Download or read book Studying Technological Change written by Michael Brian Schiffer and published by University of Utah Press. This book was released on 2011-05-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Studying Technological Change synthesizes nearly four decades of research by Michael Brian Schiffer, a cofounder of the field of behavioral archaeology. This new book asks historical and scientific questions about the interaction of people with artifacts during all times and in all places. The book is not about the history or prehistory of technology, nor is it a catalog of methods and techniques for inferring how specific technologies were made or used. Rather, it supplies conceptual tools that can be used to help craft an explanation of any technological change in any society. The behavioral approach leads to new questions, creative research employing diverse lines of evidence, and, often, counterintuitive explanations. In behavioral archaeology, one never loses sight of the materiality of human behavior. Needless to say, advocates of other research approaches will find much in this book to dispute. But critics cannot gainsay the productivity of the behavioral approach nor the fact that it has furnished fresh insights into episodes of technological change.
Download or read book Work and Technological Change written by Stephen R. Barley and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2020-10-27 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Stephen R. Barley reflects on over three decades of research to explore both the history of technological change and the approaches used to investigate how technologies, including intelligent technologies such as machine learning and robotics, are shaping our work and organizations.
Download or read book Technology Change and the Academic Library written by Jeremy Atkinson and published by Chandos Publishing. This book was released on 2020-09-22 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Massive technological change has been impacting universities and university libraries in recent years. Such change has manifested in technological developments impacting all areas of academic library activity, including systems, services, collections, the physical library environment, marketing, and support for university teaching, learning, research, and administration. Many books and papers have examined these changes from a technical perspective. However, there is little substantive reflection on what technological change means, and how best to get out in front of it, for the academic library. Technology, Change and the Academic Library systematically reflects on technological innovation, the successes, failures and lessons learned, the nature, process and culture of change, and key aspects including impacts on library staff and users, roles and responsibilities, and skills and capabilities. The book takes an international perspective on the massive change currently affecting academic libraries. The title gives an overview and literature review, considers technological innovation and change management, future technologies and future change, and provides information on further reading. Case studies describe the rationale, aims, and objectives for particular technological innovations, and consider methods, outcomes, and recommendations for the future. Finally, the book reflects back on how technological change can best be wrought in academic libraries. - Gives library managers and librarians insight into how best to identify, plan, and implement technological innovation - Provides a wide-ranging overview, literature review, and a series of reflective case studies on technological innovation in libraries - Emphasises current trends, lessons, and critical issues for putting technological innovation into place - Offers an international perspective on technological innovation in the academic library - Uses a critical methodology to reflect on what works, what does not, and how managers can apply lessons from real cases worldwide
Download or read book Technological Perspectives on Behavioral Change written by Michael Brian Schiffer and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2022-09-13 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Human societies have always been characterized by a dependence on artifacts, from prehistoric stone tools to modern electronic devices. Technology responds to and affects virtually all human behavior; yet the interdependence of behavior and artifacts has never been studied intensively. Archaeologist Schiffer now draws on his discipline's familiarity with artifacts--and the processes of change they reveal--to offer new insight into the study of behavioral change. Drawing on case studies that deal with changes in architecture, ceramics and electronic technology, he emphasizes the central idea that the explanations of change must focus on the nexus of behavior and artifacts in the context of activities.
Download or read book Technological Change written by Robert Fox and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technological Change gathers together examples of the best current thinking on methodology and the theoretical perspectives that are increasingly of concern to historians of technology, whilst at the same time presenting other papers which reflect the 'state of the art' in key areas of historical debate. The volume emphasises the need both to establish a common forum for theoretical and empirical research and also to delineate the shared concerns of these two treatments, which are too often reflected as conflicting rather than mutually supportive approaches to the writing of the history of technology.
Download or read book The Evolution of Technology written by George Basalla and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1989-02-24 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an evolutionary theory of technological change based upon recent scholarship in the history of technology and upon relevant material drawn from economic history and anthropology. It challenges the popular notion that technology advances by the efforts of a few heroic individuals who produce a series of revolutionary inventions owing little or nothing to the technological past. Therefore, the book's argument is shaped by analogies taken selectively from the theory of organic evolution, and not from the theory and practice of political revolution. Three themes appear, and reappear with variations, throughout the study. The first is diversity: an acknowledgment of the vast numbers of different kinds of made things (artifacts) that have long been available to humanity; the second is necessity: the belief that humans are driven to invent new artifacts in order to meet basic biological requirements such as food, shelter, and defense; and the third is technological evolution: an organic analogy that explains both the emergence of novel artifacts and their subsequent selection by society for incorporation into its material life without invoking either biological necessity or technological progress. Although the book is not intended to provide a strict chronological account of the development of technology, historical examples - including many of the major achievements of Western technology: the waterwheel, the printing press, the steam engine, automobiles and trucks, and the transistor - are used extensively to support its theoretical framework. The Evolution of Techology will be of interest to all readers seeking to learn how and why technology changes, including both students and specialists in the history of technology and science.
