Negotiating Meaning

Author(s):  
Fernando Abreu Gonçalves ◽  
José Figueiredo

Using an ANT approach based on Programs of Action the authors explore the description of innovation cases to discover internal referents that conveys their meaning. This paper revisits some old and well known histories like the application of ecography to obstetrics and gynaecology and the making and evolution of the computer mouse. Finally, the authors change from these localized cases of innovation to other histories on a more global frame, that is, the cases of two firms, one in the semi conductor industry, and the other in the mould for plastics industry. These descriptions are used as a way to research on the building of an ANT view for engineering innovations and wonder at the ability in which Actor-Network Theory (ANT) adapts and conciliates micro and macro worlds.

Author(s):  
Fernando Abreu Gonçalves ◽  
José Figueiredo

Using an ANT approach based on Programs of Action the authors explore the description of innovation cases to discover internal referents that conveys their meaning. This paper revisits some old and well known histories like the application of ecography to obstetrics and gynaecology and the making and evolution of the computer mouse. Finally, the authors change from these localized cases of innovation to other histories on a more global frame, that is, the cases of two firms, one in the semi conductor industry, and the other in the mould for plastics industry. These descriptions are used as a way to research on the building of an ANT view for engineering innovations and wonder at the ability in which Actor-Network Theory (ANT) adapts and conciliates micro and macro worlds.


Author(s):  
Andrea Quinlan

Feminist methodologies and Actor-Network Theory (ANT) have often been considered opposing theoretical and intellectual traditions. This chapter imagines a conversation between these seemingly divergent fields and considers the theoretical and methodological challenges that ANT and particular branches of feminist thought raise for the other. This chapter examines an empirical project that calls for an engagement with both ANT and feminist methodologies. Through the lens of this empirical project, four methodological questions are considered, which an alliance between ANT and feminist methodologies would raise for any research project: 1) Where do we start our analysis? 2) Which actors should we follow? 3) What can we see when we begin to follow the actors? 4) What about politics? The potential places where ANT and feminist methodologies can meet and mutually shape research on scientific practice and technological innovation are explored. In doing so, this chapter moves towards envisioning new intersections between feminist methodologies and ANT.


Author(s):  
Markus Spöhrer

The chapter offers an international research overview of the possibilities and problems of applying Actor-Network Theory in Media Studies and media related research. On the one hand the chapter provides a summary of the central aspects and terminologies of Bruno Latour's, Michel Callon's and John Law's corpus of texts. On the other hand, it summarizes both theoretical and methodological implications of the combination of Actor-Network Theory and strands of Media Studies research such as discourse analysis, Production Studies and media theory.


Author(s):  
Markus Spöhrer

The chapter offers an international research overview of the possibilities and problems of applying actor-network theory in media studies and media-related research. On the one hand, the chapter provides a summary of the central aspects and terminologies of Bruno Latour's, Michel Callon's and John Law's corpus of texts. On the other hand, it summarizes both theoretical and methodological implications of the combination of actor-network theory and strands of media studies research such as discourse analysis, production studies, and media theory.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-257
Author(s):  
Sonal Shree ◽  
Ardhendu Shekhar Singh

This article examines the benefits of applying gamification in the recruitment process. It highlights how it can be effectively leveraged with the right design by involving various stakeholders at varied stages. The Actor Network Theory (ANT) as a theoretical ground has been used as a reference point to take a more detailed look at the ways in which gamification can be effectively deployed for recruitment by organizations. We refer to ANT and the interaction between the human and non-human elements, here, the applicants, the other stakeholders, and the gamification tools, to serve the greater organizational purpose. Questions that interrogate between rules and practices arise, viz. can the game be effectively customized to achieve sophisticated and enhanced selection outcomes. By applying gamification as the reference point within the Actor Network Theory, their associated potential for further research and applications is achieved. A valuable perspective in gaining insights for further understanding of this theory in today’s technologically progressive environment has also been discussed for further reflection.


Author(s):  
Alexandr Shirokov

The article is an attempt to interpret Bruno Latour’s Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a recording device or, in other words, as a way of translating the world into a textual form. In directly posing the question of what ANT is and what it means to be an actor-network theorist, the author shows that this, first of all, means writing specific texts. If we accept such a version of what ANT is, then the question is how Latour proposes to write texts. His strategy of description is based on a certain politics of explanation. Like any other politics, the politics of explanation is based on certain principles or credo; in this case, these principles are related to the influence of the semiotics, ethnomethodology, and results of what Latour called the anthropology of the modern. This text, on the one hand, analyzes how Latour selectively borrows elements of semiotics and ethnomethodology in developing his policy of explanation. On the other hand, the author shows how this politics of explanation is implemented in practice in a specific description strategy. The author concludes that Latour’s politics of explanation and the subsequent description strategy presupposes an average path between two extremes. The first extreme is the output to the meta level, and the second is the use of only the explanations of the actors themselves. This middle path consists of the development of certain principles of description that would not lead either to the replacement of the language of actors by the language of a sociologist, or to a simple repetition of the language of actors. The ANT infra-language does not say anything meaningful about the world, but, in a certain way, organizes a description of the world as it is as an empty template which must be re-applied each time. It is for this reason that it is possible for historical, ethnographic, and mixed ANT-research.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Mikkel Snorre Wilms Boysen

