Resources Before we look at this in more depth, it must be noted that a resource doesn't just mean a natural resource such as oil or coal, a resource can mean many other things such as human resources, even time should be included as a resource. One dictionary definition of a resource is "An available supply that can be drawn on when needed". A technology can fail due to a resource because its cost is too great, the resource could be too rare, or the resource could be lost midway through the project. These will now be discussed in more detail. Cost The cost of resources is a major factor in technological projects. This cost can cause a technology to fail for many reasons; the project may be too expensive to develop, or too expensive to produce, it may cause the final product's price to be too great. International markets and cartels control many resources' prices. For example, the cartel OPEC controls oil prices throughout the world, and there is an international price for diamonds. If there is a new technology that is dependant on a particular resource, either directly or indirectly, and the price of that resource changes during or after the product has been developed, that could have a huge effect on the success of that technology. If this price change occurs during the development stage of the project, or even if the price remains the same, but the development requires a larger quantity of that resource than originally planned, a decision has to be made on whether to continue with the project. These decisions are often a very fine line, and some projects will be cancelled even after huge amounts of money have been spent on them. One technology that was perhaps perceived as a failure at an early stage of the technology was the automobile. Before Henry Ford started manufacturing his Model T, cars were incredibly expensive, and very few people could afford them. There were very few cars around, and certainly not any of the motorways or highways that we see around the world today. At the time this technology could have been thought of as a failure. Why would anyone need a car anyway? They couldn't travel the long distances cars of today can. A horse and cart could do just the same job but was much cheaper. It failed because of the enormous cost of the materials used to build the cars and in deed, the cost of the human resources of the technicians and engineers who built them. Then in 1913, Henry Ford started to produce his Model T on the world's first production line (with the help of Frederick Taylor) and from that moment onwards, the automobile was a technological success - one of the major successes of the last century. Wrote that paragraph but wasn't sure it was really relevant! Rarity Had a bit of trouble writing about this really. Couldn't think of any examples where this has been relevant. Human Resources It is vital to have the right people working on a project. The wrong people with not as much skill or expertise could cause a project to last months longer, if not fail. But of course human resources cost money too; what is better value for money, hiring the best (and most expensive) engineers and technicians to work on a project which would make the project manager very confident about the completion of the project and in a reasonable timescale, or pay less for not such good engineers and having the risk of the project failing or taking too long? The management of human resources is extremely important, but even if this is done well, other human resource issues can lead a project to failure. What if the chief engineer becomes ill? What if he dies? Can he be replaced? There are some projects where the chief designer or engineer is such a specialist in that particular field that he is irreplaceable. There are also instances of a chief engineer dying midway through a project who in some case can be irreplaceable if that person is a leading expert or the only person with certain skills and/or knowledge. This of course is down to luck, which makes it impossible to stop or plan for. However, if there is strong opposition to the project the loss of a human resource is not always down to luck. As in the case with the world's first sewing machine, the inventor did not pursue with this after his factory was attacked and he received death threats. Although a similar situation is unlikely from competitors today, other groups of people such as animal rights protestors have used similar tactics against scientists working in animal research. The organisation or individuals in charge of the project must consider this and take necessary security precautions to ensure the safety of their staff, in particular someone who has irreplaceable skills or knowledge as they would be most at risk. Links to other factors Political * Governments can impose taxes and sanctions on resources. Design * Laws concerning safety could have a significant affect on the design of an item - could even make it illegal to use. Marketing * ????????????? Competitors * Competitors will be affected in the same way by taxes etc on resources. Unless competitor produces in a different country. * Could make better use of human resources. Social * People may think it is wrong to use up natural resources. Communication * ????????????????? Economy * Has a large effect on the price and availability of resources. Bullet points from before. http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/time_machine/2002/9/generations/index4.phtml used for info on Ford. http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=resource Hugh Brown