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Start date:
Jul 2014
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End date:
Jun 2020
- Contact:
- Project site
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Funder:
- European Commission, European Research Council
This research project is examining the geographies, drivers, and effects of Sub-Saharan Africa's emerging information economies at a time of changing connectivity and Internet access across the region.
Overview
Sub-Saharan Africa has traditionally been characterised by stark barriers to telecommunication and flows of information. Rates for long distance phone calls throughout Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) used to be some of the highest in the world, and Internet costs and speeds similarly were out of the reach of all but the most privileged citizens. However, in the last few years, there have been radical changes to SSA’s international connectivity. Fibre-optic cables have been laid throughout the continent and there are now almost one hundred million Internet users and over seven hundred million mobile users in the region.
This rapid transformation in the region’s connectivity has encouraged politicians, journalists, academics, and citizens to speak of an ICT-fuelled economic revolution happening on the continent. Many see the potential for SSA to move away from reliance on agriculture and extractive industries and towards a focus on the quaternary and quinary sectors (in other words, the knowledge-based parts of the economy). However, while much research has been conducted into the impacts of ICTs on older economic processes and practices, there remains surprisingly little research into the emergence of a new informationalised economy in Africa. As such, it is precisely now that we urgently need groundbreaking frontier research to understand precisely what impacts are observable, who benefits, and how these changes match up to our expectations for change. We need to ask if we are seeing a new era of development on the continent fuelled by ICTs, or whether Sub- Saharan Africa’s engagement with the global knowledge economy continues to be on terms that reinforce dependence, underdevelopment, and economic extraversion.
This research project is designed to tackle this broad line of inquiry by focusing on the geographies, drivers, and effects of Sub-Saharan Africa’s emerging information economies at this important moment of change. We do so by focusing on three key research contexts: the economic geographies of knowledge production and digital participation from SSA; outsourcing and bottom-of-the-pyramid labour; and the creative service sector. Using a mixed-methods approach, we will document the challenges and the unanticipated and innovative uses resulting from this changing connectivity. A range of contemporary discourses about the benefits of SSA’s changing connectivity can be compared with the material effects that ICTs are having, thus allowing us to cut through the hype and empirically evaluate the benefits and impacts of of new communication technologies in Africa. This project will contribute not only to academic and policy debates surrounding the economic benefits of connectivity and Internet access, but will also provide a robust evidence base crucial in shaping future rounds of ICT related development projects in low-income countries.
Support
This project is supported by an ERC Starting Grant.
Latest blog posts
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Does economic upgrading lead to social upgrading in contact centers? Evidence from South Africa
Date Published: 17 April 2019 - 5:27 pm
Authors: Mohammad Anwar
Mark Graham and I have just published a new article in the African Geographical Review. The article’s main argument is that economic upgrading in ...
Read More Does economic upgrading lead to social upgrading in contact centers? Evidence from South Africa -
Digital Economies at Global Margins
Date Published: 24 January 2019 - 4:17 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I am happy to announce that my new edited book ‘Digital Economies at Global Margins‘ is now out! It was a pleasure working with ...
Read More Digital Economies at Global Margins -
The rise of the planetary labour market
Date Published: 30 January 2018 - 8:15 am
Authors: Mark Graham
I have a short piece in New Statesman about the rise of what I am calling a planetary labour market. I wrote it ...
Read More The rise of the planetary labour market
People
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Professor Mark Graham
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Principal Investigator
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Dr Stefano De Sabbata
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Researcher
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Nicolas Friederici
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Student Researcher
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Dr Christopher Foster
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Researcher
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Sanna Ojanperä
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Researcher
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Dr Mohammad Amir Anwar
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Researcher
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Dr Fabian Braesemann
Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Researcher
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Michel Wahome
Researcher
Publications
Publications
Books
- Graham, M. and Shaw, J. (2017) Towards a Fairer Gig Economy. Meatspace Press.
Chapters
- Graham, M. (2019) "There are No Rights ‘in’ Cyberspace" In: Research Handbook on Human Rights and Digital Technology: Global Politics, Law and International RelationsResearch Handbooks in Human Rights series. SciDev.Net. 24-32.
- Graham, M. and Anwar, M.A. (2017) "Digital Labour" In: Digital Geographies Ash, J., Kitchin, R. and Leszczynski, A. (eds.). SAGE. 177-187.
Conference papers
- Ojanpera, S., Graham, M., Straumann, R. and De Sabbata, S. (2016) "Measuring the Contours of the Global Knowledge Economy with a Digital Index", Development Studies Association Conference. Development Studies Association.
Journal articles
- Ballatore, A., Graham, M. and Sen, S. (2017) "Digital Hegemonies: The localness of search engine results", Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 107 (5) 1194-1215.
- Graham, M., Hjorth, I. and Lehdonvirta, V. (2017) "Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods", Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research. 23 (2) 135-162.
- Ojanpera, S., Graham, M., Straumann, R., De Sabbata, S. and Zook, M. (2017) "Engagement in the Knowledge Economy: Regional Patterns of Content Creation with a Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa", Information Technologies and International Development 13. 13 33-51.
- Ojanpera, S. (2017) "Book review: Africa's Future: Darkness to Destiny: How the Past is Shaping Africa's Economic Evolution", Progress in Development Studies. 17 (1).
- Friederici, N., Ojanperä, S. and Graham, M. (2016) "The Impact of Connectivity in Africa: Grand Visions and the Mirage of Inclusive Digital Development", Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. 79 (2) 1-20.
