Mobile work case study

Posted on | March 17, 2009 | No Comments

Now I’m in London I’m trying to get back to writing. I’ve recently put a book proposal together for the Working From Home project and set myself a fairly strict writing regime to try to get it done with or without a publisher. Hotel rooms in expensive cities are good for these kinds of crazy schemes, I figure. Along the way I’m using this trip to test out and refine a lot of the main ideas in a series of talks outlined below. I would welcome anyone interested in coming along.

In contrast to these academic talks I hope the book version can be picked up by a local trade publisher, because my sense is the issues raised in the interviews over the past few years are in need of further public debate (I suppose I’m also quite unfashionable in the sense that I think ARC funded research should actually make every effort to make itself relevant to the people who pay for it.) The material I’ve gathered gives insight into people’s thoughts on everything from professional ettiquette to personal relationships, including changes in leisure practices, information overload, internet addiction (in adults and kids)… as well as broader issues about job security. I’m on the look out for editors and agents who might agree with all this too, so if you are in any way placed to help, I’d appreciate any advice.

Here’s the somewhat scary schedule:

Wednesday, 18th March 12.00pm Research Institute for Media, Art & Design, University of Bedfordshire

“Long hours, high bandwith: Online culture, intimacy and the new world of work”

Thursday, 19th March 5.00pm Centre for the Study of Global Media and Democracy, Goldsmiths College Main Building RHB 309

“Social networking sites, neoliberalism and online culture”

Wednesday, 25th March 4.15pm Houldsworth seminar room, Institute of Communication Studies and the Media Industries Research Centre, University of Leeds

“Function creep: Communication technologies and anticipatory labour in the information workplace”

Tuesday, 31st March Living Cultures – Contemporary Ethnographies of Culture Conference, University of Leeds

“Questions of method in white collar ethnography”

Wednesday, 1st April Cultural work and Creative Biographies Symposium, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes

“Uncreative Workplaces”

Category: Research, Travel, Work

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