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Charles Umney

@charlesumney.bsky.social

Industrial relations, technology, sociology of work. Currently focused on technological change in warehousing work among other things. Co-author "Marketization" (Bloomsbury, 2022). https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/marketization-9781913441463/

35 Posts679 Follower815 Folgt
London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 2mo ago

‘The judge declared himself “bound by the legislation” to sentence the Filton Four to “special custodial sentences” as terrorists. He didn’t mention that it was his choice to approve the application fifteen months ago.’ @nicholasrl.bsky.social on Palestine Action. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

Nicholas Reed Langen | Legislative Sleight of Hand

Every white Serco prison van that drove into Woolwich Crown Court on Friday morning was met with a cacophony of cheers,...

lrb.co.uk

London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 3mo ago

‘After the unanimous decision of the Court of Appeal this morning, these protesters can be charged for supporting a proscribed terror group.’ @nicholasrl.bsky.social on Palestine Action, the Filton Four and the protesters supporting them, new on the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ju...

Nicholas Reed Langen | Legislative Sleight of Hand

Every white Serco prison van that drove into Woolwich Crown Court on Friday morning was met with a cacophony of cheers,...

lrb.co.uk

CERIC@ceric-lubs.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Are you interested in pursuing a funded PhD at the ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work, at the University of Leeds, supervised by Mark Stuart & Charles Umney? You will contribute to a study titled, ‘Building employment inclusion within the West Yorkshire regional digital skills ecosystem.'

ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Scholarship

Project opportunity - ESRC Centre for Digital Futures at Work Scholarship at the University of Leeds

phd.leeds.ac.uk

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Labour councillor thinks that the murder of a woman - with plans that political parties in the UK are specifically looking to emulate - shouldn't be political. Labour have no intention in every challenging the far right - which is why they'll be next to follow unless we stand up to them.

Kaz Self 🏳️‍⚧️@kazself.com · 8mo ago

How low can Polanski go? Weaponising the killing of the mother of a 6 year old girl, that’s how low. Leadership clearly isn’t a Green Party strong point.

Jeremy Corbyn@jeremycorbyn.bsky.social · 8mo ago

I am horrified by the murder of a woman in Minneapolis by an ICE agent. This is what fascism looks like in real time, where a far-right government emboldens a violent death squad to terrorise communities with impunity.

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Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Trump just said "all" of Venezuela's oil must be made accessible to US oil companies. Trump wants to emulate Putin's model: Authoritarian, expansionist rulers carving up their regions and distributing the spoils of conquest to friendly oligarchs. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2049...

Trump Blurts Out Dark Truth about Venezuela Plan—and about MAGA Voters

To some critics, it’s about plunder. To others, it’s about hemispheric hegemony. Actually, it’s about both.

newrepublic.com

Olga Nesterova@onestpress.onestnetwork.com · 8mo ago

Colombian President Petro commenting on the US; “A clan of pedophiles wants to destroy our democracy. To keep Epstein's list from coming out, they send warships to kill fishermen & threaten our neighbor with invasion for their oil."

Prem Thakker ツ@premthakker.bsky.social · 8mo ago

In the past week, the Trump-Vance admin: –Bombed Nigeria –Bombed Venezuela, abducted its leader –Bombed more ships in the middle of the ocean –Threatened military action in Iran, Colombia, and Cuba –Accepted the “Israel Prize” & hosted Netanyahu in Mar-a-Lago (despite his soldiers killing Americans)

University and College Union (UCU)@ucu.org.uk · 8mo ago

We are deeply concerned for the health of Qesser Zuhrah, who has been on hunger strike for 46 days. We join those calling on the government to act now, and address the serious concerns raised by lawyers acting for the prisoners.

