Doctoral Dissertation Research on The History of Technology

博士论文学生，Gabrielle Hecht；题目：“技术选择和文化变革：法国核计划，1945-69”。在休斯教授的指导下，赫克特女士正在探索1945年至1969年法国核计划的起源。研究的重点是在这一时期构成法国核能计划的气体石墨反应堆的设计和运行。在研究的第一部分，Hecht女士追溯了工程师、管理者、公务员和政治家的政治、经济和技术议程如何体现在这些反应堆的设计中。在第二部分中，她从反应堆操作员的工作实践的社会、文化和技术背景来研究核安全法规的出现。第三部分，也是最后一部分，通过观察核电站如何影响地区生活方式和经济，解释了法国早期公众对核能的看法。这项研究的目的是探索技术与社会之间的相互关系，以及在政治家、工程师、技术人员、工人和当地居民之间出现的不同“核文化”。它通过分析采访、档案文件和出版物的组合来做到这一点。它的主要意义在于通过对工作组织的分析来探索国家政治议程和技术变革之间的关系，并研究技术选择和文化变革之间的关系。

Doctoral Dissertation Student, Gabrielle Hecht; topic: "Technological Choice and Cultural Change: The French Nuclear Program, 1945-69." Under the guidance of Professor Hughes, Ms. Hecht is exploring the genesis of the French nuclear program from 1945 to 1969. The study focuses on the design and operation of the gas-graphite reactors which constituted the French nuclear energy program in this time period. In the first part of the study, Ms. Hecht is tracing the ways in which the political, economic, and technological agendas of engineers, managers, public servants, and politicians became embodied in the design of these reactors. In the second part she is examining the emergence of nuclear safety regulations from the social, cultural, and technological context of the work practices of reactor operators. The third and final part explains early public perceptions of nuclear energy in France by looking at how nuclear plants affected regional lifestyles and economies. The study's aim is to explore the reciprocal relationships between technology and society as well as the emergence of different "nuclear cultures" among politicians, engineers, technicians, workers and local residents. It does so by analyzing a combination of interviews, archival documents, and publications. Its primary significance lies in its exploration of relationships between national political agendas and technological change through an analysis of the organization of work, and in its examination of relationships between technological choice and cultural change.