In November 2023, the MDMP project member Han Tao visited University of California, Irvine for three weeks. She was hosted by UCI’s Steckler Center for Responsible, Ethical,and Accessible Technology (CREATE). 

 

During the first week, Han had the chance to explore the beautiful campus and presented her ethnographic research titled ‘Performing and Evaluating Creditworthiness: Banks, Micro-Entrepreneurs, and “Packaging Agencies”’. This research project investigates banks’ digital and non-digital credit risk assessment methods, entrepreneur-applicants’ varied experiences of obtaining bank loans, and their relations with the private “packaging agencies” that assist loan applicants in “beautifying” their creditworthiness. The one-hour talk happened in a hybrid manner, starting with Prof. Bill Maurer’s kind introduction and ending with a stimulating discussion. 

During the three-week visit, Han attended another talk hosted by the Long US-China Institute. She met some junior and senior scholars via coffee chats. In addition to the talk, Han visited the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) and the Laboratory for Ubiquitous Computing and Interaction (LUContact Information | IMTFI | UCI Social SciencesCI). Through talking with researchers in these research groups, she was surprised by how different disciplines like STS, media studies, anthropology, informatics and economics can be used (inspiring?) for one another, and how such disciplinary boundaries can be blurred. 

 

The IMTFI is located at the Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway (SBSG)

Building, on the same floor with the Anthropology department. It was established in 2008 in the School of Social Sciences. Since then, it has funded over a hundred individual research projects, hosting research activities on a regular basis.

 

 

The IMTFI office is almost like a small “money” exhibition hall itself. Researchers at IMTFI have studied and brought to the institute various kinds of money from their field sites, revealing the dynamic systems of payment, credit scoring, and fintech. They have also made crafts, hand-written checks, picture books and card games to illustrate their research findings. 

 

The LUCI lab is located at Donald Bren Hall, with the School of Information and Computer Science.

 

 

The lab space exudes a warm atmosphere, adorned with two recently acquired large bean bags where researchers and guests can comfortably engage in casual discussions and meetings. Established two decades ago, LUCI has evolved alongside the concept of the “ubiquitous computing”. Over the years, it has transitioned into a research hub dedicated to exploring new patterns of socio-technical behavior, as well as the design and practice of innovative technology forms. 

The CREATE workplace is on the same floor with LUCI, within Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Science. Established in 2020 and directed by Paul Dourish, CREATE is committed to exploring technological futures guided by principles of equity, accountability, and care. Just like IMTFI and LUCI, their research subjects are mostly interdisciplinary, involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. 

 

The final week of Han’s visit was the end of the quarter at UCI as well. Before saying goodbye to the sunshine and beach in south California, Han had a hot pot dinner with the first-year anthropology cohort.