THE ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT ON R-AND-D - COMPUTER AIDS FOR THE DISABLED

R&D often reflects social concerns which are represented in the organization and implementation of scientific inquiry. An analysis of R&D projects for the disabled provides a glimpse into the link between such social concerns and its consequent organizational basis. A content analysis of 89 R&D computer‐related projects between 1979 and 1983, focussing on R&D, interest areas, funding sources, research emphasis, institutional setting and prototype production, illustrates the organizational influence involved in this type of specialized R&D. Specifically, a model is created, arguing that public funding mechanisms influence the type and direction that research takes, while factors in the form of institutional division of resources and specialization, lead to specific research concentrations. These findings add support to the argument that the organization of R&D of computer aids is influenced by societal priorities which, through a series of constraints, affects its output. Copyright © 1990, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved