The Effects Resulting from Using WhatsApp in the Routines of Education Workers
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| Title: | The Effects Resulting from Using WhatsApp in the Routines of Education Workers |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Roberta Elpídio Cardoso, Nei Antonio Nunes, Alexandre Zawaki Pazetto, Diego Pacheco, Jocélia Felícia Andreola, Ricardo Lemos Thomé, José Baltazar Salgueirinho Osório de Andrade Guerra |
| Source: | Journal of Education and Learning. 2024 13(5):102-118. |
| Availability: | Canadian Center of Science and Education. 1595 Sixteenth Ave Suite 301, Richmond Hill, Ontario, L4B 3N9 Canada. Tel: 416-642-2606; Fax: 416-642-2608; e-mail: jel@ccsenet.org; Web site: http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jel |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2024 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Power Structure, Social Media, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Public Education, Employees, Administrators, Work Environment, Resistance (Psychology), Professional Autonomy, Addictive Behavior |
| ISSN: | 1927-5250 1927-5269 |
| Abstract: | This article aims to explore the impacts of power dynamics arising from the use of the WhatsApp instant messaging application on the work routines of civil servants within a public educational institution. Utilizing the Foucauldian genealogy of power as a theoretical framework, we endeavor to conduct a critical historical analysis of the mechanics behind socially constituted power relations. Employing a qualitative case study approach, we juxtapose the analytics of power (drawing categories from the Foucauldian genealogy) with the investigative model of technological paradoxes, focusing on 'Control vs. Chaos' and 'Autonomy vs. Addiction', against data collected from interviews to uncover the power effects within this virtual space. Key findings include the observation that managers leverage a 'system of differentiations' to categorize and control subordinates through WhatsApp in a sophisticated and efficient manner. Moreover, the supposed enhancement of productivity through hyperconnectivity leads to compulsive smartphone use among employees, a phenomenon we interpret, following Foucault, as an institutionalized process of worker subjugation. Nonetheless, practices of resistance emerge, contesting these subjugation processes that affect the subject-workers. The institutional 'battle' for increased autonomy and healthier work routines emerges as one of the most potent forms of resistance against the overreach of power effects associated with WhatsApp use in the examined work contexts. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2024 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1441423 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This article aims to explore the impacts of power dynamics arising from the use of the WhatsApp instant messaging application on the work routines of civil servants within a public educational institution. Utilizing the Foucauldian genealogy of power as a theoretical framework, we endeavor to conduct a critical historical analysis of the mechanics behind socially constituted power relations. Employing a qualitative case study approach, we juxtapose the analytics of power (drawing categories from the Foucauldian genealogy) with the investigative model of technological paradoxes, focusing on 'Control vs. Chaos' and 'Autonomy vs. Addiction', against data collected from interviews to uncover the power effects within this virtual space. Key findings include the observation that managers leverage a 'system of differentiations' to categorize and control subordinates through WhatsApp in a sophisticated and efficient manner. Moreover, the supposed enhancement of productivity through hyperconnectivity leads to compulsive smartphone use among employees, a phenomenon we interpret, following Foucault, as an institutionalized process of worker subjugation. Nonetheless, practices of resistance emerge, contesting these subjugation processes that affect the subject-workers. The institutional 'battle' for increased autonomy and healthier work routines emerges as one of the most potent forms of resistance against the overreach of power effects associated with WhatsApp use in the examined work contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 1927-5250 1927-5269 |
