CURRENTLY SOLD OUT

Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation by David Noble (Paperback, 2011)

About this product

Product Information

Focusing on the design and implementation of computer-based automatic machine tools, David F. Noble challenges the idea that technology has a life of its own. Technology has been both a convenient scapegoat and a universal solution, serving to disarm critics, divert attention, depoliticize debate, and dismiss discussion of the fundamental antagonisms and inequalities that continue to beset America. This provocative study of the postwar automation of the American metal-working industry-the heart of a modern industrial economy-explains how dominant institutions like the great corporations, the universities, and the military, along with the ideology of modern engineering shape, the development of technology. Noble shows how the system of numerical control, perfected at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and put into general industrial use, was chosen over competing systems for reasons other than the technical and economic superiority typically advanced by its promoters. Numerical control took shape at an MIT laboratory rather than in a manufacturing setting, and a market for the new technology was created, not by cost-minded producers, but instead by the U. S. Air Force. Competing methods, equally promising, were rejected because they left control of production in the hands of skilled workers, rather than in those of management or programmers. Noble demonstrates that engineering design is influenced by political, economic, managerial, and sociological considerations, while the deployment of equipment-illustrated by a detailed case history of a large General Electric plant in Massachusetts-can become entangled with such matters as labor classification, shop organization, managerial responsibility, and patterns of authority. In its examination of technology as a human, social process, Forces of Production is a path-breaking contribution to the understanding of this phenomenon in American society.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Taylor & Francis Inc
ISBN-13
9781412818285
eBay Product ID (ePID)
106456928

Product Key Features

Author
David Noble
Publication Name
Forces of Production: a Social History of Industrial Automation
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Economics, Technology, History, Business
Publication Year
2011
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
444 Pages

Dimensions

Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Item Weight
612g

Additional Product Features

Title_Author
David Noble
Country/Region of Manufacture
United States

Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

See all

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

The Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb, Annie Raser-Rowland (2012, Paperback)
4.8 out of 5 stars based on 88 product ratings
AU $19.95 New
AU $13.00 Used
Australian Native Bee Book: Keeping Stingless Bee Hives for Pets, Pollination and Sugarbag Honey by Tim Heard (Paperback, 2015)
4.9 out of 5 stars based on 157 product ratings
AU $39.98 New
AU $31.50 Used
The Falsification of History: Our Distorted Reality by John Hamer (Paperback, 2013)
No ratings or reviews yet.
AU $59.41 New
---- Used
In-Basket Case Studies by Guy Adamson (Paperback, 1986)
No ratings or reviews yet.
AU $19.99 New
---- Used
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison (Hardcover, 1988)
5.0 out of 5 stars based on 12 product ratings
AU $182.95 New
AU $79.95 Used
Botanical Field Guide by Stefan Mager (Fold-out book or chart, 2021)
4.5 out of 5 stars based on 4 product ratings
AU $14.99 New
---- Used
A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) and the Standard for project management by Project Management Institute (Paperback, 2021)
No ratings or reviews yet.
AU $45.09 New
---- Used

Save on Adult Learning & University

Current slide {CURRENT_SLIDE} of {TOTAL_SLIDES}- Save on Adult Learning & University

Ford Falcon EF, EL/Fairlane NF, NL/LTD DF, DL 1994-1998 Haynes Workshop Manual
AU $57.95
Trending at AU $59.33
Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy: Classic Regional Approach
AU $113.94
Trending at AU $122.01
Michael Price Nick Vandome Windows 11 for Seniors in easy steps (Paperback)
AU $32.86
Trending at AU $36.05
BORN IN 1971?... 1951?BIRTHDAY...Australian Social History....Chrisi, Birthdays
AU $19.00
Trending at AU $21.79
It's Not You: How to Identify and Heal from NARCISSISTIC People by Ramani Durvas
AU $35.00
Trending at AU $36.94
Dr. Robert Melillo Disconnected Kids - Revised and Updated (Paperback)
AU $34.03
Trending at AU $41.39

Shop by category

Forces of Production: A Social History of Industrial Automation by David Noble (Paperback, 2011)

About this product

Product Information

Product Identifiers

Product Key Features

Dimensions

Additional Product Features

Best Selling in Adult Learning & University

The Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia by Adam Grubb, Annie Raser-Rowland (2012, Paperback)

Australian Native Bee Book: Keeping Stingless Bee Hives for Pets, Pollination and Sugarbag Honey by Tim Heard (Paperback, 2015)

The Falsification of History: Our Distorted Reality by John Hamer (Paperback, 2013)

In-Basket Case Studies by Guy Adamson (Paperback, 1986)

Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison (Hardcover, 1988)

Botanical Field Guide by Stefan Mager (Fold-out book or chart, 2021)

A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) and the Standard for project management by Project Management Institute (Paperback, 2021)

Save on Adult Learning & University

Ford Falcon EF, EL/Fairlane NF, NL/LTD DF, DL 1994-1998 Haynes Workshop Manual

Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy: Classic Regional Approach

Michael Price Nick Vandome Windows 11 for Seniors in easy steps (Paperback)

BORN IN 1971?... 1951?BIRTHDAY...Australian Social History....Chrisi, Birthdays

It's Not You: How to Identify and Heal from NARCISSISTIC People by Ramani Durvas

Dr. Robert Melillo Disconnected Kids - Revised and Updated (Paperback)

You may also like

Social History Non-Fiction Paperback Fiction & Books

History Non-Fiction Social History Fiction & Books

Social Sciences English Paperback Textbooks

Non-Fiction Social History Fiction & Books

Social History Non-Fiction Hardcover Books

Non-Fiction Social History Fiction & Non-Fiction Books in English