User:PS159C75/Data Assemblage

Data assemblage is the framework which influences data collection and theoretical development beyond the technical elements. This can refer to the political, social, and economic factors which contribute to the production of data. This is a subsection of assemblage theory, which looks specifically at which diverse arrangement of external factors which can contribute in how data is created, collected, utilized and understood. Data assemblage looks specifically at the intersection of system and context factors, and how these intersections interact with one another in a socio-technical sense.

Overview
The concepts related the assemblage theory, as laid out by DeLanda, perceives that the interconenctive nature of all processes leads to unique and conflicting space. Data assemblage is a core concept of critical data studies in which the relationships and amalgamation of data develops over its lifetime. These processes can be linked to the institutions which data exists in, but are capable of being altered as it transitions through time and space.

Concepts
In relation to twenty-first century data collection strategies and the development of Big data collection, there are several factors of influence on how data is created and its intended purpose as a definitive rationalization of known facts. Data assemblage is a philosophy which questions how truth and content are managed. This is a cyclical field, in which one is acting and being acted upon. Datum points are acted upon and causing action within networks. The process of data assemblage is dependent on the social factors and technology in use. The importance of circumstances means that in critical data studies each collection is under its own realm of influence, and is capable of influencing other spaces.

Technology
This factor relates to the ecosystem which data exists within in terms of how data is perceived through a realist view, such as the regulatory factors, user interface or operating system. The way in which measurements exists and how data is constructed are also related to technology. This is a diverse area in which many elements can be considered a technological source of influence.

Social
Social influence comes from the contextual spaces which influence how data is understood. This largely relates to the framing of systems, or which factors can contribute to how data is interpreted. These lenses by which data is understood are seen to be space in which the social norms influence how data behaves over its lifetime. This can be institutions and stakeholders who created or are looking to utilize the data.

Application
In developing analysis through critical data studies, the application of data assemblage looks at how a system and the context which frames a system exert influence over the data processes. In this critical analysis, data is examined in a way which allows for a reflection on existing assemblages which affect data. In critical analysis, these connections or networks are which construct the assemblage. Examples of this can be seen in studies for data collection in smart cities, the production of constant data streams via big data, and in the development of a family tree.

As data develops as an industry and moves further within critical fields of thought, data assemblage allows for the assembly and disassembly of institutional influence, such as in the examination of data colonialism. It is not possible to remove data from its assemblage process because the web of relations is present from data's inception. An example of this is a government purchasing data from a data broker. Although the collection process may attempt to avoid biases, the construction of data, the collection process, and the ability to purchase it in bulk all come to be results of data capitalism.