The impact of the visual image of freelance on the identity formation of the freelance professional under contemporary socio-economic situation (based on image analysis in English- and Russian-language segments of the Internet)

Economic Annals-ХХI: Volume 166, Issue 7-8, Pages: 105-109

Citation information:
Ovsyannikova, N.  (2017). The impact of the visual image of freelance on the identity formation of the freelance professional under contemporary socio-economic situation (based on image analysis in English- and Russian-language segments of the Internet). Economic Annals-XXI, 166(7-8), 105-109. doi: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V166-21

Natalya Ovsyannikova
PhD (Sociology),
Associate Professor,
Southwest State University
94, 50 Let Oktyabrya Str., Kursk, 305040, Russian Federation
yfnfif1981@mail.ru
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0579-6557

The impact of the visual image of freelance on the identity formation of the freelance professional under contemporary socio-economic situation (based on image analysis in English- and Russian-language segments of the Internet)

Abstract. In the article, freelance is treated as a special form of employment, emerged at the crossroads of global trend to self-employment and spread of remote employment with new information and communication technologies (ICT). topicality of research is supported by the fact that the market of online employment in the world is forecast to grow at least from USD 1.6 billion in 2013 to USD 16 billion by 2020 or even more significantly – by USD 46 billion. About 20% of jobs are projected to become virtual in Russia by 2020, while gross economic effect from remote employment will exceed USD 26.3 billion.

Positive identity of the freelance professional is considered as a significant factor in its adaptability, socio-economic efficiency and progressing in professional terms. The paper is aimed to disclose visual image impact of Internet freelance on the identity building of the freelance professional. Based on content analysis of 746 on-line images, the notion of «freelancer» was refined as a special form of employment, relied upon modern ICT.

Most of the visual images reflect the advantages of freelance and praise it as a progressive form of employment. Facial expressions and gestures of the people often express positive emotions in the pictures (51-55%). The juxtaposition is shown in favour of the freelancers (97.22% of the cases) in those pictures where the freelancers and other employees (office and remote workers) are present.

The Internet visual image of freelance is instrumental for further expansion of freelance activities and attracting new employees to this sector.

Keywords: Non-standard Employment; Freelance; Identity; Visual Image; Content Analysis

