Heloísa
Lumy Masuda
Pontifical
Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas), Brazil
E-mail: heloisamasuda@gmail.com
Juan
Arturo Castañeda-Ayarza
Pontifical
Catholic University of Campinas (PUC-Campinas), Brazil
E-mail: juan.arturo@puc-campinas.edu.br
Submission: 5/13/2020
Revision: 6/3/2020
Accept: 9/14/2020
ABSTRACT
The objective of this article was to evaluate the current utilization of the Actor-Network Theory (ANT) as a research method in the energy sector. High impact scientific articles gathered from the ScienceDirect database were analyzed, taking into account the methodological research particularities (in terms of its nature, objective, issue approach, and technical procedures) and the means of data collection and analysis in the light of the ANT method. Few pieces of research in the energy sector were found utilizing ANT as an analysis method. A pattern for the methodological characterization was identified, in which most of the articles approached ANT as a diagnostic, exploratory, qualitative, and analytical method for case studies. Since most of the papers aimed mainly at the reconstruction of past events, data collection was characterized mainly by searching for documents and, whenever possible, by contacting the players who participated in the reconstructed history. The analysis, though, aimed at identifying the participants and the dynamics of their interactions. The ANT method presents immense potential for research in the energy sector since energy systems evolve throughout complex networks, inseverable from environmental, technological, and social, including those of political and economic nature. Still, as yet, in a continually growing development scenario, ANT's utilization may contribute to understanding how these networks evolve and who plays the most crucial role in it.
Keywords: ANT; energy sector; methodological analysis; research method
1.
INTRODUCTION
Science, Technology, and
Society Studies (STS), as presented by Felt et al. (2016) in Handbook of
Science and Technology Studies, are defined as a field of multidisciplinary
studies that examines the transformative power of science and technology to
arrange and rearrange contemporary societies. Woolgar
(2009) also reports that STS studies comprise several analytical perspectives,
such as social relativism and the Actor-Network Theory (ANT).
The ANT emerges between
the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, with Michel Callon, Bruno Latour e Steve Woolgar, its precursors, questioning the restricted social
reductionism as commonly presented by social theory. Thus, using empirical
research, they questioned how science and technology were produced, why some
technological and scientific advances are successful and others are not, which allows
scientific advances to become truth (Wong, 2016).
The ANT supports society
to be, first and foremost, a network formed by associations between actors. On
second-hand, this association is a reality model and not a given fact. From
this standpoint, human and non-human entities are both as crucial during the
association's process (Wong, 2016; Nobre & Pedro,
2010).
This theory allows for identifying
important actors (agents, entities, and actants)
involved with the process of technology transfer and for the understanding of
their participation, interaction, and association with other actors, which form
a heterogeneous network. The ANT represents a reflection of those associations
involved with this process to understand a social phenomenon in which society
represents a type of non-permanent association (Garcia, 2015).
Actant, within ANT's context, can be
tangible (like a computer, a file, a protocol, or people), intangible (like
software, information, or knowledge), or an interagent
(one that interacts with the network being studied, influencing and being
influenced within the context of the sociology of associations) (Cavalcante et al., 2017).
The relevance of each
human or non-human actant is defined as events
happen. Upon taking over a transforming role, the actant
is perceived as a "mediator". When acting as a mere emissary, not
modifying the situation, it is seen as an "intermediary" (Latour, 2012).
In administration, ANT
has been used in organizational studies in Marketing and Supply Chain
Management. Networks were approached based on the diversity presented by
inter-organizational relationships, through cooperation among firms, strategic
alliances, production chains, and actions and public services programs
integration (Andrade, 2004).
One of the most recent
sectors in which ANT is being employed is renewable energy. This sector has
been sparking worldwide interest, especially since the beginning of the 21st
Century, due to the global problems concerning energy supply, the rise in oil
prices, and worries due to climatic changes (Cambero
& Sowlati, 2014).
Despite the available
technology, the production potential, and the social-environmental benefits,
renewable energy still answers a small share of the world energy matrix, i.e.,
less than 15% (MME, 2017). To that end, from ANT's standpoint, renewable
energies do not hold inherent qualities since they depend on the continuous
interaction between their own processes' activities. Through ANT, it will be
possible to understand that difficulties faced by renewable energies during the
growth process within the energy matrix are coupled with a different network of
actants (Hultman & Yaras, 2012).
How ANT is utilized as
an analysis method in administration, either in administrative or economic
sectors, is as varied as its potential for multidisciplinary applications.
Therefore, being ANT is still little utilized in energy research, mapping the
significant research pieces that utilize ANT as a method, and understanding how
this method is utilized turns out to be our research opportunity. Thereafter,
this paper aims to evaluate how ANT is currently utilized as a research method
in the energy sector.
2.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1.
Actor-Network Theory (ANT)
The way authors perceive
society and the social is significantly distinct from the traditional sociology
approaches, thus configuring a New Sociology. They disregard the concept of
society by approaching social as "collectives" of humans and non-humans
(objects and quasi-objects) that partner among themselves, forming networks or,
more precisely, forming actors-networks (Pinto & Domenico, 2016; Latour, 2012).
