Explain the Relationship Between People and Technology (Essay Sample)

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF TECHNOLOGY AND ACTOR NETWORK THEORY
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A number of perspectives have been developed to define the relationship between human beings and technology. These perspectives also seek to answer questions on how technology has emerged and evolved. Instrumentalism is such one view and it holds that technology is a mere tool which is used by the human beings to carry out different activities. The instrumental concept of technology also dictates that technological artefacts are neutral. In contrast, determinists often argue that technology is an autonomous and revolutionary force and it has the capability to eliminate all ills that afflict humanity. According to the determinists, human beings are directed by the technology, and cannot decide on how the technology will be used. In other words, the society is influenced by the technology. Another important perspective is substantivism which suggests that human beings are enframed by technology. Human beings also lose their will if they become attached to the technological systems. This perspective shapes, different institutions, including the political systems, culture and social structure. The perspective further holds that technology has its own independent values, which human beings cannot be able to change. This paper examines the social construction of technology, and actor network theory.
Social construction of technology theory
According to Gad and Jensen (2009), this theory rejects the determinists’ perspectives that the society is influenced by the technology. The concepts of this theory are well described in an article titled, the social construction of technology: structural considerations. The writers of this article, Klein and Kleinman (2002) observe that the first component of the SCOT theory is interpretive flexibility. According to Klein and Kleinman (2002), this concept is borrowed from the empirical program of relativism and suggests that artefacts are products of intergroup negotiations. The second component is the relevant social group concept. According to this component, social groups share the same values and characteristics. In this regard, different social groups can differ on how a particular technology works, but in the end they come into a consensus. The third component of this theory is closure and stabilisation. According to this component, multi-group processes occur until a consensus is reached, and stabilisation is facilitated by the rhetorical closure and closure by definition. Rhetorical closure occurs when all problems are eliminated while closure by definition happens when the problem is redefined until it poses no more threat to social groups. The last concept as suggested by Gad and Jensen (2009) is the wider context. This concept relates the technological artefact to the wider sociopolitical milieu. In this regard, Gad and Jensen (2009) argue that the SCOT framework helps the researchers to describe the technological artefacts while providing them with an avenue of examining the relationship between the external environment and the actual content of the technology.
Interpretive flexibility
Gad and Jensen (2009) define interpretive flexibility as the ability of the technical artefact to represent different benefits to a number of actors. As earlier suggested, social groups have different interpretations about a particular artefact. The application of this concept is demonstrated in an article where Sovacool (2011) argues that technologies and process have different meaning to the social groups. Just to illustrate, telephones were not produced for enjoyment purposes, but they have since become an important part of our social life. Similarly, refrigerators are not only used to preserve foods, but have found ready application in housing of animals and other valuables. While the concept was predominantly used in the design phases, it is being absorbed in the study of information systems. In this regard, Gad and Jensen (2009) argue that any piece of technology must have the ability to sustain divergent interpretations. According to Gad and Jensen (2009), for a piece of technology to have interpretive flexibility it must possess a range of functions and capabilities. However, as Abbate (1999) observes it is not clear how an artifact’s characteristic can influence its ability to be interpreted flexibly. With this in mind, Abbate (1999) conducted an empirical study to gain knowledge of reality through social constructionism. This study was conducted within the UK context, and sought to examine the hospital IT infrastructure within the Community Care Trusts. The researchers examined in details whether or not the information systems could support the workers’ needs. The study also examined how the material characteristics of an IT system can lead to different interpretations as far as the use of artefacts is concerned. At the end of the study, Abbate (1999) concluded that there is need to redefine the boundaries of the IT system.
Relevant social group
As described above, social groups refer to the teams which interact with the artefact. As far as the technology is concerned, the relevant social groups could be the users, and the engineers. Downey (2002) suggests that locating the relevant social groups can be done through the snowballing approach. Interviewing the actors helps the researchers to identify social groups to which they are affiliated to. Through constant interactions and negotiations, multiple interpretations start disappearing. Identifying social groups that will benefit from a particular technology through the snowballing technique may end up being problematic. According to Downey (2002) the snowballing technique is not accurate enough and may lead to distortions. As Downey (2002) further suggests, using the snowball approach could lead to the exclusion of some of the social groups.
The importance of the social groups during the designing of different technologies is highlighted in an article titled, TVA and the Grass Roots. In this article, Douglas (1999) examines how the local groups led to the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority. According to Douglas (1999) the development of a similar techno-system in another different location without first determining the need of the local population would have led to different outcomes. The failure of this system is highlighted in a study conducted by Kline and Pinch (1996) where the lamp manufacturers and the electricity producers failed to incorporate the needs of the consumers. Failure to incorporate the interests of the social groups affected the final outcomes.
Closure and stabilisation
As suggested above, there are constant negotiations that take place before the technology becomes acceptable. Once the interpretative flexibility of an artefact diminishes, the process is said to have come to an end. Closure could also occur when no single group dominates the process or when all groups come into an agreement. Secondly, closure occurs when one of the social group eclipses the others. Homogeneity across the closure groups translates to higher degrees of stabilisation. As Downey (2002) suggests, the key terms that are associated with this concept are: rhetorical closure and closure by definition. Rhetorical closure occurs once the problem has been resolved. Advertisements can be used to obtain a rhetorical closure was the case with the high-wheeler. The manufacturers of this artefact launched the “Facile” advertisement to illustrate to the public that the artefact was safe enough. According to Bijker et al. (1987), this was a rhetorical move, which answered any concerns that the social groups had.
Technological frame
The SCOT framework was re-defined to include this component which takes into consideration power and structure. This concept was introduced by Bijker et al. (1987) and takes into consideration elements that can influence the technological process. Kline and Pinch (1996) used this principle to demonstrate how gender roles influence the design of the automobiles. The concept according to Kline and Pinch (1996), heavily influences the behaviour and the thoughts of the actors who are interested in a particular artefact. The existence of a technological frame determines the level of the inclusion attained by the actors. In this regard, once the actors develop a technological frame, a high degree of inclusion is achieved. In contrast, if the actors fail to develop a technological frame they do not interact deeply with the technological artefact. As suggested by Kline and Pinch (1996), one other theme that is closely related to the technological frame concept, is semiotic power. Semiotic structures influence the nature of the interactions between the actors. A common strategy that is employed by the actor is political power, whose purpose is to influence social groups and develop frames and structures. In this regard, actors may enrol the social groups to prove the effectiveness of a particular artefact.
Actor network theory
The theory emerged in 1980s and was suggested by Bruno Latour and Michel Callon, and unlike the other conceptual frameworks, the theory incorporates objects and organisations. Actors involve the non-human elements such as the machines, animals, texts, and hybrids. According to this theory, there are many actants which are considered foundationally indeterminate. Besides the actors, there are the networks and according this theory seeks to examine how these both elements interact. Firstly, the theory suggests that the networks have the capability to strengthen and fight off any resistance. Secondly, the networks can prevent the actors from carrying out their own activities
As Law and Mol (2002) observe, the theory is built on three methodological principles. The first principle is agnosticism which impo...