Unit:
Department of History and Philosophy of ScienceLibrary of the School of Science
Author:
Panagopoulos Alexandros
Dissertation committee:
Τέλης Τύμπας, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών (επιβλέπων)
Χρήστος Παπαθεοδώρου, Καθηγητής Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών (μέλος τριμελούς επιτροπής)
Θεόδωρος Αραμπατζής, Καθηγητής Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών (μέλος τριμελούς επιτροπής)
Σταύρος Δρακόπουλος, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Φιλοσοφίας της Επιστήμης, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών (μέλος)
Γιάννης Κουζής, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Κοινωνικής Πολιτικής, Πάντειο Πανεπιστήμιο (μέλος)
Λήδα Παπαστεφανάκη, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, Πανεπιστήμιο Ιωαννίνων (μέλος)
Μαρία Ρούσσου, Επίκουρη Καθηγήτρια, Τμήμα Πληροφορικής και Τηλεπικοινωνιών, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών (μέλος)
Original Title:
Αόρατη Εργασία και Τεχνολογία σε Έργα Ψηφιοποίησης στην Ελλάδα, 2004-2020
Translated title:
Invisible Labor and Technology in Digitization Projects in Greece, 2004-2020
Summary:
The purpose of the research is to highlight the invisible work required to transform an analog technical information infrastructure into a digital one. The main idea behind this lies in the finding that hegemonic discourse around 'smart' machines, digitality and digital transformation of the last twenty years is not neutral and is being used, among other things, to devalue human labour. Using theoretical tools and methodological models from the History of Technology and Science and Technology Studies (Science, Technology, Society) – in particular the technology-in-use perspective – the study focuses on the work chain designed and implemented in three digitization projects in the period 2004-2020 in Greece: i) Digitization of the newspaper archive of the Library of the Hellenic Parliament (2004-2008) ii) Digitization of archives of the EUROPOL, INTERPOL and S.I.Re.NE departments. of the Directorate of International Police Cooperation (D.D.A.S.) (2019-2020) and iii) Digitization of graduate theses and master's and doctoral theses of the Library of the University of Thessaly (2014-2015). Dozens of workers of different specialties were employed in these projects, but whose demanding, painstaking and creative work remained invisible both to the end users of the digital archive and to those responsible for the digitization process themselves since in order to deal with the problems that arose during the implementation of projects employees used their imagination, creativity and ingenuity, elements that went far beyond the scope of their predetermined tasks. This creative work, however, was not recognized by the employers as such either in terms of remuneration or in terms of improving the service provided despite the fact that it was the determining factor in the completion of the projects. At the same time, the research highlights the characteristics of a workforce employed in the field of archival information, a workforce of cheap, mainly young and female, temporary employment for the most part and which is closely linked to the precarious work landscape of recent years while registering in the context of limited human intervention in relation to modern digital technologies. The blinding brilliance and "gifts" of the technical arrangement around solving problems and improving the quality of life are used to obscure the human factor, and as it is projected and overemphasized respectively, human work is degraded and devalued.
Main subject category:
Science
Keywords:
technology, labour, invisible labour, digital-analog, Information and Communication Technologies
Number of references:
132
