The socio-material infrastracture of platform capitalism. A research in Bologna and Lisbon

Inserendoci nel recente dibattito sul capitalismo delle piattaforme, e ricorrendo alla nozione di socio-materialità, investigheremo la contraddizione capitale-lavoro-natura incorporata nel digitale. Per investigare la relazione tra piattaforme digitali e trasformazioni urbane e del lavoro, dialogheremo con diversi approcci disciplinari: dagli urban studies, agli studi sulla scienza e la tecnologia, passando per la letteratura delle catene e reti globali di produzione e la sociologia del lavoro.Scopo di questa tesi, quindi, è far emergere la socio-materialità del digitale, criticando l’idea di una dematerializzazione dei processi produttivi dovuta alle tecnologie digitali. Lo faremo a partire dall’analisi empirica di due casi di piattaformizzazione del lavoro negli spazi urbani: il food delivery a Bologna e il ride-hailing a Lisbona. Entrambi gli studi di caso mostrano, con le proprie specificità, la persistenza di processi ambivalenti, in cui l’attore pubblico e politico – il Comune di Bologna e il Parlamento portoghese – ha cercato di porre un argine normativo alle trasformazioni urbane e del lavoro dovute alle piattaforme digitali della gig economy. I processi di piattaformizzazione sono, ad un tempo, causa e conseguenza di altre due componenti della socio-materialità del digitale: la degradazione del lavoro nei nodi produttivi degli spazi extra-urbani e l’impatto ecologico. Perciò, abbiamo identificato la propagazione digitale come infrastruttura socio-materiale del capitalismo delle piattaforme, in quanto rappresenta un contributo diretto allo sfruttamento del lavoro e all’impatto ecologico nella fase contemporanea del capitalismo. Sul solco della cornice dell’etnografia multi-situata, la metodologia utilizzata per i due studi di caso sarà quella non-standard in quanto ci ha permesso di rispondere meglio agli stimoli emersi dal campo, in particolare l’intervista in profondità a testimoni qualificati (lavoratori, policy-makers, attivisti, sindacalisti). Inoltre, l’approccio netnografico, ci ha permesso di mantenere un legame, seppur mediato, con il campo di indagine. La ricerca empirica è stata condotto tra il 2019 ed il 2020.By situating in the critical framework of platform capitalism and adopting the socio-material approach, we investigate the capital-work-nature contradiction embodied in the digital. Thus, this research aim to highlight the socio-materiality of the digital, with a critique to the dematerialisation of the productive process as a result of digital technologies. On the contrary, this thesis make explicit the exploitation of work and nature along the global value chains of the platform capitalism. This hypothesis was developed on the basis of the case of platformisation of work in the urban spaces: the food delivery in Bologna and the ride-hailing in Lisbon. Both these cases show the persistance of contradictory and ambivalent process, for which the public actor and policy-makers (in our case the Municipality of Bologna and the Portuguese parliament) have tried to regulate the gig economy. But the process of platformization in the urban spaces are, at once, cause-and-effect of two more elements of the socio-materiality of the digital: the degradation of work in the productive nodes in the extra-urban spaces and the ecological impact. Thus, we identified the "digital propagation" as the socio-material infrastracture of platform capitalism, since it is a direct contribution to the increment of the exploitation of work and nature in the contemporary phase of capitalism. On the basis of a multi-situated etnography, we adopt a qualitative methodology, in particualar the in-depth interview to qualified witness (specifically workers, policy-makers, union representatives, activists). The field research was conducted between 2019 and 2020

Towards ‘bogus employment?’ The contradictory outcomes of ride-hailing regulation in Berlin, Lisbon and Paris

The issue of employment classification has been central in the politics around the platform economy. Crucial has been the phenomenon of ‘bogus self-employment’, whereby workers in de facto dependent employment relationships conduct services as independent contractors. Legislators around the world have aimed to tackle this issue by obliging platforms to classify their workers as employees. Based on empirical research in the ride-hailing industry of Berlin, Paris and Lisbon, where such classification exists already, we highlight its contradictory outcomes. We argue that platform companies have managed to introduce forms of ‘bogus employment’ whereby even formally employed workers lack basic worker rights

Towards ‘bogus employment?’ The contradictory outcomes of ride-hailing regulation in Berlin, Lisbon and Paris

