Dieser Beitrag adressiert die Frage nach der Rolle von Algorithmen in der Ordnung und Regulierung digitaler Kommunikation. Er konfrontiert die gegenwärtige Debatte um die Macht von Algorithmen mit bestehenden Diskurszusammenhängen wie "Code is Law" sowie mit techniksoziologischen und institutionentheoretischen Konzepten. Damit wird der Gefahr begegnet, dass die sich derzeit abzeichnende Wiederentdeckung von Technik in der sozialwissenschaftlichen Theoriebildung (erneut) in technikdeterministische Positionen "überschießt". Auf dieser Basis werden Algorithmen als Relevanzmaschinen und Regulierungsmaschinen gesellschaftlicher Kommunikation charakterisiert, sowie Besonderheiten algorithmischer Medienangebote herausgearbeitet.
Context: Enthusiasm has been noted to increase productivity and quality at work. In teachers' work, this has a connection to student learning and motivation, as well as teaching quality. In the context of Finnish vocational education and training (VET), research on enthusiasm appears especially topical and relevant because of the ongoing wide reform with emphasis on productivity and efficiency.
Approach: In this study, Finnish VET teachers' enthusiasm at work was studied qualitatively. Three research questions were set for this study: (1) How do VET teachers describe their enthusiasm?; (2) What factors strengthen their enthusiasm, according to their descriptions?; and (3) What factors weaken their enthusiasm, according to their descriptions? Altogether, 103 teachers who voluntarily participated in the study completed an online questionnaire on enthusiasm. The data were analyzed through qualitative content analysis.
Findings: According to the results, the teachers who participated in the study were very interested in their work. They wanted to share how they experienced enthusiasm in their work. Their enthusiasm manifested as their willingness to develop their skills and expertise. It also showed in their dedication, good job performance, and positive feelings about their work. Student encounters, a positive atmosphere, and work interactions were the main sources of enthusiasm. Lack of resources, changes, cuts in the VET budget, and a lousy work atmosphere weakened enthusiasm.
Conclusion: The study found that enthusiasm manifested itself in ways that correspond well with the current VET productivity and efficiency goals. Because enthusiasm was strengthened especially when teachers were working with students, it seems important to ensure a supportive work environment for students also after the VET reform. Positive interactions, collegial support, and working together can help teachers to succeed and to maintain enthusiasm in their everyday work. According to the results of this study, supervisors may play a central role in facilitating teacher enthusiasm.
Many countries in Europe receiving refugees are signatories to human rights conventions, and we can thus speak of a moral polity. Yet we also find externalisation of migration control and widespread refusal to receive forced migrants. This observation raises three questions. First, in what sense can we speak of a moral polity around forced migration? In other words, what are the existing elements of a global regime around forced migration? Second, how is the discrepancy between human rights declarations on the one hand and restrictive policies on the other hand reflected in exclusion and inequalities? This question is placed in the context of the externalisation of control which has spurred the securitisation of migration with respect to socio-psychological, political-legal, and economic aspects. The main argument is that the dissonance between moral proclamations, on the one hand, and inaction on norms combined with externalisation of migration control on the other, has contributed to an increase in irregular migration and a decrease in protection for forced migrants and their families. In short, the consequences of externalisation are mostly the exact opposite of what has been declared or intended. Third, in conclusion, given the crucial importance of the politics and policies around forced migration, deeper reflection is needed concerning the public involvement of social scientists who deal with forced migration. Two interventions by social scientists are discussed in more detail. The argument is that the major role of migration research beyond the academic realm is not primarily to engage in policy advice and consultancy but to play an active role providing meaning and orientation for participants and audiences in public debates.
One of the key issues at metropolitan level is the provision of public services and this paper highlights the importance of understanding the governance of public services in the context of increasing urbanization and decentralization. This paper provides a comparative analysis on metropolitan governance in Latin America by analysing specific case studies. The objective is to identify how the governance setting in metropolitan areas shapes the process anthe results of providing public services to wider population. We examine metropolitan governance by employing a 3x3x3 model as a framework for addressing key issues about urban services delivery. Bogota, Lima and Mexico City are the metropolitan areas selected. Secondly, we focus on three sectors: transport, solid waste collection and water. Finally, the analysis focuses in three aspects of governance: coordination, financial sustainability and coverage and quality. The data collection process involved field research in Bogota, Lima and Mexico City.
