KIT-Logo Bettina-Johanna Krings (Hrsg.)

Brain Drain or Brain Gain?
Changes of work in knowledge-based societies.

Berlin: edition sigma 2011 (Gesellschaft – Technik – Umwelt, Neue Folge 14), ISBN 978-3-89404-944-7, 338 Seiten, engl. Broschüre, Euro 24.90
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Preface

Titelbild

The probably most prominent and also most controversial hypothesis for the description of knowledge societies is based on the empirical observation that "knowledge", "science", and "technology" as productive forces are of increasing relevance, while the importance of the classic productive forces work and property (capital) is decreasing in "post-industrial societies" (Bell). This was first observed in the development of the American society in the early 1960s. Two decades later, similar trends were also noticed in Europe - especially in Western European countries -, leading to a discussion of structural change in capitalist countries.

Without a doubt, the developments of Western national economies over the last decades vehemently point to the changes in structure and dynamics of economic processes. Specific knowledge of highly specialised and innovative product development, knowledge of management and government processes in companies and organisations as well as knowledge of extensive cross-linking and distribution of added value does indeed shape the production process in an unprecedented way. At the same time, these processes have had considerable influence on essential areas of life, from educational systems via politics through to the everyday work of people in modern societies.

For a start, the hypothesis of the book at hand is broadly defined based on the results the EU project WORKS (see Introduction, chap. 1). The empirical evaluation of these results shows that the formation of knowledge-intensive sectors and industries in advanced capitalist societies does not just replace the importance of classic productive forces but - taking also transnational developments since the early 1990s into account - caused and still causes enormous economic dynamics. These dynamics are complex, multifaceted, and cannot be linearly described as a homogenous and straight-line development process towards knowledge-based societies.

Some of the results were discussed with scientists from numerous European countries and compared with their empirical findings for different industries during the international workshop "Changes of work in knowledge-based societies" which was held in May 2009 at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis in Karlsruhe, Germany. The book at hand is the outcome of this constructive discussion, including the findings from the above-mentioned project and the research work at the institute. The variety of empirical examples and perspectives shows that the idea of knowledge has many facets.

This leads to the second hypothesis of the book: despite its increasing importance, knowledge cannot free itself from the influence of the dynamics of capitalistic rationalisation. On the contrary, this book points out that the distribution and use of knowledge is always the result of the transformation of knowledge which is incorporated into innovations, into qualifications and into the chain of corporate activities of industrialised societies. In this perspective, the increase in knowledge-intensive work is also a consequence of organisational restructuring processes undertaken by large and medium enterprises "in favour of human capital-intensive" services and against the self-provision of the required production-related services. This is due to the significant reduction of transport costs and - related to the means of communication - transaction costs enabled by technological progress (Altvater/Mahnkopf 1997, p. 282). The "release" of the productive force "work" is the downside of knowledge societies, i.e. the high increase in unprotected, informal, and precarious work. These trends can be observed in all "post-industrial" societies and significantly point out that, on the one hand, its dynamics should be analysed nationally and internationally. On the other hand, people affected increasingly fall through the social net of the welfare state. The empirical examples in this volume demonstrate the social developments and point to gaps in research which brings these aspects in connection with socio-cultural processes.

My sincere thanks go to all authors of this book who did not only take every effort to phrase their contributions according to scientific standards but were also willing to discuss and support the countless correction loops. I would also like to thank all those involved for their extreme patience and endurance because this intensive process delayed the publication of this book for quite a while.

Finally, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Sylke Wintzer who translated the majority of the texts into excellent English and was responsible for revision, editing and layout - as always, she did a brilliant job! Without her dedication, the book would not exist in this form.

Karlsruhe, March 2011

Bettina-Johanna Krings

 

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