S514: Social Aspects of IT
Week 3
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Disciplines related to SI
Management Social Science Communication
Computer Sci.
Information
Science
MIS
Science & Technology
Studies
Social Informatics
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Scholars: Theoretical Perspectives
Management Social Science Communication
Qualman
MIS
Markus
Lamb
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Computer Sci.
Monberg
Webster
Arora
Castells
Information
Suchman Science
Turkle
Science & Technology
Studies
Kling
Sismondo
Beijker
Social Informatics Sawyer
Rosenbaum
Wouters
Social Informatics (Kling, Rosenbaum, &
Sawyer, 2005)
 Definition of SI:
 The interdisciplinary study of the design, uses and consequences
of information technologies that takes into account their
interaction with institutional and cultural contexts (Kling,
Rosenbaum, & Sawyer, 2005, p. 6).
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Social Informatics (Kling, Rosenbaum, &
Sawyer, 2005)
 3 orientations in SI research
 Normative ~= social realism
 E.g., participatory design
 Analytical ~= social theory
 E.g., Web model; STIN
 Critical
 Question the standard model
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Social Informatics (Lamb & Sawyer,
2005)
Socio-technical perspectives
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People
Environment
Work
Practice
Technology
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Social Informatics (Kling, et al., 2005)
 How would you explain social informatics to a friend?
 What is the difference between technological determinism
and the contextual analysis identified in social informatics
research?
Technological determinism: Technology as an independent variable
directly effecting social change
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Consequences of ICTs for Organizations and
Social Life (Kling et al., 2005)
 Social Nature of ICTs
 ICTs are interpreted and used in different ways
 ICTs enable and constrain social actions and social relationships
 ICTs provide a means to alter existing control structures
 There can be negative consequences of ICT developments for
some stakeholders
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Consequences of ICTs for Organizations and
Social Life (Kling et al., 2005)
 Technical Nature of ICTs
 ICTs play both communicative and computational roles
 There are important temporal and spatial dimensions of ICT
consequences
 ICTs rarely cause social transformations
 ICTs are not magic bullets
 Institutional Nature of ICTs
 Social and technical consequences are embedded in institutional
contexts
 ICTs often have important political consequences
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Analysis of Arora’s Article
 This paper won the ASIST SIG-SI best paper awards.
 I was a discussant to talk about this paper (and another paper
together).
 What would be your comment to introduce Arora’s article if
you were the discussant for the SIG-SI best paper awards?
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Messy Shapes of Knowledge (The
Virtual Knowledge Studio, 2008)
 Impact talk
 E-science (European perspective) vs. Cyberinfrasturcutre
(US perspective)
 “Media inscribes our situation” (p. 323)
 Inscriptions are “self-producing” and “the product of labor”
(p. 339)
 Possibility for new methods with the Internet
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Three Shuttles (Giebryn, 2003)
Field
Lab
Found
Made
Here
Anywhere
Immersed
Detached
Social Construction of Technology (Bijker,
2001)
 Technology is socially constructed
 Criticize technological determinism
 SCOT’s 3 research steps:
 Relevant social group and interpretive flexibility (e.g., ordinary
bicycle)
 Closure and stabilization
 Technological frame
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Social Construction of Technology
(Bijker, 2001)
 Two important concepts of research on SCOT
 Seamless web
 Mutual shaping of technology and society
 Symmetry
 Human and non-human actors should be treated similarly
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What is Actor Network Theory?
 E.g., driving a car
What is Actor Network Theory?
 E.g., driving a car
Actor-Network Theory
 The notion of Actor-network theory (ANT) helps us to
map out the set of elements (the network) which
influence, shape, or determine action (Monteiro).
 Methodologically, ANT has two major approaches. One
is to "follow the actor," via interviews and ethnographic
research. The other is to examine inscriptions (e.g.,
documents, images, graphics, etc.). (Van House, 1999)
http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/~vanhouse/bridge.html
Basic Concepts in ANT
 Inscription
 an artifact . . . embodies the innovators' beliefs,
social and economic relations, previous patterns of
use, legal limits, and assumptions as to what the
artifact is about (Akrich, 1992).
 The term inscription is used when designers
formulate and shape technology in such a way as to
lead and control users. Inscription can also refer to
the way technical artifacts embody patterns of use,
including user programs of action. (Faraj et al.,
2004)
See also Van House (2004)
Basic Concepts in ANT
 Translation
 Design is translation (i.e., users needs are
translated into a set of specifications)
 Once an innovator's beliefs and interests are
embodied in forms of inscription and technical
arrangements, networks of actors with their own
chains of translations can react to them. These
actors can form an alliance of interests and
compete for standards. The actors race first to
choose the technology that seems most beneficial
for them and then enroll this technology in their own
actor-network (Faraj et al., 2004).
See also Van House, N. A. (2004). Science and technology studies and information
studies. Annual Review of Information Science & Technology, vol. 38.
Basic Concepts in ANT (Allen, 2004)
 Enrollment
 The moment that another actor accepts the
interests defined by the focal actor
 Process of persuasion and control which creates,
and maintains actor-networks
see also Van House, 2004
Basic Concepts in ANT
 Black-boxing
 The way scientific and technical work is made
invisible by its own success. When a machine runs
efficiently, one need focus only on its inputs and
outputs and not on its internal complexity.
Van House, 2004
Group Activity
 Form 3 teams (3 people each) for 4 articles assigned for this week:
 A: Kling, Rosenbaum, & Sawyer Ch 1 & 2
 B: Arora
 C: Wouters et al
 List P+, M-, I!, and Q? for each article individually
 Come up with a group decision of P+, M-, I!, and Q?
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