Remote Work, Work Measurement and the State of Work Research in Human-Centred Computing

Over the past few decades, a small but growing group of people have worked remotely from their homes. With the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic, millions of people found themselves joining this group overnight. In this position paper, we examine the kinds of work that ‘went remote’ in response to the pandemic, and consider the ways in which this transition was influenced by (and in turn came to influence) contemporary trends in digital workplace measurement and evaluation. We see that employers appeared reluctant to let certain classes of employee work remotely. When the pandemic forced staff home, employers compensated by turning to digital surveillance tools, even though, as we argue, these tools seem unable to overcome the significant conceptual barriers to understanding how people are working. We also observed that, in the United Kingdom context, the pandemic didn’t mean remote work for a significant proportion of the population. We assert that, to maximize its impact, ‘future of work’ research in human-centred computing must be more inclusive and representative of work, rather than focusing on the experiences of knowledge workers and those involved in new forms of work

Bats Use Magnetite to Detect the Earth's Magnetic Field

While the role of magnetic cues for compass orientation has been confirmed in numerous animals, the mechanism of detection is still debated. Two hypotheses have been proposed, one based on a light dependent mechanism, apparently used by birds and another based on a “compass organelle” containing the iron oxide particles magnetite (Fe3O4). Bats have recently been shown to use magnetic cues for compass orientation but the method by which they detect the Earth's magnetic field remains unknown. Here we use the classic “Kalmijn-Blakemore” pulse re-magnetization experiment, whereby the polarity of cellular magnetite is reversed. The results demonstrate that the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus uses single domain magnetite to detect the Earths magnetic field and the response indicates a polarity based receptor. Polarity detection is a prerequisite for the use of magnetite as a compass and suggests that big brown bats use magnetite to detect the magnetic field as a compass. Our results indicate the possibility that sensory cells in bats contain freely rotating magnetite particles, which appears not to be the case in birds. It is crucial that the ultrastructure of the magnetite containing magnetoreceptors is described for our understanding of magnetoreception in animals

Wind-Powered Wheel Locomotion, Initiated by Leaping Somersaults, in Larvae of the Southeastern Beach Tiger Beetle (Cicindela dorsalis media)

Rapid movement is challenging for elongate, soft-bodied animals with short or no legs. Leaping is known for only a few animals with this “worm-like” morphology. Wheel locomotion, in which the animal's entire body rolls forward along a central axis, has been reported for only a handful of animals worldwide. Here we present the first documented case of wind-powered wheel locomotion, in larvae of the coastal tiger beetle Cicindela dorsalis media. When removed from their shallow burrows, larvae easily can be induced to enter a behavioral sequence that starts with leaping; while airborne, larvae loop their body into a rotating wheel and usually either “hit the ground rolling” or leap again. The direction larvae wheel is closely related to the direction in which winds are blowing; thus, all our larvae wheeled up-slope, as winds at our study site consistently blew from sea to land. Stronger winds increased both the proportion of larvae wheeling, and the distance traveled, exceeding 60 m in some cases. In addition, the proportion of larvae that wheel and the distance traveled by wheeling larvae are significantly greater on smooth sandy beaches than on beach surfaces made rough and irregular by pedestrian, equestrian, and vehicular traffic. Like other coastal species of tiger beetles, C. dorsalis media has suffered major declines in recent years that are clearly correlated with increased human impacts. The present study suggests that the negative effects of beach traffic may be indirect, preventing larvae from escaping from predators using wheel locomotion by disrupting the flat, hard surface necessary for efficient wheeling

Levothyrox® new and old formulations: are they switchable for millions of patients?