- Foster, C. and Graham, M. (2016) "Reconsidering the Role of the Digital in Global Production Networks", Global Networks: a Journal of Transnational Affairs. 17 (1) 68-88.
- Graham, M., Mann, L., Friederici, N. and Waema, T. (2016) "Growing the Kenyan Business Process Outsourcing Sector", The African Technopolitan. 5 93-95.
- Graham, M. and Foster, C. (2016) "Geographies of Information Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa", African Technopolitan. 5 78-85.
- Straumann, R.K. and Graham, M. (2016) "Who isn’t online? Mapping the ‘Archipelago of Disconnection’", Regional Studies, Regional Science. 3 (1) 96-98.
Internet publications
- Wood, A., Graham, M., Anwar, M. and Ramizo Jr, G. (2017) Minimum wages on online labour platforms: a response to the ETUI and IG Metall's request for commentOxford Internet Institute Working Papers. Oxford Internet Institute.
- Graham, M. (2015) Digital work signals a global race to the bottom. SciDev.Net.
Events
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Digital Transformations of Work Conference
10 March 2016, 09:00:00 - 16:30:00
This conference is presented as part of the Green Templeton Transformation of Work Conference
Videos
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Digital Labour and Development: New Knowledge Economies or Digital Sweatshops
Duration: 00:33:38
Date: 10 March 2016
Professor Mark Graham explains that Digital labor is increasingly coming to the attention of policy-makers and development practitioners.
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Rentier Capitalism: Taskers in the Precariat
Duration: 00:31:35
Date: 10 March 2016
Professor Guy Standing explains how the globalisation of labour and work has produced a global precariat
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Digitization And Work: Potentials and Challenges in Low-Wage Labor Markets
Duration: 00:20:52
Date: 10 March 2016
Professor Saskia Sassen discusses the need to develop social categories and logics for understanding technology.
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Digital Labour and Exploitation: It’s not a Done Deal
Duration: 00:39:53
Date: 10 March 2016
Dr Karen Gregory provides an overview of digital labour and exploitation
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Fragmented time and the UK social care sector
Duration: 00:25:53
Date: 10 March 2016
Professor Jill Rubery provides a case study of care work in the UK which demonstrates that although technology facilitates ... Read More Fragmented time and the UK social care sector
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Divergent Temporalities: Polarisation or Marginalisation
Duration: 00:21:18
Date: 10 March 2016
Professor Kevin Doogan argues that technological change is not an autonomous process, which drives everything in its wake regardless ... Read More Divergent Temporalities: Polarisation or Marginalisation
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Digital Jobs in the EU and Self-Employment in Developing Countries
Duration: 00:21:26
Date: 10 March 2016
Dr Brendan Burchell defines digital jobs, shows their prevalence in Europe and then investigates their quality highlighting that in ... Read More Digital Jobs in the EU and Self-Employment in Developing Countries
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Online Platforms, Diversity and Fragmentation
Duration: 00:23:38
Date: 10 March 2016
Dr Vili Lehdonvirta, uses survey data and interviews with workers to show the heterogeneity of backgrounds and outcomes for ... Read More Online Platforms, Diversity and Fragmentation
News
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General Election outcome crucial for millions of gig workers
4 December 2019
Researchers from Oxford University say the 2019 General Election is a critical moment for the economic and social wellbeing of the millions of workers in the UK’s “gig economy”.
Blog
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Second round of Fairwork’s yearly platform ratings in South Africa launched!
Date Published: 18 March 2020 - 1:27 pm
Authors: Sara Spinks
The Fairwork South Africa 2020 report highlights the precarious nature of work in the South African gig economy. This research is particularly timely in ...
Read More Second round of Fairwork’s yearly platform ratings in South Africa launched! -
How to build a fairer gig economy in 4 steps by Professor Mark Graham
Date Published: 4 November 2019 - 12:02 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
You’ve probably heard at least two things about the gig economy. First, that it’s big. In 2019, roughly one-in-10 workers in the UK earns ...
Read More How to build a fairer gig economy in 4 steps by Professor Mark Graham -
Fairwork Foundation’s First Annual Report Released!
Date Published: 17 October 2019 - 3:32 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
The Fairwork Foundation – an organisation supported by the OII – is delighted to announce the release of our first major report, The Five ...
Read More Fairwork Foundation’s First Annual Report Released! -
Does economic upgrading lead to social upgrading in contact centers? Evidence from South Africa
Date Published: 17 April 2019 - 5:27 pm
Authors: Mohammad Anwar
Mark Graham and I have just published a new article in the African Geographical Review. The article’s main argument is that economic upgrading in ...
Read More Does economic upgrading lead to social upgrading in contact centers? Evidence from South Africa -
Digital Economies at Global Margins
Date Published: 24 January 2019 - 4:17 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I am happy to announce that my new edited book ‘Digital Economies at Global Margins‘ is now out! It was a pleasure working with ...
Read More Digital Economies at Global Margins -
The rise of the planetary labour market
Date Published: 30 January 2018 - 8:15 am
Authors: Mark Graham
I have a short piece in New Statesman about the rise of what I am calling a planetary labour market. I wrote it ...
Read More The rise of the planetary labour market -
Labour oversupply in the platform economy
Date Published: 22 December 2017 - 2:12 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
When I give talks about issues that arise in the context of a global market for digital work, one of the most important things ...
Read More Labour oversupply in the platform economy -
Digital Control in Value Chains: Challenges of Connectivity for East African Firms
Date Published: 18 December 2017 - 9:15 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I’m happy to report on a new co-authored paper that I have out. The piece asks what difference changing connectivity has made for ...