The ANT seeks to
identify the significant actors (agents, entities, actants,
or interactants) involved with the technology
transfer and understand their participation, interaction, and association with
other actors who form a heterogeneous network. The ANT represents a reflection
of those associations involved with this process to understand a social phenomenon
in which society represents a type of non-permanent association. In this
association, actors will have motivation and interests that will lead to
actions, thus justifying the need for constant attention during the process
(Garcia, 2015).
In ANT, the network
concept must be understood in its broader sense, where each nodal point is
constituted by its connections, associations, and articulations with other
nodal points under a relational, rather than an individual or unidirectional,
perspective. For Latour (2012), the network is ANT's
means of flexible, historical, and empirical transportation. This network is
formed by heterogeneous elements called actants
(human and non-human actors) (Cavalcante et al.,
2017).
In the so-called actants, the ANT appears as a differentiated approach
vis-à-vis the technological changes theories that regard non-humans (the
technology) only as artifacts. When considering both
humans and non-humans as agents illustrate one of the most provocative ANT's
aspects, the symmetry between one and the other is that no entity is more
important than the other, thus being called as actants
(Pinto & Domenico, 2016).
The term actant means all that creates action, causing movement and
difference. The actant is a mediator, the articulator
who will connect and set up the network within himself and externally in
association with others. Bruno Latour opts to employ
the terms quasi-subjects and quasi-objects to demonstrate that there are no
distinctions between the subject and the object, but rather a hybridization in
which subjects are formed by their association with objects and vice-versa (Cavalcante et al., 2017).
On the other hand, it is
essential to understand what is considered a controversy by the ANT. It is
considered a dispute, a discussion or debate between individuals or groups
about a subject of common interest. Thus, conflicting groups and anti-groups
gather around a controversy, holding opposite positions in a debate. Through
controversies analysis, the ANT allows a look into the social aspect while it
is formed, in a process called "the mapping of controversies" (Pinto
& Domenico, 2016).
Controversy has the
objective to debate on a specific knowledge that is not yet totally
consecrated. A stable object or a consolidated phenomenon stands for a resolved
controversy, creating the so-called black box or a ready, decisive, accurate, and consecrated knowledge (Cavalcante et al., 2017).
2.2.
The ANT as an analysis tool
The Actor-Network Theory
is an analysis perspective that does not initiate from previously defined
assumptions on social, economic, and technical factors. One of its underlying
assumptions is that no rigid definition may be applied in all situations (Tureta & Alcadipani, 2009).
For Bruno Latour (2000), the ANT, as a method of network analysis,
must consider the following points:
i) Always objectify a fact while it is
active (i.e., when the theme in question is still subject to controversies);
ii) A fact's condition will be the
effect of circulation/interaction of processes throughout the network;
iii) The stabilization of the evaluated
fact shall be the outcome of the controversies resolution;
iv) All nodes that are being linked
during the processes of the network construction/interaction should be
symmetrically observed;
v) Attention must be given to the
network extension which is being built in any case of controversy which
involves an accusation of irrationality and a search for social or logical
explanations that justify said accusation;
vi) The network that presents unique
stability attributes must be tracked.
For the ANT, network
tracking lies within the controversies. For Latour
(2000), such tracking may be done by focusing on the innovation processes,
since at those moments, the network connections are more exposed, and the
actors, be them human or not, are more visible.
Allain (2015) states that employing ANT as
a method for analysis may be perceived as a mapping practice of controversies,
seeking to map complex issues and outline new possible scenarios for the World.
Venturini (2010) adds that the method will have as
its characteristics a set of tools capable of dealing with the growing
hybridization between humans and non-humans and follow disputes that go beyond
the disciplinary borders.
From ANT's standpoint,
one may also emphasize that the role of research shall not be the resolution of
controversies but rather to show the actors, the dynamics of relationships, and
the many possibilities of a solution.
Thus, the researcher who utilizes this method may present his perceptions
and abstractions but should be mindful of neither hide the opinion of others
nor immerse in bias (Venturini, 2010).
2.3.
Areas of knowledge that utilized ANT
as an analysis tool
The ANT has recently
aroused interest to an international extent in several areas of knowledge,
namely: education, information technology, administration, sociology, history,
planning, geography, environmental studies, information science, public health,
and nursing (Cavalcante et al., 2017).
For example, in nursing,
Cavalcante et al. (2017) published a paper on ANT as
a theoretical/methodological benchmark for research in the health sector,
showing the potential for understanding the innovations and their influence on
the community based on associations established between the actors.
Another example may be
found in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Fornazin (2015) discusses the difficulties associated with
computerization of the practices in the health sector in Brazil, where several
areas and daily activities are present, as well as private institutions and
government actions.
Another example may be
found in education, where Melo (2011) discusses learning as a dynamic,
multi-faceted phenomenon, the product of a series of conditions that emerge in
a network casualty. Thus, teaching, learning, and building up knowledge shall
be a process necessarily linked and tuned with others.
The last example may be
mentioned in the Administration sector. Camillis et
al. (2016) debate the notion of the actants'
partaking, which seeks for the un-dichotomization among human and non-human
constituents. To discuss questions regarding partaking is directly related to establishing
connections between various constituents, which allows for the assignment of
actions to a higher number of actants. Thus, the
authors seek to identify and discuss ANT's contributions to organizational
studies.