The issue of employment classification has been central in the politics around the platform economy. Crucial has been the phenomenon of ‘bogus self-employment’, whereby workers in de facto dependent employment relationships conduct services as independent contractors. Legislators around the world have aimed to tackle this issue by obliging platforms to classify their workers as employees. Based on empirical research in the ride-hailing industry of Berlin, Paris and Lisbon, where such classification exists already, we highlight its contradictory outcomes. We argue that platform companies have managed to introduce forms of ‘bogus employment’ whereby even formally employed workers lack basic worker rights.Peer Reviewe

Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica: a rare case report of a non-smoker and non-atopic patient, with a long history of wheezing since childhood

BACKGROUND: Tracheobronchopathia Osteochondroplastica (TBPO) is an uncommon and benign condition characterized by osseous or metaplastic cartilaginous 1–3 mm nodules in the submucosa of the tracheo-bronchial tree. Posterior membranous wall of trachea is typically spared. Ecchondrosis and exostosis nodules can cause chronic inflammation and mucosal metaplasia, stiffness and airway obstruction. The prevalence of this disease, often asymptomatic or associated with nonspecific symptoms, is underestimated, and the mean age at diagnosis is 50 years. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a 49 year old male, non-smoker. He was a smith, homeless, born in Romania and reported a diagnosis of asthma since childhood. He was admitted to our Respiratory Unit presenting low-grade fever with profuse sweating, cough, purulent sputum, and ground-glass opacity with irregularity in main bronchi detected by High-Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) scan. Fibrobronchoscopy revealed the presence of mucosal irregularities up to the segmental bronchi entrance. Histological examination showed nodules of osseouscartilaginous nature, consistent with TBPO. Microbiological tests of Bronchoalveolar Lavage fluid also revealed an infection by Pseudomonas Aeruginosa. CONCLUSION: TBPO is a rare disease characterized by wheezing, cough, hemoptysis, and recurrent pulmonary infections, with typical onset during adulthood. In the case reported, the symptoms began in childhood, although they had been misinterpreted as asthma. Even if childhood-onset is not reported in literature, it is likely that small changes occur in the first few years of life and become more evident in adulthood. The involvement of segmental and sub-segmental bronchi, usually spared in TBPO, could explain the presence of wheezing and non-productive cough reported by our patient since childhood

INVESTIGATING PLATFORMS. A CRITICAL LEXICON

The aim of this article is to propose an interpretative grid and a critical lexicon through which it is possible to frame in theoretical and methodological terms the disruptions and tendencies of platform urbanism and the main platform labour challenges. The article is organized along seven keywords as a set of tools for expanding and enriching the current debate on these transformations. We will start framing main features of platforms in terms of space and time organization, and then consider their role in social infrastructure as well as their impact on labour organization, not only in terms of value production but also in terms of production of inequalities and resistances. Finally, we will highlight how political categories as sovereignty must be reconsidered due to platforms expansion.El objetivo de este artículo es proponer una retícula interpretativa y un léxico crítico a través de los cuales sea posible enmarcar en términos teóricos y metodológicos las disrupciones y tendencias del urbanismo de plataforma y los principales retos laborales de la plataforma. El artículo se organiza en torno a siete palabras clave como un conjunto de herramientas para ampliar y enriquecer el debate actual sobre estas transformaciones. Empezaremos enmarcando las principales características de las plataformas en términos de organización del espacio y el tiempo, y luego consideraremos su papel en la infraestructura social, así como su impacto en la organización del trabajo, no sólo en términos de producción de valor, sino también en términos de producción de desigualdades y resistencias. Por último, destacaremos cómo categorías políticas como la soberanía deben ser reconsideradas debido a la expansión de las plataformas

Covid-19 and the role of smoking: the protocol of the multicentric prospective study COSMO-IT (COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly).

The emergency caused by Covid-19 pandemic raised interest in studying lifestyles and comorbidities as important determinants of poor Covid-19 prognosis. Data on tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity are still limited, while no data are available on the role of e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products (HTP). To clarify the role of tobacco smoking and other lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity and progression, we designed a longitudinal observational study titled COvid19 and SMOking in ITaly (COSMO-IT). About 30 Italian hospitals in North, Centre and South of Italy joined the study. Its main aims are: 1) to quantify the role of tobacco smoking and smoking cessation on the severity and progression of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients; 2) to compare smoking prevalence and severity of the disease in relation to smoking in hospitalized COVID-19 patients versus patients treated at home; 3) to quantify the association between other lifestyle factors, such as e-cigarette and HTP use, alcohol and obesity and the risk of unfavourable COVID-19 outcomes. Socio-demographic, lifestyle and medical history information will be gathered for around 3000 hospitalized and 700-1000 home-isolated, laboratory-confirmed, COVID-19 patients. Given the current absence of a vaccine against SARS-COV-2 and the lack of a specific treatment for -COVID-19, prevention strategies are of extreme importance. This project, designed to highly contribute to the international scientific debate on the role of avoidable lifestyle habits on COVID-19 severity, will provide valuable epidemiological data in order to support important recommendations to prevent COVID-19 incidence, progression and mortality

