Context: Germany is seen as one of the major players in developing what is known as “Industry 4.0.” Especially in the manufacturing and the automotive sector, the vocational training is seen as a precondition and consequence alike for the global success of these sectors. Current research...

This article condenses the key findings of qualitative studies on assembly work. Grounded conceptually in considerations of the role of experiential knowledge and living labor capacity with regard to informal expertise and tacit knowledge, the empirical results challenge the dominant view of...

Are robots taking away our jobs? Those who ask this question have misunderstood digitalisation - it is not an industrial revolution by other means. Sabine Pfeiffer searches for the actual novelties brought about by digitalisation and digital capitalism. In her analysis, she juxtaposes Marx's...

The smart glove or smart data glasses: Digitalization of work means that technology is moving closer to the bodies of employees. It can make movements, vital signs and even emotions visible. Technologies which many people use privately to monitor their sporting activities or health opens up a...

Zusammenfassung In Prognosen zu Beschäftigungseffekten durch die Digitalisierung wird das Ersetzungsrisiko stark mit dem Anteil an Routinetätigkeiten verknüpft. Insbesondere maschinennahe Tätigkeiten gelten dabei als routiniert und daher als besonders bedroht. Auf Basis der...

Wearables (such as data glasses and smartwatches) are a particularly visible element of Industrie 4.0 applications. They aim at providing situation-specific information to workers, but at the same time they can also be used for surveillance and control because they generate data on the work...

Context: Germany is seen as one of the major players in developing what is known as 'Industry 4.0.' Especially in the manufacturing and the automotive sector, the vocational training is seen as a precondition and consequence alike for the global success of these sectors. Current research though...

Wearables (such as data glasses and smartwatches) are a particularly visible element of Industrie 4.0 applications. They aim at providing situation-specific information to workers, but at the same time they can also be used for surveillance and control because they generate data on the work...

Since industrial trade fair Hannover Messe 2011, the term “Industrie 4.0” has ignited a vision of a new Industrial Revolution and has been inspiring a lively, ongoing debate among the German public about the future of work, and hence society, ever since. The discourse around this vision of...