António Moniz

In this paper will be discussed different types of scenarios and the aims for using scenarios. Normaly they are being used by organisations due to the need to anticipate processes, to support policy-making and to understand the complexities of relations. Such organisations can be private companies, R&D organisations and networks of organisations, or even by some public administration institutions. Some cases will be discussed as the methods for ongoing scenario-building process (Shell Internacional). Scenarios should anticipate possible relations among social actors as in the Triple Helix Model, and is possible to develop strategic intelligence in the innovation process that would enable the construction of scenarios. Such processes can be assessed. The focus will be made in relation to the steps chosen for the WORKS scenarios. In this case is there a model of work changes that can be used for foresight? Differences according to sectors were found, as well on other dimensions. Problems of assessment are analysed with specific application to the scenario construction methods.

Technology assessment (TA) had never been treated as a relevant topic within the International Sociological Association (ISA) before. The first steps towards establishing this association were taken in 1948, at the initiative of the Social Science Department of UNESCO. Its formal foundation was in 1949. The World Congress of Sociology in Japan was hopefully the beginning of continuous integration of TA into the thematic sessions within the ISA.

Recent developments in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are leading to a wave of innovation in organizational design and changes in the workplace. Techno-optimists even named it the ‘second machine age’, arguing that it now involves the substitution of the human brain. Other authors see this as just a continuation of previous ICT developments. Potentially, automation and AI can have significant technical, economic, and social implications in firms. The paper will answer the question: what are the implications on industrial productivity and employment in the automotive sector with the recent automation trends, including AI, in Portugal? Our approach used mixed methods to conduct statistical analyses of relevant databases and interviews with experts on R&D projects related to automation and AI implementation. Results suggest that automation can have widespread adoption in the short term in the automotive sector, but AI technologies will take more time to be adopted. Findings show that adoption of automation and AI increases productivity in firms and is dephased in time with employment implications. Investments in automation are not substituting operators but rather changing work organization. Thus, negative effects about technology and unemployment were not substantiated by our results

https://ideas.repec.org/p/mde/wpaper/0165.html

In Europe, the technology development of high-speed trains is increasingly exposed to societal needs, driven by ICT advancements, external to traditional design. Together with the liberalisation of the rail markets and increase pressures from other transport modes leads to an unprecedented situation where planers, operators and suppliers of high-speed have to take decision in this complex and competitive environment.
In such broadening of elements influencing design and, thus, product development process, from the survey here to be presented, it was not observed technology options assessment or strategic agenda setting from visions shifting in the same way.
For the high-speed train industry this new trend requires going beyond the visions of the past 15 to 20 years’ practices of “sector endogenous” and structurally closed strategic methods approaches to a broader interaction with the widening of societal actors now capable of being active contributors to innovation from digitalization.
This way to understand the European industry readiness for undertaking such supra systemic challenge, this paper presents the results from a survey conducted by the authors to 74 representatives of the high-speed train innovation chain regarding to which extent societal embedding is considered in the drafting of their visions and technology development projects.
This work becomes even more pertinent if considered that the debate is now open in the railway industry (not exclusive to high-speed trains) as they are launching the joint initiative SHIFT2RAIL, revise ERRAC (the European Rail Research Advisory Council) mandate and enter in a new research cycle with the European research framework Horizon 2020.

New technologies, sustainability policies, protectionism and consumers preferences are pushing for the reorganisation of the automotive cluster. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to create disruptive effects in the employment systems across the world. The future deployment of broad-spectrum algorithms capable of being used in wide areas of application (e.g., industrial robotics, software and data communication) can lead to considerable changes in current work patterns, swiftly render many unemployed across the globe and profoundly destabilise labour relations. In this paper, we identify the probable penetration of AI in the automotive sector and to study its effects on work organisation, employment, and industrial relations systems, in Portugal. These changes are put in place to enhance the product quality, control costs, and improve productivity. We study these implications on productivity and industrial relations collecting new data and obtain results based on secondary statistical analyses and case studies in the automotive industry. Finally, changes in the productivity and labour market will be discussed considering the employment and skills changes in the automotive sector when investment on automation becomes a clear trend in the automotive sector.

A sociologia tem como objecto de análise a acção social e a sua expressão nas relações sociais. Estas relações estão organizadas de múltiplas formas, e conhecem infinitos tipos de interacções humanas. No entanto, o conjunto de relações em que os indivíduos se opõem ou criam laços de solidariedade fundamenta-se e verifica-se na esfera da produção. É efectivamente neste domínio que a conduta humana encontra uma das suas mais importantes determinações. Assim, o desenvolvimento da organização industrial acabou por fornecer verdadeiramente algumas das características essenciais da sociedade moderna. Uma delas é o fenómeno da especialização que se acentuou particularmente na indústria e acabou por abraçar praticamente todos os outros domínios da actividade humana.

