Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data

The startups working in biosensing and self-tracking present a case to examine the role that power plays in the discursive process of framing new technologies. One frame often used for defining new data tools and services include “disruption,” or the perceived ability of technologies to upend the st...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fiore-Gartland, B, Neff, G
Other Authors: Nafus, D
Format: Book section
Language:English
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press 2016
_version_ 1797111488754745344
author Fiore-Gartland, B
Neff, G
author2 Nafus, D
author_facet Nafus, D
Fiore-Gartland, B
Neff, G
author_sort Fiore-Gartland, B
collection OXFORD
description The startups working in biosensing and self-tracking present a case to examine the role that power plays in the discursive process of framing new technologies. One frame often used for defining new data tools and services include “disruption,” or the perceived ability of technologies to upend the status quo of power within established industries or social institutions. In this chapter we present research findings on the start-up environment in consumer wellness and the more closely regulated field of mobile medical applications. We use two cases of health data innovation to show how discourses might affect how people design and use new technologies. The disruption discourse limits the possibilities for people to imagine technologies bridging existing social contexts and categories. Disruption limits such vision by overlooking the distinct roles for, and relationships around, data as it moves across contexts. Disruption helps to reproduce existing discourses of institutional power, even as it purports to change, replace, or disrupt those same power arrangements.
first_indexed 2024-03-07T08:09:38Z
format Book section
id oxford-uuid:7113bdc4-14d0-4648-a0c2-2af2a13a0482
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T08:09:38Z
publishDate 2016
publisher Massachusetts Institute of Technology Press
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:7113bdc4-14d0-4648-a0c2-2af2a13a04822023-11-22T09:58:53ZDisruption and the political economy of biosensor dataBook sectionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843uuid:7113bdc4-14d0-4648-a0c2-2af2a13a0482EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordMassachusetts Institute of Technology Press2016Fiore-Gartland, BNeff, GNafus, DThe startups working in biosensing and self-tracking present a case to examine the role that power plays in the discursive process of framing new technologies. One frame often used for defining new data tools and services include “disruption,” or the perceived ability of technologies to upend the status quo of power within established industries or social institutions. In this chapter we present research findings on the start-up environment in consumer wellness and the more closely regulated field of mobile medical applications. We use two cases of health data innovation to show how discourses might affect how people design and use new technologies. The disruption discourse limits the possibilities for people to imagine technologies bridging existing social contexts and categories. Disruption limits such vision by overlooking the distinct roles for, and relationships around, data as it moves across contexts. Disruption helps to reproduce existing discourses of institutional power, even as it purports to change, replace, or disrupt those same power arrangements.
spellingShingle Fiore-Gartland, B
Neff, G
Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
title Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
title_full Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
title_fullStr Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
title_full_unstemmed Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
title_short Disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
title_sort disruption and the political economy of biosensor data
work_keys_str_mv AT fioregartlandb disruptionandthepoliticaleconomyofbiosensordata
AT neffg disruptionandthepoliticaleconomyofbiosensordata