Coordinator
Andreas Fickers (University of Luxembourg)
Theme ICT and Financial Crisis
European & global dimension:
- Historicizing EURO crisis 2008
- problematizing relationship between ITC and media infrastructures in co-shaping of financial crisis
- reflecting on transnational and global nature of ICT/News Media nexus as actor of socio-economic development
Reaching out to other disciplines:
- Economics & finance studies: challenging the technological determinism of algorithmic trading and real-time speculation
- Risk management & regulation: institutional & technical mechanisms to deal with uncertainty & speculation
- Media history / media studies: merge of ICT and news media: co-construction of “market reality” as “appresentation” (Knorr-Centina)
- STS: materiality of prices in liquid markets and distinct socio-material assemblage of market sociality (MacKenzie)
Theoretical & Methodological dimension:
- Studying the different time regimes financialized capitalism
- Understanding the technologically mediated reflexivity of financial panics / crisis
- Deconstructing “market reality” as a conglomerate of invested interests of financial, media and political sector
Problematizing different “time regimes” in financial sector
Electric clock time regime (1830s-1950s)
- standardization of time zones around globe 1884
- Impact of electric telegraph communication (stock market)
- Impact of telephony (stock market)
- Impact of radio (business news)
Electronic time regime (1960s-1980s)
- Impact of computers, satellites, microchip technologies: increased density of electronic communication
Real-time regime (1990s-today)
- Impact of digital technologies and Internet as manifestations of inter-networked instantaneity and simultaneity (high-frequency trading HFT as cultural phenomenon)
Algorithmic trading systems and computer/software generated analysis and decision-making based on financial protocols (Financial Information Exchange / FIX)
Activities
- Exploratory Workshop on ToE Flagship-Program “ICT & Financial crises” (C2DH, Luxembourg University, 18 May 2018)