Pragmatic Information Management For Environmental Monitoring In Oil And Gas

The oil and gas industry has an installed base that is characterized by local fragmented approaches for data management. Inside this information infrastructure, real-time monitoring of the subsea environment remains an unexplored arena that demands a cross-disciplinary and cross-organizational data integration layer. Semantic technologies have been proposed in the literature as a possible standardization solution. Their development depends on collaborative processes involving business partners from different industrial domains, thus requiring that an equifinal level of understanding is reached and boundaries of knowledge sharing are overcome. We describe an ethnographic study from an inter-organizational project in an oil and gas company, where the objective is to develop an integrated solution for real-time subsea environmental monitoring. We identify the challenges that emerge when sharing knowledge at a boundary on a syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic level. (i) The different backgrounds of the organizations involved and (ii) the unresolved issues affecting semantic-based solutions influence the possibility of reaching a shared understanding at a syntactic and semantic level. We open the black box of semantic technologies thanks to an information infrastructure perspective and conclude that collaboration can be carried out on a pragmatic level by addressing the implications of the specific technology

Entanglement of Infrastructures and Action: Exploring the Material Foundations of Technicians’ Work in Smart Infrastructure Context

This study explores the mutual constitution of materiality and action in smart infrastructure context by focusing on technicians’ IT-enabled work with complex, distributed, and inherently unreliable smart power grid. Past research suggests infrastructures form a context and a topic unlike the dyadic interaction of humans and computers, and have provided accounts of the ways in which the smart infrastructures shape technicians’ work. This study develops a view of agency in smart infrastructure context in order to increase understanding on materiality of action. A concept of infra-acting is brought forth that situates action as part of (the material constitution of) infrastructure. Infra-acting posits that performing actions as part of infrastructures are (1) conditioned by material history; (2) dependent on mobilizing actors; (3) shaped by invisible and dynamic actors; and (4) riddled by vagaries. An ethnographic research provides an empirical illustration to foreground technicians’ actions corollary to the materiality of infrastructure

Understanding sustainability through the lens of ecocentric radical-re?exivity : implications for management education

This paper seeks to contribute to the debate around sustainability by proposing the need for an ecocentric stance to sustainability that reflexively embeds humans in—rather than detached from—nature. We argue that this requires a different way of thinking about our relationship with our world, necessitating a (re)engagement with the sociomaterial world in which we live. We develop the notion of ecocentrism by drawing on insights from sociomateriality studies, and show how radical-reflexivity enables us to appreciate our embeddedness and responsibility for sustainability by bringing attention to the interrelationship between values, actions and our social and material world. We examine the implications of an ecocentric radically reflexive approach to sustainability for management education

Performing Continuity of/in Smart Infrastructure : Exploring Entanglements of Infrastructure and Actions