Read More Digital Control in Value Chains: Challenges of Connectivity for East African Firms -
The shape of work to come
Date Published: 19 October 2017 - 9:24 am
Authors: Mark Graham
Nature just published a published a long article about the ‘three ways that the digital revolution is reshaping workforces around the world.’ Amir Anwar ...
Read More The shape of work to come -
Mapping internet users
Date Published: 10 July 2017 - 2:22 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
We have a new visualisation posted over on the Geonet blog depicting the geography of internet access. Head over there for the full post ...
Read More Mapping internet users -
Towards a Fairer Gig Economy
Date Published: 10 July 2017 - 10:08 am
Authors: Mark Graham
Our second pamphlet ‘Towards a Fairer Gig Economy’ is now out on Meatspace Press. We are pleased to offer it for free download (pdf, ...
Read More Towards a Fairer Gig Economy -
Minimum wages on online labour platforms
Date Published: 15 June 2017 - 8:25 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
A response to the ETUI and IG Metall’s request for comment. Download the PDF at: Wood, A., Graham, M., Anwar, M. A., Ramizo, G. ...
Read More Minimum wages on online labour platforms -
Want to work with us at the Oxford Internet Institute? I’m hiring a Digital Geographer!
Date Published: 5 May 2017 - 12:59 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I am hiring a Digital Geographer to work with me at the Oxford Internet Institute for two years on a full-time contract (we’ll also ...
Read More Want to work with us at the Oxford Internet Institute? I’m hiring a Digital Geographer! -
ICT and Development seminar series – 2017 webcasts
Date Published: 29 March 2017 - 3:28 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Our ICT and Development seminar series gathers leading scholars and practitioners to reflect on the influence of new communication technologies on development processes. We ...
Read More ICT and Development seminar series – 2017 webcasts -
Introducing a FairWork Foundation
Date Published: 24 March 2017 - 11:35 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
A picture I took at a training programme for digital workers in Nairobi. The workers are being taught how to transcribe an audio file ...
Read More Introducing a FairWork Foundation -
Geonet Research Presentation at the UNI Africa’s 4th Regional Conference- March 25, 2017
Date Published: 23 March 2017 - 6:31 pm
Authors: Mohammad Anwar
The trade union leaders from across the African continent are coming together to meet in Dakar, Senegal for 4th UNI Africa Regional Conference on March ...
Read More Geonet Research Presentation at the UNI Africa’s 4th Regional Conference- March 25, 2017 -
New paper: Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods
Date Published: 21 March 2017 - 8:22 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
As ever more policy-makers, governments and organisations turn to the gig economy and digital labour as an economic development strategy to bring jobs to ...
Read More New paper: Digital labour and development: impacts of global digital labour platforms and the gig economy on worker livelihoods -
Birth of ENDL, the European Network on Digital Labour
Date Published: 9 March 2017 - 10:34 am
Authors: Mark Graham
From all over Europe, researchers in the emergent field of digital labour assembled in Paris for the launch event of ENDL, the European Network ...
Read More Birth of ENDL, the European Network on Digital Labour -
Digitally Augmented Geographies – New Publication
Date Published: 2 March 2017 - 4:38 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I have another new publication out this week. Thanks to the editors (Rob Kitchin, Tracey Lauriault, and Matt Wilson) for all of their efforts ...
Read More Digitally Augmented Geographies – New Publication -
Digital gig work and outsourcing in Africa- Update on Geonet
Date Published: 27 February 2017 - 7:14 pm
Authors: Mohammad Anwar
This is a short post about the research that I lead into digital work and the digital economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. The work that ...
Read More Digital gig work and outsourcing in Africa- Update on Geonet -
Join our London Digital Labour Meetup
Date Published: 26 February 2017 - 8:50 am
Authors: Mark Graham
If you are interested in scholarship or activism on the topic of digital labour and the future of work, then consider joining our regular ...
Read More Join our London Digital Labour Meetup -
Digital \ Human \ Labour – our schedule at the AAG
Date Published: 25 January 2017 - 11:11 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I have co-organised a series of session tracks for the AAG meeting titled ‘Digital Human Labour’. My great co-organisers (listed below) and I received ...
Read More Digital \ Human \ Labour – our schedule at the AAG -
Let’s make platform capitalism more accountable
Date Published: 20 December 2016 - 9:34 am
Authors: Mark Graham
What do Google, Uber, and Facebook have in common? You might think that the answer is that they are all technology companies. But actually ...
Read More Let’s make platform capitalism more accountable -
Are mobile phones transforming Africa?
Date Published: 14 December 2016 - 1:53 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
The latest version of the Economist contains a boldly-titled piece: ‘Mobile phones are transforming Africa‘. The general sense in the piece is that, where ...
Read More Are mobile phones transforming Africa? -
Are mobile phones transforming Africa?
Date Published: 14 December 2016 - 10:29 am
Authors: Mark Graham
The latest version of the Economist contains a boldly-titled piece: ‘Mobile phones are transforming Africa‘. The general sense in the piece is that, where ...
Read More Are mobile phones transforming Africa? -
On how Google frames, shapes and distorts how we see the world
Date Published: 13 December 2016 - 3:03 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Carole Cadwalladr has written an excellent set of articles for the Observer on how Google ‘frames, shapes and distorts how we see the world’. ...
Read More On how Google frames, shapes and distorts how we see the world -
Hiring a Researcher at Oxford: Digital Entrepreneurship | Economic Geography | Sub-Saharan Africa
Date Published: 9 December 2016 - 4:04 pm
Authors: Nicolas Friederici
We are recruiting a full-time Researcher to work with us at the Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford) on a project that critically assesses the ...
