The author calls into question the primacy of the optimism/pessimism split within modern discourses on technology and suggests rather that the dominant thematic division in these discourses is that between mastery over and enslavement to technology. Each of these is criticized with respect to the faulty conception of control it implies. The author concludes with a view of technology as a social practice in order to move beyond mastery or enslavement.

Scientistic authors in the latter half of the 19 th century and the early 20th century, such as Ernest Renan and H. G. Wells, discounted revealed religion. Yet they believed in the secular myth of an imminent technological Eden and they elevated science itself to the dignity of a religion. In so doing, they shaped bold visions of the future, drawing heavily on a millenary store of Western myth and metaphor. In historical terms, the myth of an imminent technological Eden represents a survival and a fusion of the ancient Greek myth of the Golden Age along with three Judeo-Christian myths: Biblical time, Earthly Paradise and the Apocalypse. Since the Enlightenment, the process of secularization has drained the religious content of such myths, although it does not deprive them of any of their deeply emotional force. This explains why the 19th century myth of an imminent technological Eden has considerable staying-power, in spite of the many events since 1945 which seem to discredit it.

Despite the predominantly negative perception that resistance adversely affects a change process, understanding it may be used to successfully implement many changes in organisations. This qualitative study identified inhibitors and enhancers, as perceived by employees with respect to the proposed implementation of a Human Resource Information System technology, at the adaptive and high-adaptive change levels. This issue was examined in the context of large-scale manufacturing company Hulett Aluminium. Based on a review of change theory, innovation diffusion and technology adoption models variables known to relate to technology change were identified and used to formulate a research framework. A quantitative computer attitude survey was initially used to identify a more representative sample frame, after which semi-structured interview techniques were utilised to collect data from eleven general employees and seven Human Resource employees. Qualitative data was analysed using content analysis, domain analysis and the constant comparative concept taken from grounded theory. The findings of this study identified clear communication and employee participation as crucial factors in implementing change at any level. The technology characteristics relative advantage, compatibility and complexity were prominent between both samples. Relative advantage was found to mediate time availability and social influence. Respondents believed trialability allowed them to become familiar with the technology. The support factor training was also dominant and found to mediate respondents' anxiety and uncertainty. The theme that computer experience mitigates anxiety was also evident. Owing to experience of poor technical support, respondents' cited it as an important variable in resistance to technology, which is evident of how experience influences perspective. This study allows researchers and change agents to understand the role individual, technological, propagation and external factors have in employees' perceived resistance to adoption of the proposed technology. By accurately gauging resistance in advance, change agents can anticipate the likely response of the organisation and thus implement appropriate strategies. The research also adds to the expanding base of research investigating resistance to technology adoption in general. / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

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This thesis studies the role of learning as a mechanism of economic change. Two areas are considered where this would seem to be important. First, how firms learn about new technology; and secondly, how agents learn to behave in interactive situations. A model of research and development is presented which models the process by which firms solve specific design problems. This may be by individual experimental search or by partial imitation. In the latter case, a close parallel is drawn between biological evolution, based on genetic reproduction, and technological evolution, based on firms blending existing technologies. Some economic implications of these processes are explored, including their application to stochastic learning curves, patent design and the transfer of technology to developing countries. The thesis continues by critically assessing the analogy between biological and cultural evolution often used to model how agents learn to behave in interactive situations. It is argued that the methods used by economists exploiting this analogy are often ill-suited to an economic context. Models are presented which deal with specific issues in the transition from a biological context to an economic context, including models of partnership formation, models of imperfect imitation, and models without payoff-monotonic dynamics. The issue of imperfect imitation is expanded upon in an evolutionary model of the infinitely repeated prisoners' dilemma, where it is shown that the problem of inter-generational copying fidelity may allow one to restrict attention to strategies with a very simple stochastic structure.

This research examines how companies adapt to more unpredictable environments by developing dynamic capabilities that help sustain innovation and change. The key explanatory construct is modular architecture - the intentional decomposition of systems (products or processes) into relatively independent sub-units with standard interfaces. The dissertation is structured as three semi-independent papers plus an introduction and a literature review. The literature review describes current theories of modular systems and discusses the similarities and differences to related concepts such as nearly decomposable systems, loose coupling, and vertical decomposition. The literature review identifies three gaps in the current literature. First, there has been a limited degree of theorising on the concept outside the field of technology management. Second, the current literature is based largely on anecdotal case studies and there is little quantitative evidence of the strategic value of modularity. Finally, there is a lack of understanding concerning the implementation of modular architectures. The first paper generalises from product to organisation design and derives five principles for modular organisational architectures. A hypothetical example is developed to illustrate how a large home appliances company might apply these principles to create a process platform consisting of reconfigurable building blocks. The chapter also proposes some extensions of current theory to more realistically adopt modularity concepts in organisation design. The second paper is based on a study that explores the current product and process architectures at three leading manufacturers of vacuum cleaners. It identifies some of the key barriers to increased flexibility among companies in mature industries. It also considers the relative value of modularity for established companies pursuing incremental innovation versus entrepreneurial companies introducing more radical innovations. The third paper presents the results from a survey questionnaire study of companies in the home appliances industry in the UK. and US. The relationship between market context, product and process architecture, strategic flexibility and firm performance is examined by means of structural equations modelling. The results show a positive relationship between modular product architectures and performance, with product model variety as a mediating variable. The thesis makes the following contributions to the existing literature: It complements extant theorising by generalising modular principles to organisation design. It contributes to methodology by developing a questionnaire for assessing modularity in product and process design. Finally, it provides one of the first empirical studies of the effects of modularity on strategic flexibility and firm performance.

The primary objective of this dissertation is to present and analyze Marx's theory of technological unemployment. Chapter I is a brief evaluation of the modern perspectives on this question. The levels of analysis in Marx are also identified. Chapter II considers Marx's short term model on technological unemployment when no net accumulation occurs. It includes a discussion of different measures and types of technological change. Chapter III complements the previous chapter. A theoretical definition of compensation is advanced, and the different forms of compensation in Marx are evaluated. This chapter also includes a broader discussion of the compensation controversy. Chapter IV constitutes Marx's long term model when technological change, population growth and accumulation occur simultaneously. Here, crises are ignored. Chapter V identifies the linkages between crises and technological unemployment. Throughout the dissertation, the short term, long term and crisis models are developed and compared. Included are two appendices, one dealing with the neo-classical approach, and the other with the role of wage flexibility in Marx's theory of technological unemployment.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 56-58). / xiii, 58 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 207. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 82-84). / x, 84 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm