Paradox Of Autonomy Research Articles

Zarządzanie algorytmiczne a autonomia w pracy platformowej

Algorithmic management v. autonomy in platform work In platform work, the majority of management functions are performed by computer algorithms, which are used by platforms to assign tasks, monitor and evaluate their performance and make decisions for the people working through them. This kind of practice has been called algorithmic management. Opinions on the impact of algorithmic management on people working are divided. On the one hand, the opinion is expressed that it can provide them with more autonomy, while on the other hand, the paradox of autonomy is pointed out, which can lead to longer working hours and an excessive increase in work intensity, as well as increased work-related stress. This paper shows the links between algorithmic management and the autonomy of people working through platforms, and illustrates the differences in autonomy levels depending on the type of work they do. Keywords: platform work, algorithmic management, autonomy in platform work

Regional Rights, Environmental Wrongs: Unpacking the Paradox of Autonomy in Indonesia's Environmental Governance

This paper delves into the complex interplay between regional autonomy and environmental governance in Indonesia, shedding light on the paradoxical outcomes that arise from decentralized decision-making. It examines how the delegation of power to local authorities has both empowered and challenged efforts to enforce environmental regulations and protect natural resources. Through a comprehensive analysis, the paper elucidates the ways in which regional autonomy has led to divergent approaches to environmental management across Indonesia's diverse regions. While some local governments have demonstrated commendable commitment to environmental conservation, others have prioritized economic interests at the expense of environmental sustainability, leading to widespread degradation and ecological harm. Drawing on case studies and empirical evidence, the paper unpacks the factors contributing to this paradox, including varying levels of institutional capacity, political dynamics, and socio-economic pressures. It highlights instances where regional autonomy has resulted in regulatory loopholes, weak enforcement mechanisms, and conflicts of interest, exacerbating environmental challenges and undermining national conservation efforts. Furthermore, the paper explores potential pathways for reconciling the tension between regional rights and environmental wrongs in Indonesia. It advocates for a holistic approach to environmental governance that integrates principles of subsidiarity with national environmental priorities, fostering collaboration between central and local authorities, and promoting community engagement and empowerment. In conclusion, the paper underscores the imperative of addressing the paradox of autonomy in Indonesia's environmental governance.

Under pressure: The paradox of autonomy and social norms in drug education

Much contemporary youth drug education operates from the assumption that young people's decisions to use alcohol and other drugs often stem from a misunderstanding that youth consumption is so common as to constitute a ‘social norm’. Known as the ‘social norms’ approach, the stated aim of this form of drug education is to empower young people to avoid consumption by constituting it as uncommon and, therefore, abnormal. Taking the relationship between autonomy and norms as my primary concern, I examine key assumptions of the social norms approach through an analysis of a dataset of 23 ‘evidence-based’ drug education texts currently recommended for use in Australian secondary schools. Drawing on Rasmussen's (2011) analysis of autonomy as a ‘paradox’ in which young people are compelled to demonstrate their autonomy by submitting to external authority, I argue that drug education constitutes young people's (lack of) autonomy as the key cause of and solution to youth drug use through three strategies: (1) decision-making exercises that position consumption as the result of an inability to make the rational choice; (2) activities that equate drug consumption with succumbing to peer pressure and failing to demonstrate autonomy; and (3) deployment of population level data on youth drug use that constitutes it as atypical. Together these strategies suggest that while drug education often purports to empower young people to make empowered decisions, it operates as a broader social intervention that seeks to produce compliant rather than autonomous subjects.

Changing the method of consent to increase the numbers of cadaveric donors in Saudi Arabia: the autonomy paradox

Background: In Saudi Arabia, the gap between the demand and availability of organs persists, with a total of 13,731 patients who remain on the waiting list in 2019. Family refusal is a major obstacle limiting donation since their consent must be obtained prior to the retrieval of organs. The cause of family refusal is mainly due to the unknown wishes of their loved one to become a donor. This analysis aimed to compare three systems of obtaining consent in terms of effectiveness, respect for personal autonomy, and the cultural role of families in Saudi Arabia to ensure feasibility and effectiveness in increasing the number of donors. Policy alternatives and implications: The consent systems include opt-in (explicit consent), opt-out (presumed consent), and mandated choice systems. The mandated choice policy might be the optimal solution to investigate since it could balance the respect for individual autonomy and the cultural role of families in Saudi Arabia. Conclusions and recommendations: Mandated choice could be an option that ensures the respect of personal autonomy while influencing the next of kin's decision to donate the organs. Nevertheless, more research should be conducted to support adopting this policy in the Saudi context. Additionally, a recommendation to decision makers is to utilize the Tawakkalna app to send alerts to the next of kin when a user registers as a donor with the user's consent.

