scholarly journals The Big, Gig Picture: We Can't Assume the Same Constructs Matter

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice M. Brawley
Keyword(s):  
Assembly Line ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Complete Work ◽  
The Us ◽  
Total Elimination ◽  
As If

I am concerned about industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology's relevance to the gig economy, defined here as the broad trends toward technology-based platform work. This sort of work happens on apps like Uber (where the app connects drivers and riders) and sites like MTurk (where human intelligence tasks, or HITs, are advertised to workers on behalf of requesters). We carry on with I-O research and practice as if technology comprises only things (e.g., phones, websites, platforms) that we use to assess applicants and complete work. However, technology has much more radically restructured work as we know it, to happen in a much more piecemeal, on-demand fashion, reviving debates about worker classification and changing the reality of work for many workers (Sundararajan, 2016). Instead of studying technology as a thing we use, it's critical that we “zoom out” to see and adapt our field to this bigger picture of trends towards a gig economy. Rather than a phone being used to check work email or complete pre-hire assessments, technology and work are inseparable. For example, working on MTurk requires constant Internet access (Brawley, Pury, Switzer, & Saylors, 2017; Ma, Khansa, & Hou, 2016). Alarmingly, some researchers describe these workers as precarious (Spretizer, Cameron, & Garrett, 2017), dependent on an extremely flexible (a label that is perhaps euphemistic for unreliable) source of work. Although it's unlikely that all workers consider their “gig” a full time job or otherwise necessary income, at least some workers do: An estimated 10–40% of MTurk workers consider themselves serious gig workers (Brawley & Pury, 2016). Total numbers for the broader gig economy are only growing, with recent tax-based estimates including 34% of the US workforce now and up to 43% within 3 years (Gillespie, 2017). It appears we're seeing some trends in work reverse and return to piece work (e.g., a ride on Uber, a HIT on MTurk) as if we've simply digitized the assembly line (Davis, 2016). Over time, these trends could accelerate, and we could potentially see total elimination of work (Morrison, 2017).

Punching the Clock

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Ungemah
Keyword(s):  
Full Time ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
Future Of Work ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Complete Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Future ◽  
Routine Tasks ◽  
Human Psyche ◽  
Practical Implications

Punching the Clock takes the best of psychological science to explore whether humans will effectively adapt to the gig economy and the Future of Work. Although the world of work is changing at unprecedented speed, the drives and needs of workers have not. Technology in the form of artificial intelligence and robotic process automation continues to transform jobs, taking away routine tasks from workers, both cognitive and physical alike. Work is broken down into smaller and smaller packets that can be seamlessly reintegrated into broader work products. Workers no longer need to be full-time employees or even reside on the same continent. Rather, tenuous relationships with contractors, freelancers, volunteers, or other third parties have become the norm, using talent platforms to find and complete work. Yet, inside the minds of workers, the needs and biases that govern behavior continue as if nothing has happened. Like any other social environment, workplaces key into deep psychological processes that have developed over millennia and dictate with whom and how workers interact. Psychologists working across disciplines have amassed a great deal of insight about the human psyche but have not always been adept at articulating the practical implications of this insight, let alone how the human psyche will likely react to the gig economy. This book fills this void in knowledge by explaining what is really going on in the minds of coworkers, bringing this to life with a few surprising stories from the real world. Unlike the external world, the human psyche is a relative constant, which raises questions about just how much of the Future of Work can be realized without breaking down the social fabric of the workplace.

scholarly journals Managing Supply in the On-Demand Economy: Flexible Workers, Full-Time Employees, or Both?

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1238-1264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Dong ◽  
Rouba Ibrahim
Keyword(s):  
Business Strategy ◽  
Operating Costs ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Staffing Strategy

The rise of the blended workforce, which is identified as one of the top current workplace trends, is prompting firms to reevaluate their staffing strategies. A blended workforce melds as a deliberate business strategy flexible workers (for example, independent contractors or freelancers) with full-time employees. Because flexible workers are free to determine their own work schedules, the supply (total number of workers) is uncertain. In “Managing Supply in the On-Demand Economy: Flexible Workers, Full-Time Employees, or Both?,” Dong and Ibrahim examine the optimal staffing strategy for flexible workers and full-time employees to effectively balance operating costs, time variability in customer demands, and supply-side uncertainty while not compromising on the quality of service offered to customers. This work gleans insights on the appropriateness of alternative workforce models, which are especially relevant for the gig economy.

