Workplace Studies : Recovering Work Practice and Informing System Design

This groundbreaking book brings together key researchers in Europe and the US to discuss critical issues in the study of the workplace and combines a number of detailed case studies with an examination of the interrelationship between workplace studies and the design of new technologies.

Workplace studies are of growing significance to people in a broad range of academic disciplines and professions, in particular those involved in the development of new technologies. This groundbreaking book brings together key researchers in Europe and the US to discuss critical issues in the study of the workplace and to outline developments in the field. The collection is divided into two parts. Part I contains a number of detailed case studies that not only provide an insight into the issues central to workplace studies but also some of the problems involved in carrying out such research. Part II focuses on the interrelationship between workplace studies and the design of new technologies. This book provides a valuable, multidisciplinary synthesis of the key issues and theoretical developments in workplace studies and a guide to the implications of such research for new technology design and the workplace.