AWEB'S TRANSLATION OF ASTHMA

The development and launching of AWeb created a sociotechnical network in which "being an asthmatic" attained a specific meaning. This meaning was brought into being by the AWeb project group as an implicit consequence of the design activities, and it was embedded in AWeb as a taken-for-granted image of the user. By using the vocabulary of translation (Callon, 1986, 1991) this image of the user is revealed as created and, in turn, presented to asthmatics through the four moments of translation.

The problematization concerns how some actors are brought into motion by other actors. In this case we will focus on how the AWeb project group brought other actors, especially asthmatics, into motion. As the AWeb project manager remarked: "Of course, we wanted [AWeb] to be as useful as possible to the asthmatics but we are involved in the project for commercial reasons. In the end it was a means to increase sales" This commercial motivation was a basic premise for ACorp to engage in the project but it should not be taken as an indication of low quality or commitment. Indeed, the project group followed recognized recommendations in their design of AWeb. The commercial motivation was, however, unlikely to incite asthmatics, and was quickly transformed by the AWeb project group into a completely different proposition: Can information technology, and indeed the Internet, support asthmatics in their self-management? This problematization enunciates several actors, including GINA, which had developed the step model that AWeb implements, general practitioners who are expected to support initiatives that are in line with recommended asthma treatment, and the asthmatics, who are seen as highly motivated, comfortable with the Internet, and eager to minimize their asthma symptoms.