Research by the Oxford Internet Institute in the areas of digital inequality encompasses a number of projects and discussions. Current work looks in detail at the growth of connectivity, particularly in developing and emerging economies and analysis of the effects this connectivity, whether that be changes in geography of information, new forms of labour or changes in value chains of production.
Current Projects at the Oxford Internet Institute
Big Data and Human Development
This project brings together expertise in both ‘big data’ and human development in order to ask what ‘big data’ can (and cannot) reveal about some of the most important questions in development.
Development and Broadband Internet Access in East Africa
Using interviews and in-depth observations, this project examines the expectations and stated potentials of broadband Internet in East Africa and compares those expectations to effects that connectivity is having.
This project aims to develop a set of lenses for analyzing Wikipedia’s geographical scope whilst employing a reflexive analytical process to expose the makings of the ‘big data’ that we will produce.
Geonet: Changing Connectivities and the Potentials of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Knowledge Economy
This research project is examining the geographies, drivers, and effects of Sub-Saharan Africa’s emerging information economies at a time of changing connectivity and Internet access across the region.
Internet Geographies: Data Shadows and Digital Divisions of Labour
This project maps and measures the geographies of information on the Internet.
Microwork and Virtual Production Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia
This project aims to understand the current and potential impact of Internet and mobile technologies on social and economic development, especially when it comes to the emergence of new and transformative ‘virtual’ economic activities and work
