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Spatial differentiation in the social impact of technology: the case of the Irish Republic
84
Book reviews
this area were biomedical scientists and not general biologists, therefore, the new “industry” had a distinctly medical flavor. This remains true today, despite the fact that many of the best opportunities for exploitation of the biological technologies are in non-medical fields. Orsenigo’s analysis and conceptual development reflect quite well the generally accepted notions of those who watched the early development of the industry. There are a number of analysts who have examined this material and wondered how such a situation developed. Certainly the patterns of development exhibited in the late 1970s and early 1980s the period of Orsenigo’s focus, are very different today. The conditions leading to the launching of so many new enterprises have disappeared and are not likely to reappear. In this context this volume is a better historical document than an analysis of the complex of conditions that led to the emergence of a new industry. Perhaps biotechnology needed this type of analysis, but it is my impression that this point is arguable. The book itself is very difficult to read, and varies widely in clarity from chapter to chapter. Chapters 2-6 contain much good factual information; however, I found the introductory and analytical material tedious. For the scholar building a knowledge base for further study of biotechnology this volume brings together information from a variety of sources and summarizes and references it well. As a contribution to research management and industrial policy, however, this volume is not of major significance. David T. Kingsbury Department of Microbiology School of Medicine, George Washington University, Washington DC 20037, U.S.A.
Dirk-Jan F. Kamann, Spatial Differentiation in the Social Impact of Technology: The Case of the Irish Republic (Avebury (Gower Publishing Group), Aldershot) xii + 314 pp., g29.50 This is a detailed study of trends in the spatial distribution of productive activity across regions of the Irish Republic. The “technology” of the title is defined broadly as the set of practices involved in the production of goods and services,
and the study hinges on broad patterns of development in these activities as assessed by measures such as capital stock, skill levels, and the distribution of the workforce across industrial sectors. The prospective reader thus needs to be warned that this is no study of the diffusion of a specific technology, and the different implications that it has in different types of workplace and social organizations. Furthermore, large sections of the study represent an exercise in hypothesis-building, indicator-formation and mathematical statistics. Some 50 pages are taken up with annexes and appendices dealing with details of these which would not fit into the chapters - over 25 pages on factor analysis of the “technology” variables and large chunks of the main text also detail LISREL and related analyses. The study is thus far from an easy read, following as it does an extremely formalistic approach. This being said, there is much in the study that may interest the statistically expert, the highly determined - or the unashamedly selective reader. The first few chapters provide a clear, if somewhat contentious, account of major approaches to technological change (product cycle theory, etc.) and to relating change to the spatial context. I found the discussion of approaches and insights relevant to the micro level (individual entrepreneurs), meso level (network dynamics) and macro level (actors and urban systems) to be helpful. The chapter providing a rapid overview of the spatial structure of the Irish economy is lucid. But the statistical analyses provide few surprises, and it is not clear that they decisively support one or other of the variant theories that are tested. One result of this is that the concluding chapter - which could fruitfully be taken on its own emerges with a set of policy recommendations which are interesting and well-informed, but informed by more than the statistical analyses. It is particularly noteworthy that considerable stress is placed on policies to effect “superstructural” change - reshaping such cultural factors as regional learned helplessness (not the author’s terminology). For this particular reader, rather more discussion of the history of policy instruments in Ireland and rather less of the statistical detail would have been welcome. Others may well disagree: after all, it is not uncommon for technology policy research to proceed with extremely casual and/or poorly-
Book reuiews
explicated data analysis, and with post hoc introduction of explanations rather than open hypothesis-testing. The author has avoided these pitfalls, going to some pains to summarize his methods and conclusions. Since he has published highlights of the study in accessible forms elsewhere, it is important to publish the full background to the study: but this makes this much more of a
(quantitative search report
85
regional scientist) specialists’ than a readable book.
re-
Ian Miles Science Policy Research Unit Sussex University Falmer, Brighton, U.K.
Book reviews
this area were biomedical scientists and not general biologists, therefore, the new “industry” had a distinctly medical flavor. This remains true today, despite the fact that many of the best opportunities for exploitation of the biological technologies are in non-medical fields. Orsenigo’s analysis and conceptual development reflect quite well the generally accepted notions of those who watched the early development of the industry. There are a number of analysts who have examined this material and wondered how such a situation developed. Certainly the patterns of development exhibited in the late 1970s and early 1980s the period of Orsenigo’s focus, are very different today. The conditions leading to the launching of so many new enterprises have disappeared and are not likely to reappear. In this context this volume is a better historical document than an analysis of the complex of conditions that led to the emergence of a new industry. Perhaps biotechnology needed this type of analysis, but it is my impression that this point is arguable. The book itself is very difficult to read, and varies widely in clarity from chapter to chapter. Chapters 2-6 contain much good factual information; however, I found the introductory and analytical material tedious. For the scholar building a knowledge base for further study of biotechnology this volume brings together information from a variety of sources and summarizes and references it well. As a contribution to research management and industrial policy, however, this volume is not of major significance. David T. Kingsbury Department of Microbiology School of Medicine, George Washington University, Washington DC 20037, U.S.A.
Dirk-Jan F. Kamann, Spatial Differentiation in the Social Impact of Technology: The Case of the Irish Republic (Avebury (Gower Publishing Group), Aldershot) xii + 314 pp., g29.50 This is a detailed study of trends in the spatial distribution of productive activity across regions of the Irish Republic. The “technology” of the title is defined broadly as the set of practices involved in the production of goods and services,
and the study hinges on broad patterns of development in these activities as assessed by measures such as capital stock, skill levels, and the distribution of the workforce across industrial sectors. The prospective reader thus needs to be warned that this is no study of the diffusion of a specific technology, and the different implications that it has in different types of workplace and social organizations. Furthermore, large sections of the study represent an exercise in hypothesis-building, indicator-formation and mathematical statistics. Some 50 pages are taken up with annexes and appendices dealing with details of these which would not fit into the chapters - over 25 pages on factor analysis of the “technology” variables and large chunks of the main text also detail LISREL and related analyses. The study is thus far from an easy read, following as it does an extremely formalistic approach. This being said, there is much in the study that may interest the statistically expert, the highly determined - or the unashamedly selective reader. The first few chapters provide a clear, if somewhat contentious, account of major approaches to technological change (product cycle theory, etc.) and to relating change to the spatial context. I found the discussion of approaches and insights relevant to the micro level (individual entrepreneurs), meso level (network dynamics) and macro level (actors and urban systems) to be helpful. The chapter providing a rapid overview of the spatial structure of the Irish economy is lucid. But the statistical analyses provide few surprises, and it is not clear that they decisively support one or other of the variant theories that are tested. One result of this is that the concluding chapter - which could fruitfully be taken on its own emerges with a set of policy recommendations which are interesting and well-informed, but informed by more than the statistical analyses. It is particularly noteworthy that considerable stress is placed on policies to effect “superstructural” change - reshaping such cultural factors as regional learned helplessness (not the author’s terminology). For this particular reader, rather more discussion of the history of policy instruments in Ireland and rather less of the statistical detail would have been welcome. Others may well disagree: after all, it is not uncommon for technology policy research to proceed with extremely casual and/or poorly-
Book reuiews
explicated data analysis, and with post hoc introduction of explanations rather than open hypothesis-testing. The author has avoided these pitfalls, going to some pains to summarize his methods and conclusions. Since he has published highlights of the study in accessible forms elsewhere, it is important to publish the full background to the study: but this makes this much more of a
(quantitative search report
85
regional scientist) specialists’ than a readable book.
re-
Ian Miles Science Policy Research Unit Sussex University Falmer, Brighton, U.K.