Temporal Dispersion in Distributed Work

Béatrice Linot, Jérôme Dinet, François Charoy, Valerie L. Shalin

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Effective communication is critical to sociotechnical systems. Such systems may entail distributed authority and responsibility, and physical resources that are not collocated. This is certainly the case in crisis management. To improve communication during crisis management, researchers have tried to enhance the communication technology. However, communication problems persist even in the presence of robust technology. Several studies of communication have examined the consequences of the spatial distribution of operators working on the achievement of a common goal. Yet, few have researchers have investigated the effects of temporal distribution. Drawing on documentation of the Deepwater Horizon Accident in 2010, we select examples to reveal the temporal distribution of events that affect the availability of contextual information across a socio-technical system. We claim that temporal distance, like spatial distance, reduces global awareness and the opportunity to observe the incidental behaviour that renders activities mutually accessible.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association
Subtitle of host publicationErgonomics in Design, Design for All, Activity Theories for Work Analysis and Design, Affective Design
EditorsSebastiano Bagnara, Riccardo Tartaglia, Sara Albolino, Thomas Alexander, Yushi Fujita
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages531-540
Number of pages10
VolumeVII
ISBN (Electronic)978-3-319-96071-5
ISBN (Print)9783319960708
DOIs
StatePublished - 2019
Event20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2018 - Florence, Italy
Duration: Aug 26 2018Aug 30 2018

Publication series

NameAdvances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
Volume824
ISSN (Print)2194-5357

Conference

Conference20th Congress of the International Ergonomics Association, IEA 2018
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityFlorence
Period8/26/188/30/18

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • General Computer Science

Keywords

  • Communication
  • Distributed work
  • Information sharing
  • Temporal dispersion

Disciplines

  • Robotics
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Systems and Communications

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