This book focuses on a particular but significant topic in the social sciences: the concepts of “footprint” and “trace”. It associates these concepts with hotly debated topics such as surveillance capitalism and knowledge society. The editors and authors discuss the concept footprints and traces as unintended by-products of other (differently focused and oriented) actions that remain empirically imprinted in virtual and real spaces. The volume therefore opens new scenarios for social theory and applied social research in asking what the stakes, risks and potential of this approach are. It systematically raises and addresses these questions within a consistent framework, bringing together a heterogeneous group of international social scientists. Given the multifaceted objectives involved in exploring footprints and traces, the volume discusses heuristic aspects and ethical dimensions, scientific analyses and political considerations, empirical perspectives and theoretical foundations. At the same time, it brings together perspectives from cultural analysis and social theory, communication and Internet studies, big-data informed research and computational social science. This innovative volume is of interest to a broad interdisciplinary readership: sociologists, communication researchers, Internet scholars, anthropologists, cognitive and behavioral scientists, historians, and epistemologists, among others.
Author(s): Francesca Comunello, Fabrizio Martire, Lorenzo Sabetta
Series: Frontiers In Sociology And Social Research | 7
Edition: 1
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Commentary: TruePDF
Pages: 356
Tags: Sociology Of Knowledge And Discourse; Internet Studies; Social Theory; Sociocultural Anthropology; Media And Communication; Epistemology
Acknowledgments
Contents
Editors and Contributors
Chapter 1: Toward a Sociology of Traces
What We Talk About When We Talk About Traces
True, False, Fictive
Platform Society and Its Footprints: What People Leave Behind in the Digital Age
Structure and Logic of the Volume
A Call for (More) Research
References
Part I: Traces Between Space, Interaction, and Symbols
Chapter 2: Leaving a Trace: Donor Plaques as Material Evidences of Generosity?
Introduction
The Key Role of Donor Recognition
The Traces of Philanthropy: Donor Plaques
An Understudied Topic
An Important Phenomenon
Traces of Philanthropy and Sociology of Elites
Methodology
Donor Plaques in Philanthropic Giving: When Elite Donors Leave Something Behind
Donor Plaques: A Particular Object
Donor Plaques: A Relation to Space
Donor Plaques: A Relation to Time
The Traces of Philanthropy: A Political Subject?
Traces and Values: Who Deserves to Leave a Trace?
Donors Leaving Traces: An Ongoing Debate
Negotiating the Visibility of the Trace
Power Relations Around the Traces: Resisting Donor Plaques and Naming
Drawing Red Lines
Adapting Practices: A Political Act to Avoid Becoming ``a Museum of Plaques´´
Adapting Practices: A Less Visible Trace
References
Chapter 3: Rethinking Cultural Probes in Community Research and Design as Ethnographic Practice
Introduction
Design and ``Social Worlds´´
Social Inclusivity Within Design Discourse
``Frameworks of the Social´´: From Homogeneity to More Diverse Motivated Viewpoints
Media Representations
Instrumentalized Design Methods
The Tie Between Reflexive Research and Design and Social Innovation
A Participatory Method: Strengths and Weaknesses in ``Cultural Probes´´
Case Study 1: Ongoing Design Interventions Kefalonia Greece
``Sensemaking´´
Design Proposal
Project 1
Project 2
Case Study 2: Graduate Research Group, United States
``Sensemaking´´
Design Proposal: ``We Are Here-A Pride Raleigh Reclamation Project´´
Conclusions
References
Chapter 4: Traces of Social Binding: Interpretive Tracing as a Bridging Concept
Introduction: Bridging History and Presence
Bridging Vignettes
Tracing and Traces in the Western Digital Realm
Tracing and Traces of Indigenous Cultures, First Australians, Songlines, and Yarning
(Com)Posing Interpretive Tracing
From Place and Materiality to Temporality
(World)Society and Social Binding
Reflections and Outlook: Tracing the Social
References
Chapter 5: Clues of Displacement: The Gentrification of Silver Hill
Introduction
Background
Theoretical Foundations
First Traces of Silver Hill
Silver Hill Becomes Segregated
West Highlands and Buena Vista Surround
Love and Affection and One Dollar
A Gradual Gentrification
(Mis-)Remembering Silver Hill
What´s in a Name?
Tobacco Workers and Domestics?
Fragments: Material and Non-material
An Incomplete Telling
Future Directions
References
Chapter 6: What Do Museum Visitors Leave Behind? The New Experience and the New Visitor in the Twenty-First Century
Visiting a Museum in the Twenty-First Century
The Twenty-First Century: The Reign of the Visitor?
From Experiential Promises to the Visiting Contract
Art, Eat, Shop: Case Study
The Frontier Visitor: Amplitude and Speed
#TheMuseumExperience
#IWantToGoToMuseum
References
Part II: Algorithms, Social Media, and Online Footprints
Chapter 7: Investigating Exhaust Data in Virtual Communities
Introduction
Literature Review
Virtual Community
Sense of Community
Case Selection
Methodology
Results
Dimensions of SOC in the Cases Selected
Subdimensions of SOC
Social VC (A)
Professional VC (B)
Non-profit VC (C)
Commercial VC (D)
Discussion and Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Retracing Algorithms: How Digital Social Research Methods Can Track Algorithmic Functioning
Introduction
Critical Algorithm Studies
Methods for Researching Algorithms
Digital Traces and Algorithm Studies
Conclusions
References
Chapter 9: Visible and Invisible Traces: Managing the Self on Social Media Platforms
Introduction
Social Media Platforms: How Do They Collect and Organize Our Data?
