scholarly journals Rethinking the Social Construction of Technology through ‘Following the Actors’: A Reappraisal of Technological Frames

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 36-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina Prell
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Technology Design ◽  
Social Construction Of Technology ◽  
Technology Studies ◽  
Technological Frames ◽  
General Terms ◽  
The Social

In this paper, I summarize case study research on an information system called Connected Kids. This case study was guided by an approach to technology studies called the ‘Social construction of technology’ or SCOT Pinch and Bijker (1984). In discussing Connected Kids, I illustrate many of SCOT's main tenents, e.g. the various social interactions that surround and influence technology design. As the paper progresses, however, I focus on one concept in particular, that being SCOT's notion of a ‘technological frame,’ which is used as a catch-all concept for handling the structural influences in technology design. My discussion and illustration of this concept shows that – whilst technological frames help an analyst understand, in general terms, the role structure(s) play in shaping technology – the ‘heterogeneity’ of technological frames can cloak the more obvious, and potentially most influential, forces at work in technology design. In the case of Connected kids, the role of resources, and which actors had access to these resources, was critical in pointing Connected Kids down a particular trajectory. Further, this discovery emerged from listening carefully to respondents’ comments on the role of resources in their community. These comments, and my own observations on how resource-access propelled certain actors into a leadership position, led to my developing an alternative method for analyzing technological frames. The implications of this analysis are then discussed within the context of SCOT and technology studies more generally.

“Great Men,” Law, and the Social Construction of Technology

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (03) ◽  
pp. 1093-1112
Author(s):  
Kara W. Swanson
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Construction Of Technology ◽  
Origin Stories ◽  
The Social ◽  
American Law ◽  
Cultural Power ◽  
Anglo American ◽  
Truth Finding

Is Alexander Graham Bell's fame owed to law and lawyers? Two recent histories argue that some popular tales of invention originated with lawyers and judges as part of patent litigation battles (Stathis Arapostathis and Graeme Gooday, Patently Contestable: Electrical Technologies and Inventor Identities on Trial in Britain[2013]; Christopher Beauchamp, Invented by Law: Alexander Graham Bell and the Patent That Changed America[2015]). Bringing law into the historical project of understanding the social construction of technology, the authors unsettle “great man” narratives of invention. A tale of a recent patent war is a case study in the persistence of such narratives, highlighting the uses of legal storytelling (Ronald K. Fierstein, A Triumph of Genius: Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the Kodak Patent War[2015]). Together, these works invite consideration of the cultural power possessed by invention origin stories, the role of narratives in law and history, and the judicial performance of truth finding in Anglo-American law.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 140-150
Author(s):  
Simone Delerme
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Ethnographic Fieldwork ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethnoracial Identity

The conclusion summarizes the contributions of the Greater Orlando case study and addresses the role of Latinos in challenging the south’s historic black-white racial binary. The chapter argues that the ethnographic fieldwork provides evidence of the social construction of a distinct Hispanic race and addresses the complexity of ethnoracial identity categorizations by examining the racialization of Hispanics and how they self-idenify.

A project for Romania? The role of the civil society’s counter-accounts in facilitating democratic change in society

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oana Mihaela Apostol
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mining Project ◽  
Democratic Change ◽  
Interpretative Approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look more closely, in the context of a given case study, at the role of civil society’s counter-accounts in facilitating democratic change in society, as an essential goal of an emancipatory and radical social accounting project. Design/methodology/approach – A case study of a Canadian company’s plans to open a gold mine in western Romania is here analysed. Civil society’s opposition to the mining project gave rise to an unprecedented social movement contesting the project’s utility for Romanian society. The role played by counter-accounts produced by civil society groups is investigated. Findings – Counter-accounts produced by civil society played multiple roles in the case study analysed. First, counter-accounts indicated the failure of corporate reports to present the gold mining project in a balanced manner. Second, counter-accounts were successful in problematizing the corporate approach to addressing the social, cultural and environmental impacts of the project, while also nurturing societal debate on these issues. Third, counter-accounts exposed the ideological inclinations of state institutions to favour economic interests over the social, cultural and environmental ones. As a result of these contributions, even if the counter-accounts were subjective, this study claims that they form a good basis for the development of emancipatory accounting. Research limitations/implications – Limitations associated with an interpretative approach and case study research apply. Originality/value – The paper illustrates the potential of civil society’s counter accounts to enable societal debates, as means towards democratic, transformative change.

scholarly journals FASHION, JILBAB: BETWEEN RELIGIOSITY AND CAPITALISM, A CASE STUDY OF HIJABERS SURABAYA

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
Choirul Chamdiyatus Sholichah
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Social Construction ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Research Method ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Research Data ◽  
Qualitative Research Method ◽  
Social Construction Theory ◽  
The Social

