Joyce, S, Umney, C orcid.org/0000-0001-5757-920X, Whittaker, X et al. (1 more author) (2023) New social relations of digital technology and the future of work: beyond technological determinism. New Technology, Work and Employment, 38 (2). pp. 145-161. ISSN 0268-1072
Abstract
This introduction sets out the context for the Special Issue and offers an in-depth reflection on key themes addressed by our contributors. The Special Issue aims to place the social relations of production at the centre of debates about technology and the future of work, and create space for greater critical reflection on what it means to go ‘beyond technological determinism’. We identify ways in which aspects of technological determinism continue to influence debates on technology, the labour process and industrial relations, despite efforts to reject it. We argue that this influence is manifested in some persistent problems within the literature including overly rigid periodisations (such as ‘platform capitalism’), a narrow conceptual repertoire (which reifies notions like ‘algorithmic control’) and a constricted empirical focus. We elucidate the value of a social shaping of technology (SST) approach to overcome these challenges and provide a brief overview of the articles contained within the issue.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. New Technology, Work and Employment published by Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | industrial relations; social shaping of technology; technological determinism; technology; work and employment |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Business (Leeds) > Work and Employment Relation Division (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council) ES/S012532/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 20 Jun 2023 10:55 |
Last Modified: | 19 Jul 2023 14:27 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/ntwe.12276 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:200483 |