International audienceIn France, more than 2.5 million patients are currently treated with levothyroxine, mainly as the marketed product Levothyrox ®. In March 2017, at the request of French authorities, a new formulation of Levothyrox ® was licensed, with the objective of avoiding stability deficiencies of the old formulation. Before launching this new formulation, an average bioequivalence trial, based on European Union recommended guidelines, was performed. The implicit rationale was the assumption that the two products, being bioequivalent, would also be switchable, allowing substitution of the new for the old formulation, thus avoiding the need for individual calibration of the dosage regimen of thyroxine, using the thyroid-stimulating hormone level as the endpoint, as required for a new patient on initiating treatment. Despite the fact that both formulations were shown to be bioequivalent, adverse drug reactions were reported in several thousands of patients after taking the new formulation. In this opinion paper, we report that more than 50% of healthy volunteers enrolled in a successful regulatory average bioequivalence trial were actually outside the a priori bioequivalence range. Therefore, we question the ability of an average bioequivalence trial to guarantee the switchability within patients of the new and old levothyroxine formulations. We further propose an analysis of this problem using the conceptual framework of individual bioequivalence. This involves investigating the bioavailability of the two formulations within a subject, by comparing not only the population means (as established by average bioequivalence) but also by assessing two variance terms, namely the within-subject variance and the variance estimating subject-by-formulation interaction. A higher within individual variability for the new formulation would lead to reconsideration of the appropriateness of the new formulation. Alternatively, a possible subject-by-formulation interaction would allow a judgement on the ability, or not, of doctors to manage patients effectively during transition from the old to the new formulation

Forest chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) remember the location of numerous fruit trees

It is assumed that spatial memory contributes crucially to animal cognition since animals’ habitats entail a large number of dispersed and unpredictable food sources. Spatial memory has been investigated under controlled conditions, with different species showing and different conditions leading to varying performance levels. However, the number of food sources investigated is very low compared to what exists under natural conditions, where food resources are so abundant that it is difficult to precisely identify what is available. By using a detailed botanical map containing over 12,499 trees known to be used by the Taï chimpanzees, we created virtual maps of all productive fruit trees to simulate potential strategies used by wild chimpanzees to reach resources without spatial memory. First, we simulated different assumptions concerning the chimpanzees’ preference for a particular tree species, and, second, we varied the detection field to control for the possible use of smell to detect fruiting trees. For all these assumptions, we compared simulated distance travelled, frequencies of trees visited, and revisit rates with what we actually observed in wild chimpanzees. Our results show that chimpanzees visit rare tree species more frequently, travel shorter distances to reach them, and revisit the same trees more often than if they had no spatial memory. In addition, we demonstrate that chimpanzees travel longer distances to reach resources where they will eat for longer periods of time, and revisit resources more frequently where they ate for a long period of time during their first visit. Therefore, this study shows that forest chimpanzees possess a precise spatial memory which allows them to remember the location of numerous resources and use this information to select the most attractive resources

Neurocranium versus Face: A Morphometric Approach with Classical Anthropometric Variables for Characterizing Patterns of Cranial Integration in Extant Hominoids and Extinct Hominins

The relative importance of the two main cranial complexes, the neurocranium and the splanchnocranium, has been examined in the five species of extant hominoids and in a huge sample of extinct hominins using six standard craniometric variables that measure the length, width and height of each cranial module. Factor analysis and two-block partial least squares were used for establishing the major patterns of developmental and evolutionary integration between both cranial modules. The results obtained show that all extant hominoids (including the anatomically modern humans) share a conserved pattern of developmental integration, a result that agrees with previous studies. The pattern of evolutionary integration between both cranial modules in australopiths runs in parallel to developmental integration. In contrast, the pattern of evolutionary and developmental integration of the species of the genus Homo is the opposite, which is probably the consequence of distinctive selective regimes for both hominin groups.JAPC, JMJA and PP received fundings from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Gobierno de España (http://www.idi.mineco.gob.es), project CGL2011-30334, and Consejería de Economía, Innovación, Ciencia y Empleo, Junta de Andalucía, España (http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/organismo​s/economiainnovacioncienciayempleo.html), project P11-HUM-7248 and Research Groups RNM-146 and HUM-607

Quantile-Specific Penetrance of Genes Affecting Lipoproteins, Adiposity and Height

