Human-AI Collaboration in Public Services: The case of sick leave case handling in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration

Public service delivery has seen a surge in demand from society in recent years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial for public service organizations to keep up with digitization efforts to meet these demands. The most important information systems innovation for the public sector is artificial intelligence (AI). Not all processes in public service delivery can be fully automated by AI, requiring human presence to ensure human discretion and fair judgment. This study investigates the needs for human-AI collaboration in public services. To further narrow the study, it focuses on the case of sick leave case handling in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). Human-AI collaboration in public services is a field of research that has gained increased interest recently, but there is a need for further research in this area. To help shed more light on this topic, we formulated the following research question: "What are caseworkers’ needs for Human-AI collaboration in public services?" To help us answer the research question, we formulated three sub-questions related to the caseworkers’ needs for AI when handling sick leave cases, their expectations for the future working with AI, and how our contributions can facilitate meeting their needs. A case study was conducted, with semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews with 16 public service practitioners as data-gathering methods. The research is set in the organization NAV, specifically in the area of sick leave case handling. We conducted a systematic literature review on the topic of transparency in human-AI interaction, which we found to be a central topic in the human-AI collaboration literature. We found multiple aspects of AI to encompass the topic of transparency, which forms the basis for the background theory used in this study. Findings show that caseworkers have quite similar needs relating to human-AI collaboration. They think that AI could mostly assist in the internal processes of the organization. Bias in AIs decisions, based on data available, was a concern amongst the caseworkers. The caseworkers suggested that humans should be in the loop to allow more trust in the systems, and thought that not all processes should be automated. Findings point towards simplifying and streamlining caseworkers’ work processes, by using AI-assisted tools in their systems. Based on the findings and recommendations, we suggest further research into the responsible development and deployment of AI, different government legislations, and how human-AI collaboration differs cross-culturally. From this study, we propose implications for practice in NAV. To leave the human in control, and to improve caseworkers’ decision-making processes, a human-centered approach to human-AI collaboration is suggested. Public sector organizations could streamline and simplify work processes through human-AI collaboration, which could help reach some of the UN’s sustainable development goals

Human-AI Collaboration in Public Services: The case of sick leave case handling in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration

Public service delivery has seen a surge in demand from society in recent years, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. It is crucial for public service organizations to keep up with digitization efforts to meet these demands. The most important information systems innovation for the public sector is artificial intelligence (AI). Not all processes in public service delivery can be fully automated by AI, requiring human presence to ensure human discretion and fair judgment. This study investigates the needs for human-AI collaboration in public services. To further narrow the study, it focuses on the case of sick leave case handling in the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV). Human-AI collaboration in public services is a field of research that has gained increased interest recently, but there is a need for further research in this area. To help shed more light on this topic, we formulated the following research question: "What are caseworkers’ needs for Human-AI collaboration in public services?" To help us answer the research question, we formulated three sub-questions related to the caseworkers’ needs for AI when handling sick leave cases, their expectations for the future working with AI, and how our contributions can facilitate meeting their needs. A case study was conducted, with semi-structured interviews and focus group interviews with 16 public service practitioners as data-gathering methods. The research is set in the organization NAV, specifically in the area of sick leave case handling. We conducted a systematic literature review on the topic of transparency in human-AI interaction, which we found to be a central topic in the human-AI collaboration literature. We found multiple aspects of AI to encompass the topic of transparency, which forms the basis for the background theory used in this study. Findings show that caseworkers have quite similar needs relating to human-AI collaboration. They think that AI could mostly assist in the internal processes of the organization. Bias in AIs decisions, based on data available, was a concern amongst the caseworkers. The caseworkers suggested that humans should be in the loop to allow more trust in the systems, and thought that not all processes should be automated. Findings point towards simplifying and streamlining caseworkers’ work processes, by using AI-assisted tools in their systems. Based on the findings and recommendations, we suggest further research into the responsible development and deployment of AI, different government legislations, and how human-AI collaboration differs cross-culturally. From this study, we propose implications for practice in NAV. To leave the human in control, and to improve caseworkers’ decision-making processes, a human-centered approach to human-AI collaboration is suggested. Public sector organizations could streamline and simplify work processes through human-AI collaboration, which could help reach some of the UN’s sustainable development goals

