Reassembling the Social- An Introduction to Actor Network Theory

Question: Describe about Reassembling the Social- An Introduction to Actor Network Theory? Answer: Introduction- The Actor Network Theory is a description of Human and Non-Human factors that influence the innovation of a technical development. The Actor Network Theory was developed by Bruno Latour the French Theorist and the main Architect of the Theory along with Michel Callon and John Law emphasises the sociological impact on a technical advancement. As the Human being is a social creature and there is relationship and dependency among Human and Non-Human Elements. For example it is stated that Einstein developed the Theory of relativity in physics but here with Einstein there is the environmental factors, previous theories, laws, inspiration from living as well as Non- living factors which led to develop this theory. The Actor Network Theory tries to develop the relationship of all the factors which led to the scientific or technical development in form of a network. This theory highlights the relationship of the Human and Non-Human factors called Actants and present a theory for the descrip tion which gives a clear meaning and material. This theory is also in controversy as it treats both Human and Non-Human Actants equally in the Actants Network. Actor Network Theory- According to the Actor Network the theory Actant can be described as the Entity which participates in a relationship, the entity can be human or a non-human. For example if one travel in a train then Driver, Passengers, On-Duty Personals, Train, Engine, Technology of Running Train, Fuel all are considered to be an Actant for Train Travelling System. Software Actant are the series of instructions to computer in a particular programming language to perform certain task or bring a functionality in a computer. Further Hardware Actants are Non-Human physical elements which participate in development of a technical or scientific innovation. For example physical components of computer, devices used for networking of the computers, interconnected electronic devices or the Digital Computer devices controlled through softwares. The Social Actants are the people, culture and structures. Actor Network theory brings Human and Non-Human factors together in one network, basically it states nothing is alone, there is association, there is dependency and there is relation among either Human-Human factors or Human-Non-Human Factors. It also utilises the Semiotic concept to map the relationship between Actants. The concepts in Actor Network Theory can be categorized into the Translation, Intermediaries Mediators, Generalized Symmetry, Actants, Token Objects and Punctualisation. Intermediaries are those actants which does not bring any difference in the objective of the Network on the other hand Mediators Modify and also can distort the meaning or elements it carry. Generalized Symmetry defines all the Actants whether Human or Non-Human Actants should be treated equally. Actants are participating Entities in the network. Token Object is defined as the participating actant at particular instant and Punctualisation can be defined as Black Boxed. The Actor Network Theory concepts are helpful in performing the management of an organization as it associates all human as well as the non-human elements in a network to understand the complexity of an organization. It provides a holistic approach to use the technologies to run an organization. Not only has it helped to select the best technology for organization it also considers the social impact and social influence of the technologies . It also helps in developing an informed approach of selecting the samples for data analysis. This theory is also helpful in Human Resource Management. It helps in examining the repetitive activities and developing a well-designed framework for understanding the variation and consistency elements , it is also helpful for analysing the time and space in assigned management practice. Moreover this theory stresses to imply the case-studies for research to have a wide description of various management practices and due to their derivation the best man agement practice is developed and can be applied (Cresswell, Worth, 2010 ) . Benefits and Advantages- The advantages of the Actor Network Theory are several. Firstly as other theories which stress on process and structure on the other hand this theory give stress on detail of process and structure with both Human and Non-Human Actants. Secondly as other theories completely ignore the non-Human elements in description of the innovation on the other hand ANT completely specifies the non-Human elements, their role, and association in the development. ANT even specifies the assumptions taken for developments which are somehow marginalized. ANT also focuses on the change management . Like other theories ANT is also criticized for various reasons firstly the complexity of this theory. Secondly it gives limited analysis of social structures. And treating both living and non-living elements also brings criticism. These can be considered its disadvantages( Tara Fenwick, Richard Edwards) . The first example computing news story taken in this essay is on the Campaign Internet.org initiated by Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg that some Internet sites should be made free, such as Educational, government sites and several other social service sites so that the serviceability should be reached to the economically weaker sections who can make their life better and can also give new innovations for the development of society ( Hempel ,2016). Now the analysis of this news story is according to the Actor Network Theory. The main Actants in this news story are Structural Actant, Assemblage Actant, Digital