Many STS studies indicate that involving and empowering users (and other relevant social groups) in the production process will automatically lead to ‘better’ products that will more easily be accepted by ‘the’ users. Is this always the case? How are relations between users (as individual consumers, workers or citizens; or as members of or spokespersons for interest groups, patient or consumer organisations) and producers (designers, policymakers, governments, innovative users) organized? Who (or what) defines users and producers, production and consumption and the relations between them? What is the role of invisible users, non-users and even what could be termed non-human users such as related technologies or the environment? Can researchers influence these relations and, if so, who should do so in what way?

Not only do the definitions of users and producers decide the (kind of) relationship between them, but also the nature of the technologies that tie them together. Is the relationship between users and producers the same if the product is, for instance, a stand-alone technology or a large-scale technological system, a commercial good or public service such as healthcare, science or even art? How are users taken into account in various phases in the life cycle of products (such as in testing) and in what ways are they involved in forecasting instruments and policies? When and how do products become subject to ethical consideration or political contestation and how does that affect user-producer relationships? These are examples of the kinds of questions we will address during the May workshop.

Dear PhD student,

You are welcome to attend the WTMC (Science, Technology and Modern Culture) workshop on user-producer relations in technology from 17-19 May in Ravenstein. During this workshop, experts in the field of user-producer relations, including Professor Wiebe Bijker, Professor Ruud Smits and Professor Stuart Blume, will give lectures. Activities will be organized either around the theme itself (e.g. on focus group methodologies and close reading of key literature on user-producer relations) or around general skills needed for writing a thesis (e.g. writing a thesis outline or internationalization of your research). See below for some of the themes we will address during this workshop.

If you want to attend, please contact Marjatta Kemppainen:

U.M.Kemppainen@bbt.utwente.nl.

For any questions about the content, please contact Els Rommes: e.rommes@pwo.ru.nl.

User-producer relations in technology

In an attempt to move beyond technological and social determinism,

Many STS scholars, especially in the Netherlands, study user-producer

relationships. In many of these studies, suggestions have been made that stimulating user-producer interactions and involving or even empowering users (and other relevant social groups) in the production process will automatically lead to 'better' products. This could mean more democratic products, products that are more acceptable by the market or by 'the' users, or products that in some way improve society by improving e.g. the environment, health or equality. The question remains whether improving the relations between users and producers will indeed lead to the desired ‘better' products?

During this workshop, neither users nor producers will be considered as homogeneous groups. Depending on the technology being studied, users can be individual consumers, workers or citizens; or members of e.g. interest groups and spokespersons, such as patient or consumer organisations. Producers can also have a variety of roles, e.g. designers, policymakers, governments, firms or innovative users. Depending on the definitions of users and producers, their relations will change. Moreover, users and producers can each have various resources, knowledges and positions to draw upon when interacting about a product; and both users and producers are configured by the commercial, innovative or institutional system and context of which they are part. Various theoretical traditions within STS, such as SCOT, ANT, innovation studies,  script and domestication theories have dfifferent ways of thinking about and dealing with these contexts. And they have different ways of considering users: as relevant social groups, as involved actors, users-as-innovators, as configured users or as meaning-producing agents. We will discuss these and other differences and similarities in studying user-producer relations during this workshop.

By providing insights into the use of technologies, or in production processes, some STS researchers have tried to improve the relations between users and producers. Other researchers engage in action research, e.g. by using some of the many methods developed or used by STS researchers for improving relations between users and producers, such as constructive technology assessment, consensus conferences or focus group research. Both kinds of research approaches evoke questions about the role of a researcher: what goals does the researcher have and to what extent and in what direction does the researcher influence user-producer relations, and with what consequences for the outcomes of the research? What does the researcher consider a 'better' product to be? And what methods are available for studying or improving user-producer relations?

We will take some time to address the relevance of these issues for your own research.

Not only do the roles of users and producers decide the (kind of) relationship between them, but so does the nature of the technologies that tie them together. Is the relationship between users and producers the same if the product is, for instance, a stand-alone technology or a  large-scale technological system, a commercial good or public service such as healthcare, science or even art? How are users taken into account in various phases in the life cycle of products (such as in testing) and in what ways are they involved in forecasting instruments and policies? These are examples of the kinds of questions we will address during the May workshop.