Sociotechnical Systems

A framework for understanding technology as inseparable from the social practices, institutions, power structures, and cultural norms in which it is embedded. In accessibility research, a sociotechnical perspective reveals that assistive technologies are not neutral tools but are shaped by and reinforce particular views of disability, normalcy, and acceptable ways of being. This lens makes visible how biased notions about disability are inscribed not only in AT design features but also reproduced through institutional processes that regulate access and use, such as insurance eligibility criteria, school accommodation policies, and medical evaluation standards. Understanding AT as sociotechnical shifts design goals from optimizing individual device features to addressing the broader systems of power that structure access.