Read More Hiring a Researcher at Oxford: Digital Entrepreneurship | Economic Geography | Sub-Saharan Africa -
Mapping Twitter
Date Published: 3 December 2016 - 4:33 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I’ve been working with Antonello Romano to update some of our older research into the geography of Twitter. Below you can see some maps ...
Read More Mapping Twitter -
Work with me at the Oxford Internet Institute: we’re hiring a Data Scientist / Data Hacker
Date Published: 18 November 2016 - 11:33 am
Authors: Mark Graham
Data Scientist/Data Hacker Oxford Internet Institute, 1 St Giles, Oxford Grade 7: £31,076 – £38,183 p.a. The Oxford Internet Institute is a leading centre ...
Read More Work with me at the Oxford Internet Institute: we’re hiring a Data Scientist / Data Hacker -
Mapping the Availability of Online Labour
Date Published: 20 October 2016 - 11:10 pm
Authors: Sanna Ojanpera
Digitalization and the increasing connectivity across the globe have capacitated the emergence of an online labour market. A number of platforms now facilitate transactions ...
Read More Mapping the Availability of Online Labour -
Semantic Cities: Coded Geopolitics and the Rise of the Semantic Web.
Date Published: 12 May 2016 - 1:17 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
In order to understand how the city’s contested political contexts are embedded into its digital layers, we traced how the city is represented on ...
Read More Semantic Cities: Coded Geopolitics and the Rise of the Semantic Web. -
Hubs vs. Incubators: What Are the Pain Points for Impact and Efficiency?
Date Published: 28 December 2015 - 7:52 pm
Authors: Nicolas Friederici
With tech entrepreneurship on the rise across Africa, efforts to support the agenda are evolving and diversifying. There has been quite a bit of ...
Read More Hubs vs. Incubators: What Are the Pain Points for Impact and Efficiency? -
New Paper: Information Geographies and Geographies of Information
Date Published: 29 September 2015 - 11:36 am
Authors: Mark Graham
The latest issue of New Geographies is now out, and contains an exciting collection of papers: My contribution to the issue is titled ‘Information Geographies and ...
Read More New Paper: Information Geographies and Geographies of Information -
New publication – Digital Divisions of Labor and Informational Magnetism: Mapping Participation in Wikipedia
Date Published: 7 September 2015 - 4:51 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Network of Wikipedia edits between world regions, normalised for each target region. The edges are coloured according to the source region. Percentages denote self-edits ...
Read More New publication – Digital Divisions of Labor and Informational Magnetism: Mapping Participation in Wikipedia -
“Towards a study of information geographies” A full list of our maps
Date Published: 17 August 2015 - 8:14 am
Authors: Mark Graham
We very recently published a paper that brings together a lot of the internet mapping work that we’ve been doing: Graham, M., S. De ...
Read More “Towards a study of information geographies” A full list of our maps -
Towards a study of information geographies. Here is our full collection of maps
Date Published: 17 August 2015 - 8:02 am
Authors: Mark Graham
We very recently published a paper that brings together a lot of the internet mapping work that we’ve been doing: Graham, M., S. De Sabbata, ...
Read More Towards a study of information geographies. Here is our full collection of maps -
New paper – Towards a study of information geographies:(im)mutable augmentations and a mapping of the geographies of information
Date Published: 14 August 2015 - 4:29 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Our research group spends a lot of time mapping the internet and the digital information that flows within it. So we decided to attempt ...
Read More New paper – Towards a study of information geographies:(im)mutable augmentations and a mapping of the geographies of information -
Growing Digital Divides? Measuring Regional Changes in Internet Penetration
Date Published: 1 August 2015 - 11:43 pm
Authors: Ralph Straumann
Internet penetration between 2009 and 2013 per world region (click for larger version) Our previous mappings showed that access to the internet is highly uneven, ...
Read More Growing Digital Divides? Measuring Regional Changes in Internet Penetration -
New job working with the Geonet team at the Oxford Internet Institute: ‘Researcher in ICTs, Geography and Development’
Date Published: 22 July 2015 - 11:56 am
Authors: Mark Graham
We are now hiring a researcher to work with us to investigate low-wage digital work being carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Oxford Internet ...
Read More New job working with the Geonet team at the Oxford Internet Institute: ‘Researcher in ICTs, Geography and Development’ -
Uneven Geographies of Digital Wages
Date Published: 9 June 2015 - 10:36 am
Authors: Mark Graham
Dollar Inflow and Median Wage by Country Our previous post contained a few maps that shed light on the geographies of online work. But ...
Read More Uneven Geographies of Digital Wages -
The Work We Want
Date Published: 26 May 2015 - 1:58 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
The ‘Work We Want’ project has just put together a series of short videos about digital labour: encouraging us to think about not just likely ...
Read More The Work We Want -
Mapping the geographies of digital work
Date Published: 13 April 2015 - 5:29 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
With the rise of online work platforms like Odesk, Elance, and Freelancer, a lot of work can, in theory, be done from anywhere on ...
Read More Mapping the geographies of digital work -
Is oDesk a global marketplace? Visualizing the geographies of digital work
Date Published: 13 April 2015 - 5:15 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
With the rise of online work platforms like Odesk, Elance, and Freelancer, a lot of work can, in theory, be done from anywhere on ...
