Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!agate!LAURA@VX.LCS.MIT.EDU From: LAURA@VX.LCS.MIT.EDU (Laura Bagnall) Newsgroups: comp.society.women Subject: Electronic sweatshops Message-ID: <11255@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: 22 Jun 88 16:24:00 GMT Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU Lines: 54 Approved: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu (Moderator -- Trish Roberts) Comments-to: comp-women-request@cs.purdue.edu Submissions-to: comp-women@cs.purdue.edu Ummm, I remember hearing an interview with someone who I think is the author of the book that Eugene is referring to on the Fresh Air interview program on National Public Radio (an EXCELLENT program, BTW). Unfortunately, I can't remember the author's name (it was a woman) or the title of the book, although the interview was in the past few weeks. However, I do remember being impressed by the interview. A couple of details that come to mind are: * data entry shops where people are monitored electronically according to their keystroke rate per hour, and reprimanded if it drops for some reason. This leads to people being afraid to chat even briefly with their neighbours, and general feelings of paranoia. * airline reservation agents who have detailed scripts that they follow, and if the information you are requesting doesn't fit into those scripts, then they follow them anyway. Their phone calls are also monitored. This often leads to the customer feeling like they're talking to a computer instead of a person, and probably the agent feeling like an automaton as well. I believe the book relates to women in that most of these sweatshop jobs are filled by women. The next time I'm in my favorite bookstore, where the person at the information desk can tell you anything about any book given very vague information, I'll try to find out more about the book. I'm sending this message to comp-women-request instead of just com-women because my information is so vague. However, feel free to post it to the newsgroup if you feel it is relevant. Laura D. Bagnall 617-253-2621 UUCP: {harvard|rutgers|seismo}!mit-eddie!mit-vax!laura ARPA: laura@vx.lcs.mit.edu BITNET: laura%vx.lcs.mit.edu@MITVMA.MIT.EDU MIT Lab for Computer Science,545 Technology Sq., NE43-232,Cambridge,MA 02139 Article 19 in comp.society.women: From: eugene@eos.arc.nasa.gov (Eugene Miya) Subject: Electronic sweatshops Message-ID: <11233@agate.BERKELEY.EDU> Date: 21 Jun 88 19:02:55 GMT Sender: usenet@agate.BERKELEY.EDU Lines: 7 Approved: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu (Moderator -- Trish Roberts) Comments-to: comp-women-request@cs.purdue.edu Submissions-to: comp-women@cs.purdue.edu There is a new book out with this in the title. --eugene miya [Has anyone out there read it? What is the argument? Is it persuasive? How does it relate to women? TR]