Abstract
Alain Desrosieres understood statistics as simultaneous representations of the world and interventions in it This article examines two mechanisms that mediate how numbers do both. The first, reverse engineering, describes how working backwards from a desired number shapes organizational routines. The second, emotional attachment, describes the processes by which numbers generate a variety of emotions that sometimes stimulate collective identities. Focusing on educational rankings but including examples of other types of numbers, it argues for the importance of disclosing the effects of specific causal mechanisms in the analysis of particular performance measures.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 280-304 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Historical Social Research |
| Volume | 41 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 2016 |
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Keywords
- Alain Desrosieres
- Causal mechanisms
- Emotional attachments
- Quantification
- Rankings
- Reverse engineering
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- History
- Social Sciences(all)
- Sociology and Political Science
Cite this
}
Reverse engineering and emotional attachments as mechanisms mediating the effects of quantification. / Espeland, Wendy N.
In: Historical Social Research, Vol. 41, No. 2, 01.01.2016, p. 280-304.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article
TY - JOUR
T1 - Reverse engineering and emotional attachments as mechanisms mediating the effects of quantification
AU - Espeland, Wendy N
PY - 2016/1/1
Y1 - 2016/1/1
N2 - Alain Desrosieres understood statistics as simultaneous representations of the world and interventions in it This article examines two mechanisms that mediate how numbers do both. The first, reverse engineering, describes how working backwards from a desired number shapes organizational routines. The second, emotional attachment, describes the processes by which numbers generate a variety of emotions that sometimes stimulate collective identities. Focusing on educational rankings but including examples of other types of numbers, it argues for the importance of disclosing the effects of specific causal mechanisms in the analysis of particular performance measures.
AB - Alain Desrosieres understood statistics as simultaneous representations of the world and interventions in it This article examines two mechanisms that mediate how numbers do both. The first, reverse engineering, describes how working backwards from a desired number shapes organizational routines. The second, emotional attachment, describes the processes by which numbers generate a variety of emotions that sometimes stimulate collective identities. Focusing on educational rankings but including examples of other types of numbers, it argues for the importance of disclosing the effects of specific causal mechanisms in the analysis of particular performance measures.
KW - Alain Desrosieres
KW - Causal mechanisms
KW - Emotional attachments
KW - Quantification
KW - Rankings
KW - Reverse engineering
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979815301&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84979815301&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.12759/hsr.41.2016.2.280-304
DO - 10.12759/hsr.41.2016.2.280-304
M3 - Review article
AN - SCOPUS:84979815301
VL - 41
SP - 280
EP - 304
JO - Historical Social Research
JF - Historical Social Research
SN - 0172-6404
IS - 2
ER -