Negotiating limits on algorithmic management in digitalised services: cases from Germany and Norway

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms are increasingly used to monitor employees and to automate management decisions. In this article, we ask how worker representatives adapt traditional collective voice institutions to regulate the adoption and use of these tools in the workplace. Our findings are based on a comparative study of union and works council responses to algorithmic management in contact centres from two similar telecommunications companies in Germany and Norway. In both case studies, worker representatives mobilised collective voice institutions to protect worker privacy and discretion associated with remote monitoring and workforce management technologies. However, they relied on different sources of institutional power, connected to co-determination rights, enforcement of data protection laws, and labour cooperation structures.Negotiating limits on algorithmic management in digitalised services: cases from Germany and NorwayacceptedVersio

Modeling My Mother? An Exploration of the Relationship between a Mother's Occupational Status and Her Daughter's Career Aspirations

Thesis advisor: Sara MoormanThis research looks at the ways in which mothers influence their daughter’s educational achievements and occupational aspirations. The goal is to determine whether the Role-Model Hypothesis or Grades Hypothesis explains the relationship more. According to the literature, the Role-Model Hypothesis is based on ideas of socialization and gender-role stereotypes while the Grades Hypothesis is based on the idea of transmission of social capital, which improves test scores. In order to test these hypotheses, a series of multinomial logistic regression models were run on the responses of a sample of 7,716 female students and their mothers to the Educational Longitudinal Study, (ELS) 2002, Base Year. The results provide evidence in support of the Grades Hypothesis. A mother with higher educational attainment and a more prestigious occupation is more likely to have a daughter with higher test scores, with higher test scores leading to higher expectations and aspirations by the daughter. Implications of this finding include suggestions for the need for action, policy changes, and the decline in the importance of gender theory in influencing aspirations.Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013.Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences.Discipline: College Honors Program.Discipline: Sociology Honors Program.Discipline: Sociology

Proliferative glioblastoma cancer cells exhibit persisting temporal control of metabolism and display differential temporal drug susceptibility in chemotherapy

Even in immortalized cell lines, circadian clocks regulate physiological processes in a time-dependent manner, driving transcriptional and metabolic rhythms, the latter being able to persist without transcription. Circadian rhythm disruptions in modern life (shiftwork, jetlag, etc.) may lead to higher cancer risk. Here, we investigated whether the human glioblastoma T98G cells maintained quiescent or under proliferation keep a functional clock and whether cells display differential time responses to bortezomib chemotherapy. In arrested cultures, mRNAs for clock (Per1, Rev-erbα) and glycerophospholipid (GPL)-synthesizing enzyme genes, 32 P-GPL labeling, and enzyme activities exhibited circadian rhythmicity; oscillations were also found in the redox state/peroxiredoxin oxidation. In proliferating cells, rhythms of gene expression were lost or their periodicity shortened whereas the redox and GPL metabolisms continued to fluctuate with a similar periodicity as under arrest. Cell viability significantly changed over time after bortezomib treatment; however, this rhythmicity and the redox cycles were altered after Bmal1 knock-down, indicating cross-talk between the transcriptional and the metabolic oscillators. An intrinsic metabolic clock continues to function in proliferating cells, controlling diverse metabolisms and highlighting differential states of tumor suitability for more efficient, time-dependent chemotherapy when the redox state is high and GPL metabolism low.Fil: Wagner, Paula Micaela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Química Biológica de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Química Biológica de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Sosa Alderete, Lucas Gastón. Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Departamento de Biología Molecular; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gorne, Lucas Damián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Gaveglio, Virginia Lucía. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Salvador, Gabriela Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto de Investigaciones Bioquímicas de Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Pasquaré, Susana Juana. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Guido, Mario Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Química Biológica de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Químicas. Centro de Investigaciones en Química Biológica de Córdoba; Argentin

The PHA Depolymerase Engineering Database: A systematic analysis tool for the diverse family of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) depolymerases

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) can be degraded by many microorganisms using intra- or extracellular PHA depolymerases. PHA depolymerases are very diverse in sequence and substrate specificity, but share a common α/β-hydrolase fold and a catalytic triad, which is also found in other α/β-hydrolases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The PHA Depolymerase Engineering Database (DED, <url>http://www.ded.uni-stuttgart.de</url>) has been established as a tool for systematic analysis of this enzyme family. The DED contains sequence entries of 587 PHA depolymerases, which were assigned to 8 superfamilies and 38 homologous families based on their sequence similarity. For each family, multiple sequence alignments and profile hidden Markov models are provided, and functionally relevant residues are annotated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The DED is a valuable tool which can be applied to identify new PHA depolymerase sequences from complete genomes <it>in silico</it>, to classify PHA depolymerases, to predict their biochemical properties, and to design enzyme variants with improved properties.</p

Epidemic dynamics of respiratory syncytial virus in current and future climates.

