Conceptualizing Technological Change: Theoretical and Empirical Explorations

(Paperback)

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Technological 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 work, Govindan Parayil draws together scholarship from disciplines ranging from history to economics to sociology as he seeks to develop a cohesive theory of technological change. Drawing on a detailed case study of the Green Revolution in Indian agriculture, Parayil 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. The text should be useful to those interested in such practical applications as understanding the process of technology transfer.

Reviews

Highly 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

Author Bio

Govindan Parayil is associate professor and coordinator of the Information and Communications Management Programme at the National University of Singapore.