Dissertation Research: Office Automation and the Construction of Computerization as Productivity in Britain, 1945 to 1975

论文研究：1945 年至 1975 年英国的办公自动化和计算机化作为生产力的建设

• 批准号: 0551455
• 负责人: Alex Roland
• 金额: $ 1.2万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-03-01 至 2007-02-28
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0551455&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Office; Automation; Construction

This Science and Society Dissertation Improvement Grant in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology analyzes the introduction of office computing technologies in Britain from the end of the Second World War to the middle of the nineteen-seventies in order to show the importance of cultural specificity to historical change. Taking government offices as its main example, this study will integrate the history of technology with the histories of British policy, economics, society, and culture, while simultaneously situating itself within the larger context of the international trade of computers. After the Second World War, Britain saw enormous growth in the market for computers designed specifically to automate clerical tasks. New computing machinery was hailed, first and foremost, as a boon for productivity. While many of the computers installed in government service did not enhance productivity, this did not deter government spending. The objective of this project is to provide insight into how and why this change occurred, given that the government's primary justification of increasing productivity and lowering costs was rarely, if ever, reached. One aspect of the changeover that has not been studied is the role of the labor force in the change. A female workforce of machine operators and data entry personnel filled the repetitive, deskilled jobs created by office computerization, leading to a lower-paid, less unionized office workforce with high turnover. The project will re-frame the debate on computing productivity using historical research in technology, labor, gender and economics As a result, it will integrate the history of those who deployed the technology with the history of the workers who used the technology. The project will advance knowledge and understanding across a range of historical fields. Methods from science and technology studies and women's studies help frame the project's goal of elucidating how specific technological changes are grounded socially, culturally, and economically, but a historical, not sociological methodology intentionally prevails. In bringing insights from multiple fields into conversation with each other, the project will change the current trajectory of the history of computing from a narrative that is focused primarily on designers and the international success of American products to one that incorporates workers and national specificity. The researcher has researched and taught within the history of technology, European history, and science and technology studies, in addition to having worked in the computing field. This project speaks to cogent themes that extend well beyond the academy. It expands the general understanding of automation's impacts by showing that a gendered analysis is a crucial ingredient in attaining a greater understanding of institutional change. In the case of electronic data processing, technological developments overarch institutional and national change. This project shows how these technological developments are dually predicated upon economic concerns, such as increasing productivity, and cultural negotiations over workers' identities arising equally out of the public and private sphere. Furthermore, the study encourages deeper engagement with the burgeoning role of national, utopian technocratic ideals in the period from World War Two to the present. Funds will support data collection at various archives in Great Britain, including the National Archives in London and the National Archive for the History of Computing at the University of Manchester, as well as civil service workers union records.

这个科学与社会论文改进补助金的历史和科学技术的哲学分析了办公室计算技术在英国从第二次世界大战结束到二十世纪七十年代中期的引进，以显示文化的特殊性对历史变革的重要性。以政府办公室为主要例子，这项研究将整合技术的历史与英国的政策，经济，社会和文化的历史，同时定位在计算机的国际贸易的大背景下。 第二次世界大战后，英国看到了巨大的增长，在市场上的计算机专门设计自动化文书工作。新的计算机首先被誉为生产力的布恩。虽然政府部门安装的许多计算机并没有提高生产力，但这并没有阻止政府的开支。本项目的目的是提供关于这种变化是如何以及为什么发生的见解，因为政府的主要理由是提高生产率和降低成本，如果有的话，很少实现。转变的一个方面尚未被研究的是劳动力在变化中的作用。由机器操作员和数据输入人员组成的女性劳动力填补了办公室计算机化所创造的重复性、技术要求低的工作岗位，导致办公室劳动力工资较低、工会组织较少，更替率高。该项目将利用技术、劳动力、性别和经济学方面的历史研究来重新构建关于计算生产率的辩论。因此，它将把部署技术的人的历史与使用技术的工人的历史结合起来。该项目将促进对一系列历史领域的知识和理解。科学技术研究和妇女研究的方法有助于确定该项目的目标，即阐明具体的技术变革是如何在社会、文化和经济上扎根的，但有意采用历史而不是社会学方法。通过将来自多个领域的见解带入相互对话，该项目将改变计算历史的当前轨迹，从主要关注设计师和美国产品在国际上的成功的叙述，转变为结合工人和国家特殊性的叙述。研究人员除了在计算机领域工作外，还在技术史，欧洲历史和科学技术研究中进行研究和教学。这个项目谈到了令人信服的主题，远远超出了学院。它扩大了对自动化影响的一般理解，表明性别分析是更好地理解体制变革的关键因素。就电子数据处理而言，技术发展决定了体制和国家的变革。这个项目展示了这些技术发展是如何以经济问题为基础的，例如提高生产力，以及在公共和私人领域平等地产生的关于工人身份的文化谈判。此外，这项研究鼓励更深入地参与从第二次世界大战到现在的国家，乌托邦技术官僚理想的新兴作用。资金将用于支持英国各档案馆的数据收集，包括伦敦的国家档案馆和曼彻斯特大学的国家计算机历史档案馆，以及公务员工会记录。