Open peer review. Vol 20 (Special Issue) China and the Digital Turn
From hand-held radio to ride-hailing platforms: Research on a local technical network of taxi drivers in China
Wenjie Zhang; Wanxin Tang; Tiantian Yu; Hongzhe Wang
KARPETA
Reviewer A:
Please, comment on the most relevant aspects (positive points and areas to improve) of the reviewed article.
Given that most of the current research on taxi drivers focuses on the platform economy and digital labor, this article explores a new way to lead readers to sink into fourth- or fifth-tier cities in China and see the diverse practices of information and communication technology outside the monopolistic platform economy, which is very enlightening. On the one hand, this article reveals the real world of neglected small and medium-sized towns outside of metropolises in rich details, and on the other hand, it also demonstrates the alternative possibilities of the information have-less in addition to being passively involved in new high-tech networks. This article provides a full and solid field analysis of alternative media, grassroots technology networks, and the technological subjectivity of low-end workers in the semi-periphery areas of China, which was identified as the semi-periphery areas in the world-system analysis.
Would you suggest any changes or make any recommendations to improve the quality of the article?
No additional suggestions
Reviewer B:
Please, comment on the most relevant aspects (positive points and areas to improve) of the reviewed article.
Shenzhen is a first-tier city where technology is generally considered earlier diffusion. The following relevant literature on the technology and labor of online taxi drivers can provide the authors with a reference from the perspective of social class and the degree of informatization. In particular, the authors analyzed the labor surveillance and the labor relationship of the mediated ride-hailing driver group. Recommendations: http://www.cschinese.com/word/23501142019.pdf and Hu, Y., & Ye, W. M. (2019). Mobile work: Ride-hailing drivers' working hours, spaces, and social relations in Shenzhen. Communication & Society, 47, 135-165. Through the intertwined stories of the online taxi system and grassroots groups across time, this study gives us a sketch of the government-platform-technology case that differs from the one-dimensional information capitalism logic. It is very intriguing. The following aspects are expected to be adjusted or extended by the authors. Methods: The Nantong material is very weakly represented in the article, and it could be left out of the method part if it was only a one-sentence comparison. In fact, the deep description of Laizhou is sufficient enough to support a case for discussion on technology and society. Meaning of the research: 1. The author concentrated a lot on describing the evolution and iterative process of different forms of technology in grassroots society. A small summary could make it better in enabling the readers to learn the tension of media technology history-labor process-grassroots society. 2. In the introduction, the author mentioned Professor Qiu's concept of information-have-less. It would be better to elaborate more on the examples in this paper. 3. Perhaps the discussion section can be extended to Piketty's imagination of a platform society and socialist state.
Would you suggest any changes or make any recommendations to improve the quality of the article?
Please see the document attached
Editorial Report
Given that most of the current research on taxi drivers focuses on the platform economy and digital labor, this article explores a new way to lead readers to sink into fourth- or fifth-tier cities in China and see the diverse practices of information and communication technology outside the monopolistic platform economy, which is very enlightening. This article reveals the real world of neglected small and medium-sized towns outside of metropolises in rich detail. On the other hand, it also demonstrates the alternative possibilities of the information have-less and being passively involved in new high-tech networks. It provides a full and solid field analysis of alternative media, grassroots technology networks, and the technological subjectivity of low-end workers in the semi-periphery areas of China, which were identified as the semi-periphery areas in the world-system analysis.
Please follow the reviewer’s comments and suggestions for further improvements. Keywords: The "history of technology" can be highlighted in the keywords, to match the effort in the manuscript. Literature: Shenzhen is a first-tier city where technology is generally considered earlier diffusion. The following relevant literature on the technology and labor of online taxi drivers can provide the authors with a reference from the perspective of social class and the degree of informatization. In particular, the authors analyzed the labor surveillance and the labor relationship of the mediated ridehailing driver group. Methods: The Nantong material is very weakly represented in the article, and it could be left out of the method part if it was only a one-sentence comparison. In fact, the deep description of Laizhou is sufficient enough to support a case for discussion on technology and society. Meaning of the research: 1) The author concentrated a lot on describing the evolution and iterative process of different forms of technology in grassroots society. A small summary could make it better in enabling the readers to learn the tension of media technology history-labor process-grassroots society. 2) In the introduction, the author mentioned Professor Qiu's concept of information-have-less. It would be better to elaborate more on the examples in this paper. 3) Perhaps the discussion section can be extended to Piketty's imagination of a platform society and socialist state.
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