Technological change in developing countries: opening the black box of process using actor–network theory

Actor-Networks and “Practices” of Development: Impact of a Weather Information System in West Bengal

“…The methodological approach to the field study as well as the analytical approach taken in this paper is based on the "moments of translation" framework within the ANT tradition [9]. The starting point of the study was the central actor -the implementing organisation, DRCSC -and we then followed the way they sought to involve other actors in the project [4]. Interviews with head office staff were followed by an introduction to the field offices.…”

“…It features a strong theorisation of the artefact, placing it in a symmetrical position with that of humans [12], providing for technologies to exercise agency-though not intentionality [10]-by becoming "delegates who stand in and speak for particular viewpoints" [8,13]. It inverts the traditional use of descriptions of social structure as a means to explain processes, focusing instead on description of processes to explain resulting structures [4]. Furthermore, an ANT approach sees the social world as inherently unstable and capable of falling apart but for negotiations between actors [9,10].…”

“…By centering the analysis on what people do, practice provides a useful lens to "open the black box" of processes of change that involve technology [4]. That is why practice theories are being adopted for research which recognizes and allows for deconstruction of complex sociotechnical relationships involved in IS.…”

“…Actor Network Theory (ANT), in particular, is a practice theory that has been gaining popularity in IS and ICT4D research [3][4][5]. ANT has the aim of resolving the social determinism/technological determinism dichotomy and help bridge the duality between the technological artefact and the agent [6][7][8].…”

The level of participation during the development of a mobile care data application for home-based healthcare in a developing context: An actor-network theory perspective

“…ANT proposes a theory that does not privilege either humans (actors) or non-human actors (actants) over the other and denies that purely technical or purely social relations are possible. Other recent works on ANT are how Heeks and Stanforth [44] use ANT to provide details about the process of technological change by 'opening' the black box of such a change. De Albuquerque, Cukierman, Marques and Marques [45] consider how technology moves from the global North to the global South where such technologies are often black-boxed based on their use in the global North.…”