À propos de l’article de François-Xavier de Vaujany, « Les figures de la gestion du changement sociotechnique »

The approach adopted by François Xavier de Vaujany draws from “structurationist” research in English-speaking social sciences, a current that shares with the sociology of technology a vision of the contextual and negotiated nature of the links between technical and organizational phenomena. Various trajectories in the way organizations use new information and communication technology can be compared; and the role, examined that specific mediators play in the appropriation process. This approach provides stimulating input in discussions about the impact of new technology on organizational change.     

Les régimes de production des connaissances de la sélection animale. Ontologies,mesures, formes de régulation

This paper analyses the co-production of knowledge and socio-economic order in animal breeding. Is it possible to historicise analyses of the actor-network theory (ANT) and to show forms of pairing between knowledge production and sociopolitical order typical of a given historical period? Symmetrically, in an approach based on regimes of knowledge, how do we account for the differences that remain over a given period? Drawing on the differences in the exploitation of animal genetics in three production sectors (beef, pork, chicken), this paper analyses the diversity of the composition of the socio-(bio)technical methods of animal selection and the mechanisms for stabilising these methods. It also explains the relations with factors whose forms of existence do not depend only on local arrangements. In this way, one can move from local heterogeneous agencements to regimes of knowledge.     

Gérer la qualité de l’eau : singularisation, évaluation et régime de gouvernement

The April-June 2002 issue of Sociologie du Travail opened its pages for a discussion of the question of quality. Authors highlighted two mechanisms: “identification/singularization” (a sociotechnical process of co-constructing the quality of goods and services) and evaluation (a process of building up confidence so as to do away with uncertainty about the quality of goods and services). Can these two processes be analyzed together? If so, how to understand their interactions? As the example of managing the water supply and wastewater shows, jointly analyzing these two processes helps us understand the work of “qualification/requalification”. The relation between singularization and evaluation is clarified by introducing the notion of a “regime of government”.     

Situation de dépendance et modèles de prise de décisions

The author attempts to demonstrate, using a case study, that the economic behaviour of peasants of Maranhão, Brazil, in spite of the extreme ecological and economic constraints under which they live, may be perceived as a coherent set of decisions. He first precedes to analyse these different constraints: ecotechnical (mostly the time factor), properly economic (the exchange patterns in both subsistence and market sectors), and finally cultural. With this background the author then works out an “ideal strategy” of action (normative model) which he compares with the actual strategies of peasants (statistical model). In view of the concordance of these models, it is concluded that this group of peasants, although even less integrated to a market system than are certain societies of Mexico, makes as judicious an allocation of their resources as the Mexican societies. Par une étude de cas, l'auteur s'efforce de démontrer comment le comportement économique d'un groupe de paysans du Maranhão au Brésil, en dépit de contraintes écologiques et économiques extrêmes qui pèsent sur eux, peut être saisi comme un ensemble cohérent de décisions. II procède d'abord, par l'analyse de ces diverses contraintes: écotechniques (surtout le facteur de temps), proprement économiques (les patterns d'échange dans les secteurs de subsistance et de marché), et finalement les contraintes culturelles. Dans l'ensemble, l'auteur définit une « stratégie idéale d'action » (modèle normatif) qu'il compare aux strategies effectives des paysans (modèle statistique). En vu de la concordance de ces modèles, il est conclu que ce groupe de paysans, quoique moins intégréà des systèmes de marché que le sont certaines sociétés du Mexique, pourrait faire une allocation aussi judicieuse de ses ressources que les sociétés mexicaines.