Your comments on arena reminds me of the case of the "revolution
of Seven Eleven Japan".
They opened the first shop 1974 in Tokyo and has introduced
very systematic network for distribution and exchange and its
information.
That system is called as Point of Sale(POS) system.
I do not know the origin of POS system. The model is somewhere
in US?
In POS system, when a customer buys goods, many data such as
varieties of goods, time of sale, generation, sex etc are inputted
into a computer. The data are regularly sent to the data analysis
center and analysed soon. The result of analysis is soon realized
as the change of varietie of goods sent to each shop and the change
of layout of goods in the shop.
For example, in the case of lunch boxes, rice balls for lunch,
even whcih kinds of luch boxes or rice balls customers often buy,
what time they buy can be analysed. So, if a tuna lunch box is
not good seller in each shop, it is exhanged soon.
In the case of Seven Eleven Japan, the reorganization of
system of disribution has been very systematic, and the control
has attained to the details of flow of objects and often renewed the
technological system and the system of flow of goods.
The division of labour has changed as well by the introduction of
POS system. And the meaning and relation of "expert" and "novice"
shopkeeper have also reorganized.
After Seven Eleven, many others have imitated and followed
the POS system in Japan.
So, in the case of Seven Eleven, Japan as the arena, their response
is very sensitive to customers' behavior and the change is easily
observable.
The data analysis center of Seven Eleven Japan is very modern
"centre of calculation", if borrowing Latour's teminology.
There are many kinds of computer documents as well and it
is just very modern "cascade of inscriptions".
So, now, let me go back to the meaning of arena, and activity.
I perfectly agree on the Yrjo's claim, that is arena is not given
something.
An arena is not a static place and reoganized again and again
in relation to customers' behavior.
At the same time, visibility, observablility of "arena" is not
given. As shown in the above, through the data gathering, data
analysis of customers, and arranging the layout of goods
in a shop, the "arena" becomes observable, accountable and
reportable.
It is possible to say the same thing about the "activity" of
collective customers.
In the above case, the "activity" of collective customers is not
naturally observable. Rather, it becomes visible through cascade of
inscription and situated practice of members in the centre of
calculation, that is by data gathering and data analysis by using
technological artifatcs in the center.
The issue I would like to show is not only how "macro unit
of analysis" such as arena and activity becomes visible but
by whom.
In the case of Seven Eleven, "macro unit of analysis" such as
arena and activity of collective customters is observable
by members of the centre of calculation who engage in a
specific practice, not by customers themselves.
On the other hand, the view point of "setting" looks like
embedded in the practice of customers as collective atoms.
In this way, visibilities of situation are multiply organized
and, so, possible actions in a situation or as part of situation
are mutliply organized as well. As the result, the "interaction"
(or mutual constituiton of) between customer and shop is not
symmetircally organized.
That is alternative to any kind of micro-macro dichotomy
of analysis.
Naoki Ueno
NIER, Tokyo