Conceptualising the knowledge work of digital professionals through Knorr Cetina's ideas of macro-epistemics and information knowledge

Abstract

The problem addressed in this paper is the need for analytical resources to theorise the nature of knowledge work and, in the light of a practice turn in social sciences, to consider how knowledge is generated and circulated. The aim of the paper is to contribute to a practice-based rethinking of how to investigate professional knowledge, relating its considerations to a case of digital workers. It suggests that Knorr Cetina's ideas of macro-epistemics and information knowledge offer analytical resources for theorising knowledge as practised. The paper's considerations are drawn from an empirical study of 10 localisers who were digital workers from continental Europe, Ireland, the UK and South America and whose work entailed the linguistic, cultural and software adaptation of digital products to support global communication. The paper first presents localisers and explains their knowledge work, second, it positions its considerations in the field of practice theory, exploring Knorr Cetina's concepts of macro-epistemics and information knowledge. Lastly, it draws on localiser data to consider how these concepts offer analytical resources for researching adults' knowledge. The paper will be relevant to educationalists interested in the implications of new theoretical developments for understanding the generation and circulation of professional knowledge.

Keywords:

• digital society
• distributed work
• Knorr Cetina
• practice theory
• localisers

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank Professor Tara Fenwick for her comments on an earlier version of this article and Professor Lydia Plowman for her help and support throughout as I developed some of these ideas. Grateful thanks are also due to the peer-reviewers for their very supportive critique and suggestions. All shortcomings in the piece are, of course, the responsibility of the author.