A key question for infectious disease dynamics is the impact of the climate on future burden. Here, we evaluate the climate drivers of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an important determinant of disease in young children. We combine a dataset of county-level observations from the US with state-level observations from Mexico, spanning much of the global range of climatological conditions. Using a combination of nonlinear epidemic models with statistical techniques, we find consistent patterns of climate drivers at a continental scale explaining latitudinal differences in the dynamics and timing of local epidemics. Strikingly, estimated effects of precipitation and humidity on transmission mirror prior results for influenza. We couple our model with projections for future climate, to show that temperature-driven increases to humidity may lead to a northward shift in the dynamic patterns observed and that the likelihood of severe outbreaks of RSV hinges on projections for extreme rainfall

An Assessment of the Housing Needs of Persons with HIV/AIDS: New York City Eligible Metropolitan Statistica Area, Final Report

This report is the final deliverable of a study of the housing needs of persons with HIV/AIDS in the New York City Eligible Metropolitan Statistical Area that was commissioned in 2001 by the New York City Mayor’s Office of AIDS Policy Coordination under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program. The Hudson Planning Group (HPG) and a team of professionals including the University of Pennsylvania Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research, the Center for Urban Community Services, and Public Sector Research was selected to perform the assessment under the direction of the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health (PCMH), as the City’s Master Contractor, and with the help of an Advisory Group composed of consumers, service providers, government representatives and experts in health and housing policy. The release of the report has been delayed close to a year beyond its due date. The assessment was scheduled to take two years and to be completed in the fall of 2003, in accordance with the terms of an agreement between HPG and the PCMH. HPG submitted a complete draft of the report to the York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s Bureau of HIV/AIDS in February 2004. Review and comment by City agencies and HPG’s revisions to the draft took an extended time and the final report is being released in November 2004. Accordingly, data in the report are current as of December 2003, with the exception of a few cases where it is noted that more recent data were provided at the request of a City agency reviewing the report

Association of Over-The-Counter Pharmaceutical Sales with Influenza-Like-Illnesses to Patient Volume in an Urgent Care Setting

We studied the association between OTC pharmaceutical sales and volume of patients with influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) at an urgent care center over one year. OTC pharmaceutical sales explain 36% of the variance in the patient volume, and each standard deviation increase is associated with 4.7 more patient visits to the urgent care center (p<0.0001). Cross-correlation function analysis demonstrated that OTC pharmaceutical sales are significantly associated with patient volume during non-flu season (p<0.0001), but only the sales of cough and cold (p<0.0001) and thermometer (p<0.0001) categories were significant during flu season with a lag of two and one days, respectively. Our study is the first study to demonstrate and measure the relationship between OTC pharmaceutical sales and urgent care center patient volume, and presents strong evidence that OTC sales predict urgent care center patient volume year round. © 2013 Liu et al

Sperm morphology in neotropical primates

The morphological and morphometric characterization of spermatozoa has been used as a taxonomic and phylogenetic tool for different species of mammals. We evaluated and compared the sperm morphometry of five neotropical primate species: Alouatta caraya, Ateles belzebuth and Ateles chamek of family Atelidae; and Cebus cay (=Sapajus cay) and Cebus nigritus (=Sapajus nigritus) of family Cebidae. After the collection of semen samples, the following parameters were measured on 100 spermatozoa from each specimen: Head Length, HeadWidth, Acrosome Length, Midpiece Length, MidpieceWidth and Tail Length. Considering the available literature on sperm morphometry, we gathered data of 75 individuals, from 20 species, 8 genera and 2 families. These data were superimposed on a phylogeny to infer the possible direction of evolutionary changes. Narrower and shorter spermatozoa seem to be the ancestral form for Cebidae, with a trend toward wider and larger heads in derived groups. The spermatozoa of Atelidae may show an increase in total length and midpiece length. Sperm heads would have become narrower in the more derived groups of Ateles. Sperm length may increase in the more derived species in both families. Our results are discussed in the context of sperm competition and sexual selection.Fil: Steinberg, Eliana Ruth. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Grupo de Investigación de Biología Evolutiva; ArgentinaFil: Sestelo, Adrián J.. Ecoparque Interactivo. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Reproductiva; ArgentinaFil: Ceballos, Maria Beatriz. Ecoparque Interactivo. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Reproductiva; ArgentinaFil: Wagner, Virginia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Grupo de Investigación de Biología Evolutiva; ArgentinaFil: Palermo, Ana María. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Grupo de Investigación de Biología Evolutiva; ArgentinaFil: Mudry, Marta Dolores. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Grupo de Investigación de Biología Evolutiva; Argentin

Carbon nanotubes applied in neuroscience: prospects and challenges

INTRODUÇÃO: Os nanotubos de carbono (NTCs) são os nanomateriais mais promissores para aplicação terapêutica em doenças neurodegenerativas. Aplicações potenciais incluem sistemas de liberação controlada de fármacos, interfaces elétricas e substratos para crescimento celular. OBJETIVO: Descrever o estado da arte e as perspectivas e desafios da aplicação dos NTCs nas neurociências. MÉTODO: Procedeu-se a uma busca sistemática nos indexadores Medline, Lilacs e SciELO, utilizando os descritores "carbon nanotubes", "drug delivery", "electrical interface", "tissue regeneration", "neuroscience", "biocompatibility" e "nanotechnology", devidamente agrupados. RESULTADOS: A revisão da literatura evidenciou controvérsias nos estudos relativos à biocompatibilidade dos NTCs, embora tenha ratificado o seu potencial para a neuromedicina e neurociências. CONCLUSÃO: Os dados obtidos apontam a necessidade de estudos padronizados sobre as aplicações e interações dessas nanoestruturas com os sistemas biológicos.BACKGROUND: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are the most promising nanomaterials for therapeutic application in neurodegenerative diseases. Potential applications include systems for controlled drug delivery, electrical interfaces and substrates for cell growth. OBJECTIVE: To describe the state of art, prospects and challenges of applying CNTs in neuroscience. METHODS: There has been systematic search in Medline, Lilacs and SciELO, using the keywords "carbon nanotubes", "drug delivery", "electrical interface", "tissue regeneration", "neuroscience", "nanotechnology" and "biocompatibility", properly grouped. RESULTS: The literature review showed controversies in studies on the biocompatibility of CNTs, although it has ratified its potential for neuromedicine and neuroscience. DISCUSSION: These results highlight the need for modeling studies on the applications and interactions of nanostructures with biological systems