Nearly everything we do in contemporary organizations and societies builds on some form of infrastructure. Our reliance on infrastructures underscores the importance of the continuity of these infrastructures. However, the infrastructures are inherently unreliable and unpredictable and achieve veneers of permanence and stability only through constant and ongoing efforts. In their functioning, they become established through complex and uncertain processes that involve a number of actors and factors. Consequently, understanding those processes is a key concern for organizations that are responsible for these infrastructures. Traditionally, the literature on the business continuity of organizational functions has emphasized the importance of planning and management approaches. Practitioners and academics have brought forth frameworks to aid organizations in planning and managing their continuity-related issues. The frameworks offer universally applicable processes and procedures that organizations should follow to improve their continuity. However, these frameworks tell little about continuity itself. Organizations rarely function as they document or as management describes organizational work. As such, the complex and uncertain processes of continuity cannot be directly inferred from the documents or from the managerial descriptions of work. If we wish to enact meaningful changes to those complex and uncertain processes through which infrastructure continuity becomes established, we need to understand how those processes unfold in practice. This dissertation focuses on infrastructure continuity in a smart infrastructure context. Smart infrastructures are traditional infrastructures that have been extended with digital technologies. In this research, infrastructure continuity is approached from the perspective of technicians working in the smart infrastructure context. The technicians’ work in these contexts is constitutively entangled with information systems and the technologies that form the infrastructures. As such, the smart infrastructures form an intriguing and fruitful yet rather unexplored context for information systems research. Theoretically, this research builds on sociomaterial theorizing and especially on Karen Barad’s agential realism. The purpose of this dissertation is to increase understanding on how the continuity of smart infrastructure becomes performed. This purpose is explored through six research articles that form the foundations of this dissertation. Methodologically, this research builds on conceptual and empirical research approaches. The conceptual research focuses on developing and clarifying business continuity- and sociomateriality-related concepts and approaches through argumentation and a literature review. The empirical research builds on a qualitative research approach and, more specifically, on ethnographic research. As is typical for ethnographic research, the empirical material was collected from a single organization that was studied extensively over a several-month participant observation. Reflecting the purpose of the study, the ethnography was conducted in a centralized operations center of a smart infrastructure (smart power grid) where technicians work with information systems and technologies. This dissertation contributes to the literature on infrastructure continuity and on sociomateriality. The primary contribution to the infrastructure continuity literature is a performative conceptualization of the infrastructure continuity. This conceptualization suggests that business continuity is not an attribute of any single measure but is an outcome of a joint accomplishment of sociomaterial networks of agencies that becomes established through recurrent actions. As such, the findings of this research challenge some of the taken-for-granted assumptions embedded in the literature but also extend the earlier literature. In addition, this dissertation extends discussions on sociomaterial agency. In the light of the findings, when agency is situated in the context of a smart infrastructure, agency becomes historic, polycentric, dynamic, and