Using the Viable System Model to Understand the Roles of Non-Human Actors in Online Communities

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 21-34
Author(s):  
Zachary M. Clancy ◽  
Heng-Yu Ku
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
System Model ◽  
Viable System Model ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Online Social Media ◽  
Tier System ◽  
Viable System ◽  
Human Actors

While myriad studies have explored the role of humans in online social media-based communities, fewer studies have examined the roles of non-human actors in those online places. This study uses the actor-network theory and the viable system model to analyze the roles of hashtags communities to gain a better understanding of the larger cybernetic ecosystem in which non-human actors operate. Actor-network theory provides the theoretical understanding that frames this study. The viable system model is a five-tier system based on methods of communication and control in both living and non-living entities. Data sources included fieldnotes, social media profiles, blogs, personal websites, personal communications, interviews, and demographic surveys. Findings suggest that non-human actors have an ability to affect change within the ecosystem, but non-human actors cannot be viewed as viable standalone systems. Viability is only possible when humans participate within the ecosystem at large.

Constructions of Banksy

2014 ◽  
pp. 62-76
Author(s):  
Cheri Lemieux Spiegel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Professional Writing ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Great Relevance ◽  
Digital Spaces

This chapter examines how multiple, often competing, identities of the street artist Banksy are constructed through a variety of media. It uses actor network theory and activity theory to trace and analyze the contexts, or networks, wherein Bansky’s identity is constructed. Banksy’s identity is of particular interest because he is an anonymous figure, and he actively abstains from social media. This examination of how he is constructed online sheds light on the agency that individuals have in constructing their identity in digital spaces. The insight from this investigation should be of great relevance for all professionals as they consider the non-professional writing they do, or chose not to do, beyond their office walls, within the public domain.

Constructions of Banksy

2015 ◽  
pp. 1827-1841
Author(s):  
Cheri Lemieux Spiegel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Public Domain ◽  
Professional Writing ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Public ◽  
Great Relevance ◽  
Digital Spaces

This chapter examines how multiple, often competing, identities of the street artist Banksy are constructed through a variety of media. It uses actor network theory and activity theory to trace and analyze the contexts, or networks, wherein Bansky's identity is constructed. Banksy's identity is of particular interest because he is an anonymous figure, and he actively abstains from social media. This examination of how he is constructed online sheds light on the agency that individuals have in constructing their identity in digital spaces. The insight from this investigation should be of great relevance for all professionals as they consider the non-professional writing they do, or chose not to do, beyond their office walls, within the public domain.

The Impact of Network of Actors on the Information Technology

2011 ◽  
pp. 234-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiko Iyamu ◽  
Arthur Tatnall
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
It Strategy ◽  
Web Portal ◽  
Computing Environment ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
The Impact

Organisations’ reliance on Information Technology (IT) is rapidly increasing. IT strategy is developed and implemented for particular purposes by different organizations. We should therefore expect that there will be network of actors within the computing environment, and that such network of actors will be the key to understanding many otherwise unexpected situations during the development and implementation of IT strategy. This network of actors has aligned interests. Many organizations are developing and implementing their IT strategy, while little is known about the network of actors and their impacts, which this paper reveals. This paper describes how Actor-Network Theory (ANT) was employed to investigate the impact of network of actors on the development and implementation of IT strategy in an organisation. ANT was used as it can provide a useful perspective on the importance of relationships between both human and non-human actors. Another example: design and implementation of a B-B web portal, is offered for comparison.

Talking about Associations and Descriptions or a Short Story about Associology

2017 ◽  
pp. 220-233
Author(s):  
Beate Ochsner
Keyword(s):  
Short Story ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Bruno Latour ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Agency And Structure

In 1999, Bruno Latour advocated for “abandoning what was wrong with ANT, that is ‘actor,' ‘network,' ‘theory' without forgetting the hyphen.” However, it seems that the “hyphen,” which brings with it the operation of hyphenating or connecting, was abandoned too quickly. If one investigates what something is by asking what it is meant as well as how it emerges, by (re-)tracing the strategy in materials in situated practices and sets of relations, and, by bypassing the distinction between agency and structure, one shifts from studying “what causes what” to describing “how things happen.” This perspective not only makes it necessary for us to clarify the changing positions and displacements of human and non-human actors in the assemblage, but, also question the role (the enrolment) of the researcher him/herself: What kind of “relation” connects the researcher to his/her research and associates him/her with the subject, how to prevent (or not) his/her own involvement, and, to what degree s/he ignores the relationality of his/her writing in a “sociology of association?”