3.
METHOD
This paper proposes analyzing ANT while used as a method in scientific studies
in the energy sector and is characterized as a qualitative, explanatory, and
bibliographic work.
One understands that
every research constitutes a rational and systematic procedure, which aims to
better understand or solution to identified issues and provide possible answers
to any arising questionings. Such a procedure is called a method, which abides
by defined operational and intellectual efforts (Roesch,
2006).
A
methodological study as the one herein presented allows for the analysis of
methods, seeking to understand their characteristics, applications,
contributions, and limitations within the scope of their use in scientific
research.
Based
on the research done in the ScienceDirect scientific
articles database, when searching for the terms "ANT",
"actor-network theory", and "energy" in papers titles,
abstracts, and keywords, 21 articles published between 1999 and 2020 where
found. Thus, seven articles were chosen (Table 1), based on the magazines'
impact factor in which those papers were published.
Table 1:
Papers Selected for Analysis
|
Paper |
Title |
Authors |
Year |
Journal |
|
1 |
Exploring the socio-technical dynamics of
systems integration and the case of sewage gas for transport in Stockholm,
Sweden |
Anne-Lorène Vernay; Karel Frits
Mulder; Linda Manon Kamp; Hans de Bruijn |
2013 |
Journal
of Cleaner Production |
|
2 |
Blowing against the wind—An exploratory
application of actor-network theory to
the analysis of local controversies and participation processes in wind
energy |
Eric
Jolivet; Eva Heiskanen |
2010 |
Energy
Policy |
|
3 |
The socio-technological history of hydrogen
and fuel cells in Sweden 1978e2005; mapping the innovation trajectory |
Martin
Hultman; Ali Yaras |
2012 |
International
Journal of Hydrogen Energy |
|
4 |
Assembling Interdisciplinary Energy Research
through an Actor-Network Theory (ANT) frame |
Catherine
Mei Ling Wong |
2016 |
Energy
Research & Social Science |
|
5 |
Multi-level governance, technological
intervention, and globalization: the example of biogenetic fuels |
Alice
B. M. Vadrot; Ronald J. Pohoryles |
2010 |
Innovation
– The European Journal of Social Science Research |
|
6 |
Using Actor-Network Theory to understand
planning practice: Exploring relationships between actants
in regulating low-carbon commercial development |
Yvonne
Rydin |
2012 |
Planning
Theory |
|
7 |
Actor-Network Theory, globalized assemblages
and the impact of oil on agriculture and industry in Ghana |
Pius
Siakwah |
2017 |
The
Extractive Industries and Society |
Source: Prepared by the authors
So, referring to Diehl
and Tatim (2004) and Nascimento
(2012), all selected articles were methodologically analyzed
in the following manner. First, the selected article's methodological
characteristics were identified in terms of the Nature of the Research; the
Issue Approach; the intended Objective, and the Technical Process were singled
out.
Next, the research data
collection and analysis process was defined, aiming to understand how ANT was
applied. During the final phase, a comparative analysis was prepared to
identify standards in the current utilization of ANT in research for the energy
sector.
4.
Results and Discussion
Tables
2 and 3 show the analysis results for each of the selected studies, obtained by
the utilization of three criteria: the research methodological
characterization, data collection process, and data analysis process.
Table 2:
Analysis of Papers 1 to 4
|
Analysis Criteria |
PAPER1 |
PAPER2 |
PAPER3 |
PAPER4 |
|
1) Characterization
Research |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as
diagnostic-research since it has sought to reconstruct an energy project
development. Vernay et al. (2013) used
ANT as a structuring theory to analyze sewage gas
systems' development for transport in Stockholm. According
to the problem approach, this article is characterized as qualitative. Vernay et
al. (2013) used the ANT to reconstruct the socio-technical micro-processes
during the development of an integrated innovation system through textual
data. That is, identifying the actors and their actions that led to network
construction. According
to the objective approach, this article is characterized as exploratory and
descriptive. ·
Exploratory The
history of the network construction was explored through reports and
statements furnished by the interviewed subjects. ·
Descriptive The pros and cons of actors and their actions during the sewage gas
system for transport development in Stockholm city were described. According to the technical procedure, this research
is characterized as a case study, supported by documental research. |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as
diagnostic-research since it has sought to reconstruct an energy project
development. Jolivet
and Heiskanen (2010) analyzed
the implementation of a wind energy generation system and the controversies
that came by during the process in the region of Carmaux
in southern France. According
to the problem approach, this article is characterized as qualitative. Jolivet
and Heiskanen (2010) followed an analytical
approach driven towards exploring the interaction between Technologies
available for the execution of the Wind energy project, the particular local
characteristics, the stakeholders' participation process, and the social dynamics
that arose during the whole process. According
to the objective, this article is characterized as exploratory and
descriptive. ·
Exploratory Throughout
the project's history, one attempted to identify all actors that either
contributed or hampered the implementation of wind energy in the area.
