Tecnoactivismo. La experiencia política de Riereta.net

La tesis que aquí resumimos explora la propuesta política y epistémica que se desprende del desarrollo de Software Libre realizado desde Riereta.net. A partir de la etnografía de este proyecto, analizamos sus aportaciones a la producción de conocimiento y a los estudios sociales de la ciencia y la tecnología. Esto nos permite definir a la experiencia como un 'taller tecnoepistémico' en el que conviven nuevas formas de organización, objetos y prácticas epistémicas con otras tradicionales, como las propias de los laboratorios y otras instituciones tecno-científicas. Su calificación como experiencia "tecnoactivista" pone en evidencia su potencial crítico y politizador en el campo de la tecnología y la producción de conocimiento. En un segundo momento, exploramos su potencial político a la luz de las teorías de los Movimientos Sociales y otras teorías vinculadas a la filosofía política. Como conclusión, la experiencia de Riereta nos ofrece nuevas formas de comprender la acción política colectiva, sus objetos y agentesThis Thesis's summary explores the political and epistemological proposal that emerges from Free Software development made from Riereta.net. From the ethnography of this project, we analyse its contributions to knowledge production and to social studies of science and technology. This allows us to define the experience as a 'techno-epistemic workshop' in which new forms of organization, objects and epistemic practices coexist with other traditional ones, such as typical of laboratories and other technoscientific institutions. Its description as "technoactivist" reveals its critical and politicizing potential in the field of technology and knowledge production. In a second moment, we explore its political potential in the light of Social Movements' Theories and other ones related to political philosophy. In conclusion, the experience of Riereta offers us new ways of understanding the collective political action, its objects and agent

Semana Internacional del Acceso Abierto 2016. Actividades en la EEAD-CSIC

1 copia .pdf (a-3) del cartel de difusión de las actividades; 2 copias .pdfs de documentos divulgativos difundidos a la comunidad de usuarios EEAD-CSIC.En este año 2016 se cumplen 8 años desde que se inició (marzo de 2008 ) la actividad de colaboración de nuestra Biblioteca con los investigadores de nuestro Instituto, la Estación Experimental de Aula Dei del CSIC (EEAD-CSIC), para la difusión en abierto de su producción científica en el repositorio Digital.CSIC a través del Servicio de Archivo Delegado. Este servicio pasó a estar recogido posteriormente en la Carta de Servicios de la Red de Bibliotecas del CSIC como de carácter básico en todas las Bibliotecas del CSIC.La celebración de la Semana Internacional del Acceso Abierto 2016 (24 a 30 de octubre) nos da ocasión, una vez más, de organizar unas sencillas actividades con las que intentar contribuir por nuestra parte a tan ya arraigado movimiento en nuestra comunidad científica: 1) Divulgación de las novedades más destacables implementadas durante el último año en el repositorio institucional Digital CSIC (documento .pdf, difundido vía email y repositorio). 2) Programación durante oct-nov 2016 de actividad para la generalización de creación de perfiles públicos de autores Open Access EEAD-CSIC en Digital.CSIC con intermediación de la Unidad Técnica de Biblioteca y Documentación (Citas personalizadas y Talleres en Grupos previamente concertados).Peer reviewe

La Virtualización de la afectividad

El trabajo inmaterial, al amparo de las sociedades postfordistas actuales donde la vida ha sido puesta a trabajar, se desarrolla operando sobre una constelación de intangibles como son el conocimiento, la información, los saberes, la comunicación o los afectos. Ocio y negocio, tiempo de descanso y de trabajo, relaciones personales y profesionales se entremezclan cada vez más hasta con-fundirse en un solo momento productivo. Así, el universo de lo afectivo, mientras antes se quedaba relegado al terreno de lo privado, hoy día cobra especial relevancia tanto por convertirse en materia prima de gobierno y capital como en fuente de estrategias de cooperación que desafían el orden social. Para dar cuenta de este proceso en el que la afectividad se problematiza ocupando y desarrollando nuevas relaciones en la sociedad, partiremos de una concepción de la afectividad como relación en contraposición a pensarla como "sustancia". De esta manera, logramos una distinción entre dos modos de abordar a la afectividad. Nosotros optaremos pues por entender a ésta como un "acontecimiento" en lugar de como una "cosa". Como movimiento cualitativo antes que como sucesión de estados emocionales cuantificables. En esta línea pues, rastrearemos cómo la afectividad opera en distintos espacios como la familia, la empresa o las acciones políticas, tanto de control como de resistencia gracias a las TIC's. Para averiguar que lógica o lógicas de acción sigue la afectividad una vez virtualizada. Para ello, haremos uso de la propuesta conceptual de Levy (1999) a partir de diferentes ejemplos cotidianos donde lo afectivo y lo tecnológico se dan la mano.Immaterial labour, in a postfordist era where life is thought as a value in productive terms, developes its function enhanced to abstract values like knowledge, information, communication and "affects". Leisure and business times, personal and professional relationships are entwined in such a manner that makes them confuse in just one productive moment. This is; affectivity, which usually remained in a personal field, nowadays has achieved a special relevance challenging governability and capital strategies via collaborative practices based on communicative and affective articulations. In order to explain how affectivities complicate and develop new power relations in society, we will think of affectivity as a relation rather than a "thing". This is, we will think of it in terms of "event" opposed to "substance". A qualitative moment instead of a quantitative succession of emotional states. According to this, we will trace how affectivity works at the family, enterprise, or social action levels; taking into account control and resistance practices made possible by information and communication technologies. So we hope to see what guides affectivity once being virtualized by TIC's. To do so, we will use Pierre Levy's (1999) conceptual work about the virtual, finding everyday examples that reassemble technological and affectivity issues

