Reviews for How Users Matter: The Co-Construction of Users and Technology

The average rating for How Users Matter: The Co-Construction of Users and Technology based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-01-01 00:00:00 Gregory Bennett This edited volume started off stronger than it finished up. The introduction is comprised of an almost invaluable literature review of user-centered studies of technology (at least, those through 2002). Additionally, the volume's first section, "Users and Non-Users as Active Agents in the (De-)Stabilization of Technologies," provides some useful insights and evidence into the importance of studying non-users or marginal users of technology. In particular, Sally Wyatt's contribution suggests how resistors of technology (in this case, non users of the Internet whom she compares with those who do not drive) help to construct the norms, habits, and guidelines that govern technology's use -- often in ways that are quite formative. From here, the volume takes a turn for the worse. This is not to say that the remaining selections are not vigorous or even well written/argued, but they present far less novel studies of technology use in various contexts. Though they aim to bring things like gender and nationality to the fore, the ways that they do so don't move the discourse in any other direction than a mere expansion of pre-existing theories to new communities/case studies. I'm probably being overly critical. Many of these contributions may well have been more ground breaking eight years ago. Likewise, my lack of inherent interest in many of the case studies surely biased me against reading them as closely as I might. In any case, I would highly recommend the introduction and first section of this volume. Afterward, I would pick and choose based on your own interests.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-02-18 00:00:00 Jenni Fender Literally, "it was okay." Chapter 11 is sort of cool and the introduction provides a good overview of the literature in this area. But...it's kind of overdone, such that most of the articles don't seem to be saying anything strikingly new. Perhaps this is one of those areas of research that people need to move away from or reinvent somehow. We don't "need" endless case studies about users (maybe businesses do, but do scholars?). It could also have to do with the sociology writing style, which pretends to posit model, "data," then conclusion, like a science article. I find that a desperately boring way to write. Use for reference. That's all.