The Dynamics of Virtual Work

Ros Gill and CCI visiting fellow Dana Kaplan were in Peniche, Portugal

last week at the 5th meeting of the EU COST Action on virtual work. Famous

for its surf and its sardine canning factories, Peniche was host to around

50 scholars debating how working lives, labour relations, and political

action are being transformed by the internet. Highlights included Mark

Banks’ keynote about “Being in the Zone”, Greig de Peuter’s talk about

resistance among cultural workers and Dana’s electrifying closing session

on recreational sex and creative workers. We unfortunately experienced

rather too much of the freezing sea fog in this legendary micro-climate,

but things were kept warm with some hauntingly beautiful Fado from our

local host Fernando.