Notes on the theory of the actor-network: Ordering, strategy, and heterogeneity

Law, John

doi:10.1007/bf01059830

Cited by 2,178 publications

(1,973 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The CEC development Stage 1: according to ANT, actors and their relationships within a ST-N define an action system (Law 1992). In wellstructured situations (such as routinized programs), connections that link network's actors (human and non-human) tend to disappear in black boxes.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In wellstructured situations (such as routinized programs), connections that link network's actors (human and non-human) tend to disappear in black boxes. However, in innovative interventions those links are less stable, leading to controversies, conflicts, and resistance that arise from differences among actors' positions (Potvin and Clavier 2012;Latour 2005;Law 1992). Controversies and critical events that indicate destabilization and subsequent stabilization episodes can be identified and interpreted revealing the dynamics within the ST-N.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ST-N create activities and events in support of the intervention transformative functions , and in response to contextual conditions (Rychetnik et al 2002;Hawe 2015;Riley 2005;Trickett 2009;Richard et al 2011;Potvin and Clavier 2012;Levin 2002;). Such events and activities aim to connect intervention's actants/actors to negotiate interests, to (re)configure identities and roles according to intervention's purpose (Callon et al 1999;Latour 2001Latour , 2005Law 1992). Innovations stem from relevant sociotechnical network modifications and bring forth reconfigurations that arise out of changes in context.…”

Section: Complex Problems Require Innovative Evolving Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A tool for exploring the dynamics of innovative interventions for public health: the critical event card

Figueiró

Oliveira

Hartz

et al. 2016

Int J Public Health

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Objectives Public health interventions are increasingly represented as complex systems. Research tools for capturing the dynamic of interventions processes, however, are practically non-existent. This paper describes the development and proof of concept process of an analytical tool, the critical event card (CEC), which supports the representation and analysis of complex interventions' evolution, based on critical events. Methods Drawing on the actor-network theory (ANT), we developed and field-tested the tool using three innovative health interventions in northeastern Brazil. Interventions were aimed to promote health equity through intersectoral approaches; were engaged in participatory evaluation and linked to professional training programs. The CEC developing involve practitioners and researchers from projects. Proof of concept was based on document analysis, face-toface interviews and focus groups. Results Analytical categories from CEC allow identifying and describing critical events as milestones in the evolution of complex interventions. Categories are (1) event description; (2) actants (human and non-human) involved; (3) interactions between actants; (4) mediations performed; (5) actions performed; (6) inscriptions produced; and (7) consequences for interventions.Conclusions The CEC provides a tool to analyze and represent intersectoral internvetions' complex and dynamic evolution.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Complex Problems Require Innovative Evolving Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A tool for exploring the dynamics of innovative interventions for public health: the critical event card

Figueiró

Oliveira

Hartz

et al. 2016

Int J Public Health

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“…Actor-Network Theory, or the "sociology of translations" (Callon, 1986;Law, 1992), is concerned with studying the mechanics of power as this occurs through the construction and maintenance of networks made up of both human and non-human actors. The view of innovation proposed by ANT is known as Innovation Translation (Latour, 1986(Latour, , 1996Law & Callon, 1988) and makes use of a model of technological innovation that uses these ideas, along with the concept that innovations are often not adopted in their entirety, but only after "translation" into a form that is more appropriate for use by the potential adopter (Tatnall, 2009b).…”

Section: Actors Network and Actor-network Theory (Ant)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Determining the Balance between Online and Face-to-Face Teaching: An Analysis using Actor-Network Theory

Wong

Tatnall

2010

IJIKM

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Many universities, and other higher education institutions, have adopted an approach to teaching and the delivery of course content that combines traditional face-to-face delivery with online teaching resources: a blended learning approach. It does not follow, however, that merely defining a policy in this area will cause the desired result, as first the new ideas have to be adopted by all those involved. Many factors act to determine how online learning is accepted and how the balance between online and face-to-face delivery is formed. This paper investigates the factors that determine the way that online resources have been implemented in a core first-year accounting subject. The approach used is one involving actor-network theory because of the combinations of both human and non-human actors involved. In this paper, the main actors are identified, and we look at how their views of the value of each approach and their willingness to attempt to convince others of the ''rightness" of these views affects the outcome.

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“…We have followed ANT's principle of not imposing an ontology on those studied (Callon, 1986a;Latour, 2005;Law, 1992) and instead given them the freedom to decide what a psychologist is, what social and political groups the world contains, how to define truth and efficacy, and so on. Thus we have not assumed that it was possible to decide in advance which 'voices' in the material that were more influential or powerful than others -for example, a union representative's editorial set against a letter written by a clinical psychologist from a small town -and therefore deserved more attention.…”

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confidence: 99%

Professional reinventions: Swedish psychologists, 1990–2010.

Skagius

Münger

2016

History of Psychology

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Since the early 20th century, the Swedish psychology profession has undergone several changes in its essential tasks, epistemological foundations and social roles. These changes occurred through an on-going "tuning" with Swedish society where the profession strove to appear relevant to society's concerns and problems as well as enroll others to share the profession's goals and aims. Studying the history of the profession can thus shed light on the changing definitions and contours of the psychology profession itself as well as on the organization of the society in which it acts. This article examines the history of the Swedish psychology profession from 1990 to 2010, through an analysis of the discussions and debates taking place in the Swedish Psychological Association's journal. The analytical framework used draws on work done within actor-network theory and science studies. We argue that the profession's institutional connections, defining tasks, epistemological underpinnings, and social position have changed in major ways during these 2 decades. Overall, as a result of an increasingly felt insecurity, the profession has turned outwards and tried to find new ways to legitimize itself to politicians, the media, patients and customers through means such as a more economized vocabulary and novel forms of empirical research. These changes have led to a more socialized profession, now more closely tuned to other actors in Swedish society, leading to conflicts within the profession over whether this is an opportunity to better control their own destiny or if it will lead to a loss of autonomy.

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Notes on the theory of the actor-network: Ordering, strategy, and heterogeneity

Cited by 2,178 publications

References 12 publications

A tool for exploring the dynamics of innovative interventions for public health: the critical event card

A tool for exploring the dynamics of innovative interventions for public health: the critical event card

Factors Determining the Balance between Online and Face-to-Face Teaching: An Analysis using Actor-Network Theory

Professional reinventions: Swedish psychologists, 1990–2010.

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