Making a place for science: The field trial

Social Studies of Science

Volumn 30, Issue 4, 2000, Pages 483-511

  Henke, Christopher R ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^b NONE   (United States)

Author keywords

Agriculture; Cooperation and control; Experiment; Public science

Indexed keywords

EID: 0034237961     PISSN: 03063127     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/030631200030004001     Document Type: Article

References (91)

1. Chandra Mukerji, Territorial Ambitions and the Gardens of Versailles (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 326.
2. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
3. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
4. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
5. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
6. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
7. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
8. Providing a list of all the relevant laboratory ethnographies and other studies of lab science would make for a long endnote. There are certain works, though, that are seminal for showing how lab researchers try to mitigate the influence of place on science: H.M. Collins, 'The TEA Set: Tacit Knowledge and Scientific Networks', Science Studies, Vol. 4, No. 2 (April 1974), 165-86; Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar, Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1986]); Michael Lynch, Art and Artifact in Laboratory Science: A Study of Shop Work and Shop Talk in a Research Laboratory (London & Boston, MA: Routledge, 1985); Steven Shapin and Simon Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the Experimental Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985); Steven Shapin, 'The House of Experiment in Seventeenth-Century England', Isis, Vol. 79 (1988), 373-404; Sharon Traweek, Beamtimes and Lifetimes: The World of High Energy Physics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1988); Karin Knorr-Cetina, 'The Couch, the Cathedral, and the Laboratory: On the Relationship between Experiment and Laboratory in Science', in Andrew Pickering (ed.), Science as Practice and Culture (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1992), 113-38.
9. Henrika Kuklick and Robert E. Kohler, 'Introduction', in Kuklick and Kohler (eds), Science in the Field, Osiris, Vol. 11 (1996), 1-14.
10. For instance, Steven Epstein's study of AIDS activists and their struggle to change the practice of clinical trials shows how difficult it can be for scientific outsiders to influence research methods and directions. Similarly, Brian Wynne portrays scientific experts as distant and even bumbling when trying to direct British sheep farmers' activities after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl: Steven Epstein, Impure Science: Aids, Activism, and the Politics of Science (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996); Brian Wynne, 'Sheepfarming after Chernobyl: A Case Study in Communicating Scientific Information', Environment, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1989), 10-15, 33-39; Wynne, 'Misunderstood Misunderstandings: Social Identities and Public Uptake of Science', in Alan Irwin and Wynne (eds), Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 19-46.
11. For instance, Steven Epstein's study of AIDS activists and their struggle to change the practice of clinical trials shows how difficult it can be for scientific outsiders to influence research methods and directions. Similarly, Brian Wynne portrays scientific experts as distant and even bumbling when trying to direct British sheep farmers' activities after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl: Steven Epstein, Impure Science: Aids, Activism, and the Politics of Science (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996); Brian Wynne, 'Sheepfarming after Chernobyl: A Case Study in Communicating Scientific Information', Environment, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1989), 10-15, 33-39; Wynne, 'Misunderstood Misunderstandings: Social Identities and Public Uptake of Science', in Alan Irwin and Wynne (eds), Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 19-46.
12. For instance, Steven Epstein's study of AIDS activists and their struggle to change the practice of clinical trials shows how difficult it can be for scientific outsiders to influence research methods and directions. Similarly, Brian Wynne portrays scientific experts as distant and even bumbling when trying to direct British sheep farmers' activities after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl: Steven Epstein, Impure Science: Aids, Activism, and the Politics of Science (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996); Brian Wynne, 'Sheepfarming after Chernobyl: A Case Study in Communicating Scientific Information', Environment, Vol. 31, No. 2 (1989), 10-15, 33-39; Wynne, 'Misunderstood Misunderstandings: Social Identities and Public Uptake of Science', in Alan Irwin and Wynne (eds), Misunderstanding Science? The Public Reconstruction of Science and Technology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996), 19-46.
