Support Action Research Articles

Food justice in community supported agriculture – differentiating charitable and emancipatory social support actions

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) seeks to address injustices in the food system by supporting small-scale farmers applying agroecological practices through a long-term partnership: a community of members covers the cost of production and receives a share of the harvest throughout the season in return. Despite an orientation towards a more just and inclusive food system, the existing literature points towards a rather homogeneous membership in CSA. A majority of CSAs tends to involve (upper) middle-class consumers with above average education and income levels. Low income is still a major obstacle in joining a CSA. Membership diversification through social support actions is one possible way. Our main objective is to systematize and appraise social support actions of the CSA movement. Taking the CSA principles as a starting point, our main research question is: How do social support actions in CSAs operate in terms of social inclusion and what obstacles and challenges are associated with them? The theory of strategic action fields assists in describing how the CSA movement is positioning itself as an actor in and across neighboring strategic action fields. The CSA movement is clearly positioned in the Food Sovereignty field. By shifting the focus from justice to farmers to justice for members, the CSA movement is now also exploring the Food Justice field. Indeed, the CSAs’ contribution to the food justice movement is still largely uncharted. In our results, we identify both social support actions that are already implemented in the CSA movement in different countries, and the challenges that are associated with these actions. We pinpoint a classification of social support actions implemented by CSA organizers to increase access to their initiatives. We make a distinction between the emancipatory actions that empower beneficiaries and contribute to a systemic change, and punctual, charitable interventions that neither affect the structure of a CSA nor the food system.

Themes of War in modern clothing Culture of Ukrainians

The article is devoted to the study of the content of prints on patriotic T-shirts that appeared after the full-scale aggression of Russia against Ukraine in 2022 or were developed earlier, but their informative reading has been updated. The source base consisted of offers for purchasing patriotic T-shirts on the websites of both manufacturers of such products and companies engaged in the sale of such goods. In the course of the study, the monitoring of posts on social networks «Facebook», «Telegram» was carried out, which discussed the advertisement of T-shirts with a patriotic theme or discussed the attitude of consumers to such products. Men’s, women’s and children’s Tshirts were taken into account. The study of contemporary patriotic prints is considered on the theoretical basis of the functioning of Ukrainian internet memes. Most T-shirt prints are the final stage of the meme life cycle, when the most successful ideas become an illustrative element of consumer products, including clothing. In addition, a participant observation of the clothing culture of the participants of actions in support of Ukraine in Budapest during the spring and summer of 2022 was conducted. The communicative and informational content of images on T-shirts was chosen as the subject of the study. The main ethnocultural themes presented on the prints were systematized and characterized. The first topic concerns the representation of the statehood and sovereignty of Ukraine through the state symbols such as the coat of arms, the flag, map outlines, and the inscriptions «Ukraine» in different languages. The second topic concerns the idea of the heroic Cossacks, which is an important historical myth in the formation of Ukrainian identity. The third topic reveals the aspects of femininity in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the fourth – images of warrior-defenders. The fifth topic presents modernized representations of cultural and intellectual figures. Based on the importance of conveying to the general public a call to support Ukraine, we have selected the sixth topic of messages to the world. The seventh topic is the most variable, as it presents events as a chronicle of the war.

At the Epicentre of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada: Experiences and Recommendations of Family Care Partners of an Older Person Living in a Long-Term Care Home.

The roles of family care partners of older persons living in long-term care homes (LTCH) were severely disrupted during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Our aim was to describe their experiences and to solicit their recommendations for supportive actions. We conducted a critical ethnography with 24 care partners who cared or had cared for an older person living in an LTCH in Québec during the COVID-19 pandemic. We collected data during interviews and used Spradley's method to analyse them. Care partners experienced a forced separation from the older persons they cared for, which resulted in significant distress. Care, including post-mortem care, was considered inadequate and sometimes even inhumane. Communication was inconsistent, and this variability was also noted in visitation rules. Care partners perceived LTCHs as a neglected community. Supportive actions were recommended. The results illustrated the essential contribution of care partners, and the supportive actions they recommended must be a catalyst for change toward more humane care in LTCH settings.

