Professional Work Practice Research Articles

A more-than-human approach to researching AI at work

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly manifest in everyday work, learning, and living. Reports attempting to gauge public perception suggest that amidst exaggerated expectations and fears about AI, citizens are sceptical and lack understanding of what AI is and does (Archer et al., 2018). Professional workers practice at the intersection of such public perceptions, the AI industry, and regulatory frameworks. Yet, there is limited understanding of the day-to-day interactions and predicaments between workers, AI systems, and the publics they serve. This includes how these interactions and predicaments generate opportunities for learning and highlight new digital fluencies needed. We bring social and computing science perspectives to begin to examine the prevailing AI narratives in professional work and learning practices. Some AIs (such as deep machine learning systems) are so sophisticated that a human-understandable explanation of how it works may not be possible. This raises questions about what professional practitioners are able to know about the AI systems they use: their new digital co-workers. We argue that a co-constitutive human-AI perspective could provide useful insights on questions such as: (1) How is professional expertise and judgment re-distributed as workers negotiate and learn with AI systems? (2) What trust and confidence in new AI-infused work practices is needed or possible and how is this mediated? (3) What are the implications for professional learning: both learning within work and the workplace and more formal curriculum? Given the early stages of this field of inquiry, our aim is to evoke discussion of alternative human-AI narratives suited for the messy—and often unseen—realities of everyday practices.

Symposium 3: Tomorrow’s Networked Posthumans: Reflections on Artificial Intelligence and the Digital Well-Being of Young Children

While networked learning (NL) is most often associated with adult learning and professional work practices, examining the “ontogenetic development” of children in the context of today’s smart global networks is also relevant to NL research (Rodríguez-Illera & Barberà in NLEC et al., 2021). In this paper, we ask: What child-technology relations are being forged in our posthuman era of Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data and global networks? We begin by scoping the intensifying presence of networked, smart technologies in the home life of infants, toddlers and preschoolers; we examine recent policy frameworks regarding AI, ethics and children. We then turn to two phenomenological philosophers, Michel Serres and Bernard Stiegler to consider how their thinking about digital technologies might provide insight for parents and educators as they endeavour to make the best “smart” technology choices for children. Finally, we consider the implications of our phenomenological reflections on today’s young posthumans for networked learning and postdigital education.

A stakeholder-driven approach to designing a peer recovery coach role for implementation in community-oriented primary care teams in South Africa.

In South Africa (SA), community-oriented primary care (COPC) teams work to re-engage out-of-care people with HIV (PWH) in treatment, many of whom have substance use (SU) concerns. SU stigma is high among these teams, limiting care engagement efforts. Integrating peer recovery coaches (PRCs) into COPC teams could shift SU stigma and improve patients' engagement in care. The PRC role does not exist in SA and represents a workforce innovation. To enhance acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness for the local context, we engaged multiple stakeholder groups to co-design a PRC role for COPC team integration. We used a five-step human-centered design process: (i) semi-structured interviews with healthcare worker (HCW, n = 25) and patient (n = 15) stakeholders to identify priorities for the role; (ii) development of an initial role overview; (iii) six ideation workshops with HCW (n = 12) and patient (n = 12) stakeholders to adapt this overview; (iv) refinement of the role prototype via four co-design workshops with HCW (n = 7) and patient (n = 9) stakeholders; and (v) consultation with HIV and SU service leaders to assess the acceptability and feasibility of integrating this prototype into COPC teams. Although all stakeholders viewed the PRC role as acceptable, patients and HCWs identified different priorities. Patients prioritized the care experience through sharing of lived experience and confidential SU support. HCWs prioritized clarification of the PRC role, working conditions, and processes to limit any impact on the COPC team. A personal history of SU, minimum 1 year in SU recovery, and strong community knowledge were considered role prerequisites by all stakeholders. Through the iterative process, stakeholders clarified their preferences for PRC session structure, location, and content and expanded proposed components of PRC training to include therapeutic and professional work practice competencies. Service leaders endorsed the prototype after the addition of PRC integration training for COPCs and PRC mentoring to address community and COPC dynamics. Stakeholder engagement in an iterative HCD process has been integral to co-designing a PRC role that multiple stakeholder groups consider acceptable and that COPC teams are willing to implement. This offers a methodological framework for other teams designing SU workforce innovations.