13. In this paper, I follow the Californian practice of referring to a farm operator as a 'grower' rather than the more familiar 'farmer'. This is to emphasize that agricultural production in California is relatively 'industrialized' and corporate in character. To simplify, I have chosen to refer to all the agriculturalists in this paper as growers, although their actual job responsibilities vary. In all cases, however, they are responsible for making decisions about how to farm. There is not enough room to discuss this topic in full here, but there are interesting differences between the size of farms in California and the level of agricultural industrialization, when compared to the rest of the United States. California exhibited signs of 'agribusiness' much earlier, and on a larger scale, than other states. See Paul S. Taylor and Tom Vasey, 'Historical Background of California Farm Labor', Rural Sociology, Vol. 1 (1936), 281-95; Taylor and Vasey, 'Contemporary Background of California Farm Labor', ibid., 401-19.
14. In this paper, I follow the Californian practice of referring to a farm operator as a 'grower' rather than the more familiar 'farmer'. This is to emphasize that agricultural production in California is relatively 'industrialized' and corporate in character. To simplify, I have chosen to refer to all the agriculturalists in this paper as growers, although their actual job responsibilities vary. In all cases, however, they are responsible for making decisions about how to farm. There is not enough room to discuss this topic in full here, but there are interesting differences between the size of farms in California and the level of agricultural industrialization, when compared to the rest of the United States. California exhibited signs of 'agribusiness' much earlier, and on a larger scale, than other states. See Paul S. Taylor and Tom Vasey, 'Historical Background of California Farm Labor', Rural Sociology, Vol. 1 (1936), 281-95; Taylor and Vasey, 'Contemporary Background of California Farm Labor', ibid., 401-19.
15. A special issue of the journal Science in Context was devoted to the issue of place (Vol. 4, No. 1, 1991). Also, in November 1997, the annual conference of the History of Science Society (HSS) included a session on 'Place and the Environmental Sciences' and, in October 1998, at the annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), members discussed 'How Science Reckons Place'.
16. A special issue of the journal Science in Context was devoted to the issue of place (Vol. 4, No. 1, 1991). Also, in November 1997, the annual conference of the History of Science Society (HSS) included a session on 'Place and the Environmental Sciences' and, in October 1998, at the annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), members discussed 'How Science Reckons Place'.
17. A special issue of the journal Science in Context was devoted to the issue of place (Vol. 4, No. 1, 1991). Also, in November 1997, the annual conference of the History of Science Society (HSS) included a session on 'Place and the Environmental Sciences' and, in October 1998, at the annual meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), members discussed 'How Science Reckons Place'.
18. As in the argument proposed by Bruno Latour in The Pasteurization of France (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984 [1988]).
19. Shapin (1988), op. cit. note 2; Thomas F. Gieryn, 'Biotechnology's Private Parts (and Some Public Ones)', in Arnold Thackray (ed.), Private Science: Biotechnology and the Rise of the Molecular Sciences (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998), 219-53.
20. Shapin (1988), op. cit. note 2; Thomas F. Gieryn, 'Biotechnology's Private Parts (and Some Public Ones)', in Arnold Thackray (ed.), Private Science: Biotechnology and the Rise of the Molecular Sciences (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998), 219-53.
21. For a good example of the photo-interview method, see Douglas Harper, Working Knowledge: Skill and Community in a Small Shop (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987).
22. Although in California they are referred to as 'farm advisors', many other states use the term 'county agent'.
23. Charles E. Rosenberg, No Other Gods: On Science and American Social Thought (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976); Rosenberg, 'Rationalization and Reality in the Shaping of American Agricultural Research, 1875-1914', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 7, No. 4 (November 1977), 401-22; Alan I. Marcus, Agricultural Science and the Quest for Legitimacy: Farmers, Agricultural Colleges, and Experiment Stations, 1870-1890 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1985).
