History of Technology Volume 23: Volume 23, 2011

Description

The technical problems confronting different societies and periods and the measures taken to solve them form the concern of this annual collection of essays. It deals with the history of technical discovery and change and explores the relationship of technology to other aspects of life--social, cultural and economic--and shows how technological development has shaped, and been shaped by, the society in which it occurred. Cover Half-title Title Copyright Contents Editorial The Contributors Notes for Contributors Standards, Trust and Civil Discourse: Measuring the Thickness and Quality of Silk Thread Notes and References Technological Transfers between Politics, Markets and Culture: Framework Knitting versus Hand-knitting in the Southern Netherlands (Seventeenth to Eighteenth Centuries) Introduction The Hosiery Trade In The Southern Netherlands From The Middle Ages To The End Of The Seventeenth Century The Introduction And Diffusion Of The Hosiery Frame In The Southern Netherlands Hand-Knitting And Framework Knitting: The Relations Between Men And Women The Economic And Social Organization Of The Hosiery Industry Explanations Implications Conclusion Notes and References A Philosophical Business: Edward Nairne and the Patent Medical Electrical Machine (1782) The Philosophical Avocations Of An Instrument Maker Electricity Under The Great Seal Advertising The Machine Conclusion Notes and References Innovation or Emulation? Silverware and Its Imitations in Britain 1750-1800. The Consumers' Point of View Introduction Imitative Metalwares: A Brief Survey Consumer Attitudes To Precious Metal Substitutes Conclusion Notes and References Technology and the Labour Process: A Comparison of British Railway Companies' Approaches to Locomotive Construction before 1914 Introduction Explaining The British Railway Company Workshops' Technology Policies - Recent Theories And Approaches Methodological Approaches Britain's railway company workshops, 1840-1914. Britain's locomotive engineering industry, origins and form Reviewing The Production Process In Britain's Railway Company Workshops, 1830s-1914 Conclusion Notes and References The Kumaon Iron Works - A Colonial Technology Project The History Of Iron Making In Kumaon Raw Material Supply And Technical Efficiency The Men Who Did The Work And The Price Of Knowledge Markets And The Cost Of Production Conflicts And Contradictions Conclusion Notes and References Learning by the Book: The Problem of Writing Instruction in Manual Skills Introduction Training Methods The Encyclopaedic Tradition The Technical Manual The 'Catechism' The Artist-Craftsman's Manual 'Do-It-Yourself' Manuals Patchwork Bookbinding Model Yachts Reasons Why 'Diy' Texts Can Fail: Peripheral Problems How Do We Learn? Conclusion Notes and References Civilized Adventure as a Remedy for Nervous Times: Early Automobilism and Fin-de-siècle Culture Euphoria And Concern About Technical Progress: The Bicycle Andfin-De-Siècle Culture Racing, Touring And Dirty Hands: Automobile Sport As Mental Hygienism In The Shadow Of The Petrol Adventure: The Subculture Of The Electric Car Car Rental And Automobile Culture: The Electric Passenger Car In The City From Adventure Machine To Utility Vehicle: The Taming Of The Petrol Car Notes and References Chronicle of the Death of a Laboratory: Douglas Engelbart and the Failure of the Knowledge Workshop Douglas Carl Engelbart: A Rediscovered Pioneer Of Personal Computing Augmentation Of Human Intellect: Co-Evolution Of Man And Machine The On-Line System And The Network Information Center Enhancements To Nls: Journal And Mail Of Mice And Humans The Breakthrough Lab And Its Discontents Conclusions Notes and References Contents of Former Volumes