Networks of Objects: Practical Preconditions for Electronic Communication

Abstract

The chapter is based on interviews with a group of university scientists in the Department of Chemistry, University of Oslo. It seeks to lay bare some of the processes that the chemists carry out in order to transform their “raw materials” into more or less standardized information that can usually be communicated in the forms of e-mails, etc., in a seemingly unproblematic manner. The chapter argues that this work has been a precondition for the success of electronic communication in the sciences, and that information that has not been through such a process is frequently seen as unfit for electronic media. It follows that further introduction of ICTs in the sciences might not prove useful unless this is taken into account. The chapter includes references to problems and literature from the field of Science and Technology studies.