Trials of strength, paradoxes and competing networks in kaizen institutionalization

PurposeThis paper seeks to understand kaizen in practice as it travels through time and space in the organisational setting.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study was carried out at a multinational company using mainly interviews for the data collection that were analysed from an actor-network theory (ANT) perspective.FindingsThis paper finds that the company deals with a series of paradoxes while managing the kaizen process. Efficiency and quality paradoxes are the basis for starting kaizen projects. Furthermore, intrinsic, and extrinsic motivation, emerge in these processes, and paradoxes relate to how spontaneous ideas emerge in a deliberated context of cost-saving objectives. The supply chain finance team coordinates kaizen projects with the collaboration of plant managers, promoting the paradox of autonomy and control. In addition, as kaizen mobilises and enrols the actors, some trials of strength emerge, showing actors who oppose the kaizen network and create competing networks that mutually exist in the firm.Practical implicationsThis study presents valuable insights for professionals to successfully implement kaizen methodologies that take advantage of developing a network for problem-solving in organizations.Originality/valueThis study highlights the supply chain finance team's role in enrolling the actors within a network built by practitioners engaged in kaizen projects. Usually, engineers, quality, or manufacturing teams lead kaizen projects, and only occasionally, accounting and financial teams participate, including multidisciplinary teams.

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Presenteeism Is Reloaded and Ready for Further Research – A Commentary on Priebe, J. and Hägerbäumer, M. (2023)

Is the autonomy of the will a paradoxical idea?

This essay tackles head on the argument that sees an inherent paradox in the autonomy of the will as the ground for the authority of the fundamental practical norms. It points out that only on reductive understandings of the autonomy of the will can this idea be qualified as paradoxical, thereby yielding outcomes that either contradict their premises or present autonomy under a false guise. With that done, it will proceed to offer a conception of the autonomy of the will which is not vulnerable to the paradox, and which may therefore be equipped to rest the fundamental practical norms on solid ground. Throughout this discussion, I will rely on constitutivism about practical reasons to specifically defend the twofold conclusion that (a) the paradox of autonomy can be avoided and that, relatedly, (b) if autonomy is properly conceptualised, it is fully equipped and well positioned to ground the authority of the fundamental practical norms.

How does digital office affect overtime through job autonomy in China? A nonlinear mediating model for the autonomy paradox

Digital offices that rely on Internet technology have become a typical working mode in the information era, and the coexistence of extended and flexible working hours generally occurs worldwide. However, knowledge of the non-linear relationship between job autonomy and overtime in a digital-working environment is relatively scarce. Based on the autonomy paradox and the too-much-of-a-good-thing theory, this study adopts the China General Social Survey of 2017 data to establish and examine the relationship between digital office, job autonomy, and overtime hours, as well as their potential mechanisms. The results show an inverted U-shaped relationship between digital office level and job autonomy and a positive U-shaped relationship between job autonomy and overtime hours. Moreover, job autonomy plays a non-linear mediating role in the relationship between digital office level and overtime hours. Specifically, with the improvement in the digital office, the marginal effect of the digital office level on overtime hours through its effect on job autonomy decreases. Additionally, this effect may vary due to age, sex, and skill levels. Therefore, as the trend of digitalization and flexibility of the labor process becomes increasingly prominent, the difficulty of statistics and control of working hours also increases. Accurate control over digitalization and autonomy levels has become key to realizing the sustainable and healthy development of digital offices.

