Nuevas formas literarias para las ciencias sociales : el caso de la autoetnografía

Este es un trabajo sobre el momento de escribir en el proceso de la investigación. Es decir sobre el poder de la escritura. La posmodernidad no ha pasado en vano por la psicología social, ni por el resto de ciencias sociales. Ha aportado un debate crucial sobre las formas de expresión de la ciencia establecida y los efectos de poder que se desprenden de ella. Los estudios sociales de la ciencia y la tecnología han contribuido a esclarecer las ficciones a qué nos aboca el método científico, sobre todo en las denominadas ciencias "duras". Las etnografías experimentales de la antropología posmoderna han establecido la duda sistemática sobre la autoridad del etnógrafo y sus escritos. Tanto si hablamos de metodologías cuantitativas como cualitativas, la preocupación por los efectos de poder de la producción del conocimiento científico, está en el orden del día. Pero además cabe preguntarse si el contenido es independiente de la forma, e incluso si lo que escribimos ya lo sabíamos antes de escribirlo. En esta comunicación, nos proponemos ir a la búsqueda de nuevas formas literarias que cuestionen los efectos de poder habituales, sin perder de vista el objetivo final de la producción de conocimiento, que es la reflexión de la sociedad sobre sí misma. Para hacerlo, hará falta librarse de algunas dicotomías problemáticas como por ejemplo la separación entre objeto y sujeto, entre realidad y ficción, entre la forma y el contenido y, claro está, entre los resultados de la búsqueda y su inscripción en cualquier dispositivo material. Por esta razón, exploraremos con cierto detenimiento las posibilidades que tiene la autoetnografía para cumplir con estas promesas.This is a study of what it is to write up a piece of research. That is, a study of the power of writing. Postmodernism has had its sway over social psychology as such as over the other social sciences. It has set a query against established forms of scientific writing, and what they imply. Social studies of science and technology have debunked the fiction of scientific method, especially in the allegedly "hard" sciences. Equally, in the so-called "soft" sciences, New, experimental forms of ethnography, done by postmodern anthropologists, have doubted the very idea of the ethnographer's authority. Whether qualitative or quantitative, all methods are now in question.This article reviews new literary forms which might offer a way to both challenge the ever-present issues of power, while at the same time keeping true to the social scientist's fundamental aim - to promote society's reflection on itself. To do so, one will have to break fee from such limiting, but unconscious, binaries as the divide between object and subject, reality and fiction, and between form and content. Autoethnography presents itself as one such promising literary form

Towards an integrated management of water resource issues in the Dyle catchment (Scheldt basin, Belgium): the European MULINO project (MULti-sectoral, INtegrated and Operational decision support system for sustainable use of water resources at the catchment scale)

The pressure on water resources is continuously increasing in Europe. If a great deal of scientific knowledge is available in many fields, this knowledge is often treated in isolation. To support the scientific basis for integrated water management, the MULINO project, an acronym for MULti-sectoral, Integrated and Operational decision support system (DSS) for the sustainable use of water resources at the catchment scale, funded by the European Union, is currently executed. The purpose of the MULINO project is to provide a tool to improve the integrated management of water resources at the catchment scale, following the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD, J.O.CE, 2000). The DSS developed is a computer system based on hydrological modelling, multi-disciplinary indicators and multi-criteria evaluation procedures. The underlying design of the DSS is based on the Driving Forces-Pressures-State-Impact-Responses framework for reporting on environmental issues (EEA, 1999; OECD, 1993). One case study is the 700 km² Dyle catchment situated in the centre of Belgium (50°38N 4°45E) and part of the Scheldt basin. A coupling of an integrated hydrological model (SWAT: Soil and Water Assessment Tool, Arnold et al., 1993) with land use change modelling (SFARMMOD, Audsley et al., 1979) is developed in close collaboration with local end users and stakeholders. This work will provide a useful tool to analyse water resources management alternatives and to assist local managers in complex problems such as flooding, nitrate and pesticides contamination of waters, as to identify solutions for the implementation of the WFD at the catchment scale

Performatividad Tecnológica de Género : explorando la Brecha Digital en el mundo del Videojuego

En este artículo revisamos el campo de los estudios sobre género y videojuegos. Los videojuegos por su carga lúdica, que hace que su consumo sea facultativo e informal, nos permiten comprender algunos de los mecanismos que mantienen a las chicas alejadas del mundo tecnológico, sin tener que apelar a razones o mecanismos institucionales, que no explican correctamente las exclusiones "voluntarias", es decir, aquellas que se producen porque la persona "no quiere" o "no está interesada" en participar en un sector básico para la configuración de la sociedad. Mostramos cómo la creación y el consumo de tecnología, especialmente de videojuegos, en el mundo occidentalizado, recrea distintos espacios de vida para las personas en función de la invención, distribución y performación de diferencias sexualesIn this article we revise the field of gender and video games. Video games for their ludic component, which makes their consumption facultative and informal, allow us to understand some of the mechanisms that maintain girls away from the technological realm without using institutional reasons which do not correctly explain the "voluntary" exclusions, that is to say those produced because the person "does not want" or "does not show interest" in participating in a basic sector for society construction. We show how creation and consumption of technology, especially of videogames, in the Occidentalized world, recreates different life spaces for people in function of the invention, distributions and perfor-mance of sexual difference