Actant, Network Actant and semeotic Actant. This news story focuses on the campaign initiated by Facebook Head Mr Mark Zuckerberg which demands to make free the limited access of Internet making some educational and government and some social websites free. For this Facebook has launched a plan for their campaign Internet.org which is a structural Actant helpful for describing the Computing Assemblage of the plan. Now a big discussion arises in the permission allotted to the websites under Internet.org to have access to the users , the conflict in assemblage to decide which websites are for service and which are for economic or political gain. Internet.org assembles all the websites as Actants in the Assemblage and position them as it or Blocked. At the technical level the proxy server with its Encryption-Decryption techni que and through Hypertext transfer Protocol will act as an actant in the network to control the permission to the websites in the network. But here the risk that Hackers will misuse the digital Actants. The e-commerce websites will also gain benefit by gaining new possible potential users for their products. Another big question is the issue of privacy of peoples because several government websites contain data about personal detail which can be misused. Secondly the campaign partners Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Opera and Qualcomm are actively participating in this cause or not . The second example computing news story taken is Ericsson, Nokia offer contrasting timelines for 5G network upgrades on Thomson Reuters. Both the companies are giving their own launch dates but on the other side the customers are worried about the features of 5G, Compatibility issues with current Hardware and software and most importantly the cost factor ( Auchard , 2016). The Analysis of this story through Actor Network Theory is as follows .The main Actants in this news story are Structural Actant, Octant Actant, Digital Actant, Semantic Actant, Generalized Symmetry and Cooaption. According to the Eriksson which is the largest supplier of communication devices in the world has stated that it expects that there will be about 150 million users for next generation 5G smart networks in coming next 5 years. Here both Ericsson and Nokia are Actants and they both play generalized Symmetry in this news story. Here both of them can also be defined as Octant type Entity as they develop or participates in technical innovation. With this a debate has raised do the upgrading of network should begin. Upgrading of the network implies that the organizations should start developing Infrastructure as well as the software as well as Hardware components compatible to the coming 5G Network. On the other hand Ericsson rival company Nokia has stated that 5G ready network w ill be ready by 2017. Here 5G is a main participating Digital Actants, The Ericsson and The Nokia acts as a Structural Actants in the network. Another debate is what will be the feature of 5G as both the companies are giving their views and secondly what type and number of devices will be required to use 5G Network. Here features of the 5G-Network also act as the Digital Actant. The cooaption with the other Hardware Components and Software works as a semantic Actant. Another issue is whether operators are ready to spend huge investment on it. Another debate is continuous upgrading of technology is to bring advancement or barriers. This is digital Actant in the network as bringing out continuous upgrading demand huge investment, time and Human effort. There should be full justification of whole investment. Conclusion-: This was a simple student approach to explain the Actor Network Theory. Actor Network Theory is a very significant approach to highlight each and every element either it is Human or Non-Human elements. This theory simply states nothing can be done alone, there is dependency, there is association, there is inspiration, the environment , research which plays an effective role in development of any scientific or technical innovation. All the participating elements are termed Actants in the Actor Network Theory. All the actants either Human or Non-Human are put in a network so that better understanding and role of each Actant can be well understood. The ANT theory is a wide research area and can be explained more finely but due to limited time and student level knowledge and expertise this was a simple approach. No doubt this course work helped to gain more knowledge about ANT and will definitely help in future career. References Bruno Latour, Reassembling the Social- An Introduction to Actor Network Theory, Oxford Publication London Arthur Tatnall, Victoria University, Actor-Network Theory and Technology Innovation: Advancements and New Concepts, Australia Tara Fenwick, Richard Edwards, Actor-Network Theory in Education, Routledge Publication Arthuer Tatnall, Technological Advancements and the Impact of Actor-Network Theory, IGI Global Publication Kathrin M Cresswell, Allison Worth, Aziz Shekh, Published online 2010 Nov 1. doi: 10.1186/1472-6947-10-67, Actor-Network Theory and its role in understanding the implementation of information technology developments in healthcare, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov Rafael Alcadipani, Robert Westwood, and Alexandre Rosa, Human Relations, January 2015; vol. 68, 1: pp. 79-106., first published on September 25, 2014, The politics of identity in organizational ethnographic research: Ethnicity and tropicalist intrusions, www.org.sagepub.com Eric Auchard, Mon Feb 22, 2016 6:43am EST,Reuters, Ericsson, Nokia offer contrasting timelines for 5G network upgrades,www.reuters.com Jessi Hempel ,01.19.16, Wired, INSIDE FACEBOOKS AMBITIOUS PLAN TO CONNECT THE WHOLE WORLD,/www.wired.com/2016/01/facebook-zuckerberg-internet-org/