Author Archives: javierderivera

The Googlization of Everything – Book Review

googlization

By Javier de Rivera.

Originally published in The International Journal of Communication, of USC Annenberg.

The basic thesis of this book is that Google assumes roles and projects that, because of their central importance in society, should be carried …

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Reason Against the Machine

By Javier de Rivera

Any technological device is the result of a social action, a certain set of relations, interests and motivations that produces it, even if the final result does not correspond to the original intentions of the …

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Non-human agency, but human after all

 

By Javier de Rivera

This paper, HUMAN AFTER ALL, overviews some issues addressed in Johanna Drucker’s PhD seminar in Information Studies at UCLA (Spring 2013)  around the topic of New Materialisms. In it, I critique and argue against …

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Networks Withouth a Cause, by Geertz Lovink – Book Review

By Javier de Rivera

Networks Without a Cause. A Critique of Social Media – by Geert Lovink. 2011. Polity Press

Originally published on: Interactions UCLA Journal of Education and Information StudiesDownload PDF

Networks Without a Cause offers …

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Science, Technology and Society

 

This is the final paper on Science and Technology Studies that I wrote for Jean François Blanchette class at the Information Studies Department at UCLA.

It is a general reflection about the STS field that goes around the …

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Book Review, The Information: A History, A Theory, A Flood. By James Gleick

What is information?

This is probably the main question driving the reader throughout the book, which is presented as a comprehensive review of the concept of information, its history, meaning and role in modern society. In 437 pages, James

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Book Review: African Fractals, by Ron Eglash

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African Fractals is an interesting book about ethno-mathematics in Africa. It is about about the presence of advanced mathematical concepts in traditional African cultures, and uses these findings as a way of empowerment for …

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Book Review: The Net Delusion, by Evgeny Morozov

http://socialmediasociology.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/b2.pngBy Javier de Rivera

Originally written in socialmediasociology.com in Jan 3, 2012.

Considered one of the best books of the year 2011 by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, The Net Delusion offers an interesting analysis of the relation between …

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Book Review: The Cybernetic Brain, by Andrew Pickering

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In this critical review I try to point out the flaws of the book and expose the weak arguments of Pickering. The book is awful. It is probably one …

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Book Review: Aramis or the love for technology, Bruno Latour.

By Javier de Rivera

In this book, Latour addresses the social and political factors implicated in the development of technological projects. To such an end, he uses the case study of a failed technological project: Aramis, an innovative public

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