Contested Communities or Cognitive Work Analysis

Contested Communities: Class, Gender, and Politics in Chile's El Teniente Copper Mine, 1904-1948

Author: Thomas Miller Klubock

In Contested Communities Thomas Miller Klubock analyzes the experiences of the El Teniente copper miners during the first fifty years of the twentieth century. Describing the everyday life and culture of the mining community, its impact on Chilean politics and national events, and the sense of self and identity working-class men and women developed in the foreign-owned enclave, Klubock provides important insights into the cultural and social history of Chile.

Books about economics: Cappuccino Espresso or Pizza

Cognitive Work Analysis: Towards Safe, Productive, and Healthy Computer-Based Work

Author: Kim J Vicent

This book describes, for the first time in pedagogical form, an approach to computer-based work in complex sociotechnical systems developed over the last 30 years by Jens Rasmussen and his colleagues at Risø National Laboratory in Roskilde, Denmark. This approach is represented by a framework called cognitive work analysis. Its goal is to help designers of complex sociotechnical systems create computer-based information support that helps workers adapt to the unexpected and changing demands of their jobs. In short, cognitive work analysis is about designing for adaptation.

The book is divided into four parts. Part I provides a motivation by introducing three themes that tie the book together--safety, productivity, and worker health. The ecological approach that serves as the conceptual basis behind the book is also described. In addition, a glossary of terms is provided. Part II situates the ideas in the book in a broader intellectual context by reviewing alternative approaches to work analysis. The limitations of normative and descriptive approaches are outlined, and the rationale behind the formative approach advocated in this book is explored. Part III describes the concepts that comprise the cognitive work analysis framework in detail. Each concept is illustrated by a case study, and the implications of the framework for design and research are illustrated by example. Part IV unifies the themes of safety, productivity, and health, and shows why the need for the concepts in this book will only increase in the future. In addition, a historical addendum briefly describes the origins of the ideas described in the book.

Booknews

Vicente (University of Toronto) describes an approach to computer- based work in complex sociotechnical systems developed in Denmark, in a framework called cognitive work analysis (CWA). CWA helps designers of such systems create computer-based information support that helps workers adapt to the unexpected and changing demands of their jobs. Aside from one case study, the book does not provide procedural guidelines or practical advice for implementation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Table of Contents:

	Foreword
	Preface
I	Introduction
	What's in a Word? (Glossary)	3
1	What's the Problem? Scope and Criteria for Success	11
2	Why Work Analysis? An Ecological Perspective	37
II	Three Approaches to Work Analysis
3	Normative Approaches to Work Analysis: "The One Best Way?"	61
4	Descriptive Approaches to Work Analysis: "What Workers Really Do"	87
5	Toward a Formative Approach to Work Analysis: "Workers Finish the Design"	109
III	Cognitive Work Analysis in Action
6	Case Study: Process Control	139
7	Phase 1: Work Domain Analysis	149
8	Phase 2: Control Task Analysis	181
9	Phase 3: Strategies Analysis	215
10	Phase 4: Social Organization and Cooperation Analysis	245
11	Phase 5: Worker Competencies Analysis	275
12	Implications for Design and Research	303
IV	Final Words
13	Designing for Adaptation: Safety, Productivity, and Health and the Global Knowledge-Based Economy	337
App	Historical Addendum	361
	References	367
	Author Index	383
	Subject Index	389