About Me
I am a PhD student and course instructor at the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto, specializing in media, technology, and culture. My research explores how platform companies mediate, negotiate, and contest power in the cultural industries by integrating theoretical frameworks and methods from political economy, information systems, and strategic management. Specifically, I evaluate how social media platform companies use software tools to manage their relationships with content creators and third parties, including partners, data intermediaries, and advertisers. More broadly, my work contemplates platform labour, platform governance, and platform power in the creator economy.
I am a 2024 Junior Fellow at Massey College. My research is funded by a Doctoral Award from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Interests
- platform governance
- platform infrastructure
- platform labour
- software tools
- creator economy
Education
PhD in Information, 2022--
University of Toronto
MI in Information (Critical Information Policy Studies), 2022
University of Toronto
HBSc in Integrated Science (Biochemistry), 2020
McMaster University
Publications
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(2024).
Cross-Domain Information Integration in Government: Hierarchies and Responsibilities.
Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 61(2024), pp. 1–13.
(2024).
Where my AI apps at? A historiographic approach to analyzing platform tools.
Association of Internet Researchers, pp. 1–4.
(2024).
TikTok as a platform tool: Surveying disciplinary perspectives on platforms and cultural production.
In Creative Tools and the Softwarization of Cultural Production, pp. 23–45.
(2023).
The politics and evolution of TikTok as platform tool.
Association of Internet Researchers, pp. 1–4.
(2023).
Using a reverse diversity audit approach to evaluate a dermatology collection in an academic health sciences library: A case presentation.
The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(6), pp. 1–5.
Conference Talks
2024
- Mahetaji, K., & Nieborg, D. B. (2024, Oct. 30–Nov. 2). Where my AI apps at? A historiographic approach to analyzing platform tools. Association of Internet Researchers 2024, Sheffield, United Kingdom. [Description]
- Guilherme, G., & Mahetaji, K. (2024, Oct. 28–30). Climate change and occupational health hazards in platform-mediated gig work in India. International Network on Digital Labor, Santiago, Chile. [Description]
- Zogheib, C., & Mahetaji, K. (2024, Oct. 25–29). Cross-Domain Information Integration in Government: Hierarchies and Responsibilities. ASIS&T 2024 Annual Meeting, Calgary, Canada. [Description]
- Chung, H. F., & Mahetaji, K. (2024, June 19–21). Environmental imaginaries in the platform economy: Climate-related precarity for food-delivery platform workers. Canadian Association for Work and Labour Studies 2024, Montreal, Canada. [Description]
- Mahetaji, K., & Chung, H. F. (2024, June 18–21). Greenwashing platform narratives: A comparative case study of labour rights on global delivery platforms. Canadian Communication Association (CCA) Annual Conference, Montreal, Canada. [Description]
- Alexopoulos, M., Lyons, K., Kumar, M., Mahetaji, K., & Barnes, M. (2024, May 28–31). Measuring gender diversity in library collections and publications using OCLC metadata. 49th Annual Conference of the International Association for Social Science Information Service & Technology, Halifax, Canada. [Description]
- Mahetaji, K. (2024, March 5-6). Shelter. Log Out! The Technopolitics of Refusal Symposium, Toronto, Canada. [Description]
- Li, S., Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2024, Jan. 24–27). Get Loud on Your Impact: Using Design Thinking to Embrace Shared Practices and Approaches. Ontario Library Association Super Conference 2024, Toronto, Canada. [Description]
2023
- Stallworth, R. D., Willson, R., & Mahetaji, K. (2023, Nov. 30). Reshaping the Narrative: First-Generational Scholars in Information Science. Association for Information Science & Technology 2023, Virtual. [Description]
- Mahetaji, K., & Nieborg, D. B. (2023, Oct. 18-21). The politics and evolution of TikTok as platform tool. Association of Internet Researchers 2023, Philadelphia, United States. [Description]
- Mahetaji, K. (2023, Sept. 27). Tracking global data flows in the app ecosystem. Data Sciences Institute Research Day, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. [Description]
