12 minute read
Platforms as if People Mattered
ABSTRACT
In his 1973 book Small Is Beautiful, eco no mist E. F. Schumach er observed that an ascendant ideology of “bigger is better” industrialism was driving humans to become the servants of machines. “If technology is felt to be becoming more and more inhuman,” he reflected, “we might do well to consider whether it is possible to h a v e so me t hi n g b et te r—a technology with a human face.” Taking up Schumacher's call, this article considers the possibility of “small” digital platforms in the context of China's contemporary ride‐hailing industry. Through an ethnographic study of V Taxi, a grassroots community of taxi drivers, it explores how a human‐centric platform for transportation services emerged, developed, and survived in a rapidly shifting economic and political landscape. The beauty and resilience of this platform lie in its ability to harness local social networks, enabling individual actors to share economic opportunities, skills, and knowledge. Through these practices of sharing, V Taxi members produce relational value, which strengthens community bonds. Drawing upon analytic frameworks from economic anthropology in conjunction with insights from science and technology studies, this article argues that “small” digital platforms can empower economic actors by enabling the production of relational value, thus protecting human agency and expanding human capabilities.
Advertisement
For more please visit link: https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/sea2.12162
I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the representatives of the University of Oxford for the 2016 International Leadership Programme in China, with the generous support of the Fung Scholarship Programme. I graduated with a Master’s in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, specialising in biological logic systems and completed my research under Jerome Bonnet at the CBS lab, Montpellier, France.
Having worked in Tokyo and at the Ministry of Defence, I am now based between London and Cambridge working in innovation. I help to develop novel early stage technologies for international companies, while keeping up my interest in languages and history in my spare time.
Stanley Mitchell
Editor
FS15/16, The University of Oxford
Brisson Lam
Editor
FS18/19, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Brisson received his Fung Scholarships for his academic exchange during the spring semester of 2019 at The University of British Columbia in Canada. He currently is a final year student majoring in Biotechnology and minoring in Business at HKUST. Brisson enjoys photography, working out in the gym, as well as traveling (especially to Japan!). In fact, he newly formed photography interest group in the FS Hong Kong local chapter. Please feel free to join his photography group and stay tuned for the group’s coming events!
Xiyan HUANG
Editor
FS16/17, Nanjing University
Xiyan was awarded Fung Scholarship for her academic exchange at the University of Hong Kong in 2016. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Nanjing University and a MSc from London School of Economics and Political Science. Her hobbies are food, movies and songwriting.
Jing Zhang
Editor
FS19/20, Xiamen University
Jing Zhang is now a junior student majoring in Anthropology at Xiamen University, China, and was awarded 2019-20 Fung Scholarship during her academic exchange at the University of Hong Kong. She is now applying for the Oxford Prospects and Global Development Institute Visiting Student Programme 2020-2021, hoping to spend her last year of college in England. In her spare time, she likes reading, writing, listening to music and volunteering. She has a dream of going to see the world and then write down her experience.
Nikki Wu
Designer
FS19/20, Nanjing University
Nikki Wu was awarded Fung Scholarship for her academic exchange at the University of Hong Kong in 2019. She is currently in her third year studying Public Administration at Nanjing University. She is a fan of Joey Wong, loves travelling, and is currently picking up photography.
aleon Fung
FS11 /12, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
I have a dream
That one day on every inch of our Earth all of us will not be judged by the jobs we do but the thanks we receive, not by the education we receive but the imagination we have, not by the abilities we have but the humanity we show.
You may say I am a dreamer, but if you join me, I will not be the only one.
I’m a Year 4 student majoring in Cultural Studies at Lingnan University. I was on exchange in the Netherlands for the fall semester in 2018 and I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the recipients of FungScholarship. Joining the FS family, I received more opportunities to meet new friends and new challenges. I joined the Social Impact Internship from July to August 2019 in Beijing, which was a fruitful and unforgettable experience.
I love travelling, listening to music, and everything related to Disney!
FS18/19, Lingnan University Chloe Cheung
Jamie Ko
FS09/10, Singapore Management University
I received the Fung Scholarship in 2010 for my exchange at the University of Mannheim, Germany. Once I completed a double degree in Business Management (Marketing) and Accountancy at Singapore Management University, I spent the first 6 years of my career as a management consultant with the Boston Consulting Group. I spent some time in an early stage HR tech start-up, and have recently joined Grab's Regional Public Affairs team. In my free time, I love making things with my hands. Since starting the Singapore Chapter in 2011, I have continued to enjoy meeting with new and not-so-new Fung Scholars based in Singapore. Jefferson Chen is a Fung Scholar in the 2019 year where he interned at a MedTech firm in China. He is a ChineseCanadian student, currently in his third year studying chemistry at Trinity a College, Oxford. He is an avid food-lover, loves to solo-travel, and is currently picking up mixed martial arts.
FS19/20, The University of Oxford
Jefferson Chen
Kanae Wada
FS18/19, The University of Tokyo
I am Kanae Wada. I am a 4th gradestudent at the University of Tokyo, majoring in Economics. I studied abroad at the University of Sheffield in 2018-19 with the grateful support of Fung Scholarships. I had great experiences at the University of Sheffield such as studying at the international environment and engaging with extracurricular activities. All of these essential experiments in Sheffield would contribute to broadening my perspective. "I received the Fung Scholarship in 2017 to study sociology at the University of Hong Kong. After graduating from Fudan University, I joined the FS family again to start my social impact internship in summer 2019. Both of them are life changing experience to me, where I learned how to be compassionate about the people and the community around me. Now I am a postgraduate law student at Bristol, UK. In terms of extracurricular activities, I am passionate about dance and theatre, and I used to be a Chinese dancer when I was an undergraduate."
