My colleagues Nicolas Friederici, Sanna Ojanperä, and I have recently finished a paper in which we analyse ‘Grand Visions’ of how Internet connectivity affects development in Africa. In the paper, we contrast these visions with the actually available empirical evidence to support those claims.… Continue Reading
The practice of handmade silk weaving has disappeared from much of the world, but continues to be practiced by thousands of people in Northeastern Thailand. However, as the Thai economy becomes increasingly embedded into global flows and networks of commodities,… Continue Reading
We live in a world in which it is increasingly possible to use online labour markets to outsource work directly to any corner of the planet. Millions of new jobs are thus available for workers in some of the poorest… Continue Reading
Last week ‘gig’ workers took to the streets in a show of public discontent. London’s Deliveroo couriers (moped or cycle riding workers who pick up food from restaurants and deliver it to customers) have begun a series of headline grabbing… Continue Reading
“While it may seem trivial if, for example, a housewife spends ten minutes filling out an online survey for a dollar, if there are millions such housewives, spending hundreds of thousands of hours filling out surveys for millions of dollars,… Continue Reading
The conference will explore issues such as the degree to which information technology is transforming capitalism and opening up new means of exploitation, whether the traditional regulation of working time, structured around a stable 9-5 5-day week, is being fractured;… Continue Reading
The Digital Agenda presented by the European Commission proposes to realize the potential afforded by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in order to encourage innovation, economic growth, and progress1. The Agenda constitutes one of the seven pillars of the Europe… Continue Reading
Online labour markets represent a rapidly growing feature of the world of work. Dozens of international online market places exist for the buying and selling of labour. The number of hours worked on oDesk.com (now known as Upwork), a leading… Continue Reading
I’m looking for two great postdocs to join me for at least 3.5 years to study how ICTs are being used to transform the labour market, through online labour marketplaces, ride hailing apps, and similar digital platforms. The purpose of… Continue Reading
I’ve posted online a pre-print version of my upcoming chapter in Space, place and global digital work, edited by Jörg Flecker (Palgrave-Macmillan 2016). The chapter is titled Algorithms That Divide and Unite: Delocalization, Identity, and Collective Action in ‘Microwork’. I… Continue Reading