- Barnes, M. E., Gutwillinger, R., & Mahetaji, K. (2023, Sept. 27). Gender Inference: Can ChatGPT Outperform Common Commercial Tools Data Sciences Institute Research Day, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada. [Description]
- Li, S., Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2023, Feb. 1–4). Ready, Steady, Go: Reflecting on Paths to Careers in Librarianship Amidst Uncertainty. OLA Super Conference 2023, Toronto, Canada. [Description]
2022
- Hector, E., & Mahetaji, K. (2022, Dec. 7–8). Dream it, build it…and then what? Creating a Notion database for sustaining online learning objects. e-Learning in Libraries Symposium, Virtual. [Description]
- Li, S., Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2022, June 7–10). Tracing the Evolution of iSchools Through Language. Canadian Association for Information Science, Virtual. [Description]
- Li, S., Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2022, June 6–7). *The “new” moderators of wellness: Academic librarians in the platform age. *Canadian Association of Professional Academic Libraries 2022 Conference, Virtual. [Description]
- Mahetaji, K., Li, S., & Yang, A. (2022, Feb. 1–5). “LOD” the missing link: Gathering to completeness using knowledge syntheses in health sciences. Ontario Library Association Super Conference, Virtual. [Description]
2021
- Li, S., Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2021, Dec. 8–9). Accessibility and UDL in Action: Assessing Articulate Rise 360. e-Learning in Libraries Symposium, Virtual. [Video]
- Bradley-Ridout, G., & Mahetaji, K. (2021, Dec. 8–9). Collaboratively creating EndNote tutorial videos: successes and challenges. e-Learning in Libraries Symposium, Virtual. [Video]
- Alexopoulos, M. & Mahetaji, K. (2021, Sept. 9–10). Benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary research linked to the impact of COVID-19. Cities After COVID: An Information Management/ICT International Research Network: University College London + University of Toronto, Virtual. [Description]
- Chen, J., Mahetaji, K., Mcloughlin, E., & Mackley, M. (2021, Sept. 9–10). Technologies of Inclusion and Exclusion. Cities After COVID (University College London/University of Toronto Research Network), Virtual. [Description]
- Bradley-Ridout, B., Gray, M., Fuller, K., Mahetaji, K., & Main, E. (2021, June 8–11). They came, they saw, but did they conquer? Evaluating published review by authors who attended a workshop on searching. Canadian Health Libraries Association, Virtual. [Description]
- Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2021, May 19–21). Smart Libraries: A Smart Decision? Canadian Association of Professional Academic Libraries 2021 Conference, Virtual. [Description]
- Li, S., Mahetaji, K., & Yang, A. (2021, April 16). Resilience in Times of Change. University of Toronto iConference, Virtual.
Teaching
Course Instructor: Faculty of Information (University of Toronto)
- Platform Politics and Power (INF2318: 2024) [Description] [Syllabus]
Course Instructor: Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology (University of Toronto)
- Communicating in a World of Data (WRI363: 2024) [Description] [Syllabus]
Teaching Assistant: Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology (University of Toronto)
- Media Economics I (CCT219: 2024, 2023) [Description]
- Media Economics II (CCT325: 2024, 2023) [Description]
- Race, Media and Culture (CCT200: 2024, 2023) [Description]
- Foundations of Media and Technology Studies (CCT218: 2023) [Description]
Teaching Assistant: Faculty of Information (University of Toronto)
- Introduction to Computational Thinking (INF1339: 2023) [Description]
- Representing, Documenting and Accessing the Cultural Record (INF1321: 2022) [Description]
Teaching Assistant: St. Michael’s College (University of Toronto)
- Social Media & Digital Platforms (BMS316: 2023) [Description]
- Propaganda and Media (BMS350: 2023) [Description]
Teaching Assistant: School of Interdisciplinary Science (McMaster University)
- Investigating Science: Opportunities & Experiences (Science 1A03: 2019) [Description]
Guest Lecturer: Faculty of Information (University of Toronto)
- Designing a workflow for managing readings (2024, 2023) [Description] [Slides]
- Writing policy briefs (2024, 2023) [Description] [Slides]
- Understanding, selecting, and using sources in academic writing (2024, 2023, 2022) [Description] [Slides]
- Identifying and applying discipline-specific writing conventions (2023) [Description] [Slides]
- Researching, organizing, and writing literature reviews in the information sciences (2023) [Description] [Slides]
- Email management and communication (2022) [Description] [Slides]