scholarly journals Curriculum Development in the Informing Sciences: Ecological Metaphor, Negotiation or Actor-Network?

10.28945/2579 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Tatnall ◽  
Bill Davey
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Third ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Ecological Metaphor ◽  
Change In Higher Education ◽  
Theoretical Paper ◽  
And Diffusion

Change in higher education information systems, and other informing science curricula is inevitable. This paper offers a brief consideration of three different models that can be used to describe how this change occurs. Most curriculum texts give prime consideration to approaches to curriculum change based on research, development and diffusion models, and the paper outlines some objections to the application of models of this type to describing how university curriculum in the informing sciences is built and rebuilt. It offers instead three alternate models; one based on an ecological metaphor, another on curriculum negotiations and the third on innovation translation from actor-network theory, to describe how this process occurs. This is a theoretical paper that does not advocate one model over another, and does not propose the use of any one of these models in devising a new curriculum. It is concerned only with obtaining a better understanding of how this complex process occurs.

Actor-Network Theory (ANT)

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Mifsud
Keyword(s):  
Education Reform ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
International Growth ◽  
Theoretical Paper

In this theoretical paper, the author provides a critical review of the Actor-Network Theory concept, while considering the relative under-utilization of Actor-Network Theory in education studies, tracing possible ways in which this theory can contribute as an analytical framework through its strands of ‘actor-network', ‘symmetry', ‘translation', and their constituents– thus facilitating its international growth. Two concepts this paper gives prominence to are networks and power relations. The author challenges the widespread conception of the ‘network' metaphor propagated by globalization discourses, contrasting it in turn with the network conception in Actor-Network Theory, where the main premise is multiplicity. The author explores Actor-Network Theory as a theory of the mechanics of power, concerning itself with the establishment of hegemony. This paper is especially aimed at those researchers of education reform who are as yet unfamiliar with Actor-Network Theory and somewhat sceptical of socio-material approaches, in order for them to realize its unrivalled potential contribution to their work.

scholarly journals Understanding Curriculum: An Actor Network Theory Approach

2018 ◽  
pp. 247-261
Author(s):  
Michael Carroll
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Curriculum Changes ◽  
University Curriculum ◽  
Online Spaces ◽  
Human Participants ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Physical Spaces

This paper, attempts to use Actor Network Theory to describe a university curriculum as a process in which human ‘actors’ (teachers, learners, administrators and others) interact with each other and with aspects of their environment considered to have agentive roles similar to those of the human participants (books, computers, desks, classrooms, physical spaces, online spaces and so on), to form the networks which embody curricula and curriculum change. As teachers or learners taking part in any curriculum process, the knowledge we enact, the identities we take on, and the beha-viours we engage in are all influenced by these networks. Put simply, this kind of approach is an attempt to understand why specific curriculum changes are successful or unsuccessful, and how we can go about initiating the process of change in rational and sensitive ways.

scholarly journals The hybrid victim: Re-conceptualizing high-tech cyber victimization through actor-network theory

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 480-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wytske van der Wagen ◽  
Wolter Pieters
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Cyber Victimization ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Empirical Case Studies

Victims are often conceptualized as single, human and static entities with certain risk factors that make them more vulnerable and attractive for offenders. This framework is challenged by emerging forms of high-tech cybercrime, such as ransomware, botnets and virtual theft, in which the offender targets a composite of human, technical and virtual entities. This study critically assesses the current theorization of the cyber victim and offers an alternative approach. Drawing on actor-network theory and three empirical case studies, it analyses the cyber victim as a hybrid actor-network consisting of different entities that, together with the offender, make the victimization possible. The proposed concepts of victim composition, delegation and translation enable a more profound understanding of the hybrid and complex process of becoming a high-tech cyber victim. Keywords: cybercrime, cyber victimization, actor-network theory, botnet, ransomware, virtual theft

Biopower and Plasma: How COVID-19 Made an ANT Theorist Stop Worrying and Love Foucault

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-126
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Human Body ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dynamic Object ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Third ◽  
Definition Of