24. Charles E. Rosenberg, No Other Gods: On Science and American Social Thought (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976); Rosenberg, 'Rationalization and Reality in the Shaping of American Agricultural Research, 1875-1914', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 7, No. 4 (November 1977), 401-22; Alan I. Marcus, Agricultural Science and the Quest for Legitimacy: Farmers, Agricultural Colleges, and Experiment Stations, 1870-1890 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1985).
25. Charles E. Rosenberg, No Other Gods: On Science and American Social Thought (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1976); Rosenberg, 'Rationalization and Reality in the Shaping of American Agricultural Research, 1875-1914', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 7, No. 4 (November 1977), 401-22; Alan I. Marcus, Agricultural Science and the Quest for Legitimacy: Farmers, Agricultural Colleges, and Experiment Stations, 1870-1890 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1985).
26. Roy V. Scott, The Reluctant Farmer: The Rise of Agricultural Extension to 1914 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1970); David B. Danbom, The Resisted Revolution: Urban America and the Industrialization of Agriculture, 1900-1930 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1979); Wayne Rasmussen, Taking the University to the People: Seventy-Five Years of Cooperative Extension (Ames: Iowa University Press, 1989).
27. Roy V. Scott, The Reluctant Farmer: The Rise of Agricultural Extension to 1914 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1970); David B. Danbom, The Resisted Revolution: Urban America and the Industrialization of Agriculture, 1900-1930 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1979); Wayne Rasmussen, Taking the University to the People: Seventy-Five Years of Cooperative Extension (Ames: Iowa University Press, 1989).
28. Roy V. Scott, The Reluctant Farmer: The Rise of Agricultural Extension to 1914 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1970); David B. Danbom, The Resisted Revolution: Urban America and the Industrialization of Agriculture, 1900-1930 (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1979); Wayne Rasmussen, Taking the University to the People: Seventy-Five Years of Cooperative Extension (Ames: Iowa University Press, 1989).
29. This is in contrast to the early days of extension work, when many advisors could simply 'advise' - provide growers with advice based on the advisor's experience. In California agriculture today, however, farming is highly industrialized and many growers have at least a 4-year college education. Information is also more readily available from diverse sources, including advisors working for private companies. In this atmosphere, university-employed advisors have become more dependent than ever on research trials to provide a unique service.
30. Originally, UC extension workers were referred to as 'advisers', but it was not long before the spelling was changed to the still-current 'advisor': see Ann Foley Scheuring, Science and Service: A History of the Land-Grant University and Agriculture in California (Oakland, CA: UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, 1995), 82.
31. See Everett M. Rogers, 'Categorizing the Adopters of Agricultural Practices', Rural Sociology, Vol. 23 (1958), 345-54. For a useful review of the adoption studies literature in rural sociology, see Frederick H. Buttel, Olaf F. Larson and Gilbert W. Gillespie, Jr (eds), The Sociology of Agriculture (New York: Greenwood Press, 1990).
32. See Everett M. Rogers, 'Categorizing the Adopters of Agricultural Practices', Rural Sociology, Vol. 23 (1958), 345-54. For a useful review of the adoption studies literature in rural sociology, see Frederick H. Buttel, Olaf F. Larson and Gilbert W. Gillespie, Jr (eds), The Sociology of Agriculture (New York: Greenwood Press, 1990).
33. Kevin F. Goss, 'Consequences of Diffusion of Innovations', Rural Sociology, Vol. 44 (1979), 754-72; Fred Pampel, Jr and J.C. van Es, 'Environmental Quality and Issues of Adoption Research', ibid., Vol. 42 (1977), 57-71.
34. Kevin F. Goss, 'Consequences of Diffusion of Innovations', Rural Sociology, Vol. 44 (1979), 754-72; Fred Pampel, Jr and J.C. van Es, 'Environmental Quality and Issues of Adoption Research', ibid., Vol. 42 (1977), 57-71.