Social Media Platforms and Online Traces
Datafication, Big Social Data, and Self-Tracking
Digital Selves and Digital Data: How Do We Manage Our Visible and Invisible Traces?
Identity and Visible Traces, Direct and Indirect
Context Collapse and Imagined Audience
Management of Personal Online Traces
On Self-Branding and Online Traces
Methodological Note
Tracking the Traces
Social Media and Self-Branding
Self-Tracking and the Algorithmic Imaginary
Indirect Traces, Invisible Traces
Managing the Self Online Through Invisible Traces
Conclusions
References
Chapter 10: Performative Intermediaries Versus Digital Regulation. A Multidisciplinary Analysis of the Power of Algorithms
Introduction
Performative Intermediaries and Their Political Power
Algorithms, Relevance and Influence on Perception
AI, Algorithms and Transparency: The European Agenda
The European Legal Framework for AI and the New DSA
Conclusions
References
Part III: Traces and Political Sphere: Capitalism, Surveillance, Personal Rights, and Moral Concerns
Chapter 11: Surveilling the Surveillants: From Relational Surveillance to WikiLeaks
The Assange Affair amid Biography and History
Brilliant Historical Evidence
Surveillance, Counter-Surveillance, Counter-Power: Are Assange and WikiLeaks a Counter-Power Agency?
On Assange´s Enlightenment Principles
Conclusions
References
Chapter 12: When the Footprint Is a Carbon One: A Sustainable Paradigm for the Analysis of the Contemporary Society
Introduction
From the New Meaning of a ``Human´´ Footprint to New Perspectives for a Changing Social Theory of Sustainability
Factors and Dimensions of Change: Development Trade-offs and Citizen Science
Social Change and Human Action: The Case Study of the Complex Construction of Environmental Policies
An Effective Environmental Policies Evaluation Model: The Positive Thinking Framework
Some Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 13: Material Traces of a Cumbersome Past: The Case of Italian Colonial History
From Consensual Glorification to Amnesia or Social Conflict: The Changing Effects of Material Traces of Colonial Past
Emotional Reactions to Historical Traces
The Colonial Legacy of the Ephemeral Traces of the Past
The Research
Participants and the Interview Process
Results
First Reactions to the Image of Chocolate
Ideas on Chocolate Packaging
Ideas Coming to Participants´ Minds After the Researcher´s Indications
Discussion
Conclusions
References
Chapter 14: Video Surveillance and Public Space: Surveillance Society Vs. Security State
Introduction
Video Surveillance in a Surveillance Society
Video Surveillance in a Security State
Discussion and Conclusions
References
Chapter 15: The Right to be Forgotten in the Digital Age
Introduction
Should Our ``Digital Past´´ Be Forgotten?
Shaping the RTBF in the European Union: From Google Spain to Article 17 GDPR
The RTBF in the Case Law of the ECtHR and a Final Brief Comparison with a Recent Decision of the Italian Court of Cassation
Conclusions
References
Chapter 16: Countering ``Surveillance Capitalism.´´ The Intertwining of Objective and Subjective Factors
Introduction
Bauman and the Need for Visibility in a Liquid Society
Zuboff and the Rise of Surveillance Capitalism
The Almost Irresistible Fascination of Generosity
Conclusions
References
Part IV: Traces as Strategic Research Materials
Chapter 17: Traces and Their (In)significance
Traces: Some Theoretical Premises
Intention and Intentionality
Meaninglessness Vs Insignificance
Case Study. Digital Traces: Trolling
Final Remarks: A Possible Paradigm of the Trace
References
Chapter 18: Traces and Algorithms as Socio-digital Objects
Introduction
Emerging Features of Socio-digital Objects
Digital Geographic Traces as Socio-digital Objects
References
Chapter 19: ``Personal Influence´´ and Influencer Logic: A Theoretical and Methodological Comparison
Digital Sociology
Digital Methods
Social Network Analysis
Web Sentiment Analysis
Tradition and Modernity. Comparing Perspectives
``Personal Influence´´
Influencer Logic
Concluding Remarks: Personal Influence vs Influencer Logic
References
Chapter 20: What People Leave Behind Online: Digital Traces and Web-Mediated Documents for Social Research
What People Leave Behind (Online)
WPLB Online as Unobtrusive Measures
Three Categories of WPLB (Online) Data
Online Found Data
Online Retrieved Data
Online Captured Data
How to Operate a Distinction: The Issue of Intentionality
Why Operate a Distinction?
References
Chapter 21: Trace and Traceability in/of the Face: A Semiotic Reading through Art
Prolegomenon
Traces Emanating from the Face: [Material Turn/Material Split]
Traces on or in the Face [Intra-Face: Introspection/Imbrication]
Traces Erased Toward New Tracks [Bio-societal Propagation/Recognition]
Following Steps
References
Chapter 22: Shameful Traces and Image-Based Sexual Abuse: The Case of Tiziana Cantone
The Events
A Theory of Digital Shameful Traces
Cuckoldry, Masculine Domination and Shame
Shame, Social Bonds and Communication
The Sociotechnical and Normative Frameworks
Discussion
References
