Organizing Simulation Code Collectives

This article examines the ways researchers develop and use computer programs for numerical simulations and the different social relationships that are involved in creating the frames for these activities. On the basis of ethnographic case studies of numerical simulation practice in astrophysics, oceanography, and meteorology, including climate modelling, the present article discusses how work with simulation codes can be discussed by means of a typology of simulation code collectives. This typology provides a systematic account of how a particular and increasingly important form of software development and use takes place in science. It also contributes to current discussions on the relation between producers and users of technology by suggesting that the defi nition of them as empirical categories can be understood through the social relationships that the people (simulationists) working with them are embedded in

Dödsorsaksdatas produktionsprocess : Regler och aktörer inom ett kunskapsmaskineri

Rapporten beskriver de huvudsakliga stegen i att skapa data om dödsorsaker med fokus på vilka lagar och regler det styrs av och strukturen följer av detta. I Sverige dör årligen ca 90 000 personer, mestadels på sjukhus och sjukhem, men även i hemmet. Det är oftast patientens läkare som bedömer dödsorsaken. Hur undersökningar av dödsorsaker rent praktiskt bör gå till är i mycket begränsad utsträckning styrt av förordningar. Lagen föreskriver när klinisk obduktion får ske, men det är en bedömningsfråga när det är av särskild betydelse att ta reda på dödsorsaken och kliniska obduktioner hör numera till ovanligheten. Lagen föreskriver också när rättsmedicinsk undersökning kan komma ifråga, men rättsmedicinska obduktioner kan i sig innefatta olika undersökningar. Det är egentligen enbart rättsmedicinska läkare som har utredning av dödsorsaker som främsta arbetsuppgift, medan alla andra typer av läkare verksamma på vårdcentraler och olika sjukhuskliniker mer eller mindre sällan behöver arbeta med detta. Rapporten visar hur det trots stort intresse för kvaliteten hos dödsorsaks-bedömningarna finns mycket lite kunskap hur dödsorsaksbestämning går till i praktiken. Rapporteringen av dödsorsakerna sker via ett dödsorsaksintyg som skickas till Socialstyrelsen. Dödsorsaksintyget är format utifrån reglerna för internationell sjukdomsklassifikation för statistiska syften, ICD, och har som syfte att standardisera hur rapporteringen går till. Socialstyrelsen ger riktlinjer för hur dödsorsaksintyg ska fyllas i, men det huvudsakliga arbetet med att följa ICD:s klassificeringsregler sker främst i samband med att inrapporterade dödsorsaker kodas av ett automatiskt klassificeringsprogram, baserat på ICD:s regler. Narkotikadödlighet och arbetet med en specifik substansmodul kopplat till dödsorsaksregistret lyfts fram som exempel på vilka anpassningar och samarbeten som behöver göras för att hantera ett klassifikationssystem som underminerar mer specifik kunskap om en specifik form av dödlighet. I slutorden ges förslag på frågor av vikt att arbeta vidare med, framförallt gällande hur läkares bedömningsarbete gällande dödsorsaker liksom konkret registerarbete går till

