Digital Transformations in the Challenge of Activity and Work

18Exploring the Situated Acceptance of Emerging Technologies in and Concerning Activity: Approaches and Processes

What is the basis for the acceptability of technologies? What are the different perspectives for analyzing the acceptability of technical devices? What are the limits and contributions of these models? When the technologies do not yet exist or are in the re-design phase, how can we explore the adoption of these technologies which should contribute to an acceptable future for the transforming activity? The aim of this last chapter is to understand the different approaches to technological acceptability (practical, social and situated) and to set out, from the perspective of the clinical element of use, the approaches that can be used to assess the impact and acceptable conditions of the implementation of new technologies.

18.1. Introduction

Assessing the acceptability of technologies is undoubtedly one of the most important issues in the design and deployment of technologies, since the objective is to ensure that these tools will be used by users, according to their intended use. It is important for those in charge of the development and selection of technologists to identify the factors and conditions that may lead future users to adopt or reject the devices that will be implemented; whether for economic, socio-organizational or psychosocial reasons:

• 1) economic reasons first, because it is necessary to be certain that the return on investment is profitable for ...