Development economists have considered physical infrastructure to be a precondition for industrialization and economic development. Infrastructure investments play a particularly important role in expanding overall employment opportunities either directly by absorbing workers or indirectly by crowding in private investments, technology adoption,…

This bibliography lists works associated with two Rand projects: Automation and Technological Change, and a related informal study of future national and international problems. The current listing of approximately 800 entries includes materials assembled by members of the project, together with some 400 additional entries published after 1967,…

Forecasting is becoming increasingly automated, thanks in large measure to the computer. It is now possible for a forecaster to submit his data to a computation center and call for the appropriate program. (No knowledge of statistics is required.) (Author)

A faster technological pace, greater job and geographical mobility will bring new demands for placement. Seven changes discussed are technological, industrial, and occupational, geographic, educational, income, population, and manpower. (Author/CJ)

The author examines the impact of "high-tech" industries on labor markets, the division of labor and the organization of work, and the policy options open to societies for dealing with the effects. (CT)

Members of a symposium on Automation and Society," Athens, Georgia, 1970, suggested that: (1) the life of people around the world might be improved via creative capitalism; and (2) that the world faces disaster if capitalism does not alter its course. (Author/CJ)

This article argues that the labor-displacement effect of microelectronic machinery, especially numerically controlled machine tools and robots, has been exaggerated and that people tend to confuse the impact of intensified international competition with that of the new technology. (Author/CT)

In support of his basic premise that the rise of technology has led to a systematic neglect of essential human values, the author first describes the state of Western civilization prior to 1800. He then traces the growth of modern technology from the industrial revolution through the "neotechnic" phase to the present day "post-industrial" society.…

Programmable equipment innovations, precursors of today's technology, are examined, including the development of the binary code and feedback control systems, such as temperature sensing devices, interchangeable parts, punched cards carrying instructions, continuous flow oil refining process, assembly lines for mass production, and the…

Mechanization of mining is explained in terms of its effect on the mining of coal, focusing on, among others, types of mining, productivity, machinery, benefits to retired miners, fatality rate in underground coal mines, and output of U.S. mining industry. (Author/JN)

Uses the metaphor of the beehive as a well-ordered, each-in-his-own-niche society to represent the outcome of utopian thinking. Cites twentieth-century dystopia films and literature as explicit criticisms of overreliance on planning and technology. Examines "Star Wars,""Clockwork Orange," and the works of Huxley, Forster,…

This technological assessment, conducted by the Arthur D. Little organization, studied the technology of electronic funds transfer. Technology assessment analyzes the economic, social, environmental, and institutional consequences of the introduction or expansion of a technology into society and alerts decision makers to the possible future…

Of the many intellectual models available for conceptualizing the communication process, one of the most appropriate is cybernetics. The logical and empirical requirements of a cybernetic model of communication are presented. Based upon a review of relevant findings in the social science literature, these requirements are utilized to create a…