We are deeply concerned for the health of Qesser Zuhrah, who has been on hunger strike for 46 days, and we join those calling on the government to act now, and address the serious concerns raised by lawyers acting for the prisoners.
Julia Laite@julialaite.bsky.social · 9mo ago

When will this crisis get any attention whatsoever!? A THOUSAND ACADEMIC STAFF AT ONE INSTITUTION SERVED REDUNDANCY RISK NOTICES! And that's not counting what's surely being visited on professional services staff too. This is an economic catastrophe, to say nothing of the intellectual catastrophe!

@lucynoakes1.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252: Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email. Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

Michael Hobbes@michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The way all of these people convinced themselves that Mamdani is antisemitic is a subject far more worthy of media examination than any of the ‘groupthink on campuses!’ thinkpieces we’ve been subjected to

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Charles Umney@charlesumney.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Doing some proofreading on our forthcoming paper: "What is human augmentation and why does it matter for the sociology of work? A conceptualization of worker-centred augmentation". Forthcoming in Work in the Global Economy. Email me if interested and wanting to discuss.

What is human augmentation and why does it matter for the sociology of work? A conceptualization of worker-centred augmentation ‘Human augmentation’ commonly refers to ‘smart’ technologies that integrate with the human body, like exoskeletons, wearables, or modifications like retinal implants, increasing its cognitive or physical capacity. Many definitions of it are problematically broad or questionable. Nevertheless, the idea has gained traction in journalistic and policy debates. Evangelists for augmentation may posit a near-superhuman synthesis between humans and machines, supposedly resulting in upskilling and empowerment at work. These claims have attracted sceptical analysis from scholars of work and employment, yet there remains a need for further development of a critical research agenda around human augmentation. This article catalyzes this agenda by proposing a new conceptualization of ‘worker-centred’ human augmentation that can be usefully applied in the field. Such a conceptualization requires mediating between giving due weight to the intractable material characteristics of individual ‘augmenting’ technologies, and exploring the channels through which human agency shapes their design and use. We also argue that engaging with human augmentation necessitates critical reflection on ‘human-versus-machine’ framings that remain influential in sociological literature on technology and work.
Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 11mo ago

It would be good if the only political pushback against Nigel Farage's plans to mass deport hundreds of thousands of our neighbours, friends, family and colleagues didn't just come from a handful of backbench MPs and one regional mayor

Barbora Cernusakova@bcernusa.bsky.social · 11mo ago

"In contrast to futurist predictions of the proliferation of labour-replacing technologies, the analysis shows how food retailers continued to prioritise short-term solutions contingent on human labour rather than investments in longer-term automation programme."

Charles Umney@charlesumney.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Many congratulations to @abbiewinton.bsky.social for this outstanding new paper in @ntwejournal.bsky.social! Essential reading for understanding technological adoption in retail workplaces, with a lot of additional insight into the implications of covid 🚨🚨👇👇 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Sociotechnical Change in British Supermarkets: Examining the Role of Labour Lead author Abbie Winton When predicting the future of retail work, commentators tend to focus on automation and labour replacement and neglect the continued role played by labour, particularly in food retail. To understand this role, this article draws on both interview and newspaper data to show how change unfolded in the sector from before to just after the Coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, it shows how increased technology adoption and use in food retail occurred alongside an increased reliance on labour. The availability of a flexible labour pool that was easy to scale and later disband enabled employers to respond to increased consumer demand rapidly. In contrast to futurist predictions of the proliferation of labour-replacing technologies, the analysis shows how food retailers continued to prioritise short-term solutions contingent on human labour rather than investments in longer-term automation programmes, reflecting historical patterns of sociotechnical change within the sector.
Dr Eleanor Janega@goingmedieval.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The destruction of the Gaza city mosque is a devastating loss to humanity as a whole. A part of our global medieval heritage destroyed in furtherance to a genocide. I despair.

Andy Khouri@andykhouri.bsky.social · 12mo ago

Built in the 13th century. So that mosque stood for 800 years with every sort of person from every place and every religion in the world passing through Gaza century after century, only for it to be blown up by some shithead loser sitting behind a computer that we probably paid for.