This link has been bookmarked by 34 people . It was first bookmarked on 08 Jul 2007, by Ole C Brudvik.
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09 Nov 14
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social constructivists—argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology.
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The symmetry principle addresses the problem that the historian is tempted to explain the success of successful theories by referring to their "objective truth", or inherent "technical superiority", whereas s/he is more likely to put forward sociological explanations (citing political influence or economic reasons) only in the case of failures.
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For example, having experienced the obvious success of the chain-driven bicycle for decades, it is tempting to attribute its success to its "advanced technology" compared to the "primitiveness" of the Penny Farthing, but if we look closely and symmetrically at their history (as Pinch and Bijker do), we can see that at the beginning bicycles were valued according to quite different standards than nowadays. The early adopters (predominantly young, well-to-do gentlemen) valued the speed, the thrill, and the spectacularity of the Penny Farthing - in contrast to the security and stability of the chain-driven Safety Bicycle
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has different meanings and interpretations for various groups. Bijker and Pinch show that the air tire of the bicycle meant a more convenient mode of transportation for some people, whereas it meant technical nuisances, traction problems and ugly aesthetics to others. Sport cyclists were concerned by the speed reduction caused by the air tire.
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artifact
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Interpretative Flexibility means that each technological
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The most basic relevant groups are the users and the producers of the technological artifact,
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but most often many subgroups can be delineated - users with different socioeconomic status, competing producers, etc.
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Sometimes there are relevant groups who are neither users, nor producers of the technology, for example, journalists, politicians, and civil organizations
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The groups can be distinguished based on their shared or diverging interpretations of the technology in question.
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A design is only a single point in the large field of technical possibilities, reflecting the interpretations of certain relevant groups.
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Different groups in different societies construct different problems, leading to different designs.
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The first stage of the SCOT research methodology is to reconstruct the alternative interpretations of the technology, analyze the problems and conflicts these interpretations give rise to, and connect them to the design features of the technological artifacts. The relations between groups, problems, and designs can be visualized in diagrams.
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Over time, as technologies are developed, the interpretative and design flexibility collapse through closure mechanisms. Two examples of closure mechanisms
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Rhetorical closur
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When social groups see the problem as being solved, the need for alternative designs diminishes. This is often the result of advertising.
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A design standing in the focus of conflicts can be stabilized by inventing a new problem, which is solved by this very design
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Redefinition of the problem:
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The aesthetic and technical problems of the air tire diminished, as the technology advanced to the stage where air tire bikes started to win the bike races. Tires were still considered cumbersome and ugly, but they provided a solution to the "speed problem", and this overrode previous concerns.
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Closure is not permanent. New social groups may form and reintroduce interpretative flexibility, causing a new round of debate or conflict about a technology
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The second stage of the SCOT methodology is to show how closure is achieved.
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- It explains how technologies arise, but ignores the consequences of the technologies after the fact. This results in a sociology that says nothing about how such technologies matter in the broader context.
- It examines social groups and interests that contribute to the construction of technology, but ignores those who have no voice in the process, yet are affected by it. Likewise, when documenting technological contingencies and choices, it fails to account for those options that never made it to the table. According to Winner, this results in conservative and elitist sociology.
- It is superficial in that it focuses on how the immediate needs, interests, problems and solutions of chosen social groups influence technological choice, but disregards any possible deeper cultural, intellectual or economic origins of social choices concerning technology.
- It actively avoids taking any kind of moral stance or passing judgment on the relative merits of the alternative interpretations of a technology. This indifference makes it unhelpful in addressing important debates about the place of technology in human affairs.
In 1993, Langdon Winner published an influential critique of SCOT entitled "Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding it Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology." [2] In it, he argues that social constructivism is an overly narrow research program. He identifies the following specific limitations in social constructivism:
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11 Jan 14
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Advocates of SCOT—that is, social constructivists—argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology
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18 Nov 13
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Advocates of SCOT—that is, social constructivists—argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology.
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the ways a technology is used cannot be understood without understanding how that technology is embedded in its social context
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response to technological determinism
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Leading adherents of SCOT include Wiebe Bijker and Trevor Pinch.
