Zoekresultaten

The Politics of Platformization – Amsterdam Dialogues on Platform Theory

What is platformization and why is it a relevant category in the contemporary political landscape? How is it related to cybernetics and the history of computation? This book tries to answer such questions by engaging in multidisciplinary dialogues about the first ten years of the emerging fields of platform studies and platform theory. It deploys a narrative and playful approach that makes use of anecdotes, personal histories, etymologies, and futurable speculations to investigate both the fragmented genealogy that led to platformization and the organizational and economic trends that guide nowadays platform sociotechnical imaginaries. The dialogues cover fields such as media studies, software studies, internet governance, network theory, urban studies, social movement studies, political economy, management, and platform regulation. The interviews are set up to develop a network of internal cross-references that highlight the multi-layered connections from which platform power emerges.

A Social Credits Platform for Volunteers

"In recent years, the former Dutch welfare state has been transformed into a participation society [1]. As support from the government decreases, citizens are increasingly expected to be self-managing. Since not everyone is able to be self-managing, there is an increasing demand for help offered by volunteers. Although the number of volunteers in the Netherlands is relatively stable, the amount of time per volunteer has decreased over the past couple of years [2]. Most volunteers traditionally come from the wealthier, more educated segment of society and are likely to be female, married with children, 50+, and active in religion [3, 4]. In order to meet the increasing demand for volunteers, either the amount of time spent per volunteer should be increased, or new groups of volunteers should be attracted. The Dutch foundation “Possible Today” started an initiative aimed at motivating (potential) volunteers: Social Credits for Volunteers. This is digital platform, based on block chain technology, connects volunteers with projects. The platform uses a digital currency -Social Credits- to appreciate and reward the efforts of volunteers. The currency can be exchanged for discounts or other value, offered by organizations and stores that feel involved with the community. An important feature of this system is the opportunity for volunteers to draft a social curriculum vitae. The aim of this study is to generate recommendations for Possible Foundation about how the Social Credits Platform should be designed and deployed in order to persuade (potential) volunteers to spend (more) hours on volunteering. Therefore, the following research question is answered: ‘What motives, desires and barriers traditional and less traditional volunteers have in regard to appreciation and reward for volunteering?’"

The Hipper Therapeutics Platform

Software platform developed for the Hipper project. It supports remotely monitoring geriatric patients during (hip) rehabilitation. Activity data and location data are collected and securely communicated to a secure centralised server where the data are processed and made available on a secured website. Patients and therapists can then together determine the rehabilitation process and determine appropriate actions.--Dutch:Het Hipper-platform is bedoeld ter ondersteuning van therapeuten betrokken bij de revalidatie van ouderen na een heupoperatie. Het platform bestaat uit een nieuw behandelprotocol ondersteund door een technisch systeem waarmee activiteiten van ouderen in de woonomgeving kunnen worden gemeten. Deze informatie wordt gevisualiseerd en als feedback aan de therapeut gegeven. De therapeut kan hierdoor gerichter de behandeling uitvoeren. Het Hipper-platform biedt naast het behandelprotocol en sensortechnologie scholing en een helpdesk functie.

Onze online platformen

Social media and sharing economy platforms do not only disrupt industries. They also bypass democratic institutions. That’s not without risk, because the dominant Silicon Valley based online platforms are designed to create shareholder value, not to strengthen society or democracy. Which is unfortunate, because online platforms – if designed to that purpose – can be uniquely power full tools for organising our networked society.In Amsterdam over 90 neighbourhood networks use online platforms for self organisation. This development accelerated from 2010 on. The networks aim at strengthening social ties and local initiatives and are increasingly involved in some way of democratic innovation. This study is a deep dive into this urban bottom-up-movement. It puts the phenomena of online neighbourhood platforms in a broader societal and economical context. It points at the importance of user owned platforms and data. And it draws conclusions on how society and specifically municipal management can bring this movement to a next level. Ultimately with the potential of growing into an alternative for the Silicon Valley owned online platform ecosystem.

Digitaal platform Amsterdam

Case study supply chain finance: IT platform for SMEs

The significance of IT platforms are that they facilitate information, communication and new technologies and allow companies to improve efficiency and optimise their supply chain processes. By definition this implies that an IT platform is a cloud-based software which is not installed on a company’s server but is accessible via an Internet browser by using electronic devices. In this article a literature review and a field research (e.g. a case study) are carried out to investigate the role of a ‘real’ IT-platform connecting companies in the supply chain, and to define Supply Chain Finance metrics in terms of the improvement of liquidity and efficiency. In alignment with the outcome of the literature review a case is studied and analysed for the Heering-Holland company as an OEM manufacturer in the supply chain of conditioned poultry transport solutions using the IT platform of TradeCloud.