Exercise as Labour: Quantified Self and the Transformation of Exercise into Labour

The recent increase in the use of digital self-tracking devices has given rise to a range of relations to the self often discussed as quantified self (QS). In popular and academic discourse, this development has been discussed variously as a form of narcissistic self-involvement, an advanced expression of panoptical self-surveillance and a potential new dawn for e-health. This article proposes a previously un-theorised consequence of this large-scale observation and analysis of human behaviour; that exercise activity is in the process of being reconfigured as labour. QS will be briefly introduced, and reflected on, subsequently considering some of its key aspects in relation to how these have so far been interpreted and analysed in academic literature. Secondly, the analysis of scholars of “digital labour” and “immaterial labour” will be considered, which will be discussed in relation to what its analysis of the transformations of work in contemporary advanced capitalism can offer to an interpretation of the promotion and management of the self-tracking of exercise activities. Building on this analysis, it will be proposed that a thermodynamic model of the exploitation of potential energy underlies the interest that corporations have shown in self-tracking and that “gamification” and the promotion of an entrepreneurial selfhood is the ideological frame that informs the strategy through which labour value is extracted without payment. Finally, the potential theoretical and political consequences of these insights will be considered

The influence of organisational culture and organisational control on the diffusion of a management information system

The aim of this thesis is to provide an original interpretative understanding of the role of organisational culture and organisational control on the diffusion of a Management Information Systems (MIS). An extensive literature review has revealed a lack of synthesis between organisational culture and organisational control in the understanding of diffusion of an MIS. The literature review was two-fold: firstly, to examine the impact of organisational culture on IS diffusion and, secondly, to examine the impact of organisational control on IS diffusion. The first stage of the review revealed that there are a number of studies on IS diffusion in relation to culture at the organisational level but a relatively fewer studies at the sub-organisational or subcultural level. The second stage of the review highlights that there is also a significant number of studies that have applied the control concept to investigating phenomena related to IS diffusion, e.g. IT adoptions and IT implementations, but very few have explicitly applied the control concept to IT implementations outcomes, i.e. IT diffusion. The review also suggested that there is scarce empirical research on IS diffusion from the twin perspectives of culture and control. Using an interpretive case study approach, this thesis was able to collect rich data, underpinned by Martin’s (1992) conceptualisation of organisational culture, i.e. integration and differentiation, and Kirsch's (1997) and Ouchi's (1979) conceptualisation of organisational controls. These conceptualisations served as interpretive lenses to unearth the dynamic relationship of the application of formal controls on diverging subcultures during staff interactions and use of an MIS during the adaptation, acceptance and routinization stages of Cooper and Zmud's (1990) IT Implementation Model. The thesis' results highlight a number of contributions to knowledge. Firstly, a contribution is made in the area of IS diffusion research by proposing a conceptual model for IS diffusion. The model offers explanations on how IS diffusion could be achieved despite the existence of diverging subcultures when formal control mechanisms are applied, an implication that suggests that the IS diffusion path may not be smooth and linear but an iterative process. Secondly, a contribution is made in the area of organisational culture and organisational control theories. This thesis' results indicate that during the implementation of an MIS, staffespoused cultural values changed, highlighting that the culture may not be always stable, and difficult to change. The thesis helps re-conceptualise the existing typology on outcome control by indicating that outcome control, which is conceptualised as deliberate and forceful in nature, could also, unlike behaviour control, be exercised in measures that do not need to coerce or be forceful. Further, the thesis highlights that sanctions rather than rewards were more effective in the application of controls during the diffusion attempts of an IS. Finally, the research contributes to knowledge in the area of practice. This study provides insights on how managers may apply organisational controls to align diverging subgroup members' actions towards integrative behaviours during an IS implementation process, therefore facilitating the attainment of successful IS diffusion

Knowledge acquisition in supply chain partnerships: The role of power

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in International Journal of Production Economics. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Knowledge is recognised as an important source of competitive advantage and hence there has been increasing academic and practitioner interest in understanding and isolating the factors that contribute to effective knowledge transfer between supply chain actors. The literature identifies power as a salient contributor to the effective operation of a supply chain partnership. However, there is a paucity of empirical research examining how power among actors influences knowledge acquisition and in turn the performance of supply chain partners. The aim of this research is to address this gap by examining the relationship between power, knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance among the supply chain partners of a focal Chinese steel manufacturer. A structured survey was used to collect the necessary data. Two conceptually independent variables – ‘availability of alternatives’ and ‘restraint in the use of power’ – were used to assess actual and realised power, respectively. Controlling for contingencies, we found that the flow of knowledge increased when supply chain actors had limited alternatives and when the more powerful actor exercised restraint in the use of power. Moreover, we found a positive relationship between knowledge acquisition and supply chain performance. This paper enriches the literature by empirically extending our understanding of how power affects knowledge acquisition and performance

Governance of nonprofit platforms-Onboarding mechanisms for a refugee information platform