Local immigrant policies in Israel: the paradox of autonomy

ABSTRACT This article unpacks the making of immigrant policies in ordinary cities from the point of view of the various actors involved in it. Based on ethnographic work conducted in Israeli cities located away from the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem axis, yet involved since the establishment of the State of Israel in the welcoming of Jewish immigrants, it focuses on the actors’ intentions and actions producing new scalar arrangements for the purpose of newcomers’ settlement. Data gathered during observations, participation in activities and encounters with key actors were mobilized to produce abstract visualization of social networks. These visuals and their analysis inform the rescaling of immigrant policies, and of statehood: far from gaining autonomy and forming policies that are disengaging from national policies, actors in these peripheral cities are still dependent on the central administration to carry out their activities, limiting the possibility to produce alternative immigrant integration paths.

Changing the method of consent to increase the numbers of cadaveric donors in Saudi Arabia: the autonomy paradox

Background: In Saudi Arabia, the gap between the demand and availability of organs persists, with a total of 13,731 patients who remain on the waiting list in 2019. Family refusal is a major obstacle limiting donation since their consent must be obtained prior to the retrieval of organs. The cause of family refusal is mainly due to the unknown wishes of their loved one to become a donor. This analysis aimed to compare three systems of obtaining consent in terms of effectiveness, respect for personal autonomy, and the cultural role of families in Saudi Arabia to ensure feasibility and effectiveness in increasing the number of donors. Policy alternatives and implications: The consent systems include opt-in (explicit consent), opt-out (presumed consent), and mandated choice systems. The mandated choice policy might be the optimal solution to investigate since it could balance the respect for individual autonomy and the cultural role of families in Saudi Arabia. Conclusions and recommendations: Mandated choice ensures the respect of personal autonomy while influencing the next of kin's decision to donate the organs. Additionally, a recommendation to decision makers is to utilize the Tawakkalna app to send alerts to the next of kin when a user registers as a donor with the user's consent. Moreover, more research should be dedicated to investigating the Saudi public's current culture and perceptions of organ donation to ensure feasibility.

Artrepreneurs and the autonomy paradox

ABSTRACT In this article, we examine the views that young (under 35 years) freelancers and entrepreneurs who work as professional artists in Finland have of their work. We refer to them as artrepreneurs. Our data sample is composed of the responses of entrepreneurs and freelancers (n = 209) from a survey data on young artists (n = 565) collected in 2017. By using a set of quantitative methods we study the impact of different factors on the job satisfaction experienced by freelancers and entrepreneurs, the nature and motivation factors of their work, as well as their status and livelihood. In our interpretative framework, central concepts are the “hybridity” and “precarity” of artists’ work and “autonomy paradox”. The most important results of our study are that artrepreneurs’ work is more multidisciplinary and they have more sources of income than other young artists. They also handle the uncertainties of precarious working life better than other artists.

Changing the method of consent to increase the numbers of cadaveric donors in Saudi Arabia: the autonomy paradox

Background: In Saudi Arabia, the gap between the demand for and availability of organs persists, with a total of 13,731 patients on the waiting list in 2019. Family refusal is a major obstacle limiting donation since their consent must be obtained prior to the retrieval of organs. The cause of family refusal is mainly due to their lack of knowledge of their loved ones' wish to become a donor. This paper aimed to compare three systems of obtaining consent in terms of effectiveness, respect for autonomy, and the cultural role of families in Saudi Arabia to ensure feasibility and effectiveness in increasing the number of donors. Policy alternatives and implications: The consent systems include informed consent, presumed consent, and mandated choice. The mandated choice policy might be the optimal solution since it is the most likely to balance the respect for individual autonomy and the cultural role of families in Saudi Arabia. Conclusions and recommendations: Mandated choice ensures the respect of autonomy while influencing the next of kin's decision to donate the organs. Additionally, a recommendation to decision makers is to utilize the Tawakkalna app to send alerts to the next of kin when a user registers as a donor with the users' consent. Moreover, more research should be dedicated to investigating the Saudi public's current culture and perceptions towards organ donation to ensure feasibility.

