DISCOVERING DRONES IN DENMARK: An analysis of a drone development path creation in Denmark through practices.

Hansen, Sofie Bach ; Boberg, Daniel Daugaard

4. term

Techno-Anthropology, Master

2016

2016-06-10

63

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan begreberne 'multiplicitet' og 'performativitet' kan bruges til kritisk at analysere, hvordan et udviklingsspor for civile droner bliver til i Danmark. Med multiplicitet mener vi, at flere forskellige måder at forstå og gøre noget på kan eksistere samtidig; performativitet peger på, at praksisser er med til at skabe den virkelighed, de virker i. Vi anvender et etnografisk, multi-sited design og følger civile droner på tværs af flere steder i Danmark for at se, hvordan feltet tager form i praksis. Vi beskriver, hvordan forskellige praksisser skaber forskellige versioner af, hvad civile droner er, og hvordan disse versioner forbindes i hverdagen. Nogle praksisser ser ud til at samle sig og blive dominerende, næsten som én måde at gøre tingene på. Vi diskuterer, hvordan dette både muliggør og begrænser udviklingssporet og samtidig åbner muligheder for forandring. Vi undersøger en lille gruppe aktører, som vi vurderer er indflydelsesrige i skabelsen af det danske udviklingsspor for civile droner, og behandler dem performativt ved at fokusere på, hvad deres praksisser gør. Vi spørger, hvad der kan ske, hvis den dominerende praksis gøres mangfoldig igen og anerkender samt håndterer 'skjulte kontroverser' omkring civile droner. Vi konkluderer, at mindre dominerende (underordnede) praksisser eksisterer side om side med den dominerende, og at de kan blive en vigtig ressource for udviklingssporet, hvis der åbnes for mangfoldighed i den dominerende praksis.

This thesis examines how the concepts of 'multiplicity' and 'performativity' can be used to critically analyze how a development path for civil drones is formed in Denmark. By multiplicity, we mean that different ways of understanding and doing things can coexist; by performativity, that practices help bring about the realities they act in. We use a multi-sited ethnographic design to follow civil drones across several settings in Denmark and see how the field takes shape in practice. We describe how different practices enact different versions of what civil drones are and how these versions are linked in everyday work. Some practices appear to converge and become dominant, almost as a single way of doing things. We consider how this both enables and restricts path creation while also opening possibilities for change. We study a small set of actors we identify as influential in shaping the Danish development path for civil drones and treat them performatively by focusing on what their practices do. We ask what might happen if the dominant practice is made multiple again and if 'hidden controversies' around civil drones are acknowledged and addressed. We conclude that subordinate practices exist alongside the dominant one and that, by re-opening space for multiplicity, these practices can become an important resource for path creation.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

drone ; droner ; multiplicity ; enactment ; performativity ; ant ; material-semiotic ; path ; relations ; civilian ; technology

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