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
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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
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Approved: skyler@violet.berkeley.edu (Moderator -- Trish Roberts)
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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]