35. H.M. Collins, 'The Seven Sexes: A Study in the Sociology of a Phenomenon, or the Replication of Experiments in Physics', Sociology, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 1975), 205-24. My critique of the pipeline model parallels work by James Fleck: Fleck, 'Innofusion: Feedback in the Innovation Process', in F.A. Stowell, D. West and J.G. Howell (eds), Systems Science: Addressing Global Issues (London: Plenum, 1993), 169-74; Fleck, Innofusion or Diffusation? The Nature of Technological Development in Robotics (Edinburgh: Edinburgh PICT Working Papers, No. 4, 1988).
36. H.M. Collins, 'The Seven Sexes: A Study in the Sociology of a Phenomenon, or the Replication of Experiments in Physics', Sociology, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 1975), 205-24. My critique of the pipeline model parallels work by James Fleck: Fleck, 'Innofusion: Feedback in the Innovation Process', in F.A. Stowell, D. West and J.G. Howell (eds), Systems Science: Addressing Global Issues (London: Plenum, 1993), 169-74; Fleck, Innofusion or Diffusation? The Nature of Technological Development in Robotics (Edinburgh: Edinburgh PICT Working Papers, No. 4, 1988).
37. H.M. Collins, 'The Seven Sexes: A Study in the Sociology of a Phenomenon, or the Replication of Experiments in Physics', Sociology, Vol. 9, No. 2 (May 1975), 205-24. My critique of the pipeline model parallels work by James Fleck: Fleck, 'Innofusion: Feedback in the Innovation Process', in F.A. Stowell, D. West and J.G. Howell (eds), Systems Science: Addressing Global Issues (London: Plenum, 1993), 169-74; Fleck, Innofusion or Diffusation? The Nature of Technological Development in Robotics (Edinburgh: Edinburgh PICT Working Papers, No. 4, 1988).
38. William B. Lacy, Kenneth E. Pigg and Lawrence Busch, 'Clients, Colleagues, and Colleges: Perceived Influences on Extension Agents', Rural Sociology, Vol. 45 (1980), 469-82; Busch and Lacy, Science, Agriculture, and the Politics of Research (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983); Busch et al., Plants, Power, and Profit: Social, Economic, and Ethical Consequences of the New Biotechnologies (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1991). It should be noted that the survey results reported from Lacy, Pigg and Busch (1980) are from a study of extension work in Kentucky. My data, however, suggest that similar conclusions can be drawn for the case of California.
39. William B. Lacy, Kenneth E. Pigg and Lawrence Busch, 'Clients, Colleagues, and Colleges: Perceived Influences on Extension Agents', Rural Sociology, Vol. 45 (1980), 469-82; Busch and Lacy, Science, Agriculture, and the Politics of Research (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983); Busch et al., Plants, Power, and Profit: Social, Economic, and Ethical Consequences of the New Biotechnologies (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1991). It should be noted that the survey results reported from Lacy, Pigg and Busch (1980) are from a study of extension work in Kentucky. My data, however, suggest that similar conclusions can be drawn for the case of California.
40. William B. Lacy, Kenneth E. Pigg and Lawrence Busch, 'Clients, Colleagues, and Colleges: Perceived Influences on Extension Agents', Rural Sociology, Vol. 45 (1980), 469-82; Busch and Lacy, Science, Agriculture, and the Politics of Research (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1983); Busch et al., Plants, Power, and Profit: Social, Economic, and Ethical Consequences of the New Biotechnologies (Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 1991). It should be noted that the survey results reported from Lacy, Pigg and Busch (1980) are from a study of extension work in Kentucky. My data, however, suggest that similar conclusions can be drawn for the case of California.
41. Latour, op. cit. note 7, 90.
42. Of course, a lot of agricultural research is done in labs, and not all field trials are intended specifically to convince growers. Further, sometimes field trials are not held on growers' land but instead on a special 'experimental farm': see Thomas F. Gieryn, Cultural Boundaries of Science: Credibility on the Line (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1999), Chapter 5. The analysis I develop here is intended for those experiments that are meant to convince growers in some way. The majority of these experiments (in the case of California farm advisors) take the form of field trials in growers' fields.
43. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö ngeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
44. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö ngeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
45. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
46. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
47. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
48. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
49. See: Lucy A. Suchman, Plans and Situated Actions: The Problem of Human-Machine Communication (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987); Jean Lave, Cognition and Practice: Mind, Mathematics and Culture in Everyday Life (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988); Edwin Hutchins, Cognition in the Wild (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995); Yrjö Engeström and David Middleton (eds), Cognition and Communication at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996); Charles N. Keller and Janet Dixon Keller, Cognition and Tool Use: The Blacksmith at Work (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996). Although not explicitly part of this same 'situated activity' literature, there are many other works which also treat the interaction of human activity and specific places: see, for example, Wynne, opera cit. note 4; Harper, op. cit. note 9.
50. Lave, op. cit. note 21, 98. discuss this interaction of practice and setting in more detail in: Christopher R. Henke, 'The Mechanics of Workplace Order: Toward a Sociology of Repair', Berkeley Journal of Sociology, Vol. 44 (2000), 55-81.
51. Lave, op. cit. note 21, 98. I discuss this interaction of practice and setting in more detail in: Christopher R. Henke, 'The Mechanics of Workplace Order: Toward a Sociology of Repair', Berkeley Journal of Sociology, Vol. 44 (2000), 55-81.
52. My use of the term 'ecology' borrows from Susan Leigh Star and James R. Griesemer, 'Institutional Ecology, "Translations" and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 19, No. 3 (August 1989), 387-420. My approach to 'place' also parallels recent work in environmental history, where analysts are rethinking the relationships between people and 'nature': see the collection in William Cronon (ed.), Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996).
53. My use of the term 'ecology' borrows from Susan Leigh Star and James R. Griesemer, 'Institutional Ecology, "Translations" and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 19, No. 3 (August 1989), 387-420. My approach to 'place' also parallels recent work in environmental history, where analysts are rethinking the relationships between people and 'nature': see the collection in William Cronon (ed.), Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature (New York: W.W. Norton, 1996).
54. Wynne, opera cit. note 4.
55. Shapin (1988), op. cit. note 2.
56. See also Gieryn, op. cit. note 8.
57. In addition to the realism provided by research in growers' own fields, there are other distinct advantages for the advisors from this arrangement. First, having the trial in a grower's field saves the advisors from having to grow their own crop as part of the experiment. Not only are the advisors and their staff non-experts in growing a crop but, in many cases, it can be particularly difficult to bring a crop to maturity. Thus, if the crop fails, it could cause the experiment to fail as well. Second, and related to the first point, grower practices tend to be relatively uniform across the industry, and may be difficult to reproduce without appropriate equipment or technique. A third, and perhaps most important, reason is cost. A research trial can be expensive, especially if it involves destroying part of the crop. In the case of experimental treatments that have not been approved by the EPA for agricultural use, the crops treated with this material must be destroyed immediately after the trial. In other cases, some part of the field trial's design may put part of the crop at a higher risk for damage from pests or other distress, sacrificing the marketability of the crop. Therefore, it is cheaper for advisors to put the burden of cost on the growers, although this limits the pool of growers who can be 'cooperators' to those who are more financially secure.
58. For example, a trial testing new irrigation techniques may require that the grower's land be graded and leveled before the trial begins. Once the trial is over, the grower may choose not to use the new irrigation technique, but the land will still have been 'improved' to perform the research.
59. In addition to surveillance, there are certain techniques that researchers can incorporate into the design of the field trial itself to help minimize the potential for loss of control. The most basic of these techniques follows the advice of the classic acronym 'KISS' - 'keep it simple, stupid'. In other words, the simpler the advisor can make the grower's participation in the trial, the less likely the grower is to mess things up. Also, the random placement of different trial plots in a field may help to protect against unfortunate accidents, such as a tractor driver ploughing over part of the experiment. If the different experimental groups are spread out randomly, some may be lost to such a mishap, and yet the trial could still produce some results. Of course, this technique works against the KISS principle if the advisor expects the grower to put different treatments on randomly-placed plots. Consequently, this second technique is best used when the advisor or one of his or her technicians is responsible for doing the treatments on the plots.