Accordingly, controversies among the actors were also mapped, such as the
technology, the project location, and city residents' participation that were
"benefited" or "impacted". ·
Descriptive The
project details and the context within it had been proposed were described
(the Cap Eole project was part of a broader project
involving the industrial revitalization of an old coal mining area, which
went out of business in 1997. The project was called "Cap
Discovery" and intended to attract tourists and create new jobs.) According to the technical procedure, this research
is characterized as a case study, mainly supported by documental research. The
exploration and description of the Cap Eole project
implementation case searched, "in loco," the data that allowed for identifying
actors and controversies. |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as
diagnostic-research since it has sought to reconstruct the technological
development of fuel cells in Sweden. The
research focused on mapping the socio-technical changes between 1978 and
2005, a period during which fuel cells were included in different visions of
energy systems, initially playing the role of energy transformers and later
being described as a source of energy (HULTMAN; YARA, 2012). According
to the problem approach, this article is characterized as quantitative and
qualitative. ·
Quantitative Hultman and Yara (2012 )built a database containing the most critical and recurring words, as
well as significant events listed in chronological order. The identification
of events and recurring words was an inductive exercise, from which the
analysis was done. A quantitative analysis was previously done using that
material, which shows how fuel cells change over a while. ·
Qualitative The research focused mainly on the description of changes in the fuel
cells' functions over time. These changes go beyond their materiality.
Therefore, the qualitative approach was more important, as it concentrated on
the entities' description and its relations, which brought meaning to the new
technology. (HULTMAN; YARA,
2012). According
to the objective, this article is characterized as exploratory and
descriptive. ·
Exploratory Hultman and Yara
(2012) attempted to reconstruct the fuel cell history from 1978 through 2005,
trying to identify all technology development phases, either from the
material or from the social standpoints. In this sense, the ANT method made
it possible to identify and follow the actors' steps that played an essential
role in the fuel cellfuel cell history's history. ·
Descriptive Hultman and Yara
(2012) reported the history of the fuel cell, describing the role and the
description presented by the actors over creating the network. The technology and its features were also
described. Finally, it was possible to describe how fuel cell history shows
that technological change is intertwined with social changes. According to the technical procedure, this paper is
characterized as documental and bibliographic research. The research focused on the gathering and analyzing
several types of public documents (articles, reports, the WELGAS Project
data, among others) at the time that encompassed the studied period. |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as results
evaluation since it aimed to evaluate the potential of applying ANT as a
method for interdisciplinary energy research. Energy systems are of social and technical nature, which is shaped by
society, but shapes society as well, inasmuch it evolves. Thus, interdisciplinary energy research may
profit from social science, through ANT, since human and non-human actors
form the energy systems. (WONG, 2015). According
to the problem approach, this article may be characterized as qualitative. Wong
(2015) made a qualitative evaluation of ANT's technological potential in
energy systems multidisciplinary researches; debating that ANT may improve
the understanding of
risks and problems involved with energy, technology, and social issues. According
to the objective, this article is characterized as exploratory. Wong (2015) states that ANT
concepts like semiotic-material, heterogeneity, associations, enrolment,
enactment, translation, and mobilization may help to structure an energy
research issue in such a way that it could reconcile researchers, concepts,
features, and data previously divergent and distinct. According to the technical procedure, this article
is characterized as a bibliographic one. Using the ANT method, Wong (2015) studies sociology as a science that
could contribute to the research in the energy sector. Thus, she studies the
available bibliography on ANT. |
|
2) Data Collection |
Data were
collected in a structured manner in the City of Stockholm. For this kind
of data collection, the researcher defines the process based on what is being
searched. In this case, social and technological agents that have
participated in the network construction. About a dozen reports prepared between 2000 and 2011 were collected.
Technical reports, annual reports covering Stockholm, press releases, and specialists'
presentations and city representatives were among those documents. Also, semi-structured interviews with the City of Stockholm
Representative, an SL Project Manager, and a Stockholm Water Project Manager
took place. |
Data were
collected through documental research, considering the article's
methodological characteristics and searching for all kinds of documents
related to the Cap Eole and the Cap Discovery
Projects. Since the research aimed at analyzing the
Project implementation, data collection was done at the same location where
the dynamic interactions between the Project participating actors happened.
