Abstract
A recent paper by Frisbie and Clarke reviews human ecological and neoevolutionary definitions of technology and presents and validates a composite index of technology for 66 nations in 1970. The index includes diverse facets of nations' energy-processing ability, transportation, science, manufacturing, agriculture, and communications. This work is valuable for its attempt to make variables operational in light of sociological theory, but it neglects some subtleties in the idea of technology. In particular, different definitions do not converge as fully as Frisbie and Clarke claim; and the index they present probably does not represent technology equally over its full range, at least by one definition of technology. Their index also raises the issues of whether technology is best understood as an analytical or as a global property (Lazarsfeld and Menzel), and whether it should be understood at the national or the world-system level.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
