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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Uber Effort: The Production Of Worker Consent In Online Ride Sharing Platforms, Ruotong Wang May 2019

Uber Effort: The Production Of Worker Consent In Online Ride Sharing Platforms, Ruotong Wang

Sociology Honors Projects

The rise of the online gig economy alters ways of working. Mediated by algorithmically programmed mobile apps, platforms such as Uber and Lyft allow workers to work by driving and completing rides at any time or in any place that the drivers choose. This hybrid form of labor in an online gig economy which combines independent contract work with computer-mediated work differs from traditional manufacturing jobs in both its production activity and production relations. Through nine interviews with Lyft/Uber drivers, I found that workers’ consent, which was first articulated by Michael Burawoy in the context of the manufacturing economy, is …


Disruptive Innovation: The Rise Of The Knowledge-Sharing Market In China, Yaqing Lan Apr 2019

Disruptive Innovation: The Rise Of The Knowledge-Sharing Market In China, Yaqing Lan

International Studies Honors Projects

Innovation is a major subject of international political economy, but mainstream discussions focus on scientific research and development and detach innovation development from their social contexts. In response to this view, this project reveals the importance of cultural and social factors in influencing innovation development by examining the rise of the knowledge-sharing market (KSM) -- a social-network-site-based economy in China. It suggests the KSM is a disruptive innovation not only because it is pioneered by a latecomer in the global innovation market, China, but also because its emergence from the changing Chinese consumer demands disrupts the mainstream thinking of innovation.