discontinuous.Lähes kaikki mitä me teemme nyky-yhteiskunnassa nojaa infrastruktuureihin. Voimmekin sanoa elävämme keskellä infrastruktuurien verkostoa. Riippuvaisuutemme infrastruktuureista korostaa niiden toiminnan jatkuvuuden tärkeyttä. Nämä infrastruktuurit ovat kuitenkin perustaltaan epäluotettavia ja arvaamattomia. Niiden toimivuus syntyy monimutkaisten ja epävarmojen prosessien kautta, jotka sisältävät moninaisia toimijoita ja tekijöitä. Näiden prosessien ymmärtäminen on keskeistä organisaatioille, jotka vastaavat näistä infrastruktuureista. Perinteisesti kirjallisuudessa, joka keskittyy toiminnan jatkuvuuteen (eng. business continuity), on korostettu suunnitelmien ja hallinnoinnin merkitystä. Suunnitteluun ja hallinnointiin on kehitetty useita johtamisen viitekehyksiä. Ne tarjoavat universaaleiksi tarkoitettuja määrämuotoisia prosesseja ja menettelytapoja, joita organisaatioiden tulisi noudattaa. Nämä viitekehykset kertovat kuitenkin hyvin vähän siitä mitä tai miten toiminnan jatkuvuus itsessään käytännössä ilmenee. Organisaatiot harvoin toimivat kuten dokumentoivat tai kuten organisaatioiden johto kuvailee toimintaa, joten näistä ei voida suoraan päätellä organisaation toimintaa. Kuitenkin jos haluamme toteuttaa merkityksellisiä muutoksia niihin monimutkaisiin ja epävarmoihin prosesseihin, joiden kautta toiminnan jatkuvuus syntyy, meidän tulee ymmärtää paremmin näitä prosesseja käytännössä. Tässä tietojärjestelmätieteisiin sijoittuvassa väitöskirjassa keskitytään toiminnan jatkuvuuteen älykkäiden infrastruktuurien (eng. smart infrastructure) kontekstissa. Älykkäillä infrastruktuureilla tarkoitetaan tässä tutkimuksessa perinteisiä infrastruktuureja, kuten sähköverkkoja, vedenjakelua, ja tieverkostoa, jotka ovat digitalisoitu. Aihetta lähestytään erityisesti infrastruktuurin parissa toimivien teknikoiden työn kautta. Teknikoiden työ näissä ympäristöissä on nivoutunut kiinteästi yhteen tietojärjestelmien ja teknologioiden kanssa, jotka muodostavat infrastruktuurin. Älykkäät infrastruktuurit muodostavatkin näin erityisesti tietojärjestelmätieteiden tutkimukselle kiinnostavan, mutta vähän tutkitun kontekstin. Tutkimus pohjautuu teoreettisesti sosiomateriaalisuuteen ja nojaa erityisesti Karen Baradin filosofiseen ja teoreettiseen viitekehykseen toimijarealismista (eng. agential realism). Tutkimuksen tavoite on tuottaa ymmärrystä siitä, miten infrastruktuurien jatkuvuus toteutuu käytännössä. Tätä tavoitetta on tässä väitöskirjassa tutkittu kuuden vertaisarvioidun artikkelin kautta. Menetelmällisesti tutkimuksessa on nojattu sekä konseptuaaliseen että empiiriseen tutkimukseen. Konseptuaalinen tutkimus keskittyy toiminnan jatkuvuuden ja sosiomateriaalisuuden käsitteiden ja lähestymistapojen kehittämiseen sekä selventämiseen argumentoinnin ja kirjallisuuskatsauksen avulla. Empiirinen tutkimuspohjautuu laadulliseen tutkimusotteeseen ja nojaa etnografiseen tutkimusmenetelmään. Kuten etnografiselle tutkimusmenetelmälle on luonnollista, aineisto pohjautuu pääosin osallistuvaan havainnointiin yhdessä organisaatiossa, jota on tutkittu intensiivisesti. Heijastaen tutkimuksen tavoitetta ja ongelmanasettelua, etnografinen tutkimus suoritettiin älykkään infrastruktuurin (sähköverkon) keskitetyssä valvomossa, jossa teknikoiden työtä tietojärjestelmien ja teknologioiden parissa seurattiin useiden kuukausien ajan. Tutkimuksen tulokset osallistuvat infrastruktuurien toiminnan jatkuvuuden ja sosiomaterialisuuden keskusteluihin. Tutkimuksen keskeisin tulos toiminnan jatkuvuuden tutkimukseen on toiminnan jatkuvuuden konseptualisointi suoritettuna toimintana. Tämän konseptualisoinnin mukaan toiminnan jatkuvuus ei ole jonkin menetelmän ominaisuus vaan jatkuvuus tuotetaan yhteisesti sosiomateriaalisessa toimijoiden verkossa toistuvien tekojen kautta. Tutkimuksen tulokset siis haastavat mutta myös edistävät aiempaa kirjallisuutta toiminnan jatkuvuudesta. Lisäksi, tutkimuksen tulokset edistävät keskusteluita toimijuuden sosiomateriaalisuudesta. Tulosten valossa, kun toimijuutta tarkastellaan infrastruktuurikontekstissa, on toimijuus historiallinen, polysentrinen, dynaaminen ja yllätyksellinen.Siirretty Doriast

