ITinEducation_SociologicalPerspective

1、IT in Education: Sociological PerspectiveThe Economic Consequences IT Development: The Coming of Informational-Global CapitalismWing-kwong TsangHo Tim Bldg. Room 416; Ext. 6922; wktsang.hk; .hk/wktsangThe Advent of Informational-Global Economy and the End of Capitalism? Statement of the ProblemThe p

2、roponents:Bill Gates thesis of Friction-Free CapitalismPeter Druckers thesis of Post-Capitalist SocietyIndustrial revolution: Knowledge applied tools, process, and productsProductivity revolution: Knowledge applied to workManagement revolution: Knowledge applied to knowledgeThe Advent of Information

3、al-Global Economy and the End of Capitalism? Statement of the ProblemThe opponents: Another stage, if not the highest stage, of capitalism Historical outline of the development of capitalism Mercantile capitalism: 1500-1800Industrial capitalism: 1800-1940Organized capitalism: 1950-1970FordismWelfare

4、-state corporatismInformational-global capitalismExplication of Basic Conceptual ToolsCapitalism: As a mode of production characterized by the following features:Domination of capital over other means of production, including laborLabor power is bought and sold by money wagesProduction for sale rath

5、er than for own use; production for exchange value rather use valueCommoditfication as the primary cyclical dynamics of the mode of production: MCPCM, i.e. Money capital Commodity (i.e. labor and the means of production) Production Commodity (products) MoneyCompetition among capitalistExplication of

6、 Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming global and process of globalizationDavid Harvey (1989): In The Condition of Postmodernity he defined it as a process of time-space compression, “an overwhelming sense of compression of our spatial and temporal world.” (1989, P.240) Anthony Giddens (1994): In The Conse

7、quences of Modernity he defines that “Globalization is really about the transformation of space and time. I would define it as action at distance, and relate its growth over recent years to the development of means of instantaneous global communication and mass transportation.” (1994, p. 22)Explicat

8、ion of Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming Global and process of globalizationZygmunt Bauman (1998): Globalization as “annulment of temporal/spatial distances” (1998, p.18). Manuel Castells (1996): In The Network Society he defines globalization as a separation of simultaneous social practice from physic

9、al contiguity and the transformation the traditional notion of space of places to space of flows. Explication of Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996) In connection with the development Information Technology (IT) in the last three deca

10、des of the 20th century, Castells (1997) characterize changes as The Rise of Networkwork Society and the constitution of the IT paradigm. And the definitive features of the IT paradigm and the logic of IT network, according to Castells, can be characterized as follows.Explication of Basic Conceptual

11、 ToolsBecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996)Central position of information in production: It replaces land and natural resources in pre-industrial society and capital in industrial society to become the primary factor of production in the value production pr

12、ocess.In industrial society, it is information and knowledge acting on technology, which triggered the industrial revolution; but in informational society, it is technology acting on information that revokes technological breakthrough. As a result, technology to act on information has replaced the t

13、echnology on natural materials and energy to become the major driving force for advancement and competitions. Explication of Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996)Pervasiveness of IT: because information and knowledge are integral part o

14、f human activities and modern IT has provided such a penetrating capacities to almost every aspects of human activities, IT has pervaded into every corner of informational society.Explication of Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996)Cons

15、titution of network logic: “The Atom is the past. The symbol of science for the next century is the dynamical Net Whereas the Atom represents clean simplicity, the Net channels the messy power of complexity. The only organization capable of nonprejudiced growth, or unguided learning is a network. Al

16、l other typologies limited what can happen. A network swarm is all edges and therefore open-ended any way you come at it. Indeed, the network is the least structured organization that can be said to have any structure at all. In fact a plurality of truly divergent components can only remain coherent

17、 in a network. No other arrangement chain, pyramid, tree, circle, hub can contain true diversity work as a whole.” (Kelly, 1995, p.25-27 quoted in Castells, 19976, note71, p. 61-62)Explication of Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996)Con

18、stitution of network logic: “Network can now be materially implemented, in all kinds of processes, and organizations, by newly available information technologies. Without them, the networking logic would be too cumbersome to implement. Yet this networking logic is needed to structure the unstructure

19、d while preserving flexibaility, since the unstructured is the driving force of innovation in human activity” (Castells, 1996, p. 62)Explication of Basic Conceptual ToolsBecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996)Flexibility: The fluid structure of the network and

20、 its IT basis provide the network with high degree of modifiabity, reversibility, and reconfigurability. In one word, flexibility has become one of the definitive features of IT network.By flexibility, it refers to the state of affairs in which “not only processes are reversible, but organizations a

21、nd institutions can be modified, and even fundamentally altered, by rearrangeing their components. What is distinctive to the configuration of the new technological paradigm is its ability to reconfigure, a decisive feature in a society characterized by constant change and organizational fluidity. .

