Dynamics of citizen services: a study of the Dial House

Abstract

This article analyzes the dynamics of reception and registration of demands from users of the free telephone answering system of the House of Representatives. The objective of the research was to delve into the workplace of the answering system operators,, in order to understand how the demands are received, recorded and processed. Priority was given to procedures relating to the interactions between clerks and citizens, which has a specific protocol regarding the language to be used on the phone. The product of this interaction is the material record of the messages in text and audio format, a bureaucratic registration device characterized by statistical rationality. In short, the Dial-Chamber is regulated by discipline, but is a functional island, disconnected from the other parliamentary social network participation tools. The theoretical framework of this work relies on sociological approaches about the mediating role of parliament and the possible uses of socio-technical networks in that process. The methodology consisted in carrying out a field survey, which combined site visits, direct observation, interviews and document analysis.