Sociology, CSCW, and working with customers
The social and interactional dimensions of human-computer interfaces
Rise of the Network Society
Theories of the Information Society
Theories of the Information Society
Computers, Minds and Conduct
Computer Supported Cooperative Work
The MAking of a Cybertariat: Virtual Work in a Real World
The MAking of a Cybertariat: Virtual Work in a Real World
After the New Economy
Moving with the times: IT research and the boundaries of CSCW
Computer Supported Cooperative Work
Riding a tiger, or computer supported cooperative work
ECSCW'91 Proceedings of the second conference on European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
CSCW and distributed systems: the problem of control
ECSCW'91 Proceedings of the second conference on European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
CSCW: discipline or paradigm? a sociological perspective
ECSCW'91 Proceedings of the second conference on European Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
Leisure and CSCW: Introduction to Special Edition
Computer Supported Cooperative Work
Fieldwork for Design: Theory and Practice (Computer Supported Cooperative Work)
Fieldwork for Design: Theory and Practice (Computer Supported Cooperative Work)
Making the organization come alive: talking through and about the technology in remote banking
Human-Computer Interaction
Ethnography considered harmful
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Cooperative Work and Coordinative Practices: Contributions to the Conceptual Foundations of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)
Reflections on 25 Years of Ethnography in CSCW
Computer Supported Cooperative Work
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The scope of CSCW, its focus on work, has been a topic of sporadic debate for many years -- indeed, from the very beginning in the late 1980s. But in recent years the issue has become one of general concern. Most of this debate has been taking place in closed fora such as program committees, editorial boards, and email discussion groups, but over the last few years the debate has been brought out in the open in a few publications, in particular in a programmatic article from 2005 by three esteemed CSCW researchers: Andy Crabtree, Tom Rodden, and Steve Benford. They argue that CSCW should `move its focus away from work'. Other researchers argue along the same lines. Taking this open challenge as a welcome cue, the present article addresses CSCW's scope: the rationale for its focus on ordinary work. After an initial discussion of the arguments put forward by Crabtree et al. and by others, the article focuses on an analysis of the concept of `work', drawing on the methods and insights of `ordinary language philosophy', and, flowing from this, a critique of the notion of `work' in conversation analysis. After a critical appraisal of prevailing myths about the realities of work in the contemporary world, the article ends in an attempt to position CSCW in the context of technological development more broadly. The underlying premise of the article is that it is time to reconsider CSCW: to rethink what it is and why it might be important.