scholarly journals Digital Discretion: Unpacking Human and Technological Agency in Automated Decision Making in Sweden’s Social Services

2020 ◽  
pp. 089443932098043
Author(s):  
Agneta Ranerup ◽  
Helle Zinner Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Automated Decision Making ◽  
New Situation

The introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) into the public sector has changed civil servants’ daily life and practices. One of these central practices in the public sector is discretion. The shift to a digital mode of discretion calls for an understanding of the new situation. This article presents an empirical case where automated decision making driven by RPA has been implemented in social services in Sweden. It focuses on the aspirational values and effects of the RPA in social services. Context, task, and activities are captured by a detailed analysis of humans and technology. This research finds that digitalization in social services has a positive effect on civil servants’ discretionary practices mainly in terms of their ethical, democratic, and professional values. The long-term effects and the influence on fair and uniform decision making also merit future research. In addition, the article finds that a human–technology hybrid actor redefines social assistance practices. Simplifications are needed to unpack the automated decision-making process because of the technological and theoretical complexities.

scholarly journals Economic cost of congenital CMV in the UK

2018 ◽  
Vol 104 (6) ◽  
pp. 559-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenny Retzler ◽  
Nick Hex ◽  
Chris Bartlett ◽  
Anne Webb ◽  
Sharon Wood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Vaccine Development ◽  
Cost Model ◽  
Financial Burden ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Economic Cost ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Uk

ObjectiveCongenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) is the most common infectious cause of congenital disability. It can disrupt neurodevelopment, causing lifelong impairments including sensorineural hearing loss and developmental delay. This study aimed, for the first time, to estimate the annual economic burden of managing cCMV and its sequelae in the UK.DesignThe study collated available secondary data to develop a static cost model.SettingThe model aimed to estimate costs of cCMV in the UK for the year 2016.PatientsIndividuals of all ages with cCMV.Main outcome measuresDirect (incurred by the public sector) and indirect (incurred personally or by society) costs associated with management of cCMV and its sequelae.ResultsThe model estimated that the total cost of cCMV to the UK in 2016 was £732 million (lower and upper estimates were between £495 and £942 million). Approximately 40% of the costs were directly incurred by the public sector, with the remaining 60% being indirect costs, including lost productivity. Long-term impairments caused by the virus had a higher financial burden than the acute management of cCMV.ConclusionsThe cost of cCMV is substantial, predominantly stemming from long-term impairments. Costs should be compared against investment in educational strategies and vaccine development programmes that aim to prevent virus transmission, as well as the value of introducing universal screening for cCMV to both increase detection of children who would benefit from treatment, and to build a more robust evidence base for future research.

Developing a Digital Welfare State: Data Protection and the Use of Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector across Six EU Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Choroszewicz ◽  
Beata Mäihäniemi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
General Data Protection Regulation ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Data ◽  
Automated Decision Making

This article uses the sociolegal perspective to address current problems surrounding data protection and the experimental use of automated decision-making systems. This article outlines and discusses the hard laws regarding national adaptations of the European General Data Protection Regulation and other regulations as well as the use of automated decision-making in the public sector in six European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland, France, and the Netherlands). Despite its limitations, the General Data Protection Regulation has impacted the geopolitics of the global data market by empowering citizens and data protection authorities to voice their complaints and conduct investigations regarding data breaches. We draw on the Esping-Andersen welfare state typology to advance our understanding of the different approaches of states to citizens’ data protection and data use for automated decision-making between countries in the Nordic regime and the Conservative-Corporatist regime. Our study clearly indicates a need for additional legislation regarding the use of citizens’ data for automated decision-making and regulation of automated decision-making. Our results also indicate that legislation in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark draws upon the mutual trust between public administrations and citizens and thus offers only general guarantees regarding the use of citizens’ data. In contrast, Germany, France, and the Netherlands have enacted a combination of general and sectoral regulations to protect and restrict citizens’ rights. We also identify some problematic national policy responses to the General Data Protection Regulation that empower governments and related institutions to make citizens accountable to states’ stricter obligations and tougher sanctions. The article contributes to the discussion on the current phase of the developing digital welfare state in Europe and the role of new technologies (i.e., automated decision-making) in this phase. We argue that states and public institutions should play a central role in strengthening the social norms associated with data privacy and protection as well as citizens’ right to social security.

scholarly journals Does Element of Belief (Iman) and Ritual (Ibadah) Determined Leadership Effectiveness among Muslims in Malaysia?

