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Computers in the Workplace
Computers in the Workplace (initiated by the CPSR/Palo Alto chapter) became a national level project in 1988. The Participatory Design conferences have explored workplace issues since the conference's inception in 1992.
Since then, changes in how work gets done, who does it, and where, have dramatically altered the landscape of work and working life. Trends such as outsourcing and the use of contract and temporary workers have become prevalent while the promise of telecommuting has so far proven to be more hype than substance. Increasingly, workers face the prospect of electronically-monitored workplaces, work which is rigidly automated, jobs which lack security or benefits--or no work at all.
On this page:
News
Right now, no new information. If you have something to contribute on this subject, please see our page on How members can contribute content and/or contact webmaster (a) cpsr.org.
The Future of Work
- Outsourcing High-Tech Jobs: Why benign neglect isn't working.
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Created on May 16, 2005.
And why we should care. The hard facts about outsourcing and the need for new policies. Examined from the IT worker's point of view, both in the U.S. and globally, and with a look at dangers that undermine world prosperity and stability. By Nancy Brigham. May, 2005
- Outsourcing High-Tech Jobs: Why benign neglect isn’t working
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Created on May 16, 2005.
And why we should care. This is the pdf version you can download. It is 317k. By Nancy Brigham. May, 2005
- China’s Progress in Technological Competitiveness
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Created on May 08, 2005.
This extensively researched and sobering report by Michael Pillsbury was released on April 21, 2005 by the US China Economic and Security Review Commission. It calls for a new assessment of China's startling advances in high technology, and shows how the government nurtured those advances. This is contrasted with current cuts in U.S. support for basic research and science education, and the debate that surrounds those cuts.
Job Design
- Participatory Design
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Created on May 03, 2005.
The Participatory Design conferences have explored workplace issues since the conference's inception in 1992. Participatory Design (PD) is an approach to the assessment, design, and development of technological and organizational systems that places a premium on the active involvement of workplace practitioners (usually potential or current users of the system) in design and decision-making processes.
Workplace Rights
Right now, no new information. If you have something to contribute on this subject, please see our page on How members can contribute content and/or contact webmaster (a) cpsr.org.
Work-related Information from the CPSR Archives
- CPSR Resources
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Created on May 06, 2005.
Sample Email and Voicemail Policy recommendations for businesses, CPU: Working in the Computer Industry - A periodic online newsletter, Work, Health & Safety - Computer & Information Technologies Platform - CPSR/Berkeley chapter, 1992 (includes 1996 updates), and list of CPSR publications. Also links to CPSR Conference: "Net Worth, Net Work Technology & Values for a Digital Age." held in Berkeley CA, October 1997.
- Other Resources on Workplace Issues
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Created on May 06, 2005.
Links include Privacy issues such as Electonic Monitoring of employees, Employment background checks and Confidential Employee Data; Labor and worker advocacy; Health issues; and Telecommuting.
- CPSR Publications & Suggested Reading
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Created on May 05, 2005.
Publications on Computers in the Workplace, Participatory Design, and/or Working in the Industry