Konstantin Mack

(c) Konstantin Mack

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I studied European Ethnology and Philosophy (BA & MA) at the Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg (Germany). I graduated with an ethnography on human Pup Play, a specific kind of roleplay gaining popularity among young adults. Since 2022, I’m doing my PhD at the Institute of European Ethnology at the University of Vienna. Considering the case of bike messengers, I focus on how the usage of digital platforms and algorithms shapes not only the way we work, but also the way we experience our cities.

Research interests: Critical Theory, ideologies of antisemitism and antizionism, queer studies, neoliberalism, urban transportation

Current research project: Ausliefern – Warentransport in städtischen Räumen durch Fahrradkurier:innen

In my PhD thesis, I’m doing ethnographic fieldwork with and within that kind of platform work that’s currently most visible in urban areas: food delivery-services. The term „platform work“ refers to a specific form of labour that is mediated by digital platforms. Recent research shows how this usage of algorithms and applications changes the relations between employer and workers since the latter are often not recognized as employees. Since one’s classification as being in an employment relationship usually determines whether one is protected by certain legislations –  regarding minimum wage, sick pay or working hours – the lack of this status means less social security.
Taking in consideration spatial practices, my research asks how the food couriers experience their daily (working) routines. How does the implementation of digital technologies shape their interaction with urban spaces? How do they deal with the specific structures formed by the platform economy and the associated precarious working conditions? At the same time, I’m interested in the practices used by food couriers to overcome these challenges.
Next to conducting narrative interviews and doing participatory observation with the workers themselves, I will also take a look at other actors shaping and influencing the field: be it local and federal legislations, digital infrastructures such as the platforms or the companies which (re)produce very specific economic logics beyond their own industry.
My PhD project deals with bicycle couriers in urban spaces - specifically in the two cities of Würzburg and Vienna. The background, especially in the area of food delivery services, is formed by novel work models of the platform economy. These are characterized by the fact that algorithms are used to coordinate the workers; in addition, there is usually no common place of business and no direct supervisors. This is also accompanied by a weakening of regulations for the protection of workers, so that they are not covered, for example, in the event of illness.
I start from the actors themselves and ask how they experience their everyday (work) life. How do they deal with the specific structures of the platform economy and the associated precarious working conditions? Given the external factors, such as weather, time pressure and road traffic, I work out the challenges that couriers encounter on a daily basis. At the same time, I want to know what practices are used to overcome these challenges - individually and collectively. In doing so, I also take a look at other actors who have a significant influence on the field: first of all, I mention administration and (local) politics, which are jointly responsible for urban and transport planning, as well as digital infrastructures such as the platforms themselves and, last but not least, the companies as those who (re)produce very specific economic logics beyond their own industry.

 

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