Virtual Workers and the Global Labour Market

Virtual Workers and the Global Labour Market

Author: Juliet Webster

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2016-09-27

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1137479191

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The emerging world of virtual work is not tied to physical workplaces or particular locations, but is dispersed and footloose. It is frequently precarious, and blurs the boundaries between work and non-work, production and consumption. Contributors to this wide-ranging volume of case studies identify the growing and diverse army of virtual workers. Building from an overarching introduction which discusses the salient features of virtual work, this collection considers the challenges in analysing the class position of virtual workers. Virtual Workers and the Global Labour Market features international examples of emerging occupations and working conditions in new media, gaming, journalism, advertising and branding, software development and offshore services. Cross-disciplinary insights from across the social sciences inform contributions on labour market entry, employment relations, precariousness, the dynamics of virtual teams, and cyberbullying, in order to illustrate the diversity of virtual work, its circumstances and its labour force.


Internet and Network Economics

Internet and Network Economics

Author: Amin Saberi

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2010-12-06

Total Pages: 590

ISBN-13: 3642175724

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This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Internet and Network Economics, WINE 2010, held in Stanford, USA, in December 2010. The 52 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 95 submissions. The papers are organized in 33 regular papers and 19 short papers.


Telework in the 21st Century

Telework in the 21st Century

Author: Jon C. Messenger

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1789903750

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Technological developments have enabled a dramatic expansion and also an evolution of telework, broadly defined as using ICTs to perform work from outside of an employer’s premises. This volume offers a new conceptual framework explaining the evolution of telework over four decades. It reviews national experiences from Argentina, Brazil, India, Japan, the United States, and ten EU countries regarding the development of telework, its various forms and effects. It also analyses large-scale surveys and company case studies regarding the incidence of telework and its effects on working time, work-life balance, occupational health and well-being, and individual and organizational performance.


Topologies of Digital Work

Topologies of Digital Work

Author: Mascha Will-Zocholl

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-01-05

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 3030803279

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This book provides a unique contribution to the controversial discussion that surrounds the digitalisation and virtualisation of work. With a focus on the new formation of space and place, it critically discusses the idea that places in the context of work are increasingly losing their importance, and becoming more arbitrary with new technical possibilities. Theoretical considerations that deal conceptually with the understanding of space and work are taken into account, as well as empirical results from different professional and work fields across various regions of our globalised world. The book is applicable to researchers and students of sociology of work, media and communications, organization studies, workplace studies, labour process studies, economics, human geography, anthropology and learning sciences. Chapter 1, 4 and 11 are available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.


International Labour Standards and Platform Work

International Labour Standards and Platform Work

Author: Mathias Wouters

Publisher: Kluwer Law International B.V.

Published: 2021-11-25

Total Pages: 585

ISBN-13: 9403540419

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Platform work – the matching of the supply of and demand for paid labour through an online platform – often depends on workers who operate in a “grey area” between the archetype of an employee and a self-employed worker. This important book explores the utility of the International Labour Organization’s existing standards in governing this phenomenon. It indicates that despite their relevance, many standards have little or no impact. The standards apply to the issue but they fail to connect with it. The author shows how three ILO conventions – the Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177), the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), and the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) – can be revitalised to have an impact on the platform work debate. In the course of the analysis he responds in depth to such questions as the following: What are digital labour platforms? What does decent work mean? Did the ILO centenary fundamentally change anything? What is the link between private employment services and platform work? How do crowdworkers relate to homeworkers and teleworkers? Are platform workers engaged in domestic work? What form could a future ILO standard on platform work take? Given that the ILO plans to start discussions on a potential future standard for platform work in 2022, this book will prove very useful in highlighting the issues and standards that such discussions should consider. Research has shown that the techniques and tools of the platform economy have spread far beyond gig work, resulting in widespread “gigification” and restructuring of workplace behaviours and relationships, jobs, and communities across the world. For this and other reasons, including the book’s detailed analysis of issues not addressed elsewhere, labour lawyers, in-house counsel, researchers, and policymakers will gain valuable insight into what decent work in the platform economy would require, thus greatly broadening the discussion on this difficult-to-regulate phenomenon.


