Unpaid labour and territorial extraction in digital value networks

Production in knowledge and data-intensive industries is powered by work that can, in theory, be done from anywhere, via cloudwork platforms. Cloudwork platforms govern data value chains in distinct ways to concentrate power and extract value at the global scale. We argue that unpaid labour is a systemic mechanism of accumulation in these digital value networks. In this paper we demonstrate how it is tied to platform business models and facilitated by elements of platform governance including monopsony power, a high degree of spatial flexibility in sourcing labour, regulatory unaccountability and digital enclosure. We draw on a survey of 699 workers on 14 platforms in 74 countries to show that unpaid labour is an engine of South–North value extraction, and workers in the global South perform more unpaid labour than counterparts in the global North. Our findings have important ramifications our understanding of the changing international division of labour and platform capitalism.     

Interface Style and Training Task Difficulty as Determinants of Effective Computer-Assisted Knowledge Transfer*

The transfer of expert knowledge to novices is one means of improving decision quality. Research needs to identify (1) the knowledge to be transferred to novices, and (2) the best method for transferring that knowledge. Studies that compare the judgment behavior of experienced and novice auditors address the first issue. The present study addresses the second issue in the context of using a computer-assisted training (CAT) program. CAT was selected for study because of evidence that it can both improve the effectiveness and reduce the costs of training. An experiment was conducted in which two factors were manipulated: (1) the design of the human-computer interface of the CAT program, and (2) the content of training tasks. The judgment of interest involved causal reasoning about the relationships between various internal control procedures and possible errors. The results indicate that alternative styles of interaction with a CAT program differ in terms of learning effectiveness. In addition, there was also evidence that training task content affected learning.