This thesis examines the ‘evaluation culture’ of derivatives ‘quants’ working in the over-the-counter markets for interest rate derivatives tied to Libor. Drawing on data from interviews with quants, financial mathematicians, and economists conducted primarily in the United Kingdom and the United States, combined with fieldwork at derivatives ‘quant’ conferences and an extensive set of technical sources, this thesis explores the historical development and contemporary patterning of modelling practices that are used within derivatives dealer banks to price and hedge Libor-based interest rate derivatives. Moreover, this thesis uses the historical development of interest-rate modelling techniques, beginning in the late 1970s, as a lens through which to understand the establishment, differentiation and separation of this ‘derivatives quant’ evaluation culture as a body of knowledge and practice distinct from financial economics. The analysis is carried out in nine chapters. The thesis begins with an introductory chapter, a chapter reviewing the relevant sociological and historical literature on economic and financial modelling, and a chapter covering the research methodology employed in the thesis. In Chapters 4-5, I provide background on the mathematical techniques used by derivatives quants and financial economists, the social and institutional structure of the Libor derivatives markets, and the instruments that are traded in these markets. In Chapter 6, I explore the organisational patterning of modelling practices in these markets and highlight the tacit and experiential nature of quant expertise. In Chapters 7-8, I investigate the ‘social shaping’ of models that are currently used to price so-called ‘exotic’ Libor derivatives. These models originated within the discipline of economics and were designed for a set of purposes different from models currently used by derivatives quants. By tracing out how these models were adapted to serve as derivatives pricing ‘engines’ within banks, I highlight how modelling practices are shaped by the organisational contexts in which they are used.

Esta tese apresenta uma reflexão acerca dos conhecimentos sobre a fauna e a flora do Novo Mundo produzidos pelas instituições vinculadas à Coroa espanhola entre os anos de 1570 e 1620. Para tanto, optou-se pela análise das crônicas oficiais e dos documentos expedidos pelo Consejo de Indias que demandavam informações sobre o mundo natural americano. As configurações e as funções que assumiam os saberes sobre os animais e as plantas nas estruturas burocráticas e no espaço discursivo das crônicas oficiais são elementos analisados ao longo dos quatro capítulos que compõem a tese. No primeiro apartado, além de discussões teóricas e historiográficas sobre as relações entre império, conhecimento e ciência, foram examinadas algumas das cédulas e instruções enviadas pelo Consejo de Indias a diferentes partes do continente no período anterior a 1570. O segundo capítulo foi dedicado à análise da reforma empreendida por Juan de Ovando no Consejo de Indias, sobretudo, em relação às leis e demandas relativas à coleta de dados e construção de conhecimentos sobre o continente americano, também foram discutidos aspectos relacionados à criação do cargo de cosmógrafo o cronista maior das Índias. O terceiro capítulo está dedicado ao exame das obras do primeiro cosmógrafo e cronista maior das Índias, Juan López de Velasco. O último capítulo está centrado no estudo dos dois cronistas oficiais das Índias que atuaram durante o reinado de Felipe III: Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas e Pedro de Valencia. Com a análise desse conjunto documental, pretendemos evidenciar a configuração de uma cultura epistêmica no seio das instituições oficiais, a qual estava em diálogo com tradições letradas e científicas do período, bem como com os anseios de constituição de uma ideia de império para a Monarquia Hispânica. / This thesis presents a reflection about the knowledge of the New Worlds fauna and flora, generated by the institutions linked to the Spanish Crown between the years of 1570 and 1620. For this, it was opted for the analysis of the official chronicles and documents issued by Consejo de Indias that demanded information about the American natural world. The configurations and the functions that took on the knowledge about animals and plants in the bureaucratic structures and in the discursive space of the official chronicles are analyzed elements during the four chapters that compound the thesis. In the first part, beyond the theoretical and historiographical discussions about the relationships among the empire, knowledge and science, were examined some of the documents and instructions sent by Consejo de Indias to different parts of the continent in the period before 1570. The second chapter was dedicated to the analysis of the reform made by Juan de Ovando in Consejo de Indias, mainly with regard to laws and demands linked to data gathering and knowledge building about the American continent and also were discussed aspects related to the creation of the cosmographer-chronicler major of Indies position. The third chapter is dedicated to the examination of the first cosmographer-chronicler major of Indies Juan Lopez de Velascos work. The last chapter is focused on the analysis of two Indies official chroniclers that acted during Felipe IIIs reign: Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas and Pedro de Valencia. With the analysis of this documentation, it is intended to emphasize the configuration of an epistemic culture within the official institutions, culture related to literate and scientific traditions of that period as well as to the desire to establish an idea of empire for the Hispanic monarchy.