Building a Competency Framework to Integrate Inter-disciplinary Precision Medicine Capabilities into the Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical Industry.

Integration of precision medicine (PM) competencies across the Medical Technology and Pharmaceutical industry is critical to enable industry professionals to understand and develop the skills needed to navigate the opportunities arising from rapid scientific and technological innovation in PM. Our objective was to identify the key competency domains required by industry professionals to enable them to upskill themselves in PM-related aspects of their roles. A desktop research review of current literature, curriculum, and healthcare trends identified a core set of domains and subdomains related to PM competencies that were consistent across multiple disciplines and competency frameworks. A survey was used to confirm the applicability of these domains to the cross-functional and multi-disciplinary work practices of industry professionals. Companies were requested to trial the domains to determine their relevance in practice and feedback was obtained. Four PM-relevant domains were identified from the literature review: medical science and technology; translational and clinical application; governance and regulation and professional practice. Survey results refined these domains, and case studies within companies confirmed the potential for this framework to be used as an adjunct to current role specific competency frameworks to provide a specific focus on needed PM capabilities. The framework was well accepted by local industry as a supplement to role specific competency frameworks to provide a structure on how to integrate new and evolving technologies into their current workforce development planning and build a continuous learning and cross-disciplinary mindset.

Digitalization of Student Administration Services at Politeknik Negeri Ujung Pandang

The process of handling student correspondence submitted to the Study Program / Department, then processed by academics and signed by Deputy Director 1 has experienced obstacles in terms of the time to complete the various kinds of letters needed by students. Sometimes it takes up to one week to complete the process. If a student sends a Professional Work Practice (PKP) application letter to the Industry and the letter is rejected, the student must repeat the process of proposing the application letter with a long time. This is because the correspondence process still uses conventional methods. This research aims to develop a web application that is integrated with various related units in handling student correspondence at Ujung Pandang State Polytechnic. The waterfall method is used in its development, including needs analysis, design, development, testing, and implementation. The result is an application that facilitates the management of student letter administration with a barcode system for verification and signing, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in the process. The results of this research are as follows: 1) Assist the storage of data management of academic administration services; 2) The process of inputting statement letter data becomes easier and faster; 3) Make it easier for department / study program / related unit admins to manage statement letters; 4) searching for administrative service data and statement letters is easier and faster; 5) integrated student data and statement letters can improve the quality of administrative services at Politeknik Negeri Ujung Pandang.

Investigating the Impact of Automation on the Health Care Workforce Through Autonomous Telemedicine in the Cataract Pathway: Protocol for a Multicenter Study.

While digital health innovations are increasingly being adopted by health care organizations, implementation is often carried out without considering the impacts on frontline staff who will be using the technology and who will be affected by its introduction. The enthusiasm surrounding the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled digital solutions in health care is tempered by uncertainty around how it will change the working lives and practices of health care professionals. Digital enablement can be viewed as facilitating enhanced effectiveness and efficiency by improving services and automating cognitive labor, yet the implementation of such AI technology comes with challenges related to changes in work practices brought by automation. This research explores staff experiences before and after care pathway automation with an autonomous clinical conversational assistant, Dora (Ufonia Ltd), that is able to automate routine clinical conversations. The primary objective is to examine the impact of AI-enabled automation on clinicians, allied health professionals, and administrators who provide or facilitate health care to patients in high-volume, low-complexity care pathways. In the process of transforming care pathways through automation of routine tasks, staff will increasingly "work at the top of their license." The impact of this fundamental change on the professional identity, well-being, and work practices of the individual is poorly understood at present. We will adopt a multiple case study approach, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, over 2 distinct phases, namely phase A (preimplementation) and phase B (postimplementation). The analysis is expected to reveal the interrelationship between Dora and those affected by its introduction. This will reveal how tasks and responsibilities have changed or shifted, current tensions and contradictions, ways of working, and challenges, benefits, and opportunities as perceived by those on the frontlines of the health care system. The findings will enable a better understanding of the resistance or susceptibility of different stakeholders within the health care workforce and encourage managerial awareness of differing needs, demands, and uncertainties. The implementation of AI in the health care sector, as well as the body of research on this topic, remain in their infancy. The project's key contribution will be to understand the impact of AI-enabled automation on the health care workforce and their work practices. PRR1-10.2196/49374.

