The Societal Effects of Computers: Partner or Placebo in Policy Analysis.
Purchase Print Copy
| Format | List Price | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add to Cart | Paperback13 pages | $20.00 | $16.00 20% Web Discount |
Too often technology is seen as predetermined, disregarding social, commercial, and economic givens. Computer system designers typically ignore or attempt to defeat informal organization and social network constraints. Social or collective action should be seen as a legitimate part of the human side of the man-machine relationship. Since public opinion takes time to form, technologists could call upon social scientists to predict public reactions as an input to system design. Past experience, particularly public reaction to the privacy issue, should be documented and analyzed, to help construct procedural and performance standards for computer applications. Systems should be designed adaptively. Computer technology can facilitate public opinion formation by simulations and displays in community "situation rooms" that enable citizen groups to visualize choices for discussion. Management information systems now mainly support middle management; an adaptive feedback Management Information System could be developed to aid top managers with real-time policy analytic capability. 13 pp.
This report is part of the RAND Corporation Paper series. The paper was a product of the RAND Corporation from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.
This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.