Algorithmic management in a work context Jarrahi, Mohammad Hossein; Newlands, Gemma; Lee, Min Kyung ...
Big data & society,
07/2021, Letnik:
8, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The rapid development of machine-learning algorithms, which underpin contemporary artificial intelligence systems, has created new opportunities for the automation of work processes and management ...functions. While algorithmic management has been observed primarily within the platform-mediated gig economy, its transformative reach and consequences are also spreading to more standard work settings. Exploring algorithmic management as a sociotechnical concept, which reflects both technological infrastructures and organizational choices, we discuss how algorithmic management may influence existing power and social structures within organizations. We identify three key issues. First, we explore how algorithmic management shapes pre-existing power dynamics between workers and managers. Second, we discuss how algorithmic management demands new roles and competencies while also fostering oppositional attitudes toward algorithms. Third, we explain how algorithmic management impacts knowledge and information exchange within an organization, unpacking the concept of opacity on both a technical and organizational level. We conclude by situating this piece in broader discussions on the future of work, accountability, and identifying future research steps.
The use of intelligent machines—digital technologies that feature data‐driven forms of customization, learning, and autonomous action—is rapidly growing and will continue to impact many industries ...and domains. This is consequential for communities of researchers, educators, and practitioners concerned with studying, supporting, and educating information professionals. In the face of new developments in artificial intelligence (AI), the research community faces 3 questions: (a) How is AI becoming part of the world of work? (b) How is the world of work becoming part of AI? and (c) How can the information community help address this topic of Work in the Age of Intelligent Machines (WAIM)? This opinion piece considers these 3 questions by drawing on discussion from an engaging 2019 iConference workshop organized by the NSF supported WAIM research coordination network (note: https://waim.network).
Familial chilblain lupus is a monogenic form of cutaneous lupus erythematosus caused by loss-of-function mutations in the nucleases TREX1 or SAMHD1. In a family without TREX1 or SAMHD1 mutation, we ...sought to determine the causative gene and the underlying disease pathology.
Exome sequencing was used for disease gene identification. Structural analysis was performed by homology modelling and docking simulations. Type I interferon (IFN) activation was assessed in cells transfected with STING cDNA using an IFN-β reporter and Western blotting. IFN signatures in patient blood in response to tofacitinib treatment were measured by RT-PCR of IFN-stimulated genes.
In a multigenerational family with five members affected with chilblain lupus, we identified a heterozygous mutation of STING, a signalling molecule in the cytosolic DNA sensing pathway. Structural and functional analyses indicate that mutant STING enhances homodimerisation in the absence of its ligand cGAMP resulting in constitutive type I IFN activation. Treatment of two affected family members with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor tofacitinib led to a marked suppression of the IFN signature.
A heterozygous gain-of-function mutation in STING can cause familial chilblain lupus. These findings expand the genetic spectrum of type I IFN-dependent disorders and suggest that JAK inhibition may be of therapeutic value.
This paper analyzes interviews with individuals discussing their experiences of searching for and watching DIY videos on YouTube. By exploring the entanglement of individuals’ search practices and ...the algorithmic underpinnings of the platform, this paper examines how experiences on Web 2.0 platforms can work to narrow, rather than widen, information worlds. Contributing to ongoing conversations in critical algorithm studies, this paper illustrates how even mundane practices like watching home repair videos on YouTube can play a role in identity-making and the shaping of modern subjectivities.
Making agriculture sustainable is a global challenge. In the European Union (EU), the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is failing with respect to biodiversity, climate, soil, land degradation as well ...as socio‐economic challenges.
The European Commission's proposal for a CAP post‐2020 provides a scope for enhanced sustainability. However, it also allows Member States to choose low‐ambition implementation pathways. It therefore remains essential to address citizens' demands for sustainable agriculture and rectify systemic weaknesses in the CAP, using the full breadth of available scientific evidence and knowledge.
Concerned about current attempts to dilute the environmental ambition of the future CAP, and the lack of concrete proposals for improving the CAP in the draft of the European Green Deal, we call on the European Parliament, Council and Commission to adopt 10 urgent action points for delivering sustainable food production, biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation.
Knowledge is available to help moving towards evidence‐based, sustainable European agriculture that can benefit people, nature and their joint futures.
The statements made in this article have the broad support of the scientific community, as expressed by above 3,600 signatories to the preprint version of this manuscript. The list can be found here (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3685632).
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
Immune recognition of cytosolic DNA represents a central antiviral defence mechanism. Within the host, short single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) continuously arises during the repair of DNA damage induced by ...endogenous and environmental genotoxic stress. Here we show that short ssDNA traverses the nuclear membrane, but is drawn into the nucleus by binding to the DNA replication and repair factors RPA and Rad51. Knockdown of RPA and Rad51 enhances cytosolic leakage of ssDNA resulting in cGAS-dependent type I IFN activation. Mutations in the exonuclease TREX1 cause type I IFN-dependent autoinflammation and autoimmunity. We demonstrate that TREX1 is anchored within the outer nuclear membrane to ensure immediate degradation of ssDNA leaking into the cytosol. In TREX1-deficient fibroblasts, accumulating ssDNA causes exhaustion of RPA and Rad51 resulting in replication stress and activation of p53 and type I IFN. Thus, the ssDNA-binding capacity of RPA and Rad51 constitutes a cell intrinsic mechanism to protect the cytosol from self DNA.
Information use intrigues information behavior researchers, though many have struggled with how to conceptualize and study this phenomenon. Some work suggests that information may have social uses, ...hinting that information use is more complicated than previous frameworks suggest. Therefore, we use a micro‐sociological, symbolic interactionist approach to examine the use of one type of information—biomedical information—in the everyday life interactions of chronic illness patients and their families. Based on a grounded theory analysis of 60 semi‐structured interviews (30 individual patient interviews and 30 family group interviews) and observations within the family group interviews, we identify 4 categories of information use: (a) knowing my body; (b) mapping the social terrain; (c) asserting autonomy; and (d) puffing myself up. Extending previous research, the findings demonstrate use of biomedical information in interactions that construct a valued self for the patient: a person who holds authority, and who is unique and cared for. In so doing, we contribute novel insights regarding the use of information to manage social emotions such as shame, and to construct embodied knowledge that is mobilized in action to address disease‐related challenges. We thus offer an expanded conceptualization of information use that provides new directions for research and practice.
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