General further education colleges: the continuing dilemma of organisational culture

ABSTRACT The role of organisational culture in supporting organisational outcomes is well documented in the further education (FE) sector within the UK. The benefits of a strong and unifying culture are recognised as having a positive impact on staff and students. However, a cultural institutional dichotomy has been acknowledged between the business and educational needs of colleges within the FE sector since the advent of incorporation in 1993. This paper utilised an interpretive, hermeneutical approach to analyse the perceptions of principals, middle leaders and teachers, within three general further education colleges (GFECs) in England to determine if that dichotomy exists in their current operating environment. The paper concludes that while there are elements of a clash of business and education ideals, general further education college (GFEC) culture has moved beyond the narrative of being corporate and driven solely by the concept of performativity. The article contributes to the ongoing debate on FE purpose and establishes the importance of aligning macro and subcultures into a set of professional working practices within GFECs to support positive student outcomes.

Youth Work as Social Pedagogy: Toward an Understanding of Non-Formal and Informal Education and Learning in Youth Work

This paper undertakes a select survey of international literature to identify the points of convergence that support common understanding – and debate – amongst youth workers, researchers and policy makers in regards to definitional commonalities in professional youth work. We find that non-formal education, framed by human rights, appears to offer definitional common ground for youth work practice globally. Drawing on the Australian context to ground the discussion, the paper considers how revision of key definitional documents to reflect the pedagogic basis of youth work could inform the tertiary level training and preparation of youth work students and the state-based codes of ethics that inform and regulate professional youth work practice. This is important for professional youth work in Australia as the only nationally agreed statement on youth work currently lacks a pedagogical definition. While precisely categorizing the practices and programs used by youth workers remains a challenge, there is much common ground found amongst the non-formal and informal education conceptualisations of youth work internationally. While there are differences in the way professional youth work is delivered across countries and jurisdictions, there appears to be an agreed underpinning pedagogical framework, often referred to as social pedagogy, which is commonly applied, and informs the practices and programs delivered to the diverse and complex young people who benefit from them.

Qualitative Exploration of Men’s Opinion on the Features of Male-Friendly Primary Health Services in Kelantan, Malaysia

Objectives: This study explores men’s opinions on the features of male-friendly primary health services in Kelantan, Malaysia. Methods: A qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted among 15 men from six primary health clinics in Kelantan, Malaysia. The participants were selected using a maximum variation sampling method. An interview guide was used, and the interviews were audio-recorded. The finding was transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis techniques. Results: The age of the participants ranged from 31 to 70 years old. Their opinions on how male-friendly primary health services should be were explained under four themes:(i) meeting the men’s needs in primary health services, (ii) approaching men through effective health promotion strategies, (iii) standards of a healthcare provider from men’s viewpoint, and (iv) a comfortable physical environment for men. The participants view that health services should be efficient by providing short waiting times and high-quality services, including men’s health services. In addition, the health promotion approaches and styles should consider local men’s culture and interests and be appropriately implemented. Besides that, they expected a standard of healthcare provider’s characteristics, including commitment to work, admirable attitudes and behaviour, and professional work practices. They also expected the health clinics to have a comfortable environment to wait, discuss with the doctors, and be equipped with visitor-friendly amenities. Conclusion: Understanding the men’s opinions on the features of male-friendly primary health services would give clear and accurate information about their needs and demands in relation to this service. In addition, the identified themes and features may guide the improvement of the services and men’s engagement in the future.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2023 Page: S24