FS17/18, Fudan University
Yujia Chen
Kathleen Schwind is a 2017 Fung Scholar from MIT, from which she hold a bachelors and masters degree in Environmental Policy and Dispute Resolution. She is the first person in her MIT department to graduate with a bachelors and masters in four years, and became the first undergraduate teaching assistant when she joined the teaching team for the popular course “The Art and Science of Negotiation.” Kathleen’s passion lies in the field of international relations, specifically in negotiation, water diplomacy, national security, and artificial intelligence governance. Her past work has focused on engaging and inspiring youth to pursue STEM fields and has looked at the overlap between STEM and policy. During her time at MIT she coupled this with her work in informal settlements and the developing world. Her recent research looked at the role of water in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She is currently studying at the
University of Cambridge, where she is pursuing an MPhil in International Relations and Politics and researching the factors that contribute to effective transboundary water negotiations and agreements in the Middle East. In the near future she will be attending law school or business school, and working in international relations in Washington DC. She is honored to be a member of the Fung Scholars Foundation.
President of Fung Scholars Hong Kong Chapter. With comprehensive work experience in several investment banks and financial institutions. Currently specialized in finance and risk management. He is also part of the AIA Foundation young Leaders Development Programme.
FS06/07, The City University of Hong Kong
Kevin Lo
Miranda Wang
FS18/19, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
I’m Miranda Wang, currently studying at Shanghai Jiaotong University –majoring in journalism and communication (Cultural and creative industry management). It sounds cool, right? It is. My classmates and professors are all interesting and creative because you know when you are interested in the word “creative” and want to learn more about it then you can’t help but be a creative person yourself. We have classes like “Creative practices” including brunches like film making, music production, sculpture, Chinese calligraphy and so on for students to choose.
I will graduate in March, 2020 (If everything goes well). I hope that I can always remember the time being a student and live a life creatively. As the FS group is growing bigger and bigger, let’s try to bring more creativity and inspiration to the outsider world together as well. Just like one of the FS Eileen said, even it’s small. Shuang is an anthropologist of technology, economy and social policy with a regional focus on China. She recently completed PhD of social anthropology at Harvard University. Her dissertation "Moralizing Disruption" explores the emergence, contestation, and moralization of ride-hailing platforms in contemporary China. She is interested in using ethnographic research to inform social policies that could empower individuals in global technological transformations. She is currently serving as the China representative for global think tank The Future Society, studying different ethical frameworks of AI governance and forging global dialogues among various stakeholders.
FS16/17, Harvard University Shuang L. Frost
Shouta Hayashi FS 18/19, The University of Tokyo
I expect to complete my undergraduate degree in Ecology at The University of Tokyo in March 2020 and to study environmental management for a master’s degree. I was awarded the Fung Scholarship in 2018 for my exchange at the University of British Columbia, Canada where I studied a wide range of environmental science beyond my major. I am currently working on research on pollination services in buckwheat, in Japan. I am eager to contribute to addressing environmental issues, in particular, biodiversity loss that is caused by the disharmony between the biosphere and anthropogenic activities with an interdisciplinary perspective and approaches. Richard studied Chinese and Tibetan at the University of Oxford, where he received a Blue for football, and was a Fung Scholar in 2012-13. Since graduating in 2015, he has developed his own social enterprise, Gotoco China, with fellow Fung Scholar, Daniel Parrott, and their Chinese partner, Lisha Tang, while also working as a Research Manager for a policy advisory in Beijing.
Winson is awarded the Fung Scholarship in 2017. A final year student of electrical engineering from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Winson went on exchange at North Carolina State University in the United States in Spring 2018. Winson likes running and doing different kinds of sports. He also devotes his leisure time to student initiative volunteer work in Hong Kong and some overseas countries. Steven graduated with a BBA (Hons) in Applied Economics and Marketing from Hong Kong Baptist University, and was awarded Fung Scholarship in 2015-16 during his academic exchange at Management Center Innsbruck, Austria for one semester. His is now working in the public relations field with expertise on the luxury retail sector. Steven also devote his leisure time to voluntary service and running.
FS15/16, Hong Kong Baptist University Steven Yiu
Ying Ng
FS13/14, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
I received Fung Scholarship in 2014 for fashion design programme at Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. After my graduation in Fashion & Textiles from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), I had been stationed in mainland for two and a half years as Technical Associate in a listed garment manufacturing company. Currently, I am working in PolyU as research assistant to explore potential opportunities regarding sustainable development in fashion industry. Xiaoling Wu is currently a final-year student from Xiamen University, majored in English Language and Literature. Xiaoling was selected as a Fung Scholar in 2018, and also successfully enrolled in the PIM-Fung Social Impact Internship Program in 2019. During her internship at A Better Community (ABC), a brilliant China’s social enterprise, she was responsible for social media marketing and graphic design, sharing her ideas with those passionate about philanthropy and social enterprise.
Deeply in love with social linguistics and second language education, she is now applying for master’s programs in the U.K., with the hope to convey the power of language to children all over the world.
In her spare time, Xiaoling enjoys movies, gourmet food, singing and travelling. As a graduate of arts, she believes the power of poetry, beauty, romance and love.
FS18/19, Xiamen University XiaoLing Wu