A relação entre as políticas de gênero e a criação de empresas por mulheres

Objective: to analyze the effects of gender policies on women's business creation. Methodology/approach: quantitative approach, with secondary data extracted from the Municipal Basic Information Survey (MUNIC); and public CNPJ data from the Federal Revenue Service. The level of analysis was restricted to the 246 municipalities in the state of Goiás. From this, tests were performed with two negative binomial regression models. Main results: for women entrepreneurs who created their businesses alone, gender policies showed a positive relationship; on the other hand, for those who created companies in partnership, no influence was identified. With these results, it is possible to understand that the same support measures may not have similar effects to all types of business creation by women. Theoretical-methodological contributions: this study showed that, when analyzing public policies as a means of promoting entrepreneurship by women, one should consider the existing differences between them, either in the contextual aspects in which they are inserted, or as the specificity of each group, bearing in mind that needs different require different support actions. Relevance/originality: especially for women who are self-employed, according to this research, the existence of gender policies proves to be an important factor, since difficulties, such as those generated by discrimination, can be faced, thus meeting the needs of access to education, equality, health and safety.

INOVASI SERVICE BLUEPRINT PADA ERA PANDEMI COVID-19: STUDI KASUS DESA WISATA CARANGSARI

Consistency of service quality was a strategic factor in achieving sustainable tourism. This study aimed to design a service blueprint for tourist products in the Carangsari village. There were 4 (four) service blueprints intended as prototypes for the tugek mask dance, trekking, kecak dance, and accommodation services. The service blueprint was a flow chart of activities from the four tourist products the Carangsari tourist village offered. In the service blueprint protype there were 2 (two) factors studied: the sequence of tourist activities and the function of the service providers involved in the Carangsari tourist village. For the order of tourist activities, the design of a service blueprint was adjusted for each tourist product offered. The service provider function included 5 (five) functions applicable to all tourism products: physical evidence, customer actions, public service actions, back staff actions, and support and system actions. The head of the Carangsari tourism village, representing the tourism stakeholders of the Carangsari tourism village, expressed his appreciation for the design of the prototype of the service blueprint to provide consistency in the quality of service for tourists. The prototype of the service blueprint should be updated by the dynamics of the tourism industry. Due to time limitations, impacts and results of service blueprint prototype applications for four tourism products offered by Carangsari Tourism Village have not been evaluated. Conducting another research program to evaluate the effectiveness of service blueprint prototype applications is strongly suggested.

PtFe Nanoalloys Supported on Fe‐Based Cubic Framework as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

AbstractWhile Pt‐based binary alloys hold promising potential as cathode catalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) due to their desirable properties compared with monometallic counterparts, their weak interactions with carbon support make them challenging for practical cell implementation. Here, the PtFe alloys are uniformly deposited onto the surface of Fe‐Nx‐enriched nanocubes (FeNC) via surface confinement and internal vapor phase etching. The combined action of PtFe alloy and FeNC support acts as the electronic structure modulator resulting in the optimized intermediate adsorption (revealed by density function theory calculations), thereby boosting intrinsic activity to oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and simultaneously enhancing their interactions. The resultant Pt1Fe1 @ Fe0.5NC‐900 catalyst with a low Pt loading (0.065 mgPt cm−2) exhibits excellent mass activity and stability toward ORR in acidic media. When incorporated into a PEMFC, it delivers a superior peak power density of 1.05 W cm−2 and satisfactory stability performance.

Social support for overcoming fear of contagion at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional study in Latin America.

The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare professionals has been widely studied, along with different strategies to minimize it. However, professionals' assessment of the social support received and the factors that mitigated their fear of contagion have not been described. This study aimed to assess healthcare professionals' satisfaction with the social support and information received and their efforts to self-isolate to avoid infecting loved ones in Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador. A cross-sectional online survey, conducted from July to September 2020 in three Latin American countries, elicited healthcare professionals' satisfaction with social support from colleagues, their community, the media, and scientific societies; as well as the information received about the evolution of the pandemic and measures to avoid contagion. The EASE scale was used to measure acute stress. Survey responses were received from 700 professionals. The response rate per country exceeded the estimated sample size except in the case of Colombia, which was 81.4%. In general, peer support was highly valued, though satisfaction was lower in high-risk units (p < 0.001). Those who directly assisted COVID-19 patients perceived the least community support (p = 0.023). Professionals from high-risk units (p = 0.013) and those who experienced greater acute stress (p = 0.05) assigned the lowest rating to the information offered by the centre on the pandemic. Men perceived more support from colleagues and better information from the centre than women (p < 0.05). Just 10.7% of professionals changed their residence during the pandemic, but those who worked in high-risk areas self-isolated more frequently (p = 0.026). In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals in Chile, Colombia, and Ecuador greatly valued the support received from their peers. Being infected with COVID-19, working in high-risk areas, experiencing higher self-reported acute stress, and having an infected co-worker were predictors for self-isolation to protect their relatives. These results point to the appropriateness of putting in place institutional resources based on peer support and specific communication strategies and action protocols to build resilience and responsiveness to future health crises.

