially Embedded Technologies In The Real World

This book is concerned with the associated issues between the differing paradigms of academic and organizational computing infrastructures. Driven by the increasing impact Information Communication Technology (ICT) has on our working and social lives, researchers within the Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) field try and find ways to situate new hardware and software in rapidly changing socio-digital ecologies. Adopting a design-orientated research perspective, researchers from the European Society for Socially Embedded Technologies (EUSSET) elaborate on the challenges and opportunities we face through the increasing permeation of society by ICT from commercial, academic, design and organizational perspectives. Designing Socially Embedded Technologies in the Real-World is directed at researchers, industry practitioners and will be of great interest to any other societal actors who are involved with the design of IT systems.

This book provides a broad overview of Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-supported innovation both on an evidence-based level, a theoretical and a methodological level. It presents multi-disciplinary perspectives on organizational innovation in enterprises and the public sector, and on the ubiquitous social media-based user innovations. The book especially highlights innovation in knowledge work and human-computer interaction, innovation of and in socio-technical systems, and user-based innovation in public services. It draws upon evidence from various areas of application, including innovative mobility and the factories of the future. The studies presented here will be helpful both for innovation scholars and practitioners in industry – as well as innovators at large – in their current and future studies and undertakings.

This volume presents the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on the Design of Cooperative Systems (COOP 2016). The conference is a venue for multidisciplinary research contributing to the design, assessment and analysis of cooperative systems and their integration in organizations, public venues, and everyday life. COOP emerged from the European tradition of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) and Cognitive Ergonomics. A collection of 22 papers and 4 workshop overviews are presented, reflecting the variety of research activities in the field of the design of cooperative systems with a special emphasis on “Making Together” This collection offers a broad vision of collective working practices and cooperative design, embracing the idea that design requires a deep understanding of collective activities, involving both artefacts and social practices within a context. The result is a rich and articulated debate that widens the design space towards the exploration of a variety of forms of participation and engagement in collaborative system design. Experienced researchers, academics, designers and practitioners who are interested in collaborative design theory and methods would be interested in the state of the art research and case studies this collection provides.

Daryoush Daniel Vaziri illustrates that the use of mixed methods designs may support the induction of more subtle and complete theories about older adults’ use of technologies for the support of active and healthy aging. The results show that older adults’ social contexts and environments considerably affect their perspectives, practices and attitudes with respect to health, quality of life, well-being and technology use for active and healthy aging support. Results were collected with older adults aged 60+ as well as relevant secondary stakeholders like caregivers, policy makers or health insurance companies.

This book introduces a radically spatialised approach to knowledge creation and innovation. Reflecting on an array of European urban and regional developments, it offers an updated notion of milieu as the conceptual and material space of knowledge and innovation in line with the interpretative turn in social sciences and humanities. In view of the unwillingness of mainstream economics to accommodate such a trend, the authors pursue a broadly understood hermeneutic approach that expands on the triad of knowledge-space-innovation. The book’s main findings are that space is an essential intermediary in the connection between knowledge and innovation, and that a renewed notion of milieu provides the knowledge-space-innovation triad with both an analytical basis and operational power. It also offers fresh insights into the significance and potential of the knowledge economy. A number of empirical European case studies on various scales (organisations, cities and territories) support the findings and suggest new policy directions.

This book is about how computer systems might be designed to serve their users rather better. It deals with how to study the natural behaviour of users to see how computer systems might best help them, and how one might also involve them in the design of computer systems that will assist them in their everyday practices.

This book includes a selection of the best research papers presented at the annual conference of the Italian chapter of the Association for Information Systems (AIS), which took place in Verona, Italy in October 2016. Tracing various aspects of the ongoing phenomenon of evolution towards a global society, and consequently the ever-innovating digital world, it first discusses emerging technologies and the new practices in the information-systems world. It then examines the new businesses and ongoing business transformations. Lastly, it considers the economic and societal changes brought about by access to and exploitation of socio-technical networks. The plurality of views offered makes the book particularly relevant for users, companies, scientists and governments.

The recent surge of interest in digital ecosystems is not only transforming the business landscape, but also poses several human and organizational challenges. Due to the pervasive effects of the transformation on firms and societies alike, both scholars and practitioners are interested in understanding the key mechanisms behind digital ecosystems, their emergence and evolution. In order to disentangle such factors, this book presents a collection of research papers focusing on the relationship between technologies (e.g. digital platforms, AI, infrastructure) and behaviours (e.g. digital learning, knowledge sharing, decision-making). Moreover, it provides critical insights into how digital ecosystems can shape value creation and benefit various stakeholders. The plurality of perspectives offered makes the book particularly relevant for users, companies, scientists and governments. The content is based on a selection of the best papers – original double-blind peer-reviewed contributions – presented at the annual conference of the Italian chapter of the AIS, which took place in Pavia, Italy in October 2018.