Overshadowed By Royal Roads: Vocationally Oriented MiddleSchools as Pathways to Higher Education in Switzerland

Raffaella Simona Esposito (2025)

Social Inclusion, Vol. 13, Open access

Abstract. In Switzerland, four different educational pathways lead to higher education (HE): baccalaureate schools, upper‐secondary specialized middle schools, vocational middle schools, and dual vocational education and training (VET) combined with a federal vocational baccalaureate. The four pathways are not equally supported by Swiss education policy: Baccalaureate schools and dual VET plus a federal vocational baccalaureate are politically treated as the two royal roads to HE, while specialized middle schools and vocational middle schools, in this study grouped under the term vocationally oriented middle schools (VOMS), receive only little political attention. This holds true even though VOMS have a high transition rate to HE and are considered to have the potential to bring young women into male‐typical HE programs and attract high‐achieving youths with a migration background. The study investigates from a governance perspective how (in practices and processes) the conception of the royal roads to HE is constructed and reproduced as well as how this affects the positioning of VOMS as pathways to HE in Switzerland. The study refers to the theoretical framework of the sociology of conventions and the concept of valuation practices. The data basis consists of publicly available documents and qualitative interviews. The findings show that commensurations, categorizations, visualizations, and the interplay between a variety of human and non‐human actors reinforce two highly stable and powerful cognitive formats of royal roads to HE. At the same time, these same practices construct an image of VOMS as less significant additional pathways to HE by rendering their qualities and potentials as such pathways comparatively invisible or tabooing them in the service of educational policy interests. With these findings, the present study contributes to the international scholarly discussion on permeability between VET and HE.

Extract: “From a functionalist perspective, society and the labor market demand a variety of educational qualifications, which in turn necessitate diverse educational programs, each with distinct characteristics. These characteristics, along with the corresponding qualifications, are assigned different meanings and values. This leads to the question of how the quality and value of educational programs are socially constructed. In contrast to the understanding of quality in common educational policy discourse (Hupka‐Brunner et al., 2015), the sociology of conventions framework (Boltanski & Thévenot, 2006; Diaz‐Bone & de Larquier, 2022) does not view quality as something that can be determined ontologically, objectively, and universally. In this view, quality is rather the result of processes of attribution by actors on the basis of different orders of worth (quality conventions; for quality conventions in education see Imdorf & Leemann, 2023). Eymard‐Duvernay (2012a) has called this process of attribution “valuation.” In this context, Favereau (2017) emphasized that quality is the product not only of valuation processes but of devaluation processes as well.” (p. 7)

Lien / Link

The Conventionalist Approach in the Analysis of Unemployment

Alessandro Morselli (2024)

History of Economic Thought and Policy, 2024/2, p. 149-161

Abstract. The purpose of this paper is to show the contribution of the conventionalist approach to the analysis of unemployment. The role of labor evaluations is highlighted. This approach leads to very different economic policy positions than those developed by neoclassical theory. Emphasis will be placed on microeconomic aspects, but in order to act in a macroeconomic context, i.e. that of conventions. In contrast to a Keynesian analysis oriented more on the quantitative problems of labor market disequilibrium, the effort here will be to show the importance of qualitative issues.

Keywords: unemployment analysis, coordination, quality conventions, evaluation operations, economic policy

Lien / Link

Standards and the Transformations of Modes of Governing: Perspectives from Convention Theory

Laura Centemeri & Carlotta Mozzana (2025)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. Economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC), also known as convention theory, has long focused on standardization. Its founders played a significant, yet not entirely acknowledged, role in developing and establishing the predominantly Anglo-Saxon field of the sociology of standards. The EC/SC perspective on standards centers around the idea of “investments in forms,” developed by Laurent Thévenot as part of a material approach to power and the coordination of action. From a convention theory perspective, the chapter discusses the importance of standards in understanding neoliberal globalization. Standards are advocated by both market and nonmarket entities to achieve legitimate coordination, comparability, and compatibility, bypassing the regulatory authority of the state. Thus, governing with the support of standards transforms into governance through standards. In the first section, the chapter further explores Thévenot’s approach, focusing on his analysis of the neoliberal turn as standardizing liberalism. Thévenot’s framework is then compared with other perspectives on the political implications of standardization and, more broadly, quantification within the EC/SC tradition. The discussion then shifts to contributions in convention theory that deal with standards in specific policy areas, such as health, education, and urban planning. These policy insights show how measurable standards and certifications can radically transform economic sectors, everyday life, and ordinary experiences. They also highlight the complexity of current developments related to datafication and digitalization and the contribution EC/SC can bring to this debate.