Situated with Infrastructures: Interactivity and Entanglement in Sensor Data Interpretation

This paper elaborates on situatedness as an empirical phenomenon in computer-mediated settings. It is based on studies of petroleum engineers and how they work with digital sensor data. We show how their work practices are born out of a history of constitutive entanglement with specific types of sensors, the data they produce, and the information systems that process them. This entanglement arises from interaction between humans, technology, and the oil reservoir and is a fundamental aspect of the situations in which interpretative work occurs. We empirically show how different sensors in the petroleum production systems produce data in interaction with their surroundings, and that these data are creatively “stretched” to represent subsurface phenomena. When groups of engineers collaborate remotely with colleagues to make sense of problematic data, entanglement with specific II’s is an important aspect of situatedness. The situationally particular in these settings is not as much a matter of locations as of histories of interaction with specific technologies. The notion of situatedness has been pivotal in stressing the importance of the particular circumstances in which work is performed. It has throughout its history been a counterweight to rationalistic accounts of work and the focus on design of standardized work processes. Here we show that patterns of interaction with specific information infrastructures make up a crucial part of situated work and that these may have non-local dimensions

An investigation of management accounting control systems in the palm oil industry:a sociomaterial approach to practice change

The primary aim of this research is to understand what constitutes management accounting and control (MACs) practice and how these control processes are implicated in the day to day work practices and operations of the organisation. It also examines the changes that happen in MACs practices over time as multiple actors within organisational settings interact with each other. I adopt a distinctive practice theory approach (i.e. sociomateriality) and the concept of imbrication in this research to show that MACs practices emerge from the entanglement between human/social agency and material/technological agency within an organisation. Changes in the pattern of MACs practices happens in imbrication processes which are produced as the two agencies entangle. The theoretical approach employed in this research offers an interesting and valuable lens which seeks to reveal the depth of these interactions and uncover the way in which the social and material imbricate. The theoretical framework helps to reveal how these constructions impact on and produce modifications of MACs practices. The exploration of the control practices at different hierarchical levels (i.e. from the operational to middle management and senior level management) using the concept of imbrication process also maps the dynamic flow of controls from operational to top management and vice versa in the organisation. The empirical data which is the focus of this research has been gathered from a case study of an organisation involved in a large vertically integrated palm oil industry company in Malaysia specifically the refinery sector. The palm oil industry is a significant industry in Malaysia as it contributed an average of 4.5% of Malaysian Gross Domestic Product, over the period 1990 -2010. The Malaysian palm oil industry also has a significant presence in global food oil supply where it contributed 26% of the total oils and fats global trade in 2010. The case organisation is a significant contributor to the Malaysian palm oil industry. The research access has provided an interesting opportunity to explore the interactions between different groups of people and material/technology in a relatively heavy process food industry setting. My research examines how these interactions shape and are shaped by control practices in a dynamic cycle of imbrications over both short and medium time periods

Saving energy at sea: seafarers’ adoption, appropriation and enactment of technologies supporting energy efficiency

The shipping industry is currently facing a major challenge related to environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. New regulations and ambitious international goals that aim at mitigating carbon-based emissions with 50 %, demands on profitability, along with a growing awareness about the climate change, has prompted the maritime sector to increasingly focus on how to improve energy efficiency and reduce fuel consumption in ship operations. This thesis aims at describing and understanding the challenges of improving energy efficiency seen from the lens of crew members’ work and to investigate the adoption, appropriation and use of particular technologies, purported to support energy efficiency in ship operation. Using an ethnographic approach and drawing on various practice-based concepts and theories such as communities of practice, activity theory and the imbrication of material and social agency, the four papers (I – IV) included in the thesis were based on extensive field studies in two shipping companies and onboard 11 passenger ferries. The empirical studies revealed that the introduction of new technologies and their subsequent incorporation in and change of established skills and practices is a complex social process depending on the knowing and learning of practitioners as well as their activities, meanings, identities and norms as developed and negotiated in specific settings over time. The thesis contributes to our general understanding of the situated process of adoption, appropriation and use of new technologies in the maritime domain and the sociomaterial nature of energy efficiency

Exploring limits to performativity : (re)constituting everyday performances through planned change

This thesis addresses a critical conundrum in the strategy-as-practice debate: to what extent and under what conditions can a model be performative during the co-performation of routines and strategy? The concept of performativity argues that models do not merely describe settings but transform and shape the reality within these settings. As evidenced by the failure of most change initiatives, not all models successfully transform settings. Drawing on an ethnographic study of interactional patterns of action in the context of a complex technology-mediated, boundary spanning professional service routine; this work explores the limits to progression and diffusion of a planned change model’s performativity during the co-performation of routines and strategy to achieve the purposeful routinisation and coordination of organizational activities. Through identifying the felicity and infelicity conditions for the performativity of a planned change model and analyzing their dynamic interplay, I develop a model for the co-performation of routines and strategy; and propose a framework for the model’s empirical limits to performativity. I argue that these limits demarcate the space for ‘performativity struggles’ and provide a framework for the analysis of ‘performativity failures’ for new strategy. I add to the literature on strategy-as-practice through theorising on the empirical limits to performativity – a key dynamic within strategy praxis that is as yet under studied within the strategy-as-practice approach.This thesis addresses a critical conundrum in the strategy-as-practice debate: to what extent and under what conditions can a model be performative during the co-performation of routines and strategy? The concept of performativity argues that models do not merely describe settings but transform and shape the reality within these settings. As evidenced by the failure of most change initiatives, not all models successfully transform settings. Drawing on an ethnographic study of interactional patterns of action in the context of a complex technology-mediated, boundary spanning professional service routine; this work explores the limits to progression and diffusion of a planned change model’s performativity during the co-performation of routines and strategy to achieve the purposeful routinisation and coordination of organizational activities. Through identifying the felicity and infelicity conditions for the performativity of a planned change model and analyzing their dynamic interplay, I develop a model for the co-performation of routines and strategy; and propose a framework for the model’s empirical limits to performativity. I argue that these limits demarcate the space for ‘performativity struggles’ and provide a framework for the analysis of ‘performativity failures’ for new strategy. I add to the literature on strategy-as-practice through theorising on the empirical limits to performativity – a key dynamic within strategy praxis that is as yet under studied within the strategy-as-practice approach