The Computer Boys Take Over : Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise
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| Title: | The Computer Boys Take Over : Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise |
|---|---|
| Description: | The contentious history of the computer programmers who developed the software that made the computer revolution possible.This is a book about the computer revolution of the mid-twentieth century and the people who made it possible. Unlike most histories of computing, it is not a book about machines, inventors, or entrepreneurs. Instead, it tells the story of the vast but largely anonymous legions of computer specialists—programmers, systems analysts, and other software developers—who transformed the electronic computer from a scientific curiosity into the defining technology of the modern era. As the systems that they built became increasingly powerful and ubiquitous, these specialists became the focus of a series of critiques of the social and organizational impact of electronic computing. To many of their contemporaries, it seemed the “computer boys” were taking over, not just in the corporate setting, but also in government, politics, and society in general.In The Computer Boys Take Over, Nathan Ensmenger traces the rise to power of the computer expert in modern American society. His rich and nuanced portrayal of the men and women (a surprising number of the “computer boys” were, in fact, female) who built their careers around the novel technology of electronic computing explores issues of power, identity, and expertise that have only become more significant in our increasingly computerized society.In his recasting of the drama of the computer revolution through the eyes of its principle revolutionaries, Ensmenger reminds us that the computerization of modern society was not an inevitable process driven by impersonal technological or economic imperatives, but was rather a creative, contentious, and above all, fundamentally human development. |
| Authors: | Nathan L. Ensmenger |
| Resource Type: | eBook. |
| Subjects: | Computer software--Development--Social aspects, Computer programming, Computer programmers, Software engineering--History |
| Categories: | COMPUTERS / History |
| Database: | eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) |
| FullText | Links: – Type: ebook-pdf – Type: ebook-epub Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Computer Boys Take Over : Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise – Name: Abstract Label: Description Group: Ab Data: The contentious history of the computer programmers who developed the software that made the computer revolution possible.This is a book about the computer revolution of the mid-twentieth century and the people who made it possible. Unlike most histories of computing, it is not a book about machines, inventors, or entrepreneurs. Instead, it tells the story of the vast but largely anonymous legions of computer specialists—programmers, systems analysts, and other software developers—who transformed the electronic computer from a scientific curiosity into the defining technology of the modern era. As the systems that they built became increasingly powerful and ubiquitous, these specialists became the focus of a series of critiques of the social and organizational impact of electronic computing. To many of their contemporaries, it seemed the “computer boys” were taking over, not just in the corporate setting, but also in government, politics, and society in general.In The Computer Boys Take Over, Nathan Ensmenger traces the rise to power of the computer expert in modern American society. His rich and nuanced portrayal of the men and women (a surprising number of the “computer boys” were, in fact, female) who built their careers around the novel technology of electronic computing explores issues of power, identity, and expertise that have only become more significant in our increasingly computerized society.In his recasting of the drama of the computer revolution through the eyes of its principle revolutionaries, Ensmenger reminds us that the computerization of modern society was not an inevitable process driven by impersonal technological or economic imperatives, but was rather a creative, contentious, and above all, fundamentally human development. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nathan+L%2E+Ensmenger%22">Nathan L. Ensmenger</searchLink> – Name: TypePub Label: Resource Type Group: TypPub Data: eBook. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+software--Development--Social+aspects%22">Computer software--Development--Social aspects</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+programming%22">Computer programming</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computer+programmers%22">Computer programmers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Software+engineering--History%22">Software engineering--History</searchLink> – Name: SubjectBISAC Label: Categories Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="ZK" term="%22COMPUTERS+%2F+History%22">COMPUTERS / History</searchLink> |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Classifications: – Code: 005.1 Scheme: ddc Type: prePub Languages: – Code: eng Text: English Subjects: – SubjectFull: Computer software--Development--Social aspects Type: general – SubjectFull: Computer programming Type: general – SubjectFull: Computer programmers Type: general – SubjectFull: Software engineering--History Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Computer Boys Take Over : Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nathan L. Ensmenger – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Nathan L. Ensmenger IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Type: published Y: 2010 – D: 04 M: 02 Type: profile Y: 2014 Identifiers: – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780262050937 – Type: isbn-print Value: 9780262517966 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9780262289351 – Type: isbn-electronic Value: 9780262302821 Titles: – TitleFull: The Computer Boys Take Over : Computers, Programmers, and the Politics of Technical Expertise Type: main |
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