OG12 essay22 123

waytouing

Jon Clark’s study of the effect of
the modernization of a telephone
exchange on exchange maintenance
work and workers is a solid contribution
(5) to a debate that encompasses two
lively issues in the history and sociol16
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,
technology can be a primary determinant
of social and managerial organ-
(15) ization. Clark believes this possibility
has been obscured by the recent sociological
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 constructivism.
The constructivists gain acceptance
by misrepresenting technological determinism:
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 appropriate
systems of operation and main17
tenance. At the empirical level Clark
shows how a change at the telephone
(55) exchange from maintenance-intensive
electromechanical switches to semielectronic
switching systems altered
work tasks, skills, training opportunities,
administration, and organization of
(60) workers. Some changes Clark attributes
to the particular way management
and labor unions negotiated the introduction
of the technology, whereas
others are seen as arising from the
(65) capabilities and nature of the technology
itself. Thus Clark helps answer
the question: “When is social choice
decisive and when are the concrete
characteristics of technology more
important?”


123. The information in the passage suggests that which

of the following statements from hypothetical

sociological studies of change in industry most clearly

exemplifies the social constructivists’ version of

technological determinism?

(A) It is the available technology that determines

workers’ skills, rather than workers’ skills

influencing the application of technology.

(B) All progress in industrial technology grows out

of a continuing negotiation between

technological possibility and human need.

(C) Some organizational change is caused by

people; some is caused by computer chips.

(D) Most major technological advances in industry

have been generated through research and

development.

(E) Some industrial technology eliminates jobs, but

educated workers can create whole new skills

areas by the adaptation of the technology.

Ans:A


Application

Th is question requires understanding diff erent

points of view discussed in the passage. In the

fi rst paragraph, the passage mentions the debate

involving technological determinism and social

constructivism. In the second and third

paragraphs, the passage uses Braverman’s analysis

to illustrate the social constructivists’ position and

in the third paragraph suggests that the

constructivists are misrepresenting technological

determinism
(lines 25–26). In lines 31–32, the
constructivists are reported to hold that

technological determinism views technology as

existing outside society, capable of directly infl uencing

skills and work organization.

A Correct. Th is statement is consistent with

the constructivists’ view that technological

determinism sees technology as outside of

society, infl uencing workers’ skills.


请教各位前辈，这题用对照的找到正确答案(A)没有问题，且对og解释也没有问题。

不过，我文章套色出来的两句话，我实在看不出来BC学派哪里误解了，科技都可以影响

到底是我哪里误解了句子意思，第三段真是苦手。

从前的帖子都是在og12官方解释出来前，有些已经不太适用了，请各位帮帮忙吧！！谢谢！

mingmings

我觉得这样理解得通

reirayanqing

我看了半天没明白,粗略翻译一下, 供大家看看吧.

C的研究是一个很好的贡献,对于一个争论--围绕两个主要的问题:技术决定 或 社会构建.
C认为技术对工作技能和工作组织是一个主要的影响. 技术能决定社会和管理组织. C认为他的观点被流行的社会学搞模糊了. 例如B的分析,强调机器反应社会选择. B认为, 科技系统的样式比管理者想要控制工人的劳动过程次要. 技术的改变更像是一个 希望寻找结合他们的兴趣和机器功能 的组织协商的结果. 这个观点就是现在流行的社会构建论.
构建论学者通过混淆科技决定论来得到承认,例如说:技术决定支持去相信机器强加合适的形态给社会. 替代结构论的观点应该是 技术存在于社会之外, 能够直接影响技能和工作组织.(我感觉这是重复第二段开头C的话)
C否定结构学家的极端观点通过理论上和经验上两方面. 理论上,他定义科技是社会和技术变量的一个关系. 他尝试减少把科技认为是冰冷的,因为机械只是破铁,除非有特别的功能并被有组织的使用和维护.  经验上,C展示电话从一种什么什么转变成另一种什么什么. 一些变化C归因为 管理层和公会沟通引进技术,另一些是一种科技自身的能力和本能. 所以C帮助回答了问题:何时社会选择重要,何时科技重要.

lohashilda

我认为2、3、4段联系很紧密，比如第二段最后的social constructivism和第三段开头的The constructivists，第三段结尾的The alternative to constructivism, in other words, is to view technology as existing outside society, capable of directly influencing skills and work organization和第四段开头的Clark refutes the extremes of the constructivists by both theoretical and empirical arguments.都有很强的承接关系，所以作者的态度是很连贯的，应该是态度大于内容（个人愚见）

nianbohu

可不可以有高人把全篇翻译一下啊，我还是很多不明白的地方，这篇错的淅沥哗啦的啊

zhanghaolin

我觉得应该把第三段与第四段的第一句话连起来看，或者把第三段和第四段联系起来分析，会比较容易明白第三段的作用。

第四段第一句话是Clark refutes the extremes of the constructivists by both theoretical and empirical arguments.说明第三段的观点不是对TD理论的正确解释，而是一种不正确的“极端”解释。所以，第三段的内容并未与文章中的观点相矛盾，而是在说为什么SC错误看待了TD——因为SC对TD的看法是TD把技术脱离于社会之外。

再看第四段，实际上就是讲Clark对这种极端看法的纠正，说TD不是独立于社会的，而是相结合的。
-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 appropriate systems of operation and maintenance.
-Some changes Clark attributes to the particular way management and labor unions negotiated the introduction of the technology, whereas others are seen as arising from the (65)  capabilities and nature of the technology itself.

viviansecret

The alternative to constructivism, in other words, is to view technology as existing outside society, capable of directly influencing skills and work organization.

The alternative(就是Tech determinists are supposed to believe的)對constructivism來說就像是外部，能夠直接影響skills and work org. 所以能影響skills的是the alternative(但是卻被misrepresenting by constructivism)

open to discuss

henryest

B错是因为题干不是说social constructivists,是说technological determinism

konglxd

The alternative to constructivism, in other words, is to view technology as existing outside society, capable of directly influencing skills and work organization.【主语是alternative，而非constructivism】

mysoulfree

这里我认为clark说科技不能直接影响，是因为科技的发展，是人们觉得以前的组织形式不符合需要，所以跟着发展。也就是说科技发展被人发现不符合需要，然后随之改进。当然不是科技主动发起影响人的组织形式。

大家做gmat文章做了就做了，别太死扣，关键题目做对拿到分数。clark认为科技不能直接影响，你别去注意他的观点是否符合逻辑。每人写出来的立论驳论文，都可以找到不合理的地方，都可以去反驳。

比如地球是园的。我都可以反驳一下。因为人在地球上观测的所以是园的，没准在其他空间或者星球观测，就不是园的了。