International Journal of Communication Publishes a Special Section on
Precarious Migrants in a Sharing Economy

How does enabling collective action in a sharing economy contribute to solving the challenge of migrant governance and care work in precarious contexts?

Despite claims that societies are increasingly affected by the sharing economy, there remains a paucity of evidence on the impact of sharing economic systems for marginalized communities. Some scholars argue that the sharing economy marked the emergence of an ad hoc governance structure, including joint efforts from the public sector, NGOs, private firms, civil society, and migrant organizations, to tackle the issues relating to integrating precarious migrants. On the other hand, the complexity of multi-level governance systems and collaborations can generate greater uncertainty about migrant management and care.

Guest-edited by Amanda Alencar and Yijing Wang, this Special Section on Precarious Migrants in a Sharing Economy aims at advancing knowledge on how collective action is enabled in the sharing economy in support of precarious migrants in a diversity of contexts and situations, and the extent to which technological innovations, such as digital media, data systems and networks, help promote migrants’ socioeconomic participation, citizenship, and well-being in a sharing framework.

The contributions to this Special Section are valuable at this point in time given the complex and rapidly changing circumstances of migration as a global and regional phenomenon, which not only represents an immense humanitarian and logistical challenge, but also poses a challenge to established governance structures. In addition, given the impact of the COVID-19 crisis at a global level, there is an even more pressing need to shed light on the potentialities and vulnerabilities of digital responses and initiatives put in place by local organizations, migrants, and volunteers to fill the gaps in states’ asylum and integration systems during the pandemic.

We invite you to read these articles that published in the International Journal of Communication on November 21, 2022. Please log into ijoc.org to read the papers of interest. We look forward to your feedback! 

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Precarious Migrants in a Sharing Economy: Collective Action, Organizational Communication, and Digital Technologies—Introduction 
Amanda Alencar, Yijing Wang

The Rise of Platformized Governance in China: Migration, Technology, and Social Integration 
Sun Ping

Looking Good or Doing Good? A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Employee Perception of Corporate Refugee Support
Yijing Wang

On-Demand Migrants: Entrepreneurialism, Platformization, and Migration in Brazil
Sofia Cavalcanti Zanforlin, Rafael Grohmann

Digital Solidarity and Ethical Tech for Refugees: Why We Need to Care More and Code Less 
Sara Marino 

Data Literacy as an Emerging Challenge in the Migration/Refugee Context: A Critical Exploration of Communication Efforts Around “Refugee Apps” 
Dennis Nguyen, Sergül Nguyen

#Migrantes on TikTok: Exploring Platformed Belongings
Daniela Jaramillo-Dent, Amanda Alencar, Yan Asadchy

#Nosomosdesertores: Activism and Narratives of the Cuban Diaspora on Twitter   
Denise Maria Cogo, Deborah Rodríguez Santos

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Larry Gross, Editor
Arlene Luck, Founding Managing Editor  
Kady Bell-Garcia, Managing Editor
Chi Zhang, Managing Editor, Special Sections
Amanda Alencar and Yijing Wang, Guest Editors

Please note that according to the latest Google Scholar statistics, IJoC ranks 9th among all Humanities journals and 9th among all Communications journals in the world — demonstrating the viability of open access scholarly publication at the highest level.