Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced
This article presents a case study of a vehicle route problem solver in the context of homecare work. Vehicle route problem solvers are technologies that calculate geographically rational driving routes. Primarily framed as tools for financial control, they have been tested in homecare services with...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies
2016-12-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/njsts/article/view/2184 |
| _version_ | 1797716258048704512 |
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| author | Jenny Melind Bergschöld |
| author_facet | Jenny Melind Bergschöld |
| author_sort | Jenny Melind Bergschöld |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents a case study of a vehicle route problem solver in the context of homecare work. Vehicle route problem solvers are technologies that calculate geographically rational driving routes. Primarily framed as tools for financial control, they have been tested in homecare services with good results under controlled circumstances. However, they have not been studied as part of users’ everyday work after implementation. The case study shows how, through processes of domestication, the vehicle route problem solver becomes unable to provide homecare workers with ‘optimal’ driving routes. Additionally, it shows how this ‘malfunction’ renders it understood as inconsequential to the very activities it was designed to support which ultimately leads to its removal from driving route production processes. The results highlight the importance of carefully studying how vehicle route problem solvers and other technologies interact with the everyday lives of those who are meant to benefit from them. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:18:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7dce8cbf1f154331918a2319872a7389 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1894-4647 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T08:18:55Z |
| publishDate | 2016-12-01 |
| publisher | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-7dce8cbf1f154331918a2319872a73892023-09-02T18:37:04ZengNordic Journal of Science and Technology StudiesNordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies1894-46472016-12-014210.5324/njsts.v4i2.2184Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver DisplacedJenny Melind BergschöldThis article presents a case study of a vehicle route problem solver in the context of homecare work. Vehicle route problem solvers are technologies that calculate geographically rational driving routes. Primarily framed as tools for financial control, they have been tested in homecare services with good results under controlled circumstances. However, they have not been studied as part of users’ everyday work after implementation. The case study shows how, through processes of domestication, the vehicle route problem solver becomes unable to provide homecare workers with ‘optimal’ driving routes. Additionally, it shows how this ‘malfunction’ renders it understood as inconsequential to the very activities it was designed to support which ultimately leads to its removal from driving route production processes. The results highlight the importance of carefully studying how vehicle route problem solvers and other technologies interact with the everyday lives of those who are meant to benefit from them.https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/njsts/article/view/2184DomesticationVehicle route problem solverHomecare servicesPosthumanismWelfare technologies |
| spellingShingle | Jenny Melind Bergschöld Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced Nordic Journal of Science and Technology Studies Domestication Vehicle route problem solver Homecare services Posthumanism Welfare technologies |
| title | Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced |
| title_full | Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced |
| title_fullStr | Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced |
| title_full_unstemmed | Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced |
| title_short | Domesticating Homecare Services; Vehicle Route Problem Solver Displaced |
| title_sort | domesticating homecare services vehicle route problem solver displaced |
| topic | Domestication Vehicle route problem solver Homecare services Posthumanism Welfare technologies |
| url | https://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/njsts/article/view/2184 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jennymelindbergschold domesticatinghomecareservicesvehiclerouteproblemsolverdisplaced |