Esta tese apresenta uma reflexão acerca dos conhecimentos sobre a fauna e a flora do Novo Mundo produzidos pelas instituições vinculadas à Coroa espanhola entre os anos de 1570 e 1620. Para tanto, optou-se pela análise das crônicas oficiais e dos documentos expedidos pelo Consejo de Indias que demandavam informações sobre o mundo natural americano. As configurações e as funções que assumiam os saberes sobre os animais e as plantas nas estruturas burocráticas e no espaço discursivo das crônicas oficiais são elementos analisados ao longo dos quatro capítulos que compõem a tese. No primeiro apartado, além de discussões teóricas e historiográficas sobre as relações entre império, conhecimento e ciência, foram examinadas algumas das cédulas e instruções enviadas pelo Consejo de Indias a diferentes partes do continente no período anterior a 1570. O segundo capítulo foi dedicado à análise da reforma empreendida por Juan de Ovando no Consejo de Indias, sobretudo, em relação às leis e demandas relativas à coleta de dados e construção de conhecimentos sobre o continente americano, também foram discutidos aspectos relacionados à criação do cargo de cosmógrafo o cronista maior das Índias. O terceiro capítulo está dedicado ao exame das obras do primeiro cosmógrafo e cronista maior das Índias, Juan López de Velasco. O último capítulo está centrado no estudo dos dois cronistas oficiais das Índias que atuaram durante o reinado de Felipe III: Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas e Pedro de Valencia. Com a análise desse conjunto documental, pretendemos evidenciar a configuração de uma cultura epistêmica no seio das instituições oficiais, a qual estava em diálogo com tradições letradas e científicas do período, bem como com os anseios de constituição de uma ideia de império para a Monarquia Hispânica. / This thesis presents a reflection about the knowledge of the New Worlds fauna and flora, generated by the institutions linked to the Spanish Crown between the years of 1570 and 1620. For this, it was opted for the analysis of the official chronicles and documents issued by Consejo de Indias that demanded information about the American natural world. The configurations and the functions that took on the knowledge about animals and plants in the bureaucratic structures and in the discursive space of the official chronicles are analyzed elements during the four chapters that compound the thesis. In the first part, beyond the theoretical and historiographical discussions about the relationships among the empire, knowledge and science, were examined some of the documents and instructions sent by Consejo de Indias to different parts of the continent in the period before 1570. The second chapter was dedicated to the analysis of the reform made by Juan de Ovando in Consejo de Indias, mainly with regard to laws and demands linked to data gathering and knowledge building about the American continent and also were discussed aspects related to the creation of the cosmographer-chronicler major of Indies position. The third chapter is dedicated to the examination of the first cosmographer-chronicler major of Indies Juan Lopez de Velascos work. The last chapter is focused on the analysis of two Indies official chroniclers that acted during Felipe IIIs reign: Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas and Pedro de Valencia. With the analysis of this documentation, it is intended to emphasize the configuration of an epistemic culture within the official institutions, culture related to literate and scientific traditions of that period as well as to the desire to establish an idea of empire for the Hispanic monarchy.

