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While recent technological advancements have enabled improved performance in warehouse operations, companies still struggle with eliminating errors such as incorrect/damaged items or the wrong quantity sent to customers. Such errors result in inefficient resource use, costly returns handling, and customer dissatisfaction. Despite the importance of errors, current knowledge of the underlying causes is limited. This paper addresses the gap by investigating error causes through a relatively new technology - intelligent video analysis (IVA), an additional tool for analysing warehouse operations. A multiple case study involving companies that have implemented IVA in their outbound warehouse operations (i.e. order picking, packing, and sorting) was conducted. This study is the first to investigate implementations of IVA, offering novel empirical insights into error root causes. It shows how many errors reported by customers are actually not made by humans in outbound warehouse operations but are attributable to faulty customer claims, inbound warehouse operation errors, and malfunctioning technology. This study offers interesting insights into the interaction of various technical, organisational, and human factors, thereby contributing to the literature on sociotechnical systems and the human-centric Industry 5.0. Finally, the study outlines a way forward for managers to address and further reduce errors occurring in warehouse operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Belk's conceptualisation of the extended self is one of the most influential articles published in the history of consumer research. However, less scholarly attention has been given to the broader ontological implications of Belk's later arguments that his original distinction between a core and extended self should be abandoned. In this comment, I first highlight how Belk's original formulation marked a contested transition from a dualistic view of consumers as possessing a core self that remains distinct from the socio-material world to a dialectical understanding of consumer selves as emerging from a centre-to-periphery network of relations. His ensuing update implicitly denotes another ontological shift towards an even more de-centred view of the 'extended self'. However, Belk's reformulation of the extended self in the digital age lacked a culturally established, alternative praxeomorphic model needed to fully disentangle the extended self from the 'heavy' ontology of the core self. Contemporary socio-technical innovations are beginning to offer a praxeomorphic means to ontologically re-vision consumers as distributed networks whose life narratives function as ledgers of their assembled experiences. As an emerging praxeomorphic future shaped by the mass diffusion of AI technologies is rapidly taking shape, I suggest that 'consumer research', as we currently understand it, may soon be radically transformed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Order picking in warehouses is a labour- and time-intensive logistical process that significantly impacts the efficiency of supply chains. Although technical progress facilitates the automation of specific order picking tasks, human workers remain the primary actors of order picking. Owing to high operating costs associated with manual order picking, its design and management have been increasingly researched for decades. Because manual order picking systems are socio-technical systems, human factors and workers' interaction with technology are essential for operational success. As innovative technologies become increasingly utilised, such as augmented reality or exoskeletons, warehouse managers need to consider the effects of supportive and substitutive technologies on operational outcomes. However, the potentials and obstacles of using technologies in manual order picking require further investigations. Therefore, this study analyses literature content on supportive and substitutive technologies in manual warehouse order picking and investigates the existing state of research in this field. Text mining is employed to enhance the insights regarding the content analysis. Additionally, future research opportunities on the integration of supportive and substitutive technologies are proposed for manual order picking improvement and development of sustainable and human-centered logistics systems, according to the Industry 5.0 vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturing systems are socio-technical systems, with explicit interactions between humans and technologies in shared workspaces. These shared workspaces could also be called hybrid collaborative manufacturing systems, which involve workers as well as technological equipment and combine the benefits of human workers and new Industry 4.0 technologies, such systems are particularly useful in a context requiring flexibility and adaptability. Furthermore, the new Industry 5.0 approach has the objective to shift toward more human-centric and resilient manufacturing systems. The key problems to solve in the design of collaborative manufacturing systems are the combinatorial assembly line balancing problem and the equipment selection problem. An efficient and sustainable line requires a cost-effective choice of equipment while improving the ergonomics and the safety of workers. Both decisions of balancing workload and the assignment of equipment impact the ergonomics of a collaborative system and present conflicting criteria. To this end, we propose a multi-objective approach, the objectives are the optimisation of the investment costs and the ergonomics with a fatigue and recovery criterion. We propose to linearise the fatigue and recovery to formulate a new Mixed Integer Linear Programming formulation. We developed an exact multi-objective solving algorithm based on the ϵ-constraint to obtain the trade-off between these objectives. We conducted numerical experiments with different instances from the literature with