Trapped in the net : the unanticipated consequences of computerization

著者

書誌事項

Trapped in the net : the unanticipated consequences of computerization

Gene I. Rochlin

Princeton University Press, c1997

  • : cloth
  • : pbk

タイトル別名

Unanticipated consequences of computerization

大学図書館所蔵 件 / 全19件

この図書・雑誌をさがす

注記

Includes bibliographical references and index

内容説明・目次

巻冊次

: pbk ISBN 9780691002477

内容説明

Voice mail. E-mail. Bar codes. Desktops. Laptops. Networks. The Web. In this exciting book, Gene Rochlin takes a closer look at how these familiar and pervasive productions of computerization have become embedded in all our lives, forcing us to narrow the scope of our choices, our modes of control, and our experiences with the real world. Drawing on fascinating narratives from fields that range from military command, air traffic control, and international fund transfers to library cataloging and supermarket checkouts, Rochlin shows that we are rapidly making irreversible and at times harmful changes in our business, social, and personal lives to comply with the formalities and restrictions of information systems. The threat is not the direct one once framed by the idea of insane robots or runaway mainframes usurping human functions for their own purposes, but the gradual loss of control over hardware, software, and function through networks of interconnection and dependence. What Rochlin calls the computer trap has four parts: the lure, the snare, the costs, and the long-term consequences. The lure is obvious: the promise of ever more powerful and adaptable tools with simpler and more human-centered interfaces. The snare is what usually ensues. Once heavily invested in the use of computers to perform central tasks, organizations and individuals alike are committed to new capacities and potentials, whether they eventually find them rewarding or not. The varied costs include a dependency on the manufacturers of hardware and software--and a seemingly pathological scramble to keep up with an incredible rate of sometimes unnecessary technological change. Finally, a lack of redundancy and an incredible speed of response make human intervention or control difficult at best when (and not if) something goes wrong. As Rochlin points out, this is particularly true for those systems whose interconnections and mechanisms are so deeply concealed in the computers that no human being fully understands them.

目次

Preface xi Acknowledgments xv 1 Introduction 3 Prologue 3 Enter the Computer 5 Compliance and Control 7 The Structure of the Argument 11 The Structure of the Book 13 2 Autogamous Technology 15 Introduction 15 A Brief Historical Essay 16 Operating Systems 23 The Dynamics of Growth 29 The Hegemony of Design 32 3 Networks of Connectivity: Webs of Dependence 35 Introduction 35 From Anarchy to Networks 38 The Interconnected Office 46 Conclusion 48 4 Taylorism Redux? 51 Introduction 51 The Search for Managerial Control 53 The Deskilling Controversy 61 Expertise Lost 67 Heterogeneous Systems 69 Conclusion 71 5 Computer Trading 74 Introduction 74 Markets and Exchanges 76 Automating Markets 82 Conclusion 88 6 Jacking into the Market 91 The Demise of Barings P L C 91 Trading in Cyberspace 94 Global Markets 99 Conclusion 105 Epilogue 106 7 Expert Operators and Critical Tasks 108 Having the Bubble 108 Pilot Error 112 The Glass Cockpit 115 Air Traffic Control 119 Industrial and Other Operations 123 The Computer in the Loop 125 Conclusion 128 8 Smart Weapons, Smart Soldiers 131 Introduction 131 Industrial War 132 Techno-Industrial War 135 The Postwar Transition 137 Quantity versus Quality 140 Trading Tooth for Tail 144 Conclusion 147 9 Unfriendly Fire 150 Introduction 150 A "Reasonable Choice of Disaster" 152 The USS Stark 154 Tragedy over the Persian Gulf 156 Conclusion 166 10 The Logistics of Techno-War 169 Introduction 169 The Gulf War 171 Redefining Effectiveness 182 Computers and the Transformation of War 184 11 C3I in Cyberspace Introduction 188 The Ways and Means of Modern Warfare 191 Moving toward Cyberspace 199 The Virtual Battlefield 202 Conclusion 207 12 Invisible Idiots 210 Introduction 210 Standardization and Slack 212 Virtual Organizations in a Real World 214 Conclusion 216 Notes 219 Bibliography 265 Index 285
巻冊次

: cloth ISBN 9780691010809

内容説明

This text takes a close look at how such familiar and pervasive productions of computing as voice mail, bar codes, laptops and the Web have become embedded in all our lives forcing us to narrow the scope of our choices, our modes of control and our experiences with the real world. Drawing on narratives from fields that range from military command, air traffic control and international fund transfers to library cataloguing and supermarket checkouts, the book shows that we are rapidly making irreversible and at times harmful changes in our business, social and personal lives to comply with the formalities and restrictions of information systems. The threat is not the direct one once framed by the idea of insane robots or runaway mainframes usurping human functions for their own purposes, but rather the gradual loss of control over hardware, software and function through networks of interconnection and dependence. What Rochlin calls the computer trap has four parts: the lure, the snare, the costs and the long-term consequences. The lure is obvious: the promise of ever-more powerful and adapatble tools with simpler and more human-centred interfaces. The snare is what usually ensues - one heavily invested in the use of computers to perform central tasks, organizations and individuals alike are committed to new capacities and potentials, whether they eventually find them rewarding or not. The varied costs include a dependency on the manufacturers of hardware and software and a seemingly pathological scramble to keep up with an incredible rate of sometimes unnecessary technological change. Finally, a lack of redundancy and an incredible speed of response make human intervention or control difficult at best when something goes wrong. As Rochlin points out, this is particularly true for those systems whose interconnections and mechanisms are so deeply concealed in the components that no human being fully understands them. The full text of "Trapped in the Net" is available on the Princeton Web site, http://pup.princeton.edu.

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