Digital Labour, Society and the Politics of Sensibilities

Digital Labour, Society and the Politics of Sensibilities

Author: Adrian Scribano

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-03-18

Total Pages: 213

ISBN-13: 3030123065

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This volume provides a multidisciplinary perspective on a set of transformations in social practices that modify the meaning of everyday interactions, and especially those that affect the world of labour. The book is composed of two types of texts: some dedicated to exploring the modifications of labour in the context of the ‘digital age’, and others that point out the consequences of this era and those transformations in the current social structuration processes. The authors examine interwoven possibilities and limitations that act in renewed ways to release/repress the creative energy of human beings, just a few of the potential paths for investigating the connections between work and society that are nowadays involved in the battle of sensibilities.


A Modern Guide To Labour and the Platform Economy

A Modern Guide To Labour and the Platform Economy

Author: Drahokoupil, Jan

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2021-10-12

Total Pages: 384

ISBN-13: 1788975103

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Providing an insightful analysis of the key issues and significant trends relating to labour within the platform economy, this Modern Guide considers the existing comparative evidence covering all world regions. It also provides an in-depth look at digital labour platforms in their historical, economic and geographical contexts.


Reskilling the Workforce for Technological Advancement

Reskilling the Workforce for Technological Advancement

Author: Meçik, Oytun

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2024-02-19

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13:

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The modern workforce is continually evolving, presenting an ongoing challenge to business stakeholders, from workers to administration. Technological advancements, shifting consumer preferences, and the ever-changing global economic landscape have set the stage for a resounding conundrum. How can workers, employers, and society adapt to this rapidly transforming environment? Reskilling the Workforce for Technological Advancement presents an answer in the concept of reskilling existing workforces. As highlighted in the book, reskilling offers a path to not only address the challenges faced by individuals but also to propel businesses and society forward. The first issue at hand is the need for workers to continually develop new skills and adapt to new roles in response to technological advancements. Reskilling the Workforce for Technological Advancement presents a compelling solution by outlining how reskilling can open to new career opportunities, boost earning potential, and provide the necessary tools for individuals to remain competitive.


Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy

Work and Alienation in the Platform Economy

Author: Sarrah Kassem

Publisher: Policy Press

Published: 2023-02-28

Total Pages: 222

ISBN-13: 1529226562

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Once hidden behind the veils of entrepreneurship, it is now clear that platforms are reshaping the world of work, and Amazon has been a forerunner in setting the trend. This book examines two key and contrasting Amazon platforms that differ in how they organize workers: its e-commerce platform and digital labor platform (Mechanical Turk). With access to the people who are working at the heart of these platforms, it explores how different working conditions alienate workers, and how, despite these conditions, workers organize within their political-economic contexts to express their agency in traditional and alternative ways. Written for social scientists studying and researching the platform economy, this is a timely and important analysis of work and workers on the (digital) shop floor.


Technologies of Labour and the Politics of Contradiction

Technologies of Labour and the Politics of Contradiction

Author: Paško Bilić

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-05-07

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 3319762796

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This book is situated in the nexus between technology, labour and politics. It focuses on contradictions as heuristic devices that uncover struggles, frictions and ambiguities of digitalization in work and labour environments. Topics include contradictions in automation, internet platforms, digital practices, creative industries, communication industries, human interaction, democratic participation and regulation. Three cross-cutting themes can be identified within the diverse chapters represented in the book. First, many authors argue that labour and economic valorisation occur outside of the traditional concept of working space and time. Second, digital technology is not fixed under capital. It is malleable and mouldable. Third, many political tensions are occurring without organized awareness or dissent. The book will, therefore, be of interest to researchers and students in the fields of sociology of work, media studies, cultural studies, gender studies, science and technology studies and Critical Theory as well as to trade-unionists and policy makers.