A Semiotic Perspective on CSCW

In this Toolbox session Jørgen P. Bansler, Professor Emeritus will explore the idea that computational artefacts fundamentally are “semiotic machines” and discuss the implications for improving their design and use in the context of cooperative work. In using the term “semiotic,” Jørgen P. Bansler do not want to imply that computers are somehow able to “understand” the data that they process, but simply that what we routinely do with computational artefacts is to manipulate signs, such as words, numbers, maps, graphs or mathematical symbols. His thesis is that we have not fully appreciated the importance of understanding how practitioners use signs as an integral and indispensable part of their cooperative work practices, whether for communicating, coordinating, measuring, calculating, modelling, categorising or other tasks. So, if we want to improve the design and use of computational artefacts then we need to pay close attention to and analyse the “language games” played by practitioners as they go about their work. As an example, Jørgen P. Bansler will briefly discuss the design and implementation of the electronic health record (EHR) system “Helseplattformen” in Norway.

Cooperative Epistemic Work in Medical Practice: An Analysis of Physicians’ Clinical Notes