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The present article aims to present ongoing research on one of the segments that have been most active in the state of Paraná, Brazil: the computer industry. This industry is a core sector of the so-called "new economy", either for its nature or for the announced possibilities of "transformed labor", as proposed by some authors. The sociological issues that arise from this sector prompted us to study its dynamics, processes and labor patterns. Given the complexity of the field, we have focused on companies that produce computer hardware (assembly of desktops, notebooks, servers and components) and those that design software (computer programs). At the center of this industry lies its workforce, immersed under the banner of new organizational paradigms, namely, more flexible forms of labor and contractual relations. The reality of labor and workers in this sector allows for critical analysis of theses that defend that we are heading towards an era of emancipated work that is friendlier, healthier and free of the constraints imposed by Fordism and Taylorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being one of the most popularized measures of education policy taken by the latest Portuguese governments, the so-called enrichment activities for primary school pupils can also stimulate a reflection upon the effects of dualism in the workplace -- here viewed as the co-presence and cooperation, in the same institution, of workers with equivalent functions though with quite different contractual conditions. Based empirically on the experience of one of the authors in several primary schools in a suburban city near Lisbon, the article presents dualism and work precariousness as predictable results of the implementation of a political program that articulates several organizational processes -- from the Ministry of Education, to mayors and partner entities, to each primary school --, having as common denominator the intention of rendering public educational services more flexible via the use of easily dispensable workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]