JEL Classification: Z1; J21; J23; E27

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V166-21

References

1. Olsen, С. (2014). About the prospects of freelancing.
   Retrieved from http://firrma.ru/data/articles/3231 (in Russ.)
2. United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (2005, July 29). Independent contractors in 2005.
   Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2005/jul/wk4/art05.htm
3. Staffing Industry Analysts (2015, June 3). Today’s world of work: Online platforms, smart phones and millennials.
   Retrieved from http://www2.staffingindustry.com/row/Publications/CWS-3.0/June-2015/June-3-2015/Today-s-world-of-work-Online-platforms-smart-phones-and-millennials
4. International Labour Office (2017). Working anytime, anywhere: The effects on the world of work. Geneva: International Labour Office.
   doi: https://doi.org/10.2806/372726
5. Vodyanova, S. (2015). Remote employment in Russia. Analytical Review. Presentation from the press-conference «Bitrix24» and J’son & Partners Consulting.
   Retrieved from http://json.tv/ict_telecom_analytics_view/polnaya-versiya-prezentatsii-generalnogo-direktora-svetlany-vodyanovoy-s-press-konferentsii-bitriks24-i-json-partners-consulting-20150617030352 (in Russ.)
6. Staffing Industry Analysts (2016, Nowember 02). India – Gig economy on the rise.
   Retrieved from http://www2.staffingindustry.com/row/Editorial/Daily-News/India-Gig-economy-on-the-rise-39903
7. Staffing Industry Analysts (2016, November 15). China – Number of freelancers rising.
   Retrieved from http://www2.staffingindustry.com/row/Editorial/Daily-News/China-Number-of-freelancers-rising-40078
8. Strebkov, D. O., Shevchuk, A. V., & Spirina, M. O. (2015). Development of Russian-speaking remote work market 2009-2014 (based on Data of the Russian freelancers’ census). Analitika LESI (Journal of Economic Sociology), 16.
   Retrieved from https://www.hse.ru/pubs/share/direct/document/167025662 (in Russ.)
9. Elance (2014). Freelancers by Geography.
   Retrieved from https://www.elance.com/trends/talent-available/geo#GeoRanking
10. Freelancer (2017). Registered users.
    Retrieved from https://www.freelancer.com
11. FL.ru (2017). Get access to more than 1.5 million freelancers.
    Retrieved from https://www.fl.ru/welcome/customer/1 (in Russ.)
12. Handy, C. (1984). The Future of Work. A Guide to a Changing Society. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
13. Kalleberg, A. L. (2000). Nonstandard Employment Relations: Part-Time, Temporary, and Contract Work. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 341-365.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.26.1.341
14. Pink, D. (2001). Free Agent Nation: How America’s New Independent Workers Are Transforming the Way We Live. New York: Warner Books.
15. Pratt, J. H. (2003). Teleworking Comes of Age with Broadband, Telework America Survey 2002. Silver Spring: International Telework Association and Council.
16. Stone, K. V. W. (2004). From Widgets to Digits: Employment Regulation for the Changing Workplace. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
17. Ashford, S. J., George, E., & Blatt, R. (2007). 2 Old Assumptions, New Work: The Opportunities and Challenges of Research on Nonstandard Employment. The Academy of Management Annals, 1(1), 65-117.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/078559807
18. Nissim, G., & De Vries, D. (2014). Permanent liminality: The impact of non-standard forms of employment on workers’ committees in Israel. International Labour Review, 153(3), 435-454.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1564-913X.2014.00010.x
19. Eichhorst, W., & Marx, P. (Eds.). (2015). Non-Standard Employment in Post-Industrial Labour Markets: An Occupational Perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781781001721
20. Cooke, F. L., & Brown, R. (2015). The regulation of non-standard forms of employment in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Conditions of work and employment series, 64. Geneva: International Labour Office.
    Retrieved from https://ecampus.itcilo.org/pluginfile.php/25267/mod_page/content/35/
    Conditions%20of%20Work%20and%20Employment%20Series%20No.%2064.pdf
21. Quinlan, M. (2015). The effects of non-standard forms of employment on worker health and safety. Conditions of work and employment series, 67. Geneva: International Labour Office.
    Retrieved from https://ecampus.itcilo.org/pluginfile.php/25267/mod_page/content/35/
    Conditions%20of%20Work%20and%20Employment%20Series%20No.%2067.pdf
22. McKeown, T., & Leighton, P. (2016). Working as a self-employed professional, freelancer, contractor, consultant … issues, questions … and solutions? Journal of Management & Organization, 22(6), 751-755.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2016.45
23. Maurizio, R. (2016). Non-standard forms of employment in Latin America: Prevalence, characteristics and impacts on wages. Conditions of work and employment series, 75. Geneva: International Labour Office.
    Retrieved from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—protrav/—travail/documents/publication/wcms_486160.pdf
24. Grimov, O. A. (2016). Main features of freelancing as a non-standard form of employment. Economic Annals-XXI, 157 (3-4(1)), 79-81.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.21003/ea.V157-0024
25. Elibrary.ru (2017). Scientific Electronic Library.
    Retrieved from https://elibrary.ru/defaultx.asp (in Russ.)
26. Kharchenko, V. S. (2013). Freelancing as a lifestyle in the modern Russian society (Doctoral dissertation). Ekaterinburg: UFU.
    Retrieved from http://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01005543973 (in Russ.)
27. Chaplashkin, N. V. (2013). Freelancing as a new social phenomenon and its consequences (Doctoral dissertation). Nizhni Novgorod: LSUNN.
    Retrieved from http://dlib.rsl.ru/viewer/01005539847#?page=1 (in Russ.)
28. Ostapiovskii, O. I. (2011). Professional identity in the structure of economic consciousness of a personality (Doctoral dissertation). Lutsk: LUEENU (in Ukr.).
29. Jenkins, R. (2014). Social Identity. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.
30. Kozlova, E. G. (2016). The formation of professional identity in contemporary culture (Doctoral dissertation). St. Petersburg: SPbSU.
    Retrieved from http://dlib.rsl.ru/viewer/01006651637#?page=1 (in Russ.).
31. Wagner, J. (Ed.). (1979). Images of Information. Still Photography in the Social Sciences. Beverly Hills: Sage.
32. Barnard, M. (2001). Approaches to Understanding Visual Culture. Houndmills: Palgrave.
33. Sztompka, P. (2007). Visual sociology. Photography as research method: a tutorial. Moscow: Logos (in Russ.).
34. Maresca, S., & Meyer, M. (2013). Specific photography for the use of sociologies. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes (in Fr.).
35. Pauwels, L. (2015). Reframing Visual Social Science. Towards a More Visual Sociology and Anthropology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
    doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139017633
36. Ovsyannikova, N. A. (2007). The impact of television on the development of personal identity in modern sociо-cultural conditions of the Russian society (Doctoral dissertation). Kursk: SWSU.
    Retrieved from http://dlib.rsl.ru/viewer/01003175943#?page=1 (in Russ.)
37. Dridze, T. M. (1996). Social interaction as a textual activity in semio-socio-psychology. Obshchestvennye nauki i sovremennost (Social Sciences and Modernity), 3, 145-152.
    Retrieved from http://ecsocman.hse.ru/data/931/005/1218/016_Dridze.pdf (in Russ.)
38. Barthes, R. (1967). Elements of Semiology. New York: Hill and Wang.
39. Barthes, R. (1981). Camera Lucida. Reflections on Photography. New York: Hill and Wang.
40. Fedotova, L. N. (2001). Content analysis – sociological method of studying mass communication. Moscow: Scientific World (in Russ.).
41. Lutz, C., & Collins, J. (1993). Reading National Geographic. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Received 15.05.2017