HOW TO USE THE VISUAL IN SCIENTIFIC STUDIES? (FOLLOWING PETER GALISON AND LORRAINE DASTON)

В отличие от визуального как компонента научных практик, исследование научных визуализаций – достаточно молодая, совсем недавно начавшая набирать обороты область эпистемологии. Несмотря на свой «юный» возраст, данная сфера исследований уже успела обогатиться разного рода подходами, концептами и самостоятельными выводами. На наш взгляд, книгу Питера Галисона и Лоррейн Дастон «Объективность» можно рассматривать в качестве труда, который и привносит очевидные новшества в понимание того, как производится знание, в том числе знание о производстве знания, и суммирует все достижения современной эпистемологии и истории науки, в первую очередь эпистемологии визуального, или Visual Science and Technology Studies. Исходя из этого, делается вывод, что, помимо изучения объективности, авторы изобретают новый способ говорения о науке. Визуальное в науке, со всеми возможными способами его практиковать, позволяет авторам, так или иначе двигающимся в русле прагматических подходов, избежать экстерналистских вариантов объяснений производства знания. Это достигается благодаря тому, что исследователи рассматривают не какие-то локальные визуализации, но работают с целыми ассамбляжами образов, исходя из предпосылки, что визуальное – неотчуждаемая часть науки. Чтобы разобраться с тем, что из себя представляет «Объективность», невозможно не обратиться к работам, которые также исследуют визуальное. Оказалось важным продемонстрировать, что современные исследования зачастую проводятся на стыке разных дисциплин, причем предполагается, что строгие дисциплинарные различия для данных исследований столь же реальны, как и пасторальные идеалы. Возвращая статус отчужденным научным компонентам, подобные подходы демонстрируют, что наука отнюдь не сводится к каким-то исключительно априорным или трансцендентальным пропозициям. Напротив, подтверждается, что наука делается здесь и сейчас и невероятно близка к нам, а это значит, что нельзя просто так пройти мимо любого из практикуемых ею элементов. Unlike the visual as a component of scientific practices, the study of scientific visualizations is a young field of epistemology that has only recently begun to gain momentum. Despite its “young” age, this field of research has already been enriched by all kinds of approaches, concepts, and independent conclusions. In my opinion, Peter Galison and Lorraine Daston’s book Objectivity can be considered as a work which, besides bringing obvious innovations in understanding how knowledge is produced, including knowledge about knowledge production, summarizes all achievements of modern epistemology and history of science, first of all, epistemology of the visual or VSTS (Visual Science and Technology Studies). From this it can be inferred that, among other things, in addition to the study of objectivity, the authors are inventing a new way of speaking about science. The visual in science, with all the possible ways of practicing it, allows the authors, moving in one way or another in the direction of pragmatic approaches, to avoid externalistic versions of explanations of knowledge production. This is achieved by the fact that the researchers do not look at some local visualizations, but work with whole assemblages of images, based on the premise that the visual is an inalienable part of science. In order to understand what Objectivity is, one must refer to works that also investigate the visual. It turned out to be important to demonstrate that contemporary research often takes place at the junction of different disciplines, with the assumption that strict disciplinary distinctions for this research are as real as pastoral ideals. By reclaiming the status of alienated scientific components, such approaches demonstrate that science is by no means reducible to some exclusively a priori or transcendental propositions. On the contrary, it confirms that science is done here and now, and is incredibly close to us, which means that one cannot simply pass by any of the elements it practices.

Behavioral intention model for green information technology adoption in Nigerian manufacturing industries

PurposeGreenhouse effects and the need for cost savings necessitate that an organization's information technology (IT) managers design IT equipment acquisition and service provisioning policies to reduce carbon footprint and cost. Analyzing the influencing factors that influence stakeholders' attitudes toward adopting green information technology (Green-IT) is an important input in designing these policies. In essence, the research aims to investigate into the relationship between these factors and how they influence policy-makers' behavior in Nigerian manufacturing industries.Design/methodology/approachThe study develops a model based on the norm activation model (NAM) and the theory of planned behavior (TBP) to investigate the factors that influence decision-makers' intention in adopting Green-IT. A quantitative approach using a survey method is carried out to gather opinions of IT decision-makers using a random sampling technique. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is applied to test the structural model and measurement model.FindingsThe study's findings support the use of the behavior model for Green-IT adoption. The study's finding indicates that subjective norms, perceived behavior control (PBC), manager's attitude, personal norm (PN), awareness of adverse consequences and the ascription of responsibility (AR) positively influence intention to adopt Green-IT.Research limitations/implicationsThe development and validation of the model are the study's theoretical contributions. The study reviewed the existing literature on the utilization of Green-IT to better understand the intention to adopt Green-IT in Nigeria. It added to the literature by identifying factors that can influence it as well as theoretical underpinnings that can fit the intentions of decision-makers. The scientific community and the industrial companies would have the chance to investigate how this integrated behavioral intention model promotes the use of Green-IT. The research predictors explained about 70.20% of the variance in the behavioral intention to adopt Green-IT.Practical implicationsResearch offers practical implications and recommendations for top management practitioners of the manufacturing industries. Business leaders can use the results of this study to develop an effective strategic IT policy for the successful adoption of Green-IT practices for enhanced productivity. The study found that decision-makers' Green-IT attitudes had a substantial impact on their behavioral intention to adopt Green-IT. The study highlighted the importance of the top management attitude toward green products to facilitate the adoption of Green-IT practices in manufacturing industries in Nigeria. Thus, the positive and significant attitude of policy-makers is a necessary tool toward the successful adoption of Green-IT. Therefore, to foster an environmentally sustainability friendly atmosphere, Nigeria's manufacturing industries shall strive to strengthen the decision-makers' attitude toward practicing Green-IT in their respective domains. The findings showed that AR, AQ, environmental concern (EC), perceived behavior and perceived behavior are critical factors to be considered in an organization.Social implicationsAccording to the findings, an individual's Green-IT attitude has a substantial impact on the environment as social behavior. As a result, the positive and essential attitude of the social sector is a key tool for efficient Green-IT implementation. Nigeria's social activists must try to create awareness campaigns to boost decision-makers' attitudes toward implementing Green-IT in their various regions to develop a friendlier environment. Thus, the identified factors can be of great help to the social sector in designing and implementing successful environmental-friendly policies that could support the adoption of Green-IT practices.Originality/valueThe current research look at Green-IT adoption in manufacturing industries of West African countries. The study offers practical implications and recommendations for top management practitioners of the manufacturing industries, government policy-makers and organizations to enhance the use of Green-IT for mitigating environmental degradation. Recommendations for future research are stated as concluding remarks.

