'Observing' the workplace soundscape: ethnography and auditory interface design

  • Authors:
  • Catriona Macaulay;Alison Crerar

  • Affiliations:
  • Department of Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK;Department of Computing, Napier University, Edinburgh, UK

  • Venue:
  • ICAD'98 Proceedings of the 1998 international conference on Auditory Display
  • Year:
  • 1998

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Abstract

This paper identifies a gap in the research agenda of the auditory display community - the study of work practice and the uses (current and potential) of the workplace 'soundscape'. The paper presents a case study derived from a one year activity theory-oriented ethnographic study of information gathering work at a UK daily newspaper. We consider the soundscape aspects of mediating collaborative activity in the newsroom, and conclude with a discussion of the issues arising from this attempt to utilise ethnographic techniques within the auditory display design domain.