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In 1873 Edouard Manet finished his famous and beautiful “Railroad” painting. In it a woman in a blue travel coat, sitting on the stone base of a gate, stares us in the face, looking up from her book and gazing through us as if digesting what she just read, a little dog sleeping on her lap. Next to her a girl (her daughter?) stands with her back toward us, a big blue bow on her white Sunday dress, gripping the gate bars and looking through them at … a cloud of steam. No train in sight. They are waiting, for what, for whom? Perhaps the girl’s attention is not drawn by what she sees but by what she hears: a steam valve must be hissing loudly.

Although the vehicles-to-population ratios of China and India are small when compared to Europe, Japan, and the United States, sales of cars and light trucks in the two countries have increased rapidly in recent years. This article documents the growth in the number of vehicles in China and India and compares the expansion of their vehicle fleets to the historical experiences of countries that achieved high levels of automobile ownership decades ago. The article notes some of the problems that are emerging as the extent of vehicle ownership in China and India begins to approach that of the developed countries: pressure on the world’s petroleum supplies, increased levels of carbon dioxide emissions, and a rising toll of automobile-related deaths and injuries. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the cultural and political issues that are accompanying mass motorization in China and India.

Ogburn (W.F.) a publie de nombreux travaux sur la technologie et ses consequences dont son ouvrage intitule Social change with respect to cultural and original nature publie en 1922 et reedite douze fois dont l'A. fait l'analyse en montrant que pour Ogburn, la base culturelle etait importante dans l'innovation et les progres technologiques

Le but du Musee Petersen de l'Automobile a Los Angeles n'est pas de decrire le developpement technique de l'automobile, mais plutot son histoire, en mettant en evidence des scenes qui decrivent son utilisation a travers les differentes epoques

A number of analyses of contemporary Chinese society have centered on the presumed conflicts between politically reliable "reds" and technically proficient "experts." This article challenges this mode of analysis by indicating the multi-dimensionality of both categories and by setting them in their historic and cultural contexts. Particular emphasis is accorded to the importance of organiza tional affiliation in defining the social role of the expert. A short history of the interaction between organizational development and the role of the expert is presented, along with some considerations of future trends in this area.

These are not good times for the British economy. Many of the industries that Britain formerly dominated are now in decline, hobbled by inefficiencies and undercut by foreign competition. In some cases, they have all but disappeared. So it has been with the British motorcycle industry, once the world leader in technological development, market share, and success on the racetrack. A few specialist manufacturers soldier on, but the commanding position now is occupied by Japan. Britain today has little more than its memories and the surviving examples of the machines that once put it at the forefront of the world motorcycle industry. Until recently, there was no adequate memorial to these past glories, although representative collections of motorcycles could be viewed at London's Science Museum, at the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu, and in several transport museums. In 1984, the British motorcycle finally received its proper due with the opening of the National Motorcycle Museum. Situated on the outskirts of Birmingham, the historical center of the industry, the museum is the culmination of the dedicated efforts of individual enthusiasts who have been supported financially by the city of Birmingham and by private contributions. The museum occupies a new building that is divided into a main hall and four smaller ones. Visitors enter through the main hall, where they can view a few motorcycles on rotating turntables and make purchases in a well-stocked book and souvenir shop. The first smaller hall displays a collection of motorcycles intended to depict "Sixty Glorious Years" (1901-61) of British motorcycles. The second and third halls contain machines with engine capacities of under and over 500 cc, respectively. The last hall is devoted to competition machinery. Altogether, nearly 300 motorcycles are on display. All are in excel