Through a case analysis of how medicine's intra-occupational division of labor responded to thedevelopment ofgastrointestinal endoscopy, this article sheds lighton how occupational divisions of labor respond to technological innovation. The article proposes that innovations are introduced into such structures in ways consistent with thecultural scripts thatregulate relations andworkflows between occupations' functional segments. However, these scripts may not be able to regulate effectively subsequent developments, and structural divisions may produce intra-occupational conflict and struggle over marketturf A "Trojan horse" metaphor is used to illustrate this process. The analysis developed here poses questions about thecurrent tendency toextol thevirtues ofoccupational divisions of labor, forsuch structures maylack effective mechanisms for regulating the unintended outcomes of technological change.
The profession of medicine has evolved into an extremely specialised occupation.Yet, recent research has neglected the intra-occupational processes influencing medical specialisation. This article aims to correct this oversight. It develops an historical account of intra-occupational factors influencing the decision to establish gynaecologic oncology as American ob ⁄ gyn's surgical subspecialty in 1972. Working within the framework initially developed by Everett C. Hughes and his students, the article examines this development as the outcome of a threeparty relationship among gynaecologic oncologists, American ob ⁄ gyns, and gynaecologic pelvic surgeons. Aggressive movement by the gynaecologic pelvic surgeons challenging the established e´lite's identity definition for the ob ⁄ gyn specialty helped spur official recognition of gynaecologic oncology, a less threatening subspecialty. The article draws theoretical implications from the case regarding the role of a threatening other in influencing the specialisation process.
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