Lien / Link

French-Japanese Joint Meeting around the American Institutionalist John RogersCommons

French-Japanese Joint Meeting around the American Institutionalist John Rogers Commons was held in online in November 2 and 9, 2024. It contributed to activate the institutionalist and pragmatic sociologist network across France and Japan.

The meeting was organized by Véronique Dutraive (Lyon 2 University) and Takayuki Nakahara (Hannan University), inspired by the publication of French translation of J.R. Commons’ masterpiece, Institutional Economics 1934 (L’Économie institutionnelle: Sa place dans l’économie politique. Translation supervisors: Jean-Jacques Gislain and Bruno Théret. Garnier, 2024).

Presenters drew his economic-legal perspective, economic-ethic perspective, institutional evolution approach, and pragmatist approach. The participants eagerly exchange their knowledge on the multiple perspectives and approaches contained in Commons Institutional Economics. This knowledge will be presented in the annual meeting of Japan Association for Evolutionary Economics, March 22-23, 2025.

On the Economics of Convention (EC), Christian Bessy (IDHES ENS Paris-Saclay) and Kota Kitagawa (Kansai University) demonstrated the convergences between EC and Commons’ Institutional Economics (IE) on their viewpoints of the transformations of the employment relationship.

Working Paper of C. Bessy and K. Kitagawa is published in following URL :“John R. Commons and Convention Theory around the transformations of the employment relationship”, https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04896550

Whole program of the meeting is following:

French-Japanese Joint Meeting AROUND JOHN ROGERS COMMONS

Saturday, 2 November – Session 1

  1. Hiroyuki UNI (Otemon Gakuin University): John R. Commons’s Two-layered Theory of Reasonable Value
  2. Laure Bazzoli and Véronique Dutraive (Lyon 2 University): John Commons and John Dewey: a cross-fertilized reading
  3. Akihiro Abe (Otemon Gakuin University): The Conditions for a Reasonable Institution: Comparing the Positions of J.R. Commons and Amartya Sen
  4. Guillaume Vallet (University of Grenoble): John R. Commons and Sociology: More Than an Influence

Saturday, 9 November – Session 2

  1. Takayuki Nakahara (Hannan University): Basic Model of Evolutionary Institutional Economics on J. R. Commons’ Institutional Economics
  2. Christian Bessy (IDHES ENS Paris-Saclay) and Kota Kitagawa (Kansai University): Commons and Convention Theory around the transformations of the employment relationship
  3. Shingo Takahashi (Tokyo College of Transport Studies): Social Security Theory of John R. Commons
  4. Thierry KIRAT (CNRS): John R. Commons: A Legal Theorist

Pre-Workshop session “Applying multiple correspondence analysis in convention theory– practical introduction(s) and exercise(s)”

8 September 2025 (14.00-18.00), at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Organized by Julia Brandl (University of Innsbruck, Austria), Rainer Diaz-Bone (University of Lucerne) and Guillemette de Larquier (University of Lille, France).

Multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) is seen as a “best practice” for analyzing quantitative data in EC/SC, however, remains still little used in current research projects. The half-day training session is intended to develop knowledge on convention-theoretical analysis with the help of MCA and provide impulses for participants’ own research projects within the tradition of convention theory. The session consists of two parts: In part 1, the organizers provide a practical illustration of a convention-theoretical analysis with MCA and reflect theory-based decisions for adequate research designs. Comparisons to the uses of MCA in the field-theoretical tradition of Pierre Bourdieu are intended, too. In addition, the suitability of MCA compared to other statistical methods, such as regression techniques (i. e. multi-level analysis or logistic regression), will be discussed. Part 2 offers space for participants to discuss their own research projects and develop ideas for using MCA in these projects. We use round tables for small-group discussions and conclude with a plenary discussion.

We welcome scholars who are experienced with MCA and other statistical methods as well as scholars who have worked mainly with qualitative data.

Scholars who want to participate can register until 31 May 2025 (via email to julia.brandl@uibk.ac.at). Please let us know if you wish to share your research project the group discussion part and provide a ½page summary of the project.

Julia Brandl
Rainer Diaz-Bone
Guillemette de Larquier

Workshop “Doing neopragmatist research – Using and reflecting methods and methodologies in convention theory”

9-10 September 2025, at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland
Organized by Léonie Bisang, Rainer Diaz-Bone, Guy Schwegler (all University of Lucerne) and Kenneth Horvath (University of Teacher Education Zurich).
Laurent Thévenot (EHESS Paris) will be the keynote speaker and special guest.

Over the decades after its foundation in the 1980s around Paris, the approach of economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC) has become a well-established and internationally recognized neopragmatist institutionalism. There are several generations of scholars who have applied EC/SC to an increasing extent of topics and scientific fields, resulting in a huge body of research. Accordingly, scholars in the field of EC/SC have begun to systematize, evaluate and reflect on the EC/SC’s achievements, its specificities, and its proper scientific practices. The workshop intends to drive this process of reflection and development forward, focusing on EC/SC’s research methods and practices as well as on its methodological and epistemological positions and contributions.
The topic of methods and methodologies can be related to various aspects such as (1) the more general reflection on characteristics and developments of doing and reflecting about research in the style of EC/SC; (2) the methodological properties of EC/SC as a pragmatist institutional analysis; or (3) the particularities and usages of EC/SC’s methods and methodologies when applied to specific topics and research areas. (4) Also, EC/SC can serve as a framework to consider methodological developments outside in the broader field of social sciences. Below are several examples of questions that could be addressed:

  • How can we plan convention theorist research and unfold a neopragmatist explanation in institutional analysis?
  • What are general principles of neopragmatism and what about their practical consequences for applied research?
  • What would be the special features of empirical convention theorist analysis compared to other institutionalist approaches?
  • How are conventions identified and their dynamics and impacts in situations tracked?
  • Which kind of data can and should be used?
  • How can existing methods be adapted and employed?
  • How should we assess the quality of EC/SC’s empirical research?
  • How can more recent developments, such as digitalization and AI, be incorporated into EC/SC’s research practice, and how can research on their e􀆯ects be conducted?
  • What are the a􀆯ordances of neopragmatist methodological perspectives for understanding and addressing current dynamics and challenges that social researchers face (e.g. the methodological fragmentation of social research)?

Scholars intending to actively participate and to give a presentation in the workshop can contribute with different kinds of presentations. Options include (but are not limited to): (a) discussions of methodological issues or problems related to one’s ongoing research (as PhD projects), (b) presentations of new methods or methodological innovations, and (c) general contributions to methods as well as methodological and epistemological issues. Scholars are invited to send their title and abstract (round about 250 words) until 31 March 2025 (via email to rainer.diazbone@unilu.ch).
Scholars who want to participate without presenting can register until 31 May 2025 (also via email to rainer.diazbone@unilu.ch).
Sessions will be implemented that gather presentations linking the fields of applied research (e.g. labor, education, management/HRM, sustainability/climate change, health, culture) to the questions listed above.
The workshop continues the series of (almost annual) EC/SC workshops. Participants will meet and discuss with experts in the field and can expect valuable and intense exchanges.

Léonie Bisang
Rainer Diaz-Bone
Kenneth Horvath
Guy Schwegler

Sustainability, Climate Change and Convention Theory

Sarah Lenz (2025)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. The article explores the application of the economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC or convention theory) to the study of sustainability, emphasizing its utility in addressing the complexities of climate change. It aims to explore how convention theory can illuminate the diverse understandings and practices around sustainability across various social groups and institutional frameworks. By employing EC/SC, it is demonstrated how different “worlds” or conventions—such as market, industrial, and green—shape the actions and justifications of actors in relation to sustainability goals. In doing this, it discusses the historical evolution of sustainability, tracing it from its roots in eighteenth-century agriculture to its current status as a global environmental policy principle, underscored by pivotal reports like the Brundtland Report. Furthermore, it examines how sustainability has been variably integrated into economic systems, often critiqued as an “empty signifier” due to its conceptual ambiguities and the challenge of implementing it in tangible policies. The article highlights the role of convention theory in revealing how sustainability is negotiated amid conflicting economic and ecological objectives, making it particularly pertinent for analyzing policy designs, institutional responses, and governance strategies at the United Nations climate summits and beyond. This contribution could not only enrich the understanding of sustainability dynamics but also proposes EC/SC as a crucial framework for critically assessing the interplay between environmental imperatives and socioeconomic structures in the era of climate change.

