The Digital Hand : How Computers Changed the Work of American Manufacturing, Transportation, and Retail Industries.
Title:
The Digital Hand : How Computers Changed the Work of American Manufacturing, Transportation, and Retail Industries.
Author:
Cortada, James W.
ISBN:
9780198037118
Personal Author:
Physical Description:
1 online resource (513 pages)
Contents:
Contents -- 1. Arrival of Digital Technologies and Their Applications -- 2. Digitizing the American Economy -- 3. Presence and Role of Manufacturing Industries in the American Economy -- 4. Business Patterns and Digital Applications in the Transformation of Manufacturing Industries -- 5. Patterns and Practices in Three Traditional Manufacturing Industries: Automotive, Steel, and Aerospace -- 6. Patterns and Practices in Three Process Industries: Petroleum, Chemical, and Pharmaceuticals -- 7. Manufacturing Practices in Information Technology Industries: Semiconductors, Hard Disk Drives, and Software -- 8. Business Practices and Digital Applications in the Transformation of Transportation Industries: Trains and Trucks -- 9. Presence of Wholesale and Retail Industries in the American Economy -- 10. Business Patterns and Digital Applications in the Transformation of the Wholesale and Retail Industries -- 11. Patterns and Practices in Three Retail Industries: Grocery, Apparel, and E-tailing -- 12. Conclusion: How Computers Changed the American Economy -- Appendix A: How to Study the Role of Computing by Industry -- Appendix B: The Universal Product Code (UPC), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Point-of-Sale (POS) -- Notes -- Bibliographic Essay -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y.
Abstract:
In The Digital Hand, James W. Cortada combines detailed analysis with narrative history to provide a broad overview of computing's role in sixteen industries, accounting for nearly half of the U.S. economy. Beginning in 1950, when commercial applications of digital technology began to appear, Cortada examines the ways different industries adopted new technologies, as well as the ways their innovative applications influenced other industries and the U.S economy. In addition, to this account of computers' impact on industry, Cortada also demonstrates how industries themselves influenced the nature of digital technology. Managers, economists, and anyone interested in the history of modern business will appreciate this historical analysis of digital technology's many roles and its future possibilities in a wide array of industries. A detailed picture of what the infrastructure of the Information Age really looks like and how we got there, The Digital Hand is a sweeping survey of how computers transformed the American economy.
Local Note:
Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2017. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.
Genre:
Electronic Access:
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