22、Flexibility could be a liberating force, but also a repressive tendency if the rewriters of rules are always the powers that be. As Mulgan wrote: Networks are created not just to communicate, but also to gain position, to outcommunicate.” (Castells, 1996, p. 62)Explication of Basic Conceptual ToolsB

23、ecoming informational and the information Technology Paradigm (Castells, 1996)Convergence: Built on the above-mentioned features of IT network, the network also equips with high degree of compatibility and convergeability, with other systems.Changes in the Regulative Regime of Capitalism Forms of re

24、gulation and control over the labor processPhysical or simple controlBureaucratic controlRationalization of division of labor and delegation of authorityFormalization of procedures and standardsBureaucratization of responsible autonomyTechnical control: FordismFragmentation of workDeskilling of work

25、Intensification of workMonopoly over knowledge and information of the labor processChanges in the Regulative Regime of Capitalism Forms of regulation and control over the labor processInformational-global control: Neo-Fordism and Post-FordismInformational-network monitor and controlFlexible division

26、 of labor and multi-functional workersInvolvement of workers and emphasis on multi-functional specialization and teamwork: Quality circlesTotal Quality Control (TQC) model: Assumption of five zeros (zero defect in the parts, zero mischief in the machines, zero inventory, zero delay, and zero paperwo

27、rk)Source: Brown & Lauder, 1997, P. 175.The constitution of the informational-global economyConstitution of global division of laborProducers of high value, based on informational laborProducers of high volume, based on low-cost laborProducers of raw materials, based on natural endowmentRedundant pr

28、oducers The constitution of the informational-global economyConstitution of global production network: Microelectronic and computer as examplesR&D, innovation, and prototype fabrication in “Technopolis”Skilled fabrication in branch plants in newly industrializing areas in core countriesSemi-skilled,

29、 large-scale assembly and testing work in offshore newly industrialized countriesCustomization of device and aftersales maintenance and support in regional centers throughout the globeThe constitution of the informational-global economyConstitution of global finance network: Capital and information

30、flows around the globe via hubs and nodes, i.e. international financial centers Constitution of global distribution of consumer goods and servicesThe constitution of the informational-global economyThe constitution of the Informational-global capitalism: “It is informational because the productivity

31、 and competitiveness of units or agents in this economy (be it firms, regions, or nations) fundamentally depend upon their capacity to generate, process, and apply efficiently knowledge-based information. It is global because the core activities of production, consumption, and circulation, as well a

32、s their components (capital, labor, raw materials, management, information, technology, markets) are organized on a global scale either directly or through network of linkages between economic agents.” (Castells, 1996, p. 66) It is an economic system “based on the capacity of IT to be able to work a

33、s a unit in real time on a planetary scale.” (Castells, 1996, p.92)The Constitution of the Network EnterpriseInternal organization form of network enterprise: Horizontal corporation Flexible specification replacing rigid division of labor in bureaucratic FordismFlat and networked hierarchyTeam manag

34、ementAutonomous but accountable teamwork and/or quality circleMeasuring performance by customer satisfactionReward based on team performanceMaximization of contact with suppliers and customers, and swift responses to feedbacks in retool or even reengineerInformation, training and retaining of worker

35、sThe Constitution of the Network EnterpriseExternal organization of network enterpriseMultidirectional networking with small and medium business Licensing-subcontractingCorporate strategic allianceThe Constitution of the Network EnterpriseManuel Castells characterizes network enterprise as “specific

36、 form of enterprise whose system of means is constituted by the intersection of segments of autonomous system of goals. Thus, the components of the network are both autonomous and dependent vis-a-vis the network. The performance of given network will then depend on two fundamental attributes to the

37、network: its connectedness, that is its structural ability to facilitate noise-free communication between its components; its consistency, that is the extent to which there is sharing of interests between the networks goals and the goals of its components.” (1996, p.171) The Transformation of Work a

38、nd EmploymentDecentralization of Work “The restructuring of firms and organizations, allowed by information technology and stimulated by global competition, is ushering in a fundamental transformation of work: the individualization of labor in the labor process. The new social and economic organizat

39、ion based on information technologies aims at decentralization management, individualizing work, and customizing markets, thereby segmenting work and fragmenting societies. New information technologies allow at the same time for the decentralization of work tasks and for their coordination in an int

40、eractive network of communication in real time, be it between continents or between floors of the same building. The emergence of lean business practices of methods goes hand in hand with widespread business practices of subcontracting, outsourcing, offshoring, consulting, downsizing, and customizin

