Work in the Digital Age


Book Description

This book sets out to explore the emerging consequences of the so called '4th Industrial Revolution for the organisation of work and welfare.




Work in the Digital Age


Book Description

The first of its kind, this coursebook examines the work of the future. Work in the Digital Age: A Coursebook on Labor, Technology, and Regulation focuses on certain technologies: the platform economy and gig work, big data and people analytics, gamification, artificial intelligence and algorithmic management, blockchain technology, drones, and 3D printing. The book provides perspectives on these new and emerging technologies from employers, unions, individual workers, national courts and governments, and international organizations. Altogether, the book questions whether current systems of labor and employment regulation are adequate and appropriate to respond to these new technologies. Finally, the book examines potential policy solutions to technological unemployment including universal basic income, shorter hours, and job guarantees. The best way to shape the future of work is to create the policy changes that we wish to see now, and this book provides a blueprint for thinking about a future of work that is productive, efficient, equitable, and sustainable. Professors and student will benefit from: A focus on certain technologies: The platform economy and gig work Big data and people analytics Gamification Artificial intelligence and algorithmic management Blockchain technology Drones 3D printing Global perspectives on these new and emerging technologies from employers, unions, individual workers, national courts and governments, and international organizations Exploration of whether new systems of labor and employment regulation are necessary to better respond to these new technologies Discussion of potential policy solutions to technological unemployment including universal basic income, shorter hours, and job guarantees Notes and Questions, Problems, Exercises, and Examples, to help reinforce concepts and issues




Books in the Digital Age


Book Description

The book publishing industry is going through a period of profound and turbulent change brought about in part by the digital revolution. What is the role of the book in an age preoccupied with computers and the internet? How has the book publishing industry been transformed by the economic and technological upheavals of recent years, and how is it likely to change in the future? This is the first major study of the book publishing industry in Britain and the United States for more than two decades. Thompson focuses on academic and higher education publishing and analyses the evolution of these sectors from 1980 to the present. He shows that each sector is characterized by its own distinctive ‘logic’ or dynamic of change, and that by reconstructing this logic we can understand the problems, challenges and opportunities faced by publishing firms today. He also shows that the digital revolution has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on the book publishing business, although the real impact of this revolution has little to do with the ebook scenarios imagined by many commentators. Books in the Digital Age will become a standard work on the publishing industry at the beginning of the 21st century. It will be of great interest to students taking courses in the sociology of culture, media and cultural studies, and publishing. It will also be of great value to professionals in the publishing industry, educators and policy makers, and to anyone interested in books and their future.




Work and Labor in the Digital Age


Book Description

This volume presents the most recent studies of work and labor in the digital age as it unfolds in both Europe and the United States.




Agile Working and Well-Being in the Digital Age


Book Description

Within the digital era, agile working is imperative for organisations and workers to meet the needs of customers, service-users and ever-changing markets. This needs to be achieved whilst meeting goals of effectiveness and well-being. In this book, state-of-the-art theory is used to understand how to optimise agile working by addressing key issues around personality, team-working and management. The authors define the concept of agile working and unpack often-misunderstood terms associated with this, such as remote working and telework. The book explores the well-being consequences of agile work including sedentary behaviours, digital distraction, and digital resistance before offering insights for the future. Examining current practice in the context of established and emerging theory, the book paves the way towards further advances in the field and supports organisations seeking to make agile working work for them. Agile Working and Well-being in the Digital Age provides a valuable new resource for practitioners and scholars in the fields of occupational and organizational psychology, human resource management, organisational development, mental health and well-being.




Personal Connections in the Digital Age


Book Description

The internet and the mobile phone have disrupted many of our conventional understandings of ourselves and our relationships, raising anxieties and hopes about their effects on our lives. In this second edition of her timely and vibrant book, Nancy Baym provides frameworks for thinking critically about the roles of digital media in personal relationships. Rather than providing exuberant accounts or cautionary tales, it offers a data-grounded primer on how to make sense of these important changes in relational life Fully updated to reflect new developments in technology and digital scholarship, the book identifies the core relational issues these media disturb and shows how our talk about them echoes historical discussions about earlier communication technologies. Chapters explore how we use mediated language and nonverbal behavior to develop and maintain communities, social networks, and new relationships, and to maintain existing relationships in our everyday lives. The book combines research findings with lively examples to address questions such as: Can mediated interaction be warm and personal? Are people honest about themselves online? Can relationships that start online work? Do digital media damage the other relationships in our lives? Throughout, the book argues that these questions must be answered with firm understandings of media qualities and the social and personal contexts in which they are developed and used. This new edition of Personal Connections in the Digital Age will be required reading for all students and scholars of media, communication studies, and sociology, as well as all those who want a richer understanding of digital media and everyday life.




Humans at Work in the Digital Age


Book Description

Humans at Work in the Digital Age explores the roots of twenty-first-century cultures of digital textual labor, mapping the diverse physical and cognitive acts involved, and recovering the invisible workers and work that support digital technologies. Drawing on 14 case studies organized around four sites of work, this book shows how definitions of labor have been influenced by the digital technologies that employees use to produce, interpret, or process text. Incorporating methodology and theory from a range of disciplines and highlighting labor issues related to topics as diverse as census tabulation, market research, electronic games, digital archives, and 3D modeling, contributors uncover the roles played by race, class, gender, sexuality, and national politics in determining how narratives of digital labor are constructed and erased. Because each chapter is centered on the human cost of digital technologies, however, it is individual people immersed in cultures of technology who are the focus of the volume, rather than the technologies themselves. Humans at Work in the Digital Age shows how humanistic inquiry can be a valuable tool in the emerging conversation surrounding digital textual labor. As such, this book will be essential reading for academics and postgraduate students engaged in the study of digital humanities; human-computer interaction; digital culture and social justice; race, class, gender, and sexuality in digital realms; the economics of the internet; and technology in higher education.




Collaboration in the Digital Age


Book Description

This book examines how digital technologies enable collaboration as a way for individuals, teams and businesses to connect, create value, and harness new opportunities. Digital technologies have brought the world closer together but also created new barriers and divides. While it is now possible to connect almost instantly and seamlessly across the globe, collaboration comes at a cost; it requires new skills and hidden ‘collaboration work’, and the need to renegotiate the fair distribution of value in multi-stakeholder network arrangements. Presenting state-of-the-art research, case studies, and leading voices in the field, the book provides academics and professionals with insights into the diverse powers of collaboration in the digital age, spanning collaboration among professionals, organisations, and consumers. It brings together contributions from scholars interested in the collaboration of teams, cooperatives, projects, and new cooperative systems, covering a range of sectors from the sharing economy, health care, large project businesses to public sector collaboration.




Civility in the Digital Age


Book Description

Re-civilize Life Online! PROVEN Conflict Management and Prevention for Social Media and the Web Ever seem like the Web is just one big screaming match? Ever feel like you’re refereeing a worldwide tantrum on YOUR social media sites, blogs, and online forums? That’s not good for your goals—or your sanity. Stop. Now. Step back. Take a breath. And solve the problem. Thought you couldn’t? You can: there are proven best practices for getting people to be civil online. Even when they disagree. Even if they’re complaining. You can avoid misunderstandings that lead to flame wars, and promote constructive conversation amongst those with strongly held views. And, finally, you can handle the people that just can’t be civilized. Today, these skills are flat-out imperative. Everyone who leads, curates, manages, or participates in online communities needs them. Andrea Weckerle hasn’t just compiled them: she’s created a 30-Day Action Plan for restoring civility to your corner of the digital world. This plan works—and not one moment too soon. Master the foundational skills you need to resolve and prevent conflict online Understand the dynamics of each online conflict, from procedural disputes to online lynch mobs Stay cool and effectively manage conflict in even the highest-pressure online environments Differentiate between what people say and what they really want Create a positive online footprint—or start cleaning up a negative image Recognize online troublemakers and strategize ways to handle them Manage your own anger—and, when necessary, express it online safely and productively Strategically manage others’ online hostility and frustration Limit risks to your organization’s online reputation due to actions it can’t control Draft and implement corporate social media policies that actually work




How's Life in the Digital Age? Opportunities and Risks of the Digital Transformation for People's Well-being


Book Description

This report documents how the ongoing digital transformation is affecting people’s lives across the 11 key dimensions that make up the How’s Life? Well-being Framework (Income and wealth, Jobs and earnings, Housing, Health status, Education and skills, Work-life balance, Civic engagement and ...