Information Society Watch

2006, Sean O' Riain, Studies in Comparative International Development

This article examines the conditions under which firms in different economies were able to emerge as significant actors in the global computer industry during different time periods. To achieve this, the article divides the industry in terms of the three major policy regimes that have supported the dominant firms and regions. It argues that these policy regimes can be thought of as state developmentalisms that take significantly different forms across the history of the industry. Finally, the conditions under which new regimes can emerge are a consequence of the unanticipated global consequences of previous regimes.

May 26, 2006, Ernesto Noronha, Premilla D’Cruz, Economic and Political Weekly

Organisations in the information technology enabled services sector have been very successful in using exclusivist and inclusivist strategies to keep unions at bay. The objective of this article is to illustrate how these strategies play out in call centres in India.

2005, Giancarlo Nuti Stefanuto & Sergio Salles-Filho

The purpose of this study was to carry out a preliminary survey of the technical and economic organisation of the use of free software and open source (FS/OS) in Brazil. Integral to this objective was: an identification of the main markets and business models related to FS/OS; a survey of FS/OS capabilities within the country (developers, specialised companies, etc.); consumer and user surveys; identification of the appropriability conditions involved in FS/OS; and other supplementary assets which are essential for FS/OS development and use.

November 19, 2006, BBC News Service

A recent study by the Acoustic Safety Programme, an independent body which aims to protect the hearing of call centre workers, points to the fact that call centre staff are at risk of some form of hearing impairment due to noise related hazards. The body said that two thirds of UK call centres fail to protect their workers against hearing damage from noise.

October 2004, Casey O' Donnell, First Monday

The controversy surrounding the "off–shoring" of IT jobs from the United States to other countries, in particular to India, has become a focal point in American political discourse and has been widely represented in the media. Disturbingly, little attention has been paid to this occurrence beyond its implications for American employment opportunities.

October 5, 2006, The Economist

A report on the state of the technology industry, released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), shows two significant shifts.