The relational ontology of resistance: Hybridity, ventriloquism, and materiality in the production of bike commuting as resistance

Organization ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 873-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth D. Wilhoit ◽  
Lorraine G. Kisselburgh
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Relational Ontology ◽  
Relational Understanding ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Organizational Resistance ◽  
American Midwest ◽  
Bicycle Commuting ◽  
And Control

Many studies of organizational resistance have focused on a knowing agent who intends to challenge power. In contrast, we suggest that resistance is the product of many agents of varying ontological statuses acting together. Using a study of bicycle commuting in the American Midwest (an activity that takes place at the edges of organizations), actor-network theory, and Cooren’s theory of ventriloquism, we demonstrate that resistance has a relational ontology. We show that bike commuters do not intend to resist through biking to work, decentering human action and intention in resistance. We then highlight three aspects of a relational understanding of resistance. First, bike commuting (and other resistive activity) is produced by a plenum of agencies of all ontological statuses, making resistance a hybrid activity, not limited to human agents. Second, activities of resistance and control come to have these meanings through their relationship with one another. Third, actions that come to mean resistance and control are put into conversation with each other to gain these meanings through ventriloquism. Through these arguments, we expand what can count as resistance, how resistance is produced, and who produces it, demonstrating that resistance is a relational production.

The Use of Structuration Theory and Actor Network Theory for Analysis

2012 ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Dewald Roode
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Fresh Perspective ◽  
Actor Networks

In the current climate of global competitiveness, many organisations are increasingly dependent on their IT strategy – either to increase their competitiveness, or often just to survive. Yet little is known about the non-technical influencing factors (such as people) and their impact on the development and implementation of IT strategy. There would therefore seem to be prima facie evidence that there is a need for a new approach to examining the relationships between social factors, technology and the organisation with respect to the development and implementation of IT strategy. This article seeks to make a contribution in this regard. Structuration Theory and Actor-Network Theory were employed to analyse how non-technical factors influence IT strategy. Structuration Theory holds that human actions are enabled and constrained by structures. Structures are rules and resources that do not exist independently of human action, nor are they material entities. Giddens describes them as ‘traces in the mind’ and argues that they exist only through the action of human beings. Actor Network Theory (ANT) provides a fresh perspective on the importance of relationships between actors that are both human and non-human. By their very presence, actors work to establish, maintain and revise the construction of organisational networks of aligned interests and gradually form stable actor-networks. ANT emphasises the heterogeneous nature of actor-networks which consist of and link together both technical and non-technical elements.

Reflections on combining action research and actor-network theory

2020 ◽  
pp. 147675032091916
Author(s):  
Federico Piovesan
Keyword(s):  
Action Research ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Participatory Management ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Organization Management ◽  
And Control ◽  
Diverse Interactions

In this paper, I address two questions: do their dissimilarities prevent action research and actor-network theory from being used together? If not, how can they complement each other? To do so, I discuss literature from each approach, the only two studies I found that combine action research and actor-network theory (both from organization management) and anecdotes from my field-work experience on the participatory management of urban spaces. On one hand, combining action research and actor-network theory helped me deal with the unpredictability of collaborative research projects by (1) helping me adapt to circumstances while remaining aware of my agency and (2) report systematically on diverse interactions while also letting a shared vocabulary and narrative emerge. On the other, my adherence to the principles of each approach and the comparability of my experience were affected by a lack of both time and control over the processes in which I was involved. I hope to support a debate that crosses disciplinary and methodological boundaries about the realities of doing collaborative inquiry, not by seeking normative statements about research practice, but by emphasizing how the latter cannot exist without a complex network of relations that inevitably affect its validity.

The Use of Structuration Theory and Actor Network Theory for Analysis

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Dewald Roode
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Prima Facie ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Actor Networks

In the current climate of global competitiveness, many organisations are increasingly dependent on their IT strategy—either to increase their competitiveness, or often just to survive. Yet little is known about the non-technical influencing factors (such as people) and their impact on the development and implementation of IT strategy. There would therefore seem to be prima facie evidence that there is a need for a new approach to examining the relationships between social factors, technology and the organisation with respect to the development and implementation of IT strategy. This article seeks to make a contribution in this regard. Structuration Theory and Actor-Network Theory were employed to analyse how non-technical factors influence IT strategy. Structuration Theory holds that human actions are enabled and constrained by structures. Structures are rules and resources that do not exist independently of human action, nor are they material entities. Giddens describes them as ‘traces in the mind’ and argues that they exist only through the action of human beings. Actor Network Theory (ANT) provides a fresh perspective on the importance of relationships between actors that are both human and non-human. By their very presence, actors work to establish, maintain and revise the construction of organisational networks of aligned interests and gradually form stable actor-networks. ANT emphasises the heterogeneous nature of actor-networks which consist of and link together both technical and non-technical elements.