Read More Is oDesk a global marketplace? Visualizing the geographies of digital work -
New publication – Mapping Information Wealth and Poverty: The Geography of Gazetteers
Date Published: 31 March 2015 - 2:32 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Spatial distribution of placenames in the GeoNames gazetteer Spatial distibution of placenames in GeoNames included in the dataset of populated places with more than ...
Read More New publication – Mapping Information Wealth and Poverty: The Geography of Gazetteers -
New paper – Mapping Information Wealth and Poverty: The Geography of Gazetteers
Date Published: 31 March 2015 - 2:31 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
Spatial distribution of placenames in the GeoNames gazetteer Spatial distibution of placenames in GeoNames included in the dataset of populated places with more than ...
Read More New paper – Mapping Information Wealth and Poverty: The Geography of Gazetteers -
Harare’s Hubs: Excitement, Experimentation, and Many Open Questions
Date Published: 5 January 2015 - 2:41 am
Authors: Nicolas Friederici
During the interviews I conducted in Zimbabwe last October, many participants asked me: “Why pick Harare as a case study? Why not Nairobi or ...
Read More Harare’s Hubs: Excitement, Experimentation, and Many Open Questions -
Let’s Work Together: Mobile Operators and Digital Startups in Africa
Date Published: 29 December 2014 - 3:01 am
Authors: Nicolas Friederici
Click here to view this post as it originally appeared on VC4Africa. We all know that early monetization and revenue generation are crucial ...
Read More Let’s Work Together: Mobile Operators and Digital Startups in Africa -
Harare’s Fledgling Tech Entrepreneurs
Date Published: 14 December 2014 - 4:58 am
Authors: Nicolas Friederici
Tech entrepreneurship is definitely on the rise in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, actually, this rise is not evenly distributed across Africa’s vast geography. Leaving aside ...
Read More Harare’s Fledgling Tech Entrepreneurs -
Kigali’s Evolving Tech Innovation… Ecosystem
Date Published: 25 November 2014 - 1:04 am
Authors: Nicolas Friederici
“Ecosystem” has become one of the most common terms in tech innovation. It rolls easily off the tongue, probably because it has a communal ...
Read More Kigali’s Evolving Tech Innovation… Ecosystem -
Schedule of Presentations for AAG2015
Date Published: 6 November 2014 - 3:58 pm
Authors: Chris Foster
Update: Times, locations and links to abstracts now available. Please see listings below Our recent call for papers for two sessions at the 2015 ...
Read More Schedule of Presentations for AAG2015 -
Fieldwork in our Development and Digital Labour Project
Date Published: 24 October 2014 - 11:49 am
Authors: Mark Graham
The photographs above come from a conference for online freelancers that Isis, Vili, and I attended in Manila a few days ago. The conference ...
Read More Fieldwork in our Development and Digital Labour Project -
Digital Labour and Development
Date Published: 22 October 2014 - 5:19 am
Authors: Mark Graham
The picture above was taken in Pasig City in the Philippines. The poster advertising free wifi is symbolic of the changing connectivities of a country in which more than ...
Read More Digital Labour and Development -
Introducing GEONET: studying Sub-Saharan Africa’s knowledge economies
Date Published: 14 October 2014 - 2:20 pm
Authors: Mark Graham
I’m happy to announce the launch of the new GEONET project: studying ‘Changing Connectivities and the Potentials of Sub-Saharan Africa’s Knowledge Economy.’ This five-year ...
Read More Introducing GEONET: studying Sub-Saharan Africa’s knowledge economies -
Our paper at the Network Inclusion Roundtable: Geographies of Information Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa
Date Published: 30 September 2014 - 7:34 am
Authors: Mark Graham
Chris Foster and I have had the opportunity to participate in the Network Inclusion Roundtable: organised by IT For Change in Bangalore. Our short ...
Read More Our paper at the Network Inclusion Roundtable: Geographies of Information Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa -
AAG 2015 CFP – From Online Sweat Shops to Silicon Savannahs: Geographies of Production in Digital Economies of Low-Income Countries
Date Published: 28 July 2014 - 10:17 am
Authors: Mark Graham
From Online Sweat Shops to Silicon Savannahs: Geographies of Production in Digital Economies of Low-Income Countries AAG Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 21-25, ...
Read More AAG 2015 CFP – From Online Sweat Shops to Silicon Savannahs: Geographies of Production in Digital Economies of Low-Income Countries
Press
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Why you should start talking to your Uber driver
Date Published: 1 March 2020
Source: Daily Maverick
Next time you take an Uber, consider sitting in the front seat and asking your driver some questions.
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Mark Graham, de Oxford Internet Institute: “Los trabajadores de plataformas, las plataformas y la economía gig están definidos por la vulnerabilidad de los trabajadores”
Date Published: 21 November 2019
Source: The Economist
Este académico británico está en una cruzada por humanizar la denominada gig economy. Para ello, investiga el impacto de las emergentes formas de trabajo digital en países de todo el globo. Es uno de los creadores de Fairwork, fundación que promueve el tr
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How to build a fairer gig economy in 4 steps
Date Published: 1 November 2019
Source: World Economic Forum
First, that it’s big. In 2019, roughly one-in-10 workers in the UK earns a living in the gig economy.
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The ghost work powering tech magic
Date Published: 2 September 2019
Source: BBC News
Armies of workers help power the technological wizardry that is reshaping our lives – but they are invisible and their jobs are precarious.
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One More Way to Die: Delivering Food in Cape Town’s Gig Economy
Date Published: 24 August 2019
Source: New York Times
CAPE TOWN — He had delivered his last food order for the evening and was driving home from Pinelands, a suburb in Cape Town, when an oncoming car swung in front of him, knocking him off his motorbike.
