Analyze

TS: In this picture, taken by Paul Jobin at the Yunlin County Court in Central Taiwan, a lawyer explains the details of a Formosa Plastics lawsuit to a group of plaintiffs. In our conversation, Paul Jobin said that this picture symbolizes the difficulties to mobilize and "prepare" plaintiffs. At best, many of them are unaware that they have a right to appear in court, but often they are intimidated and fear retaliation. According to Jobin, social scientists can at times help with political organizing, for example by not only interviewing residents, but also informing them about their rights. Likewise, it was Jobin who encouraged the lawyer to take a moment after the hearing to engage with the plaintiffs. 

In my research on civic data infrastructure in different US cities, I noticed the steady news coverage and websites that present New Orleans as a new tech hub, rivaling Silicon Valley with cheaper labor and more affordable housing prices. A 2015 piece in the Observer documents the startup scene that has formed a decade after hurricane Katrina, presenting an interesting link between labor standards, tech innovation and resilience imaginaries that Jen is doing research on. While New Orleans continues to be listed as a top tech hub throughout 2018 and 2019, there is increasing coverage of the city's simmering affordable housing crisis. 

2015 was also the year that ridesharing services like UBER launched in the city.  I am interested in whether such services contribute to or alleviate environmental stress (traffic congestion, air pollution, ...). However, my brief data ethnography didn't give me any further reporting or data sets on this particular issue in NOLA.