1st Global Conference: The Value of Work

1st Global Conference
The Value of Work

Friday 5th November ? Sunday 7th November 2010
Prague, Czech Republic

Call for Papers
This conference aims to bring together people from
a wide range of disciplines, professions and
vocations to focus on a fundamental aspect of
human life: work.

Work has pervasive influence on human life. Where
we live, how we live, how we learn and see the
world is strongly shaped by the work we do.
Since the industrial revolution some of the
expected benefits of the implementation of
technology, and contemporary management have not been
realised.

While working hours are generally not what they
were in the Industrial revolution, actual working
hours for many people have not decreased in
the last 10-15 years. This is because many people
work more than their formally specified hours in
order to meet their job requirements. A
common feature of contemporary management is an
ongoing expectation of 'doing more with less'.
This means many people are working at an
increased pace of work, and or are working longer.

The shift from more coercive and authoritarian to
management to 'self policing' where workers
individually and collectively internalise
responsibility for their work can lead workers to
be overly preoccupied with work. Work concerns may
play on peoples minds 24/7. Work may also
have detrimental effects on family, our social and
national culture, and global cultures.

This conference seeks to gain understanding of the
nature work and the specific nature of its
impacts. It is also seeks perspectives and
understanding that break from the logic of how
work is often done. In particular what are the
possibilities of work that contributes to human
flourishing?

Papers, workshops and presentations are invited on
any of the following themes:

1. Understanding Work
~ defining 'work'
~ understanding work;
~ the historical development of 'work'; its social
and cultural integration
~ new definitions of 'work'

2. The Evolution of Work
~ the incessant rise of work
~ work and the workplace: shifting contexts and
the spread of work
~ home working
~ over valuing work

3. Harmful Work
~ work and life: blurring the boundaries; where
does work begin and end?
~ the impact on home life, personal life, social
life; the impact on relationships
~ work and the quality of life; the impact on health
~ the rise and impact of work associated
technologies: mobile phones, computing, wireless
networks

4. Flourishing Work
~ What is the nature of work that people look
forward to, rather than dread? Is such work merely
an ideal or can it play a greater role in
contemporary life?
~ What can be said about work which is life
affirming, enriching, and enhancing? How can we
understand work which is full of passion, joy, and
spirit, and how might it be encouraged?
~ Can there be greater opportunities for personal
mastery through work?
If so what examples can be given?
~ How can we understand work which encourages
friendships, collaboration, and fosters social
capital, and personal recognition?

5. Regaining Fair and Valuable Work
~ Can we learn from work that done in the past,
even the distant past?
~ Can we identify and understand historical forms
of work that may still be valuable to us? Can any
of these be translated and applied to the
contemporary world?
~ How can an understanding the concept of fairness
help encourage fair employment, working conditions
and workplaces.
~ exemplary work practice

6. Portrayals of Work
~ representations of work in tv, film, theatre and
literature
~ media and work
~ work, art and music
~ how may any or all forms of representation help
to emancipate work?

7. Exemplary Workers
~ With a lot of contemporary work being highly
standardised, regulated and controlled, what
wisdoms can exemplary workers provide? What do
exemplary persons reveal about what work can be.

The Steering Group particularly welcomes the
submission of pre-formed panel proposals. Papers
will also be considered on any related theme.
300 word abstracts should be submitted by Friday
28th May 2010. If an abstract is accepted for the
conference, a full draft paper should be
submitted by Friday 24th September 2010.

300 word abstracts should be submitted
simultaneously to both Organising Chairs;
abstracts may be in Word, WordPerfect, or RTF
formats with the following information and in this
order:

a) author(s), b) affiliation, c) email address, d)
title of abstract, e) body of abstract.

Please use plain text (Times Roman 12) and abstain
from using footnotes and any special formatting,
characters or emphasis (such as bold,
italics or underline). We acknowledge receipt and
answer to all paper proposals submitted. If you do
not receive a reply from us in a week you
should assume we did not receive your proposal; it
might be lost in cyberspace! We suggest, then, to
look for an alternative electronic route or resend.

Organising Chairs:

Paul James
Project Leader, IP Australia
Australia
E-mail: [email protected]

Rob Fisher
Network Founder and Leader,Inter-Disciplinary.Net,
Freeland, Oxfordshire,
United Kingdom
E-mail: [email protected]

The conference is part of the Critical Issues
programme of research projects. It aims to bring
together people from different areas and
interests to share ideas and explore various
discussions which are innovative and exciting. All
papers accepted for and presented at the
conference will be eligible for publication in an
ISBN eBook.  Selected papers may be developed for
publication in a themed hard copy volume(s).

For further details about the project please visit:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/ethos/the-value-of-work/

For further details about the conference please visit:
http://www.inter-disciplinary.net/critical-issues/ethos/the-value-of-work/call-for-papers/
Sponsored by: Inter-Disciplinary.Net