Computer Technology – a Political Player in Social Policy Processes

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Abstract
The absence of considerations of technology in policy studies reinforces the popular notion that technology is a neutral tool. Through an analysis of the role played by computers in the policy processes of Australia's Department of Social Security, this paper argues that computers are political players in policy processes. Findings indicate that computers make aspects of the social domain knowable and therefore governable. The use of computers makes previously infeasible policies possible. Computers also operate as bureaucrats and as agents of client surveillance. Increased policy change, reduced discretion and increasingly targeted and complex policies can be attributed to the use of computer technology. If policy processes are to be adequately understood and analysed, then the role of technology in those processes must be considered.

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