European Narratives on Remote Working and Coworking During the COVID-19 Pandemic


Book Description

This open access book offers a multidisciplinary and comprehensive perspective regarding the immediate and long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on coworking spaces in the European Region. The current pandemic has imposed several effects on work and spaces for work. Some are immediate effects and will last for a short time (such as the closing down of the space), some will last longer (namely, the reorganisation of the space to meet the physical distancing), and some will stay for a long time (remote working and hybrid working). Although the literature on coworking spaces and the effects of the pandemic is growing fast, empirical studies are yet limited. Within this context, this book seeks a twofold aim: (i) to contribute to the fast-growing literature on coworking space and their effects at different scales; (ii) to present a multidisciplinary perspective about the effects of the yet-lasting Corona-pandemic effects on the patterns of remote working and consequently on coworking spaces, as the most diffused form of new working spaces.







The Coworking (R)evolution


Book Description

The digitalization of work processes and the generalization of IT are creating unprecedented opportunities. An increasing part of the workforce is experimenting with new forms of work, as freelancers, self-employed or highly skilled employees with greater autonomy. International in scope, this book comprehensively explores these new models of work, mobility and life trajectories, and the increasing role of non-metropolitan coworking spaces.




Remote Places, Public Spaces


Book Description

Das SMOTIES-Netzwerk ist eine Partnerschaft von zehn Designhochschulen, Forschungszentren, Kreativagenturen und nationalen Verbänden. Jeder Partner wählte einen kleinen, abgelegenen Ort in seinem Land aus, der von der Gestaltung kultureller und kreativer Regeneration im öffentlichen Raum und in Zusammenarbeit mit lokalen Akteuren profitieren soll. Das Projekt ist Teil des Human-Cities-Netzwerks, einer Plattform für den interdisziplinären Austausch, die sich mit der Verbesserung der Lebensqualität öffentlicher Innen- und Außenräume befasst und durch partizipatives Design innovative Prozesse für den sozialen Zusammenhalt anstößt. Mit Beiträgen von: Michael Dumiak, Independent reporter and editor Valentina Auricchio PhD, associate professor, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Elisa Bertolotti PhD, assistant professor of Communication Design, Art and Design Department, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Madeira Beatriz Bonilla Berrocal, PhD candidate, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Helen Charoupia Researcher, Department of Product and Systems Design Engineering within Complex Systems and Service Design Lab, University of the Aegean Alexandra Coutsoucos, Research fellow, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Annalinda De Rosa PhD, researcher, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Davide Fassi PhD, full professor, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Susana Gonzaga PhD, assistant professor, Art and Design Department, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Madeira Nina Gorsič, Architect and researcher, urban renewal, cultural heritage and accessibility, Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia Frank van Hasselt, Chief executive, Clear Village Astrid Lelarge, Historian of urban planning, Alternance Architecture and Urban Planning, assistant professor, Faculty of Planning and Design, Agricultural University of Iceland Vanessa Monna, Post-doc research fellow, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano Chiara Nifosì, PhD, assistant professor of Urban Planning, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano Matej Niksič, Architect, urban planner, lecturer in urban design, Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia Cristina Renzoni, PhD, associate professor of Urban Planning, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano Anwar Samara, Student of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana Noemi Satta, Independent consultant and expert in cultural innovation and strategic and participatory planning Isabelle Vérilhac, Strategic designer, founder of Design With Isabelle







Silicon Valley Imperialism


Book Description

In Silicon Valley Imperialism, Erin McElroy maps the processes of gentrification, racial dispossession, and economic predation that drove the development of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area and how that logic has become manifest in postsocialist Romania. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and archival research in Romania and the United States, McElroy exposes the mechanisms through which the appeal of Silicon Valley technocapitalism devours space and societies, displaces residents, and generates extreme income inequality in order to expand its reach. In Romania, dreams of privatization updated fascist and anti-Roma pasts and socialist-era underground computing practices. At the same time, McElroy accounts for the ways Romanians are resisting Silicon Valley capitalist logics, where anticapitalist and anti-imperialist activists and protesters build on socialist-era worldviews not to restore state socialism but rather to establish more just social formations. Attending to the violence of Silicon Valley imperialism, McElroy reveals technocapitalism as an ultimately unsustainable model of rapacious economic and geographic growth.