Teaching Thinking and Exploration of the Graduation Design Course——Take the environmental art design major of vocational colleges and universities as an example

As the finale course in the professional study stage, Graduation Project is a course with a long time span, a wide range of knowledge and strong comprehensive ability. It plays an important role in the training of environmental art design professionals - "inheriting what the major has learned, and using it in the work". The "Graduation Design" course usually runs through the entire semester of students in higher vocational colleges. There is sufficient time to carry out practical operations on design topics that conform to the design process and design specifications, and there is also sufficient time to expand other knowledge and skills required by the major. Therefore, the "Graduation Design" course highlights the integrity and systematicness of the knowledge mastery of students in higher vocational colleges, and emphasizes the practicality and application of the major. The "Graduation Design" course should play a role in further establishing students' professional knowledge structure in higher vocational colleges, consolidating students' professional knowledge base, broadening students' professional knowledge and skills, and connecting students' professional work practice.

Teaching Thinking and Exploration of the Graduation Design Course——Take the environmental art design major of vocational colleges and universities as an example

As the finale course in the professional study stage, Graduation Project is a course with a long time span, a wide range of knowledge and strong comprehensive ability. It plays an important role in the training of environmental art design professionals - "inheriting what the major has learned, and using it in the work". The "Graduation Design" course usually runs through the entire semester of students in higher vocational colleges. There is sufficient time to carry out practical operations on design topics that conform to the design process and design specifications, and there is also sufficient time to expand other knowledge and skills required by the major. Therefore, the "Graduation Design" course highlights the integrity and systematicness of the knowledge mastery of students in higher vocational colleges, and emphasizes the practicality and application of the major. The "Graduation Design" course should play a role in further establishing students' professional knowledge structure in higher vocational colleges, consolidating students' professional knowledge base, broadening students' professional knowledge and skills, and connecting students' professional work practice.

Forming The Task-Oriented Team for Flagship Plan: The Case of Changhua Community Empowerment Center for the Flagship Plan of the Ministry of Health and Welfare

「福利社區化旗艦型計畫」乃藉由「大手牽小手」及「共同學習」的方式培力新興或起步社區，計畫理念固然良好，但執行上仍有諸多挑戰與困難。本文以彰化縣社區資源中心長期輔導彰化縣優等社區提案申請（及執行）旗艦計畫之作法，進行案例介紹與分析。本中心所採取的主要作法包括：前置作業明確—輔導針對有意願提案之社區組成成長團隊，且各社區以固定團隊組成；以社區成長學習為計畫主軸；進行系統性及結構性計畫時程以推動運作計畫。上開作法之執行及持續優化，確形成社區共同學習成長團隊，產生優質的大型團隊。作者期待實務經驗的努力成長，可為專業性社區工作實務方法提供專業知識之累積，及提供各社區培力中心及地方政府實務推動之參佐。The object of ＂Welfare Community-based Flagship Plan＂ is empowering the new community association through the methods of ＂hand-by-hand＂ and ＂learning together＂. Due to the consensus of the plan among different communities and community capacity conditions, the good idea of ＂Flagship Plan＂ face many challenges and difficulties in its implementation. This article introduces the successful empowering case of Changhua County Community Resource Center in the Flagship Plans in Changhua County. The main methods adopted by the Center include organization community leaders as task-oriented team for their Flagship Plan, guiding the team as a growth group for mutual learning with fixed communities' cadres, forming mutual learning as the main axis of their plan, conducting systematic discussions through structured schedules. Based on the practical experience, the authors look forward to the growth of practical experience which can provide the accumulation of professional knowledge for professional community work practice methods.

