Edited by Brian Whitworth (Massey University) and Aldo de Moor (CommunitySense)
Foreword by Ben Shneiderman, University of Maryland
This handbook addresses current issues of research into socio-technical systems (STSs) which are computer technologies that enable social interactions of any type, whether conversations (email), group discussions (chat), group writing (wiki), online trade (E-bay), online learning (WebCT), social networking (Facebook) or others. The Internet has evolved from hosting information to hosting social interactions. Yet as technology becomes part of social life, surely social life should be part of technical design? Without this, a „social-technical gap“ emerges – a deficit between what society wants and what technology does. This book aims to reduce that gap, by suggesting how social knowledge can synergize with technical knowledge.
more: http://www.igi-global.com/reference/details.asp?ID=33019&v=preface
The handbook can be found online at: http://brianwhitworth.com/STS/