ResuméInden for kreativitetsteori har der i de seneste 10 år været øget opmærksomhed omkring kreativitetens distribuerede og kollaborative aspekter. Først og fremmest har dette været udtryk for en epistemologisk drejning. Fra et fokus på individet har man således i stigende grad interesseret sig for, hvorledes kreativitet opstår som en konsekvens af et sammenspil mellem mennesker, materialer, teknikker, traditioner, m.m. Det nye perspektiv betyder ikke nødvendigvis, at velkendte pædagogiske metoder må forandres. På den anden side, er det oplagt at afsøge, hvilke potentialer denne nye optik kan tilbyde i forhold til at kvalificere pædagogisk rammesatte læringsmiljøer. Dette spørgsmål undersøges i denne artikel med afsæt i et autoetnografisk casestudie, hvor fire SFO børn udvikler et brætspil i sammenspil med en voksen. I casestudiet arbejder den voksne systematisk med at koble børnenes tanker og ideer til eksterne/interne netværk bestående af aktører, traditioner og materialer. Hermed benyttes kreativitetens distribuerede aspekt proaktivt med henblik på at kvalificere den innovative proces. Casestudiet peger på, at en sådan type didaktik er værdifuld i forhold til at fremme kreativitet og skabe nye typer af kollaborative fællesskaber mellem pædagoger og børn. Giant World of MonstersA case study of collaborative creative processes among children and adults promoted and analyzed through the lenses of actor-network theory and distributed creativity.Within the last ten to twenty years of creativity research, the focus on interaction and collaboration has increased. First of all, this development is promoted by a new epistemological approach, according to which creativity is viewed as something that is distributed among people, materials, techniques, traditions, etc. This relatively new perspective does not necessarily have to affect well-known pedagogical methods. On the other hand, it seems relevant to explore the pedagogical potentials, this new perspective might entail. In this article, the potential is explored through an autoethnographic case study, in which four schoolchildren (ages 10 to 11) develop a game in collaboration with an adult. In the process, the adult systematically establishes connections between the children’ ideas and external networks represented by human and non-human actors, such as books, materials, persons, games, etc. Thus, the distributed aspects of creativity are intentionally activated and highlighted in order to strengthen the creative process. The case study indicates that this type of pedagogy might be productive in terms of promoting creativity and establishing new types of relations between children and teachers/pedagogues.


Author(s):  
Ana P. Afonso

This chapter addresses the use of communities as a context-creating approach forthe management of learning in virtual settings. It stresses the lack of consensusaround the concept of community, its recent deployment in the educationaldomain, and the extent to which the educational use of virtual settings has neg-lected the construction of appropriate learning contexts. On the other hand, itpoints to the existence of a large body of knowledge from areas such as organiza-tional learning, actor-network theory, sociology, constructivism, and learning com-munities that may help overcome the limitations of Web-based learning as it is cur-rently put into practice. The theory covered will offer a better understanding of therelationships between different concepts and trends and of learning communitiesas entirely new tools for contextual approaches to the management of learning invirtual settings.


2006 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Arnoldi

Jakob Arnoldi: Actor Network Theory: A-modern (Sociological?) Theory This article is a critical analysis of Bruno Latour’s actor network theory. It outlines two main conceptual moves in Latour’s work. The first is the move from an “irreductionist“ sociology of science to a critique of the so-called “Modern Constitution“. The second is a move from a double dialectic between knowledge and on the one hand the objectively given world, on the other the subjectively given world, to a notion of hybridization. The article outlines a range of positive aspects of the theory. It highlights the many possibilities for empirical research which actor network theory provides. And it argues that the theory is a valuable tool for research in areas such as risk, technology, and environment. However, the article remains critical of several aspects of Latour’s theory. First of all, it argues that the theory is unnecessarily polemic. Secondly, and much more importantly, it argues that Latour’s theory is haunted by a lack of reflexivity as it remains trapped inside the conceptual framework, the Modern Constitution, which the theory is attacking. The article argues that Latour retains a dialectical form of reasoning and that the critique of the poles nature and culture is based on the very distinction between these poles.


Author(s):  
Huda Ibrahim ◽  
Hasmiah Kasimin

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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