Category: DATACTIVE working paper series

***hot off the press*** Working Paper “Big Data from the South: Towards a Research Agenda”

What would datafication look like seen… ‘upside down’? What questions would we ask? What concepts, theories and methods would we embrace or have to devise? These questions were at the core of the two-day immersive research workshop ‘Big Data from the South: Towards a Research Agenda’ (University of Amsterdam, 4-5 December 4-5 2018). The event was the third gathering of the Big Data from the South Initiative (BigDataSur), a research network and program launched in 2017 by Stefania Milan (University of Amsterdam) and Emiliano Treré (Cardiff University).

The workshop report has finally been released and is ready for download! Special thanks go to the workshop participants, the authors of the thematic areas Anna Berti Suman (Tilburg University), Niels ten Never, Guillén Torres, Kersti R. Wissenbach and Zhen Ye (University of Amsterdam), and to Tomás Doods, Jeroen de Vos and Sander van Haperen for the editorial assistance.

We take the opportunity to once again thank the sponsors that made the event possible, namely the European Research Council (grant agreement No 639379-DATACTIVE; https://data-activism.net), the Amsterdam Center for Global Studies, the Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis and the Amsterdam Center for European Studies. Our gratitude extends also to SPUI25, the University of Amsterdam and Terre Lente for hosting us.

“Spotting Sharks”: new Working Paper by Jeroen de Vos

We are happy to announce the ALEX’s Competitor analysis, published as part of the DATACTIVE Working Paper Series, by Jeroen de Vos:

Vos, J. de (2019) “Spotting Sharks: ALEX’s Competitor analysis”, DATACTIVE Working paper series, No 2/2019 ISSN: 2666-0733.

(DOWNLOAD THE PAPER HERE)

Abstract
This paper summarizes the output of the competitor analysis for fbTREX conducted as part of the market research for the project Algorithms Exposed (ALEX). fbTREX is a browser plugin that allows harvesting publicly available data on the users Facebook timeline, and its development is currently hosted by the Algorithms Exposed initiative – an effort to facilitate repurposing personal social media data to allow the scaling of systematic empirical inquiry for academic, educational or journalistic purposes. The desk research is enhanced by several interviews and aims to: 1) create initial insights into existing potentially competing organisations; 2) analyse market potential present in a specific field; 3) situate the current understanding of fbTREX in the context of bringing a product to market; and 4) and help prioritize the next step. This research should be read as an intermediate product, which can provide valuable insights to both partners and competitors. Algorithm Exposed is funded by the ERC Proof of Concept grant [grant agreement number 825974].

About Algorithms Exposed
ALEX, a short-cut for “Algorithms Exposed. Investigating Automated Personalization and Filtering for Research and Activism”, aims at unmasking the functioning of personalization algorithms on social media platforms. From an original idea of lead developer Claudio Agosti, ALEX marks the engagement of DATACTIVE with “data activism in practice”—that is to say, turning data into a point of intervention in society. Link to the website.

About the DATACTIVE working paper series
The DATACTIVE Working Paper Series presents results of the DATACTIVE research project. The series aims to disseminate the results of their research to a wider audience. An editorial committee consisting of the DATACTIVE PI and Postdoctoral fellows reviews the quality of the Working Papers. The Series aims to disseminate research results in an accessible manner to a wider audience. Readers are encouraged to provide the authors with feedback and/or questions.

“Auditing the state”: new Working Paper by Guillen Torres

We are happy to announce the first in our 2019 DATACTIVE Working Paper Series, by Guillen Torres:

Torres, G. (2019) “Auditing the State: Everyday Forms of Institutional Resistance in the Mexican Freedom of Information Process”, DATACTIVE Working paper series, No 1/2019 ISSN: 2666-0733.

(DOWNLOAD THE PAPER HERE)

Abstract
Governmental transparency through Freedom of Information (FOI) Laws has become a standard in modern liberal democracies. However, a recent trend documented by practitioners and academics alike consists of governments stating in paper their support for transparency, but in practice implementing various kinds of strategies to limit the flow of information towards engaged citizens, increasing secrecy and opaqueness. While scholarly attention has mostly been set on the motivations and effects of secrecy within institutions, the consequences experienced by politically engaged citizens have received less interest. In this paper I focus on how information activists experience and make sense of instances of information control during the performance of the FOI process, through a case study set in Mexico. I suggest that the constant denials, delays and obstructions activists face during the process of requesting information can be productively analyzed through the concept of Everyday Forms of Resistance.

About the DATACTIVE working paper series
The DATACTIVE Working Paper Series presents results of the DATACTIVE research project. The series aims to disseminate the results of their research to a wider audience. An editorial committee consisting of the DATACTIVE PI and Postdoctoral fellows reviews the quality of the Working Papers. The Series aims to disseminate research results in an accessible manner to a wider audience. Readers are encouraged to provide the authors with feedback and/or questions.