The Social and Economic Impact of New Technology 1978–84: A Select Bibliography

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-vii

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2. The Overall Picture

   • Lesley Grayson

   Pages 1-9

3. National and International Initiatives, Policies and Political Manifestos

   • Lesley Grayson

   Pages 10-12

4. Social Impacts

   • Lesley Grayson

   Pages 13-42

5. Economic Structure and Policy

   • Lesley Grayson

   Pages 43-48

6. Impact of New Technology on Business, Industry and Communications

   • Lesley Grayson

   Pages 49-68

7. Administrative Impact and Industrial Relations: Impact of New Technology

   • Lesley Grayson

   Pages 69-80

Silicon chip technology; microprocessor technology; information technology; or quite simply new technology. These are some of the names representing the microelectronics revolution depending upon the audience being addressed by speaker or writer. No previous new industrial development has caused such widespread publicity and discussion amongst users and researchers as the new technology. Concern is being expressed about the effects of new technology on employment, job satisfaction, social life, leisure activities and the economics of commerce and industry. The late 70s saw many doom-laden predictions of those effects but by 1983 both management and trade unions were taking a more objective view of the social and economic impacts, and many correspondents now see the new technology as a means of opening up new industries and overcoming the effects of world recessions. The "chip" has involved the factory floor, the office, the supermarket and the home. Electronic funds transfer, electronic shopping, microelectronic domestic appliances, word processors and microprocessor-controlled machinery mean that the new technology has pervaded all aspects of social and economic life, and the developed countries are now coming to accept it as part of society as a whole. Inevitably the flood of literature on the social and economic impacts of new technology has been overwhelming. Unfortunately the quality of information and arguments propagated at conferences, in journal papers and research reports has indicated that there has been little quantifiable evidence available on the effects of these impacts.

• Information Technology (IT)
• automation
• evolution
• information
• quality
• research
• security
• technology

Policies and ethics