Donner une seconde vie aux déchets électroniques

Image d’ouverture Démontage d’un ordinateur cassé © Blanca Callén Au sein des imaginaires collectifs d’un présent et d’un futur fantasmés, le lien entre progrès, innovation et technologie est clairement établi. Les appareils technologiques et les gadgets dernier cri sont envisagés comme des solutions prometteuses à nos besoins quotidiens, aux problèmes sociaux et aux enjeux publics. Dans le même temps, le marché mondial de l’équipement électrique et électronique « grandit de manière exponen..

Firm and country characteristics related to cumulative contribution to society

Purpose: Many indicators attempt to measure the social performance of a company from different perspectives. Grounded in stakeholder theory, this paper aims to propose capitalising the economic value distributed annually to society over a period of time, hereafter called a firm’s cumulative contribution to society (CCS). This can be done by including everything that stakeholders value; for example, payments of taxes, remuneration of employees, payments to suppliers and creditors, donations, dividends, research and development expenses and efforts to improve the environment. Design/methodology/approach: First, this paper makes a methodological proposal about how to calculate the CCS and discusses potentials and shortcomings. Then, a set of hypotheses are formulated about the firm characteristics and country attributes that make the most positive contribution to society such as business models, financial performance, a country’s human development, income equality and the extent of its shadow economy. The authors also argue that a company that originally contributes to society will continue to do so because of the structural inertia faced by organisations. The hypotheses were validated with an empirical study conducted with a sample of 9, 276 new-born European companies. Findings: The most significant contributors to society are large, profitable companies, which are leveraged but solvent, with high asset turnover and high-profit margins and which are productive and pay high wages. Unfortunately, this win-win situation describes a small percentage of the explained variance, which can explain why social and financial performance sometimes do not go hand-in-hand. The paper identifies features of other types of companies that contribute to society, suggesting criteria for socially responsible investors. Country development favours the cumulative contribution that firms make to society. Research limitations/implications: Most accounting systems do not collect all the information necessary to calculate a refined version of the indicator such as percentage of purchases from local suppliers, percentage of salaries for executives and disabled employees and percentage of financing from socially responsible financial entities. The authors encourage modification of the accounting systems to include those aspects. Practical implications: This paper identifies several types of companies that contribute the most to society from a modest set of financial indicators. Socially responsible investors can estimate their contribution to society, devising new investment criteria. Social implications: The paper identifies several types of companies that contribute the most to society from a modest set of financial indicators. Socially responsible investors can estimate their contribution to society, devising new investment criteria. Originality/value: The paper makes two contributions, one methodological and the other empirical. By applying a financial methodology, the authors propose to capitalise the contributions of a company over a period of time. The empirical study identifies both firm and country characteristics that explain CCS

The relationship between microfinance mission drift and financial returns to stakeholders

Some microfinance institutions (MFIs) can drift from their social mission, generating well-studied effects for their borrowers. We focus on the lesser-known effect of mission drift on the financial return to other stakeholders (employees, government, micro-savers, and banking creditors). Using a sample of 534 MFIs, we calculated the economic value distributed by the MFI to these stakeholders by considering salaries, taxes, and interest paid. We found a negative relationship between average loan size and return to employees (RTE), government, and banking creditors, and a positive relationship between women borrowers and RTE and government. This is explained by the fact that mission-focused MFIs are usually small, labor-intensive institutions with a stable business model. We found a positive relationship between average loan size and return to micro-savers, and a negative relationship between women borrowers and return to micro-savers. The reason is that many mission-focused MFIs do not offer micro-savings, undermining financial inclusion

The role of organisational factors and environmental conditions on the success of newly founded firms

This study examines the influence of founding conditions and decisions on new companies' performance, analysing how both environmental context and organisational dynamics interact to determine their success. It distinguishes between two different success indicators: survival and profitable growth. An empirical study conducted using a sample of 3,722 new agri-food companies in two different periods, one of economic stability and the other of recession, showed that founding conditions had long-lasting effects on post-entry performance. The economic context acted as a moderator of the relationship between individual factors and success. Adverse environmental conditions were also a determinant of success, making surviving firms more competitive and resilient. The results reflect the survival of the fitter principle by showing that early profitability reduced the risk of failure and made firms more likely to become profitable in the medium term. Internationalisation strategies developed organisational capabilities that created an imprint for adaptability and growth