ESD.10
Introduction to Technology and Policy
Fall 2006
This course explores perspectives in the policy process - agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership.
Readings
- Moidel, Steve. “The Six Major Reading Problems,” and “Double Your Reading Speed in an Hour.” Chapters 3 and 4 in Speed Reading for Business . 2nd ed. Hauppauge, NY: Barrons, 1998. ISBN: 0764104012.
- Stone, Deborah. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making . New York, NY: W. W. Norton, 2001, chapters 1-5. ISBN: 0393976254.
- Stone, Deborah. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making . Chapters 6-10.
- Wilber, Del Quentin. “Newly Banned Items Often Fly Past Airport Screeners.” Washington Post , September 13, 2006.
- Stone, Deborah. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making . Chapters 11-15.
- Pacala, S., and R. Socolow. “Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem For The Next 50 Years with Current Technologies.” Science 305, no. 5686 (August 13, 2004): 968 - 972.
- Socolow, R., R. Hotinski, J. Greenblatt, and S. Pacala. “Solving the Climate Problem: Technologies for Curbing CO2 Emissions.” Environment 46, no. 10 (2004): 8-19.
- Optional (but highly useful): The entire issue of Scientific American , September 2006.
- SES #: L6 · TOPICS: Class Projects Update: Teams, Project Organization, and NRC Reports · LECTURERS: Prof. Weigel · READINGS: Review/skim at least three different reports of your choice on different topics from the NRC Web site.
- Dupree, A. Hunter. Science and the Federal Government . Introduction and chapter 14, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986. ISBN: 0801833817.
- Brooks, Harvey. “The Evolution of U.S. Science Policy.” In Technology, R&D, and the Economy . Edited by B. Smith and C. Barfield. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution, 1995. ISBN: 0815779852.
- Nelson, Richard, ed. National Innovation Systems . New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1993. ISBN: 0195076176.
- Vaughan, D. The Challenger Launch Decision . Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1997, chapters 1, 2, and 8. ISBN: 0226851761.
- Tufte, Edward. Visual and Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions . Cheshire, CT: Graphics Press, 1997. ISBN: 0961392134.
- Cronon, William. “Pricing the Future: Grain.” In Nature’s Metropolis . New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Co, Inc, 1992. ISBN: 0393308731.
- Hughes, Thomas P. Networks of Power: Electrification in Western Society, 1880-1930 . Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1975, chapter 1. ISBN: 0801846145.
- Hughes, Thomas P. Rescuing Prometheus . New York, NY: Knopf, 2000, chapter 6. ISBN: 0679739386.
- Starling, Grover. Strategies for Policy Making . Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1988, chapters 1, 7, and 8. ISBN: 0534108466.
- Patton, Carl V., and David S. Sawicki. Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning . East Rutherford, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1993, pp. 168-176. ISBN: 013060948X.
- L13 · Globalization Impacts: Government - Industry Interactions · Guest - Prof. Suzanne Berger · Berger, Suzanne. How We Compete . New York, NY: Doubleday, 2005, parts one and two. ISBN: 0385513593.
- Starling, Grover. Strategies for Policy Making . Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1988, chapter 9. ISBN: 0534108466.
- Fischer, Frank. Reframing Public Policy . New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2003, chapter 9. ISBN: 019924264X.
- Mazmanian, D. A., and P. A. Sabatier. Implementation and Public Policy . Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc, 1989, chapter 2. ISBN: 0819175269.
- Averch, Harvey. Private Markets and Public Intervention . Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1990, chapters 2 and 3. ISBN: 082293647X.
- Womack, J. P., D. T. Jones, and D. Roos. The Machine That Changed The World: The Story of Lean Production . New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2007, chapters 1-4. ISBN: 0743299795.
- L20 · Focus Area: The Big Dig - Policy Implications and Lessons · Guest - Fred Salvucci · Altshuler, A. A., and D. E. Luberoff. “The New Politics of Highways.” In Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment . Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2003. ISBN: 0815701292.
- L23 · Current Issues in Technology and Policy: The Role of Standards In Technology And Policy · Guest - Dr. William Jeffrey, Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) · Starling, Grover. Strategies for Policy Making . Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1988, chapters 1 and 2. ISBN: 0534108466.
- Stone, Deborah. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making . New York, NY: W.W. Norton, 2001. ISBN: 0393976254.
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗Historical OpenCourseWare
- MIT OCW readings ↗
- MIT OCW syllabus ↗
- Historical MIT OpenCourseWare offering. Named reading entries and schedule topics are automatically extracted from the linked source pages.