Thinking for Oneself Is Thinking with Others: Enlightenment Reason and Gemeinschaftsgefühl

It has been a perennial puzzle that Kant’s notion of reason, or thinking, must be taken as necessarily sui generis, and that construing it otherwise - say, as socially embedded and developmentally contingent - undermines the transcendental project: if thinking is historically contingent, it cannot be free. This might seem to reduce to the problem of the third antinomy, but I argue that it does not, and is not amenable to transcendental critique alone. Its solution requires its own existential analytic, an examination of reason’s prior structures. This can be accommodated by the Kantian architecture, in which the outlines of a constitutive intersubjective orientation are already to be found. In what follows, I re-examine the Kantian paradox of autonomy and spontaneity in light of psychoanalytic traditions and current research in cognitive science, to make the case that, even for Kant, “thinking” is not only “intersubjective” from the ground up; it is also as “affective” as it is “rational”. In addition to the a priori structures contributed by the understanding, imagination, and pure forms of intuition, there is a further a priori, implicit in the Third Critique, which can be considered “relational”. This ties in well with Alfred Adler’s notion of “Gemeinschaftsgefühl”, in which both affective and cognitive capacities converge in the idea of social feeling as a marker of psychological health. In this sense, Adler inherits the Kantian legacy but corrects practical reason of what has been construed as its rationalistic and solipsistic bias.

Embodied Irrationality? Knowledge Avoidance, Willful Ignorance, and the Paradox of Autonomy.

In the current philosophical and psychological literature, knowledge avoidance and willful ignorance seem to be almost identical conditions involved in irrational patterns of reasoning. In this paper, we will argue that not only these two phenomena should be distinguished, but that they also fall into different parts of the epistemic rationality-irrationality spectrum. We will adopt an epistemological and embodied perspective to propose a definition for both terms. Then, we will maintain that, while willful ignorance is involved in irrational patterns of reasoning and beliefs, knowledge avoidance should be considered epistemically rational under particular circumstances. We will begin our analysis by considering which of the two phenomena is involved in patterns of reasoning that are still amply recognized as irrational—as wishful thinking, self-deception, and akrasia. We will then discuss the impact of epistemic feelings—which are emotional events that depend on epistemic states—on agents' decision-making. Then, we will consider the impact of willful ignorance and knowledge avoidance on agents' autonomy. By considering these issues, we will argue that when agents are aware that they are avoiding certain information (and aware of what kind of feelings acquiring the information would trigger), knowledge avoidance should be considered a rational, autonomy-increasing, hope-depended selection of information.

Impact of digitalization on employee's autonomy: evidence from French firms

PurposeThis paper aims to clarify the relationship between digitalization and the employees’ autonomy. It proposes a positive relationship between digitalization and employees. It explains why strategic human resource management (HRM) is essential in this relationship. The study aims to solve the control autonomy paradox related to the use of technology in organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe paper opted for the explanatory study using a cross-sectional design. Responses were received from the alumni of a French business school using the survey strategy. Structural equation modelling has been used to validate the measure and to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe paper provides empirical evidence for the positive relationship between digitalization and employees’ autonomy. It suggests that an enabling control-based HRM system mediates the positive relationship between digitalization and autonomy.Originality/valueThe study enriches the literature in information technology by solving the control autonomy paradox associated with information technology. Moreover, the study also highlights the importance of an enabling control-based HRM system by underlining its role in developing the empowering organizational context.

Proximal and distal antecedents of problematic information technology use in organizations

PurposeExcessive use of work-related information technology (IT) devices can lead to major performance and well-being concerns for organizations. Extant research has provided evidence of the incidence of such problematic IT use in organizations. We extend the understanding of problematic IT use by examining its individual (proximal) and organizational (distal) antecedents.Design/methodology/approachDrawing from the self-worth theory and the concept of fear of being left behind, we address proximal antecedents that lead to problematic IT use. Drawing from the concept of autonomy paradox, we address distal antecedents of problematic IT use through a positive association with the two proximal antecedents. We report the results of a field study involving 846 individuals who use IT for work. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe results indicate that the proximal antecedents (IT insecurity and fear of missing out) are positively associated with problematic IT use. The distal antecedents (IT use autonomy and involvement facilitation) are positively associated with the proximal antecedents except for the relationship between IT use autonomy and IT insecurity, which was found statistically non-significant. Furthermore, fear of missing out fully mediates the effect of IT use autonomy on problematic IT use, whereas IT insecurity and fear of missing out fully mediate the effects of involvement facilitation on problematic IT use.Originality/valueThe paper theoretically extends the understanding of problematic IT use and identifies novel its proximal and distal antecedents.

