The Socio-Technical Equity in Practice (STEP) Lab aims to inform more equitable opportunities for workforce development. We engage directly with communities through ethnographic and participatory approaches to co-create more worker-centered futures.
The STEP Lab is part of the University of Michigan School of Information.
Dr. Hui studies and develops socio-technical systems that support workforce development. She is currently researching how technology impacts small business owners, gig workers, and small manufacturers.
Ira is a PhD candidate at UMSI broadly interested in how labor and employment relations change with technological advancements in different contexts, with a focus on studying the disparities between the evolution of on demand gig work in postcolonial contexts, as opposed to the Global North.
Shanley is a PhD candidate at UMSI exploring the ways social media platforms may be used for and may have effects on people's career development experiences, such as career aspirations and decisions. Outside of Ph.D-life, she is a powerlifter and enjoys spending time with her pet bunny, Tater Tot.
Abhishek (he/him) is a Phd student at UMSI, and his research broadly lies at the intersections of critical human geography, platform studies, STS, and caste studies. Abhishek’s work focuses on unpacking the biopolitics of producing 'convenience' on digital platforms like Uber, and more specifically, aims to understand infrastructures, governance systems, and forms of racialization that are implicated in contemporary forms of platform urbanism.
Marcellous Weaver is a graduate candidate at the University of Michigan's Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning program. Born in Detroit, Marcellous plans to utilize his professional and academic experience to improve the quality of lives in low socio-economic communities through community and real estate development.
Matthew is an undergraduate studying Computer Science and Cognitive Science through LSA. His research interests are broadly in the CSCW and HCI fields, and he is a research assistant for one of Shanley's current projects considering social media influencers' potential impact on users' self-directed work aspirations and journeys.
Corvite, S., Hui, J. Social Media as a Lens into Careers During a Changing World
of Work. CSCW 2024.
Anjali Anwar, I., Garcia, P., Hui, J. Entangled Independence: From Labor Rights to Gig
“Empowerment” Under the Algorithmic Gaze. CSCW 2024.
Rosario Turner, J., Hui, J., Racial Capitalism Online: Navigating Race Among Creative Professionals of Color. CSCW 2023. (Diversity and Inclusion Recognition)
Hui, J., Sprouse, M. Lettersmith: Scaffolding Written Professional Communication Among College Students. CHI 2023.
Anjali Anwar, I., Thomas, M., Toyama, K., Hui, J., Gig Platforms as Faux Infrastructure: A Case Study of Women Beauty Workers in India. CSCW 2022.
Seetharaman, B., Pal, J., Hui, J. Delivery Work and the Experience of Social Isolation. CSCW 2021.
Anjali Anwar, I., Pal, J., Hui, J. Watched, but Moving: Platformization of Beauty Work and Its Gendered Mechanisms of Control. CSCW 2020. (Diversity and Inclusion Recognition)