Description
Book SynopsisTechnological change has been rightfully identified as the single most important factor for improving material well-being. Yet, despite its centrality in our lives, we seem to know very little about technology and how it develops and changes, both spatially and temporally. In this original and thoughtful book, Govindan Parayil draws together current scholarship from disciplines ranging from history to economics to sociology as he develops a cohesive theory of technological change. Drawing on a detailed case study of the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture, Parayil convincingly argues that technological change is contingent upon the social-historical process of knowledge change. Thus, he explores the policy implications of analyzing technological change as a problem-solving activity. An innovative contribution to the literature on technological change, this ambitious book will also be valuable for those interested in such practical applications as understanding the process of technol
Trade ReviewHighly original and interesting. This is the first study to bring together and evaluate all the different strands of literature that address the issue of technological change. An ambitious and very significant contribution to the literature. -- Trevor Pinch, Goldwin Smith Professor of Science and Technology Studies, Cornell University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Historical Models Chapter 3 Sociological Models Chapter 4 Economic Models Chapter 5 Neo-Schumpeterian and Evolutionary Models Chapter 6 Technological Change as Problem-Solving Chapter 7 Contingency and Practical Reflexivity Chapter 8 Competing Models and Their Explanatory Power Chapter 9 Technological Change as Knowledge Change: Toward a Syncretic Theory of Technological Change