Under surveillance: An actor network theory ethnography of users’ experiences of electronic monitoring

2019 ◽  
pp. 147737081988289
Author(s):  
Carl R. Berry
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Electronic Monitoring ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Ethnographic Approach ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
Monitor And Control

Electronic monitoring (EM) tags are a punishment that utilizes surveillance to enforce curfews. This capacity has drawn debate as to whether it simply enforces the penalty or exists as a punishment itself. However, little empirical work has been conducted on users regarding the experience. The encroaching presence of mass surveillance has also been increasingly debated within criminology, amidst concerns concerning the capabilities of technologies to monitor and control citizens. This article will explore the impact of surveillance as a specific feature of EM to investigate how being monitored is experienced by users during sentences. It will principally draw upon the ethnographic approach of actor network theory – which argues that humans and non-human technologies ‘relationally’ coexist with each other – to explore this phenomenon.

scholarly journals Breve estudo sobre o materialismo e a Teoria do Ator-Rede com foco em sua corrente novo materialista

2019 ◽  
pp. 238-255
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Historical Materialism ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Human Action ◽  
New Materialism ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Difference

This paper aims at analyzing the stream in Actor-Network Theory close to New Materialism from the perspective of its materialistic roots, briefly, outlining the history of materialism, regarding the modifications represented by Marx’s theory and the difference of the latter to New Materialism. Whilst Marx distances from Hegel and Feuerbach by giving centrality to labor, the New Materialism, inspired by Deleuze’s work, attempts to depart from both modernity and post-modernity, assuming the inexistence of any dyad. In this actor-network Materialist Semiotics, the matter no longer represents something inert waiting for human action, a being endowed with vitality; from a rational over an irrational being. Lastly, based on the distinction between these two materialisms, we present a critic of the Actor-Network Theory based on historical materialism.

STRUCTURING A SUCCESSFUL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER PROCESS: A CASE STUDY FROM THE PERSPECTIVES OF ACTOR NETWORK THEORY

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huda Ibrahim ◽  
Hasmiah Kasimin
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Technology Transfer ◽  
Transfer Process ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Technology Transfer Process

An effi cient and effective information technology transfer from developed countries to Malaysia is an important issue as a prerequisite to support the ICT needs of the country to become not only a ICT user but also a ICT producer. One of the factors that infl uences successful information technology transfer is managing the process of how technology transfer occurs in one environment. It involves managing interaction between all parties concerned which requires an organized strategy and action toward accomplishing technology transfer objective in an integrated and effective mode. Using a conceptual framework based on the Actor Network Theory (ANT), this paper will analyse a successful information technology transfer process at a private company which is also a supplier of information technology (IT) products to the local market. This framework will explain how the company has come up with a successful technology transfer in a local environment. Our study shows that the company had given interest to its relationships with all the parties involved in the transfer process. The technology transfer programme and the strategy formulated take into account the characteristics of technology and all those involved.  

The Action of Christian Buildings on their Chinese Environment

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 100-121
Author(s):  
Michel Chambon
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Active Part ◽  
Architectural Style ◽  
Actor Network

This article explores the ways in which Christians are building churches in contemporary Nanping, China. At first glance, their architectural style appears simply neo-Gothic, but these buildings indeed enact a rich web of significances that acts upon local Christians and beyond. Building on Actor-Network Theory and exploring the multiple ties in which they are embedded, I argue that these buildings are agents acting in their own right, which take an active part in the process of making the presence of the Christian God tangible.

The model of an intelligent information security control system for supply chains based on the spatial concepts of the actor-network theory

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 94-106
Author(s):  
Y.M. Iskanderov ◽  
◽  
M.D. Pautov
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Information Security ◽  
Supply Chains ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Spatial Concepts ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Information Security Management System ◽  
Security Control ◽  
Intelligent Information

Aim. The use of modern information technologies makes it possible to achieve a qualitatively new level of control in supply chains. In these conditions, ensuring information security is the most important task. The article shows the possibilities of applying the spatial concepts of the actor-network theory in the interests of forming a relevant intelligent information security management system for supply chains. Materials and methods. The article discusses a new approach based on the provisions of the actor-network theory, which makes it possible to form the structure of an intelligent information security control system for supply chains, consisting of three main functional blocks: technical, psychological and administrative. The incoming information security threats and the relevant system responses generated through the interaction of the system blocks were considered as enacting the three Law’s spaces: the space of regions, the space of networks and the space of fl uids. Results. It is shown that the stability of this system in the space of networks is a necessary condition for its successful functioning in the space of regions, and its resilience in the space of fl uids gained through the dynamic knowledge formation helps overcome the adverse effects of the fl uidity. The problems of the intentional / unintentional nature of information security threats, as well as the reactivity / proactivity of the corresponding responses of the intelligent information security management system for supply chains are investigated. Conclusions. The proposed approach showed the possibility of using such an interdisciplinary tool in the fi eld of information security as the concepts of the actor-network theory. The intelligent information security control system built on its basis ensures that almost all the features of solving information security problems in supply chains are taken into account.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document