Flexibility and security in the labour market

Predmet rada je analiza ishoda na tržištu rada u zavisnosti od odnosa fleksibilnosti i sigurnosti na ovom tržištu. Zemlje u tranziciji se na svom putu oblikovanja institucionalnog okvira suočavaju sa dva različita pristupa – s jedne strane je ortodoksni pristup koji preporučuje što veću fleksibilnost na tržištu rada, a s druge tzv. “flexicurity” pristup prema kojem samo povećanje fleksibilnosti ne dovodi obavezno do bolje efikasnosti tržišta rada, dok fleksibilnost i sigurnost ne moraju nužno biti kontradiktorne. Predstavnici različitih teorijskih pravaca se u velikoj meri spore oko pitanja postojanja stabilne prirodne stope nezaposlenosti i problema delovanja histerezis efekta na tržištu rada. U skladu sa različitim pretpostavkama od kojih se polazi, razlikuju se i preporuke za vođenje ekonomske politike, kao i stavovi oko smera u kome je neophodno vršiti reforme institucija tržišta rada. U radu je izvršena procena kretanja prirodne stope nezaposlenosti u zemljama evrozone u periodu od 2000. do 2010. godine, polazeći od jednačine Filipsove krive. Dobijeni rezultati pokazuju da je prirodna stopa nezaposlenosti povećana sa izbijanjem recesije i da je ostala na višem nivou i nakon otpočinjanja privrednog oporavka. Takođe, reakcije različitih režima tržišta rada na recesiju su se u velikoj meri razlikovale, s tim da režimi koji su dizajnirani više u skladu sa ortodoksnim preporukama nisu uvek imali bolje performanse od režima sa „čvršćim“ institucijama. Institucije tržišta rada koje su ključne za određivanje odnosa fleksibilnosti i sigurnosti na ovom tržištu su: zakonodavna zaštita zaposlenja, sistem naknada za nezaposlene i aktivne politike na tržištu rada. Empirijsku procenu uticaja ovih institucija na performanse tržišta rada otežava činjenica da institute zakonodavne zaštite zaposlenja i sistema naknada za nezaposlene karakteriše veliki broj dimenzija koje je teško numerički obuhvatiti. Regresionom analizom je pokazano da, pri proceni uticaja na nezaposlenost, jednostrano prikazivanje sistema naknade za nezaposlene ne daje rezultate koji su u skladu sa teorijskim predviđanjima.The goal of the dissertation is to analyze the influence of the relationship between flexibility and security in the labour market on labour market outcomes. Regarding labour market reform, transition economies are faced with two opposite approaches: according to the orthodox (neoliberal) approach, enhancement of labour market flexibility should improve labour market outcomes, while according to the „flexicurity“ approach, which is more consistent with the European social model, more flexibility doesn`t necessarily lead to superior labour market outcomes, and flexibility and security in the labour market do not necessarily need to be regarded as incompatible variables. Different theoretical approaches mostly disagree about issues of existence of a stable natural rate of unemployment and the problem of hysteresis effect on the labor market. In line with different assumptions in their models, different theoretical approaches often provide quite opposite recommendations regarding desirable economic policy measures and direction of labour market reforms. This thesis provides the estimates of changes of natural rate of unemployment in Euro zone in the period between 2000 and 2010, using the Phillips curve equation as a basis for estimation. Results show that natural rate of unemployment has increased with the outbreak of the crisis, and remained on the higher level after the economic recovery started. Different labour market regimes had different paths of labour market adjustment during the crisis, and the regimes which were more aligned with orthodox recommendations did not necessarily have superior labour market performance compared with those with more rigid/generous institutions. Employment protection legislation, unemployment benefit system and active labour market policies are among key labour market institutions whose design to a great extent influences the balance between flexibility and security in the labour market

Social participation in a postdigital–biodigital age

This chapter introduces the concept of social participation and analyzes its recent transformations in a postdigital–biodigital reality. It explores the main sources of biodigital (in)equality and links them to the nature of biodigital communication. Drawing firstly on the work of Kate O’Riordan, the chapter argues that traditional communication based on an exchange of information is significantly different from emerging forms of biodigital communication and identifies the regulation of biodigital communication as the key question of social participation in a postdigital–biodigital age. The discussion then addresses in detail the complex power relationships that emerge in this age, the varying levels of participation that different individuals enjoy, and associated political rationalities. The chapter then explores aspects of postdigital–biodigital policymaking using the case of education and drawing on Human Data Interaction (HDI) theory

​Postdigital citizen science: mapping the field

This paper provides a brief overview of citizen science, attending to its tensions and possibilities. We acknowledge the creative potential of citizen science for expanding and diversifying public participation in knowledge production and dissemination, and we also draw attention to its contradictions. We point to emerging postdigital tensions as new technologies and vast public databases are increasingly becoming cornerstones of citizen science. We discuss how postdigital citizen science operates in the context of knowledge capitalism while aiming at its transformation and highlight three key challenges for postdigital citizen science: the challenge of technology, the challenge of political economy, and the challenge of participation. Different postdigital challenges cannot be separated from each other, so we call for a deep reimagination and reconfiguration of citizen science in and for the postdigital condition. We start this reimagination by asking three questions: What is postdigital citizen science? Who (or what!) is the postdigital citizen scientist? How to conduct postdigital citizen science

