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This study forms part of the EMERGENCE project, which is designed to measure and map information and communications technology-related employment (eWork) relocation on a global level. Information collected by Eurostat and the United Kingdom Labour Force Survey were the primary sources of data analyzed. Twelve factors identified as influencing eWork location (relative service sector salaries; graduate availability; language; students studying abroad; time zone; telecommunications infrastructure; quantity of telecommunications traffic; telecommunications costs; trust or previous contact; Internet access and literacy; economic development and "openness"; and demographic factors) led to the identification of these six clusters of countries or characterizations of countries' eWork status: (1) eLeaders (those countries that define eWork and are the main sources of relocated employment, such as Australia, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States); (2) eCapables (smaller e-Leaders, including Austria and Belgium, among others); (3) eHares (small countries with historically poor telecommunications infrastructure but rapid recent growth, including Cambodia and Chile); (4) eTigers (large countries with good infrastructure, available human resources but also corruption, including China and Egypt, among others); (5) eMaybes (small population countries with good infrastructure and available human resources and that are considered trustworthy); (6) eLosers (countries, composing as much as 28 percent of the world's population, that have neither the infrastructure or human resources to benefit from eWork). (Two appendixes list employees in information technology occupations by countries and regions in 1999 and contents of the e-indicator database produced during the EMERGENCE project). (CL/KC)

Designed as an introduction to socio-economic research for the broader community of research users. This book is of use to research funders, research hosts, research evaluators and reviewers, legal professionals providing advice to researchers, employers and managers of researchers, and those involved in research training.

The EMERGENCE project carried out by the IES (Institute for Employment Studies) aimed to measure "eWork" at a global level. For the project, eWork was defined to mean any type of work that involves the digital processing of information and that uses a telecommunications link for receipt or delivery of the work to a remote employer or business client. Providing an overview for discussion, the project report first outlines the definition of eWork and then addresses the question of the value of monitoring eWork and points out its relevance to policymakers in many disciplines. Finally, the report discusses the inadequacy of the existing sectoral and occupational classification systems to capture the characteristics and dynamics of eWork, and suggests some issues for consideration by European agencies involved in the collection and analysis of statistics on the information economy. The report concludes with several recommendations, including the following: (1) European labor force surveys should include questions that make it possible to identify people who work at or from their homes or from multiple locations using computers with a telecommunications link to employers or clients; (2) the updating of occupational classification codes should include a process for capturing information on the new jobs that are emerging in the information economy and synchronizing codes throughout Europe; (3) methods for collecting information about earnings for such occupational groups should be developed; and (4) the data from such studies should be updated regularly through additional surveys. (KC)

This report draws on the results of the EMERGENCE 18-country employer study and combines them with data from European labour force surveys to develop models of eWorking. Four distinct types of individual eWorkers are identified in the study: telehomeworkers, multilocational eWorkers, eLancers, and the eEnabled self-employed. In addition to individual eWorking, the report considers the determinants of collective arrangements based on ICT supported outsourcing or business delocation. The EMERGENCE team has developed forecasts for the spread of each of these individual forms of eWork over the next decade. Based on current patterns, the overall the number of individual eWorkers in Europe is likely to triple, from its current levels of over ten million, to 27 million by 2010.

A study examined the impact of new technology upon women's employment in West Yorkshire in Great Britain. During the study, 2,000 copies of a questionnaire were distributed to past and present users of the Leeds Trade Union and Community Resource and Information Centre (TUCRIC) as well as to participants at a conference entitled Women and New Technology that was held in November 1979. Based on data obtained from the 40 questionnaires that were completed and returned, the researchers developed outlines of the position of female workers both nationally and in West Yorkshire. In addition, the researchers developed case studies of 27 workplaces that are currently using new technology in areas such as mail order companies, public agencies, banks, manufacturing firms, universities, libraries, warehouses, research and development organizations, and engineering firms. Because of traditional patterns of job segregation and inadequate education and training in scientific and technical subjects for women compared to men, women are disproportionately affected by the introduction of new technology. Not only are they more likely to lose their jobs, but they are also more likely to find that the quality of work has deteriorated in the jobs that remain. (MN)

A new global labour force is being created working in call centres, homes and electronic sweatshops. New technologies are also transforming daily life. This book presents a coherent conceptual framework within which these developments can be understood.

This survey tracks the use of eWork across the EU and in the three largest central and eastern Europe canditate states. It shows the employers' use of ICTs to support homeworking and the use of Electronically supported outsourcing.