41、g.” (Castells, 1996, p. 265) The Transformation of Work and EmploymentDebate on Jobless societyAutomation and computerization will cause rise of unemployment and even a “jobless future (Aronwitz & DiFazio, 1994)Carnoy (2000) and Castells (1996) argue that the jobless thesis is to simplified and misl

42、eading. The Transformation of Work and EmploymentDebate on Jobless societyCastells (1996, p. 228-9) characterize the transformation of employment and occupational structure as follows The phasing out of agricultural employmentThe steady decline of traditional manufacturing employmentThe rise of both

43、 producer services and social services, with the emphasis on business service in the first category, and health services in the second groupThe increasing diversification of service activities as sources of jobsThe rapid rise of managerial, professional, and technical jobsThe Transformation of Work

44、and EmploymentThe transformation of work and employment: Debate on Jobless societyCastells (1996, p. 228-9) characterize the transformation of employment and occupational structure as follows The formation of a “white-collar” proletariat, made up of clerical and sales workersThe relative stability o

45、f a substantial share of employment in retail tradeThe simultaneous increase of the upper and lower levels of the occupational structureThe relative upgrading of the occupational structure over time, with an increasing share of those occupations that require higher skills and advanced education prop

46、ortionally higher than the increase of the lower-level categories The Transformation of Work and EmploymentThe hypothesis of two different informational models The “Service Economy Model” of the US, UK and CanadaThe “Industrial Production Model” of Japan and GermanyThe Transformation of Work and Emp

47、loymentThe rise of Netwrokers and FlextimersThe New division of labor in network enterprise has transformed “work” in the following waysValue-making: It refers to the actual task performed in a given work processThe commandersThe researchersThe designersThe integratorsThe operatorsThe operatedThe Tr

48、ansformation of Work and EmploymentThe rise of Netwrokers and FlextimersThe New division of labor in network enterprise has transformed “work” in the following waysRelation-making: It refers to the relationship between a given organization and its environment, including other organizationsThe networ

49、kersThe networkedThe switched-offThe Transformation of Work and EmploymentThe rise of Netwrokers and FlextimersThe New division of labor in network enterprise has transformed “work” in the following waysDecision-making: It refers to the relationship between managers and employees in a given organiza

50、tionThe decidersThe participantThe executants The Transformation of Work and EmploymentFlexibility of work changes important elements of work in the following four ways (Carnoy, 2000, p. 74)The notion of time: Flexible work means less employed time than a thrity-five- or forty-hour per week full-yea

51、r jobThe notion of permanency: Flexible work is based explicitly on a fixed-term contract with no commitment for future employmentThe notion of location: Although the vast majority of workers still work at business sites, increasing numbers of independent contractors work not on-site but in their ho

52、mesThe notion of social contract between employer and employee: the traditional contract based on reciprocal rights, protections, and obligation is rapidly relinquishing. The Transformation of the Class Relation in Informational-Global or Late Capitalism Globalization and denationalization of class

53、relation in capitalismIn informational-global capitalism, bourgeoisie as a class are no longer restrained by borders of nation state. They and their production lines are practically globally mobile.Proletariat or more general wage laborers are pit-downed by national borders or even local communities

54、. Antagonistic class relations, not to mention class struggles, are practically unable to constitute. The Transformation of the Class Relation in Informational-Global or Late Capitalism Globalization and polarization of class situations among wage labor: As Robert B. Reich underlines, globalization

55、does not only insert relegating effect on working class in general but also insert elevating or upward mobility on the upper-strata of the knowledge class, in Reichs own term symbolic analysts. It is because knowledge or skills possess by symbolic analysts are now put onto the global market for sale

56、. As a result, any knowledge and skills that of really profitable or marketable will be auctioned globally. That explains “why the rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer.” (Reich, 1996) The Transformation of the Class Relation in Informational-Global or Late Capitalism Structural changes in th

57、e class structure of the late-capitalist society The emergence of the “New Classes”The emergence of the managerial class in private sector: As (i) corporate ownerships are transformed into shareholderships and (ii) ownerships of means of production are further divided into legal/nominal shareholders

58、hip and the managerial power control over use of means of production in actual production process; there constitutes a class of managers who are employees and yet have direct control over the process of production in private sector.The emergence of the class of technocrat and bureaucrat in public se

59、ctor: As state apparatuses expand, employees who manage the technocratic and bureaucratic know-how of governmental and public agencies increase substantially. The Transformation of the Class Relation in Informational-Global or Late Capitalism The emergence of the knowledge class: As information tech

60、nology spreads and knowledge production replaces manufacturing industries to become the core section of wealth accumulation in knowledge economy, there emerges a new class of know as “symbolic analysts” (coined by Robert B. Reich). The employments of the symbolic analysts may include scientists and