Abstract
Although it discusses computers specifically only occasionally this anthology covers the policy dimensions of technology, useful as a background to studies of information resource management issues. The lead essay by Norman Vig, "Technology, Philosophy, and the State," rejects theories of the emergence of a technocratic elite. Sections cover philosophical/political, institutional, risk management, and evaluation aspects of technology. Essays treat presidential management of technology, the development of the Office of Technology Assessment, government R & D issues, and technological risks and federal regulatory agencies. Case studies examine issues in biotechnology, nuclear waste, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. A concluding essay by the editors notes the importance of technological issues and the difficulty of present governance processes in dealing with them, and calls for a re-examination of risk evaluation and regulation in this arena, with emphasis on broadening advisory councils, hearings, and other forms of public participation. Though the work is not addressed to computer issues, the analogy to information resource management as a technological versus sociopolitical matter is evident.
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