Actor-Network Theory and the Online Investor

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-31
Author(s):  
Arthur Adamopoulos ◽  
Martin Dick ◽  
Bill Davey
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Human Actors ◽  
Theory Research ◽  
The Way

An actor-network analysis of the way in which online investors use Internet-based services has revealed a phenomenon that is not commonly reported in actor-network theory research. An aspect of the research that emerged from interviews of a wide range of online investors is a peculiar effect of changes in non-human actors on the human actors. In this paper, the authors report on the particular case and postulate that this effect may be found, if looked for, in many other actor-network theory applications.

Lice work: Non-human trajectories in volunteer tourism

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 238-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amira Benali ◽  
Carina Ren
Keyword(s):  
Everyday Life ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Head Lice ◽  
Volunteer Tourism ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Volunteer Experiences ◽  
Human Actors

This article studies volunteer tourism by following the trajectories of a non-human actor. Based on fieldwork at a Nepalese orphanage and drawing on insights from the material semiotics of Actor–Network Theory, we describe how the louse interferes as an unexpected actor with volunteer tourism at the orphanage. This post-human approach decentres the volunteer and destabilises the host–guest binary while adding to our understanding of tourism practices as complex and materially distributed endeavours. We analyse two configurations of head lice enacted through a modern morality of hygiene and Nepalese everyday life and show how they are deployed, contested and reconfigured onsite by volunteer tourism actors. By exploring patterns of absence and presence and using the concept of ontological choreography as an analytical resource, we show how the situated lice work of human and non-human actors at the orphanage offers new ways to grasp the forging of volunteer experiences and subjectivities.

scholarly journals Appearance, Disappearance and Reappearance of Activity Based Costing: A Case Study from a Sri Lankan Manufacturing Firm

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-81
Author(s):  
Chamali Wijerathne ◽  
◽  
Tharusha Gooneratne ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Activity Based Costing ◽  
Manufacturing Firm ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Prior Literature ◽  
Human Actors

The purpose of this paper was to identify why activity based costing (ABC) implementation in organizations at times do not continue despite their early interest, but later regain importance. Using the qualitative case study approach, the paper explored the reasons for the appearance, disappearance and reappearance of ABC drawing field data from a Sri Lankan porcelain manufacturing firms, called Gamma. Guided by the theoretical underpinnings of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT), and the translation process therein, we follow organizational managers (human actors) and their interactions with various objects and systems (non-human actors) within the particular context of Gamma, during the different phases of the ABC project. Our findings suggest that the appearance, disappearance and reappearance of ABC have been shaped by a network of actors comprising both humans and non-humans, and that the implementation and continuation of ABC is constrained by the interests of these various actors both inside and outside of the firm. While most prior research has focused on a single phase of ABC implementation, such as the success or the failure, this study brings out its reappearance, following a phase of appearance and disappearance, hence it is a useful addition to prior literature. Furthermore, the findings of this research have important implications for practitioners who are striving to revive projects, such as ABC in organizations. Keywords: activity based costing, appearance, disappearance, reappearance, actor-network theory, case study

scholarly journals Two Computer Systems in Victorian Schools and the Actors and Networks Involved in their Implementation and Use

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 37-46
Author(s):  
Bill Davey ◽  
Arthur Tatnall
Keyword(s):  
Network Theory ◽  
Computer Systems ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
School Education ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Australian State ◽  
Two Systems ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Human Actors

As in Australia school education is the responsibility of State Governments, this article will consider two computer systems in the Australian State of Victoria. The article takes a socio-technical stance to examine two computer systems currently in use in schools in Victoria: CASES21 and the Ultranet. After describing these systems, the article makes use of actor-network theory to explore the actors involved in their creation, development, implementation and use (or in one case non-use), and the networks they established in doing so. It looks at the associations involving both the human and non-human actors and how these contributed to successful adoption and use of these systems. A comparison of two systems within the same organisational environment allows a unique perspective on the formation of networks. The ANT approach permits an understanding of the difference in adoption where very few factors differ between the cases.

Evolving Digital Communication

2014 ◽  
pp. 222-237
Author(s):  
Mohini Singh ◽  
Jayan Kurian
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Network Theory ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Digital Communication ◽  
Actor Network Theory ◽  
Communication Media ◽  
Actor Network ◽  
Social Entities ◽  
Short Time

This chapter analyses elements of social networking sites to establish how a combination of heterogeneous elements of technology, media, language, users, data, and information are networked together to provide this new communication media. Social networking sites are also referred to as social media sites, which can be explained using the Actor-Network Theory. Social networking sites have clearly achieved widespread adoption as a new means of communication in a very short time around the globe. An analysis of literature on social networking sites is included in this chapter to reflect the new social networking language and style, the content shared via this media, the mode of use, and the language used for communication, which is a combination of a number of technological and social entities. This chapter explains how the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) can be used to explain social networking and includes some issues for research on this topic.

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