Transnational customer service workers are an emerging touchstone of globalization given their location at the intersecting borders of identity, class, nation, and production. Unlike outsourced manufacturing jobs, call center work requires voice-to-voice conversation with distant customers; part of the product being exchanged in these interactions is a responsive, caring, connected self. In Phone Clones, Kiran Mirchandani explores the experiences of the men and women who work in Indian call centers through one hundred interviews with workers in Bangalore, Delhi, and Pune. As capital crosses national borders, colonial histories and racial hierarchies become inextricably intertwined. As a result, call center workers in India need to imagine themselves in the eyes of their Western clients—to represent themselves both as foreign workers who do not threaten Western jobs and as being "just like" their customers in the West. In order to become these imagined ideal workers, they must be believable and authentic in their emulation of this ideal. In conversation with Western clients, Indian customer service agents proclaim their legitimacy, an effort Mirchandani calls "authenticity work," which involves establishing familiarity in light of expectations of difference. In their daily interactions with customers, managers and trainers, Indian call center workers reflect and reenact a complex interplay of colonial histories, gender practices, class relations, and national interests.

Transnational customer service workers are an emerging touchstone of globalization given their location at the intersecting borders of identity, class, nation, and production. Unlike outsourced manufacturing jobs, call center work requires voice-to-voice conversation with distant customers; part of the product being exchanged in these interactions is a responsive, caring, connected self. In Phone Clones, Kiran Mirchandani explores the experiences of the men and women who work in Indian call centers through one hundred interviews with workers in Bangalore, Delhi, and Pune. As capital crosses national borders, colonial histories and racial hierarchies become inextricably intertwined. As a result, call center workers in India need to imagine themselves in the eyes of their Western clients-to represent themselves both as foreign workers who do not threaten Western jobs and as being "just like" their customers in the West. In order to become these imagined ideal workers, they must be believable and authentic in their emulation of this ideal. In conversation with Western clients, Indian customer service agents proclaim their legitimacy, an effort Mirchandani calls "authenticity work," which involves establishing familiarity in light of expectations of difference. In their daily interactions with customers, managers and trainers, Indian call center workers reflect and reenact a complex interplay of colonial histories, gender practices, class relations, and national interests.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 7th International ICST Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Systems, MobiQuitous 2010, held in Sydney, Australia, in December 2010. The 24 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 105 submissions. They cover a wide range of topics ranging from papers architectures to toolkits and mechanisms for privacy, energy efficiency and content awareness. In addition there are 11 work in progress papers and a selection of the best poster and workshop papers.

The Full Flight series of reading books are for children and young adults aged 8 to 14 and over who are struggling to read. Each book has been carefully written for those with a reading age of approximately 7 to 8, but are packed full of adventure and brilliant illustrations to really grab the reader interest. Ed, Carla and their Dad are heading out to the country for a camping trip. But do they know that they are being followed.

Read the exclusive tell-all about human clones in our midst! Amy knows better than to believe a tabloid newspaper’s far-fetched headlines. But when one of these rags begins a series of reports on the existence of human clones and their desire to create a master race, Amy takes notice. This is definitely not just another sensational story–even if others think so. But what is truth and what is fiction? It’s a case of mistaken identity. It’s a case of misplaced loyalties. It’s a case of multiple betrayals. And Amy quickly finds herself in the middle of a bitter and ugly struggle for dominance.

The call center industry is booming in the Philippines. Around the year 2005, the country overtook India as the world's "voice capital," and industry revenues are now the second largest contributor to national GDP. In Lives on the Line, Jeffrey J. Sallaz retraces the assemblage of a global market for voice over the past two decades. Drawing upon case studies of sixty Filipino call center workers and two years of fieldwork in Manila, he illustrates how offshore call center jobs represent a middle path for educated Filipinos, who are faced with the dismaying choice to migrate abroad in search of prosperity versus stay at home as an impoverished professional. A rich ethnographic study, this book challenges existing stereotypes regarding offshore service jobs and sheds light upon the reasons that the Philippines has become the world's favored location for "voice." It looks beyond call centers and beyond India to advance debates concerning global capitalism, the future of work, and the lives of those who labor in offshored jobs.

"This book presents quality articles focused on key issues concerning the planning, design, maintenance, and management of telecommunications and networking technologies"--Provided by publisher.