Thus, one gathered technical data about the Eolic energy Project,
geographical, historical, and social characteristics pertinent to the region
where the Project was implemented as well as the participation by each
stakeholder. |
Data
collection was done, taking into account the following questions: Who are the
actors? What ideas and visions did they have about the fuel cell? How is the
global energy system depicted? How are fuel cells brought to function
considering the dominant discourse at the period under analysis? In this manner, Hultman and Yara (2012) gathered a wide variety of documental data
between 1978 and 2005. All articles related to fuel cells and hydrogen that
were published in Sweden during that period were gathered. Also, Companies
and Government reports were collected, including some published by the United
States and by the European Union. Also, documents related to the WELGAS
Project, which took place during the ‘80s, were gathered. |
Data
collection was done, taking into account the following questions: How can we
consider the viability of interdisciplinary research? Which social sciences
concepts, specifically those within ANT, are currently available or must be
made available or adapted to engage in technical research about energy
systems? Thereby, the
author collected articles and bibliographic material on ANT. She also revealed
that the utilization of ANT in the energy area is recent but has been raising
the interest of researchers due to the significant impact and risks to
society, the economy, and the environment, exerted by energy projects. |
|
3) Data Analysis |
Based on the Actor-Network
Theory (ANT), contents analysis was done to critically and reflexively
describe the actors and the dynamics in their associations. Thus, it was possible to reconstruct the
integrated innovation system that expressed the City of Stockholm transport's
sewage gas system. This reconstruction also
allowed for the preparation of tables and flowcharts that enhanced the network
construction's understanding. Through
ANT, the authors were able to construct a heterogeneous network of actors who
had interests aligned
with the sewage system Project. The
authors realized that to attain the objective, a network of human and
non-human actors with aligned interests is formed; and that the network
itself, during its creation, is responsible for the access of new actors. |
In addition to the
Actor-Network Theory (ANT), the authors analyzed the
collected data based on the "framing" and "overflow"
notions (CALLON, 1998) in order to understand better the different points of
view of the stakeholders concerning the wind energy project; either those
that adhered to it as those that resisted to its deployment. The
micro-decisions that intertwined the material aspects of technology, the site
where it was implemented, the participation process, and the social
(associations) were analyzed. The authors' analysis suggests a new
approach to examining the Wind Power Projects in terms of the globally
circulating technologies, the site's unique characteristics, the
participation process, and the social dynamics that emerge when these are
combined. In addition to the critical
and reflective analysis, the authors counted on the formative evaluation
analysis by suggesting how a Project Manager should behave to achieve success
in the deployment of an energy Project. A successful Project Manager shall be an actor who continually
reformulates and adapts his project, channeling and
stabilizing the creation and implementation process of an Energy Project as
the Wind Energy Park. This stance will gradually allow for the adaptation of
the project to its environment and its concretization. Usually,
Project Managers show a lack of knowledge about the relevant socio-technical
networks' extension and potential. |
First, the
authors built a database in an attempt to quantify and identify patterns, as
well as to be able to arrange the significant events chronologically. Next, the
researchers concentrated on the qualitative analysis of the data
collected. The network construction
and changes caused by the actors' participation and interaction were
descriptively and critically analyzed. To that
effect, the actors' speeches found in the documental material were analyzed. Hultman and Yara
(2012) analyzed how the fuel cells' role and
function changed during the period studied, being dependent on the different
speeches and changes in the network of participant actors. That analysis was
able to demonstrate how technological changes intertwine with social changes. Thus, one can observe that the authors attempted to use ANT to
recreate history in a reflexive form, having as study object an energy
generation technology. |
The author
follows through with reflexive questions about the role of the social in
energy project issues to analyze the collected
bibliographic material. Wong (2015) critically and reflexively analyzes
ANT's concepts like material-semiotic, heterogeneity, associations, enrolment,
enactment, translation, and mobilization, stating that these concepts may
help better structure the research issues in energy projects. |
Table 3: Analysis of Papers 5 to 7
|
Analysis Criteria |
PAPER5 |
PAPER6 |
PAPER7 |
|
1) Characterization
Research |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as
diagnostic-research since it attempts to understand through a case study how
the network that supports the production of ethanol fuel stabilizes, despite
the increasing number of critics and the criticism about the negative impacts
caused by the biofuel production processes. Vadrot
and Pohoryles (2010) examine the increasing cooperation
for development in the field of biofuels, particularly bioethanol, given the
increasing knowledge on positive and negative impacts caused by the
production and use of biofuels. According
to the problem approach, this article is characterized as qualitative. Vadrot and Pohoryles
(2010) attempted to identify and describe through ANT the actors and
associations involved with ethanol fuel production in Senegal. In this OPEC
member country, biofuels became relevant within the inter-relation with the
European Union incentive policies. According to the objective, this article is characterized as exploratory and descriptive. ·
Descriptive The
article is based on a three-year research project for the Austrian Research Society FFG. It
carefully analyzed the biofuel production in the
Sahel zone in Senegal, against the background of European policies and
legislation. (VADROT; POHORYLES,
2010). ·
Exploratory The article attempts to identify actors and the dynamics of
associations that contribute to stabilizing the ethanol production network,
despite the increase in criticism (VADROT; POHORYLES, 2010). According to the technical procedure, this article
is characterized as a case study. Over three
years, the production of biofuels in
the Sahel zone in Senegal and the European laws directed at biofuels were analyzed. (VADROT; POHORYLES, 2010). |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as
diagnostic-research since it attempts to explore ANT to understand the
planning practice in a project that is aimed at reducing the carbon emission
performance. Rydin (2012)
focused on testing the Actor-Network Theory's potential to understand a world
in which technological systems and climatic changes are constant concerns. According
to the problem approach, this article is characterized as qualitative. Ryadin (2012) focused on analyzing how
network planning during regulation, as seen from ANT's standpoint, engages
with energy consumption and the carbon emissions associated with development. According to the objective, this article is characterized as exploratory and descriptive. ·
Exploratory One tried to
explore ANT's potential for understanding the planning of the urban
development of carbon emissions by using a case study about a Commercial
Office in Central London through its course through the process for
regulation and permission for its execution. ·
Descriptive Project details were
described within the context into which it had been proposed (one starts by
outlining ANT's essential elements and, next, using the case study to apply
the method and, thus, identify the implications on the planning practice). According to the technical procedure, this article
is characterized as a case study, mainly supported by documental research. One utilized a
study based on the analysis of documents on commercial offices' development
and the discussion on its carbon performance within the regulatory planning
process. Also, a site visit and discussions with British Land's
sustainability officer, with two architects from Arup Associates and the
planning consultant, took place. |
According
to the research nature, this article is characterized as
diagnostic-research since it attempts to analyze,
through a case study, how ANT may be used to understand the way that
globalized actors interact with national economics, thus influencing
development. Siakwah
(2017) used the Actor-Network Theory to analyze the
oil impact on three areas of Ghana's economy: agriculture, industry, and
employment. According
to the problem approach, this article is characterized as qualitative. Based on
network geographies, one argues that the impact of oil on Ghana's
agriculture, industry, and employment creation is contingent on and shaped by
a 'globalized assemblage': interactions between the state, institutions,
local politics, and transnational actors and structures. According to the objective, this article is characterized as exploratory and descriptive. ·
Exploratory Through ANT,
one attempted to understand the oil impact on three areas of Ghana's economy
(agriculture, industry, and employment). It was revealed that oil has only
diversified its dependence on natural resources without structurally changing
the national economy. ·
Descriptive. Details of the
oil exploration Project were described, including the context for which it
had been proposed. According to the technical procedure, this article
is characterized as a case study, mainly supported by documental research. Data for this
study was collected from books, articles, documents on politics (between 2010
and 2015), firms' reports, and reports from Civil Society Organizations.
