I research the sociotechnical impacts of emerging digital automotive technologies, including but not limited to autonomous and connected systems. My concern is for user autonomy, environmental sustainability, and social justice throughout the automotive supply chain, from cradle to grave. Drawing from the field of science and technology studies, in my current work I use ethnographic and industry studies methods to understand: 1) when, how, and why the automotive industry has shifted from hardware manufacturing to being a software development, and; 2) how the automotive industry's increasing integration of digital automotive technologies is making the repair, maintenance, and modification of cars harder for independent mechanics and hobbyists.
Automotive repair is a multi-billion-dollar industry at the backbone of America’s transportation infrastructure, representing tens of thousands of American workers. My prior work demonstrates how this industry struggles to adapt to the emergence of software-defined vehicle technologies, even as the federal government continues to mandate their integration. Drawing from repair studies across sociology, cultural anthropology, policy studies, and science and technology studies, this project investigates how emerging digital automotive technologies – including autonomous, connected, and electric systems - introduce challenges for automotive repair technicians trying to keep up. Findings from this project will: inform policymaking on electric and autonomous vehicle technologies; provide insights for standards-setting organizations and consumer protection agencies, and; enhance understandings of data-driven automotive technologies among researchers, regulators, industry actors, and environmental advocates.
This project will produce at least one peer-reviewed journal article and grant applications to the NSF and other funding agencies. This work will also contribute an eventual book project that examines how the automotive industry’s emphasis on digital technologies has had massive downstream and upstream effects on the systems, industries, and ecosystems that adjoin the automotive sector. The work that the USOAR student will contribute to includes:
- - Interview- and fieldwork-based qualitative research: identifying, contacting, and (eventually, after completing training) interviewing professionals in the automotive repair and maintenance fields, including: collision repair technicians, independent shop owners, managers at dealership repair shops, auto repair instructors at vocational schools and community colleges, and advocates from industry representative organizations like the Automotive Service Association. We will also interview other participants, including Right to Repair advocates, automotive hobbyists, and so on.
- - - - If funding is available, this will include on-the-ground fieldwork in spaces like industry trade shows and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- - Literature synthesis: compiling, reading, and annotating research from disciplines including science and technology studies, sociology, anthropology, policy studies, and industry studies, on topics including the history of automotive repair, automotive repair practices, automotive industry trends and implications, and regulatory efforts.
This project will provide a much-needed account of how the automotive sector’s digital transformation is impacting the day-to-day automotive repair and maintenance labor practices while also creating massive downstream and upstream effects on the systems, industries, and ecosystems that adjoin the automotive sector. It will also be the first to explore, in depth, the impact that this transformation has and will continue to have on labor equity, technology policy, and environmental sustainability efforts in the mobility industries.
Highly desirable skills for this position are:
- - Effective time management skills and attention to detail
- - Critical thinking skills and the ability to read academic research writing, particularly in policy or social science
- - Strong writing skills, particularly the ability to summarize materials
By the end of the year, the USOAR mentee will be able to:
- - Navigate databases of academic research to identify and compile relevant research
- - Read, analyze, and synthesize academic research and writing
- - Produce clear and effective academic writing to convey their findings, as well as convey these insights in verbal form
- - Identify, coordinate, and confidently communicate with possible interviewees, from initial outreach to eventually leading interviews themselves