A Review of the Coronavirus Impact on Higher Education Institutions and Opportunity of Information Technology Applications in Collaborative Work

This chapter describes the challenge to the higher education sector during the coronavirus pandemic. It also presents the lack of preparedness in crisis management and digital education responses of higher education teaching and learning practice. Given that higher education institutions and the student community faced distinct challenges, policy responses and their implications have valuable lessons to learn. The chapter highlights research gaps, including researching the impact on lesser-developed countries, the psychological impact of transition, and the essential role of management in handling the pandemic. It also highlights that the general objective should be to build more resilient higher education teaching and learning delivery systems that are responsive and adaptive to future crises. London's City University decided to move off-campus and into a digital work environment responding to the current pandemic. A case study in the application of an undergraduate software engineering team-based project teaching and learning practice follows.

DIGITALISASI DAN POLA KERJA BARU: DAMPAK BAGI INDUSTRIALISASI DAN RESPONS KEBIJAKAN KETENAGAKERJAAN

This article attempts to decipher claims about the ‘future of work’ based on the development of digitalization and look atthe policy response to those claims. Specifically, it explains the main developments of new digital technologies that shapejobs and employment in the context of Industry 4.0 and the emergence of various digital platforms. Digitalization alsohas an impact on the industrialization process to predict the loss of old manufacturing jobs. This is projected to disruptthe workforce that is at risk of new work patterns and dehumanization. This article is prepared using a qualitative methodwith a literature study approach, which aims to build a critical analysis of digitalization and its impact on labor andindustrialization policies. The results of this study indicate several industrialization policy responses at the global andnational levels for each digital development model. This study confirms that digital technology will not deterministicallyform a new future but the choices and logical consequences of a digital work pattern model that is different from the oldpattern. So, the industrialization policy response in the digital era must be able to answer the wave of disruption for theworkforce. Policies in the education and training aspects of the affected workforce are an urgency that cannot be ignoredin the era of industrial automation

Mental Stress and Strain Assessment in Digital Work

When digitalizing work, organizations face the challenge of analyzing, evaluating, and mitigating a potential increase in mental workload for employees and managers. This paper presents an instrument to assess mental stress and strain in digital work contexts and the related development process and validation. Based on a literature and instrument review and an interview study, we developed an assessment instrument and validated it in two coordinated studies ( N = 245, N = 279), ultimately resulting in an instrument with 139 items: 27 items addressing demographic aspects and 112 items dispersed over five categories (work task and activity, workflow and organizing, work environment, organizational climate, and personal attitude). To demonstrate the instrument’s validity, we calculated a structural equation model based on the framework of the job demands-resources model. The resulting instrument is comprehensive and can also be applied by HR nonprofessionals.

Cracking IT: Negotiating Working-Class Gender Capital through Group Enterprises in India

Digital work is often associated with higher levels of earning and increased social mobility. Working in the digital economy will not benefit all women equally or act as an enabler of broader social change. The article draws attention to the intersection of gender and class in work in the information technology (IT) sector of India, where women have increased their visibility and participation. Through a gender capital approach and intersectional analyses, the article points to the incontrovertible impact of class and gender when women from low-income backgrounds engage in IT-based group enterprises in the state of Kerala. A central insight from the study is the need to disaggregate types of IT work as women’s experiences in IT are shaped by the simultaneity of working practices, intersectional inequalities and gendered behaviours, often with limits to gender capital and spill-over impact on broader gender and social relations.

Digitally Distanced Inspection & Maintenance at Drilling Rigs : Applied Augmented Reality

For drilling contractors, the moment of truth is the operations at the site. If the technician at the site encounters a problem he can't solve, then everything stops. The team has to wait for a subject matter expert (SME) to arrive at the site to diagnose rectify the problem. Such process of SME mobilization and till that time Non-Productive Time (NPT) results in loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hence the key challenge is converting the Sparse to Adequate availability of Right Knowledge at Right Time at Right Place, for the support of technicians. This paper is focused on the approach of moving from Hand Held devices to Hands-Free environment at sites and connecting local/global support to site support systems, to reduce cost, improve HSE and enhance operational performance. The augmented reality technology-enabled, smart glass laced headsets are rugged, zone 1 certified, and are voice-operated which are better than smart tablets which were considered during Technology Qualification Process. Evaluation criteria were: 1. Availability and follow up of the digital work instruction while operating. Moreover, not missing a single step of work instruction while inspection or maintenance continues was noted carefully. 2. Reduced travel/accommodation cost : Normally at the time of shutdown, the rig crew contacts subject matter experts (SME) and (at times) in turn the SME contacts the OEM support team to mobilize service engineers globally. 3. Response time improvement-Availability of support by SME right at the time of need results from better response time to diagnose and fix the issue at hand. Call logging till final resolution process improvement is considered an important metric. Travel restrictions imposed by Covid-19, are also being addressed through the distanced inspection. A hands-free environment is compared vis a vis handheld device. Better training and knowledge transfer are achieved through better communication methods and this goes better with learning by doing. Subsequent text (NLP-speech to text) analysis is planned through deep learning models to derive related predictions. Sparse to Adequate availability of support to rig staff with Right Knowledge at Right Place at Right Time is the key outcome of this Proof of Value project.

A Tailspin for Taxi Drivers: Platform Labor, Deregulations, and a Migrant Occupation

In this article, we investigate Norwegian taxi drivers’ perceptions and experiences of the introduction of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) such as Uber. We find that taxi drivers are highly critical, but not over technology or TNCs as such. Their critique is directed at government deregulations of the taxi industry, which paved the way for TNC re-entry. Our findings suggest that, if we are to understand how the platform economy changes work-life and its social consequences, we need to comprehend (1) current digital change in its political context, which in our case pertains notably to deregulations. Equally important (2) is that consequences and struggles are seen in light of the history and social trajectory of the specific occupations affected; a central factor in our case being that the taxi industry has become a typical migrant occupation. Our paper contributes to a more comprehensive picture of structural changes in the digital work-life.

Work and everyday life in a digitalized time: Experiences of people with subjective cognitive difficulties related to neurological disorders

Introduction Digitalization has changed working life and increased cognitive demands on employees in general. Nevertheless, the consequences for employees with cognitive impairments and subjective cognitive difficulties are to a large extent unexplored. The aim of this study was to explore and describe how employees with subjective cognitive difficulties who are performing digital work tasks experience their vocational situation and how this situation influences their everyday life. Methods A qualitative, descriptive, multiple-case study was designed. Self-reports, assessments and qualitative interviews were used to collect data from the seven participants with neurological disorders. The data were analysed using pattern matching. Findings The analysed data formed four categories conceptualized as “Working to my full potential”, “Working, but it is largely up to me”, “Working at the expense of everyday life” and “Working without known difficulties”, and these categories included one to four subcategories. Conclusion Managing subjective cognitive difficulties in vocational situations and everyday life was challenging in a digitalized working life for participants with neurological disorders. To provide equal access to preventive measures and rehabilitation and a sustainable working life, it is important to investigate the influence of subjective cognitive difficulties systematically on work, everyday life and management strategies in people with neurological disorders in digitalized work.