The number of refugees arriving in Europe has increased dramatically in 2015. While governments, initiatives, and volunteers have invested substantial effort into supporting refugees, an information deficit impedes the efficacy of this collaboration. Information platforms are used to tackle this information deficit. However, the onboarding process of information providers is a critical challenge for the platforms?overall success. On the basis of observations, interviews with information providers and user experience tests, we drafted a case study describing the governance strategies applied to establish a sustainable onboarding of information providers on a nonprofit information platform for refugees. Contributing to recent literature on platform governance, our results show that governance mechanisms are implemented differently for nonprofit platform ecosystems than for commercial platform ecosystems. Building on our results, we provide practical implications by deriving a platform governance strategy that supports a sustainable onboarding of information providers

It’s #PrisonAbolition Until the Bad Guys Show Up: Conflicting Discourses on Twitter about Carceral Networks in 2020

“Twitter Revolutions” in Iran, Tunisia, Egypt, and Moldova illustrate social media’s capacity to mobilize citizens in uprooting systems of injustice. As non-democratic regimes, these “Twitter Revolutions” offer insight into how Twitter’s microblogging, hashtags, and global user connections help broker relations between activists hoping to challenge the government. However, this thesis focuses on the democratic regime of the US and how Twitter plays a role in aiding the prison abolition movement in their effort to dismantle carceral networks that inflict racial and political violence on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and People of Color. The thesis outlines how, under the US’ classification as a democracy, the US utilizes infrastructural power to coerce American citizens into accepting carceral networks of violence as essential institutions to maintain civil society. The following sections explain the abolitionist movement’s history of attempting to dismantle the discrete formal and informal institutions of political violence, and includes the complicating development of liberal-progressive reformism that attempts to co-opt the goals of the abolition movement. The thesis focuses on the Twitter hashtag #PrisonAbolition in 2020 to explore how American Twitter users perceive the US carceral state and the prison abolition movement. The research concludes that #PrisonAbolition does not currently possess the capacity to evolve into the social mobilization seen in the “Twitter Revolutions” of non-democratic regimes because the US’ infrastructural power effectively engrained into the minds of Americans that prisons protect civil society. However, the tweets still show a promising development as American Twitter users become more engaged in abolitionist conversations

ICTs as Challenges to Enacting IS Project Control: An Interpretive Case Study of an ERP Implementation

This study investigates challenges posed by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the enactment of Information Systems (IS) project control. Using the control perspective developed by the sociologist John Law, we conducted an interpretive study of an Enterprise Resource Planning System implementation at a large public university system. From our investigation, four salient insights emerge. These insights are accompanied by corresponding assertions that demonstrate how ICTs, through varied forms of involvement, may challenge IS project control enactment. We integrate these insights for deeper illumination and conclude with contributions and implications of this study

Technology-mediated Control: Case Examples and Research Directions for the Future of Organizational Control

This study explores the emerging topic of technology-mediated control (TMC), which refers to an organization’s using digital technologies to influence workers to behave in a manner consistent with organizational objectives. The popular press has discussed many mobile apps, digital sensors, software algorithms, and other technologies that support, or automate, managerial control processes. Building on the rich history of research on organizational and information systems (IS) control and on ubiquitous technology, we explore how TMC approaches have increasingly begun to replace traditional, face-to-face control relationships. In particular, we analyze four illustrative case examples (UPS, Uber, Rationalizer, and Humanyze) to propose a detailed research agenda for future study in this important new topic area

Contesting Hydropower Dams in the Eastern Himalaya: The Cultural Politics of Identity, Territory and Self-Governance Institutions in Sikkim, India

In India’s Eastern Himalayan State of Sikkim, the indigenous Bhutia communities, Lachungpas and Lachenpas, successfully contested all proposed hydropower projects and have managed to sustain an anti-dam opposition in their home regions, Lachung and Lachen. In this paper, we discuss this remarkable, un-researched, effective collective action against hydropower development, examining how identity and territory influence collective action through production, creation and application of vernacular knowledge systems. The role of the Dzumsa, a prevailing traditional system of self-governance among the Lachungpas and Lachenpas, has been central in their collective resistance against large dams in Lachung and Lachen. Our findings show that contrary to popular imageries, the Dzumsa is neither an egalitarian nor a democratic institution—rather, it is an exercise of an “agonistic unity”. The Dzumsas operate as complex collectives, which serve to politicize identity, decision-making and place-based territoriality in their struggle against internal and external threats. Principles of a “vernacular statecraft” helped bringing the local communities together in imperfect unions to oppose modernist designs of hydropower development. However, while such vernacular institutions were able to construct a powerful local adversary to neoliberal agendas, they also pose high social, political and emotional risks to the few within the community, who chose not to align with the normative principles of the collective

The Reinforcing Effects of Formal Control Enactment in Complex IT Projects

Complex IT projects pose particular challenges for the application of control, because of the dynamism and uncertainty involved. Prior studies suggest self-control can complement formal control within complex projects. However, how managers can enact controlee self-control remains an unsolved question. This paper proposes and investigates how enacted formal control unfolds during the course of an IT project and, in particular, how formal control enactment can promote or hinder controlee self-control. We demonstrate through case studies of a control in two wireless communication product development projects that an enabling control style can induce controlees to act to the benefit of both the controller and the controlee, while an authoritative control style encourages controlees’ self-interested behavior. We also show how controlees influence the enactment of control within complex projects and demonstrate the reinforcing effects of the controller’s enactment and controlee response on project outcomes. For practice, this research identifies preconditions necessary for inducing controlee self-control