CROSSROADS IN CULTURAL STUDIES
Fourth International Conference
June 29 - July 2, 2002, Tampere, Finland
Cultural Studies on the Technology in Use
Organiser: Ilkka Arminen
Harrasser, Karin (University of Vienna,
Austria) TRANSFORMING DISCOURSE INTO PRACTICE. RHETORICS AND NARRATIVES OF
DIGITIZATION IN THE 80IES
While mediatheorists (from McLuhan to Baudrillard and Virilio) focused on the
"derealisating" effect of the "New Media", researchers in
the field of Science and Technology Studies concentrated on the close
interactions between machines, researchers and users. Actor-Network-Theory
(Bruno Latour and others) theorizes these interactions as "negotiations
between humans and non-humans", making little substantial difference among
the two, but adressing these relations as power relations. The discourse of
"derealisation" whereras more and more appears as an apocalyptic,
phantasmatic one, grounded by the long-known cultural pessimism of
intellectuals, which fear to loose influence in the field of culture, as the
production and circulation of the symbolic shifts from their hands and heads to
the quick fingers of programmers and laities. In my research project I focus on
the discourse of digitization in the 80ies, trying to find out how rhetorics and
narratives concerning the issue of computing were tranformed into practices (of
research, marketing and use) and real machines. Methodologically I try to
modulate central ideas of Actor-Network-Theory for the Cultural Studies of Media
and Technology.
Pyöriä, Pasi (University of Tampere,
Finland) THE IMPORTANCE OF INFORMAL ORGANIZATION CULTURE: THE CASE OF FINNISH
KNOWLEDGE WORKERS
It is a well-established fact that working life and work organizations are in a
constant state of change. New technological innovations, the growth of
information-based economy and globalisation are transforming the very essence of
our material and cultural environment. However, the most basic prerequisites of
organizing work and building healthy and supportive work environments have not
changed much, if at all, despite of rapid technological development. In short,
the main thesis of my presentation is that informal organization culture still
is the foundation of well-designed work places. As my empirical fieldwork in the
context of Finnish "knowledge workers" indicates the use of the latest
technology always comes second to good team spirit and skilful management. In my
paper I make use of my experience from conducting both quantitative and
qualitative studies among Finnish wage earning population.
Aro, Jari (University of Tampere,
Finland) EXPERTISE, COMPETENCE AND ADOPTION OF TECHNOLOGY
This paper presents some findings from a research project where the aim is to
study how expertise is socially constructed in relation to technology and how
technology is socially adopted. The research object is competence, which is
studied from two perspectives: from the viewpoint of development of technology
and from the viewpoint of using technology. Research is based on qualitative
interview data. Research case is Finland. Usually the relation between humans
and machines is described by using the concept of needs. Needs, however, are an
abstract and theoretical way to comprehend the dynamics between a person and a
technical device. This research suggests that more interesting interpretations
of that relation can be found by concentrating on the actual process of using
technology, since that is the process where technology is being adopted and
learned. For the users the process of adopting technology is at the same time
also a process of gaining expertise of that technology. The user's expertise is
an essential component in the whole social process of constructing the meaning
of technology. Consumers are creative in relation to technology, they find new
and surprising ways to use technical devices and they evaluate new products
collectively and socially and mould them into parts of their
particular practises. This paper examines user experiences of information and
communication technology in the context of everyday life. The analysis
concentrates especially on the process of adopting new technology into everyday
use and the ways people acquire competence in relation to technology. The paper
approaches following questions: How do people evaluate their own, and other
persons' competence in relation to technology? What are the social processes as
persons are defined and redefined as competent in relation to technology? What
differences there are in this respect between diverse types of new technology?
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