Publication
Absolute Beginners: Living as a Knowledge Worker, from the Parents’ Home to Collective Living
Abstract
A synthesis of the PhD research work on the New Forms of Dwelling (Nuove Forme dell'Abitare), this article traces a short genealogy of the knowledge worker vis-à-vis the history of communal housing. The text discusses three case studies: the campus type, the soviet dom-kommuna, and the American residential hotel, three archetypes that saw different stages of the rise and the success of the intellectual worker as a social subject. By analyzing these examples, the text shows the ways certain forms of communal dwelling shaped the life and work of the knowledge worker throughout history.
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Related concepts (16)
Knowledge worker
Knowledge workers are workers whose main capital is knowledge. Examples include ICT Professionals, physicians, pharmacists, architects, engineers, scientists, design thinkers, public accountants, lawyers, editors, and academics, whose job is to "think for a living". Knowledge work can be differentiated from other forms of work by its emphasis on "non-routine" problem solving that requires a combination of convergent and divergent thinking. But despite the amount of research and literature on knowledge work, there is no succinct definition of the term.
Knowledge economy
The knowledge economy, or knowledge-based economy, is an economic system in which the production of goods and services is based principally on knowledge-intensive activities that contribute to advancement in technical and scientific innovation. The key element of value is the greater dependence on human capital and intellectual property as the source of innovative ideas, information and practices. Organisations are required to capitalise on this "knowledge" in their production to stimulate and deepen the business development process.
Knowledge market
A knowledge market is a mechanism for distributing knowledge resources. There are two views on knowledge and how knowledge markets can function. One view uses a legal construct of intellectual property to make knowledge a typical scarce resource, so the traditional commodity market mechanism can be applied directly to distribute it. An alternative model is based on treating knowledge as a public good and hence encouraging free sharing of knowledge. This is often referred to as attention economy.
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