Making Meteorology : Social Relations and Scientific Practice

This thesis is about the production of knowledge in meteorological research. Meteorology is an interesting case because of its crucial role in defining the climate change problem, but also because of its reliance on simulation modeling, a comparatively little studied scientific practice. The thesis provides an analysis of the central practices of simulation modeling and field experimentation. It draws upon concepts from social world theory, where practice is closely related to work. The thesis also employs the notion of translation, as developed by the actor-network approach, in order to analyse how different practices and entities become associated with each other. Empirical data was collected with interviews and participant observation and most of the fieldwork was conducted at the Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University. The first four chapters are preliminary: Introduction, theory, method and a review of the field and its history (Chapters 1–4). The empirical findings are then presented in four chapters. Chapter 5 presents how meteorological experimentalists organize collaborations by connecting and translating different practices. The use of measuring instruments has an important role in this. In Chapter 6, modeling work is described in detail. The differences between modeling for weather forecasting and for research purposes are analyzed and in particular, the construction of simulation models. It is concluded that this involves a materialization of theoretical models. The next two chapters take their point of departure in intersections where modeling practice meets experimentation. Chapter 7 is focused on model evaluation and I conclude that the comparison of observations and model output is needed to produce reference in simulation modeling and thus, legitimate this practice. The second intersection, discussed in Chapter 8, is the construction of new components of simulation models, so-called parameterizations. In addition to the previously mentioned sources, the analysis in this chapter is also based on research funding applications. It is concluded that climate research is constructed in such a way that parameterizations become potential boundary objects that shape the relationship between experimentalists and modelers. The final chapter discusses the central findings of the thesis. It is structured around different themes within social world theory: subworlds and segmentation, legitimation, arena processes, and intersections. Crucial methodological issues are revisited as well. It is shown how climate modeling shapes meteorological research and the consequences of simulation modeling practice for scientific work more generally are outlined as well. The chapter also includes an extensive discussion of the utility of the concept boundary object

Credulous Modellers and Suspicious Experimentalists? Comparison of Model Output and Data in Meteorological Simulation Modelling

This article studies the relation between two specialised practices in meteorology, modelling and field measurements. This relation is embodied in a number of joint practices of which model evaluation is one of them. The relationship between theory, model and observation has been of concern for many philosophers of science whereas the relationship between the working practices that underlie theories, models and observations, has received less attention. This paper describes and compares the practices that generate observation data and model output and the way different roles that fieldworkers and modellers have in this process are established. Next, different practice-oriented perspectives on the status of models, data and experiments are analysed and the discussion then moves on to the different trouble-shooting strategies scientists deploy, depending on their position within the discipline. It is shown that these strategies are often based on the ideas and judgements that modellers and experimentalists express about each other, and by implication, about their own role in the meteorological enterprise

Strategic actions to regulatory change : How banks adapt to PSD2

PSD2 is an EU directive implemented 1st May 2018 that forces banks to share information related to account information and payment initiations to third-party providers. The aim of the directive is mainly to increase integration, effectivity and competition on the European payment market.  With increased competition for banks, revenues are expected to decrease and previous literature on PSD2 are consistent with the fact that strategic actions beyond compliance have to be made. However, there is no previous studies on how banks are strategically adapting to PSD2.  The purpose of this thesis was to examine how banks are adapting strategically to PSD2, this to provide a better understanding about how banks are adapting to new regulatory changes.  The research question "What strategic actions are being performed within banks due to PSD2?" was answered through a qualitative research by conducting semi-structured interviews with the four largest banks in Sweden. The interviews were analyzed through a thematic analysis approach.  Five main implications could be concluded: (1) strategically, the researched banks are doing more than merely complying to PSD2, (2) some of the researched banks are planning to provide services that goes beyond PSD2, (3) the researched banks are creating digital platforms through open APIs, (4) innovation in the researched banks increases due to PSD2 and (5) collaborations in the researched banks increases due to PSD2

Strategic actions to regulatory change : How banks adapt to PSD2

PSD2 is an EU directive implemented 1st May 2018 that forces banks to share information related to account information and payment initiations to third-party providers. The aim of the directive is mainly to increase integration, effectivity and competition on the European payment market.  With increased competition for banks, revenues are expected to decrease and previous literature on PSD2 are consistent with the fact that strategic actions beyond compliance have to be made. However, there is no previous studies on how banks are strategically adapting to PSD2.  The purpose of this thesis was to examine how banks are adapting strategically to PSD2, this to provide a better understanding about how banks are adapting to new regulatory changes.  The research question "What strategic actions are being performed within banks due to PSD2?" was answered through a qualitative research by conducting semi-structured interviews with the four largest banks in Sweden. The interviews were analyzed through a thematic analysis approach.  Five main implications could be concluded: (1) strategically, the researched banks are doing more than merely complying to PSD2, (2) some of the researched banks are planning to provide services that goes beyond PSD2, (3) the researched banks are creating digital platforms through open APIs, (4) innovation in the researched banks increases due to PSD2 and (5) collaborations in the researched banks increases due to PSD2