Switch-Gig - Exploring digital opportunities to switch the gig-economy to fair and just work

Bates, Oliver (Principal Investigator)

Project: Research

Status	Finished
Effective start/end date	1/09/19 → 31/07/20

Funding

Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council: £10,562.14

1 Finished

“What if you were controlled by all these apps?” - challenging indifference toward essential gig economy courier work.
Bates, O. (Principal Investigator), Kirman, B. (Team Member) & Friday, A. (Team Member)
1/05/21 → 30/11/22
Project: Research

4 Conference contribution/Paper
3 Artefact
1 Journal article
1 Digital or Visual Products

Research through game design
Bates, O., Kirman, B., Smith, M. T. & Green, D. P., 5/03/2026, (Accepted/In press) DRS 2026. Design Research Society
Research output: Contribution in Book/Report/Proceedings - With ISBN/ISSN › Conference contribution/Paper › peer-review

Open Access
File

4 Downloads (Pure)
Critical Tea Towels: Manchester Gig Economy Cycle Couriers
Bates, O. (Artist), Kirman, B. (Artist) & Pickering, T. (Artist), 2023
Research output: Exhibits, objects and web-based outputs › Digital or Visual Products

File

1 Downloads (Pure)
Critical Tea Towels: Edinburgh Gig Economy Cycle Couriers
Bates, O. (Artist), Kirman, B. (Artist) & Pickering, T. (Artist), 2023
Research output: Exhibits, objects and web-based outputs › Artefact

File

4 Downloads (Pure)

1 Symposium
1 Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Gaming Social Justice
Bates, O. (Speaker)
14/11/2025
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Symposium
Digital Worker Inquiry
Gregory, K. (Organiser), Bates, O. (Organiser), Gallagher, C. (Organiser), Saunders, M. (Organiser), Miltner, K. (Organiser), Li, W. (Organiser) & Alvarez, C. (Organiser)
28/10/2021 → 29/10/2021
Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Participation in workshop, seminar, course

IEEE Computer Society 2021 Best Paper Award
Bates, O. (Recipient), Lord, C. (Recipient), Alter, H. (Recipient), Friday, A. (Recipient) & Kirman, B. (Recipient), 20/12/2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)

File

The hidden life of a courier: 13-hour days, rude customers – and big dreams
Bates, O.
1/03/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
I tried the buzzy new shopping app from TikTok's parent company aimed to rival Amazon. It's totally hit or miss — here's why.
Bates, O.
8/02/22
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Other
Academics are trying to fix the last mile gig economy
Lord, C. & Bates, O.
14/10/21
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other