Property and Empire: The Law of Imperialism in Johnson v. M’Intosh

Chief Justice\u27s Marshall\u27s opinion in Johnson v. M\u27Intosh, 21 U.S. (8 Wheat.)543 (1823) has long been a puzzle, both in its doctrinal structure and in long, strange dicta which are both triumphal and elegiac. In this Essay, I show that the opinion becomes newly intelligible when read in the context of the law and theory of colonialism, concerned, like the case itself, with the expropriation of continents and relations between dominant and subject peoples. I examine several instances where the seeming incoherence of the opinion instead shows its debt to imperial jurisprudence, which rested on a distinction between two bodies of law: one governing relations between civilized nations, the other relations between civilized governments and the imperfect sovereigns of other nations. I then show how Marshall\u27s long dicta reflect the then-prevalent view of the hsitorical progress of societies from hunter-gatherer to commercial orders, with each stage corresponding to a particular set of property institutions.This historical theory lent intelligibility to the legal distinctions between civilized and lesser or imperfect sovereigns by claiming that the latter occupied earlier stages of development and that civilized nations were legally permitted to overrride the property institutions of primitive societies in order to induce progress. The dicta, then, provide the frame for the reasoning of this case, just as the theory of historical progress framed the jurisprudence of colonialisn in general

Continuous downstream processing of a monoclonal antibody using Periodic Counter Current Chromatography (PCC) and Straight Through Processing (STP)

There is an increased interest to perform process intensification in order to reduce costs and improve throughput in the development and production of monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). One solution to these demands can be to implement continuous or semi-continuous downstream processing. New emerging technologies such as periodic counter-current (PCC) chromatography and straight through processing (STP) are entering the market. Here, these two technologies were evaluated in a continuous three step chromatography MAb process. The capture step was performed with protein A media (resin) on a 3 column PCC chromatography system followed by two polishing steps which were connected in series with an in line conditioning step in between. The three step process was performed using MAb from fed-batch cell culture. Results will also be presented based on the purification of MAb from a perfusion cell culture using PCC setup for the capture step

Deformation and fatigue behaviour of A356-T7 cast aluminium alloys used in high specific power IC engines

The continuous drive towards higher specific power and lower displacement engines in recent years place increasingly higher loads on the internal combustion engine materials. This necessitates a more robust collection of reliable material data for computational fatigue life prediction to develop reliable engines and reduce developmental costs. Monotonic tensile testing and cyclic stress and strain-controlled testing of A356-T7 + 0.5 wt.% Cu cast aluminium alloys have been performed. The uniaxial tests were performed on polished test bars extracted from highly loaded areas of cast cylinder heads. The monotonic deformation tests indicate that the material has an elastic-plastic monotonic response with plastic hardening. The strain controlled uniaxial low cycle fatigue tests were run at multiple load levels to capture the cyclic deformation behaviour and the corresponding fatigue lives. The equivalent stress-controlled fatigue tests were performed to study the influence of the loading mode on the cyclic deformation and fatigue lives. The two types of tests exhibit similar fatigue lives and stress-strain responses indicating minimal influence of the mode of loading in fatigue testing of A356 + T7 alloys. The material exhibits a non-linear deformation behaviour with a mixed isotropic and kinematic hardening behaviour that saturates after the initial few cycles. There exists significant scatter in the tested replicas for both monotonic and cyclic loading

Effects of Temperature on the Evolution of Yield Surface and Stress Asymmetry in A356–T7 Cast Aluminium Alloy

As the electrification of vehicle powertrains takes prominence to meet stringent emission norms, parts of internal combustion engines like cylinder heads are subjected to an increased number of thermal load cycles. The cost-effective design of such structures subjected to cyclic thermo-mechanical loads relies on the development of accurate material models capable of describing the continuum deformation behaviour of the material. This study investigates the effect of temperature on the evolution of flow stress under cyclic loading in A356-T7 + 0.5% Cu cast aluminium alloy commonly used in modern internal combustion engine cylinder heads. The material exhibits peak stress and flow stress asymmetry with the stress response and flow stress of the material under compressive loading higher than under tension. This peak and flow stress asymmetry decrease with an increase in temperature. To compare this stress asymmetry against conventional steel, cyclic strain-controlled fatigue tests are run on fully pearlitic R260 railway steel material. To study the effect of mean strain on the cyclic mean stress evolution and fatigue behaviour of the alloy, tests with tensile and compressive mean strains of +0.2% and −0.2% are compared against fully reversed (Rε\ua0= −1) strain-controlled tests. The material exhibits greater stress asymmetry between the peak tensile and peak compressive stresses for the strain-controlled tests with a compressive mean strain than the tests with an identical magnitude tensile mean strain. The material exhibits mean stress relaxation at all temperatures. Reduced durability of the material is observed for the tests with tensile mean strains at lower test temperatures of up to 150 \ub0C. The tensile mean strains at elevated temperatures do not exhibit such a detrimental effect on the endurance limit of the material