There are three different uses of the term 'information' in ordinary language: in the restricted sense, it means diverse types of material objects, such as data or documents ('information as thing'); alternatively, the term is used as in reference to the act of informing or becoming informed ('information as process'), or to equate to knowledge ('information as knowledge'). Each of these connotations represents a legitimate view of information in its own right, being equally significant to information-intensive organisations. The literature lacks studies that approach information from an integrative viewpoint, however. The purpose of this study was to explore and develop the notion of 'information governance' as an integrative, systemic approach to information in the context of research organisations. Soft Systems Methodology was used in a case study involving the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. Qualitative data was gathered through in-depth interviews with researchers and information/knowledge managers, followed by a thematic, two-level analysis. From a 'macro level' of analysis (the wider Brazilian agricultural research system) it was found that, to solve increasingly complex research problems, collaborative, multidisciplinary networking is needed. On the other hand, competitive forces are continuously emanating from the systems of research steering, funds and resources' allocation, quality control, and recognition and reward. This conflict inhibits the collaborative sharing of 'information as thing' and 'as knowledge', disturbs internal communication flows and contributes to low levels of synergy and cross-departmental partnerships, ultimately affecting research outcomes. At a 'meso level' (the local practices and culture of agricultural knowledge production), different epistemic cultures were identified (named in vitro, in situ and in silico research), which respond differently to the opposing forces of collaboration and competition. Based on a deep understanding of the agricultural research system and underlying epistemic cultures, a framework for effective governance of information was developed. Action to improve the governance of information at Embrapa would involve nurturing an information culture that supports collaborative work. Given that interactions between researchers are determined by their individual pursuits and struggles, this would require a change in the corporate system of performance evaluation and reward, according to the different epistemic cultures.

Submitted by Priscilla Araujo (priscilla@ibict.br) on 2017-08-08T19:22:05Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) anne_clinio_doutorado_final_14-06-17.pdf: 3610602 bytes, checksum: 90154e1d6df62ef68c8c3119f52f7b84 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-08T19:22:05Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) anne_clinio_doutorado_final_14-06-17.pdf: 3610602 bytes, checksum: 90154e1d6df62ef68c8c3119f52f7b84 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-04 / Descrevemos e analisamos novas culturas epistêmicas (KNORR-CETINA, 1999) que estão sendo engendradas por dois modos de ciência emergentes – a Ciência Aberta e a Ciência Comum – e que, apesar de inúmeras diferenças, convergem na crítica à noção de fato científico e na estratégia de transformar o caderno de laboratório em sua principal tecnologia literária. Adotamos a noção de cultura epistêmica para operacionalizar nossa análise sobre estratégias para configuração de objetos, tecnologias e sujeitos epistêmicos por sistemas de produção de conhecimento que, por sua vez, criam efeitos de verdade. Para tal, nos inspiramos nas etnografias de laboratório e na abordagem das “três tecnologias” de Shapin e Shaffer (1985) para explicar como os filósofos naturais do século XVII construíram a noção de fato científico (matter of fact) como uma “variedade de conhecimento” tão sólida que se tornou sinônimo de ciência. De modo análogo, procuramos compreender como os modos de ciência emergentes pretendem legitimar novas maneiras de produzir conhecimento e disputar a própria noção de ciência. No movimento contemporâneo da Ciência Aberta, abordamos o open notebook science, tal como proposto em 2006 pelo professor e pesquisador em Química Jean-Claude Bradley como “uma maneira de fazer ciência na qual – da melhor maneira possível – você torna toda a sua pesquisa livre e acessível ao público em tempo real” (BRADLEY, set 2010). Adentramos seu “laboratório aberto” através de uma pesquisa documental que identificou o caderno aberto como principal elemento de um complexo ecossistema de colaboração aberta. Articulada com tecnologias sociais e materiais, esta tecnologia literária pretende substituir uma ciência baseada na confiança por outra