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Monika Büscher

Sociology: Senior Lecturer & Director mobilities.lab

Degree: PhD Sociology

Associated research centres and groups: Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe), Centre for Science Studies, ImaginationLancaster, Lancaster Literacy Research Centre, Mobilities.Lab

Current Teaching

• Part I Introduction to Socioloy
• MA Mobilities, Society and Change
• Design: Management and Policy (LICA)
• Design 101 (LICA)
• FASS 507 Introduction to the Philosophy of the Social Sciences> >

Research Interests

I study people's everyday material and epistemic practices - on the move or in situ - including experiences and practices of place-making and (distributed) collaboration. My approach is ethnographic and analytically rooted in ethnomethodology, science and technology studies and phenomenology. My work critically informs participatory, interdisciplinary socio-technical innovation. I actively co-design and facilitate the appropriation of cutting edge ubiquitous computing visions, technologies, platforms, and content in different settings (see, for example, Workspace and PalCom).

I am a Senior Research Lecturer in the mobilities.lab - an interdisciplinary collaboration between several different departments at Lancaster, and my research connects different fields of research: Mobilities Research, Design, Ethnomethodology, Science and Technology Studies, Participatory Design, Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and Ubiquitous Computing.

Please contact me at m.buscher@lancaster.ac.uk

Selected Publications

Büscher, M., Urry, J., Witchger, K. (Eds.) (2010) Mobile Methods. London: Routledge

Baerenholdt, J.O., Büscher, M., Damm Scheuer, J., Simonsen, J. (Eds.) (2010) Design Research: Synergies from interdisciplinary perspectives. London: Routledge.

Büscher, M., Goodwin, D., Mesman, J. (Eds) (2009). Ethnographies of Diagnostic Work. Palgrave

Voß, A., Slack, R.; Rouncefield, M; Procter, R.; Ho, K.; Hartswood, M.; Büscher, M. (2008) Configuring user-designer relations: Interdisciplinary perspectives. Springer Verlag.

Journal articles and book chapters

Büscher, M., Coulton, P., Efstratiou, C., Gellersen, H., Hemment, D., Mehmood, R., Sangiorgi, D. (2009) Intelligent mobility systems: Some socio-technical challenges and opportunities. Proceedings of EuropeComm 2009, 11-13 August, London. http://europecomm.org/index.shtml

Büscher M., O'Neill J, Rooksby J (2009) Designing for Diagnosing: Introduction to the Special Issue on Diagnostic Work. Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work Vol.18:109-128.

Sangiorgi, D.; Hemment, D. and Büscher, M. (2008) Everyday imagination, practices, systems: Designing with people for systemic change. In Conference Proceedings of Changing the change: An international conference on the role and potential of design research in the transition towards sustainability, Torino, 10th - 11th - 12th July 2008. Abstract

Büscher M., Mogensen, P. (2007). Designing for material practices of coordinating emergency teamwork. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM) May 13th-16th 2007 Delft, The Netherlands.

Büscher M., Kristensen, M. Mogensen, P. (2007). Making the future palpable: Notes from a major incident Future Laboratory. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management (ISCRAM) May 13th-16th 2007 Delft, The Netherlands.

Büscher M., Christensen M., Hansen K.M., Mogensen P., Shapiro D. (2008) Bottom-up, top-down? Connecting software architecture design with use in Voß, A., Hartswood, M.; Ho, K., Procter, R.; Rouncefield, M.; Slack, R.; Büscher, M. Configuring user-designer relations: Interdisciplinary perspectives. Springer Verlag, forthcoming in 2007.

Büscher, M. and Jensen, G. (2007) Sound Sight: Seeing with Ultrasound. Health Informatics Journal . Vol 13(1):23-36.

Büscher, M. (2007) Interaction in motion: Embodied conduct in emergency teamwork in Mondada, L. Online Multimedia Proceedings of the 2 nd International Society for Gesture Studies Conference 'Interacting Bodies' , 15-18 June 2005, Lyon, France.

Büscher, M (2005) Social Life under the microscope? Sociological Research Online. Vol. 10, No. 1.