promising results for instances with up to 45 operations. Finally, we discuss insightful managerial conclusions and future research perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations and advancements in technology create new opportunities to run and maintain manufacturing plants, which we refer to as digitalised manufacturing. This development is recognised as a socio-technical system (STS) change, where a change in the production system's goals, technology, processes, people, or environment may lead to ripple effects between those sub-systems. Despite this, technology development and technology use cases account for most of the research within digitalised manufacturing, while little attention has been devoted to leadership practices considering digitalised manufacturing from a socio-technical perspective. This paper focuses on the maintenance organisation, whose mission in a company is to keep production systems functional. We aim to describe leadership in industrial maintenance from an STS perspective. This is a unique interview study where twenty maintenance managers from Swedish manufacturing industry offer their perspective on the changing leadership within maintenance, providing a unique insight into the challenges facing leaders of maintenance in digitalised manufacturing. We frame the empirical findings using an STS framework and propose an overall consideration model for leadership that supports the development of a functional maintenance organisation in the face of pervasive digitalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organized immaturity refers to the capacity of widely institutionalized sociotechnical systems to challenge qualities of human enlightenment, autonomy, and self-determination. In the context of surveillance capitalism, where these qualities are continuously put at risk, data transparency is increasingly proposed as a means of restoring human maturity by allowing individuals insight and choice vis-à-vis corporate data processing. In this article, however, I draw on research on General Data Protection Regulation–mandated data transparency practices to argue that transparency—while potentially fostering maturity—itself risks producing new forms of organized immaturity by facilitating user ignorance, manipulation, and loss of control of personal data. Considering data transparency's relative "successes" and "failures" regarding the cultivation of maturity, I outline a set of possible remedies while arguing for a general need to develop more sophisticated ethical appreciations of transparency's complex and potentially problematic implications for organized (im)maturity in the digital age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores a design fiction approach in an educational context by applying it to a third-year industrial design studio class. The Food Futures project is conducted with thirty students in the design studio. We approached the future of food using a design fiction approach since the combination of food and design is a highly complex and social issue that requires a systems-level change. The project started with a design fiction workshop to adapt the approach to the class. After the students had written their briefs in the context of the future storyworlds, the project continued with weekly critique sessions. The data is collected through the project outcomes, recordings, and questionnaires. A methodological discussion about using this approach in the educational context is presented based on the collected reflections. We argue that design fiction can be used in studio projects for research and idea-generation phases to support divergence processes through building storyworlds. Furthermore, we examined how this approach can be integrated into design education based on how students defined their limitations considering their visualisation techniques and design intervention levels (product, product-service-system, spatio-social) within future storyworlds. Imbued with the ability to envision socio-technical environments, we see design fiction as a useful tool for adapting industrial design education to emerging approaches such as systemic design and transition design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commitment to a more sustainable world in social and environmental terms requires product design and development (PDD) models that will help achieve this goal. Based on a dialogue between theory and practice, this paper presents the reflections that led to such a sociotechnical model, including its main principles: Ergonomics Quality in Design (EQUID) 4.0. It is grounded on a broad concept of ergonomics and human factors (E/HF), going beyond the traditional, narrow view of E/HF in PDD. EQUID 2.0 included the organisational dimension in the design process but left its role only in the immediate sphere of product design. EQUID 4.0 recognises that E/HF quality in the design process depends on a higher level, i.e. the organisation itself and integrates the contributions of preceding versions in an expanded E/HF concept: one that proposes that E/HF should always include not just the social but also the environmental dimension of sustainability. THEORETICAL RELEVANCE: If a tool or method that aims to contribute to inserting E/HF into production spheres is to be proposed, there is a need to establish a conceptual framework derived from a dialogue between E/HF theory and practice in relation to quality, sustainability, and product design and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional approaches to safety assessment and management are limited when it comes to complex socio-technical systems, such as air traffic management (ATM). A modelling approach proposed in this paper relies on Resilience Engineering perspective, which is about work-as-done, where safety is one of the targets trading off with other goals. The model provides a description of everyday practices, procedures, strategies, etc. in providing, not only safe, but also efficient ATM system operations. The aim of the model is to help air navigation service providers (ANSPs) that still do not measure and monitor resilience to distinguish between main drivers of traditional safety and drivers of resilience emerging from everyday adaptation to uncertainties. The conceptual layer of the model uses the analogy of lever mechanism to represent the balancing between the demand side (including the uncertainties) and available resources on the supply side that considers air traffic controllers (ATCos), tools and working procedures. The quantitative layer of the model allows identification of periods of resilient behavior (negative demand-capacity imbalances) and thereby steers ANSPs in discovering sources of resilience and finding appropriate resilience indicators to monitor in the future. A data-driven application of the proposed model is shown with the example of Barcelona Area Control Centre – assessment of balancing conditions, analysis of proposed resilience indicators and discussion of the trade-offs. This research focuses on the tactical imbalances that emerge from work-as-done on an everyday basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Content on the World Wide Web that is not indexable by standard search engines defines a category called the deep Web. Dark networks are a subset of the deep Web. They provide services of great interest to users who seek online anonymity during their search on the Internet. Tor is the most widely used dark network around the world. It requires unique application layer protocols and authorization schemes to access. The present evidence reveals that in spite of great efforts to investigate Tor, our understanding is limited to the work on either the information or structure of this network. Also, interplay between information and structure that plays an important role in evaluating socio-technical systems including Tor has not been given the attention it deserves. In this article, we review and classify the present work on Tor to improve our understanding of this network and shed light on the new directions to evaluate Tor. The related work can be categorized into proposals that (1) study the security and privacy on Tor, (2) characterize Tor's structure, (3) evaluate the information hosted on Tor, and (4) review the related work on Tor from 2014 to the present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we contribute to research on enterprise artificial intelligence (AI), specifically to organizations improving the customer experiences and their internal processes through using the type of AI called machine learning (ML). Many organizations are struggling to get enough value from their AI efforts, and part of this is related to the area of explainability. The need for explainability is especially high in what is called black-box ML models, where decisions are made without anyone understanding how an AI reached a particular decision. This opaqueness creates a user need for explanations. Therefore, researchers and designers create different versions of so-called eXplainable AI (XAI). However, the demands for XAI can reduce the accuracy of the predictions the AI makes, which can reduce the perceived usefulness of the AI solution, which, in turn, reduces the interest in designing the organizational task structure to benefit from the AI solution. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the need for XAI is as low as possible. In this paper, we demonstrate how to achieve this by optimizing the task structure according to sociotechnical systems design principles. Our theoretical contribution is to the underexplored field of the intersection of AI design and organizational design. We find that explainability goals can be divided into two groups, pattern goals and experience goals, and that this division is helpful when defining the design process and the task structure that the AI solution will be used in. Our practical contribution is for AI designers who include organizational designers in their teams, and for organizational designers who answer that challenge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education Research (1680-6360) is the property of Angle Publishing Co., Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Previous studies have identified the influence of goal agreement on requirement elicitation in software projects, but they have not addressed how it influences risks in projects. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of goal identification and agreement on software project risks. With socio-technical systems theory as the backdrop, we used a goal-oriented perspective to understand how the social subsystem influences the technical subsystem of a software development project. In an empirical study with 411 responses from software project developers and managers in India and using structural equation modelling, the causal linkages between goal orientation and project risk variables have been examined. The results indicated that the early adoption of goal-driven risk management reduces the social context risks which, in turn, reduces the project management risk. The study also revealed that the product artefact is independent of whether the system was completed within budget and schedule. To design the risk management strategy, project managers should consider the relationship between social context risk and project management risk and the implications of these relationships on project performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human-computer interaction as a coordinating element between human and machine is used in many different ways. Due to their digital processes, countless industries are dependent on an effective intermeshing of humans and machines. This often involves preparatory work or sub-processes being carried out by machines, which humans initiate, take up, continue, finalise or check. Tasks are broken down into sub-steps and completed by humans or machines. Aggregated cooperation conceals the numerous challenges of hybrid cooperation in which communication and coordination must be mastered in favour of joint decision-making. However, research into human-computer interaction can also be thought of differently than a mere aggregation of humans and machines. We want to propose a nature-inspired possibility that has been successfully practising the complex challenges of joint decision-making as proof of successful communication and coordination for millions of years. Collective intelligence and the processes of self-organisation offer biomimetic concepts that can be used to rethink socio-technical systems as a symbiosis in the form of a human-computer organism. For example, the effects of self-organisation such as emergence could be used to exceed the result of an aggregation of humans and machines as a future social anthropology 4.0 many times over. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interaction-free usage (IfU) will be one of the quantitatively dominant forms of computer use in the future. In qualitative terms, this form of use will cover a wide range of applications, also software that supports communication and cooperation. Digital twins for cooperation and communication will be employed by individual users to maintain a variety of social networking activities. Generative AI will play a decisive role in this development, autonomously identifying user needs, replacing the predominant form of use through prompting with question-and-answer dialogs. These dialogs will also be used to preconfigure systems for IfU phases. The counterpart to IfU, which will become ever less-frequent, is intervening interaction, when users intervene to explore and adjust the performance of AI-based systems in exceptional situations or to optimize them for future task handling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many efforts from multiple academic and industrial disciplines have studied the notion of context. The systems engineering and human systems integration fields, however, lack a generalized definition and characterization of context, in particular the operational context of complex sociotechnical systems. This paper reviews context definitions and builds a generalized definition of the operational context of complex sociotechnical systems. The objective is then to identify and extract context properties which are often implicit in the literature and do not necessarily appear in the definitions. However, eliciting them is helpful for understanding what context is made of, how it relates to complex sociotechnical systems comprising human and non‐human agents, and how an early understanding of the operational context can prove valuable to designing efficient and robust systems. Our analysis is followed by an example of how our definition and derived properties apply to the case study of the design of a remote and virtual air traffic control center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport policies affect the quality of life and social wellbeing of citizens and communities; incorporating such impacts in policy and decision making, however, remains a challenge. This paper aims to: (1) present a systematic literature review that links transport policy to Community Wellbeing using the Capability Approach by Sen and Nussbaum, and (2) using that basis, establish a theoretical framework to systematically address Community Wellbeing impacts of municipal transport policies. This can improve qualitative assessments of policy interventions on multiple dimensions, such as safety, health, the (built) environment and accessibility, and inequalities within those dimensions. Using existing literature on the Capability Approach, Community Wellbeing dimensions can indeed successfully be integrated in transport policies. Additional tools and theories, such as the Theory of Change, are needed to structure relations between the sociotechnical transport system and the policy process. For analyses and assessment of policy interventions, additions from the affordances theory, potential accessibility, activity spaces, and sufficientarianism are needed to finalise the framework. Further development and testing of the framework is recommended. The most prominent research gaps are processes to set thresholds for sufficient accessibility, as well as potential limits to mobility behaviours through collective capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliability of shop floor workers, who are often as the final level of a socio-technical system, has been identified as a crucial factor in complex systems. This study aimed to develop and apply a quantitative and practical method to help safety practitioners manage unsafe behavior in industrial systems. This study is a descriptive-analytical, cross-sectional research conducted in an Iranian manufacturing company. A questionnaire containing six primary scales of unsafe behavior was used to evaluate the participants' scores for unsafe behavior. Since the impact of each of the six scales on the occurrence of unsafe behavior varied, the scales were weighted using the best–worst method (BWM). Finally, to quantify the workers' unsafe behavior, the total unsafe behavior index (USBITotal) score was calculated. The mean scores for routine violations (RVs) and exceptional violations (EVs) were 10.68 and 5.09, respectively, indicating the highest and lowest values. The present study introduces an innovative proactive tool to provide safety practitioners with a practical method for predicting cognitive unsafe behavior of shop floor workers. This tool is cost-effective, accessible, and utilizes quantitative measures. The developed method seems to be a suitable tool for measuring the frequency of slips, lapses, and mistakes, as well as various types of violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we explore the future of work by examining differences in productivity when teams are composed of only humans or both humans and machine agents. Our objective was to characterize the similarities and differences between human and human–machine teams as they work to coordinate across their specialized roles. This form of research is increasingly important given that machine agents are becoming commonplace in sociotechnical systems and playing a more active role in collaborative work. One particular class of machine agents, bots, is being introduced to these systems to facilitate both taskwork and teamwork. We investigated the association between bots and productivity outcomes in open source software development through an analysis of hundreds of project teams. The presence of bots in teams was associated with higher levels of productivity and higher work centralization in addition to greater amounts of observed communication. The adoption of bots in software teams may have tradeoffs, in that doing so may increase productivity, but could also increase workload. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for advancing human–machine teaming research. This research characterizes the changing landscape of collaborative work brought on by the increasing presence of autonomous machine agents in teams. We report on a multidimensional analysis of work in software development projects examining differences between human‐only and human‐bot teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper brings a systems engineering approach to policymaking in the context of violent radicalization. We test strategies to combat terrorism under the premise that violent radicalization is a complex system of social contagion resulting in terrorism. We built a simulation using DIME‐PMESII military standards to replicate a terror contagion occurring over 10 years in both physical and online environments under optimal, realistic, and worst‐case scenarios. We then tested antiterrorism, counterterrorism, and counter radicalization strategies as policy experiments in this simulation. These experiments identified four key dynamics relevant for developing policies to reduce terrorism. First, most well‐known policies are ineffective in containing terrorism driven by social contagion. Second, strategies generating backlash can become worse than doing nothing at all. Third, perceived grievance determines the carrying capacity of terrorism in a system, allowing disrupted networks to regenerate. Fourth, variable public support may result in sharp secondary waves of violence under certain contingencies. Experimenting with our model, we explore effective ways to address the violent radicalization problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conceptualizing urban heat resilience as an infrastructure problem emphasizes the urgency with which we must adapt to global climate change, but also risks ignoring the continued marginalization that vulnerable populations experience as a result of infrastructure decisions. In this Viewpoint, I use my experience with participatory action research (PAR) in building urban heat resilience to show the ways in which an infrastructure framing presents opportunities, and the ways in which planners a) need to be aware of infrastructure as socio-technical systems and b) recognize spatial networks of social capital to appropriately approach interventions that benefit those most likely to be adversely affected by rising temperatures in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper gives an overview of the situation for Swedish female systems engineers at an engineering‐dense company (Saab Group) and societal factors of impact for their situation. We have interviewed five age cohorts of female systems engineers and let them share their personal experiences. Some key findings are that the older age cohorts have paved the way for the younger, but that has in many cases been costly for the individuals. Changes in society have in general contributed to better conditions for female engineers, e.g., parental leave compensation and possibility for childcare at a low cost. A remaining problem is the lower proportion of female technical leaders compared to female systems engineers. Females are often encouraged to take roles as project manager or line manager, and therefore technical leadership roles still are heavily male dominated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the results from rapid review of how model‐based systems engineering (MBSE) is utilized in healthcare systems (HSs). We conduct a review of the last twelve years and find that MBSE adoption in HSs is accelerating, with use of various MBSE languages and tools, as well as their integration with other simulation and modeling techniques. We find that similar to engineered systems, the most common MBSE language is systems modeling language (SysML), followed by unified modeling language (UML) and others. Additionally, we observe that MBSE methods are frequently used in conjunction with other analytical techniques, such as simulation and co‐simulations, to analyze and enhance various HS operations, or to assist with making tradeoffs between HS attributes such as quality and cost. Moreover, we provide a non‐exhaustive classification of current research based on two dimensions: healthcare applications and MBSE use cases. Notably, MBSE is being implemented generally with patient‐centric objectives in various HS domains, including IoT‐enabled smart healthcare, clinical medicine, medical device development, healthcare process enhancement, and healthcare facilities management. While the primary MBSE use case involves modeling different aspects of healthcare operations, there is a significant number of studies that pursue requirements engineering, systems analysis, integration, verification and validation, as well as risk analysis and management. Furthermore, we identify two promising research gaps. First, there is a need for the integration of MBSE with state‐of‐the‐art data‐driven analytical methodologies such as hybrid simulation and artificial intelligence techniques. Second, HSs could greatly benefit from representing the cognitive functions and processes of human decision‐makers in the loop, such as healthcare providers (e.g., doctors and nurses), who