Week 4 Tutorial: Control theory workshop
Applying Lee et al.'s directing/evaluating/disciplining taxonomy to real platform mechanisms
Graded checkpoint, checked live at the start of the session · Weight: 2%
Before the session#
Pull one sentence from Rosenblat and Stark’s account of Uber’s rating system as a disciplinary device. Hold it against one specific platform mechanism — not necessarily Uber’s — and note in one sentence whether Lee et al.’s taxonomy sorts it cleanly.
In the session#
Groups are given a list of real platform mechanisms — an ETA display, a rating threshold, a streak bonus, Meituan’s late-delivery scoring penalty — and sort each against the taxonomy, then present the one that resists easy classification.
Afterwards#
The mechanism that didn’t fit cleanly is good material for the system-up-close essay.
The spec
What you bring to the session, checked live: a checkable minimum plus one item that's judged by discussion, not marked for prose.
- a direct quote from Rosenblat and Stark's "Algorithmic Labor and Information Asymmetries," with a page reference
- one named platform mechanism the quote is tested against
- you have identified whether that mechanism fits Lee et al.'s directing/evaluating/disciplining taxonomy cleanly, or doesn't, and why the mismatch (if any) matters for how it should be regulated
Teaching team
- Chajie Zhou — convenor