The Online Platform Economy as an Entrepreneurship-Based Strategy for Value Creation

2020 ◽  
pp. 182-200
Author(s):  
José Manuel Saiz-Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Value Creation ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Independent Contractors ◽  
Online Platform ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Online Platforms ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Platform Economy

The Online Platform Economy (OPE) is a part of the Gig Economy defined by the hiring of temporary and highly-flexible workers (freelancers and independent contractors) instead of full-time employees to perform tasks (“gigs”), as well as by using 4G and 5G ICTs-based technologies for crowdwork, crowdvoting, and crowdsolving. These online platform businesses provide businesses and consumers access to low-cost, on-demand labor. But gig workers' experiences are more complex, as they have access to very flexible, potentially autonomous work. They also deal with challenges caused by the nature of the work, its precariousness, and their relationships with online platforms. This chapter studies OPEs and the Gig Economy. The author defines the concept of the Gig Economy and its importance, and analyzes it through a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Then, the OPE, as a digital value creator, is studied. The chapter includes perspectives and conclusions.

scholarly journals A Gig mHealth Economy Framework: Scoping Review of Internet Publications

10.2196/14213 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e14213
Author(s):  
Fahad Alanezi ◽  
Turki Alanzi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Cloud Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Gig Economy

Background The gig economy (characterized by short-term contracts rather than being a full-time employee in an organization) is one of the most recent and important tendencies that have expanded through the global economic market thanks to advances in internet and communication technologies. Similarly, mobile health (mHealth) technologies have also evolved rapidly with the development of the internet and mobile apps, attracting attention globally for their health care benefits. Objective This study aimed to propose an integration of mHealth within the framework of the gig economy that leads to a new dimension of health care services and the proposal of a new term: gig mHealth. Methods A review and systematic search of articles, books, and opinions that allowed for answering the research questions were executed through the internet. In this sense, the concept of the gig economy and examples, advantages and disadvantages, were reviewed. Similarly, the general characteristics of mHealth technologies were revised. In addition, the role of technology in supporting the development of the gig economy and mHealth technologies and the interactions between them were investigated. Results The findings suggested that the gig economy is characterized by its flexibility in working hours, on-demand work, free agents, freelancing, freedom in the choice of work, and independent contracts. In addition, an analysis of an mHealth system indicated that it was composed of patients, specialists, nurses, and database administrators. In this system, patients and specialists or nurses are connected to cloud services for the transmission of data and medical information through a mobile app. Here, the administrators update the database and app features, among other technical tasks. Conversely, a general structure of an integrated gig mHealth system was developed. In this structure, the mHealth care services and the mHealth care activities were incorporated into a gig economy model. In addition, a practical example of an integrated view of a gig economy app in mHealth that illustrates the interaction between the patients (consumers) and providers (partners) of mHealth care services, mHealth care activities, health care professionals, and individual contractors was presented. The consumers and providers were interconnected with the health care company, brand, or firm through digital means using a mobile app or Windows platforms. Conclusions The analysis carried out in this study suggested the possibility of integrating mHealth within the framework of the gig economy enhancing health care service delivery and the management of health care activities. The following 4 major areas of apps proposed in the mHealth framework that can catalyze the operations using the features of the gig economy were sharing/renting medical and diagnostic equipment and resources, on-demand appointments/self-health management, on-demand health care services, and assigning health care activities/gigs to individual contractors. This integration leads to a new dimension for health care services and the proposal of a new term: gig mHealth.

The research and practice of blasting on demand design of quarry

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boshen Zhao ◽  
Hongze Zhao ◽  
Duojin Wu ◽  
Jiandong Sun
Keyword(s):  
Research And Practice ◽  
On Demand

МЕЖДИСЦИПЛИНАРНОСТЬ В ПОДГОТОВКЕ КОНФЛИКТОЛОГОВ: СОСТОЯНИЕ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
А. И. Стребков ◽  
А. И. Мусаев
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Academic Program ◽  
Academic Programs ◽  
Full Time ◽  
The Us ◽  
Promotional Materials ◽  
Russian Universities ◽  
Educational Methodology

The present article concerns with the modern state of things of the conflict resolution specialists’ training in the US universities. The analysis is based on the informational and promotional materials which were picked up from the 11 American universities’ websites. The aim of the analysis was the examination of the four sections, which are: the orientation of the academic program, the content of the program or the scope of the skills, the main methodology of the academic program and the educational technologies. Together with the analysis of the US universities’ academic programs the article provides the comparative analysis of these programs with the Russian academic programs. On the back of this comparative analysis the authors come to the comprehensive conclusion according to which the specialists’ training in the field of the conflict resolution and peacebuilding in the US does not have significant differences from Russian ones and is carried out within one international academic trend in regard to its main features which are: the orientation, content, educational methodology and technologies. The key distinction of the Russian training from the American one is that the Russian academic tradition does have the core subject matter around which the whole academic program is being developed and which is the conflict. This subject matter is being taken in its entirety and the conflict resolution is considered as the closing stage of the conflict studies specialists’ training whereas the academic programs of the US universities embrace the conflict resolution as the subject matter of the academic training and therefores leaves beyond the scope of the training both the theory of the conflict and the forms practice of its manifestation in a number of the programs. The letter is peculiar to both short-term academic programs and the full-time two-year academic programs as it is accepted in the educational space of the Russian Federation. Furthermore, the authors of the article make up the conclusion of the coinciding major educational methodology which guides the academic programs of the American and Russian universities and which is developed on the principles of the interdisciplinarity.