60. For more on the history of farm labour in California, see Taylor & Vasey, opera cit. note 5; Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1939); Ernesto Galarza, Farm Workers and Agri-business in California, 1947-1960 (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977); Cletus E. Daniel, Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka, Farmworkers, Agribusiness, and the State (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1982); Miriam J. Wells, Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996).
61. For more on the history of farm labour in California, see Taylor & Vasey, opera cit. note 5; Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1939); Ernesto Galarza, Farm Workers and Agri-business in California, 1947-1960 (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977); Cletus E. Daniel, Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka, Farmworkers, Agribusiness, and the State (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1982); Miriam J. Wells, Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996).
62. For more on the history of farm labour in California, see Taylor & Vasey, opera cit. note 5; Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1939); Ernesto Galarza, Farm Workers and Agri-business in California, 1947-1960 (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977); Cletus E. Daniel, Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka, Farmworkers, Agribusiness, and the State (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1982); Miriam J. Wells, Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996).
63. For more on the history of farm labour in California, see Taylor & Vasey, opera cit. note 5; Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1939); Ernesto Galarza, Farm Workers and Agri-business in California, 1947-1960 (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977); Cletus E. Daniel, Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka, Farmworkers, Agribusiness, and the State (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1982); Miriam J. Wells, Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996).
64. For more on the history of farm labour in California, see Taylor & Vasey, opera cit. note 5; Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1939); Ernesto Galarza, Farm Workers and Agri-business in California, 1947-1960 (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977); Cletus E. Daniel, Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka, Farmworkers, Agribusiness, and the State (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1982); Miriam J. Wells, Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996).
65. For more on the history of farm labour in California, see Taylor & Vasey, opera cit. note 5; Carey McWilliams, Factories in the Field: The Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1939); Ernesto Galarza, Farm Workers and Agri-business in California, 1947-1960 (South Bend, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1977); Cletus E. Daniel, Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870-1941 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982); Linda C. Majka and Theo J. Majka, Farmworkers, Agribusiness, and the State (Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1982); Miriam J. Wells, Strawberry Fields: Politics, Class, and Work in California Agriculture (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996).
66. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
67. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
68. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
69. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
70. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
71. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
72. Chandra Mukerji, A Fragile Power: Scientists and the State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989), Chapter 7; Steven Shapin, 'The Invisible Technician', American Scientist, Vol. 77 (1989), 554-63; Stephen R. Barley and Beth A. Bechky, 'In the Backrooms of Science: The Work of Technicians in Science Labs', Work and Occupations, Vol. 21 (1994), 85-126; Julian E. Orr, Talking About Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996); S.R. Barley and J.E. Orr, Between Craft and Science: Technical Work in US Settings (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997); Benjamin Sims, 'Concrete Practices: Testing in an Earthquake Engineering Laboratory', Social Studies of Science, Vol. 29, No. 4 (August 1999), 483-518; Henke, op. cit. note 22.
73. The farm advisors' technical help suffers from the same invisibility, although their names do occasionally make their way into published accounts as co-authors with the advisors. In this section, I will focus more on the work of the fieldworkers, although the technicians are most often responsible for coordinating the activities of the fieldworkers and the needs of the research design.
74. Concerned about issues of accuracy, the research team decided to weigh celery heads from each plot that were graded into a specific category - for example, taking the weight of a '30' from each plot. They were then able to compare the weights of 30s across the plots to check on the consistency of the fieldworker. The advisor later told me that they did not need to make this check, however, since the difference between weights of a given grade proved to be very close across plots. Statistically speaking, the difference was so small that this accuracy was not very likely to be produced by chance alone.
75. Of course, if the grower is accustomed to thinking of yield in terms of weight, then this is a perfectly acceptable way to take harvest data. The potato field trial in Figure 2 is one such example. Even crops where the yield is measured by weight, though, often depend on standardized fieldwork practices to ensure valid comparisons of the experimental and control groups.