Quantile-dependent penetrance is proposed to occur when the phenotypic expression of a SNP depends upon the population percentile of the phenotype. To illustrate the phenomenon, quantiles of height, body mass index (BMI), and plasma lipids and lipoproteins were compared to genetic risk scores (GRS) derived from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP)s having established genome-wide significance: 180 SNPs for height, 32 for BMI, 37 for low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, 47 for high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, 52 for total cholesterol, and 31 for triglycerides in 1930 subjects. Both phenotypes and GRSs were adjusted for sex, age, study, and smoking status. Quantile regression showed that the slope of the genotype-phenotype relationships increased with the percentile of BMI (P = 0.002), LDL-cholesterol (P = 3×10−8), HDL-cholesterol (P = 5×10−6), total cholesterol (P = 2.5×10−6), and triglyceride distribution (P = 7.5×10−6), but not height (P = 0.09). Compared to a GRS's phenotypic effect at the 10th population percentile, its effect at the 90th percentile was 4.2-fold greater for BMI, 4.9-fold greater for LDL-cholesterol, 1.9-fold greater for HDL-cholesterol, 3.1-fold greater for total cholesterol, and 3.3-fold greater for triglycerides. Moreover, the effect of the rs1558902 (FTO) risk allele was 6.7-fold greater at the 90th than the 10th percentile of the BMI distribution, and that of the rs3764261 (CETP) risk allele was 2.4-fold greater at the 90th than the 10th percentile of the HDL-cholesterol distribution. Conceptually, it maybe useful to distinguish environmental effects on the phenotype that in turn alters a gene's phenotypic expression (quantile-dependent penetrance) from environmental effects affecting the gene's phenotypic expression directly (gene-environment interaction)

Skeeter Buster: A Stochastic, Spatially Explicit Modeling Tool for Studying Aedes aegypti Population Replacement and Population Suppression Strategies

Dengue is a viral disease that affects approximately 50 million people annually, and is estimated to result in 12,500 fatalities. Dengue viruses are vectored by mosquitoes, predominantly by the species Aedes aegypti. Because there is currently no vaccine or specific treatment, the only available strategy to reduce dengue transmission is to control the populations of these mosquitoes. This can be achieved by traditional approaches such as insecticides, or by recently developed genetic methods that propose the release of mosquitoes genetically engineered to be unable to transmit dengue viruses. The expected outcome of different control strategies can be compared by simulating the population dynamics and genetics of mosquitoes at a given location. Development of optimal control strategies can then be guided by the modeling approach. To that end, we introduce a new modeling tool called Skeeter Buster. This model describes the dynamics and the genetics of Ae. aegypti populations at a very fine scale, simulating the contents of individual houses, and even the individual water-holding containers in which mosquito larvae reside. Skeeter Buster can be used to compare the predicted outcomes of multiple control strategies, traditional or genetic, making it an important tool in the fight against dengue

Juvenile Songbirds Compensate for Displacement to Oceanic Islands during Autumn Migration

To what degree juvenile migrant birds are able to correct for orientation errors or wind drift is still largely unknown. We studied the orientation of passerines on the Faroe Islands far off the normal migration routes of European migrants. The ability to compensate for displacement was tested in naturally occurring vagrants presumably displaced by wind and in birds experimentally displaced 1100 km from Denmark to the Faroes. The orientation was studied in orientation cages as well as in the free-flying birds after release by tracking departures using small radio transmitters. Both the naturally displaced and the experimentally displaced birds oriented in more easterly directions on the Faroes than was observed in Denmark prior to displacement. This pattern was even more pronounced in departure directions, perhaps because of wind influence. The clear directional compensation found even in experimentally displaced birds indicates that first-year birds can also possess the ability to correct for displacement in some circumstances, possibly involving either some primitive form of true navigation, or ‘sign posts’, but the cues used for this are highly speculative. We also found some indications of differences between species in the reaction to displacement. Such differences might be involved in the diversity of results reported in displacement studies so far

Computational and mathematical approaches to societal transitions

After an introduction of the theoretical framework and concepts of transition studies, this article gives an overview of how structural change in social systems has been studied from various disciplinary perspectives. This overview first leads to the conclusion that computational and mathematical approaches and their practical form, modeling, up till now, have been almost absent in the research and theorizing of structural change or transitions in social systems. Second, this review of the social science literature suggests numerous theoretical constructs relevant for transition modeling. Relevant concepts include the conceptualization of the micro-to-macro link, the importance of explaining both stability and change, quantitative and qualitative definitions of structural change, the use of dichotomies, synchronic and diachronic reasoning in explaining structural change, definitions of basic patterns of social change, the conceptualization of resistance to change and intentional and normative aspects of social change. This article employs these theoretical concepts to describe and discuss the models presented in this special issue in order to develop an understanding of what exactly entails a computational or mathematical approach to societal transitions