Technological Change. Clotilde Coron

Psychology Individual and collective conduct at work in a technical environment Attitudes, learning, satisfaction, adaptation, acceptance of new technical objects Productive activity and technical mediations

      Apart from the disciplinary contributions mentioned above, there are object-oriented sciences that involve several source disciplines, such as information and communication sciences, the purpose of which is the study of communication and for which communication is rather an object of interdisciplinary knowledge. The management sciences, which aim at the instrumental regulation of organized collective activities, have made some contributions, albeit still limited, to the question of technology. It is precisely to the task of reducing this gap that this book would like to contribute.

      I.3. Structure of the book

      The chapters that make up this book are based, each in their own way, on the foundation of the anthropogenic perspective. They can be read, in a classic way, according to the succession of their numbering, but also in different orders. However, we first invite you to read Chapter 1, which provides the essentials to understanding the whole, focusing on the contributions of the human and social sciences (HSS) to understanding technological change.

      The following three chapters are independent of each other and can be read according to the reader’s interests. They are built on the principle that in order to understand technological change and regulate its effects, it must be addressed at its different scales: that of society as a whole (Chapter 2), that of the organization, public or private, market or non-market (Chapter 3) and that of the individual, expert or layperson (Chapter 4). Although focusing on the level of the organization, the project of the book is to clarify the subject at different levels, by convening the disciplines of the HSS applied to it.

      The fifth and final chapter looks at how technological change is experienced, depending on where you are. It functions to summarize and discuss the various elements presented in the previous chapters.

      At the end of the book, the reader will find an extensive bibliography that will allow for in-depth study of one or more of the topics covered, as well as an index that will organize thematic entries for the text.

      1 1 Throughout the book we favor the use of the terms “technology” and “technological” to facilitate reading. In French, the authors’ native language, two terms can be used: “technique” and “technologique” and “techniques” and “technologies”.