Technology and Social Interaction: Notes on the Achievement of Authoritative Knowledge in Complex Settings

Abstract

Within any particular social situation a multitude of ways of knowing exist, but some carry more weight than others. Some kinds of knowledge are discredited and devalued, while others become socially sanctioned, consequential, “official,” and are accepted as grounds for legitimate inference and action. In this paper I explore the role of technology in the constitution of such authoritative knowledge by drawing on videotaped data from two complex, high-technology work settings: an American obstetrics ward and an airlines operations room. Videotapes were analyzed using methods of Interaction Analysis, a microanalysis of participants’ activities in relation to each other, the physical space in which they operate, and the artifacts and technologies which play a role in getting their business accomplished. I use these cases as a means to illustrate some of the linguistic, interactional, and artifactuallybased mechanisms by which, in high technology settings, authoritative knowledge comes to be distributed, displayed and used. An understanding of these mechanisms is crucial for the design of collaborative working and learning environments that are conducive to getting necessary business done in an efficient way while, at the same time, empowering their users.