O'Carroll, Aileen (2008) Fuzzy Holes and Intangible Time: Time in a knowledge industry. Time & Society, 17 (2-3). pp. 179-193. ISSN 1461-7463

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Abstract

The knowledge economy is characterized by highly skilled, highly educated employees whose work is centred on the manipulation of information. This article looks at the work process of workers in the software sector, as their work is both central to the knowledge economy and shares many of the characteristics of other knowledge workers. It describes the temporal frameworks found, grounding them in the work process. It documents specific characteristics of work and work organization that give rise to a time experienced as both intangible and fuzzy. It argues that there is a deep irony at the centre of the knowledge economy. On one hand, speed is the key metaphor of the knowledge economy. Yet the use of metaphors of speed and efficiency bypass any appreciation of the qualitative nature of time found within these work processes. Knowledge production is based on creativity, communication and knowledge development, processes that move at their own pace. These processes sit uncomfortably within temporal frameworks, which are based on a predictable and quantifiable time.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: O’Carroll, A. (2008). Fuzzy Holes and Intangible Time: Time in a knowledge industry. Time & Society, 17(2–3), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X08093421
Keywords:	information technology; knowledge; working time;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute, MUSSI Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > National Institute for Regional and Spatial analysis, NIRSA
Item ID:	13032
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X08093421
Depositing User:	Aileen O'Carroll
Date Deposited:	09 Jun 2020 15:19
Journal or Publication Title:	Time & Society
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	https://journals-sagepub-com/
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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