The International Space Station (ISS) is research infrastructure enabling experiments in a microgravity environment. Building on a study of one of the ground control rooms in the ISS network, this paper concentrates on low-level operators and their efforts to display accountability in situations of trouble and problem solving. While the research infrastructure around the ISS is permeated by structural (bureaucratic) approaches to accountability (routines, procedures, audits and verifications), we discuss how real-time operations require a more dynamic form of continuously (re-)established accountability in the network of operators. In time-critical situations, operators need to establish accountability ‘on the fly’ in order to achieve the necessary agency to operate and troubleshoot their system. One key resource for this is the established voice loop system for synchronous communication. With significant constraints on the form and content of speaking turns, operators need to provide appropriate and recognizable accounts that align with the needs and expectations of the network. Based on an extensive multi-method study, with a focus here on recordings of voice loop interactions, we show how accounts of trouble are designed to manage uncertainty in the larger network, while also positioning the operators as competent and reliable members of the network. Conversely, inadequate accounts create uncertainty and delayed resolution of the issue. The design of accounts on the voice loop is crucial for time-critical articulation work in a distributed collaborative setting. The interactional details on the voice loop provide insights into the production and display of accountability, particularly relevant in networked organizations in which personal relations and trust can only play a marginal role and in which temporal constraints are critical. While the research literature has explored a wide variety of dimensions related to coordination and improvisation in distributed, mediated work environments, this study contributes with insights into the functions of verbal accounts in such contexts and how they may serve to supplement formal systems of accountability.

中文翻译：

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即时问责制-解决太空作战中的麻烦

国际空间站（ISS）是研究基础设施，可在微重力环境中进行实验。在对ISS网络中的一个地面控制室进行研究的基础上，本文着重研究低级操作员及其在出现问题和解决问题的情况下表现出责任心的努力。尽管国际空间站周围的研究基础结构被问责制（程序，程序，审计和验证）的结构（官僚）方法所渗透，但我们讨论了实时操作如何需要网络中一种更动态形式的持续（重新）建立问责制运营商。在时间紧迫的情况下，运营商需要“即时”建立责任制，以获取必要的代理来操作和排除系统故障。用于此的一个关键资源是已建立的用于同步通信的语音环路系统。由于语音转弯的形式和内容受到很大限制，因此运营商需要提供与网络的需求和期望相符的适当且可识别的帐户。基于广泛的多方法研究，这里重点关注语音环路交互的记录，我们展示了如何设计故障原因以管理较大网络中的不确定性，同时还将运营商定位为网络中称职和可靠的成员。相反，账目不足会导致不确定性和问题的解决延迟。在分布式协作环境中，语音循环中的帐户设计对于时间紧迫的清晰度工作至关重要。语音循环上的交互细节提供了对问责制的产生和显示的见解，特别是在网络组织中，在这些组织中，人际关系和信任只能发挥边际作用，而在时间限制中则至关重要。尽管研究文献已经探索了与分布式中介工作环境中的协调和即兴创作有关的各种维度，但这项研究有助于洞察在这种情况下的口头账目功能以及它们如何用于补充正式的问责制。