LGBTQ Caregiver Acceptance Scale (LCAS): Development and validation with a Latinx sample.

Caregiver acceptance and rejection is crucial to the well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Research shows that caregivers are affected by having an LGBTQ child/family member, yet studies have neglected to capture the experiences of Latinx caregivers. We present the development and initial validation of the LGBTQ Caregiver Acceptance Scale (LCAS) with a Latinx sample. We developed items based on a review of the literature, expert feedback (N = 9), and community member feedback (N = 9; Study 1). We then assessed the factor structure through exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in a sample of 215 Latinx caregivers of LGBTQ people (Study 2). The final LCAS consists of 40 items and six dimensions of Latinx caregivers' acceptance and rejection of their LGBTQ child/family member: Outness, Caregiver Acceptance, Concealment, Respeto, Attitudes Toward Queer Parenting, and Supportive Actions. Convergent and divergent validity was performed to compare the LCAS to other constructs of caregiver acceptance and rejection, family conflict and cohesion, and attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. As hypothesized, all subscale scores and total score were found to be significantly correlated with the constructs used for comparison. This validated measure of LGBTQ-specific acceptance and rejection among caregivers provides a rich opportunity to understand family processes and help inform evidence-based interventions. We provide implications for clinicians working with Latinx caregivers of LGBTQ youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

토픽모델링을 활용한 ‘자해’관련 유튜브 댓글의 내용분석

Objectives In this study, YouTube video comments were collected and analyzed to confirm the impact of YouTube related to “self-harm” on those who do not self-harm and to find effective ways to help those who do self-harm.&#x0D; Methods To this end, comments on the top nine videos derived by searching for the keyword “self-harm” on YouTube were collected, and 10 topics were derived by topic modeling comments from users who did not seem to have self-harm experience. Topic modeling is an analysis method that finds hidden topics based on statistics that analyze big data.&#x0D; Results The topics of the selected topics are “You need empathy and comfort to help self-inflicted people live in the world.”, “Concerns and discomfort towards self-harming people who worry about scars on their bodies.”, “Presenting a religious solution to self-harm.”, “We should consider self-harm as a social problem and find alternative ways together.”, “Thank you for telling me the reactions that people around you can do.”, “I remember my experiences related to self-harm that I experienced in my adolescence.”, “Need safe and professional counseling on self-harm,” “The way adults deal with self-harm.”, “Reaction to posting self-harm photos.”, “to be aware of one's psychological difficulties through an understanding of others' self-harm.”.&#x0D; Conclusions In the comments on YouTube related to “self-harm,” users' efforts and supportive actions to sympathize with and understand those who harm themselves were confirmed. On the other hand, concerns and concerns about self-harm scars appeared at the same time, and although I understand the hard feelings, it was confirmed that there was a negative opinion on self-harm behavior. Finally, we proposed a way to help those who harm themselves through the contents of 10 topics.

Money, chores and emotional support: Kenyan and Zambian fathers’ perceptions of male partner involvement in maternal and infant health within the context of HIV

In sub-Saharan Africa, involving male partners in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV improves maternal and infant outcomes. Male involvement is typically conceptualised as male partners attending antenatal care, which is difficult for many men. Little is known about how men view their involvement in family health within the context of HIV, particularly outside of clinic attendance. Through interviews with 35 male partners of pregnant or postpartum women living with HIV in Kenya and Zambia, this study elicited perceptions of male involvement in maternal and infant health in families affected by HIV. Men supported the importance of clinic attendance but reported conflicts with the need to work and fulfil their role as the family’s financial provider. Providing money for necessities was deemed more critical for their family’s health than clinic attendance. Men’s involvement was conveyed through various other supportive actions, including helping with household chores and providing emotional support (showing love and reducing women’s stress). Future strategies to promote male partner involvement in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and maternal and child health should build upon the actions men view as most meaningful to promote their family’s health within their real-world life circumstances and cultural context, particularly their role as financial providers.

