The Process of Technological Change

efforts to restrict the diffusion of technology

- "The exclusive possession of a particular Technology can confer great advantages on those that have it." - Venice - 16 cent. Glass makers - assassins sent out to kill expatriate glass makers -England - 1719 - illegal for skilled artisans to emigrate - Present Day - strict rules against exporting technologies - Despite regulations, diffusion of technology difficult to regulate

the translation of science into technology

- A great deal of scientific information is translated into technology through the education of engineers - Science can stifle technology because of its rigidity and movement toward a single answer (rather than several possibilities) - "Both science and technology seem to do best when they remain in close contact, but this should not obscure the fact that they remain very different enterprises"

Yir Yoront

- Australian aboriginals (Paleolithic people) - Greatest technology was the Stone Axe - Stone axe—simple axe but involved many materials - Axe tied to gender identity—only men possessed axe - Introduction of steel axe by missionaries- men, women & children got axe - Men lost distinct identity, culture began to disintegrate - Demise of Yir Yoront not only tied to axe, BUT axe is a good symbol for the new world and technology imposing itself on traditional aboriginal peoples

Commonalities of science and technology

- Both based on the gathering of knowledge - Both advance through cumulative development - Both share rational thought processes - though neither are totally rational in their scope: Values, interpretation, and serendipity central to both endeavors - Mathematics central to both - Both share sense of optimism and progress

The Appeal of Technocracy

- Despite limitations, groups (Technocrats) still attempt to make social problems into technological ones. - Scientific Management Theory (Early 20th Century). - Frederick Taylor - Metallurgical engineer. - Time and motion study - how many motions should it take to complete a job? - Managers determine amount of motions needed and workers follow unreservedly. - Workers benefit because they don't waste time - managers benefit from higher yields. - Workers paid piecemeal, not wages - since workers are efficient, they'll earn more. - Taylor - extend this theory everywhere, homes as well as workplaces. - Lenin (Russia) - Taylor admirer. -Work and Monopoly Capitalism - Hawthorne experiment & Human Relations approach

business firms and technological diffusion

- Diffusion similar to that which occurs from country to country - Factors that influence diffusion: Relative advantages over existing technology Compatibility w/ existing values of firm Ease/difficulty of understanding and applying new technology Ease of experimentation with new technology Extent to which positive results appear - People with knowledge of technology are KEY to diffusion of technology - As with countries, technology that works in one environment may fail in another

The luddites

- England- Ned Ludlum stocking maker who smashed stocking frames. - Luddites- different groups who smashed machines but began in hosiery trade. - Hosiery trade- wanted to use wider frames to make more hosiery for less money. - allowed for use of less skilled (cheaper) labor. Workers objected. - Also - bad harvest led to increase in food costs. Workers' pay wasn't meeting their basic needs - Rebellion. - Fear of unemployment because of technological change, not intrinsic fear of machinery. - Machinery was target for aggression. - Worker protest eventually took more peaceful forms - e.g. unions were established. - Luddite - anyone opposed to modern technology and its extensions

economics motives and technological transfer

- Expectation of cost and benefits strongly influences speed at which technology is diffused - Mechanical Reaper - pre-reaper - grain harvested manually - LABOR INTENSIVE - Mechanical Reaper introduced (1830's) but diffused very slowly until 1850's u1850's - Crimean War - increase of grain prices - motivation to produce > grain - More grain - bigger farms - Mechanical reaper makes sense to buy - Qualifications for Mechanical Reaper - may not have been widely used because it required refinement in order to be of practical use to farmer

Economic motive is important BUT it is still only a presumption of the likely success of a technology

- It often takes a long time for technology to move from lab. feasibility to commercial value: - Freon refrigerants - 1 year - Zipper - 27 years - Mechanical cotton picker - 53 years - Fluorescent lamp - 79 years

the historical separation of science and technology

- Most technologies have been developed with little scientific input - Greece - many technological achievements made without science, yet scientific legacy more significant than technological legacy - Rome - similar lack of connectivity, however Rome's greatest advances were in the area of technology with little scientific development.

However, the assumption that technologies of developed nations are essential to economic and technological modernization of undeveloped countries is problematic

- Not all countries have equal resources (human and material) - Even if technologies can be transferred the results are not always desirable - Pakistan - introduction of tractor - replaces worker - 40% unemployment rate -Workers migrate to cities - dire poverty results - per acre crop yields hardly increased at all.