Hartswood M., Procter R., Slack R, Voß A., Büscher M., Rouncefield, M. and Rouchy, P. (2002) Co-realisation: Towards a principled synthesis of ethnomethodology and participatory design. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems, Vol. 14 (2), pp 9-30.

Potential Doctoral Proposals

• mobilities research
• creative practice
• ethnomethodological and ethnographic studies
• innovation and socio-technical change
• ubiquitous computing
• computer supported collaborative work
• digital economy

Selected Research projects

Bridge: Bridging resources and agencies in large-scale emergency management (2011-2015)

A collaborative design project funded by the EU Commission. We are co-designing a system to support interoperability (both technical and social) in large-scale emergency relief efforts with stakeholders. The system will be a bridge between multiple agencies: It will help to mediate the activities of the command and professional staff, which is where most of the strategic decision making must occur; it will also help to merge the systems and resources from different agencies into a cohesive whole and support collaboration with user generated 'crisis informatics'.

Citizens Transforming Society: Tools for Change (CaTalyST) (2011-2014)

This project will bring together a group of social scientists (sociology; anthropology), computer scientists (mobile computing; web2.0; distributed systems), management scientists (consumer behaviour) and designers (innovation) to develop next generation systems that empower citizens to create bottom-up innovative solutions to 'wicked' societal problems. It will promote cross-disciplinary working across Lancaster University (and beyond) between the School of Computing & Communications, Sociology, Lancaster University Management School, Lancaster Environment Centre, and Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts.

New Interaction Order (2010-2011)

This pilot project studies the 'new' interaction order from different empirical and analytical perspectives. Drawing on sociology, ethnomethodology, criminology, geography, and design, we are carrying out studies of 'behaviour in public places' in Manchester.

Design for Flexibility and Change within Health Service Providers (DFC)

This project explores how medical practitioners can mobilize local and expert domain knowledge and dovetail it with new design and managerial skills to implement the Practice Based Commissioning (PBC) framework to shape NHS service provision. Designing new health and care service models and facilities requires creative, managerial and/or design skills and this 18 month research project is part of the EPSRC funded innovation centred called HACIRIC (Health and Care Infrastructure Research and Innovation Centre).

Innovative media for a digital economy

In this research cluster, we investigate digital economy practices that are emerging around the capabilities of social, mobile and pervasive technologies. We explore how we can develop new services, new forms of exchange and interaction that benefit the whole of the UK economy.

PalCom, Palpable Computing: A new perspective on Ambient Computing, FP6 IST Future and Emerging Technologies, 2004-7.

As computing technologies become an ever more 'invisible' and powerful part of our mobile lives, it is crucial that people are supported in understanding what these technologies are doing and what they could do for them.

WorkSPACE, Distributed Work Support through Component Based SPAtial Computing Environments, FP5 IST Future and Emerging Technologies, 2000-3.

Mobile workers often generate dynamic configurations of spaces, information, and people - within the office, but also beyond. These practices pose great challenges to the computer as-we-know-it today and open up a range of opportunities for innovative design. Spatial computing environments respond to these challenges. They exploit technical possibilities to support the social and spatial organization of work.

Current doctoral students and postdocs

Paula Bialski: Creating Familiar Strangers: The socio-psychological conditions and consequences of interaction between individuals in mobility

Graham Dean: Connected Craft - Improving the social and economic impact of the contemporary craft industries through digital technologies - Highwire

Satya Savitzky - 'Roads in the Sea: The forging of maritime paths'

Lucy Kimbell

Jen Southern: Making liquid spaces: the art and technology of a social practice

Visiting PhDs

Kristina Lindstrom and Asa Stahl, Malmoe University

Past doctoral students and postdocs

Jesper Wolff Olsen (visiting PhD student): Palpable computing

Dr. Sergio Benicio (2009/10): Hypermobility

Dr Jamie O'Brien (2008/9) Honorary Research Fellow - now at EngD Centre in Virtual Environments, Imaging and Visualisation Computer Science Department University College London

Associated Keywords: Design, Ethnography, Ethnomethodology, Evaluation, Experimental research, Imagination, Innovation, Interdisciplinary collaboration, Participatory research, Social theory, Technology, Technoscience, Wittgenstein

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