Browsing by Subject "Actor-Network Theory"

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From air-conditioning to clotheslines: dynamic conditions and the nature of energy modeling for code compliance
(2014-05) Gelfand, Samuel Noah; Moore, Steven A., 1945-
This thesis, based on a methodology borrowed from Science and Technologies Studies (STS), studies the implications of using energy modeling software for code compliance in the architectural design process. Specifically, the careful study of the development and use the of the software itself, including the assumptions and frameworks of its developers and users, is required to accurately examine the implications and practical effectiveness of using energy modeling to aid in reducing the environmental consequences of the built environment. I argue that the value in studying energy modeling software is not primarily to improve the scientific accuracy of the software. Rather, the value is to demonstrate how the assumptions used in the software’s calculation methodology can adversely influence the technological decisions made by building designers when using the software to demonstrate compliance with energy codes. To develop this hypothesis I have employed both historical and empirical methods. In my historical analysis, I find that the origins of modern building energy modeling software date back to the beginning of the air conditioning industry at the start of the 20th century. One consequence of this history is that assumptions built into the software measure the relative efficiency of building components under static and assumed average conditions, but not the dynamic rates of consumption caused by inhabitation. This, in-turn, prescribes the problem-at-hand of energy code compliance as primarily technical. However, as others have argued, dynamic social and circumstantial issues also influence energy consumption (Guy & Shove, 2000). Therefore as means to examine potential conflicts between the static and technical method of analysis employed by code compliance energy modeling software and the dynamic and circumstantial context in which buildings are designed, my empirical analysis is of a design process for a net-zero energy subdivision in Austin, Texas in which energy modeling was required and used extensively. The case study is designed to demonstrate how the problems-at-hand for each distinct group of stakeholders involved in the design process was varied and did not necessarily conform to the technical solution advocated by the energy modeling process. A primary conclusion of my analysis is that all mature technologies come to us with embedded assumptions that may subvert our intentions. A secondary conclusion is that the competing assumptions and problem definitions of building scientists and building designers tend to frustrate the goal of sustainable development. My hope in studying energy modeling, in relation to practice and code compliance, is to discover ways to better use the analytical power of energy modeling that is more directly responsive to the dynamic and contextual conditions of architectural production and real world resource consumption.
Residential water conservation in Austin, Texas
(2009-12) Sires, Luke Abrams; Moore, Steven A., 1945-; Butler, Kent S.
This study explores the social, technological economic, and environmental development of single-family residential water conservation programs at the Austin Water Utility and asks: What makes a conservation program successful? I hypothesize that water conservation programs will be successful if both institutional-producer goals and citizen-consumer goals are satisfied. While the findings suggest that this may be partially true, it also has become clear that my original actor-network model was too simple to predict the various types of influences on program success. Not only did I find other significant ‘actors’ involved in water conservation, I also found that utility and participant groups themselves represent a wide variety of interests. This study seeks to answer the research question by creating a series of narratives that critically explore water infrastructure and water conservation programs in Austin, Texas. Through a methodological lens referred to as ‘critical constructivism,’ I use mixed methods to analyze and interpret historic documents, interviews, and quantitative data as primary sources. Literature from Science and Technology Studies (STS) are used as secondary sources. This study will add to a body of knowledge that describes how and why we manage our environmental resources. The subject of conservation is especially relevant as urban growth continues with fewer affordable opportunities to increase regional water supplies. As we enter an era of expected water conflict, knowing how to conserve water effectively will help provide more opportunities for sharing a common resource amongst communities, industry, agriculture, and the environment.
The institutional and archival social ecologies of a state mental hospital’s records, 1870 to present
(2015-05-05) Dong, Lorraine Alison; Galloway, Patricia Kay; Doty, Philip; Trace, Ciaran; Frick, Caroline; Norkunas, Martha
In this dissertation, I construct the social ecologies of records from a state mental institution in order to explicate the impact and value of the records to different groups and individuals over time, with a focus on the social implications of the organizational records becoming archival objects. I engage with the repercussions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 on the access of health information, and posit what are the social complexities underlying potentially sensitive institutional records in general. My research site is a still-active facility that arose out of the Reconstruction South, and exclusively served the state’s African American population until it was desegregated after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Through the theoretical frameworks of social constructionism, and specifically Actor-Network Theory, I examine the discursive work that mental hospital records perform in order to mediate relationships between people. The design of the research is rooted in sociological and archival activist research so that I can focus purposefully on the power inequalities and silent participants within record ecologies. I collected data for my study from archival registers and minutes from several distinct eras in the hospital’s history and from interviews with people who currently have or had substantive connections to the creation, management, or use of the archival collection, including former and current facility personnel. In order to construct themes from the data, I use grounded theory with an emphasis on situational analysis and critical discourse analysis. By employing multiple means of analysis, I form a longitudinal picture of the human and non-human participants involved in record-creation and record-keeping work at the hospital. I also develop several major themes, including accountability, classification, the development of psychiatry, and power, which point to the overarching institutional use of records to help bureaucratic bodies control various populations and maintain hierarchies. In illustrating how the records support and perpetuate hegemonic structures, I advocate for a pluralization of the stakeholders who have the right to be included in the discussions about if and how the historical records are to be preserved and accessed.