Effect of Temperature on Deformation and Fatigue Behaviour of A356–T7 Cast Aluminium Alloys Used in High Specific Power IC Engine Cylinder Heads

Aggressive downsizing of the internal combustion engines used as part of electrified powertrains in recent years have resulted in increasing thermal loads on the cylinder heads and consequently, the susceptibility to premature thermo-mechanical fatigue failures. To enable a reliable computer aided engineering (CAE) prediction of the component lives, we need more reliable material deformation and fatigue performance data. Material for testing was extracted from the highly loaded valve bridge area of specially cast cylinder heads to study the monotonic and cyclic deformation behaviour of the A356–T7 + 0.5% Cu alloy at various temperatures. Monotonic tensile tests performed at different temperatures indicate decreasing strength from 211 MPa at room temperature to 73 MPa at 300 \ub0C and a corresponding increase in ductility. Completely reversed, strain controlled, uniaxial fatigue tests were carried out at 150, 200 and 250 \ub0C. A dilatometric study carried out to study the thermal expansion behaviour of the alloy in the temperature range 25–360 \ub0C shows a thermal expansion coefficient of (25–30) 7 10−6\ua0\ub0C−1. Under cyclic loading, increasing plastic strains are observed with increasing temperatures for similar load levels. The experimental data of the cyclic deformation behaviour are calibrated against a nonlinear combined kinematic–isotropic hardening model with both a linear and non-linear backstress

A scoping review of interventions for preventing and countering violent extremism: Current status and implications for future research

The growth of counter-terrorism efforts has been reported in a number of scholarly studies. These studies have also reported a shift in efforts to prevent future terrorism towards targeting potential future terrorists and preventing them from becoming radicalized, particularly in the Western world. The importance of evidence-based interventions is commonly stressed in the policy processes involved in installing interventions that have the aim of countering/preventing violent extremism (C/PVE). However, there is a lack of knowledge about the state of the evidence for interventions within this field. The objective of this scoping review was to map the evidence base for P/CVE interventions as reported in scholarly studies. We searched multiple databases using search terms related to violent extremism, terrorism and prevention to assess the research describing interventions for C/PVE. A total of 111 publications were included in the study. The interventions identified were most commonly implemented at the national level. Only 38 publications mentioned any kind of outcome and only two publications evaluated the comparative effectiveness of the interventions. The outcomes evaluated were knowledge and attitudes - outcomes without direct relevance for C/PVE. In conclusion, there is a lack of evidence-based interventions that focus on C/PVE. Future research should focus on evaluating the comparative effectiveness of outcomes that are relevant to C/PVE in order to fill this knowledge gap

Printed dose-recording tag based on organic complementary circuits and ferroelectric nonvolatile memories.

We have demonstrated a printed electronic tag that monitors time-integrated sensor signals and writes to nonvolatile memories for later readout. The tag is additively fabricated on flexible plastic foil and comprises a thermistor divider, complementary organic circuits, and two nonvolatile memory cells. With a supply voltage below 30 V, the threshold temperatures can be tuned between 0 °C and 80 °C. The time-temperature dose measurement is calibrated for minute-scale integration. The two memory bits are sequentially written in a thermometer code to provide an accumulated dose record

Linearization Study of a Highly Efficient CMOS-GaN RF Pulse Width Modulation Based Transmitter

This paper studies linearity of a 2 GHz, 10 Watt peak output power RF pulse width modulation (RF-PWM) based transmitter. The transmitter incorporates a tunable load network class-E PA as the final output stage. The tunable load network enables dynamic optimization of the class-E along with the duty cycle resulting in high efficiency over a wide range of output power levels. A digital predistiortion based linearization scheme is proposed to enhance the linearity of the transmitter. After linearization, the transmitter exhibits an adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR) of -45 dBc with a 3.84 MHz, 6.7 dB peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) W-CDMA signal. The average drain efficiency of the GaN HEMT output stage is 67% and the total transmitter efficiency is 54%