Trading zones
Encyclopedia
The metaphor of a trading zone is being applied to collaborations in science
and technology
. The basis of the metaphor is anthropological studies of how different cultures are able to exchange goods, despite differences in language and culture.
produced the "trading zone" metaphor in order to explain how physicists from different paradigms went about collaborating with each other and with engineers to develop particle detector
s and radar
.
According to Galison, "Two groups can agree on rules of exchange even if they ascribe utterly different significance to the objects being exchanged; they may even disagree on the meaning of the exchange process itself. Nonetheless, the trading partners can hammer out a local coordination, despite vast global differences. In an even more sophisticated way, cultures in interaction frequently establish contact languages, systems of discourse that can vary from the most function-specific jargons, through semispecific pidgins, to full-fledged creoles rich enough to support activities as complex as poetry and metalinguistic reflection" (Galison 1997, p. 783)
In the case of radar, for example, the physicists and engineers had to gradually develop what was effectively a pidgin
or creole language
involving shared concepts like ‘equivalent circuits’ that the physicists represented symbolically in terms of field theory and the engineers saw as extensions of their radio toolkit.
Exchanges across disciplinary boundaries can also be carried out with the help of an agent: a person who is familiar enough with the language of two or more cultures to facilitate trade.
At one point in the development of MRI, surgeons saw a lesion where an engineer familiar with the device would have recognized an artifact produced by the way the device was being used. It took someone with expertise in both physics and surgery to see how each of the different disciplines viewed the device, and develop procedures for correcting the problem (Baird & Cohen, 1999). The ability to converse expertly in more than one discipline is called interactional expertise
(Collins
& Evans, 2002).
A workshop at Arizona State University on Trading Zones, Interactional Expertise
and Interdisciplinary Collaboration raised the possibility of applying these concepts to other applications like global health and service science, and also identified avenues for future research (http://bart.tcc.virginia.edu/Tradzoneworkshop/index.htm).
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
. The basis of the metaphor is anthropological studies of how different cultures are able to exchange goods, despite differences in language and culture.
Overview
Peter GalisonPeter Galison
Peter Louis Galison is the Pellegrino University Professor in History of Science and Physics at Harvard University.Galison received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in both Physics and the History of Science in 1983. His publications include Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics ...
produced the "trading zone" metaphor in order to explain how physicists from different paradigms went about collaborating with each other and with engineers to develop particle detector
Particle detector
In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify high-energy particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a...
s and radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
.
According to Galison, "Two groups can agree on rules of exchange even if they ascribe utterly different significance to the objects being exchanged; they may even disagree on the meaning of the exchange process itself. Nonetheless, the trading partners can hammer out a local coordination, despite vast global differences. In an even more sophisticated way, cultures in interaction frequently establish contact languages, systems of discourse that can vary from the most function-specific jargons, through semispecific pidgins, to full-fledged creoles rich enough to support activities as complex as poetry and metalinguistic reflection" (Galison 1997, p. 783)
In the case of radar, for example, the physicists and engineers had to gradually develop what was effectively a pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
or creole language
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
involving shared concepts like ‘equivalent circuits’ that the physicists represented symbolically in terms of field theory and the engineers saw as extensions of their radio toolkit.
Exchanges across disciplinary boundaries can also be carried out with the help of an agent: a person who is familiar enough with the language of two or more cultures to facilitate trade.
At one point in the development of MRI, surgeons saw a lesion where an engineer familiar with the device would have recognized an artifact produced by the way the device was being used. It took someone with expertise in both physics and surgery to see how each of the different disciplines viewed the device, and develop procedures for correcting the problem (Baird & Cohen, 1999). The ability to converse expertly in more than one discipline is called interactional expertise
Interactional expertise
Interactional expertise is part of a more complex classification of expertise developed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans and first published in Social Studies of Science in June 2002...
(Collins
Harry Collins
Harry Collins is a British professor at the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University. While at the University of Bath Professor Collins developed the Bath School approach to the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge...
& Evans, 2002).
Areas of Application
- The U.S. National Nanotechnology InitiativeNational Nanotechnology InitiativeThe National Nanotechnology Initiative is a United States federal nanoscale science, engineering, and technology research and development program...
calls for a “broadly inclusive interdisciplinary dialogue on nanotechnology” that would incorporate a wide range of stakeholders (http://www.nano.gov/html/society/Responsible_Development.htm). This kind of a dialogue will require developing creolesCreole languageA creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
that allow different stakeholders to communicate, and also interactional expertiseInteractional expertiseInteractional expertise is part of a more complex classification of expertise developed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans and first published in Social Studies of Science in June 2002...
(Gorman, Groves, & Catalano, 2004). - The convergence between nano, bio, information and cognitive technologies will set an even greater premium on the development of trading zones and interactional expertiseInteractional expertiseInteractional expertise is part of a more complex classification of expertise developed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans and first published in Social Studies of Science in June 2002...
(Gorman, 2004). - Computer scienceComputer scienceComputer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
education requires development of trading zones between experts in the social and learning sciences and computer scientists (Fincher & Petre, 2004). Each of these communities uses different methods and speaks a different language, hence the need for a creole and also for interactional expertsInteractional expertiseInteractional expertise is part of a more complex classification of expertise developed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans and first published in Social Studies of Science in June 2002...
. - Managing environmental systemsNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
like the EvergladesEvergladesThe Everglades are subtropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large watershed. The system begins near Orlando with the Kissimmee River, which discharges into the vast but shallow Lake Okeechobee...
also requires the development of trading zones (http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bwfuller/Trading_Zone_Paper--Boyd_Fuller--Distribution--Jan_1-05.pdf). Brad Allenby suggests the development of a new kind of expertise in Earth Systems Engineering and ManagementEarth systems engineering and managementEarth systems engineering and management is a discipline used to analyze, design, engineer and manage complex environmental systems. It entails a wide range of subject areas including anthropology, engineering, environmental science, ethics and philosophy...
, which will include an interactional component (Allenby, 2005).
A workshop at Arizona State University on Trading Zones, Interactional Expertise
Interactional expertise
Interactional expertise is part of a more complex classification of expertise developed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans and first published in Social Studies of Science in June 2002...
and Interdisciplinary Collaboration raised the possibility of applying these concepts to other applications like global health and service science, and also identified avenues for future research (http://bart.tcc.virginia.edu/Tradzoneworkshop/index.htm).
See also
- Creole languageCreole languageA creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
- Interactional expertiseInteractional expertiseInteractional expertise is part of a more complex classification of expertise developed by Harry Collins and Robert Evans and first published in Social Studies of Science in June 2002...
- PidginPidginA pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
- Science and Technology StudiesScience and technology studiesScience, technology and society is the study of how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation, and how these, in turn, affect society, politics and culture...