Dr Mark Rouncefield

Co-I: Understanding and Developing Effective Communications in Security

Profile

Career details

Mark Rouncefield is a Reader in Social Informatics in the School of Computing and Communications, Lancaster University and recent Microsoft European Research Fellow. His qualifications include: BA (Soc St) (Exeter), MA (Ed) (Durham), MA (Soc) (Lancaster), Ph.D. (Soc) (Lancaster), PGCE, PGCIT, RSA, Salsa Level 1 (with merit) (Daniel James School of Dance). You can probably guess which qualification he is most proud of..

Mark's research covers various different aspects of the empirical study of work, organisation, human factors and interactive computer systems design. This work is strongly inter-disciplinary in nature and has led to extensive and continuing collaborations with colleagues in Sociology, Computing, Informatics and Management departments both in the UK and abroad. His empirical studies of work and technology have contributed to critical debates concerning the relationship between social and technical aspects of IT systems design and use. He is particularly associated with the development of ethnography as a method for informing design and evaluation.

Mark has jointly written or edited six books and over 100 journal and conference papers. He has been a panelist at CSCW and ECSCW conferences and has organised workshops on Dependability in Healthcare Informatics; Ubiquitous Computing in Domestic Environments; Open Source Software Development; Inter-disciplinary Approaches to the Design of Dependable Computer Systems and Social Interaction and Mundane Technology. He has served on the programme committee of Chi, OzCHI, CSCW and ECSCW and on the editorial board of the International Journal of Organisational Transformation and Social Change (OTSC), Sociological Research Online and the Health Informatics Journal.

Five significant publications

1. Randall, D., Harper, R. and Rouncefield, M., 2007. Fieldwork for design: theory and practice. Springer Science & Business Media. - now a standard textbook on ethnographic approaches to design – cited 311 times. – review – “"As an HCI researcher and practitioner, I am delighted to see, at last, a balanced view about the practice of ethnography within our field. This book presents an informative balance between the theory and practice of fieldwork methods, allowing researchers to conduct trials with confidence and understand the scope of the results that can be gained from these trials. At last, some of the most pre-eminent people in their field show computer scientists and HCI researchers that it is valid to use ethnographic techniques without doing "proper" Sociology and Anthropology."

Professor Gary Marsden, professor of HCI, University of Cape Town, South Africa

2. Hartswood, M., Procter, R., Rouncefield, M. and Slack, R., 2003. Making a case in medical work: implications for the electronic medical record. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), 12(3), pp.241-266. – cited 238 times - the beginning of several papers on electronic patient records and the reform of the NHS – pointing to important human and organizational issues highlighted by the DIRC project that formed the basis for a letter from the DIRC project concerning the likely failure of the NpFIT programme.

3. Crabtree, A., Hemmings, T., Rodden, T., Cheverst, K., Clarke, K., Dewsbury, G., Hughes, J. and Rouncefield, M., 2003, November. Designing with care: Adapting cultural probes to inform design in sensitive settings. In Proceedings of the 2004 Australasian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction (OZCHI2004)(pp. 4-13).- documents our use of the relatively novel technique 'cultural probes' and won the best paper award

4. Dewsbury, G., Clarke, K., Randall, D., Rouncefield, M. and Sommerville, I., 2004. The anti‐social model of disability. Disability & Society, 19(2), pp.145-158. – critiqued the standard model for understanding disability and highlighted its failure in terms of design interests – became quoted in government policy on telecare and assistive technology. A reviewer wrote; “Dewsbury et al. offer a powerful reminder that there are alternative and grounded routes into disability praxis that can deliver real positive benefits for disabled people. Importantly, they also critique the dangers of sociological hyperbole and the rabbit hole of theory .. Dewsbury et al., manifest an engineering perspective, seeking routes into design, and testing disability theory at the same time, proffering significant food for thought for all in the process.

5. Rouncefield, M. and Tolmie, P., 2011. Ethnomethodology at work. Ashgate Publishing Ltd. – very well reviewed this book introduces designers to important social and organizational features of the working environments they are designing. – review: “'Pugnacious yet inviting, this book will be an invaluable guide for those interested in the ethnomethodological perspective on work, but also why it has proven to be so influential in the study and design of technology. The book expertly balances empirical study with theoretical sophistication.' Barry Brown, University of California, San Diego, USA

SL: Understanding and Developing Effective Communications in Security
18/07/2022 → 17/01/2024
Research

SL: Managing Cyber Security Supply Chain Risk In Critical National Infrastructure
01/01/2022 → 30/06/2025
Research

The Effectiveness of Social Media Screening and the Impact of Increased Anonymity and Encryption in Policing
01/01/2022 → 31/12/2022
Research

Future Places: A Digital Economy Centre on Understanding Place Through Pervasive Computing
01/10/2020 → 28/02/2026
Research

TrackWater: Supporting High-Value, Low-Cost Rail Network Drainage Asset Management
01/10/2017 → 31/03/2019
Research

FI-Content2
01/11/2013 → 31/12/2014
Research

FIRM
01/01/2010 → 30/06/2013
Research

Behavioural and Social Sciences in Security (BASS) 2022 Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience