Search Results

This interview traces the unfolding trajectories of Boris Brummans, an organizational communication ethnographer, in conversation with Marie-Claude Plourde.

Keywords: Communication constitutive des organisations, mindful organizing, communication organisationnelle, ethnographie organisationnelle, philosophie processuelle, recherche qualitative, Communicative constitution of organizations (CCO), mindful organizing, organizational communication, organization ethnography, process philosophy, qualitative inquiry

In Europe, America and Asia, research into the uses of digital educational technologies and their contributions to teaching and learning has flourished, while in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of a few rare studies in educational science, research has long neglected these uses. The literature highlights shortcomings in terms of access to equipment and interest in certain technical devices. The most widely adopted technology is the cell phone, which is used for both personal and school purposes (Maïdakouale and Fagadé, 2022). This study aims to support the integration of educational digital technologies among a young population already possessing non-formal digital skills. We study the social logics structuring the uses that, themselves, feed them (Paquienséguy, 2012). We also highlight the "new" school sociabilities that these uses bring. As Leveratto and Leontsini (2008) point out, interest in the educational uses of the Internet also requires us to explore its playful and social dimensions, since social availability determines personal commitment to intensive use. We used qualitative and quantitative methods to survey 292 students in Burkina Faso, Gabon and Niger. We show that socio-technical and economic factors are involved in accompanying the digital revolution in these universities from behind the scenes.

Keywords: Educación digital, digital education, numérique éducatif, sociabilidad, sociabilité, sociability, uses, usos, usages, Afrique subsaharienne, Sub-Saharan Africa, África subsahariana

Planners seek collaborative and diverse strategies to address complex challenges across Canada. In the Region of Waterloo, local governments and stakeholders adopted The Waterloo Region Community Data Program (WRCDP), a social policy data-sharing system for information on economic and social development. This study examined the needs of Community Data Program (CDP) users to investigate whether CDPs are utilized effectively. We considered how optimal use of CDP data may advance planning to resolve structural and behavioral challenges in municipalities. We surveyed 17 participants from the WRCDP to assess needs of organizational members regarding accessing data, data analysis, and networking. Participants expressed enthusiasm for the CDP’s potential but lacked training in accessing and analyzing available data. A limitation of this study is small participant sample size and how results may not be generalizable to other locations. Organizational members remained optimistic about the system’s potential for planning and policy when provided with the necessary support.

Keywords: Données, Data, collaboration organisationnelle, community planning, prise de décision basée sur des preuves, organizational collaboration, aménagement communautaire, evidence-based decision making

This article seeks to better understand the dynamics of morphological and socio-economic transformations in former working-class neighborhoods through the case study of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve in Montreal. We are more specifically interested in the influence of public intervention on the development of the real estate market. To achieve our study, we have both compiled a documentary collection on recent urban development projects in the district, and created an unprecedented database on residential typomorphology and land values of a sample of 1,034 units. It turns out that the evolution of the real estate market is multifactorial. On the one hand, the surroundings of certain urban revitalization operations are becoming more attractive to buyers looking for welcoming public places and nearby services. On the other hand, land values increase more in the oldest residences of architectural and heritage interest. We conclude with a discussion about public intervention and its effect on revitalisation and gentrification.

Keywords: marché immobilier, Real estate market, intervention publique, public intervention, architectural typomorphology, typomorphologie architecturale, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

Technological surveillance for the sake of safeguarding public safety (e.g., cameras, sensors, mobile phones, OSINT) pervades the lives of individuals on many levels. In this article, we advance the idea that the addition of AI changes the way surveillance ecologies function and thus deserves to spawn its own concept: the surveillance AI-cology. Surveillance AI-cologies are made up of interconnected collections of disparate actors (technological, human, more-than-human, organisational, etc.), all implicated in AI-aided surveillance tasks. They contain not only the usual complexities of any technological ecosystem but also the added complexity of AI, with emergent characteristics, both technically and socially. We argue for the utility of multi-faceted perspectives in doing work within AI-cologies, and we describe (anthropologically inspired) methodology for understanding and unpacking AI surveillance ecosystems. The development of democratically controlled AI surveillance requires the systematic consideration of ethical, legal, and social aspects (ELSA) within the quintuple helix (public, private, civil society, academia, nature). We stress the relevance of clearly defining which perspectives of the quintuple helix are considered in AI surveillance, and which not, to achieve a transparent set of (ELSA) values that guide AI surveillance development and implementation. We provide an example of the way we have developed and applied (some of) these methodologies in the context of a test-site for the development and application of smart city technology, a so-called “Living Lab.” Here we take the stance of active involvement of academics as “critical friends” into complex innovation and assessment processes. Together with our conversation partners in the field, we tease out and reflect upon the (public safety) values embedded in the setup of the Living Lab we explore. We end with a call to understand surveillance AI-cologies not as a problem to be solved, but as a continuing process to be discussed among highly diverse stakeholders.

Keywords: public safety, AI-cology, quintuple helix, ELSA, democratic experimentation, participatory criticism

This paper maps the emergence and consequences of automated Algorithmic Performance Management (APM) in the context of higher education. After reviewing the evolution of productivity management in academia, it argues that surveillance via APM shifts expectations not just about effectiveness at work but also about how work, and the good worker, come to be defined. In our paradigmatic case study of Office 365, we specify how the automated surveillance of workforce practices are deployed to redefine productivity in higher education: productive workers become good data subjects as well as producers of papers, grants, and other traditional outputs of success. Our analysis suggests performing well at work is managed in and by the platform via logics of the surveillance of wellness, time-regulation, and social connectivity to influence, manage, and control workers. We critique these automated performance measures in terms of platform capitalism, noting Office 365’s Viva Insights function as a telematic device of surveillance. The final section of the paper places these trends in Australia’s socio-legal context by showing how Viva is insufficient for considering performance given the range of practices that constitute “academic work,” including but not limited to the need for unmonitored activity. Yet, we observe that currently little can be done about Office 365’s surveillant presence given a regulatory regime that by and large excludes productivity surveillance from the scope of regulated surveillance activities.

Keywords: algorithmic performance management, academia productivity management, Office 365, platform surveillance, performing productivity

Keywords: aménagement physique scolaire, aménagement flexible, espaces d’apprentissage, bienêtre, élèves

This study explored the dominant discourses on online distance education (ODE) that emerged in South Korean society before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors conducted a topic modeling analysis of 8,865 news articles published by 24 South Korean media outlets between 2019 and 2021. Using the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) algorithm and social network analysis software (NetMiner), the top five topics and the top ten words associated with each topic were identified from each period. The authors observed significant changes not only in the number of news articles but also in the depth of the conversations published each year. The results have revealed several key points. First, ODE, previously considered marginal and abnormal, gained in normality across all educational levels in Korean society. Second, ODE discourses have been shaped by the unique cultural, historical, and technological infrastructure in South Korea. Third, a clear division between social-justice-oriented and business-oriented ODE discourses reflect a persistent inequality in Korean society. Finally, ODE discourses matured in 2021, with more critical and realistic perspectives on both the positives and negatives of ODE. The useful implications of such insights for post-pandemic ODE research and practice are further discussed. 

Keywords: distance education, online education, COVID-19, topic modeling, news Big Data, South Korea

In higher education, international research collaboration functions as a visible mechanism of cooperation and competition, serving as a proxy for quality and academic excellence. Open universities use revolutionary education models but are not often associated with quality or academic excellence. To investigate the impact of international research collaboration by active researchers affiliated with open institutions, a bibliometrics analysis was conducted of three open universities and nine traditional, comparative universities between 2000 and 2022. The results indicate that research outputs that are open access, sponsored and funded, and developed with international coauthors have positive and statistically significant effects on citation counts. Moreover, international research collaboration significantly affects all universities, not just open institutions. The results conclude that researchers affiliated with open universities are only 4.3% less cited than their comparative peers, which is attributed to publication factors, research disciplines and subject areas, and journal characteristics. Findings are discussed and imply a strategic shift in the institutional functions and outputs of open universities as collaborative conduits of knowledge production and dissemination.

Keywords: Internationalization, Higher Edcucation, International Research Collaboration, Open University

There is ongoing attention to equity and inclusion in early learning but a paucity of stories on diverse experiences. This study sought to understand the experiences of Black children in Nova Scotian early learning and child care environments through the perspectives of their parents and early childhood educators (ECEs) working in African Nova Scotian (ANS) communities or with Black children in Nova Scotia, Canada. Following in-depth interviews with parents and ECEs (n=15) three interrelated themes were identified using reflexive thematic analysis: anti-Black approach to curriculum; inaction on racism, social justice, and equity; and precluding Black children from culturally safe environments. The results highlight critical issues of racism in early learning environments and the importance of building culturally safe environments for young Black children and their families.

Keywords: early childhood education, anti-Black racism, colour-evasiveness, positive racial identity, equity