‘R-A-M’ (‘Rent-a-Minute’) The Nano-enterprise: Mobile Telephony Letting by Street Vendors in the context of Informal Sub-economies
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CONTRIBUTORS:
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CONFERENCE TITLE:
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CONF. LOCATION:
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None
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YEAR:
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2003
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PUB TYPE:
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Conference Paper
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SUBJECT(S):
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Informal Economy, Human-ICT interface, non-linear thinking,
Constructivism (psychology), flexibility & accessibility, point of re-sale.
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DISCIPLINE:
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Information Systems/Technology
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HTTP:
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http://www.ssc.msu.edu/~dc2001/DC2003Program.htm
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LANGUAGE:
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English
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PUB ID:
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103-396-808
(Last edited on
2003/11/16 13:09:32 US/Mountain)
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SPONSOR(S):
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ABSTRACT:
Mobile Telephony Street Letting done by vendors and observed at multiple locations in Caracas, served as case-study to produce an analysis gearing towards a ‘mutated’ version of this phenomenon, leading to the creation of a flexible and accessible ICT-Human Interface. Using non-linear thinking (Manuel de Landa) the by us called ‘R-A-M’ (‘Rent-a-minute’) urban occurrence can be considered behaviour-wise as bacteria or virus, presenting the following characteristics: anarchic (difficult to control); ephemeral (difficult to locate); parasite (stealing local infrastructure & squatting public space); mutating & evolutionary (transforming itself constantly). As it would happen with any new virus, a vaccine has not yet been found for it. However through initial constructivist observation and later manipulation, a ‘mutation’ can be induced, providing a flexible & accessible Human-ICT Interface.
Just as opportunistic virus or bacteria, R-A-M functions out of 5 conditions present at host-subjects:
1. Host-subject has mobile telephone but does not have available airtime.
2. Host-subject has no mobile telephone available.
3. Host-subject has not enough money available to purchase a smart Phone Card (for Pay Phone use).
4. Host-subject has mobile telephone but battery has run out.
5. Host-subject has mobile telephone and available airtime, but has no desire to use at the moment.
The ‘R-A-M’ acts as a nano-entreprise, providing a service, a business transaction, with almost zero operational cost. In other words a smaller than ‘micro’ enterprise. Just as a virus, it has no physical permanence, it can appear one day at one location, the next at another. After our initial R-A-M observations and using constructivist methods, the goal is to define and describe the R-A-M mutation, in order to enhance the virus to be able to function as a cash-dispenser and available unlimitedly to everyone who owns a mobile telephone, through the idea of a ‘point of airtime minute resale’.
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