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A global gig economy
Date Published: 2 August 2019
Source: BBC Business Daily
Are freelancing platforms threatening worker's rights?
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How to manage the gig economy’s growing global jobs market
Date Published: 30 October 2018
Source: Financial Times
Platforms focus on remote service sector work — think of eBay for human labour.
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To reduce inequality, Wikipedia needs to start paying editors
Date Published: 11 September 2018
Source: Wired
The online encyclopedia is a lopsided representation of the world. Should it break its non-profit taboo?
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The rise of the planetary labour market
Date Published: 29 January 2018
Source: The New Statesman
Professor Mark Graham writes an op-ed for The New Statesman.
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Will Alphabet’s internet balloons really help Puerto Rico?
Date Published: 11 October 2017
Source: New Scientist
"Mark Graham at the Oxford Internet Institute, who studies developing information economies, [...] welcomes X’s plans. But he thinks we should be clear up front what Alphabet might want in return."
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Uber’s New CEO Flies to London to Fight One of Many Fires
Date Published: 3 October 2017
Source: Bloomberg
"Workers tend to be the most vulnerable to harm," said Mark Graham: "They have no job security, and all it takes is a market downturn, a new competitor, or new regulations to be financially disastrous."
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Artificial intelligence will create new kinds of work
Date Published: 26 August 2017
Source: The Economist
Mark Graham interviewed about the globalisation of digital work.
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Continent risks fading from digital knowledge economy
Date Published: 30 June 2017
Source: University World News
The rapid growth of internet use on the African continent has sparked hopes for the democratisation of knowledge production, but recent research suggests that connectivity is not enough to boost Africa’s position in the knowledge economy.
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Sub-Saharan Africa needs more than just connectivity
Date Published: 27 June 2017
Source: ITWeb
Connectivity is an important enabler of digital content creation and knowledge production; however, a new study has found it is not an all-encompassing condition.
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‘Marginalisation’ risk for the 20% who stay offline
Date Published: 25 June 2017
Source: The Times
Fears internet non-users may find it hard to access public services.
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Africa’s digital knowledge economy worrying
Date Published: 8 June 2017
Source: SciDevNet
Africa has traditionally been left out of what is called the knowledge economy, but this is a concern, write Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham.
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SA scores among the highest African countries for locally sourced content
Date Published: 6 June 2017
Source: Mail & Guardian
“Only eight countries in Africa ... have a majority of content that is locally produced,” according to a new study published last month in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers.
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Almost all internet searches in Africa bring up only results from the US and France
Date Published: 31 May 2017
Source: Quartz
A Google search for “Accra,” the capital of Ghana, returns its Wikipedia entry, travel advice from Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor, and a few news websites like the Guardian.
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Come Google sta cambiando la nostra percezione dei luoghi
Date Published: 11 May 2017
Source: Motherboard
OIII research on language, geography, and power in Google is featured (in Italian).
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How to resist the exploitation of digital gig workers
Date Published: 14 April 2017
Source: Red Pepper
For the first time in history, we have a mass migration of labour without an actual migration of workers. Mark Graham and Alex Wood explore the consequences
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Pour leur développement économique, la Malaisie et le Nigeria de viennent de véritables usines à clic
Date Published: 14 April 2017
Source: Le Figaro
OII research is featured in this piece on the online gig economy (in French).
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What the Gig Economy Looks Like Around the World
Date Published: 13 April 2017
Source: The Atlantic
Mark Graham talks about the costs and benefits of digital freelance work.
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Encouraging African entrepreneurship
Date Published: 6 April 2017
Source: The Economist
In Africa, says Nicolas Friederici of Oxford University, incubators have disappointed because they are a supply-side solution: there are still too few promising startups in need of their services.
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“Gig economy” and its effects on working Africans
Date Published: 4 April 2017
Source: Africa News
Mark Graham discusses the opportunities and challenges of the new digital world for African workers [Radio, 4 min].
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Oxford Professor Mark Graham warns of ‘parasitic capitalism’ by digital companies
Date Published: 27 March 2017
Source: Times of Africa
Oxford Professor Mark Graham, while addressing the 4th UNI Africa Conference in Dakar, Senegal, warned of the danger of ‘parasitic capitalism’ where digital companies gave little back to the places where they are embedded.
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The global gig economy and its implications for African digital workers
Date Published: 27 March 2017
Source: Intelligent CIO
Addressing the 4th UNI Africa Conference in Dakar, Senegal, Mark Graham warned of the danger of ‘parasitic capitalism’ where digital companies give little back to the places where they are embedded and platform workers are left to fend for themselves.
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The hidden dangers of the global gig economy
Date Published: 21 March 2017
Source: Wired
Oxford Internet Institute researchers say we need an equivalent of the Fairtrade Foundation to protect workers online
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A Different View of Mapping
Date Published: 1 March 2017
Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review
Several platforms are using crowdsourcing and open-source technology to challenge Google’s dominance over how we see the world. Mark Graham comments.
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Digitale Kluft zwischen arm und reich
Date Published: 30 January 2017
Source: Das Netz
Mark Graham is interviewed and quoted about Google’s responsibility for search results.
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How the internet is failing to drive economic development where promised
Date Published: 23 December 2016
Source: The Conversation
Can we safely assume that the internet has a positive impact on development in every case, for every place on earth? Nicolas Friederici discusses.
