New Perspectives In Critical Data Studies: The Ambivalences Of Data Power

Contents
Notes on Contributors
List of Figures
List of Images
List of Tables
New Perspectives in Critical Data Studies: The Ambivalences of Data Power—An Introduction
Introduction
Critical Data Studies as a Field: From Big Data to the Complexity of Digital Data and Data Infrastructures
Perspectives in Critical Data Studies: The Ambivalences of Data Power
References
Part I: Global Infrastructures and Local Invisibilities
Data Power and Counter-power with Chinese Characteristics
Introduction
AI Superpower?
Complex Reality Through Historical and Conflictive Lenses
Chinese Data Power and Counter-power
Conclusion
References
Transnational Networks of Influence: The Twitter Presence of the Quantified Self and Maker Movements’ Organizational Elites
Introduction
State of Research: The QS and Maker Movements’ Organisational Elites
Methodological Approach: Contextualised Twitter Network Analysis
QS Movement: A Network of Opinion Leaders
The Transnational Network
The National Context
Maker: A Network of Heterogeneous Organisations
The Transnational Network
The National Context
Conclusion
References
The Power of Data Science Ontogeny: Thick Data Studies on the Indian IT Skill Tutoring Microcosm
Introduction
An Overview of Technical Education, Higher Education, and Unemployability in India
Methodology and Field Sites
The Ameerpet IT Skill Hub: There Is a Skill Just Around the Corner
The Coaching Micro Hubs of Kumbakonam
Computer Coaching Centres
Beyond Developing IT Skills to Employment
Conclusion
References
Fighting the “System”: A Pilot Project on the Opacity of Algorithms in Political Communication
Introduction
Political Communication in the Age of Algorithms
Research Objectives and Methodology
Establishing and Feeding Control Accounts
Creating Profiles and Feeding the Control Accounts
Preliminary Findings
Next Steps
Conclusion
References
Indigenous Peoples, Data, and the Coloniality of Surveillance
Introduction
Colonialism and the Racialised Surveillance of Indigenous Peoples
Surveilling and Managing Indigenous Deviance and Threat
Colonial Surveillance in an Era of Big Data in Aotearoa NZ
Māori Data Sovereignty: Resistance and Self-determination
Conclusion
References
Part II: State and Data Justice
The Datafied Welfare State: A Perspective from the UK
Introduction
Matrix of Social Power and the Foundations of the British Welfare State
The Datafication of Welfare in the UK
Datafication as Responsibilisation
Datafication as Rentierism
Conclusion
References
The Value Dynamics of Data Capitalism: Cultural Production and Consumption in a Datafied World
Introduction
Value and Values
Dynamics of Data Capitalism
Relations Between Value Forms
Conclusions
References
Mapping Data Justice as a Multidimensional Concept Through Feminist and Legal Perspectives
Introduction
“What’s in a Name?”—Data Justice as a Concept in Feminist and Legal Scholarship
Feminist Accounts of Data Justice
Legal Framework: Justice, Data, and the Challenges of Digitalisation
Data Protection Law
The Justice Aspects of Non-personal Data
Expanding Data Justice Through Feminist and Legal Perspectives
Feminist Avenues Towards Rethinking Data Justice
Feminist Suggestions for IT-Design Towards Data Justice
Legal Interventions for Data Justice in the Current Legal Framework
Towards Operationalising Data Justice
Potentials and Limitations of Integrating Feminist and Legal Perspectives for Data Justice in IT-Design
References
Reconfiguring Education Through Data: How Data Practices Reconfigure Teacher Professionalism and Curriculum
Introduction
Data Practices Reconfiguring Education
Following the Social Life of Data in an English Secondary School
Prioritising Pupils: The Data Drop Machinery
Reconfiguring Access to and Delivery of the Curriculum
An Algorithmic Triage Device Determining Curricular Access
Disaggregating the Curriculum to Calculate ‘Progress’ Data
Averaging ‘Progress’ Scores
Reconfiguring the Possibilities of Qualification, Socialisation and Subjectification
Reconfiguring Teachers’ Educational Knowledge and Judgements
Excluding Professional Judgement
Becoming a Data-orientated Teacher and School
Standardising Judgement and Practice
Conclusion: What Is Made to Matter and What Is Excluded from Mattering?