Adrenal function recovery after durable oral corticosteroid sparing with benralizumab in the PONENTE study

Background Oral corticosteroid (OCS) dependence among patients with severe eosinophilic asthma can cause adverse outcomes, including adrenal insufficiency. PONENTE's OCS reduction phase showed that, following benralizumab initiation, 91.5% of patients eliminated corticosteroids or achieved a final dosage ≤5 mg·day-1 (median (range) 0.0 (0.0-40.0) mg). Methods The maintenance phase assessed the durability of corticosteroid reduction and further adrenal function recovery. For ~6 months, patients continued benralizumab 30 mg every 8 weeks without corticosteroids or with the final dosage achieved during the reduction phase. Investigators could prescribe corticosteroids for asthma exacerbations or increase daily dosages for asthma control deteriorations. Outcomes included changes in daily OCS dosage, Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)-6 and St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), as well as adrenal status, asthma exacerbations and adverse events. Results 598 patients entered PONENTE; 563 (94.1%) completed the reduction phase and entered the maintenance phase. From the end of reduction to the end of maintenance, the median (range) OCS dosage was unchanged (0.0 (0.0-40.0) mg), 3.2% (n=18/563) of patients experienced daily dosage increases, the mean ACQ-6 score decreased from 1.26 to 1.18 and 84.5% (n=476/563) of patients were exacerbation free. The mean SGRQ improvement (-19.65 points) from baseline to the end of maintenance indicated substantial quality-of-life improvements. Of patients entering the maintenance phase with adrenal insufficiency, 32.4% (n=104/321) demonstrated an improvement in adrenal function. Adverse events were consistent with previous reports. Conclusions Most patients successfully maintained maximal OCS reduction while achieving improved asthma control with few exacerbations and maintaining or recovering adrenal function

Lavoro di piattaforma e indebolimento della società salariale. Il caso del food delivery bolognese

Digital technologies are ever more encapsulated in a wide range of social domains and are significantly affecting labour. In this contribute, the author investigates the platform labour and the weakening of the wage-earning so-ciety in the context of Bologna city of food. In fact, it possible to outline continuities between the precarious working conditions of the latter and the platform economy embedding. Yet, Bologna is one of the main nodes in Eu-rope regarding the experimentation of municipal regulation of platform econ-omy. In fact, the “Chart of rights digital workers in the urban context” rep-resent the first urban normative tools in Europe which establish, although with no direct regulatory power, a minimum labor right base for digital work-ers. The author adopts a qualitative methodology, by using in-depth inter-views to high qualified witness. Finally, the author introduces a new concept useful to capture the tension between diverging ideas on digital platforms and the capabilities to govern them: “digitarchy”

Degradação do trabalho no capitalismo de plataformas. O caso de coltan

L'obiettivo di questo articolo è verificare le forme di schiavitù contemporanea e di degradazione del lavoro alla base della società dell'informazione e del cosiddetto capitalismo delle piattaforme, ponendosi in una prospettiva che comprenda la materialità del fenomeno. Attraverso una revisione della letteratura specializzata e di fonti di dati secondari provenienti da organizzazioni non governative e sovranazionali, è stata ricostruita la filiera del tantalio, dall'estrazione - come tantalite e coltan - all'utilizzo finale. Il focus principale sarà la regione del Kivu della Repubblica Democratica del Congo (RDC), caratterizzata da una produzione mineraria prevalentemente artigianale e su piccola scala, che attira molti lavoratori. Sebbene nella maggior parte dei casi lavorare in miniera si tratti di una libera scelta, le condizioni di lavoro estreme, le continue violenze, l'indebitamento, la presenza di prigionieri di guerra, portano a forme di schiavitù contemporanea. Lo sfruttamento del lavoro e l'estrazione del coltan sono centrali per le infrastrutture socio-materiali del capitalismo delle piattaforme, poiché questo minerale (insieme ad altri) è fondamentale per i semiconduttori e la miniaturizzazione dei dispositivi elettronici. Inoltre, nel Nord globale questo modello produttivo si basa su attività ad alta intensità di manodopera (i casi più emblematici sono Uber e le piattaforme di consegna di cibo), che rafforzano l'estrazione e la produzione di plusvalore già effettuata lungo la catena produttiva