[PDF] The Process Of Technological Change eBook

Author : John M. Ziman
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 404 pages
File Size : 16,60 MB
Release : 2003-09-18
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780521542173

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Ground-breaking yet non-technical analysis of the analogy that technological artefacts 'evolve' like biological organisms.

Author : David C. Mowery
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 228 pages
File Size : 25,18 MB
Release : 1999-10-28
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9780521646536

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In 1903 the Wright brothers' airplane travelled a couple of hundred yards. Today fleets of streamlined jets transport millions of people each day to cities worldwide. Between discovery and application, between invention and widespread use, there is a world of innovation, of tinkering, improvement and adaptation. This is the world David Mowery and Nathan Rosenberg map out in Paths of Innovation, a tour of the intersecting routes of technological change. Throughout their book, Mowery and Rosenberg demonstrate that the simultaneous emergence of new engineering and applied science disciplines in the universities, in tandem with growth in the Research and Development industry and scientific research, has been a primary factor in the rapid rate of technological change. Innovation and incentives to develop new, viable processes have led to the creation of new economic resources - which will determine the future of technological innovation and economic growth.

Author : Ian Mcloughlin
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 201 pages
File Size : 16,7 MB
Release : 2002-03-11
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 1134680163

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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.

Author : E.G. Frankel
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 283 pages
File Size : 35,83 MB
Release : 2012-12-06
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9400919883

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Technological change has been recognized as the major contributor to economic growth and has become one of the most important challenges to policy makers and managers. Many excellent books and papers have been written on the subject. Most of these deal with the macro or micro economic impact of technological change or the technological change process from invention and discovery to innovation, development, and final maturity as well as ultimate obsolescence of technology. This book is designed to present technological change as a decision process and explain the use of recently developed methods for the effective management of technological change. In particular, techniques for the effective choice among technological alternatives, timing of the introduction of new technology both in terms of its own status and that of the technology to be replaced if any, and the rate and method of introduction of new technology are presented. Management of technology is a complex decision process which is affected by both internal and external factors. The purpose of this book is to instruct the reader in effective technology deciSion making which involves the evaluation of the status of technology in use if any, the problem to be solved or output to be obtained, determination of environmental and internal constraints, and the competitive environment or market conditions which affect the technology decisions.

Author : George Basalla
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
Page : 262 pages
File Size : 29,88 MB
Release : 1989-02-24
Category : Technology & Engineering
ISBN : 1316101584

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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.

Author : Arnulf Grübler
Publisher : Routledge
Page : 414 pages
File Size : 38,37 MB
Release : 2010-09-30
Category : Nature
ISBN : 1136522913

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Much is written in the popular literature about the current pace of technological change. But do we have enough scientific knowledge about the sources and management of innovation to properly inform policymaking in technology dependent domains such as energy and the environment? While it is agreed that technological change does not 'fall from heaven like autumn leaves,' the theory, data, and models are deficient. The specific mechanisms that govern the rate and direction of inventive activity, the drivers and scope for incremental improvements that occur during technology diffusion, and the spillover effects that cross-fertilize technological innovations remain poorly understood. In a work that will interest serious readers of history, policy, and economics, the editors and their distinguished contributors offer a unique, single volume overview of the theoretical and empirical work on technological change. Beginning with a survey of existing research, they provide analysis and case studies in contexts such as medicine, agriculture, and power generation, paying particular attention to what technological change means for efficiency, productivity, and reduced environmental impacts. The book includes a historical analysis of technological change, an examination of the overall direction of technological change, and general theories about the sources of change. The contributors empirically test hypotheses of induced innovation and theories of institutional innovation. They propose ways to model induced technological change and evaluate its impact, and they consider issues such as uncertainty in technology returns, technology crossover effects, and clustering. A copublication o Resources for the Future (RFF) and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).