76. This point echoes S&TS work on 'testing': the results of a test do not always definitively say 'it works' (or not). See Donald MacKenzie, Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990), esp. Chapter 7; Sims, op. cit. note 31.
77. This point echoes S&TS work on 'testing': the results of a test do not always definitively say 'it works' (or not). See Donald MacKenzie, Inventing Accuracy: A Historical Sociology of Nuclear Missile Guidance (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1990), esp. Chapter 7; Sims, op. cit. note 31.
78. This is especially problematic when advisors are trying to make farming in their county more environmentally-friendly. In many cases, there is little or no immediate economic benefit from adopting techniques or new technologies that have a lower impact on the environment. These problems also require better 'management' of the grower's land and chemical inputs, which may require more time and effort to implement. In all, even if data from field trials show that low-impact farming has only a small effect on the bottom line, it can still be a hard sell for advisors. Although I do not have the space to discuss these issues in more depth here, I am treating them more fully in my PhD thesis, a larger project on the work of farm advisors.
79. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
80. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
81. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
82. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may
83. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
84. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
85. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
86. Especially relevant here are those writers who have emphasized the embeddedness of representational practices within specific cultures. See Martin J.S. Rudwick, 'The Emergence of a Visual Language for Geological Science 1760-1840', History of Science, Vol. 14 (1976), 149-95; Andrew Pickering, 'Against Putting the Phenomena First: The Discovery of the Weak Neutral Current', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 15 (1984), 85-117; Lave, op. cit. note 21; Steven Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1994); Kathryn Henderson, On Line and On Paper: Visual Representations, Visual Culture, and Computer Graphics in Design Engineering (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1999). Other authors, however, have described how visual and numerical representations can break away from the confines of specific places, making information mobile in unique and very powerful ways: Bruno Latour, 'Visualization and Cognition: Thinking with Eyes and Hands', in Henrika Kuklick and Elizabeth Long (eds), Knowledge and Society: Studies in the Sociology of Culture Past and Present (Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1986), 1-40; Latour, 'The "Pédofil" of Boa Vista: A Photo-Philosophical Montage', Common Knowledge, Vol. 4 (1995), 145-87; Theodore Porter, Trust in Numbers: The Pursuit of Objectivity in Science and Public Life (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995), ix. Without the requisite practices for seeing and counting already in place, though, the universalistic power of these representations may be overstated. If action-at-a-distance really did work in applied agricultural science, then the pipeline metaphor would be an accurate description of extension work.
87. Lave, op. cit. note 21, esp. Chapters 3 and 5.
88. For instance, the advisor would like to know how many insects are actually in the field near each treatment, and whether this is correlated with yield. Other pertinent information can include data on the population of 'beneficial' parasitic insects in each treatment.
89. Alan Irwin and Brian Wynne, 'Introduction', in Irwin & Wynne (eds), op. cit. note 4, 1-17, at 7.
90. Mukerji, op. cit. note 1, 326. Studies of conflict and cooperation in science will find it fruitful to borrow perspectives from other literatures that have also documented this phenomenon. For instance, sociologists of work have long been interested in the problem of simultaneous cooperation and conflict in the workplace, and a convergence of interests has already begun between S&TS and workplace studies around the problem of the 'invisible technician'. Perhaps the best analysis of cooperation and conflict in the workplace is Michael Burawoy, Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalism (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1979). For workplace studies on technicians, see the citations listed in note 31.
91. Mukerji, op. cit. note 1, 326. Studies of conflict and cooperation in science will find it fruitful to borrow perspectives from other literatures that have also documented this phenomenon. For instance, sociologists of work have long been interested in the problem of simultaneous cooperation and conflict in the workplace, and a convergence of interests has already begun between S&TS and workplace studies around the problem of the 'invisible technician'. Perhaps the best analysis of cooperation and conflict in the workplace is Michael Burawoy, Manufacturing Consent: Changes in the Labor Process Under Monopoly Capitalism (Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1979). For workplace studies on technicians, see the citations listed in note 31.