How do team members’ perceptions of autonomy and control impact corporate entrepreneurship projects?

Successful corporate entrepreneurship requires that firms provide their teams with the autonomy needed for recognizing and exploiting new business opportunities. At the same time, also the firms standardize processes to facilitate coordination and realize synergies about projects. These opposing demands give rise to a prevalent, yet poorly understood paradox of autonomy and control in corporate entrepreneurship. Drawing on a qualitative, longitudinal study of seven teams working on entrepreneurial projects within the same large organization, we explore how team members perceive and respond to the autonomy–control paradox. Data from 200 interviews, which we collected over the timeframe of five month, in combination with observational and archival data show that teams differ in their attention to autonomy vs. control, which initiates divergence, competition, and negotiation processes within the team. These different processes determine how effectively teams cope with the autonomy–control paradox and the outcome of their projects. Our inductive model offers three contributions to the literature on corporate entrepreneurship.

The Gig Work Phenomenon: Insights Into Current Multidisciplinary Research and Trending Topics

This symposium consists of four presentations. Presentation 1-3 provide insights into recent research findings on the topic of gig work relevant in the context of careers, organizational behavior, and human resources management. Presentation 4 – a systematic literature review – provides an overview on existing studies on gig work, and an agenda for future research. Contributions investigate the gig work phenomenon in different countries using a variety of methodologies such as literature review, qualitative interviews, text analysis, participant observation approach, and survey method. The symposium ends with an interactive discussion designed to facilitate proactive exchanges between participants and audience members, as well as networking. A Paranoid Reading of the Gig Economy Presenter: Ana Alacovska; Copenhagen Business School, Denmark Presenter: Eliane Bucher; BI Norwegian Business School Presenter: Christian Fieseler; BI Norwegian Business School The Autonomy Paradox in Platform Work: A Sociomaterial Perspective on The Work of Content Creators Presenter: Farnaz Ghaedipour; McMaster U. Why are Platform Workers Willing to Share Reputational Data? Presenter: Jeroen Meijerink; U. of Twente The Gig Work Phenomenon: A Multi-Level Framework Literature Review and Research Agenda Presenter: Annabelle Hofer; U. of Bern, Work and Organisational Psychology Presenter: Daniel Spurk; U. of Bern Presenter: Caroline Straub; Bern U. of Applied Sciences Presenter: Clara Zwettler; U. of Bern, Work and Organisational Psychology

Young Workers on Digital Labor Platforms: Uncovering the Double Autonomy Paradox

Drawing on interviews with 12 young adults in the Danish digital labor market, this article investigates how young workers on digital labor platforms experience the tension between ‘algorithmic management’ and autonomy. Digital labor platforms promise autonomy to workers, but the study shows that the platforms in varying degrees exert control over the labor process in different stages of the work. The inherent non-transparency of the algorithmic management systems makes it difficult for the young workers to understand the underlying mechanisms of the platforms. While the young workers’ autonomy in some important ways is restricted by the algorithmic management systems, the young workers have all chosen the platform work because they feel that it allows them to control where and when they work. We propose the conceptualization ‘the double autonomy paradox of young workers’ to describe this phenomenon.

The Janus face of austerity politics

How is social reproduction possible in a context of precarious employment and austerity policies that have defunded welfare? The paradox of autonomy and dependence is present in intergenerational relations of support and conflict at various scales. It emerges, on the one hand, in the neoliberal injunction to be individually responsible for one’s own present and future wellbeing, an aspiration that is impossible to fulfill. On the other hand, it is expressed in the increasing recourse by younger active cohorts to the care work and assets of their older kin—in particular retirement pensions and a home. Finally, policy calls to transform the pension system oppose younger and older generations in the accountings of social security financial sustainability and question the fairness of existing public pension schemes.