New job working with the Geonet team at the Oxford Internet Institute: 'Researcher in ICTs, Geography and Development'

Mark is now hiring a researcher to work at the Oxford Internet Institute to investigate low-wage digital work being carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa:

The Oxford Internet Institute is a leading centre for research into individual, collective and institutional behaviour on the Internet. We are looking for a full-time Researcher to work with Professor Mark Graham on the ERC-funded project Geonet: Investigating the Changing Connectivities and Potentials of Sub-Saharan Africa's Knowledge Economy. Combining archival research, surveys, and in-depth interviews, this ambitious project will critically assess the changing landscape of digital work in Sub-Saharan Africa, and ask who benefits (and who doesn’t) from those changes.

In this exciting role, the Researcher will carry out 9-12 months of fieldwork among digital workers and organizations in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as working at OII’s premises in Oxford. The Researcher will also contribute to the dissemination of the findings through peer-reviewed academic papers, project reports, events, blogs and social media.

Candidates should have experience of social science research in Development Studies, Geography, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Communications, Organization Studies, Management or related disciplines, training and practical experience in qualitative research methods.

Based primarily at the Oxford Internet Institute (with periods of fieldwork), this position is available immediately for 3 years in the first instance, with the possibility of renewal thereafter, funding permitting. For qualified candidates, there may also be opportunities to teach course modules on our ‘Social Science of the Internet’ MSc course.

The application form and further details, including a job description and selection criteria, are available on Oxford University's recruitment website.

The closing date for applications is 12:00 BST on Thursday 3 September 2015 and only applications received before then can be considered. Interviews for those short-listed are currently planned to take place in the week commencing Monday 21 September 2015.

Hiring a full-time researcher to work with Mark at the Oxford Internet Institute

The Oxford Internet Institute is hiring a full-time researcher to work with Mark on an ESRC-DFID funded project, The Promises of Fibre-Optic Broadband: A Pipeline for Economic Development in East Africa. Employing case-studies, interviews, surveys and textual analysis in Kenya and Rwanda, this project examines the expectations and stated potentials of broadband Internet and compares those expectations to on-the-ground effects that broadband connectivity is having in three economic sectors: tea production, tourism, and business process outsourcing.

This is an exciting role in which the Researcher will conduct in-depth qualitative research on the topic of connectivity, value chains, information flow, and exclusion in Rwanda. The researcher will also contribute to the dissemination of this work through academic papers and project reports.

Candidates should have experience of social science research in Development Studies, Geography, Sociology, Social Anthropology, Communications, or related disciplines and a strong record of training and practical experience in qualitative research methodology.

Based primarily at the Oxford Internet Institute (with periods of fieldwork in Rwanda), this position is available from immediately for 10 months in the first instance, with the possibility of renewal thereafter, funding permitting. We will soon be starting a multi-year project focusing on knowledge economies in Sub-Saharan Africa. We would therefore also welcome applications from candidates who are keen to be part of a larger research programme in order to extend the position.

The deadline is September 27 and interviews for those short-listed are planned to take place on October 15th and 17th. More info and an application package is available here, but feel free to get in touch if you have any question about the job.

Data Shadows of an Underground Economy

Following on from our "Price of Weed" maps featured in the September issue of Wired, we would like to make available the draft report that the maps came from. The full title of the paper is "Data Shadows of an Underground Economy: Volunteered Geographic Information and the Economic Geographies of Marijuana."

Please note that we are still working on the paper (so excuse any lack of polish), but would certainly appreciate any comments and critiques on the draft before we submit it for peer-review.