are instrumental in sustaining the HS performance and functionality. We contend that MBSE and other SE methods and techniques could improve HSs design, operations, and management; while fostering resilience and long‐term sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the interplay of human and technological elements performing functions within socio‐technical systems. With rapid technological advancements, understanding the various possible human‐technology configurations, and their unique implications, is crucial. This research proposes a conceptual schema to demarcate particular kinds of human‐technology relationships, as it pertains to function allocation, and aims to guide system design and risk management. The Human‐Technology Spectrum (HTS) framework considers a continuum of systemic risks, lifecycle management strategies, and evaluation processes, offering a valuable resource for engineers and designers. For each stage along the HTS, we provide examples and discuss function across types of sociotechnical systems. We conclude with a discussion on the importance of understanding the tradeoffs between humans versus technologies enacting system functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's interconnected global economy, maritime trade is a pillar of prosperity, yet maritime accidents loom as a formidable challenge. The intricate nature of these accidents, coupled with rapid technological advancements, necessitates the evolution of systematic analysis methods. Conventional systemic approaches, while valuable, struggle to encapsulate the intricate web of mutual and dynamic dependencies inherent in these incidents. Furthermore, the call for more quantitative support in decision‐making and the ability to account for emergent factors has become increasingly imperative. This study aims to analyze maritime accidents by introducing a quantitative and dynamic model. The endeavour begins with establishing an extended Accident Map‐based model, a robust framework that unveils a sophisticated accident causation model. This preliminary action establishes the groundwork for integrating an innovative Spherical Fuzzy Set, navigating the complex landscape of knowledge acquisition. The subsequent phase charts a transformative course by mapping the model onto a dynamic Bayesian Network to conduct a forward and backward analysis. The essence of the model lies in its dynamic nature, allowing for real‐time updates that reflect the evolving maritime accidents risk factors. The approach is validated through a partial benchmark exercise, a reality check, an independent peer review, and a sensitivity analysis. The model can explore emerging contributing factors, reduce uncertainty, and consider relationships between factors that yield designing more effective safety measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper theoretically models and empirically assesses the sociotechnical transition process experienced by a group of producers in southern Bahia State (Brazil). Driven by the search for economic sustainability in cocoa production, this group has achieved full sustainability through production chain upgrading, enabling the agroforestry system's (cabruca) continuity in their properties. In order to understand how and why this process happened, our conceptual model advances on the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) framework, as it is an applied way of analyzing different niche transformations within the same regime, a typical situation in agrifood systems in emerging markets. Our analyses and empirical evidence suggest that interpersonal relationships play a crucial role in this process, particularly developing concepts and strategies, and in establishing operational structures. Rules and structure formalization may replace interpersonal relationships, as observed when the transition goes forward. Our findings evidence knowledge gathering, cooperation among actors, and information and support exchanging as critical factors to trigger the niche transition process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As today's engineering systems have become increasingly sophisticated, assessing the efficacy of their safety‐critical systems has become much more challenging. The more classical methods of "failure" analysis by decomposition into components related by logic trees, such as fault and event trees, root cause analysis, and failure mode and effects analysis lead to models that do not necessarily behave like the real systems they are meant to represent. These models need to display similar emergent and unpredictable behaviors to sociotechnical systems in the real world. The question then arises as to whether a return to a simpler whole system model is necessary to understand better the behavior of real systems and to build confidence in the results. This question is more prescient when one considers that the causal chain in many serious accidents is not as deep‐rooted as is sometimes claimed. If these more obvious causes are not taken away, why would the more intricate scenarios that emanate from more sophisticated models be acted upon. The paper highlights the advantages of modeling and analyzing these "normal" deviations from ideality, so called weak signals, versus just system failures and near misses as well as catastrophes. In this paper we explore this question. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Networked dynamics are essential for assessing the resilience of lifeline infrastructures. The dimension-reduction approach was designed as an efficient way to map the high-dimensional dynamics to a low-dimensional representation capturing system-level behavior while taking into consideration network structure. However, its application to socio-technical systems has not been considered yet. Here, we extend the dimension-reduction approach to resource-flow dynamics in multiplex networks. We apply it to the San Francisco fuel transportation network, considering the flow between refineries, terminals and gas stations. We capture the aggregated dynamics between the facilities of each type and identify macroscopic conditions for the system to supply a given demand of fuel. By considering multiple sea level rise scenarios between 2020 and 2100, we address the impact of coastal flooding due to climate change on the maximum suppliable demand. Finally, we analyze the system's transient response to production failures, investigating the temporary interruption in production and the duration it takes for complete demand satisfaction to become unachievable after the interruption. Originally developed in the context of ecology, the dimension reduction approach allows to study the dynamics of complex systems at large scale, while retaining the interaction patterns within the system. The framework allows obtaining analytical approximations of the aggregated models. The authors extend the dimension-reduction approach to resource-flow networks. They combine the approximation with flooding maps that consider the effects of climate change to study the resilience of coastal fuel supply chains to sea level rise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an empirical and conceptual account on seeing machine learning models as part of a sociotechnical system to identify relevant vulnerabilities emerging in the context of use. As ML is increasingly adopted in socially sensitive and safety-critical domains, many ML applications end up not delivering on their promises, and contributing to new forms of algorithmic harm. There is still a lack of empirical insights as well as conceptual tools and frameworks to properly understand and design for the impact of ML models in their sociotechnical context. In this paper, we follow a design science research approach to work towards such insights and tools. We center our study in the financial industry, where we first empirically map recently emerging MLOps practices to govern ML applications, and corroborate our insights with recent literature. We then perform an integrative literature research to identify a long list of vulnerabilities that emerge in the sociotechnical context of ML applications, and we theorize these along eight dimensions. We then perform semi-structured interviews in two real-world use cases and across a broad set of relevant actors and organizations, to validate the conceptual dimensions and identify challenges to address sociotechnical vulnerabilities in the design and governance of ML-based systems. The paper proposes a set of guidelines to proactively and integrally address both the dimensions of sociotechnical vulnerability, as well as the challenges identified in the empirical use case research, in the organization of MLOps practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of socio-technical systems in which humans interact with various forms of Artificial Intelligence, including assistants and recommenders, multiplies the possibility for the emergence of large-scale social behavior, possibly with unintended negative consequences. In this work, we discuss a particularly interesting case, i.e., navigation services' impact on urban emissions, showing through simulations that the sum of many individually "optimal" choices may have unintended negative outcomes because such choices influence and interfere with each other on top of shared resources. To prove this point, we demonstrate how the introduction of a random component in the path suggestion phase may help to relieve the effect of collective and individual choices on the urban environment in terms of urban emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Socio-technical systems respond to external pressures by going through transitions. When the socio-technical system involves various coalitions or groups, i.e. the non-economic entities, theories with a broad focus can better explain the transitions. In this paper, the author selected evolutionary economics, neo-institutionalism, and economic sociology to explain the coalition dynamics. The selected socio-technical system, Indian agriculture, relies on public innovation and interacts closely with society. We need to observe these dynamics in the situations where they occur; therefore, a case study method is appropriate. As part of case selection, selected two Indian states to provide the required analytic and heuristic perspectives. The findings indicated that the government's interventionist approach had no mediating policy systems. With its coalitions and embeddedness influenced the innovation selection logic, system's transition, and pathways. It provided short-term benefits in social conscience schemes despite innovations cumulating as stable designs. Besides, the system remains in a constant state of a struggle in coming to terms with external pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today's energy transition is marked by two key processes: the maturation of the renewable electricity system, and the declining fit between the new and incumbent electricity systems. Given these processes, how do governments change their policy priorities as the transition progresses? Our comparative analysis of six EU member states shows that governments dynamically adapt their policy priorities based on changes in their socio-technical systems. Our initial findings suggest that governments follow a specific sequence of policy priorities in the energy transition. Results stress how important it is that governments strategically sequence policy instruments for a smooth transition amid changing priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of socio-technical systems, traditional engineering approaches are inadequate, calling for a fundamental change in perspective. A different approach encourages viewing socio-technical systems as complex living entities rather than through a simplistic lens, which enhances our understanding of their dynamics. However, these systems are designed to facilitate human activities, and the goal is not only to comprehend how they operate but also to guide their