Send in the Clowns: Scoping Non-Representational Theory as Ally and Method to Foster Inclusiveness in Digital Innovation

Send in the clowns is the account of a post-disciplinary, critical, creative practise that over the course of 6 years explored the subject of ‘digital innovation’ and ‘innovating in the digital’. The digital in this context is interpreted in the widest possible sense and includes any instance where cybertechnology relates to/with humans. This framing has put forward my proposed concept of the digiscape; a phenomenological interpretation of cyber-technology.

In 3 distinct interventions (Ch.3,4,5) I have appropriated literatures on inventive methods, sustainable design and diffraction for my thinking. Through the lessons learned from each intervention I have constructed my own interpretation of non-representational theory and methods. I make the case that these can be a fertile ground for emancipatory politics concerning research and development in/on the digital.

Seeking to test my claim that such approaches can be deemed valuable to practising innovators, I have submitted my hypothesis together with a non-representational experiment (‘Lickable Cities’) to CHI 2018 [a] (the pre-eminent journal in the field of Human-ComputerInteraction). The submission was accepted. Ch.6 discusses the implications of this on the scholarship of non-representational-theory and philosophy.

Thus myconclusion is that non-representational approaches are indeed of value to innovators as a means to catalyse a type of awareness(es) that makes otherwise inutterable questions possible. I am claiming that through fostering alliances across methods, traditions, disciplines, writing styles, ethnicities, media and epistemologies- with the help of non-representational theory- more inclusive research is enabled and method itself can be invigorated (Ch.7).

As mywork is concerned with knowing about knowing, and knowing about ways of knowing, myworkis firmly placed within Science and Technology Studies (STS) and is written for an STS audience.

[a]The ‘ACM’ Conference on ‘Human Factors in Computing Systems’, the principal venue for research in the f ield of ’Human-Computer Interaction’ (HCI)

This work was funded by the Digital Economy programme (RCUK Grant EP/ G037582/1) and completed at the Centre for Doctoral Training "HighWire" in collaboration across:
LICA (Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts),
Lancaster School of Computing and Communications (SCC),
Lancaster University Management Schools (LUMS) therein the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology (OWT)
with further support by Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC) and Lancaster Sociology (Centre for Science Studies).

Content:
This STS (Science and Technology Studies) work is exploring Non-Representational Theory (NRT) in the context of digital innovation. This thesis is a diegetic artefact that seeks to innovate (and break) the envelope of what a thesis is ANDOR does. While the abstract outlines its contents, the true political dimensions of this work are found elsewhere entirely.

Brief Abstract:
This PhD thesis presents a post-disciplinary, critical, and creative examination of 'digital innovation' over six years, proposing the concept of the 'digiscape'—a phenomenological interpretation of cyber-technology. The research spans three distinct interventions (Chapters 3, 4, and 5), drawing on literatures from inventive methods, sustainable design, and diffraction to construct a unique perspective on non-representational theory and methods. This framework is argued to offer emancipatory possibilities for research and development in the digital realm.