The production of reliability in highly modernized environments. Ethnographic outlines on a home telecare service
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Francisco Tirado
Daniel López
Blanca Callén
Miquel Domènech
Abstract
Actor-Network Theory has popularized the notion of"translation" as a way to understand technologicaldevices and human beings connections. Nevertheless,this concept has two serious problems: firstly, it doesn't solve the question about how it is possible severaltranslations maintain certain similarities that refer toone same object or content. Secondly, it doesn't explain how a chain of different translations is articulated in a meaningful whole. In order to solve thesequestions, Bruno Latour suggests the notion of "circular reference". This concept designates a plane wherea chain of different translations is articulated in aglobal meaningful whole that is recognizable by several actors and also from multiple contexts. One ofthe most important features of this concept is that itenables to analyze how the chain of translations couldbecome reversible. In this paper we'll show how intechnological environments inside public institutions,where service must give quickly, effective and reliableanswers to clients and citizens, walking back this lineof translations is "literally" a matter of life or death.That's why having an analytic tool for clarifying thisprocess helps to understand and improve this type ofenvironments. Our work is based on some researchingoutcomes from an ethnography carried out in theHome Telecare Service of the Red Cross in Catalonia.The notion of "translation" allows us to notice howthe information is codified in different format and bydifferent kind of practices. However, we need to resort to the concept of "circular reference" in order to explain how these translations are articulated between them and also to analyze how some controllingdevices of their activity's reliability are produced.
How to Cite
Tirado, F., López, D., Callén, B., & Domènech, M. (2012). The production of reliability in highly modernized environments. Ethnographic outlines on a home telecare service. Papeles De Identidad, 2008(2). https://doi.org/10.1387/pceic.12229
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Keywords
actor-network theority, translation, circular reference, reliability, telecare
Section
Research Articles
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