[讨论]GWD-8-Q25

(5)      to a debate that encompasses two

lively issues in the history and social-

ogy of technology: technological

determinism and social constructivism.

Clark makes the point that the char-

(10)     acteristics of a technology have a

decisive influence on job skills and

work organization. Put more strongly,

（Q28）technology can be a primary determi-

nant of social and managerial organ-

(15)     ization. Clark believes this possibility

has been obscured by the recent soci-

ological fashion, exemplified by

Braverman’s analysis, that emphasizes

the way machinery reflects social

(20)     choices. For Braverman, the shape of

a technological system is subordinate

to the manager’s desire to wrest control

of the labor process from the

workers. Technological change is

(25)     construed as the outcome of negotiations

among interested parties who

seek to incorporate their own interests

into the design and configuration of the

machinery. This position represents

(30)     the new mainstream called social con-

structivism.

The constructivists gain acceptance

by misrepresenting technological deter-

minism: technological determinists are

(35)     supposed to believe, for example, that

machinery imposes appropriate forms

of order on society. The alternative to

constructivism, in other words, is to

view technology as existing outside

(40)     society, capable of directly influencing

skills and work organization.

Clark refutes the extremes of the

constructivists by both theoretical and

empirical arguments. Theoretically he

(45)     defines “technology” in terms of relationships

between social and technical

variables. Attempts to reduce the

meaning of technology to cold, hard

metal are bound to fail, for machinery

(50)     is just scrap unless it is organized

functionally and supported by approp-

riate systems of operation and main-

tenance. At the empirical level Clark

shows how a change at the telephone

(55)     exchange from maintenance-intensive

electromechanical switches to semi-

electronic switching systems altered

work tasks, skills, training opportunities,

administration, and organization of

(60)     workers. Some changes Clark attri-

butes to the particular way management

and labor unions negotiated the intro-

duction of the technology, whereas

others are seen as arising from the

(65)     capabilities and nature of the technol-

ogy itself. Thus Clark helps answer

the question: “When is social choice

decisive and when are the concrete

characteristics of technology more

important?”

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GWD-8-Q25 :

The primary purpose of the passage is to

1. advocate a more positive attitude toward technological change

2. discuss the implications for employees of the modernization of a telephone exchange

3. consider a successful challenge to the constructivist view of technological change

4. challenge the position of advocates of technological determinism

5. suggest that the social causes of technological change should be studied in real situations

答案是C，我认为是A。请大家指点

more positive  无从谈起   文章只是表示JC的观点有不对的地方 但不能说第二段的观点 更positive

你或许把positive理解错误了