Thomas Poell (Media Studies) is teaming up with Olav Velthuis, UvA professor of Sociology (Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences) in order to investigate the platformisation of the global sex industry. The project will study the spectacular rise of webcam sex platforms, such as Chaturbate, Cams.com or Myfreecams. What is the impact of platformisation on competition within this industry? Which risks and opportunities does webcamming create for sex workers? Are there reasons for better regulation of these platforms?

The other project in which a Faculty of Humanities researcher is involved is The Bias Barometer. Karin Schultz, connected with the Institute for Logic, Language and Computation (ILLC) will work together with Leendert van Maanen (also from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences) to study the relationship between stereotypes (“Scientists are dull”) in media and the development of implicit biases by media consumers. As a case study, they will analyse coverage of the US presidential elections in 2020 on various media (e.g., CNN, Fox), and how these cause different implicit biases.

Furthermore, three of the other proposals that have been awarded funding are connected with one or more UvA researchers.