function. Currently, we lack the appropriate terminology. Hence, we introduce two principal concepts, simplexity and complixity, drawing inspiration from how nature conceals intricate mechanisms beneath straightforward, user-friendly interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research sought to develop a structured methodology for transferring resilience resources and safety innovation across industrial sectors, specifically, from aviation to maritime. As transportation sectors struggle to adapt to new economic realities and seek to prosper in new operational contexts there is a need to preserve resources and invest in change initiatives which will derive meaningful impact. A structured methodology to guide a principled transfer of safety solutions across sectors would be a sustainable method of improving the resilience of the sector. An action research approach was adopted. A five-step methodology was developed in cooperation with three maritime organisations to identify challenges and resilience resources from aviation which could be feasibly transferred and implemented. Five steps were identified as being key to a principled transfer of resilience resources from aviation to maritime. They were as follows: (1) industry comparison and database of aviation resilience resources; (2) maritime user needs and gap analysis, and resilience resources evaluation and selection; (3) scenarios production and resources mapping onto scenarios; (4) feasibility analysis; and (5) implementation plan. The results highlight the utility of combining bottom-up (identifying problems) and top-down (identifying a database of resources) approaches at the outset. A comprehensive workshop-based feasibility analysis is also key to ensuring the identified resources can be effectively implemented in the destination sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate factors influencing one's decision to become a live kidney donor under the framework of sociotechnical systems, by expanding the focus to include larger organizational influences and technological considerations. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with live kidney donors who donated through University of Louisville Health, Trager Transplant Center, a mid-scale transplant program, in the years 2017 through 2019. The interview transcripts were analyzed for barriers and facilitators to live kidney donation within a sociotechnical system. The most salient facilitators included: having an informative, caring, and available care team; the absence of any negative external pressure toward donating; donating to a family or friend; and the ability to take extra time off work for recovery. The most recurrent barriers included: short/medium-term (<1 year) negative health impacts because of donation; the need to make minor lifestyle changes (e.g., less alcohol consumption) after donation; and mental health deterioration stemming from the donation process. The sociotechnical systems framework promotes a balanced system comprised of social, technical, and environmental subsystems. Assessing the facilitators and barriers from the sociotechnical system perspective revealed the importance of and opportunities for developing strategies to promote integration of technical subsystem, such as social media apps and interactive AI platforms, with social and environmental subsystems to enable facilitators and reduce barriers effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the effectiveness of existing conceptions of digital citizenship education (DCE) to address the challenges and issues of postdigital societies. Current conceptions of DCE aim to develop learners who are capable of using digital technologies to their advantage or for the betterment of society. However, existing DCE approaches do not fully acknowledge the relational space between humans and digital technologies. Applying postdigital theory to DCE forefronts sociotechnical relations and the issues citizens face in postdigital societies. Using the Aotearoa New Zealand context as an example, digital citizenship policies and guidelines are unpacked to reveal the shortcomings of the guidance schools and teachers are offered. The analysis suggests ways to update current DCE approaches to reflect the realities of citizenship in continuously developing, complex postdigital societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the European Union has made considerable efforts to develop dedicated strategies and policies for the governance of robotics and AI. An important component of the EU's approach is its emphasis on the need to mitigate the potential societal impacts of the expected rise in the interactive capacities of autonomous systems. In the quest to define and implement new policies addressing this issue, ethical notions have taken an increasingly central position. This paper presents a concise overview of the integration of this ethics narrative in the EU's policy plans. It demonstrates how the ethics narrative aids the definition of policy issues and the establishment of new policy ideas. Crucially, in this context, robotics and AI are explicitly understood as emerging technologies. This implies many ambiguities about their actual future impact, which in turn results in uncertainty regarding effective implementation of policies that draw on the ethics narrative. In an effort to develop clearer pathways towards the further development of ethical notions in AI and robotics governance, this paper understands human-robot interaction (HRI) research as a field that can play an important role in the implementation of ethics. Four different complementary pathways towards ethics integration in (HRI) research are proposed, namely: providing insights for the improvement of ethical assessment, further research into the moral competence of artificial agents, engage in value-based design and implementation of robots, and participation in discussions on building ethical sociotechnical systems around robots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]