Technology assessment is a recent step in the overall process of technological development, a step that I view as a political response to public criticism of technology and its social applications. Technology is more than technique; in fact, in this study I often refer to it as social process. I begin this chapter with my definitions of technology and TA, then examine how TA evolved and the forms it has taken.

In the English language, “technology” was originally a term that signified the study of or discourse on art, both fine and applied. By the late nineteenth century it had...

Although no country in the world today claims to have systematic, continuous evaluation of existing and emerging technology, it is everywhere a major concern. In some countries, TA has become institutionalized within special agencies or offices; in others, it is less explicit and carried out within a variety of organizational contexts (Jamison and Baark 1990). An important issue in the discussion about institutionalization concerns the power of TA agencies in decision- making. It appears that the form of the organization, its choice of tasks, and the influence and structure of scientific work are contributing factors (Tuininga 1988).

This chapter examines...

Although numerous methods are used to assess technology, there are two primary forms: retroactive and proactive. Retroactive assessment looks back on the application of a given technology in order to evaluate its effects and recommend future applications. It is an assessment of an already disseminated technology. Proactive assessment begins with a “need” or a “problem,” which is described and evaluated. The object is to initiate a process that will help solve the problem or meet the need. If it is decided that the best solution is a technological one, then requirements for that technology can be determined in advance.

Proactive...

There is general agreement that technology should be assessed, a positive attitude so common that Wynne (1975) called TA “a prime contender for the title of the latest good thing to arrive on the political scene.” The question, then, is how it should be done. Although TA as such is not new, its having become a matter of public concern has placed it within the sphere of public influence and public funding. It is the organization of publicly funded TA that is recent, making it difficult to evaluate the long-term effects of TA or to foresee its long-term problems. Still,...

I see the various approaches and methods used in TA as representing different perceptions of technological development. Whether these perceptions are based on well-thought-out theories or are expressed simply as a viewpoint or an impression, each one reflects an interpretation of the role of technology in society. The interpretation can be either an implicit, an explicit, or a totally unconscious choice. This chapter, by presenting the feminist scholarship on technological development, identifies areas of feminist studies that can contribute to a more comprehensive and critical TA.

Before about 1970, “women and technology” was a nontopic. Today there are numerous journals...

It is less important to the goals of technology assessment to determine whether technology has been built upon scientific rationality and male dominance than to ask whether there is any possibility for science, technology, and policy research to grow and change over time.

The justification for analyzing and presenting any specific approach to TA should be its ability to contribute insights that can be useful for TA in general. In the emancipatory tradition of critical studies, concerned with freedom and the problems of self-liberation, the purpose is to make visible those factors that support or hinder democratic principles. What this...

This chapter shows how technological development has affected women in the female-dominated clerical sector, using examples from the introduction of computer technology. The purpose is to demonstrate the importance as well as the difficulties of a gender analysis in TA. Step one is to identify and criticize mainstream TA in the clerical sector; step two, to show through a criticism of studies that do include gender that this is not enough .

The presentation of this material is followed by a critical feminist assessment of women and technology in the clerical sector: I analyze systems of dominance, look at the...

Reproductive technology is one of the fastest growing and most controversial fields of health care technology today. Because the introduction of new reproductive technology is pervasive, and in many cases its effects may be irreversible, it is of major concern to feminist activists as well as scholars. Assessing reproductive technology raises issues of women's autonomy that are of universal interest and applicable to all people and all cultures.

This chapter looks at the limitations of MTA in light of the development of new human reproductive technology, which—unlike technology in the clerical sector—is almost exclusively for women.¹ The chapter...