Purpose - examining transitory effects of extraversion and openness to experience on employee turnover. Design/Method/Approach. Fully observed recursive mixed process model. Findings. Results show that (i) extraversion positively predicts turnover and that (ii) openness does not predict turnover. Moreover, comparing size effects between studies reveals that only extraversion has significantly more positive effect on employee turnover, which is in contradiction with previous meta-analysis. Theoretical implications. This research identifies a plausible boundary condition -national culture- in examining how a person's personality impact employee turnover in organizations. It highlights the shortcomings of previous meta-analysis that failed to incorporate differences in societal values and business contexts and identifies. Practical implications. In studying cultural contexts and value congruencies, this study contributes to the international human resources literature by identifying boundary conditions that explain how personality impacts employee turnover. Originality/Value. This study is the first to analyze the effects of personality on turnover using a within-individual unfolding and holistic model. Research limitations/Future research. The current study incorporates only a sample from a single country. Future research that analyzes the moderating effects of societal and business values in cross-national samples could corroborate and extend on the findings from this study. Paper type - empirical.
Self-attribution bias operates in social mobility attributions, with positive circumstances triggering individualist attributions (attributed to one's merits) and negative circumstances triggering structural attributions (attributed to one's race, religion, sex, social connections). Analyses of East Asian and Pacific data of the International Social Survey Programme's Social Inequality Module show that perceived social inequality (PSI) leads to structural attributions, while high subjective social position (SSP) leads to individualist attributions. Cultural contexts, however, support or temper self-attribution bias, thus modifying the effects of PSI and SSP. Cross-level interactions show that the effect of PSI on structural attributions is larger in small power-distance countries, while the effect of SSP on individualist attributions is larger in countries with small power distance, high individualism, and low country average for SSP. That a small power distance strengthens the effects of PSI on structural attributions and of SSP on individualist attributions suggests contrasting scenarios, where disadvantaged groups devalue their competencies for mobility, while privileged groups believe themselves deserving of better outcomes. The context-dependency of the SSP effect suggests the modifiability of individualist attributions. These results help explain why mobility attribution profiles of Australia and New Zealand differ from those of China, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan.
High-flying illusions on the part of the proponents, and grim predictions of the sceptics characterize the controversy about Brexit. The article analyses five of the major issues at stake for the Post-Brexit relationships between Britain, the EU and Africa with a focus on the Commonwealth Africa: namely market access, FDI, aid, security and partnership. The British government's vision of a 'Global Britain' relies heavily on a reinforced co-operation with Commonwealth nations and liberalized markets. Whether this would imply better access to markets also for Africa and protection of its infant industries is open to question. In view of the strong position of the City of London in global financial markets Post-Brexit policy could result in substantial net investment in Africa. However, most likely this would be possible only at the expense of the poor in Africa and elsewhere. The perspectives of future aid relationship of the UK with Africa after Brexit are closely entangled with Britain's' trade and financial policy. Scholarly analysis reveals that Brexit is likely to bring a decrease in aid. Concerning enhanced security for Africa, London apparently exaggerated its defense input in order to improve its bargaining position with the EU. Last but not least, the analysis of these different policy field shows that expectations of Brexiteers and African politicians alike concerning an enhanced, partner-like Post-Brexit Commonwealth relationship are largely unfounded.
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are a method to assess impact that has become increasingly popular over the last fifteen years, particularly as a result of the work done by Esther Duflo and her Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), an or-ganization devoted to the promotion of randomization. This article aims to explore and understand this success by using an in-depth sociographical study of the J-PAL and a network analysis of economists who use RCT. J-PAL appears to be a concentration of educational and academic capital that give great legitimacy to the RCT method. The network is controlled by certain leaders who are able to diffuse the J-PAL approach to RCTs. Furthermore, this article argues that it is necessary to go beyond the intrinsic quality of this method to explain how it became so popular.
Globalization has increased the flow of transnational migrants into many European and North American cities. These shifting socio-demographic patterns have resulted in the rapid development of 'cosmopolitan' urban centres where difference and diversity are ubiquitous (Sandercock, 2003). However, as ethnic enclaves form outside the urban core in suburban communities, there is uncertainty about whether cultural homogeneity is desirable or sustainable in a multicultural country. Indeed, planning communities for increasing diversity and difference will remain, what Leonie Sandercock (2004) calls, "one of the greatest tasks for planners of the 21st century". Thus, this article uses the theory of hyper-diversity to illuminate how immigrants' interactions with their local suburban community represents cultural pluralism and diversity beyond ethnicity. Specifically, this study explores differing attitudes, activities and lifestyles among diverse immigrant populations in the Region of Peel, one of the fastest growing and most culturally diverse areas in Canada. Focus groups with 60 immigrant youth and 55 immigrant adults were conducted to qualitatively capture perspectives and experiences in ethnic enclaves. The findings highlight the existence of attitudes in favor of multicultural lifestyles, activities that take newcomers beyond the borders of their enclaves, and lifestyles that require additional infrastructure to support sustainability of immigration in the suburbs. In conclusion, this article adds to the debate on cultural pluralism and 'homogeneous' ethnic enclaves by using the emergent concept of hyper-diversity as a way to think about the future sustainability of suburbs in an era of global migration.