References
Public Values and Technological Change: Mapping how Municipalities Grapple with Data Ethics
Introduction
Method: Participatory Observation with DEDA
Analysis: Moore’s Triangle Made Tangible
Operational Capacities
Authorising Environment
Public Value Outcomes
Conclusion
References
Welfare Data Society? Critical Evaluation of the Possibilities of Developing Data Infrastructure Literacy from User Data Workshops to Public Service Media
Introduction
Notions of Digital Literacy Based on User Data Workshops
YLE Learning as a Content Provider for Digital and Data Infrastructure Literacy
Conclusion
References
Part III: Everyday Practices and Collective Action
(Not) Safe to Use: Insecurities in Everyday Data Practices with Period-Tracking Apps
Introduction
Material and Methods
Situating Period Trackers and Period Tracking
Situating Period Trackers as Gendered Technology
Resonances in Observing and Measuring Menstrual Cycles
Motives, Benefits, and Promises of App-Based Period Tracking
Reasons for Tracking Menstrual Cycles
Benefits of Using an App
The Promise of Data and Smart Algorithms: To Be on the Safe Side
Critiques of Period Trackers’ Smartness: Two Safety Concerns or Data Insecurities
Unwise Algorithms and Old Methods Repackaged
Critical Dataflows of Intimate Data
Negotiating Data Insecurities—Pitfalls, Lessons Learned, and New Competences
Data Insecurities 1: Understanding Menstruating Bodies with and Through Data
Data Insecurities 2: Sidestepping the Vague Privacy of Logged Data
Conclusion
References
Community Rankings and Affective Discipline: The Case of Fandometrics
Fan Data and Fandom Metrics
Locating Community Rankings in Social Media and Audience Measurement
Large and Loud…Without Sentiment
Who Is Silenced?
“Drown Them Out!” Industry-Encouraged Competition and Quantification Anxiety
Leaving Metrics, Reclaiming Data
References
Affinity Spaces as an Analytical Lens for Attending to Temporality in Critical Data Studies: The Case of COVID-19-Related, Educational Twitter Communication
Introduction
Analysing Twitter in Times of Crisis
The COVID-19 Pandemic and German Education in Context
Case Study and Research Design
#twlz as an Affinity Space
Educational Technologies and Their Providers in #twlz
The Quest for Dialogue with Political Actors
Towards a Process View in Critical Data Studies
References
“Party like it’s December 31, 1983”: Supporting Data Literacy at CryptoParties
Introduction
From Media Literacy to Data Literacy
Case Studies and Methods
Supporting Data Literacy at CryptoParties
Conclusion
References
Researching Public Trust in Datafication: Reflections on the Deliberative Citizen Jury as Method
Introduction: Citizen Juries as Research Methods
Public Perceptions of Datafication
Our Citizen Jury Process
Session 1: What Are Your Criteria for Trusted Interactions with Data-Driven Systems?
Session 2: What Are Your Criteria for a Trusted Way of Managing Data?
Section 3: What Are the Most Important Criteria for the Design of Ethical, Just and Trusted Data-Driven Systems?
Reflections on Findings and on the Citizen Jury as Method for Researching Public Trust in Datafication
References
Worker Perspectives on Designs for a Crowdwork Co-operative
Introduction
Platform Co-operativism
Moving Towards a Critical Design Epistemology
Crowdworker Perspectives on Crowdwork Co-operatives
Towards a Worker-Driven Design for a Crowdwork Co-operative
Co-operative Values from the Workers’ Perspective
Platform Infrastructure
Payment
Quality Control
Decision Making and Governance
A Prototype Software Architecture for a Crowdwork Co-operative
Example of the Worker Seeking Role and Worker Role Views
Conclusion: Towards a Crowdwork Co-operative Prototype?
References
Counting, Debunking, Making, Witnessing, Shielding: What Critical Data Studies Can Learn from Data Activism During the Pandemic
Introduction
Two Shifts of Data Power
Data Activism as an Alternative to Dominant Data Power
Data Activist Tactics During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Counting
Debunking
Making
Witnessing
Shielding
Data Activism Reloaded: Open Questions for the Post-pandemic World
What Path for Critical Data Studies?
References
Index