Professional scaling work: How professional segments claim new jurisdictions in a world of trans-local connections

The literature on professions, drawing on both sociological and management approaches, has recently turned its focus to the transnational scale. In this article, building on Andrew Abbott’s work on professional jurisdictions, we analyze the way transnational resources come to play a role in local professional claims-making and work practices in the inter-professional struggle over jurisdiction. Comparing case studies set in Denmark into three emerging professional jurisdictions, our analysis shows that professional segments claiming new work tasks engage actively in scaling work that attempts to ‘rescale’ the jurisdiction to fit their own professional projects and claims. We find that scaling practices consist of three different ways professionals invest in transnational resources: organizational avatars, new work regulations and prescriptions, and symbolic legitimacy. These ways in which professionals transform transnational resources into claims used in local professionals situations result in different outcomes for the professional segments involved.

Perspectives on Leadership in Early Childhood Education and Care Centers Through Community of Practice

This article investigates early childhood education and care (ECEC) leadership through the concept of community of practice (COP). The focus is on ECEC leaders’ perceptions regarding their leadership during the educational changes taking place in the context of Finnish ECEC. The purpose is to increase understanding of how leaders see themselves in relation to the ECEC multi professional working community and practices of distributed leadership. The data are five focus group interviews of ECEC leaders analyzed with directed content analysis within the theoretical frame of domain, practice, and community forming the core of COP in Lave and Wenger. The results show how all three COP components comprise several dimensions in ECEC leaders’ perceptions of their leadership. For example, the component of the leadership domain consists of ECEC values, ECEC legislation, and ECEC curriculum. The results indicate that a formal leadership role is essential in leading the community and its vision. Moreover, building flexible leadership structures and supporting multi professional cooperation in the community augment leadership as a community’s joint enterprise.

Adapted agency: how connected (Dutch) police professionals rework their professional capabilities

Abstract Increasingly, public professionals deal with complex issues, stakeholders, and publics. The so-called protective notions of professionalism no longer seem sufficient; they are reconfigured into more ‘connective’ forms. This involves dealing with tensions, dilemmas, and contradictions, calling for abilities to tackle these. Professionals will have to work on how they work, on their standards, routines, and practices. On the basis of an action-oriented research project, aimed at understanding the rise and results of new forms of police professionalism, we analyze what Dutch police professionals actually do when they perform connective work. We focus on policing, as this field experiences a transition from practice-based to knowledge-intensive forms of professionalism, relating police actions to societal stakeholders and issues. Based on observations of work practices of higher educated police professionals as well as interviews and educational interventions, we conclude that police professionals cannot simply ‘apply’ knowledge and competencies to practice, in order to solve societal problems. Rather, they gradually ‘develop’ capabilities (i.e., situational, analytical, and normative capabilities), in order to combine different forms of professional knowledge in real-life situations. Our research shows this is complicated. They ‘mess with’ how police professionalism ‘normally’ works. Police professionals are adapting their agency; they are performing ‘agency work’. They try to get a sense of the situation, explore multiple viewpoints, and demonstrate their added value. We argue that our conclusions are relevant for other professional fields.

Youth participation: Adultism, human rights and professional youth work

AbstractThis article argues that the right of young people to participate in decisions being made about them forms the basis for professional youth work practice. The authors consider the nature of ‘participation’ and its relation to human rights, and introduces the concept of ‘adultism’ and the challenges for youth workers combatting ‘adultist’ beliefs and practices in the work of participation. The paper considers the benefits and limitations of youth participation models, and addresses the relationship between rights‐based participation practice, and critical pedagogy (dialogical) in youth work.

Changes in air quality in-taxis and in working conditions of taxi drivers pre- and post-lockdown, during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Paris area.

