A spatial structuring approach to IT use and workplace change : what's space got to do with it?

This dissertation uses the disparate spatial practices of radiologists and outpatient physicians to frame a study of the relationship between space, information technology use and workplace change, with a particular focus on relationships of control. Drawing from diverse urban, organization and economic literatures, I propose a spatial structuring approach to examining issues of space and work practices. From this perspective, spatial practices are seen as both shaping and being shaped by information technology use. The spatial practices of outpatient physicians prior to adopting Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) shaped the implementations of the EMRs in that they led to a series of problems in coordinating outpatient work, problems that EMRs were adopted in part to solve. The EMRs, in turn, were successfully used to further extend physician work in time and space, as well as to better coordinate and control their work. For radiologists, their historic spatial practices shaped the way they used teleradiology applications to respond to a recent, and overwhelming, scarcity of radiologists. Radiologists were able to successfully exert control over the offshoring of their work, in part due to their long history of working at a distance from their patients and other physicians.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Goelman, Ari

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Frank Levy.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34168
• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Identifier URI

http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/34168

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/34168