patents and the diffusion of technology

- Patents confer exclusive use of an invention and are, obviously, highly desired - Patents can stifle technological development - Patents can help diffuse technological knowledge - patent makes public the knowledge - Ideally, patents make invention known and available to public rather that just inventor - Patent isn't an iron-clad protection, merely a 'license to sue' - Patents often quickly out-moded by technological advance - Advantages/disadvantages of patent difficulty weigh over the other

research and development

- Research is the source of fundamental change in technology - A good idea needs to turn into a working product or process - A great deal of development work is oriented toward scaling up - making the transition from a successful research result to large-scale production - The development of penicillin is an excellent illustration of this process - discovered in 1928 - production reached 650 billion units by the end of World War II - Complementary technological changes accelerate and/or advance the process - Technology transfer - using technologies from different realms aid development - Technology is pushed by a variety of forces, but it also has to be pulled by effective demand - market forces - Certainly, the spirit of play and curiosity can be stronger than any market demand

the ' not invented here" syndrome

- Risky nature of technological innovation blocks the diffusion of new technologies - "The status quo is a hell of a lot easier than making changes." Henry Ford

China

- Silk industry: (pre-1850's) manually unwound silkworm cocoons. - Jardine Matheson trading company (Britain) seeks to use steam powered machinery to reel silk. Although faster, not successful because of opposition from Silk Makers Guild.

why can't technology fix it

- Social problems are fundamentally different from technological problems. - Goals for technology usually clear and unambiguous - how do you assemble a car. - Goals for society anything but clear - many different ways to "solve poverty." - Social problems- causes are manifold, human motivation key factor. - Technological solutions work best in closed system - no outside factors to interfere. - When problem cannot be easily isolated - technological solution less likely to be effective. - BESIDES, no problem, technological or otherwise is ever really solved. - "Solution" to one problem creates new problems - Artificial hearts help sustain life BUT: - expensive - aging population needs care - issues of morality

scientific knowledge and technical advance

- Technology more than "applied science" - Technology often emerged w/out scientific knowledge - Scientific advance sometimes depends on prior technological advances

could we afford to equalize resources w/o resource and environmental breakdown

- Technology of one country may not makes good economic sense for another country - Poorer countries need technologies that create human jobs, not replace human jobs - Technologies are often chosen by small power groups that represent their interests rather than the interests of the country - technology cannot be developed strictly for economic motives: values and morality of culture play key roles. - Selection of technology reflects larger issues - social and political, as well as economic.

indirect effects of technology on scientific advance

- Technology supplies devices and instruments for scientific inquiry: Telescopes and galvanometers - Much scientific research has been funded in the hopes that it will "pay off" one day - This payoff can only take place with the help of technology

how are technologies adopted by individuals and organizations that actually put them to use?

- The International Diffusion of Technology - Myth - Technology is largely result of one's own people --> Technological Nativism - No technologically dynamic nation is autonomous from technologies of other nations u1500's - China produced most technology u1500 -1700's - Europe leads world in technological advances - Yet many of these technologies were the continuation of earlier advances in technology from China and elsewhere - United States - heavily dependent on technologies of other countries since its inception - Even advances that originated in U.S. are often owed to immigrants - Bakelight- (Leo Baekeland- Belgium) - television Camera- (Vladimir Zworykin- Russia) -Sharing of technology isn't as simple as merely transplanting Technology from place to place - Technology is a system - many components required to make it work, resources vary from country to country - Technology needs support of human beings who understand its workings - This may vary from country to country - Technologies shared between countries can be used for very different purposes - China - Gun Powder - used medicinally for centuries - passed on to Europe - Europe - within short time using it for cannons and firearms - When technology is transferred from one country to another, modifications are most likely required for technology to work.... Thus it isn't the exact same technology - Japan and Steel Production - Japanese tried to apply Dutch steel production but had to make many modifications. In particular, the special characteristics of Japanese coal and iron ore required special modifications

how technology differs from science

- The two are very different in their basic nature - Science - knowledge for its own sake - Technology - a means to an end - Obviously, motives come into play, and make it difficult to cleanly categorize the two - Scientists - motives seen as pure, "for science's sake," not influenced by politics, economy, society - Works with more freedom; can abandon one theory when another appears more promising - The notion that scientific progress leads to material progress has conferred more respectability on scientists than on technicians - Technicians - work is more structured - Due to demand of product, technician cannot abandon projects as easily as scientist - Under more time pressures

modern relationship between technology and science

- U.S. (1960's) - Project Hindsight - Study of effect of pure science on development of major weapon systems - Results of study revealed that pure science had very little impact on technological development - Limitations of study - only considered scientific knowledge after 1945, not before that time, which was arguably, critical to success of technology

equal use of technologies can have devastating impact

- U.S. (pop. 330 million) - 1.8 cars per household - China (pop. 1.4 billion) - 0.4 cars per household

groups can and do defend themselves against tech. change

- china - the luddites

Caliente, Nevada

- small town supported by single industry: steam locomotives - Onset of diesel-electric locomotive - Once thriving community vanished within a few years

Effects of technological change

- yir yoront - caliente, nevada

the sources of technological change

-technological change is a social process - social construction of technology - Social structures and processes affect choices of technologies - The social constructivist approach challenges the belief that technological change largely stems from the insights and labors of a few supremely talented individuals

Ted Kaczynski

Unabomber, referred to as a neo-luddite