Men on board: Actor-network theory, feminism and gendering the past

2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 251-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence T. Corrigan ◽  
Albert J. Mills
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Past

History and IS – Broadening Our View and Understanding: Actor–Network Theory as a Methodology

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-123
Author(s):  
William (Bill) Bonner
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Business Studies ◽  
The Past ◽  
Vehicle Registration ◽  
Contextual Understanding ◽  
Explicit Recognition

The call for historical research In IS, mirrored In other fields of business studies, Is an explicit recognition of the predominance of presentism in business research; the use of the past only to justify and validate current beliefs or inserting modern beliefs onto the past, rather than using the past to understand and reveal current assumptions and biases. There is freedom in severing time and centering ourselves and our artifacts (computer technology), looking to improve the future unburdened by the past. Yet, if that assumption is wrong, and the present is instead fluid and unstable because the past embedded in the present is tension filled and unresolved, this raises fundamental challenges to the work that we do, the value of that work to others, and is cause for reflection on our impact as educators. This paper demonstrates the merits of using Actor-Network Theory as a methodology for historical IS research, through its use in a Canadian case study. The study was prompted by the apparent resolution of a privacy controversy, involving personal motor vehicle registration information in the province of Alberta, through an appeal to something called ‘historical purposes and practices.’ Strangely, the purposes and practices were never identified. This begged the question, ‘what was the substance of this argument and how come it was successful?’ Tracing actual ‘purposes and practices,’ from the early 1900s to the present, reveals how historical, contextual understanding offers not only insights into, but can alter our very understanding of, the present.

Actor-Network-Theory Approaches to the Archaeology of Contemporary Architecture

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albena Yaneva
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Past ◽  
Contemporary Architecture

The chapter contributes to unravelling how Actor-Network-Theory (ANT) as a method of inquiry might inform the archaeological understanding of the contemporary world. To illustrate this, the author engages in an inquiry on Shin Takamatsu’s architecture following Guattari’s fascination with his architectural machines in the 1980s. Drawing on two epistemological figures-the hasty sightseer and the slow ethnographer-the chapter demonstrates two different approaches to contemporary architecture. It is argued that ANT methodologies can help to create a space in which the past, present, and future are combined and are still in the process of becoming. Equipped with ANT-inspired methods, contemporary archaeologists can engage in explorations of vibrant processes and emergent world-making techniques.

Convergence of Information Security in B2B Networks

2011 ◽  
pp. 571-595
Author(s):  
Dan Harnesk
Keyword(s):  
Information Security ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Process Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Past ◽  
Organizational Information ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Security Affairs

Over the past 20 years, researchers have made significant headway into understanding information security, with most studies focusing on internal organizational information security affairs. This study adds to the cumulative tradition by creating a concept for the convergence of information security in B2B network contexts. More specifically, the move from information security safeguards to information security observers is presented in depth. By adopting the Actor Network Theory and the Process Theory, this chapter demonstrates how three conversion, use, and performance sub-processes constitute the devised process of converging information security. Each sub-process directs attention towards definition, integration, the evaluation of security and how the metaphor of the observer may operate in the B2B network context.

Lost in Things: An Archaeologist's Perspective on the Epistemological Potential of Objects

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-283
Author(s):  
Philipp W. Stockhammer
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Material Culture ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Past ◽  
Archaeological Analysis

In recent times, archaeology has seen continuously growing interest from neighboring disciplines desiring to capitalize on archaeology's experience with the evaluation of material culture. In order to be able to answer the questions now posed to our field of research, we have to be conscious of our methods and their epistemological potential. On the basis of a characterization of archaeological sources, this article focuses on four relevant fields of inquiry with regard to the archaeological analysis of an object, that is, its materiality, archaeological context, spatial distribution, meanings, and power. Moreover, I suggest that an integration of aspects of Bruno Latour's Actor-Network Theory will enable archaeologists to gain further insights into the complex entanglement of humans and objects in the past.

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.

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