Innovation at the Crossroads between Science and Technology ed. by M. Kranzberg, et al

Abstract

TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE Book Reviews 181 uninterested in these aspects. Their narrow rationale of demonstrat­ ing once again the many ways of capitalism’s domination of what in theory could be “pure,” democratically controlled scientific research obfuscates the real analytical challenges that their empirical case studies bear. Wolfgang Rudig Dr. Rudig is senior lecturer in government at the University of Strathclyde. He has published a number of articles on the development of energy technologies and is the author of Anti-nuclear Movements: A World Survey ofOpposition to Nuclear Energy (Harlow and Detroit, 1990). Innovation at the Crossroads between Science and Technology. Edited by M. Kranzberg, Y. Elkana, and Z. Tadmor. Haifa: S. Neaman Press (Technion City, Haifa 3200, Israel), 1989. Pp. 225; figures, notes. $35.00 (paper). Innovation at the Crossroads between Science and Technology contains the papers of a workshop held at the S. Neaman Institute of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to explore the interface between scientific technology and society. The workshop brought together a varied collection of individuals from the United States, Europe, and Israel, including historians, social scientists, economists, managers, business consultants, and industrial researchers. As with any set of conference proceedings with such a diverse set of speakers, there are great differences in style and content among the papers. Many are historical case studies, while others relate ongoing research programs. Of particular interest to readers of Technology and Culture are several papers by prominent historians of technology. Melvin Kranzberg leads off the collection with an interesting overview that surveys what he calls the changing “ecology of innovation” in order to explore the ways in which science and technology have been brought together. While Kranzberg provides a nice analytical overview, R. A. Buchan­ an’s historiographical discussion, which begins by making the contro­ versial claim that “invention is the central problem in the history of technology” and then goes on to challenge recent work in the social construction of technology, seems both out of place in this volume and outdated in its arguments. Much of the book consists of case studies, including several by historians. I. B. Holley examines U.S. Army research and develop­ ment practice between 1919 and 1944 by focusing on rotary-wing aircraft design and raises important questions regarding the relation­ ship between procurement and innovation. Edwin Layton uses Max Jacob’s work on heat transfer to argue that innovation studies neglect engineering science research that leads to incremental improvements 182 Book Reviews TECHNOLOGY AND CULTURE in design and offers engineering design as a basic framework for analyzing technical change because it takes into account both large innovations and small—but crucial—incremental advances. While David Landes provides a sweeping account of the role of craftsmen in clock making from the 13th century to the present, readers will be most intrigued by his discussion of the crucial work of laboratory technicians in contemporary horology. Other studies may also be of interest to T&C readers. Case studies are offered by Rudolph Pariser, who appraises exploration-driven and market-driven research at Du Pont’s central laboratory, and Herbert Friedlander, who examines AstroTurf’s path from discovery to marketplace. Several papers provide historical accounts of contem­ porary policy and practice, including Peter Mathias’s examination of its development in Great Britain, H. Ursprung’s analysis regarding biotechnology in Switzerland, and Jean-Jacques Solomon’s contextual approach to the development of innovation policies by several indus­ trial nations. New methods of forecasting emerging fields of research are presented by Eugene Garfield, H. Small, and Hariolf Grupp; Zehev Tadmor presents a methodology for inventing polymer­ processing machinery; and Mariann Jelinek and J. D. Goldhar argue for the use of computer-integrated manufacturing. Mark Frantz’s discussion of marketing strategies seems slightly out of place here. While the individual papers are generally interesting, the collection as a whole is unsatisfying. No dialogue is established among the different disciplines. It is a shame that neither comments on the papers nor the audience response was included, as they might have helped to bridge disciplinary gaps. Introductory comments by the editors might also have been useful. Finally, it is necessary to say something about the physical appearance of what is...