Theoretical perspective in social analyses of computerization : an addendum

Since I wrote "Social Analysis of Computing" in 1979, more than 200 scholarly books and articles and several literature surveys have been published about the social dimensions of computerization. In addition, there have been interesting empirical and theoretical studies published in Danish, French, German, Italian, and Norwegian, among other languages. This addendum serves as a brief guide to some of this newer literature

The New Crafts: On the Technization of the Workforce and the Occupationalization of Firms

[Excerpt] In the late 1960s and early 1970s American students were told that the value of a college education was declining (see Freeman 1976). Although liberal arts students were particularly discouraged by reports of recent graduates driving taxicabs, even the demand for engineers and other technical specialists seemed bleak. Two decades later, the headlines have reversed. Study after study proclaims that American children are performing more poorly on achievement tests than the children of most other industrialized nations. Employers complain of a shortage of skilled workers: young people are said to be ill-prepared for the demands of the workplace and older workers are said to lack the educational background requisite for retraining (Johnson and Packer 1987). Studies by labor economists have largely confirmed the employers\u27 contentions and foretell of even greater shortages of skilled labor in the near future (Bishop and Carter 1991)

Addressing information flow in lean production management and control in construction

Traditionally, production control on construction sites has been a challenging area, where the ad-hoc production control methods foster uncertainty - one of the biggest enemies of efficiency and smooth production flow. Lean construction methods such as the Last Planner System have partially tackled this problem by addressing the flow aspect through means such as constraints analysis and commitment planning. However, such systems have relatively long planning cycles to respond to the dynamic production requirements of construction, where almost daily if not hourly control is needed. New solutions have been designed by researchers to improve this aspect such as VisiLean, but again these types of software systems require the proximity and availability of computer devices to workers. Given this observation, there is a need for a communication system between the field and site office that is highly interoperable and provides real-time task status information. A High-level communication framework (using VisiLean) is presented in this paper, which aims to overcome the problems of system integration and improve the flow of information within the production system. The framework provides, among other things, generic and standardized interfaces to simplify the “push” and “pull” of the right (production) information, whenever needed, wherever needed, by whoever needs it. Overall, it is anticipated that the reliability of the production control will be improve

New Tasks in Old Jobs: Drivers of Change and Implications for Job Quality

This overview report summarises the findings of 20 case studies looking at recent changes in the task content of five manufacturing occupations (car assemblers, meat processing workers, hand-packers, chemical products plant and machine operators and inspection engineers) as a result of factors such as digital transformations, globalisation and offshoring, increasing demand for high quality standards and sustainability. It also discusses some implications in terms of job quality and working life. The study reveals that the importance of physical tasks in manufacturing is generally declining due to automation; that more intensive use of digitally controlled equipment, together with increasing importance of quality standards, involve instead a growing amount of intellectual tasks for manual industrial workers; and that the amount of routine task content is still high in the four manual occupations studied. Overall, the report highlights how qualitative contextual information can complement existing quantitative data, offering a richer understanding of changes in the content and nature of jobs

Labor Market Patterns Since 2007

[Excerpt] The period since 2007 has been a time of significant change for labor markets. The Great Recession of 2007-2009, the longest and deepest recession since the Great Depression, caused the unemployment rate to briefly reach 10%, and labor markets have subsequently experienced a long and gradual recovery. Most labor force metrics, including the unemployment rate and various other measures of labor force underutilization, have returned to levels that have historically been consistent with full employment

Technical Systems, Organisation Forms and Social Implications: Statistical Analysis of the Firm Survey (Second Interim Report)

This is the second interim report of the research project "Information Society, Work and the Generation of New Forms of Social Exclusion" (SOWING). It is based on a firm survey conducted in the eight regions participating in the research project — Flanders (Belgium), Lazio (Italy), Niederösterreich (Austria), Portugal, the Republic of Ireland, the Stuttgart area (Germany), the Tampere region (Finland) and the West London area (U.K.). The aim of this report is to present a broad overview of the collected data. In general, only simple statistical methods have been applied. The report focuses on a regional comparison; however, the data have also been analysed by firm size, measured by quantity of staff, and industrial sector. It should be seen as a first step in the data analysis; it may also give some hints for a more strategic analysis of the survey data.Information Society; Work;

Space education: Deriving benefits from industrial consortia

As the number of spacefaring nations of the world increases, so does the difficulty of competing in a global economy. The development of high technology products and services for space programs, and the economic exploitation of these technologies for national economic growth, requires professionals versed in both technical and commercial aspects of space. Meeting this requirement academically presents two challenges. On the technical side, enrollment in science and engineering is decreasing in some of the spacefaring nations. From the commerce perspective, very few colleges and universities offer specific courses in space business

Achieving Level 2 BIM by 2016 in the UK

The growth and advantage of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has recently gained momentum in the expanding needs of the construction industry, one that varies across disciplines. The UK government is the largest public stakeholder client that has realized the benefits and advantages of BIM when used in procuring projects. The usage and adoption of BIM in all UK government-procured projects with a Level 2 BIM status will be mandatory by 2016. Will this target be achievable by 2016? This study investigates that possibility. A critical review of the BIM literature was carried out and the evidence based on the government target of 2016. At the current stage, it appears that Level 2 adoption is achievable by 2016 for large construction firms. However, the technology needs to be properly tailored to meet SMEs variables, if the Level 2 status is to be achieved for the entire industry