Platform Cooperativism: what is the extent to which online cooperative models address precarious labour among young platform workers?

研究问题：与合作社中的独立工人和那些自己工作的工人相比，合作社平台如何解决不稳定劳动问题？平台合作社内年轻人的不稳定劳动发生率如何？平台合作社如何以不同的方式应对平台经济对其劳动力的限制？平台合作社的青年工人面临哪些挑战？今后如何对平台合作社中的劳动力问题进行研究，以促使学术界做出适当回应？这项研究将采用一种溯因策略，将参与者置于研究的中心，将他们的解释和动机纳入他们的工作生活（Giddens在Blaikie，2000年引用）。目的是在他们对平台合作主义和更广泛的平台经济的经验中找到共同的含义并确定差异（Blaikie，2000，第99页）。该策略旨在基于社会行为者的活动和观点构建解释，以理解他们对他们所属网络内的社会交织的解释（Bourdieu，1986; Bourdieu & Wacquant，1992），即平台合作。2010），采访将遵循半结构化的口述历史方式（Blaikie，2000，第207页）。这种访谈将有助于了解参与者的看法，因此通过这种方法获得的个人故事可以进一步进行分析。这是一个经常发生的情况，前独立的在线工作者加入或聚集在一起，以创建自己的平台合作社-根据他们的网站的“关于”部分。考虑到这一点，面试问题将考察他们作为独立在线工作者的经历与他们在合作平台上的经历，目的是探索他们的个人动机、期望和意见，涵盖不稳定的劳动、工作与生活的平衡、工作质量、工作偏好和价值观等主题。根据Huws及其同事进行的方法（Huws等人，2017，pp. 55-56），对平台工作者的深入采访揭示了更多的个人私密细节。这将是了解工人在平台合作社中的叙述和经历的关键。从访谈中收集的主要信息将被转录以进行更彻底的检查。为了支持数据组织并使该过程更耗时，本研究将利用Nvivo（Sampieri等人，2010年）。经验证据将与以前收集的信息相匹配。这将有助于测试和完善整个文献综述中提到的理论，以及产生的假设。在这里，有关平台经济中年轻工人和不稳定就业的定量二手数据将有助于支持整体调查和进一步比较。研究结果将与以前关于平台合作主义和一般平台经济的工作进行对比。在分析之后，将收集到的所有数据联系起来，回答研究问题，并进一步得出结论，从而完成书面项目。在收集访谈产生的数据之后，将召开会议，介绍截至那时的研究结果。目的是收到可能对研究的分析和质量有用的反馈。项目完成后，调查结果将在通过访谈过程和会议建立的网络中分享。本着合作精神，这项研究的最终目标将是为新生的学术领域做出贡献。这将产生为参与更广泛的平台经济的人寻求更公平的工作条件的建议。

Research questions: How, if at all, precarious labour is addressed by cooperative platforms, compared to independent workers in cooperatives, and those on their own?What is the incidence of precarious labour among the young within platform cooperatives?How differently platform coops respond to the limitations of the platform economy towards its workforce?What are the challenges for young workers in the platform cooperatives?How could future research regarding labour in platform cooperatives be framed in order to generate adequate responses from academia?This research will use an abductive strategy, by placing the participants at the centre of the study, incorporating their interpretations and motives in their work lives (Giddens cited in Blaikie, 2000). The aim is to find common meanings and identify the differences (Blaikie, 2000, p. 99) in their experiences towards Platform Cooperativism and the broader platform economy. This strategy aims to construct explanations based on the activities and views of social actors, to derive an understanding of their accounts towards the social interweaving within the networks they belong (Bourdieu, 1986; Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992), i.e. a platform coop.This study will use a diverse sampling method (Sampieri, et al., 2010), where interviews will follow a semi-structured oral history fashion (Blaikie, 2000, p. 207). This kind of interview will help to understand the perceptions of the participants, so the personal stories obtained from this method can be further subjected to analysis. It is a recurrent situation that former independent online workers join or get together to create their own platform coops - as per the "about" sections of their websites. Considering this, interview questions will examine their experiences as independent online workers compared to their experience in a cooperative platform.The aim will be to explore their personal motives, expectations and opinions to cover themes such as precarious labour, work-life balance, job quality, working preferences and values. Drawing from the methodology carried out by Huws and colleagues (Huws, et al., 2017, pp. 55-56), in-depth interviews with platform workers revealed more personal intimate details. This will be key in understanding workers' accounts and experiences within platform coops.Primary information collected from the interviews will be transcribed for a more thorough examination. To support data organisation and make the process less time-consuming, this research will make use of Nvivo (Sampieri, et al., 2010). The empirical evidence will be matched with the previous information collected. This will serve to test and refine the theories addressed throughout the literature review, as well as the hypotheses generated. Here, quantitative secondary data pertaining young workers and precarious employment within the platform economy will be relevant in supporting the overall investigation and further comparison. The results will be contrasted with previous work on Platform Cooperativism and the general platform economy. Following the analysis, the completion of the written project will draw from linking all data collected and answering the research questions, further leading to its conclusion.After the collection of data generated from the interviews, a conference will be set to present the study results up until that point. The objective will be to receive feedback that could be useful for the analysis and quality of the research. Once the project is completed, findings will be shared among the network built through the interviewing process and the conference. Aligned with a cooperative spirit, the ultimate goal of this research will be to contribute towards the nascent academic field. This will derive in recommendations seeking fairer working conditions for those involved in the broader platform economy.