Lien / Link

Health, Algorithms, and AI: Perspectives from Economics and Sociology of Conventions

Karolin Eva Kappler (2025)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. The economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC) has been widely applied to health(care), identifying a plurality of values related to health as well as analyzing ongoing developments in terms of commodification, industrialization, and digitization. These transformations, also known as (digitally enhanced) evidence-based medicine, predictive medicine, patient-centered health, or smart health, are particularly driven by specific investment in forms—specifically algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI).
After a short introduction to algorithms and AI and their areas of application, such as public health, processes in healthcare (health services research), medical research, prevention, prediction, risk profiling, diagnostics, therapy, prognosis, rehabilitation, and care, the chapter will, in a first step, review the discourses around algorithms and AI from an EC/SC perspective, linking the promises and harms around these digital investment in forms with the corresponding order of justification and understanding of the common good. In a second step, a connection is made between data worlds and algorithmic worlds, discussing the value-driven conflicts between market-driven approaches, bias-critical, and decolonial movements, algorithms for public good-designs, and developments based on fairness, transparency, and accountability. With its focus on investments in forms, the EC/SC sheds not only an alternative light on the algorithmic construction of reality but offers insights into the ongoing negotiations on technological regulation and governance.

Lien / Link

Conventions, Rationality, and Social Interaction

Rouslan Koumakhov (2025)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. The concept of rationality is a central concern for social sciences in general and for economics in particular. The chapter focuses on the role that rationality plays in the work of Olivier Favereau, cofounder of economics and sociology of conventions (in short, EC/SC or convention theory). One of the major pillars of Favereau’s account of conventions is the assumption of bounded rationality, a notion suggested and elaborated into a theory by the Nobel Prize-winning polymath Herbert Simon. The chapter discusses how the acceptance of bounded rationality distinguishes convention theory from dominant neoclassical economic theories. In Favereau’s account, rationality is inherently intertwined with various issues of social interaction, including coordination problems within collective entities. The chapter describes various connections between rationality, behavioral rules, and formal organizations. Such connections relate to key concepts of EC/SC, especially the notion of common worlds or quality conventions. The chapter emphasizes the links between Simon’s theory of bounded rationality and the emphasis on reflexivity and normativity in convention theory. It examines critiques of the assumption of bounded rationality as foundational to convention theory and discusses the related evolution of the role of rationality in the EC/SC program.

Fig. 1 Taxonomy of economic theories. (Based on Favereau 1989a, b, 2010, 2020)

Lien / Link

Tourism, Regions, and Convention Theory

Delphine Rime (2025)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. This article demonstrates how economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC) is useful for understanding the socioeconomic processes related to tourism. Compared to other economic activities, the value creation process in tourism is stretched from a spatiotemporal perspective: value is built in two places and two “moments.” To carry out these economic transactions, the conventions established by the actors involved (whether demand or supply-side actors) are particularly readable due to this spatiotemporal stretching. This peculiarity is explored through the general principles of EC/SC (conventions, valuation) and through two particular concepts of EC/SC (enrichment and business model). It is also shown that it is because of this spatiotemporal stretching that tourism particularly well allows an understanding of the value construction processes that concern all economic activities.
The chapter discusses tourism-dependent regional development processes, which differ from development processes dependent on traditional industrial activities. Practical consequences of the evolution of tourism at the global level for regions are considered. The now constant and multidirectional flow of mobile consumers is of considerable importance in development dynamics. Thus, the established conventions for attractiveness on the one hand, and for territorial management vis-à-vis mobile consumers, are also evolving. The development of regions now depends on innovations of a more political and social nature than those traditionally theorized by the literature in economic geography and regional development.