fundamentada na transparência e na proveniência dos dados. Sua cultura epistêmica não impõe a obtenção de um fato científico como condição sine qua non para a comunicação de conhecimento novo, mas valoriza, sobretudo, o registro adequado da prática experimental seja qual for seu resultado – o que chamamos de matter of proof pela ênfase na documentação. Já na Ciência Comum (LAFUENTE, ESTALELLA, 2015), abordamos o caderno aberto de laboratório cidadão (CALC) prototipado por Antonio Lafuente e práticas de documentação de pesquisadoras-mediadoras do Medialab Prado, instituição pública madrilenha se autodenomina “laboratório cidadão”. Aqui, a crítica à noção de fato científico dialoga com o composicionismo latouriano ao compreendê-lo como um (importante) subconjunto da realidade que, no entanto, não deve se sobrepor aos debates políticos, mas conectar-se às “questões de interesse” (matter of concern). Nesta perspectiva, a modernização epistêmica fomentaria um “terceiro setor do conhecimento” que disputaria a governança antecipatória de assuntos tecnocientíficos (LAFUENTE, 2007). Nossa observação participante identificou que as práticas atuais de documentação tendem a reproduzir a lógica do campo da produção cultural que fomenta novos imaginários políticos, mas não inicia o ciclo de acumulação de conhecimento que o transformaria os laboratórios cidadãos em centros de cálculo (LATOUR, 2000). Os promotores de atividades tendem a reduzir a comunicação à divulgação de atividades para atrair participantes em potencial ou a prestação de contas, comprovando a realização de atividades. / We describe and analyze new epistemic cultures (KNORR-CETINA, 1999) that are being engendered by two emerging modes of science - Open Science and Common Science - that, despite numerous differences, converge on two aspects: the critique of scientific fact and their strategy of transforming laboratory notebooks into their main literary technology. We have adopted the notion of epistemic culture to operationalise our analysis of knowledge production systems strategies to configurate technologies, epistemic objects and subjects that, in turn, create effects of truth. To do so, we are inspired by laboratory ethnographies and Shapin and Shaffer's (1985) "three technologies" approach elaborated to explain how natural philosophers of the seventeenth century constructed the notion of scientific fact (matter of fact) so solid that it became synonym of science. Similarly, we aimed to understand how emerging modes of science seek to legitimize new ways of producing knowledge and disputing the very notion of science. In the contemporary Open Science movement, we approach open notebook science, proposed in 2006 by professor and researcher in Chemistry Jean-Claude Bradley as "a way of doing science in which - in the best possible way - you make all your research free and accessible to the public in real time" (BRADLEY, Sep 2010). We entered his "open laboratory" through documentary research that identified the open notebook as the main element of a complex ecosystem of open collaboration. Articulated with new social and material technologies, this literary technology aims to replace a science based on trust with one based on transparency and data provenance. Its epistemic culture does not impose a scientific fact as a sine qua non condition for knowledge communication, but values, above all, the adequate record of experimental practice whatever its outcome is - an epistemic culture that we have named a "matter of proof", given its emphasis on documentation. In Common Science (LAFUENTE, ESTALELLA, 2015), we investigated the open notebook of citizens' laboratory (CALC in spanish) prototyped by Antonio Lafuente and documentation practices of mediator- researchers at Medialab Prado, a public institution in Madrid that calls itself a "citizen's laboratory". Here, the critique of scientific fact dialogues with Latour´s compositionism since it is understood as an (important) subset of reality, which, however, should not supersede political debates, but rather relate to “matters of concern". In this perspective, the epistemic modernization process would foster a "third sector of knowledge" that would dispute the anticipatory governance of technoscientific subjects (LAFUENTE, 2007). Our participant observation has observed that current documentation practices tend to reproduce the logic of a cultural production field that fosters new political imaginaries, but does not initiate the knowledge accumulation cycle that would transform citizen laboratories into centre of calculation (LATOUR, 2000). Promoters tend to reduce communication to publicity of activities, attracting potential participants; or accountability, to prove that they carried out the projects.