Improving emerging European NMIs’ capabilities in humidity measurement

The control and measurement of humidity is important for many industrial applications and to ensure the appropriate storage of materials and products. Humidity measurement techniques are diverse and each presents different challenges for use and calibration for a range of pressures and gases. Over the past few years, the development of humidity sensors and apparatus has matured to a level where traceable calibration is beneficial to all industries in which humidity and moisture measurement and control are important. This paper deals with a European project in which the overall objective is to develop or extend the measurement and research capabilities of the participating emerging NMI/DIs’ countries in the field of humidity measurements, where access to these types of facilities is currently limited

Who is really in charge of contemporary education? People and technologies in, against and beyond the neoliberal university

This article reflects on the position of people in, against and beyond information and communication technologies. Firstly, using Jandrić and Kuzmanić’s work on digital postcolonialism, Raymond Williams's work on residual and emergent cultures, and Deleuze and Guattari's insights into the dynamics between territorialization, de-territorialization and re-territorialization, it develops a theoretical framework for inquiry into the hybrid identity of the contemporary university. Then, through critical discourse analysis (CDA), the article moves on to analyse the ways in which technology discourse resides in the dominating ideology of technological determinism and co-opts with neoliberal agendas by omitting humans from explicit mention in UK policy documents. It shows that true counter-hegemonic practice against dominating social practices is possible only through reinvigorating the central position of human beings in regards to information and communication technologies. Within the developed theoretical framework, it seeks openings to intervene subversively into current relationships between technologies, people, and (higher) education, and to identify opportunities for building a non-determinist identity of the contemporary university that reaches beyond the single-minded logic of techno-scientific development. In the process, it situates Paulo Freire's insights into critical pedagogy in the context of the network society, and places the relationships between human beings, language and information and communication technologies amongst central questions of today's (higher) education and society at large

Whose domain and whose ontology?:Preserving human radical reflexivity over the efficiency of automatically generated feedback alone

In this chapter, we challenge an increase in the uncritical application of algorithmic processes for providing automatically generated feedback for students, within a neoliberal framing of contemporary higher education. Initially, we discuss our concerns alongside networked learning principles, which developed as a critical pedagogical response to new online learning programmes and platforms. These principles now overlap too, with the notion that we are living in ‘postdigital’ times, where automatically generated feedback never stands alone, but is contested and supplemented by physical encounters and human feedback. First, we make observations on the e-marking platform Turnitin, alongside other rapidly developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems. When generic (but power-laden) maps are incorporated into both student and staff ‘perceived’ spaces through AI, we surface the aspects of feedback that risk being lost. Second, we draw on autoethnographic understandings of our own lived experience of performing radically reflexive feedback within a Master’s in Education programme. A radically reflexive form of feedback may not follow a pre-defined map, but it does offer a vehicle to restore individual student and staff voices and critical self-navigation of both physical and virtual learning spaces. This needs to be preserved in the ongoing shaping of the contemporary ‘postdigital’ university

Understanding digital inequality: a theoretical kaleidoscope

The pandemic affected more than 1.5 billion students and youth, and the most vulnerable learners were hit hardest, making digital inequality in educational settings impossible to overlook. Given this reality, we, all educators, came together to find ways to understand and address some of these inequalities. As a product of this collaboration, we propose a methodological toolkit: a theoretical kaleidoscope to examine and critique the constitutive elements and dimensions of digital inequalities. We argue that such a tool is helpful when a critical attitude to examine ‘the ideology of digitalism’, its concomitant inequalities, and the huge losses it entails for human flourishing seems urgent. In the paper, we describe different theoretical approaches that can be used for the kaleidoscope. We give relevant examples of each theory. We argue that the postdigital does not mean that the digital is over, rather that it has mutated into new power structures that are less evident but no less insidious as they continue to govern socio-technical infrastructures, geopolitics, and markets. In this sense, it is vital to find tools that allow us to shed light on such invisible and pervasive power structures and the consequences in the daily lives of so many

‘Citizen scientists’ on citizen science

Citizen science, also known as participatory or community science, involves the participation of non-professionally trained individuals in scientific research. This article, part of a series of articles aiming to map and theorise the postdigital dimensions of citizen science, presents diverse narratives from individuals actively engaged in citizen science endeavors. The authors were invited to share their experiences, motivations, challenges, and opportunities in their own words. Their perspectives are organized into three categories: (1) citizen science as a mediator between professional and amateur science, (2) citizen science for diverse publics and community action, and (3) citizen science from the margins. These narratives illuminate citizen science as not just a theoretical construct, but a dynamic methodological prism, revealing the complex entanglement of the postdigital realm and citizen science through innovative sociotechnical methods and approaches. Each contribution highlights the rich possibilities and challenges arising from the intertwining of community researchers and technology in the pursuit of knowledge, meaning, and action. This tapestry of experiences invites further exploration of the evolving landscape of postdigital citizen science