Data sprints as Critical Proximity: Issue-publics in a workshop format
Author
Mathiasen, Asbjørn Fleinert
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2018
Pages
69
Abstract
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan data sprints kan engagere sagsorienterede offentligheder gennem nær kritik. Inden for STS og Digitale Metoder kombineres Marres' begreb om sagsorienterede offentligheder med Latours critical proximity for at analysere workshopformatet. Empirisk bygger studiet på etnografisk feltarbejde i form af deltagende observation under SaveOurAir-data sprinten i 2018, hvor forskere i digitale metoder og domæneeksperter samarbejdede om at udvikle prototyper, der fortæller data-drevne historier om luftforurening. Analysen fokuserer på interaktioner mellem domæneeksperter og deltagere og viser, hvordan forskellige tilgange til sagen åbner for flere mulige formuleringer af offentligheder og styrer, hvilke spørgsmål, data og visualiseringer der prioriteres i prototyperne. Studiet fremhæver vigtigheden af at målrette visualiseringer til de konkrete offentligheder, prototyperne søger at engagere. Samlet peger specialet på, at data sprints kan fungere som brobyggere mellem eksperter og offentlighed ved at mobilisere situeret ekspertviden tæt på sagen, samtidig med at det kritisk belyser, hvordan betegnelsen ekspert tildeles og forhandles i praksis.
This thesis examines how data sprints can engage issue-publics through critical proximity. Situated within STS and Digital Methods, it combines Marres's concept of issue-publics with Latour's notion of critical proximity to analyze the workshop format. Empirically, the study is based on ethnographic fieldwork using participant observation during the 2018 SaveOurAir data sprint, where digital methods researchers and issue experts collaborated to prototype data-driven stories about air pollution. The analysis focuses on interactions between issue experts and participants and shows how differing approaches to the issue open multiple possible formulations of publics and guide which questions, data, and visualizations are prioritized in the prototypes. The study highlights the importance of tailoring visualizations to the specific publics the prototypes aim to engage. Overall, it argues that data sprints can bridge experts and the public by mobilizing situated expertise close to the issue, while critically reflecting on how claims to expertise are assigned and negotiated in practice.
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