Editing Actor–network theory (section)

== ANT in practice ==
ANT has been considered more than just a theory, but also a [[methodology]]. In fact, ANT is a useful method that can be applied in different studies. Moreover, with the development of the digital communication, ANT now is popular in being applied in science field like [[Information system|IS]] research. In addition, it widen the horizon of researchers from arts field as well.

=== ANT in arts ===
ANT is a big influencer in the development of [[design]]. In the past, researchers or scholars from design field mainly view the world as a human interactive situation. No matter what design we [<nowiki/>[[wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Unsupported attributions|who?]]] applied, it is for human's action. However, the idea of ANT now applies into design principle, where design starts to be viewed as a connector. As the view of design itself has changed, the design starts to be considered more important in daily lives. Scholars [<nowiki/>[[wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch#Unsupported attributions|who?]]] analyze how design shapes, connects, reflects, interacts our daily activities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yaneva|first=Albena|date=2015|title=Making the social hold: Towards an actor-network theory of design|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17547075.2009.11643291|journal=Design and Culture|volume=1|issue=3|pages=273–288|doi=10.1080/17547075.2009.11643291|s2cid=143849758}}</ref>

ANT has also been widely applied in museums. ANT proposes that it is difficult to discern the 'hard' from the 'soft' components of the apparatus in curatorial practice; that the object 'in progress' of being curated is slick and difficult to separate from the setting of the experiment or the experimenter's identity.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Waller|first=Laurie|date=2016|title=Curating actor-network theory: testing object-oriented sociology in the Science Museum|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331366426|journal=Museum and Society|volume=14|issue=1|pages=193–206|doi=10.29311/mas.v14i1.634|doi-access=free}}</ref>

=== ANT in science ===
In recent years, actor-network theory has gained a lot of traction, and a growing number of [[Information system|IS]] academics are using it explicitly in their research. Despite the fact that these applications vary greatly, all of the scholars cited below agree that the theory provides new notions and ideas for understanding the socio-technical character of information systems.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Walsham|first=Geoff|date=1997|title=Walsham, G. (1997). Actor-network theory and IS research: current status and future prospects|chapter=Actor-Network Theory and IS Research: Current Status and Future Prospects |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-0-387-35309-8_23.pdf|journal=Information Systems and Qualitative Research|pages=466–480 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-35309-8_23|isbn=978-0-387-35309-8 }}</ref> Bloomfield present an intriguing case study of the development of a specific set of resource management information systems in the UK National Health Service, and they evaluate their findings using concepts from actor-network theory. The actor-network approach does not prioritize social or technological aspects, which mirrors the situation in the case study, where arguments about social structures and technology are intertwined within actors' discourse as they try to persuade others to align with their own goals. The research emphasizes the interpretative flexibility of information technology and systems, in the sense that seemingly similar systems produce drastically different outcomes in different locales as a result of the specific translation and network-building processes that occurred. They show how the boundary between the technological and the social, as well as the link between them, is the topic of constant battles and trials of strength in the creation of facts, rather than taking technology for granted.<ref name=":3" />