Nuevas formas literarias para las ciencias sociales: el caso de la autoetnografía

This is a study of what it is to write up a piece of research. That is, a study of the power of writing. Postmodernism has had its sway over social psychology as such as over the other social sciences. It has set a query against established forms of scientific writing, and what they imply. Social studies of science and technology have debunked the fiction of scientific method, especially in the allegedly 'hard' sciences. Equally, in the so-called 'soft' sciences, New, experimental forms of ethnography, done by postmodern anthropologists, have doubted the very idea of the ethnographer's authority. Whether qualitative or quantitative, all methods are now in question. This article reviews new literary forms which might offer a way to both challenge the ever-present issues of power, while at the same time keeping true to the social scientist's fundamental aim - to promote society's reflection on itself. To do so, one will have to break fee from such limiting, but unconscious, binaries as the divide between object and subject, reality and fiction, and between form and content. Auto-ethnography, as Creative Analytical Practice presents itself as one such promising literary form

Les cultures no existeixen

Too often we forget that culture is not a social fact but a concept. In this article it will be argued that cultures do not exist, in spite of their apparent pervasiveness within the social sciences and in daily life. A question will be raised as to the ideological role of the idea of culture, that is, what effects does it produce in the social construction of reality? To do that, the concept and its uses will be criticized, noting that the very concept and its use in daily life represents practices of classification and segregation. Finally, it is suggested that the concept of culture should be abandoned and that we should look forward to new ways of conceiving human diversity more suitable to a situated ethical thinking

Brecha digital de género : una revisión y una propuesta

En este artículo ofrecemos una revisión de los estudios sobre la brecha digital de género a nivel nacional e internacional, centrándonos concretamente en las investigaciones sobre la infrarrepresentación de las mujeres en el ámbito formativo y profesional de las nuevas tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC). Asimismo, caracterizamos brevemente las intervenciones e iniciativas desarrolladas en ese ámbito cuyo objetivo ha sido contrarrestar esta situación. Después, evaluamos críticamente los supuestos teóricos de esas investigaciones e intervenciones, demasiado centradas en considerar la cuestión un problema "de las mujeres", para, finalmente, ofrecer recomendaciones que vayan en la dirección de articular una perspectiva de género que nos permita avanzar en el conocimiento de las causas concretas y las posibles soluciones de la brecha digital de género sin esencializar ni el género ni la tecnologíaIn this article we offer a review of national and international studies of the gender digital divide, centering specifically in the research on women underrepresentation in the educational and professional field of new information and communication technologies (ICT). We also briefly characterize the interventions and actions developed in this field whose aim has been to counter this situation. Afterwards, we evaluate critically the theoretical assumptions of the reviewed investigations and undertaken actions, too centered in considering this question "a women's problem". Finally, we offer some recommendations to articulate a gendered perspective, which would allow us to progress in the knowledge of the concrete causes and the possible solutions of the gender digital divide without essentializing neither gender nor technolog

El fracaso : sinsabores sobre escritura y ciencia

Este cuento académico explica la historia de un profesor de psicología social que un buen día decide hacerse escritor, pero como no tiene formación adecuada para ello, ni voluntad suficiente, ni nada en su personalidad ayuda a tal menester, decide hacer escribir a sus estudiantes narrativas autoetnográficas, esperando que al menos eso le obligue a predicar con el ejemplo. Por el camino recluta a otra profesora, lo cual le hace sentirse acompañado un tiempo, sin embargo la profesora sí es alguien serio y ella sí escribe un relato autoetnográfico, y a modo de un final parcialmente feliz, consigue también que una de sus doctorandas escriba una tesis autoetnográfica. Mientras tanto el profesor no es capaz de escribir nada, lo que le obliga a justificar a qué ha dedicado tanto tiempo desarrollando una serie de argumentos sobre escritura y ciencia que luego refleja en un artículo que, con mucha ayuda, escribe para la Revista Umbral.This academic tale tells the story of a social psychology professor that one day decides to become a writer, but, not having enough will power, nor an adequate technical background, moreover not having a single personality trait helping this happen, he decides his students will write autoethnographical narratives, hoping that at least this will necessarily compel him to practice what he preaches. Along the road, he inducts another professor, making feel him less alone for a while, however she is somewhat more reliable and happens to write an autoethnographic story, moreover, as a partial happy ending for this story, she gets one of her Ph.D. students to write an autoethnographic thesis. Meanwhile, he cannot write a single line, which drives him to develop a series of arguments on writing and science to justify to what the hell he has been devoting his time that finally end in a paper he writes, with much help, for Revista Umbral