How teachers are affected by institutional actions aiming to enhance e-learning effectiveness in higher education

PurposeIn this paper, the authors review the extant literature on e-learning effectiveness in higher education (HE) to investigate how teachers are affected by the actions that the management of higher education institutions (HEIs) need to take to address the success factors that are critical for e-learning effectiveness. E-learning, in the context of this study, encompasses the delivery of and access to a coordinated collection of learning materials and instructions over an electronic medium using a web server to provide the materials and a web browser to access them.Design/methodology/approachTo address the study's aims the authors employ a narrative literature review methodology. Since the area under review is comprehensive and it entails the examination of several topics, the authors have selected this methodology to ensure thorough coverage, and a narrative literature review approach can provide the required degree of thoroughness as it covers a wide range of topics within the thematic area under review. The authors focus on contemporary scientific studies published between January 2017 and May 2022 on how teachers involved in e-learning are affected by management actions taken to achieve success factors for e-learning effectiveness within the HE sector, after identifying and grouping the success factors identified in prior literature into dimensions that reinforce effectiveness.FindingsThe authors of the present study have identified and outlined the most prevalent success factor dimensions by performing a narrative review of the extant literature on the topics of e-learning effectiveness and success factors, and by grouping the various success factors identified into the overarching dimensions presented. These dimensions must also be examined in terms of their relevant importance to the most significant e-learning stakeholder groups. Prior studies have made attempts to obtain relevant stakeholder views on success factors for e-learning, with the student perspective naturally being the most widely covered point of view in terms of e-learning success factors prioritization. More studies are needed that tackle the teachers' perspective as well, since this would enable researchers to determine how teachers view e-learning effectiveness success factors.Originality/value The authors also discover that the main success factors in literature are not discussed nearly enough from teachers' perspectives. The authors, therefore, highlight the importance of addressing teachers' perspectives, mainly because this will reinforce teacher acceptance of the e-learning system adopted by an HEI, and the authors also outline future research avenues through which the perception of teachers could be obtained. The authors have identified the technique of knowledge management as a potential method to involve teachers in the decision-making process concerning the management of e-learning more, by taking their views into account and documenting them. The authors have discerned that teachers' acceptance of e-learning would be reinforced by supportive management actions since as a result, teachers see improvements in their technological literacy and pedagogical skills, and this would bring about increased motivation, satisfaction and acceptance of e-learning systems.

Curriculum as Endarkened Feminist Third Space: Alternative possibilities, revision, reciprocity, and surrender in teacher professional development

This article reveals how an Endarkened Feminist Third Space was actualized through the creation and facilitation of “Race Space” Critical Professional Development (RSCPD) for teachers; that is, a space composed of reciprocity, surrender, and a willingness to revise one’s performances of the present. Building upon previous scholarly calls for (and theorizations of) curriculum as space, endarkened feminist epistemologies, and Third Space, I theorize Endarkened Feminist Third Space through an ethnographic case study of teacher professional development (PD) and an embedded multiple case study of teacher participants. I respond to the following research questions: (a) How did an Endarkened Feminist Third Space become actualized as curriculum within RSCPD; and (b) How did this actualization support social justice teaching and action among participants? A critical discourse analysis of focal dialogic exchanges unearthed several moments in which an Endarkened Feminist Third Space was actualized for each participant in the following ways: (a) collaborative strategizing and surrendering fears to subversively act; (b) being challenged to (re)consider alternative possibilities and political performances; (c) revision and intervention in the here and now; and (d) reciprocity. Ultimately, through the actualization of an Endarkened Feminist Third Space, teacher and facilitator ways of knowing/acting were both welcomed and called into question for the purposes of revising their performances of the present, surrendering to alternative possibilities, and reciprocity. Finally, I discuss the need for epistemologically rich and feminized interrogations of space within PD for facilitator growth and enhanced social justice teaching and being among teachers.