We evaluated the impact of the lockdown restriction measures in the Paris area on the variation of in-vehicle ultrafine particle (UFP) and black carbon (BC) concentrations between the pre- and post-lockdown period and professional drivers' working conditions and practices. The study was conducted with 33 taxi drivers. UFP and BC were measured inside their vehicles with DiSCmini® and microAeth® , respectively, on two typical working days pre- and post-lockdown. Job characteristics were self-reported. Our results showed that post-lockdown, both the number of clients and journey duration significantly decreased. Taxi drivers opened their windows significantly more and reduced the use of air recirculation. UFP decreased significantly by 32% and BC by 31% post-lockdown, with a weaker positive correlation compared to pre-lockdown. The reduction of in-vehicle UFP was due mainly to the reduction of traffic flow and ventilation settings, though the latter probably varied according to traffic conditions. The variation of in-vehicle BC also tended to be related to the decrease in traffic flow post-lockdown. We emphasize the role of traffic emissions on in-vehicle air pollution and that preventive measures such ventilation settings would help to minimize the exposure of professional drivers and passengers to air pollutants.

Methodical principles and prevention-focused outcomes in professional youth work: A longitudinal analysis

Previous research has suggested that professional youth work settings empower socially vulnerable youngsters, strengthening their personal development and social participation. It is expected that youth work can prevent personal and social problems of youngsters, which may have longer term positive social returns. How the underlying methodical way of acting of youth workers contributes to prevention-focused outcomes remains unclear. This article presents a four-wave longitudinal cohort study (16 months) that investigated longitudinal associations between 12 individual methodical principles that youth workers apply in interactions with youngsters and four prevention-focused outcomes: prosocial skills, self-mastery, social network and civic participation. The sample consisted of 1,597 Dutch youngsters with a mean age of 16.5 years (SD = 3.60). Findings: Linear mixed models analysis found that all individual methodical principles were longitudinally associated with one or more outcome. The strongest associations were observed with regard to prosocial skills and civic participation. Depending on the outcome measure, methodical principles seem to be more effective for boys, for youngsters who participate for 3 years or longer in youth work settings and for youngsters between 10 and 19 years old. With regard to the effect of methodical principles on improving self-mastery, 9 of the 12 principles appeared to play no positive role in increasing self-mastery of youngsters. Applications: This study provides youth workers with a better understanding of which methodical principles are positively associated with prevention-focused outcomes as well as reinforcing the evidence-based practice of professional youth work.

Tedious Versus Taxing: The Nature of Work in a Behavioral Health Context

The goal of this study was to examine the work practices of behavioral health professionals with a view towards designing interactive systems to support their work. We conducted a qualitative workplace study, including in situ observations and semi-structured interviews, in a multidisciplinary clinic treating pediatric feeding disorders. This paper contributes a detailed characterization of clinicians' work practices and conducts a comparative analysis of three types of work: treatment, record management, and preparation work. We found that clinicians have a preference for taxing over tedious work. For example, they experience real-time data collection as more taxing but less tedious than retroactive data entry. Design efforts should balance the tension between addressing the taxing (data collection during meals) versus the tedious (manually entering data into spreadsheets). Although addressing the taxing improves within-routine efficiency, addressing the tedious improves overall morale. Further, we hypothesize that there is a rewarding or unrewarding quality to work that is dictated in part by its social, temporal, and clinical characteristics. We discuss conceptual and design implications for supporting clinical work, and highlight considerations unique to behavioral health.

German Political Journalists and the Normalization of Twitter

ABSTRACT Since its introduction in 2006, journalists found ways to incorporate the microblogging platform Twitter into their daily work routines. Communication scholars quickly viewed the journalistic adoption of Twitter as a normalization process where journalists adapt a new media affordance in line with their professional role conceptions, norms, and work practices. Rather recently, concerns regarding the applicability of the normalization concept were expressed. In hindsight, the literature on normalization must be updated to draw on results from international contexts. The normalization hypothesis also benefits from theoretical and operational additions to highlight its continued usefulness in times when journalists have come to be acquainted with Twitter. The present study does so by providing a comprehensive analysis of how political journalists from Germany tweet while also reframing the operationalization of the concept by comparing journalists’ tweets with temporally corresponding articles published in their respective media outlets. Quantitative data from a week-long sampling period in late June and early July 2018, as well as semi-structured interviews, reveal that the tweets of German political journalists and the articles published across the media outlets they work for correspond in the choice of content and are largely consistent with regard to the interpretive standpoints chosen.