Lien/Link

The Financialized Enterprise: Alternative Perspectives of Convention Theory

Jürgen Kädtler (2025)

In Rainer Diaz-Bone & Guillemette de Larquier (eds.), Handbook of economics and sociology of conventions. Cham: Springer, Online first

Abstract. With respect to the enterprise as a subject of convention theory or economics and sociology of conventions (EC/SC), financialization stands for a somehow paradoxical history: At the beginning, one if not the main concern was on defending the plurality of logics of economic action and respective logics of coordination in companies against the unique optimization logic of mainstream economics’ agency theory. Financialization, together with the emergence of a “new spirit of capitalism”, stands for a reversal of perspectives, at least in an important stream of EC/SC’s research. In this perspective, the vision of the contractual enterprise seems to have become empirical reality by the implementation or the enforcement of financialized frameworks of valuation. On the other hand, there is another stream of research, drawing on financialization as one convention-based way of evaluation and coordination among others, with the financialized firm never being only financialized. The conclusion emphasizes the perduring relevance of initial concepts of EC/SC, which focus on the empirical analysis of coordination of action on the microlevel of enterprises and firms as fruitful as heuristics for corporate analysis, especially under the conditions of financialization.

Lien / Link

コンヴァンシオン理論と芸術文化の価値形成 −アートと資本主義の融解/緊張をめぐって−

Convention Theory and Valuation in Comtemporary Art: The Convergence and Tension between Art and Capitalism

Junya Tatemi (2024)

Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, Vol.43 No.1-3 Autumn 2024 pp.2-19

Abstract. In this paper, we take Boltanski and Chiapello’s ‘The New Spirit of Capitalism’ as the warp and woof of a theoretical framework for understanding the valorization of art and culture in relation to the political economy process of contemporary capitalism. It is the theoretical framework for understanding the valorization of art and culture in relation to the political-economic processes of modern capitalism. The concept of ‘art world’ is discussed in the context of the political economy of contemporary capitalism. By rethinking the concept of the art world from the perspective of convulsion theory, the following findings were obtained. The value of art and culture is determined by the value of the art world. The value of art and culture is determined by the ‘quality practices’ shared within the art world. The value of art and culture arises as a result of a series of operations that highlight, evaluate, and test specific attributes inherent in objects/situations, with reference to the ‘quality practices’ shared within the art world. It is the result of a series of operations that highlight, evaluate, and test specific attributes inherent to an object/situation with reference to shared ‘quality practices’ within the art world. It is created through practices in pragmatic situations, in which not only people but also things are involved. Value is created and re-created through interactions in the complex interweaving of people and things (i.e., situations). With this, the art world is redefined not only as the world of people, but also as a world composed of people and things. This shows that the political economy over the power of valorization emerges as an important issue. This allows us to examine the relationship between the art world and its external world, especially capitalism. This provides a perspective from which to examine the relationship between the art world and its external world, and capitalism in particular.

Lien / Link

Circulación y recepción de la categoría Población Económicamente Activa en Argentina (1940-1955): contextos, vínculos internacionales y posicionamientos

Circulation and Reception of the Category Economically Active Population in Argentina (1940-1955): Contexts, International Links and Positioning

Lautaro Lazarte (2024)

Población y sociedad, 31(2) Open access

Resumen. Este artículo indaga sobre la construcción y circulación de categorías estandarizadas para cuantificar la fuerza de trabajo en el siglo XX, a partir del caso del indicador Población Económicamente Activa. Esta métrica formó parte de un movimiento global de producción homogénea de cifras, construcción de nuevos saberes disciplinares y la formación de redes de contacto. Para Argentina, se reconstruyen sus primeros usos por parte de José Francisco Figuerola, Juan Carlos Elizaga y Gino Germani, su vinculación con estos ámbitos internacionales y su posicionamiento respecto del término.

Abstract. This article investigates the construction and circulation of standardized categories used to quantify the labor force in the twentieth century, based on the case of the Economically Active Population indicator. This metric was part of a global movement toward the homogeneous production of figures, the construction of new disciplinary knowledge and the formation of contact networks. For Argentina, we reconstruct its early uses by José Francisco Figuerola, Juan Carlos Elizaga and Gino Germani, connection they had to international spheres and their positioning with respect to the term.

