Leigh Star, Susan. “This Is Not a Boundary Object: Reflections on the Origin of a Concept.” Science, Technology, & Human Values 35, no. 5 (September 2010): 601–17.
Abstract: There are three components to boundary objects as outlined in the original 1989 article. Interpretive flexibility, the structure of informatic and work process needs and arrangements, and, finally, the dynamic between illstructured and more tailored uses of the objects. Much of the use of the concept has concentrated on the aspect of interpretive flexibility and has often mistaken or conflated this flexibility with the process of tacking back-and-forth between the ill-structured and well-structured aspects of the arrangements. Boundary objects are not useful at just any level of scale or without full consideration of the entire model. The article discusses these aspects of the architecture of boundary objects and includes a discussion of one of the ways that boundary objects appeared as a concept in earlier work done by Star. It concludes with methodological considerations about how to study the system of boundary objects and infrastructure.
Susan Leigh Star, "Leigh Star, Susan. “This Is Not a Boundary Object: Reflections on the Origin of a Concept.” Science, Technology, & Human Values 35, no. 5 (September 2010): 601–17. ", contributed by James Adams and Angela Okune, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 8 August 2018, accessed 21 December 2024. https://worldpece.org/content/leigh-star-susan-“-not-boundary-object-reflections-origin-concept”-science-technology-human
Critical Commentary
Abstract: There are three components to boundary objects as outlined in the original 1989 article. Interpretive flexibility, the structure of informatic and work
process needs and arrangements, and, finally, the dynamic between illstructured
and more tailored uses of the objects. Much of the use of the
concept has concentrated on the aspect of interpretive flexibility and has
often mistaken or conflated this flexibility with the process of tacking
back-and-forth between the ill-structured and well-structured aspects of
the arrangements. Boundary objects are not useful at just any level of scale
or without full consideration of the entire model. The article discusses
these aspects of the architecture of boundary objects and includes a discussion
of one of the ways that boundary objects appeared as a concept in earlier
work done by Star. It concludes with methodological considerations
about how to study the system of boundary objects and infrastructure.