Science, Technology, and Society
New Perspectives and Directions

Investigates the impact of scientific and technological advances on society, including politics, economy, family life, and ethics.

Todd L. Pittinsky (Edited by)

9781316616895, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 21 November 2019

374 pages, 10 b/w illus. 5 tables
22.8 x 15.3 x 1.6 cm, 0.41 kg

'In Science, Technology, and Society, editor Pittinsky (Stony Brook Univ.) has brought together a highly complementary set of essays that explore how society shapes-and is shaped by-technological innovation. Contributed chapters address a diverse set of technologies including everything from genetic engineering to innovations by farmers in converting old cars into effective agricultural machinery. One especially interesting chapter focuses on the role of technology in reducing sex differences in society, for example by enabling remote work, which can either ease or heighten demands on women who are primary caregivers for young children, and by enabling online commentators to avoid indicating their sex and escape potential stereotyping by colleagues.' D. P. Genereux, Choice

This book gathers inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary perspectives on the effects that today's advances in science and technology have on issues ranging from government policy-making to how we see the differences between men and women. The chapters investigate how invention and innovation really take place, how science differs from competing forms of knowledge, and how science and technology could contribute more to the greater good of humanity. For instance, should there be legal restrictions on 'immoral inventions'? A key theme that runs throughout the book concerns who is taken into account at each stage and who is affected. The amount of influence users have on technology development and how non-users are factored in are evaluated as the impact of scientific and technological progression on society is investigated, including politics, economy, family life, and ethics.

1. Technically based programs in science, technology, and public policy M. Granger Morgan and Douglas Sicker
2. Comparative studies of science and technology David Horn
3. On the origins of models of innovation: process and system approaches Benoît Godin
4. The third wave of science studies Harry Collins and Robert Evans
5. Legal regulation of technology: supporting innovation, managing risk, and respecting values Roger Brownsword
6. The social shaping of technology (SST) Robin Williams
7. Placing users and nonusers at the heart of technology Nelly Oudshoorn
8. Scientific community Dean Keith Simonton
9. Genetic engineering and society Jessica Cavin Barnes, Elizabeth A. Pitts, S. Kathleen Barnhill-Dilling and Jason A. Delborne
10. Technology enables and reduces sex differences in society Jens Mazei
11. Technology for society Todd L. Pittinsky.

Subject Areas: Popular psychology [VSP], Human-computer interaction [UYZ], Impact of science & technology on society [PDR], Occupational & industrial psychology [JMJ], Society & social sciences [J]