Digital Capitalism in the New Media Era


Book Description

How do digital capitalism and the evolving landscape of new media intersect, and what does this mean for the future of media? It is necessary to begin the excavation process, to unearth the insights of experts in these fields to better understand the transformation of the globalized world. In Digital Capitalism in the New Media Era, the intricate relationship between media and society takes center stage, examined through the lens of contemporary technology's impact on this dynamic. Within the confines of this meticulously researched book lies a comprehensive analysis of how the established political economy of traditional media has adapted and responded to the surge of new technologies. The rise of new tools has inadvertently ushered in a new age of surveillance, marked by sophisticated techniques like digital trace tracking and micro-targeting strategies. This book covers comprehensive topics, including exploiting personal data for both commercial and political ends, the pervasive influence of algorithmic mechanisms and filter bubbles, and the dominion of tech giants in this digital landscape. By offering a panoramic view of the contemporary media landscape, this book not only equips researchers, sociologists, and media professionals with an understanding of the intricate interplay between technology and society but also facilitates a deeper comprehension of pressing concerns such as open science, gender equality, and the digital divide.




Remote Works


Book Description

The future of work is here. You can no longer survive by copying and pasting old office techniques into a digital environment; it's exhausting, unproductive, and unsuccessful. There is a better way! Are you ready to rethink everything you know about how remote works? Drawing on their years of experience working at remote companies DuckDuckGo and Automattic, plus dozens of interviews with leading experts, Ali Greene and Tamara Sanderson have written the ultimate playbook for managing remote teams. This book addresses challenges such as communicating effectively (with fewer meetings!), eliminating frustration over what tools to use, establishing team norms, and focusing on getting things done. You will learn how to work best remotely and create a workplace designed for freedom, flexibility, and focus. For decades, we've planned our lives around our work. Now it's time to intentionally design work to fit our lives.




The Science of Citizen Science


Book Description

This open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientists to citizens and from policy makers to environmental organisations have been involved in its practice. In addition, many scientists also study citizen science as a research approach and as a way for science and society to interact and collaborate. This book provides a representation of the practices as well as scientific and societal outcomes in different disciplines. It reflects the contribution of citizen science to societal development, education, or innovation and provides and overview of the field of actors as well as on tools and guidelines. It serves as an introduction for anyone who wants to get involved in and learn more about the science of citizen science.




Water Treatment for Purification from Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins


Book Description

Provides a comprehensive overview of key methods for treating water tainted by cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins Toxigenic cyanobacteria are one of the main health risks associated with water resources. Consequently, the analysis, control, and removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins from water supplies is a high priority research area. This book presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research on water treatment methods for the removal of cyanobacteria, taste and odor compounds, and cyanotoxins. Starting with an introduction to the subject, Water Treatment for Purification from Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins offers chapters on cyanotoxins and human health, conventional physical-chemical treatment for the removal of cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins, removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins by membrane processes, biological treatment for the destruction of cyanotoxins, and conventional disinfection and/or oxidation processes. Other chapters look at advanced oxidation processes, removal/destruction of taste and odour compounds, transformation products of cyanobacterial metabolites during treatment and integrated drinking water processes. Provides a comprehensive overview of key methods for treating water tainted by cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins Bridges the gap between basic knowledge of cyanobacteria/cyanotoxins and practical management guidelines Includes integrated processes case studies and real-life examples Developed within the frame of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST)–funded CYANOCOST A must-have resource for every water treatment plant, Water Treatment for Purification from Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins is a valuable resource for all researchers in water chemistry and engineering, environmental chemistry as well as water companies and authorities, water resource engineers and managers, environmental and public health protection organizations.