College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences

Through a case study of Meituan Waimai, China's dominant food delivery platform, this article examines how algorithmic management is entangled with labor politics. It develops the concept of the technopolitics of labor expendability, which rests on two interrelated arguments. First, the logic of optimization underpinning algorithmic management is not realized solely through the manipulation of data inputs and computational models; rather, it fundamentally depends on the presumed expendability of migrant workers. In the Chinese context, couriers are first imagined as disposable, an assumption that enables the exclusion of their needs, preferences, and well-being from the computational frame. Second, this vision is further normalized and legitimized through its alignment with specific political and ideological formations, particularly China's fetishization of technological superiority and the long-standing marginalization of rural migrant workers. By situating algorithmic management within the local political economy, this article challenges its dominant portrayal as a universal technical phenomenon and highlights the situated labor conditions that shape its design and application.

The firm Masglo sells nail polish in several regions of the Americas, predominantly in its home of Colombia. Some of Masglo’s colors have been marketed through words associated with “slut-shaming” and other misogynistic concepts, which stimulated a 2015 consumer debate on Twitter and Facebook. We analyze the tweets from those exchanges and relate them to feminism, anti-feminism, and the status of women in Colombian society. Our results show that female clients, who were the main participants in the debate, most favored the company’s strategy. Some nodes highlighted deeply rooted Colombian gender roles or reflected on sociocultural status and femininity as political issues. Nail varnishes that suggested associations with feminism, such as “empowered”, “diverse,” or “human,” were practically ignored. The debate changed little: in keeping with the nation’s macho culture and commercially narrow beauty norms, the company continues to exploit invidious stereotypes. In the future, a cross-class women’s solidarity with all of those engaged in the beauty industry must emerge.

Why has cultural studies had little impact on right-wing populism’s assault on immigration and climate science? I suggest that this failure lies in three tendencies: first, a continued if increasingly cliché sunny optimism about the popular; second, the priority accorded to getting grants, which depoliticizes so much work; and third, an embrace of creative-industries discourse. The first tendency supposedly gives a link to our origins; the second, to legitimacy; and the third, to relevance. All render us ill-equipped to deal with contemporary and future crises.

BackgroundNon-medical/illegal use of prescription stimulants popularly have been referred to as "study drugs". This paper discusses the current prevalence and consequences of misuse of these drugs and implications of this information for drug policy.ResultsStudy drugs are being misused annually by approximately 4% of older teens and emerging adults. Yet, there are numerous consequences of misuse of prescription stimulants including addiction, negative reactions to high dosages, and medical complications. Policy implications include continuing to limit access to study drugs, finding more safe prescription drug alternatives, interdiction, and public education.ConclusionMuch more work is needed on prescription stimulant misuse assessment, identifying the extent of the social and economic costs of misuse, monitoring and reducing access, and developing prevention and cessation education efforts.