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Prospects for free software and free culture in the workplace
Mustafa Shameem
One avenue for advancing free software and free culture is the workplace. It's the one place where we spend a substantial (if not the majority) of our time, have potential access to large audiences, funds, and resources. The talk explores free software, free culture, and the prospects for both in the workplace. Questions explored include: What kind of workplaces are amenable to free software? What is the impact of the current economic trends (increasing job insecurity, short work tenure, stagnating wages, and increasing hours worked)? How is free software leveraged in environments where workers have limited control or agency? What is the impact of wide scale adoption and intensifying of 'stick' models of employee management in place of cooperative models?