Download or read book Population and Technological Change written by Ester Boserup and published by Chicago : University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1981 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Managing Technological Change written by Carol Joyce Haddad and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2002-05-24 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines how new workplace technology can improve performance - and how it can have the opposite effect when it is not properly planned and introduced with the participation of key stakeholders. It provides an overview and explanation of the steps involved in technology planning, acquisition, development, implementation, and assessment.
Download or read book Technological Change and Industrial Transformation written by Vicky Xiaoyan Long and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-08-18 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Industrial transformation is a research and teaching field with a focus on the phenomenon and mechanisms of industrial development and renewal. It concerns changes in economic activities caused by innovation, competition and collaboration, and has a rich heritage of evolutionary economics, institutional economics, industrial dynamics, technology history and innovation studies. It borrows concepts and models from the social sciences (sociology, history, political sciences, business/management, economics, behavioural sciences) and also from technology and engineering studies. In this book, the authors present the key theories, frameworks and concepts of industrial transformation and use empirical cases to describe and explain the causes, processes and outcomes of transformation in the context of digitalization and sustainability. They stress that industrial transformation consists both of Darwinian "survival of the fittest" selection, and of intentional pursuits of innovation, and of industrial capabilities creation. The work argues that managing the global trends of transformation is not only about new technology and innovation: existing institutional settings and dynamic interactions between technological change, organizational adaptation and economic activities also have a profound impact on future trajectories. The areas under investigation are of great relevance for strategic management decisions and industrial and technology policies, and understanding the mechanisms underlying transformation and sustainable growth.
Download or read book Creative Technological Change written by Ian Mcloughlin and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2002-03-11 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creative Technological Change draws upon a wide range of thinking from organisational theory, innovation studies and the sociology of technology. It explores the different ways in which these questions have been framed and answered, especially in relation to new 'virtual' technologies. The idea of metaphor is used to capture the differences between, and strengths and weaknesses of various ways of conceptualising the technology/organisation relationship. This approach offers the possibility of developing new ways of thinking about, viewing and ultimately responding creatively to the organisational challenges posed by technological change.
Download or read book Technological Change and the United States Navy 1865 1945 written by William M. McBride and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2003-04-01 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, Engineer-Historian Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Navies have always been technologically sophisticated, from the ancient world's trireme galleys and the Age of Sail's ships-of-the-line to the dreadnoughts of World War I and today's nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines. Yet each large technical innovation has met with resistance and even hostility from those officers who, adhering to a familiar warrior ethos, have grown used to a certain style of fighting. In Technological Change and the United States Navy, William M. McBride examines how the navy dealt with technological change—from the end of the Civil War through the "age of the battleship"—as technology became more complex and the nation assumed a global role. Although steam engines generally made their mark in the maritime world by 1865, for example, and proved useful to the Union riverine navy during the Civil War, a backlash within the service later developed against both steam engines and the engineers who ran them. Early in the twentieth century the large dreadnought battleship at first met similar resistance from some officers, including the famous Alfred Thayer Mahan, and their industrial and political allies. During the first half of the twentieth century the battleship exercised a dominant influence on those who developed the nation's strategies and operational plans—at the same time that advances in submarines and fixed-wing aircraft complicated the picture and undermined the battleship's superiority. In any given period, argues McBride, some technologies initially threaten the navy's image of itself. Professional jealousies and insecurities, ignorance, and hidebound traditions arguably influenced the officer corps on matters of technology as much as concerns about national security, and McBride contends that this dynamic persists today. McBride also demonstrates the interplay between technological innovation and other influences on naval adaptability—international commitments, strategic concepts, government-industrial relations, and the constant influence of domestic politics. Challenging technological determinism, he uncovers the conflicting attitudes toward technology that guided naval policy between the end of the Civil War and the dawning of the nuclear age. The evolution and persistence of the "battleship navy," he argues, offer direct insight into the dominance of the aircraft-carrier paradigm after 1945 and into the twenty-first century.
