| dc.contributor.author | Wong, Aidan Marc Yew Fai | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2015-10-05T11:14:56Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2015-10-05T11:14:56Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-05 | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Wong, A.M.Y.F. 2014. 'Waste', Value and Informal Labour: The Regional E-Waste Recycling Production Network in Malaysia and Singapore. Queen Mary University of London. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/9068 | |
| dc.description | PhD | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | This
thesis
examines
the
regional
electronic
and
electrical
waste
(e-‐waste)
recycling
network
in
Malaysia
and
Singapore,
with
a
secondary
focus
on
the
articulations
of
informal
labour
within
the
network.
I
argue
that
there
is
a
need
to
theorise
production
networks
post-‐consumption;
i.e.
to
focus
on
the
activities
and
processes
that
occur
after
a
commodity
is
consumed
and
subsequently
discarded.
I
argue
that
discarded
e-‐waste
are
not
‘value-‐less’
waste,
but
instead
embody
value
(specifically
latent
use
value),
and
have
the
potential
to
be
re-‐inserted
as
‘raw
materials’
into
production
networks
through
the
processes
of
recycling.
Also,
key
to
the
processes
of
value
(re)creation,
enhancement
and
capture
is
the
labour
process.
I
examine
informal
labour
by
focusing
on
karung
guni
(a
local
term
for
the
rag-‐and-‐bone
man)
–
analysing
their
critical
role
in
value
(re)creation
in
this
regional
e-‐waste
recycling
production
network
through
the
lens
of
petty
commodity
production.
I
argue
that
karung
guni
are
constitutive
of
this
production
network
through
their
collection
and
primary
processing
of
e-‐waste,
which
forms
the
basis
for
subsequent
value
creation,
enhancement
and
capture
by
downstream
actors.
Conceptualising
karung
guni
as
petty
commodity
producers
–
who
own
both
the
means
of
production
and
their
own
labour
power
–
is
significant
in
problematising
as
not
so
straightforward
the
separation
of
capital
and
labour
into
discreet
categories
as
normally
presented
in
global
value
chains
(GVC)/global
production
networks
(GPN)
approaches.
This
thesis
makes
four
significant
contributions
to
the
GVC/GPN
literature.
First,
it
recognises
activities
beyond
the
point
of
consumption
(which
has
been
the
focus
of
present
GVC/GPN
research).
Second,
it
conceptualises
the
constitutive
role
of
informal
labour
in
the
development
and
structure
of
production
networks.
Third,
it
emphasises
the
continued
relevance
of
the
state.
Fourth,
by
adopting
a
multi-‐sited
case
study
method,
it
contributes
to
debates
on
how
to
carry
out
GVC/GPN
research. | en_US |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Dudley
Stamp
Memorial
Trust; Queen
Mary
University
of
London Central Research Fund; Queen Mary Postgraduate
Research
College
Studentship
Award; Royal
Geographical
Society Developing Areas Research Group
Travel Award | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Queen Mary University of London | en_US |
| dc.subject | Geography | en_US |
| dc.subject | Electronic Waste recycling Malaysia | en_US |
| dc.subject | E-waste | en_US |
| dc.subject | Electronic Waste recycling Singapore | en_US |
| dc.subject | Electrical waste recycling Malaysia | en_US |
| dc.subject | Electrical waste recycling Singapore | en_US |
| dc.title | 'Waste', Value and Informal Labour: The Regional E-Waste Recycling Production Network in Malaysia and Singapore. | en_US |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.rights.holder | The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author | |