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Google responds on skewed Holocaust search results
Date Published: 20 December 2016
Source: BBC News
"Absolutely they should face scrutiny because they occupy this position of immense power - they mediate a vast amount of the world's digital information," Mark Graham tells the BBC.
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Coopératives, forces et limites
Date Published: 5 October 2016
Source: internetactu.net
Discussing work by Mark Graham and Alex Wood on the transformation of work in the digital age (in French).
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The digital gig economy needs co-ops and unions
Date Published: 4 October 2016
Source: OpenDemocracy
Mark Graham challenges the culture of the digital gig economy, where millions of people attempt to outbid one another for increasingly precarious bit-work.
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The Lopsided Geography of Wikipedia
Date Published: 21 June 2016
Source: The Atlantic
At the University of Oxford, Mark Graham and a team of researchers have spent several years investigating just how “global” Wikipedia's collective intelligence really is.
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You probably haven’t even noticed Google’s sketchy quest to control the world’s knowledge
Date Published: 11 May 2016
Source: The Washington Post
Covering an article by Mark Graham and Heather Ford on how the city of Jerusalem is represented both on Wikipedia and in Google knowledge panel.
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Organising the Digital “Wild West”: Can Strategic Bottlenecks Help Prevent a Race to the Bottom for Online Workers?
Date Published: 11 May 2016
Source: Union Solidarity International
Mark Graham discusses the atomised world of online work and points to ways in which a "race to the bottom" might be avoided.
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Sur Google Maps, on peut evaluer les centres de retention comme des parcs
Date Published: 25 April 2016
Source: Motherboard
Mark Graham's work on inequalities in current Google Map coverage is quoted (French language)
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As More Work Moves Online, The Threat of ‘Digital Sweatshops’ Looms
Date Published: 22 March 2016
Source: Motherboard
Mark Graham talks about some of the early findings of research on how the internet is shifting work patterns in south east Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Why large parts of the internet have suddenly vanished for millions of users
Date Published: 18 March 2016
Source: Quartz
In an article about the potential undesired effects of international sanctions of internet traffic, Mark Graham is quoted. ‘The metaphor of the cloud has serious limitations,’ he says.
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Un estudio revela que los países más ricos del mundo imprimen más diarios
Date Published: 25 February 2016
Source: La Nacion
A study reveals that the richest countries in the world print more newspapers' . Work by Mark Graham and colleagues is referred to in an article in Argentina's leading newspaper about global print media. (Spanish)
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Four billion people remain remain without Internet globally
Date Published: 2 October 2015
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
The Turkish news site reports on research by Mark Graham and colleagues on internet accessibility worldwide.
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Le taux d’accès à internet reste faible en Afrique
Date Published: 28 September 2015
Source: SciDevNet
An article reporting on the work of Mark Graham and team on internet access in Africa (French language)
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Why It Matters That U.S. and European Editors Dominate Wikipedia
Date Published: 19 September 2015
Source: takepart
Report of the work of Mark Graham and team on biases inherent in Wikipedia edits
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Studi: Barat Monopoli Wawasan Tentang Dunia Lewat Wikipedia
Date Published: 16 September 2015
Source: Suara.com
Coverage of research by Mark Graham and team on Wikipedia edits.
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Wikipedia nhìn thế giới qua lăng kính của các nước phương Tây
Date Published: 16 September 2015
Source: Nhan Dan
Coverage of research by Mark Graham and team on Wikipedia edits
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Internet. Cartographie : l’archipel de la déconnexion
Date Published: 16 September 2015
Source: Courrier Sciences
Report of the work of Mark Graham and team on biases inherent in Wikipedia edits.
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Wikipedia’s view of the world is written by the west
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: The Guardian
OII research has shown that most Wikipedia articles about places are edited by just five rich countries. Mark Graham, who led the research, says 'local voices rarely represent and define their own country'.
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Wikipedia’s world view is skewed by rich, western voices
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: Wired.uk
Research by Mark Graham and team has shown that most Wikipedia articles about places are edited by just five rich countries. Editors from low-income countries were more likely to edit articles about high-income countries than their own.
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Wikipedia : un regard qui vient surtout de l’ouest
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: Le Devoir
Coverage of research by Mark Graham and team on regional differences in Wikipedia editing.
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Western Wikipedia editors writing history of poorer nations, study finds
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: siliconrepublic
Coverage of research by Mark Graham and team on regional differences in Wikipedia editing.
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Wikipedia world view ‘shaped by editors in the West’
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: Phys.org
Report of the work of Mark Graham and team on biases inherent in Wikipedia edits.
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Africa: Digital Work Signals a Global Race to the Bottom
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: allAfrica
Mark Graham writes about his research with Vili Lehdonvirta into the effect of online technologies on the African labour market. By connecting rich and poor into one labour market, workers' rights could be damaged, he says.
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Wkipedia’s world is written by the West
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: Al Arabiya
Coverage of work by Mark Graham and colleagues about inherent biases in Wikipedia. (in Arabic)
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Digital Work Signals a Global Race to the Bottom
Date Published: 15 September 2015
Source: SciDevNet
Online technologies could hurt workers' rights by connecting rich and poor into one labour market, says Mark Graham.
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There are More Wikipedia Editors from the Netherlands than All of Africa
Date Published: 8 September 2015
Source: VICE Motherboard
Research by the OII into participation in Wikipedia reveals that 45 percent of edits about places originate in five rich countries which challenges t he idea of that Wikipedia offers a platform for local voices.
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The Digital Language Divide
Date Published: 29 May 2015
Source: The Guardian
A Digital Guardian article which explores in depth the effects of language on internet use draws heavily on work done by OII researchers.