Rohingya Refugee Influx in Bangladesh and Repatriation Process: Addressing the Possible Challenges

Bangladesh is eminent in a very difficult situation regarding the Rohingya refugee crisis and their repatriation, and it practices balanced diplomacy, while her neighboring countries remain silent on the Rohingya problem. Bangladesh, as a host country for 1.1 million Rohingya refugees, faces environmental deterioration in terms of shelter, sanitation, and water management, among other things, due to the destruction of forest and hills. It must repatriate the Rohingya to their motherland in order to do this. This research looks at common long-term responses to the refugee crisis in Bangladesh, as well as the attitudes and behaviors of displaced Rohingyas. It claims that finding long-term solutions for Rohingya refugees through repatriation, integration, or resettlement in their home, host, and third countries is nearly impossible, but there are geographical as well as global challenges. In this case, there is a chance of repatriation in the immediate future, but it would be a small population relative to the total number of refugees. Since Bangladesh and Myanmar have been working together in a joint working group (JWG) since January 2018 to find solutions to the Rohingya crisis and repatriation, this process is still ongoing. This research aims to depict the potential challenges of repatriation of Rohingya refugee from Bangladesh.

The Role of IT Governance and Managing IT Investment on Firm Performance

Although the multifaceted effects of managing or governing IT have been taken into consideration in both practice and theoretical debate, the mechanism through which these bring firm performance is yet unclear and limited. Drawing on the resource-based theory and the process theory, this chapter aims to systematically review the antecedents of business-IT alignment on the firm performance context. The findings of this study show that the business-IT alignment is derived from IT governance practices and managing IT investment to achieve firm performance. This study proposes that the firm performance cannot be attained by merely investing in IT; instead, firms should focus on effective management of IT practices and strategically align their business and IT strategies.

Digital age: A challenge for project managers in security organizations

The digital age has brought great challenges to organizations. New technologies, methodologies, and products require a competent project manager who is able to meet the requirements of the digital age. Thus, the aim of this paper is: an analysis of the relevant theoretical context, the necessary competencies of the project manager, consideration of his position and actions in the organizational framework, and especially in organizations dealing with security. Also, the paper deals with the analysis of the model DevSecOps that implements security within IT practices. The results of the presented research indicate the fact that the total number of jobs performed by the project manager shows global growth in quantitative and qualitative terms. Research on human resource development in the field of project management distinguishes innovators from traditionalists. Innovators, in the age of globalization, have given priority to security training, followed by market topics, data science, innovative ways of behaving, and collaborative leadership. A case study is presented, which considers the steps of building a new product in the field of IT with implemented activities that provide an adequate level of security.

Analysis of Green IT practices in technology-based organizations

Purpose: This paper aims to analyze Green IT practices adopted by technology-based organizations.Methodology: The study had a quantitative approach and the data were collected through a questionnaire, which was answered by 105 managers working in companies in the IT sector in BrazilFindings: Evidence collected showed that companies have a reactive behavior towards Green IT because they do not have, as their strategic objective, an increase in the general perception of value that consumers have about the company, nor do they seek competitivess based on sustainable development.Originality/value: In the Brazilian research scenario, the search for the keywords “Green IT”, “Green Information Technology”, “Green IT” and “Green Information Technology” on the Scielo search platform, found only five articles, on July 15th, 2020. In a search on the SPELL portal and CAPES Portal of Journals, also on July 15th, using the aforementioned keywords, four articles were found, in addition to those already found on the Scielo portal. Such results demonstrate how the topic is still little explored in the context of research in Brazil. It is important to note that Green IT comes up as a way of combining the available resources with the sustainability and economy policies in organizations, generating benefits for the environment and companies, providing opportunities for new business platforms.