Hijabers Surabaya is a community of veiled women who become the mecca for young Muslim fashion . They are continuously creating the hijab with the latest fashions. Hijabs by Hijabers Surabaya are generally priced quite expensive. This situation raises the curiosity of researchers. How do Hijabers Surabaya present their lifestyle. And how is the relevance between fashion, hijab and capitalism in Hijabers Surabaya. To answer these problems, this study uses qualitative methods with the type of case study research. This qualitative research method was chosen in order to obtain in-depth and comprehensive research data regarding the lifestyle of Surabaya Hijabers and the relevance of fashion, headscarves and capitalism in Hijabers Surabaya. The data obtained were then presented descriptively and then analyzed with the social construction theory coined by Peter L. Berger.  

scholarly journals Informal Partnerships Between Nonprofits and Local Governments and the Role of Trust

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott Pozil ◽  
Anne Hacker
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Social ◽  
Economic Well Being

Informal partnerships between nonprofit organizations (NPOs) and local governments represent a winning combination for affective positive social change in communities. These partnerships thrive on the development and sustainment of trust as a guiding force between NPO executives and their local government counterparts. Qualitative case study research reveals such an assertion to be true, based on interviews and document reviews of informal partnerships in a metropolitan area in the Northwest United States. The implications for social change include establishing successful models of informal partnerships between NPOs and local governments that impact the social and economic well-being of communities.

scholarly journals Decision Theory as Practice: Crafting Rationality in Organizations

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 1531-1566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laure Cabantous ◽  
Jean-Pascal Gond ◽  
Michael Johnson-Cramer
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Decision Theory ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Rational Choice ◽  
Rational Choice Theory ◽  
Choice Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Wide Range

This paper explores the underlying practices whereby rationality — as defined in rational choice theory — is achieved within organizations. The qualitative coding of 58 case study reports produced by decision analysts, working in a wide range of settings, highlights how organizational actors can make decisions in accord with the axioms of rational choice theory. Our findings describe the emergence of ‘decision-analysis’ as a field and reveal the complex and fragile socio-technical infrastructure underlying the craft of rationality, the central role of calculability, and the various forms of bricolage that decision analysts deploy to make rational decisions happen. Overall, this research explores the social construction of rationality and identifies the practices sustaining the performativity of rational choice theory within organizations.

scholarly journals Batak dan Bukan Batak: Paradigma Sosiohistoris tentang Konstruksi Identitas Etnik di Kota Medan, 1906-1939

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Hidayat Hidayat ◽  
Erond L. Damanik
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Social World ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Strategic Stability ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
The City

This research discusses the sociohistorical paradigm of Batak label construction on Mandailing and Angkola ethnicities in the city of Medan, 1906-1939. Throughout the year, the two ethnic migrants from southern Tapanuli clashed in Medan because of the Batak labeling. The Mandailing ethnic group rejected the Batak label, while the Angkola ethnic group affirmed on that label. The disputes have an impact on the division of political, economic, religious and cultural identities. The rejection from Mandailing ethnic on Batak labeling continues to occur until 2017. This research aims to describe the construction of the Batak label by answering general questions on how do the two ethnic groups fight because of the Batak label? Specifically, this article also answers the origin of Batak labeling? Why is the label debated? To explain this case, the theory of social construction is used with the sociohistorical paradigm and the case study research method. The results of the study that the Batak label is considered as a foreign ethnographic construction with a pejorative tone and disputes occur because of the strategic stability of identity as a social radar to understand the social world.

Replicants, imposters and the real deal: Issues of non-use and technology resistance in vintage and software instruments

First Monday ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claes Thorén ◽  
Andreas Kitzmann
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Digital Processing ◽  
Social Construction Of Technology ◽  
Assemblage Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Music Community ◽  
Online Music ◽  
Technology Resistance

This paper explores non-use and technology resistance among musicians and enthusiasts devoted to analog synthesizers (particularly vintage synthesizers from the 1970s), and the recent influx of software simulations that often elicit critical and negative reactions among this group of devotees. Drawing on a combination of assemblage theory and affect theory this paper presents a case study of a prominent online music community and asks: What does this particular instance of technological resistance reveal about the social construction of technology and the on-going emotional and material negotiations that constitute digital and analog experiences? Results show that the possession or appreciation of analog synthesizers and the rejection of their digital counterparts is less about composing music or playing with others and more about a solitary activity that is deeply emotional, experiential and carefully untainted by the impurity of digital processing and equipment.

From Technology Studies to Sound Studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 123-137
Author(s):  
Trevor Pinch ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Performance Practice ◽  
Electronic Music ◽  
Sound Studies ◽  
Social Construction Of Technology ◽  
Commercial Music ◽  
Technology Studies ◽  
History Of ◽  
Over Time

In this paper I put in dialogue two areas of scholarship: Technology Studies and Sound Studies. Within Technology Studies I discuss the influential social construction of technology approach and illustrate it with the history of the moog electronic music synthesizer, the first commercial music synthesizer. I stress the role of standardization of keyboards and the key role played by users in the development of this technology. I examine certain iconic sounds that the moog synthesizer produces and discuss the stabilization of sound. It is argued that just as technologies can be traced as stabilizing over time, sounds also can be traced with certain sounds stabilizing and being taken up by users whilst other sounds fail to stabilize. The technology required to produce a sound, performance practice, and wider cultural concerns such as the naming of sounds are crucial ingredients in the stabilization of sound.

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