Positive and negative contact between Africans and native Italians: Importance for migrants' collective action in support of their and other groups' rights

AbstractThis research investigates the positive and negative contact experiences of African migrants with native Italians and the association between contact and behavioural intentions to reduce social inequalities. Two studies examined the associations between intergroup contact of migrants and their collective action in support of their or other group members, by testing the mediating role of positive and negative emotions towards natives. Hypotheses were tested with two samples of first‐generation, legal African migrants living in Italy for less than 3 years (Ns = 242 [118 males], 251 [154]). Negative contact was positively associated with collective action in support of one's group, especially among respondents with higher positive intergroup experiences, and anger towards native people mediated this association. The association of positive contact with collective action to foster a more egalitarian society in general was mediated by reduced fear towards native people, and the association between positive contact and collective action at large was stronger for migrants with lower negative intergroup contact. Overall, this research provides further evidence on the impact of intergroup contact on migrants, specifically on the role of affective factors in their association with migrants' willingness to engage in collective action to reduce societal inequality at large.

A Technique to Optimally Prevent the Voltage and Frequency Violation in Renewable Energy Integrated Microgrids

A microgrid (MG) is always prone to the uncertainties of its demand variation and the generation of its non-dispatchable renewable sources when operating in islanded mode. Such variation events can lead to the voltage or frequency (VF) violation in the MG. However, there are some techniques available in the literature that can predict these events a few minutes ahead. Using such techniques, the VF violation can also be predicted and prevented with the introduction of a suitable preventive controller. Hence, this paper proposes a look-ahead controller that uses the short-horizon prediction data of demand and renewable generation to determine any prospective VF violation. If a violation is predicted, the proposed technique will aim to define the most optimal generation level of dispatchable sources, the MG’s best network configuration and the engagement level of the supportive actions, such as exchanging power with neighboring microgrids, utilizing energy storages, a demand response and renewable energy curtailment (if and when available). The technical, reliability and environmental aspects of the MG are considered within the proposed technique along with the operational cost. The determined optimal control variables are then sent to the local controllers to apply the proper arrangements in the system to retain the VF within the desired range. The performance of the developed technique is validated through extensive numerical analyses in MATLAB.

Rural revitalization of China: A new framework, measurement and forecast

Recent years have witnessed an increasing focus on rural revitalization (RR). In order to explore the current status and the coordinated growth of different aspects of RR, this paper first constructs a new 5E framework with a comprehensive index system; then analyzes the overall development status (ODS) and the coordinated development status of 5 dimensions (CDS) of 30 regions in China from 2006 to 2020 temporally and spatially with entropy weight and the technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution method; thirdly forecasts the CDS in the next four years and proposed targeted and differentiated development suggestions. Some key results are: (1) ODS was relatively stable with significant spatial variations. (2) CDS of the five dimensions fluctuated relatively mildly, and villages of the coastal areas were higher than those in the inland areas. (3) CDS will be generally similar to the past temporally and spatially in the future. (4) Different regions should take targeted and feasible measures to achieve benign coordinated growth among dimensions of RR, and the national authority should take supportive actions comprehensively.

Ukrainian Museums' Exhibitions and Educational Programmes During the First Six Months of War

The extraordinary and brave work of Ukrainian museum workers to protect collections and to continue activities in the face of war exemplifies the possibilities for similar institutions in conflict situations. This paper illustrates some of the main activities of Ukrainian museums from the period of the outbreak of war on 24 February 2022 through to August of the same year, focusing especially on exhibitions, educational programmes, and events, both online and on-site. This research is based on thematic and chronological approaches, using data from descriptions of educational projects on museum websites and social media. The article analyzes museum exhibitions on Russian aggression as well as museum programmes more broadly. The organization of online and offline museum events, projects, excursions, exhibitions, classes for children and refugees, museum workers’ meetings on Museum Day (May 2022), the opening of a new museum, actions in support of the armed forces of Ukraine, and volunteer activities of museum workers in Ukraine are briefly presented. While this article can touch on these broad and diverse topics only briefly, it underlines the value and necessity of further studies focused on the adaptation mechanisms of museums in the challenging conditions of war.

