
Police observe anti-Uber protests in Paris on 25 June 2015. Graffiti reads ‘Death to Uber’. Photograph by Charles Platiau.
Recent protests aimed at private-car-hire application Uber highlight many of the the regulatory issues surrounding such practices. Taxi drivers in many cities have complained that Uber operates outside of strict licensing and regulation which govern the taxi trade, undercutting their traditional business. Further, some wonder whether Uber or its non-professional drivers are adequately prepared to deal with the insurance and liability issues arising from the use of private vehicles to conduct commercial trade.
This call for papers may be of interest to scholars working on issues related to online business models and the creative industries, particularly as they relate to crowd production and peer-to-peer distribution of media products. Areas targeted by the call include:
Crowdfunding and venture crowdfunding networks Economic impacts of sharing economy on traditional sectors Informal governance, ratings, reviews and crowd intelligence Future of transportation, utilities, and ‘smart’ urban provision Peer-to-peer production and distribution of media Alternative digital currencies, legal and financial systems Citizenship and civic engagement Open data, privacy and accountability
Co-editors of the special issue are Inge Sørensen, University of Glasgow, CCPR) and Kris Erickson (University of Glasgow, CREATe). The deadline for expressions of interest is 7th of September, 2015. for more information about the scope of the journal and submission guidelines, please access the full online call for papers here.