Also, statistical data was used to analyze the
agricultural and industrial growth tendencies and prepare interviews to
identify the perceptions of the impacts of oil on the corresponding economic
sectors (SIAKWAH, 2017). |
|
2) Data Collection |
Data
collection was done via a three-year research project, which aimed at the
close analysis of biofuel production in the Sahel zone of Senegal. Energy firms'
representatives were interviewed. Documental data was collected, as was data
obtained through direct observation. |
Data
collection was based on documents, a site visit, and discussions with British Land's sustainability officer,
two architects from Arup Associates,
and a Planning Consultant, all undertaken during 2010-2011. The City of
London's government plans, as well as planning application files and the
Sustainability Statement (including the Energy Statement) submitted by the
project developer, were collected. For this type
of data collection, the researcher plans to be aware of the expected type of
data. In this case, one sought networks associated with the Office from ANT's
standpoint, constructed during the planning phase and Project regulation,
focusing on energy consumption and the associated carbon emissions. |
Data for this
study was collected mainly from books, articles, documents on politics,
firms' reports, and reports from Civil Society Organizations. For example,
the annual reports from Tullow, issued between 2010 and 2013, identify how
the oil industry contributed to employment and the Country's industry growth. In turn, the
statistical data helped analyze tendencies in economic,
industrial, and agricultural activities. The only
primary data collected were through interviews undertaken between May 2014
and January 2015, with officers from government agencies, oil companies
operating in the Country, and Civil Society Organizations. Purposeful
sampling was used to select the interviewed subjects, as this allowed the
researcher to choose targets who were
better-informed about oil-related activities. Twenty-five interviews took
place, and the discussed matters included employment, work conditions,
industrial growth, technology transfer, and agriculture growth. |
|
3) Data Analysis |
The analysis was done based on ANT, evaluating processes,
technologies, actors, associations, the stabilization, and destabilization of
the network that seeks to develop ethanol fuel production. Thus, one may
identify the importance of cooperation between countries and the intervention
of specific actors; the importance of the adhesion of new actors, like the
second-generation biofuel, although not yet economically viable, and the
useful technological perspectives which contribute to reinforcing the confidence
on the current production and use of biofuels (Vadrot;
Pohoryles, 2010). Despite biofuel's defense, a critical
analysis was done on the limitations faced by offer and demand, even in
cultures highly available and efficient in ethanol production, like sugarcane
and jatropha. (VADROT; POHORYLES, 2010). |
The UCINET software and the
Actor-Network Theory were used for understanding the planning practice. Relations among actors in the regulation of
low-carbon commercial development were explored. It was not the author's intention to analyze
social network (which would be in disagreement with the ANT structure), but
rather map the relations in an illustrative and provocative manner,
complementing ANT's analytical method. The evaluated
case deals with a Project of a building employing renewable energy and low
energy consumption technology. The analysis considered the relations between
the major social actors involved with planning the building (the Architect,
the Developer, and the Project Development Controller). Finally, one
attempted to understand ANT's contribution to the planning theory. It was
concluded that planning practice means working with actors (social and
material) in various ways, using mediators to bring actants
into relationships, so that traceable associations and resultant action can
be generated. |
Data were analyzed using ANT, in an attempt to identify the actors
and construct a network of interactions between oil exploration and the
economic activities related to agriculture and industry, besides employment
generation. The analyzes came up with a diversity of actors, including
external actors, who act like a Globalised Assemblage, which, by the way,
influences the Country's economic policy. This policy plays a determinant
role in job generation and the sector economic activities, and consequently,
in the impacts of the Country's oil activities. Thus, the
research argues that oil may be a problem for the development in peripheral
countries due to interactions between the actors and the global structures
that include national and local policies. It was precisely by using ANT that
one could identify the so-called Globalised Assemblage and its interaction
within the local scenario. Siakwah
(2017) examines how the external political-economic environments interact
with the national economic policies as part of an assemblage that conditions
and shapes natural resources' specific impacts. Siakwah (2017) also argues that due to its
colonial legacy, Ghana's economy is characterized by its dependency on the
exportation of raw materials and importing manufactured products. Moreover,
nowadays, Ghana presents unfavorable relationships
and structural dependency. |
Upon comparing the methodological
characterization of seven evaluated papers, one can observe that the majority
of the papers were of the diagnostic-research type according to the
research-nature. The use of ANT allowed, through the reconstruction of past
events, the actors' identification that influenced the respective studied
network history, and understanding the role of each of the actors.
