Sociotechnology

Sociotechnology (short for "social technology") is the study of processes on the intersection of society and technology.[1] Vojinović and Abbott define it as "the study of processes in which the social and the technical are indivisibly combined".[2] Sociotechnology is an important part of socio-technical design, which is defined as "designing things that participate in complex systems that have both social and technical aspects".[3]

The term has been attributed to Mario Bunge.[4] He defines it as a grouping of social engineering and management science.[5] He sees it thus as a form of technology, distinguished from other branches of it such as engineering, biotechnology, information technology and general technology. Its goal is to help engineer sociosystems and evaluate their performance, while making use of social science research.[5] In short, sociotechnology can be seen as the creation, modification and maintenance of social systems.[4]

Writing on sociotechnical change, Bijker wrote: "Society is not determined by technology, nor is technology determined by society. Both emerge as two sides of the sociotechnical coin."[6]

Technology is the sum of ways in which social groups construct the material objects of their civilizations. The things made are socially constructed just as much as technically constructed. The merging of these two things, construction and insight, is sociotechnology. "For example, we typically build a bridge when there’s some expectation that people need to get from Point A to Point B, and there’s something they need to bypass along the way (e.g. a river, a canyon, another road). Failure to consider the social factors as well as the technical factors could lead to a "bridge to nowhere" – and we all know at least one person who's had a problem with those".[3]

  1. ^ Bunge, Mario (1998), "Sociotechnology", in Bunge, Mario (ed.), Social science under debate: a philosophical perspective, Toronto, Ontario Buffalo, New York: University of Toronto Press, p. 297, ISBN 9780802083579. Preview.
  2. ^ Vojinović, Zoran; Abbott, Michael B. (2012). Flood risk and social justice: from quantitative to qualitative flood risk assessment and mitigation. London: IWA Publishing. p. 164. ISBN 9781843393870.
  3. ^ a b Radziwill, Nicole (19 January 2009). "What is Sociotechnology?". Quality and Innovation. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  4. ^ a b Weingartner, Paul; Dorn, Georg J. W. (1990). Studies on Mario Bunge's Treatise. Amsterdam Atlanta, Georgia: Rodopi. p. 426. ISBN 9789051831870.
  5. ^ a b Farmer, David John (1995). The language of public administration: bureaucracy, modernity, and postmodernity. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780817307844. Preview.
  6. ^ Bijker, Wiebe E. (1997). Of bicycles, bakelites, and bulbs: toward a theory of sociotechnical change (PDF). Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. p. 274. ISBN 9780262522274.