2018 ◽  
pp. 211-215
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Leadership Effectiveness ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Islamic Perspective ◽  
The World

Islamic concept has become more prominent in the development of society. It is no longer an unfamiliar concept among the world communities. In addition, the administration and management based on Islamic concept is also becoming increasingly popular among organizations around the world. Since many scholars believe that there is still lack of study regarding Islamic perspective in management, thus the purpose of this research is to examine the problem regarding this matter and to explore more about the Qur’an way of leadership. A total of 180 civil servants in the public sector in Kuching and Kota Samarahan areas participated in the survey. The result reveals that belief was found to be significant with very strong correlation and positive relationship with leadership effectiveness. Meanwhile for rituals, the result shows that this variable has insignificant with a moderate correlation and positive relationship with leadership effectiveness. Suggestions for future research were also discussed.

scholarly journals Administrative law and the machines of government: judicial review of automated public-sector decision-making

Legal Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cobbe
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Sector Decision ◽  
Public Sector Decision Making ◽  
Automated Decision Making

AbstractThe future is likely to see an increase in the public-sector use of automated decision-making systems which employ machine learning techniques. However, there is no clear understanding of how English administrative law will apply to this kind of decision-making. This paper seeks to address the problem by bringing together administrative law, data protection law, and a technical understanding of automated decision-making systems in order to identify some of the questions to ask and factors to consider when reviewing the use of these systems. Due to the relative novelty of automated decision-making in the public sector, this kind of study has not yet been undertaken elsewhere. As a result, this paper provides a starting point for judges, lawyers, and legal academics who wish to understand how to legally assess or review automated decision-making systems and identifies areas where further research is required.

General Adoption and Applications of ICT in Public Sector

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Data Storage ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Digital Revolution ◽  
The Public ◽  
External Threats ◽  
Governmental Institutions ◽  
Effective Service ◽  
Different Parts

The emergence of the Internet and concerns for effective service delivery in the public sector have called for adoption of ICT in processing capacity as well as data storage since the 1990s. This, to some extent, has significantly altered the environment for ICT utilizations across society and governmental institutions and agencies to meet the demand of their people. While the long-term effects of this digital revolution are likely to bring some challenges, the needs for fast delivery of services and information have drastically pressured the public sectors to improve performances, capitalize on external opportunities within the environment, and prepare to overcome both internal weaknesses as well as external threats. This chapter looks within the context of the Asian experience of technology adoption and highlights various benefits and challenges encountered in practice by different parts of the countries in the continent.

The Performance Lens

2021 ◽  
pp. 95-113
Author(s):  
Paul Boselie ◽  
Carina Schott
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Public Management ◽  
Situational Factors ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Stakeholder Interests ◽  
Public Sector Performance ◽  
Sector Performance

This chapter makes three important contributions to the literature on the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and public-sector performance. First, the chapter presents a nuanced Harvard model that is developed by blending contemporary general HRM insights with public administration and public management literature. This refined model is more meaningful for the specific context of the public sector because it highlights multiple stakeholder interests, situational factors, and mediating factors (HRM policy choices and HRM outcomes), as well as long-term consequences from a public-sector context perspective. Second, the chapter presents an overview of studies on HRM and public-sector performance. This overview summarizes what is already known about the added value of HRM in a public-sector context. Third, on the basis of this literature review, the chapter identifies five important gaps in the literature, thereby providing a research agenda for future research.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Anti-Vaccine Sentiments: Analyses of Comments from Social Media

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1530
Author(s):  
Li Ping Wong ◽  
Yulan Lin ◽  
Haridah Alias ◽  
Sazaly Abu Bakar ◽  
Qinjian Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Vaccine Safety ◽  
Vaccine Hesitancy ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Messages ◽  
Vaccination Decision ◽  
Duration Of Protection

Purpose: This study analyzed the insights and sentiments of COVID-19 anti-vaccine comments from Instagram feeds and Facebook postings. The sentiments related to the acceptance and effectiveness of the vaccines that were on the verge of being made available to the public. Patients and methods: The qualitative software QSR-NVivo 10 was used to manage, code, and analyse the data. Results: The analyses uncovered several major issues concerning COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The production of the COVID-19 vaccine at an unprecedented speed evoked the fear of skipping steps that would compromise vaccine safety. The unknown long-term effects and duration of protection erode confidence in taking the vaccines. There were also persistent concerns with regard to vaccine compositions that could be harmful or contain aborted foetal cells. The rate of COVID-19 death was viewed as low. Many interpreted the 95% effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine as insufficient. Preference for immunity gains from having an infection was viewed as more effective. Peer-reviewed publication-based data were favoured as a source of trust in vaccination decision-making. Conclusions: The anti-COVID-19 vaccine sentiments found in this study provide important insights for the formulation of public health messages to instill confidence in the vaccines.

scholarly journals Living Labs for Public Sector Innovation: An Integrative Literature Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Lars Fuglsang ◽  
Anne Vorre Hansen ◽  
Ines Mergel ◽  
Maria Taivalsaari Røhnebæk
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Public Administration ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Sector Innovation ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Living Labs ◽  
Elusive Concept

The public administration literature and adjacent fields have devoted increasing attention to living labs as environments and structures enabling the co-creation of public sector innovation. However, living labs remain a somewhat elusive concept and phenomenon, and there is a lack of understanding of its versatile nature. To gain a deeper understanding of the multiple dimensions of living labs, this article provides a review assessing how the environments, methods and outcomes of living labs are addressed in the extant research literature. The findings are drawn together in a model synthesizing how living labs link to public sector innovation, followed by an outline of knowledge gaps and future research avenues.

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