In
paper four by Wong (2015), it should be noted, which, according to its
research-nature, was characterized as a results-evaluation type since it
evaluated ANT's potential as a method for interdisciplinary energy research.
The idea is strengthened that ANT is used as a diagnostic method for risks
linked to the energy systems, involving the technology, the environment, and
society.
According
to the Problem Approach, one identified the preponderance of the qualitative
characteristic. The ANT is a social science tool and makes use of documentary
and discursive data.
According
to their Objective, the evaluated papers presented exploratory and descriptive
characteristics. That is, ANT enabled the research to identify the actors and
better understand the controversies that were part of the network's dynamics of
associations.
From
the Technical Procedure perspective, one takes that ANT is a method utilized to
evaluate study cases. The systematic bibliographic and documental research were
used in addition to participatory research, when actors of the evaluated
network were interviewed, as noted in papers 5 and 7.
In
the second phase of the methodological analysis, the evaluated papers' data
collection process responded to the characteristics identified in the first
phase of this analysis. One referred to bibliography, documents, and reports,
including those obtained directly from the actors involved with the case study,
as well as some statements made by them.
Finally,
upon comparing the data analysis process, the ANT was not applied in a strictly
standardized manner. The Latour (2000) assumptions,
such as focusing on objects that still present some controversy and the
detection of stabilization and instability conditions throughout the network,
were not observed.
However,
Tureta and Alcadipani
(2009) argue that there are no strict definitions for ANT's analytical
application in every situation. This analytical liberty was identified in the
papers studied. Sometimes more emphasis is given to actors and their discourse,
while in other cases, priority is given to the analysis of associations and
controversies. Even formative analysis is made, resulting in suggestions for strengthening
the studied network, as in paper 2, by Jolivet and Heiskanen
(2010).
One
may also say that the analyzed papers, in their
majority focused on the reconstruction of histories or past events, probably
faced data availability as their major limitation. This constraint must be
overcome during the utilization of the ANT method, which, as stated by Allain (2005), constitutes a cartographic practice of
controversies or the mapping of all problems, which during the data analysis
phase, will enable the delineation of new scenarios for the associations among
the identified actors.
Finally,
it is possible to highlight that ANT, as an analytic method for study objects
related to the energy sector, allows for identifying human and non-human actors
that play an essential role in the development of energy projects. As Venturini (2010) mentioned, they do not seek the solution
of controversies, but rather for the understanding of the dynamics of
relationships that made the expansion and stabilization of the evaluated
network possible.
5.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
ANT is a social sciences
method with a broad potential for utilization in several areas of knowledge.
For research in the energy sector, ANT may be seen as a qualitative method that
contributes to a systemic understanding of projects developed for the area;
meaning that it helps to understand energy's role as a function of associations
with other actors, with the technology, with the environment, and with society.
Even though most
evaluated articles utilized ANT for network analysis of concluded cases, one
understands that this method can be applied to networks under construction. In
the energy sector, ANT could also analyze energy
systems under construction, especially in a global context involving efforts
aimed at sustainable development. The tool would identify the major actors and
those associations that would favor the expansion and
stabilization of networks.
To that end, considering
the current context of a quest for sustainable development, bioenergy
sustainable energies systems could benefit from the ANT method's analytical
potential.
Regarding papers
evaluated limitations, how ANT was utilized for the collected data analysis,
after the actor's identification and the network's extension, did not clearly
show how the interactions are ruled and how those actors interfere, in cases of
adhesion or abandon, with the development and stability of the network. For
this reason, one believes the contributions of other instruments to be
significant, as is the case of the UCINET networks analysis software, mentioned
by Rydin (2012).
As a method in the
energy sector studies, the ANT is still little used but holds a broad
potential, mainly because energy systems are inseverable
from environmental, technological, and social factors, including politics and
economy. Because of this, one believes that the increase in energy research
utilizing ANT as an analysis method will contribute to the development of its
analytical potential, considering that broad, complex, and dynamic networks are
part of that sector even because new networks have continuously been introduced
to the World.
6.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was financed
in part by the Fund for Scientific Initiation (FAPIC) from the Pontifical
Catholic University of Campinas, Brazil.
REFERENCES
Allain, L. R. (2015). Mapping the
professional identity of undergraduates in biological sciences: an
actor-network study based on the institutional teaching initiation scholarship
program. Doctoral thesis, Faculdade de Educação da
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte. Available:
http://hdl.handle.net/1843/BUBD-A3NEYP.
Andrade, J. A. (2004). A translation to understand the relational and the structural in interorganizational networks. Cadernos EBAPE.BR. FGV, 2(2), 01-14.
