The role of technology in the transition from premodern to modern economies in late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe is among the major questions in economic history, but it is still poorly understood. A plausible explanation of premodern European technological development must account...

The travel of small facts (such as data) across geographical locations and disciplines is increasingly regulated by the private and public sponsors of digital databases. My analysis focuses on the contrast between the strategies supported by the public and private sectors in governing...

This article studies how our understanding of disease transmission has evolved over time from the public health perspective. The main question is: What happens to ‘facts’ in the course of their life history? How do they lead their lives? The concept captures the process that shapes the facts...