"We'll deal with it as it comes": A Qualitative Analysis of Romantic Partners' Dyadic Coping in Cystic Fibrosis.

Although cystic fibrosis (CF) is a progressive, life-limiting, genetic disease, recent advances have extended survival, allowing persons with CF the time and physical and mental health to form romantic relationships. Previous studies have shown the importance of dyadic coping to positive psychosocial functioning and relationship satisfaction for people with serious chronic illness and their romantic partners, but little work has been done with persons with CF and their partners. The present study examines dyadic coping processes in persons with CF and their romantic partners. Sixteen adults with moderate to severe CF (Mage=42.3, 43.8% identified as cisgender male, 56.2% identified as cisgender female) and their romantic partners (Mage=43.8, 56.3% identified as cisgender male, 43.7% identified as cisgender female) participated in individual semi-structured interviews focused on topics related to quality of life, communication, and palliative care. We conducted a directed content analysis utilizing Berg and Upchurch's (2007) developmental-contextual theoretical model to examine dyadic coping processes in persons with CF and their romantic partners. Consistent with the developmental-contextual model of dyadic coping, couples described adapting to health and functional declines that occurred over time. Dyads were aligned in their appraisals of illness representation, illness ownership, and perspectives of illness as a shared stressor; they used shared coping mechanisms that included supportive and collaborative actions rather than uninvolved or controlling strategies. We recommend family-based approaches to medical decision-making and goals of care conversations with persons with CF and their partners, aligning those approaches with supportive and collaborative coping configurations. This may improve psychosocial outcomes for patients and their partners.

Epideictic Priming amid COVID-19: Metonymy under the Microscope

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic and its constituent controversies illustrate how the epideictic motives of mutual imagination and “showing forth” contribute irrevocably to rhetorical motion. Imagistic representations of disease like the Center for Disease Control’s morphological depiction of the SARS-CoV-2 “spike protein” form illustrative metonyms that reduce or “essentialize” complex networks of sociomedical phenomena into tangible shorthand, priming audiences for deliberative action. Images of symptomatic suffering that characterize diseases like polio, measles, and the common cold viscerally orient audiences to bodily suffering, compelling the sort of imaginative, deliberative vision that Aristotle terms phantasia. The spike protein obfuscates human suffering by substituting the euphemistically ineffable realm of microbiology. Journalists and medical communicators, therefore, bear an uncomfortable ethical imperative to represent metonymic suffering, not for its sensationalism or shock value, but for its epideictic capacity to prime or “turn” audiences toward meaningful deliberative action in support of real human well-being.

Social Capital for Community Resilience in Responding to the 2018 Earthquake in the Cupek Community, Lombok

Indonesia frequently experiences earthquakes as it is located at the convergence of three highly active tectonic plates, making it prone to natural disasters. Lombok, an island in Indonesia, experienced a series of devastating earthquakes in 2018, resulting in heavy casualties, severe damage and economic repercussions. This research focused on the Cupek community in Sigar Penjalin Village, North Lombok Regency, who demonstrated their resilience and survival capabilities in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Despite limited external assistance during the initial hours following the earthquake, the community swiftly activated their resilience capacities, relying on their social capital and collective actions for support and recovery. This research aims to examine the most significant resilience capacities implemented by the community and explain the process of activating them. This research used the concept of social capital to analyze how the community mobilized their resources and abilities, which ultimately ensured their survival during the initial emergency response. The theoretical framework, data collection and methods of analysis were elaborated and followed by the presentation of specific findings for Cupek. The implications of the research as well as its practical applications for emergency responders and planners were also discussed. The main objective of this research is to enhance the understanding of resilience in small communities, particularly emphasizing the importance of social capital in the context of disasters.

The Phenomenon of Techno-Empowerment in the Socio-Organizational Context

In recent decades, improvements in cognitive studies have given rise to opportunities for technology to become involved in decision-making processes. Autonomous machines are mainly performing support actions that avoid distracting people from their primary tasks in the workplace. Nevertheless, there are already examples of machines that make decisions of greater responsibility. The text’s thesis is that technology has been empowered in organizations as a result of developments in artificial intelligence. This paper shows that both humans and technology can have autonomy in decision-making, defines techno-empowerment, and presents various examples of autonomous machines that are currently used in organizations.