Cambero, C., & Sowlati,
T. (2014). Assessment and optimization
of forest biomass supply chains from economic, social and environmental
perspectives – a review of literature. Renewable Sustainable Energy
Review, 36,
62–73.
Camillis, P. K., Bussular, C. Z., & Antonello, C. S. (2016). The agency in the perspective of the actor
network theory: reflections and contributions to management research. Organizações
& Sociedade, 23(76), 73-91.
Cavalcante, R. B., Esteves, C. J. S., Pires, M. C. A., Vasconcelos, D. D., Freitas, M. M., & Macedo, A. S. (2017). The actor-network theory as a theoretical-methodological framework in health and nursing research. Texto & Contexto – Enfermagem, 26(4).
Diehl, A. A.,
& Tatim, D. C. (2004). Pesquisa
em ciências sociais aplicadas: métodos e técnicas. São Paulo: Prentice
Hall.
Felt, U., Fouche, R.,
Miller, A. C., & Smith-Doerr, L (2016). The Handbook of Sience
and Technology Studies. 4th edition. MIT Press.
Fornazin, M. (2015). Deploying
Health Informatics in Brazil: An Analysis inspired by the Actor-Network Theory.
Doctoral Thesis
– Public Administration, Escola
Brasileira de Administração Pública e de Empresas da Fundação Getulio Vargas,
Rio de Janeiro. Available: https://bibliotecadigital.fgv.br/dspace/handle/10438/13744
Garcia, M. O. (2015). The technology transfer
process in universities Minas Gerais State from the
perspective of Actor-Network Theory.
Msc Thesis, Universidade
Federal de Viçosa, MG. Available:
http://www.locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/6352
Hultman, M., & Yaras,
A. (2012). The socio-technological history
of hydrogen and fuel cells in Sweden 1978-2005., mapping the innovation
trajectory. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy,
27, 12043-12053.
Jolivet, E., & Heiskanen,
E. (2010). Blowing against the wind –
An exploratory application of actor-network theory to the analysis of local
controversies and participation processes in wind energy. Energy
Policy, 38, 6746–6754.
Latour, B. (2000). Ciência em ação: como seguir cientistas e engenheiros sociedade afora. São Paulo: Editora UNESP.
Latour, B. (2012).
Reagregando o social: uma
introdução à teoria do ator-rede. São Paulo: Editora EDUSC.
Melo, M. F. A. Q. (2011). Discussing learning under actor-network theory perspective. Educar em Revista. Curitiba, PR: Editora UFPR, 9(39), 177-190.
MME - Ministério
de Minas e Energia – Secretaria de planejamento e desenvolvimento energético
(2017). Resenha energética brasileira. Available:
<http://www.mme.gov.br/documents/10584/3580498/02+-+Resenha+Energ%C3%A9tica+Brasileira+2017+-+ano+ref.+2016+%28PDF%29/13d8d958-de50-4691-96e3-3ccf53f8e1e4?version=1.0.
Accessed: 15th Dec 2019.
Nascimento, L.P.
(2012). Elaboração de Projetos de
Pesquisa: monografia, dissertação, tese estudo de caso, com base em metodologia
científica. São Paulo: Cengage Learning.
Nobre, J. C. A., & Pedro, R. M. L. R. (2010). Reflections
about methodological possibilities of the Actor-network Theory. Cadernos UniFOA, Volta Redonda, 14.
Pinto, C. C., & Domenico, S. M. R. (2016). Change and
Actor-Network Theory: Humans and Non-Humans in Controversies for Implementing a
Shared Services Center,
Cadernos
EBAPE.BR, 14(1), 83-115.
Rydin, Y. (2012). Using Actor-Network Theory to understand planning practice: Exploring relationships between actants in regulating low-carbon commercial development. Planning Theory, 12, 23–45.
Roesch, S. M. A.
(2006). Projetos de Estágio e de
Pesquisa em Administração. 3. ed. São Paulo: Atlas.
Siakwah, P. (2017). Actor-Network Theory, globalized assemblages and the impact of oil on
agriculture and industry in Ghana. The Extractive Industries and Society,
4, 462-472.
Tureta, C., & Alcadipani,
R. (2009). The object in organizational
analysis: actor-network theory as an analytic method about the participation of
non-humans in organizing. Cadernos
EBAPE.BR, 7(1), 50-70.
Vadrot, A. B. M., & Pohoryles, R. J. (2010). Multi-level governance, technological intervention, and globalization:
the example of biogenetic fuels. Innovation – The European Journal of Social
Science Research, 23(4), 361–387.
Venturini, T. (2010). Diving in magma: how to explore controversies with actor-network theory.
Public Understanding of Science, 19(3), 258-273.
Vernay, A.-L., Mulder, K. F., Kamp, L. M.,
& De Bruijn, H. (2013). Exploring the socio-technical dynamics of systems integration – the case
of sewage gas for transport in Stockholm, Sweden. Journal of Cleaner Production,
44, 190–199.
Wong, C. M. L. (2016). Assembling Interdisciplinary Energy Research through an Actor-Network
Theory (ANT). frame. Energy Research & Social Science,
12, 106-110.
Woolgar, S., Coopmans,
C., & Neyland, D. (2009). Does STS Mean Business? Organization, 16, 5–30.