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What is a knowledge economy?
Date Published: 16 April 2015
Source: SciDevNet
Mark Graham comments on the obstacles to the development of knowledge economies in Africa and suggests that African companies should focus on local markets.
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Time to Define What a “Hub” Really Is
Date Published: 7 April 2015
Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review
Innovation hubs have been widely celebrated by practitioners and policymakers for their ability to boost creativity and collaboration. But the precise features that define hub organizations have proven hard to pin down.
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Ten years of Google Maps – Tech Weekly podcast
Date Published: 11 February 2015
Source: The Guardian
Mark Graham discusses how the geographies of the internet have reconfigured how people engage with the city.
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Cracks in the digital map: what the ‘geoweb’ gets wrong about real streets
Date Published: 8 January 2015
Source: Guardian
The geoweb is supplanting traditional guides and maps but it is an imperfect reflection of a commercial landscape. Mark Graham says that every map tells a story from a particular perspective.
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Let’s Work Together: Mobile Operators and Digital Startups in Africa
Date Published: 22 December 2014
Source: Venture Capital for Africa
Tigo runs the Think incubator in Kigali, Millicom Group and MTN chip in with Rocket Internet’s fund, and Safaricom sets up a fund of its own. Yet, African startup communities are already asking for more, writes Nicolas Friederici.
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25 maps and charts on language
Date Published: 17 November 2014
Source: Vox
Vox features the map by Mark Graham et al showing the language in which the plurality of Wikipedia articles are written about particular countries. It shows that English is the major language even for articles about non Anglophone countries.
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2.5% of the world is responsible for more than 50% of Wikipedia articles
Date Published: 11 November 2014
Source: The Washington Post
The information geographies project shows the majority of Wikipedia content is about 2.5% of the world's land area whilst the whole continent of Africa only has around 2.6% geotagged articles.
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Why you probably won’t understand the web of the future
Date Published: 6 November 2014
Source: Quartz
Although less than 5% percent of the world uses English as a first language, it dominates the web. Organisations like Google, Facebook and Mozilla are taking steps to address language issues.. Mark Graham's map and comments feature.
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Map Shows The World’s Internet Population
Date Published: 23 September 2014
Source: Huffington Post Tech
The map of the world demonstrating internet population and penetration created by Mark Graham and colleagues is featured in Huffington Post.
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The world wide SPREAD: Map shows what the world would look like based on then number of internet users in each country
Date Published: 22 September 2014
Source: Mail Online
Following reports there are now more than a billion websites, researchers Mark Graham and Stefano de Sabbata have created an interactive map that reveals just how far and wide these sites penetrate the globe.
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The world wide SPREAD: Map reveals the extent of internet use around the globe – and the countries that are still not online
Date Published: 22 September 2014
Source: Daily Mail
The map of global use of websites created by Mark Graham and Stefano De Sabbata is reported in the Daily Mail. The data visualisation shows each country sized according to its internet-enable population.
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Wikipedia’s geography problem: There are more articles about Antarctica than Egypt
Date Published: 14 September 2014
Source: Vox
The distortions of global online representation is demonstrated with Mark Graham's map of the under-representation of Africa, Asia and South America in Wikipedia coverage worldwide.
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Why global contributions to Wikipedia are so unequal
Date Published: 8 September 2014
Source: The Conversation
Mark Graham authors an article explaining why the unequal global representation in Wikipedia matters and why it impedes Wikiepedia's aim to be the 'sum of all human knowledge'.
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Geotagging reveals Wikipedia is not quite so equal after all
Date Published: 18 August 2014
Source: New Statesman
Rather than being an equaliser, Wikipedia may be reproducing an established world view. Mark Graham writes about his work on inequalities in Wikipedia. For example, he says, the Middle East is massively underrepresented.
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What was the last book you read? Wikipedia wants to know
Date Published: 13 August 2014
Source: The National Opinion
The interactive map of Wikipedia created by Mark Graham and colleagues is used to demonstrate inequalities in representation on Wikipedia.
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Google in fight to stop global removal of sensitive links
Date Published: 23 July 2014
Source: Financial Times
Google is braced for a showdown with European privacy watchdogs over the demands for the continent's 'right to be forgotten' online to be extended across the world. Ian Brown comments.
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Infographic: A freelance working week revealed
Date Published: 24 April 2014
Source: Wired.co.uk
Wired.co.uk reports on Mark Graham’s work on mapping patterns of work as part of a project on virtual labour. He will be visiting eight countries in Asia and Africa over two years to carry out the essential field work.
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London Underground map depicts Internet’s backbone
Date Published: 3 April 2014
Source: ITV
London Underground's iconic map design has been used by researchers at Oxford University to explain the Internet's complex network of submarine fiber optic cables.
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The Tube-Style Map Of The Internet’s Backbone
Date Published: 2 April 2014
Source: Sky News
The fibre-optic cables that criss-cross the globe have been visualised by the OII's Stefano De Sabbata and Mark Graham.
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Interactive: which countries have the most Google search results?
Date Published: 18 March 2014
Source: The Guardian
Does the number of pages returned by Google tie up closely with the size of a country's population? The OII's work on Internet geographies is featured.
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Why the wealthiest countries are also the most open with their data
Date Published: 14 March 2014
Source: Washington Post
Coverage of an OII visualization of the state of open data in 70 countries around the world, showing a prominent global "openness divide".
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Internet : à quel point votre pays est-il connu sur Google?
Date Published: 14 March 2014
Source: Jeune Afrique
Coverage of OII work on the geographies of information.