Paper short abstract:

This paper is concerned with the implications of local, national and global domains in relation to production, with special reference to the steel industry. Drawing on the findings of a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project on the effects of economic models on local contexts with special reference to the steel industry, the paper discusses the implications of place in relation to transmissions of knowledge, conditions of work and the status of workers.

Paper long abstract:

This paper is concerned with two main issues. In the first place, it explores the implications of local, national and global domains in relation to production, with special reference to the steel industry. In the second place, it reflects on the range of meanings and experiences of work in a changing industrial landscape. Drawing on the findings of a collaborative and interdisciplinary research project that analyzes the effects of economic models on local contexts through a multi-sited ethnography of the steel industry, the paper discusses the implications of place in relation to transmissions of knowledge, conditions of work and the status of workers. The central argument concerns the enduring significance of history, place and locality in the context of global processes that impinge on the conditions affecting social and economic actors, ideas and resources relating to work and production.