Humans as a Service

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremias Prassl
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Disruptive Innovation ◽  
Level Playing Field ◽  
Employment Relationships ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Gig Economy ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Digital Work ◽  
Stable Employment

The rise of the gig economy is disrupting business models across the globe. Platforms’ digital work intermediation has had a profound impact on traditional conceptions of the employment relationship. The completion of ‘tasks’, ‘gigs’, or ‘rides’ in the (digital) crowd fundamentally challenges our understanding of work in modern labour markets: gone are the stable employment relationships between firms and workers, replaced by a world in which everybody can be ‘their own boss’ and enjoy the rewards—and face the risks—of independent businesses. Is this the future of work? What are the benefits and challenges of crowdsourced work? How can we protect consumers and workers without stifling innovation? Humans as a Service provides a detailed account of the growth and operation of gig-economy platforms, and develops a blueprint for solutions to the problems facing on-demand workers, platforms, and their customers. Following a brief introduction to the growth and operation of on-demand platforms across the world, the book scrutinizes competing narratives about ‘gig’ work. Drawing on a wide range of case studies, it explores how claims of ‘disruptive innovation’ and ‘micro-entrepreneurship’ often obscure the realities of precarious work under strict algorithmic surveillance, and the return to a business model that has existed for centuries. Humans as a Service shows how employment law can address many of these problems: gigs, tasks, and rides are work—and should be regulated as such. A concluding chapter demonstrates the broader benefits of a level playing field for consumers, taxpayers, and innovative entrepreneurs.

scholarly journals Architecture for integrating vertical customer’s programmability control of network functions and connectivity in a slice-as-a-service schema

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis M. Contreras ◽  
Samier Barguil ◽  
Ricard Vilalta ◽  
Victor López
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Use Cases ◽  
Network Slicing ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Network Functions ◽  
End To End ◽  
Operational Networks ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Telecom Infrastructure ◽  
As If

AbstractNetwork slicing will permit offering to vertical customers tailored end-to-end logical networks in an on-demand fashion, on top of a common telecom infrastructure, achieving a Slices-as-a-Service (SlaaS) business model. This is possible due to the progressive introduction of network softwarization techniques, such as programmability and virtualization, into existing operational networks, enabling dynamic and flexible provision of slices. Those vertical customers could require the control not only of the network functions composing the end-to-end service, but also of the connectivity among them, e.g., for influencing the paths for steering traffic among function instances. However, this can be problematic since decisions from one vertical customer can collide with decisions from others. One aspect not yet sufficiently investigated is how to permit vertical customers to jointly control the service functions and the underlay connectivity, in such a way that could operate the allocated slice as if it was actually a dedicated network entirely for them. This paper explores some architectural proposition in this respect illustrated with some potential use cases and it provides an example of the provision of SlaaS for a vertical customer.

What We (Still) Need to Learn: Stuart Hall and the Struggle Against Racism

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (102) ◽  
pp. 78-91
Author(s):  
Gilbert B. Rodman
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Us ◽  
The World ◽  
Stuart Hall ◽  
As If

Forty years ago, in his seminal essay, 'The Whites of Their Eyes', Stuart Hall admonished the left for its – our – collective failure in figuring out how to fight back against racism effectively. Sadly, his criticism is no less valid today than it was then, and we still have a lot to learn about how to defeat racism once and for all. We've known for more than a century that this thing we call 'race' isn't a scientifically valid phenomenon – and yet it continues to function perfectly well in the world as if it is one anyway. As Hall noted in a 2011 interview, the mere act of unmasking essentialisms and deconstructing binaries doesn't stop them from 'roaring away' in the world, completely undisturbed by our analytic prowess. This essay takes stock of the current state of anti-racist struggles (at least in the US) and offers a critical analysis of how and why our current efforts to combat racism continue to be so ineffective.

Workforce Improvement and Lifelong Learning

1995 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-247
Author(s):  
Richard L. Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Common Language ◽  
New Model ◽  
Job Level ◽  
Work Keys ◽  
The Us ◽  
Traditional Paradigm ◽  
The Relationship

The author stresses the importance to the future of the US workforce of the recognition that the traditional notion of education (‘that education and adult life, especially work, are consecutive rather than concurrent’) is inappropriate to contemporary workforce preparation and skills needs. He contrasts the characteristics of the traditional paradigm with those which need to be adopted in a new model of the relationship between education and work. Against this background, Dr Ferguson describes the development and application of the Work Keys System which aims to provide a common language for education and business to participate in preparing people for the transition from full-time education to employment and from one job or job level to another.

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