Technologies of Labour and the Politics of Contradiction

Description

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. Front Matter ....Pages i-xvii Technology, Labour and Politics in the 21st Century: Old Struggles in New Clothing (Paško Bilić, Jaka Primorac, Bjarki Valtýsson)....Pages 1-16 Front Matter ....Pages 17-17 Industry 4.0: Robotics and Contradictions (Sabine Pfeiffer)....Pages 19-36 From Ford to Facebook: Time and Technologies of Work (Eran Fisher)....Pages 37-55 The Production of Algorithms and the Cultural Politics of Web Search (Paško Bilić)....Pages 57-76 Algorithms, Dashboards and Datafication: A Critical Evaluation of Social Media Monitoring (Ivo Furman)....Pages 77-95 Front Matter ....Pages 97-97 Efficient Worker or Reflective Practitioner? Competing Technical Rationalities of Media Software Tools (Ingrid Forsler, Julia Velkova)....Pages 99-119 In the Golden Cage of Creative Industries: Public-Private Valuing of Female Creative Labour (Valerija Barada, Jaka Primorac)....Pages 121-139 Digital Inclusion for Better Job Opportunities? The Case of Women E-Included Through Lifelong Learning Programmes (Lidia Arroyo)....Pages 141-158 Front Matter ....Pages 159-159 A Recent Story About Uber (Brian Beaton)....Pages 161-174 Protocols of Control: Collaboration in Free and Open Source Software (Reinhard Anton Handler)....Pages 175-192 Playbour and the Gamification of Work: Empowerment, Exploitation and Fun as Labour Dynamics (Raul Ferrer-Conill)....Pages 193-210 Audience Metrics as a Decision-Making Factor in Slovene Online News Organizations (Aleksander Sašo Slaček Brlek)....Pages 211-232 Front Matter ....Pages 233-233 Media Use and the Extended Commodification of the Lifeworld (Göran Bolin)....Pages 235-252 Regulation, Technology, and Civic Agency: The Case of Facebook (Bjarki Valtýsson)....Pages 253-269 Spinning the Web: The Contradictions of Researching and Regulating Digital Work and Labour (Pamela Meil)....Pages 271-290 Back Matter ....Pages 291-296