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It is not enough, according to SCOT, to explain a technology's success by saying that it is "the best"—researchers must look at how the criteria of being "the best" is defined and what groups and stakeholders participate in defining it
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SCOT is not only a theory, but also a methodology
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Core concepts
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Interpretative Flexibility
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Relevant Social Groups
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Design Flexibility
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Problems and Conflicts
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Different groups in different societies construct different problems, leading to different designs.
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n 1993, Langdon Winner published an influential critique of SCOT
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social constructivism is an overly narrow research program
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explains how technologies arise, but ignores the consequences of the technologies after the fact
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examines social groups and interests that contribute to the construction of technology, but ignores those who have no voice in the process, yet are affected
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disregards any possible deeper cultural, intellectual or economic origins of social choices concerning technology.
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27 Oct 13
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SCOT is not only a theory, but also a methodology: it formalizes the steps and principles to follow when one wants to analyze the causes of technological failures or successes.
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27 Sep 12
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27 Apr 12
Sean Dagony-Clark"social constructivists -- argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology."
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12 Jun 11
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07 May 11
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technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology.
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the ways a technology is used cannot be understood without understanding how that technology is embedded in its social context.
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its subtopics include actor-network theory (a branch of the sociology of science and technology)
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Franç
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a methodology
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steps and principles to follow when one wants to analyze the causes of technological failures or successes.
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Interpretative Flexibility means that each technological artifact has different meanings and interpretations for various groups.
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many subgroups can be delineated
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Sometimes there are relevant groups who are neither users, nor producers of the technology - journalists, politicians, civil groups, etc.
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The groups can be distinguished based on their shared or diverging interpretations of the technology in question.
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Relating the content of the technological artifact to the wider sociopolitical milieu
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explains how technologies arise, but ignores the consequences of the technologies after the fact
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It examines social groups and interests that contribute to the construction of technology, but ignores those who have no voice in the process, yet are affected by it
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19 Mar 11
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31 Jan 11
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13 Jan 11
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22 Mar 10
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11 Mar 10
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Pinch and Bijker
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Paul N. Edwards shows in his book "The Closed World: Computers and the Politics of Discourse in Cold War America"
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In 1993, Langdon Winner published
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"Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding it Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology."
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- It explains how technologies arise, but ignores the effects of the technology after the fact.
problems with social constructivism:
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Pinch, Trevor J. and Wiebe E. Bijker. "The Social Construction of Facts and Artefacts: Or How the Sociology of Science and the Sociology of Technology Might Benefit Each Other." Social Studies of Science 14 (August 1984): 399-441.
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03 Oct 09
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24 Jul 09
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technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology.
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06 Jun 09
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18 Dec 08
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25 Nov 08
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21 Nov 08
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02 Sep 08
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26 May 08
Julian AusserhoferSocial construction of technology (also referred to as SCOT) is a theory within the field of Science and Technology Studies. Advocates of SCOT argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology.
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25 Apr 08
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argue that technology does not determine human action, but that rather, human action shapes technology
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users and the producers
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The relations between groups, problems, and designs can be visualized in diagrams.
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When social groups see the problem as being solved, the need for alternative designs diminishes
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inventing a new problem
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It explains how technologies arise, but ignores the effects of the technology after the fact
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It is a social construction of knowledge in itself, subject to the same limitations as it postulates
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t disregards dynamics which are not due to its "preferred conceptual strawman: technological determinism."
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17 Jan 08
visvaldis valtenbergsrinciples to follow when one wants to analyze the causes of technological failures or successes.
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08 Jul 07
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- It explains how technologies arise, but ignores the effects of the technology after the fact.
- It is a social construction of knowledge in itself, subject to the same limitations as it postulates ("Who says what are relevant social groups and social interests?")
- It disregards dynamics which are not due to its "preferred conceptual strawman: technological determinism."
Criticism
In 1993, Langdon Winner published an influential critique of SCOT entitled "Upon Opening the Black Box and Finding it Empty: Social Constructivism and the Philosophy of Technology." In it, he raises a few problems with social constructivism:
The core disagreement lies in the fact that Winner is a technological determinist, whose concerns are the inverse of social constructivists, namely: how the realization of technological possibilities transform society?
Other critics include Stewart Russell with his letter in the journal "Social Studies of Science" titled "The Social Construction of Artefacts: A Response to Pinch and Bijker"
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24 Feb 07
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