ABSTRACT
Constructs are linked with representations of "real" things or events through concepts and through referentials. A more detailed treatment is required to distinguish various dimensions of inanimate control and to clarify the meaning of technological efficiency. The problem could be avoided by restricting the construct to "efficacy of biotic control attempts," but that restriction might force the abandonment of many premises in which the compound character of the construct is essential. Amateur automobile mechanics would readily grasp the meaning of failure in attempted inanimate control. Inanimate control is technologically driven in that virtually all instances involve the creation, use, or maintenance of a technological item; and the items commonly are indispensable for control effectiveness. The conservation of time and human energy through the use of technological items is commonly so great that technological efficiency can be easily confused with technological indispensability. The immediate implication is that technological efficiency must be designated as a construct.