Download or read book Upgrade Culture and Technological Change written by Adam Richard Rottinghaus and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-31 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book explores the origin and future of "upgrade culture," a collection of cultural habits and orientations based on the assumption that new technologies will rapidly, perpetually, and inevitably emerge. By analyzing discourses of technological change and the practices of marketing workers inside the consumer technology industry between the early 1980s and the late 2010s, the book describes the genesis, maintenance, and future of upgrade culture. Based on archival and popular sources, first-hand interviews with a range of industry professionals, and participant observations at industry-only events, the book attends to issues both intimate to the culture of marketing work and structural to the organization of the consumer technology industry. This book will have a broad appeal to social/cultural theorists of technology, marketing, and consumerism, as well as to scholars in business history, communication, cultural studies, media studies, sociology, and anthropology"--
Download or read book Managing Technological Change written by Tony Bates and published by Jossey-Bass. This book was released on 2000 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A required read for every university administrator grappling withthe complexities of technology and education. Bates has combined animpressive depth of experience and practice to produce anauthoritative and well-reasoned approach."--Bruce Pennycook,vice-principal, Information Systems and Technology, McGillUniversity "Digital technologies are revolutionizing the practices of teachingand learning at colleges and universities all around the world.This book will be helpful for all those who are planning andmanaging such organizational and technological change on theircampuses."--Timothy W. Luke, executive director, Institute forDistance and Distributed Learning, Virginia Tech Implementing new technology at a college or university requiresmore than simply buying new computers and establishing a Web site.The successful use of technology for teaching and learning alsodemands major changes in teaching and organizational culture. InManaging Technological Change, Tony Bates -- a world-renownedexpert on the use of technology in university teaching -- revealshow to create the new, technologically competitive academicorganization. He draws from recent research and best practice casestudies--as well as on his thirty years of experience in usingtechnology for teaching--to provide practical strategies formanaging change to ensure the successful use of technology. Readerswill learn how to win faculty support for teaching with technologyand get advice on appropriate decision-making and reportingstructures. Other topics covered include reward systems, estimatingcosts of teaching by technology, and copyright issues. Bates alsodetails the essential procedures for funding new technology-basedsystems, managing the technology, and monitoring its ongoingeducational effectiveness in anticipation of future changes.Throughout the book, he maintains a focus on the human factors thatmust be addressed, identifying the risks and penalties oftechnologically based teaching and showing how to manage thosehazards.
Download or read book Technology and Global Change written by Arnulf Grübler and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-10-16 with total page 468 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first book to comprehensibly describe how technology has shaped society and the environment over the last 200 years. It will be useful for researchers, as a textbook for graduate students, for people engaged in long-term policy planning in industry and government, for environmental activists, and for the wider public interested in history, technology, or environmental issues.
Download or read book Anthropological Perspectives on Technology written by Michael B. Schiffer and published by UNM Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: These fourteen original essays accept a dual premise: technology pervades and is embedded in all human activities. By taking that approach, studies of technology address two questions central in anthropological and archaeological research today-accounting for variability and change. These diverse yet interrelated chapters show that to understand human lives, researchers must deal with the material world that all peoples create and inhabit. Therefore an anthropology of technology is not a separate, discrete inquiry; instead, it is a way to connect how people make and use things to any activity studied, ranging from religion, to enculturation, to communication, to art. Each contributor discusses theories and methods and also offers a substantial case study. These detailed inquiries span human societies from the Paleolithic to the computer age. By moving beyond the usual approach of examining ancient technologies, particularly chipped stone and low-fired ceramics, this volume probes for the construction of meaning in the material world across millennia. The authors of these essays find technology to be an inclusive and flexible topic that merges with studies of everything else in human activity. "A provocative and powerful discussion of the role of technology in human cultures. At a time when archaeology has become less focused on theory, and archaeology and social anthropology seem to fracture farther and farther apart, the book is a breath of fresh air."--Professor John Douglas, University of Montana
Download or read book The Consequences of Information written by Jannis Kallinikos and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jannis Kallinikos analyzes the recent spectacular growth of information and the self-propelling processes through which technological information is increasingly generated out of the reshuffling and recombination of available and interoperable information sources. He argues that information is no longer simply a resource but a pervading element of socio-economic life that is crucially involved in the redefinition of a variety of organizational practices and modes of economic action. Academics and students in a variety of disciplines, including information studies, information systems, manageme.
Download or read book Military Enterprise and Technological Change written by Merritt Roe Smith and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1985 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, historians of technology bring their special expertise to probing the influence of the military on technological development over a broad range of history and in a variety of cases.