Spielräume des Ermessens. Praxeologische Überlegungen zu Aushandlungsprozessen in Fallbesprechungen der Jugendsozialarbeit

Scope for discretion. Practical considerations on negotiation processes in case discussions in youth social work

Michael Rölver (2024)

Weinheim: Beltz/Juventa. Open access

Über das Buch. Fachkräfte der Sozialen Arbeit sind herausgefordert, in komplexen, oftmals uneindeutigen Situationen Entscheidungen zu treffen. In der vorliegenden Arbeit werden Ermessensspielräume in Fallbesprechungen der Jugendsozialarbeit empirisch nachgewiesen und in der Entstehung rekonstruiert. Bei ihrer interaktiven Aushandlung kommt nicht nur theoretisches, sondern auch praktisches, implizites Wissen zum Ausdruck. Auf spezifische Weise fallen in diesen Aushandlungsprozessen fachliche Autonomie und Reproduktion sozialer Ordnung zusammen. Im Umgang mit Uneindeutigkeiten werden Praktiken der Bewältigung erkennbar, die auf die Wahrnehmung von fachlichen Handlungsmöglichkeiten gerichtet sind. Ermessensspielräume werden daher als zentrale Orte der Vermittlung professionalisierter Praxis konzipiert.

Auszug: “Ein weiterer Ansatz, der sich mit der Bedeutung von Institutionen befasst, ist die Soziologie der Konventionen. Konventionen sind demnach Interpretationsrahmen zur Koordination und Evaluation von Handlungen […]. Situative Interaktionen und der Entwurf von Begründungsfiguren sind von entscheidender Bedeutung. Institutionen beruhen auf Konventionen, die ihrerseits auf Gesten und Bewertungen aufbauen, die wechselseitige Erwartungen erzeugen (vgl. Wagner 1993, S. 469 f.). Es wird ein alternativer Ansatz zu dem von Weber entwickelten Konzept instrumenteller Handlungen und der von Bourdieu vorgeschlagenen Theorie des Habitus entwickelt (Diaz-Bone/Thévenot 2010, S. 7).” (S. 101/102)

About the book. Social work professionals are challenged to make decisions in complex, often ambiguous situations. In this study, the scope for discretion in case discussions in youth social work is empirically proven and reconstructed in its development. In their interactive negotiation, not only theoretic but also practical, implicit knowledge is expressed. In these negotiation processes, professional autonomy and the reproduction of social order coincide in a specific way. In dealing with ambiguities, practices of coping become recognizable that are directed towards the perception of professional possibilities for action. Discretionary leeway is therefore conceived as a central place for the mediation of professionalized practice.

Extract: “Another approach that deals with the significance of institutions is the sociology of conventions. According to this, conventions are interpretative frameworks for the coordination and evaluation of actions […]. Situational interactions and the design of justification figures are of decisive importance. Institutions are based on conventions, which in turn are based on gestures and evaluations that generate mutual expectations (cf. Wagner 1993, p. 469 f.). An alternative approach to the concept of instrumental actions developed by Weber and the theory of habitus proposed by Bourdieu is developed (Diaz-Bone/Thévenot 2010, p. 7).” (S. 101/102)

Quantification as social technology: Integrating studies of quantification with philosophy of technology

Weibo Li (2024)

Technology and Society, Vol. 78, September 2024, 102635

Abstract. Studies of quantification are an emerging academic interest due to the datafication and quantification trends in modern society. The existing literature on this interdisciplinary field involves two approaches: a history of science approach and a sociology approach. This article argues for adding perspectives from the philosophy of technology. The philosophy of technology raises otherwise neglected ontological, epistemological, and ethical questions about the technology of quantification. Quantification as social technology is non-neutral and exhibits social constructed features, which beyond the commonly perceived realist opinions. The social-constructed quantification also has the ability to influence social agents, mediating the way humans exist in and understand the life world. Ethical and political questions about quantification call for integration into an already rich ethical and political discourse surrounding technological artifacts, actions, and political agendas.

Lien / Link