The article deals with some problems in the works of Bruno Latour and Michel Foucault as they considered the body and biopower. To dispose of the Foucauldian concept of biopower, Latour proposed his theory of the body as a dynamic object constantly learning to be open to new articulations. The author points out the gaps in Latour’s solution and develops her own in order to return biopower into the realm of actor network theory. The body is to be understood as the privileged object in actor network theory, while both biopower and resistance to it are two fundamental and interrelated groups of articulations that allow the body to support the unlimited expansion of the network. This theory is validated by succeeding in three tasks. The first is to show that Latour’s definition of the human body has implications that are important both for his work with biopower and for actor network theory as a whole. The body in the actor network theory has a special status compared to any other objects, and this is the very reason that the control of biopower over the body plays such an important role. Only the body possesses the necessary “bandwidth” - the ability to bring into the network what is not in it. The second task is to compare the concepts of body and biopower in Latour and Foucault and partially translate them into each other’s terms. The third and last task involves deciding whether the body resists biopower through the logic of actor network theory, or whether the acquisition of a body is the only possible act of power. The article concludes with a demonstration of how the available theoretical resources can be used to describe the current coronavirus situation.

scholarly journals The Hermeneutic Circle of Data Visualization

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-375
Author(s):  
Dario Rodighiero ◽  
Alberto Romele ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Data Visualization ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Hermeneutic Circle ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Third ◽  
Self Recognition

In this article, we show how postphenomenology can be used to analyze the Affinity Map: a data visualization that reveals the hidden dynamics that exist between individuals within large organizations. We make use of the Affinity Map to expand the classic postphenomenology that privileges a ‘linear’ understanding of technological mediations and introduce the notions of ‘iterativity’ and ‘collectivity.’ In the first section of the paper, we discuss both classic and more recent descriptions of human-technology-world relations in order to transcendentally approach the discipline of data visualization. In the second section, we use the Affinity Map case study to consider three elements: 1) the collection of data and the design process; 2) the visual grammar of the data visualization, and 3) the process of self-recognition for the map ‘reader.’ In the third section, we introduce the hermeneutic circle of data visualization. Finally, we suggest that the Affinity Map, because of its ethical and political multistability, might be seen as a material encounter between postphenomenology, actor-network theory (ANT), and hermeneutics.

scholarly journals Development aid to water management in Mali: the actors, ‘global’ paradigms, and ‘local’ translations

Afrika Focus ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Cherlet
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Development Aid ◽  
Focus Group Discussions ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
The Third

The four empirical articles experiment with different theoretical concepts to present the data. Starting with a genealogical description of the Capacity Building paradigm in the first empirical article, the theorizing subsequently demonstrates that this paradigm gets translated in numerous ways. The third empirical article shows the importance of individual agency in the implementation of the IWRM paradigm, and the last relies on full-blown Actor-Network Theory to describe the network – widespread in time and space – that supports the IWRM paradigm. Although each theoretical perspective emphasizes different aspects of the data, Actor-Network Theory turns out to be the most apt tool to describe the eclectic set of data that was obtained from multi-sited ethnography, interviews, focus group discussions and documents. 

Neither Heroes nor Chaos

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54
Author(s):  
Diego Ponte ◽  
Pier Franco Camussone
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Social Aspects ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Mainstream Literature

This paper wishes to contribute to the ongoing debate on standardization processes by addressing on the economic and social aspects that shape the creation and diffusion of standards. The aim of the paper is to deal with a clear gap in the literature, as evolution of standards over time has not been fully explored. Indeed, mainstream literature tends to treat creation and diffusion as two distinguished phases. The research relies on an in-depth document analysis of the VHS vs. BETAMAX contest. By drawing upon the Actor-Network Theory, the paper shows that the evolution of a standard is a complex process where creation and diffusion are co-evolving dimensions, which cannot be easily distinguished; second, it shows that the coupling of both economic and social aspects permits a clear understanding of the factors and events that affect the evolution of a standard and the dominance of one standard among competing ones.

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.  

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