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The EU unveiled a stimulus package as part of the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for 2021–2027 and the temporary instrument designed to boost the economic recovery. This countercyclical response is aimed at avoiding a decline in the EU economy and protecting employment, vulnerable companies and necessity-driven entrepreneurs; however, it should also lay the foundations for a desirable entrepreneurial paradigm for the future that is driven by opportunity and embedded in a Circular Economy aligned to global well-being. We propose a new model that implies a different EU policy which puts entrepreneurship on the path toward and not away from development.

The last decades have shown an increasing amount of research into expectations of science and technology. Especially for emerging technologies, expectations held by different stakeholder are guiding the direction of research and development. In this article the results of an investigation into the expectations of specific actors regarding the development of emerging battery technology for applications in the power grid are presented. It is set up as an explorative study within the framework of Constructive Technology Assessment (CTA). A number of studies since the 1990s have indicated a growing need for energy storage options in the power grid, where batteries appear to be capable of providing a range of valuable services to the grid. Cost-effectiveness on a large scale will however require considerable technical improvements. The configuration of energy storage may differ in the specific location and exploitation of the storage assets, as well as in the investments in new storage capacity. In this study the visions and expectations of several relevant actors are analysed using interviews and surveys in terms of expectations of technological development, expectations concerning stakeholder roles, and channels of interaction between the relevant actors. The results indicate a divide in expectations between the user side of the technology (the electric power industry) and the development side (academic researchers). Opinions differ with respect to the obstacles to technological development, the actors relevant in early technological development, and the most suitable channels for interaction between these actors. It follows from the theoretical background that conflicts in expectations provide the opportunity for the acceleration of technological development and adoption through stakeholder participation. Small interactive workshops, where conflicts identified in this paper are discussed, were identified as a suitable channel in order to reach consensus in visions and expectations for battery technology.

The new book edited by Rodríguez and colleagues focuses on the topic of forecasting and responsible innovation. The original title is “Anticipación e Innovación Responsible: La construcción de futuros alternativos para la ciencia y la tecnologia” (Forecasting and Responsible Innovation: The construction of alternative futures for science and technology), and was published by Biblioteca Nueva, Madrid. Throughout this text, the reviewer is using the term forecasting instead of anticipation to convey the Spanish concept of “anticipación.” Both concepts are usually applied to “the act of looking forward” (Merriam-Webster dictionary1) or “the act of expecting or foreseeing something; expectation or presentiment” (Farlex free dictionary2) The concept of forecasting is usually used in scientific debate to mean “to estimate or predict in advance” (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2016) or “the process of making predictions based on past and present data and most commonly by analysis of trends” (Wikipedia3) (Glenn, 1994, p. 4) expressed this definition well by saying that “studying the future is not simply economic projections or sociological analysis or technological forecasting, but a multi-disciplinary examination of change in all major areas of life to find the interacting dynamics that are creating the next age.” The concept has been developed mainly by Armstrong (2001) and followed by Farrukh and Holgado (2020), Schnaars (2009), and Marinakis (2012), among others. The editors are professors and researchers from the University of Basque Country (EHU) and from the University of Mondragon (MU). The book involves a whole set of experts on the topic, including the editors themselves (Hannot Rodríguez, Sergio Urueña, Andoni Eizagirre, and Oier Imaz), and Armin Grunwald, René von Schomberg, Javier Garcia Fronti, Domingo García Marzá, Andoni Ibarra, and others. Although still published just in Spanish, it is an important contribution to the social sciences and philosophy of sciences regarding the analysis of alternative sociotechnical futures with strong ethical principles, which delineates an innovative approach in an era when the formation of public opinion largely suffers from systematic distortions based on vested interests.

The foresight and scenario building methods can be an interesting reference for social sciences, especially in terms of innovative methods for labour process analysis. A scenario – as a central concept for the prospective analysis – can be considered as a rich and detailed portrait of a plausible future world. It can be a useful tool for policy-makers to grasp problems clearly and comprehensively, and to better pinpoint challenges as well as opportunities in an overall framework. The features of the foresight methods are being used in some labour policy making experiences. Case studies developed in Portugal will be presented, and some conclusions will be drawn in order to organise a set of principles for foresight analysis applied to the European project WORKS on the work organisation re-structuring in the knowledge society, and on the work design methods for new management structures of virtual organisations.

The 2nd International Conference on "Foresight Studies on Work in the Knowledge Society" was organised by IET, the Research Centre on Enterprise and Work Innovation, at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of "Universidade Nova de Lisboa" (FCT-UNL), and took place on January 26 and 27 of 2009 with the support of the European project WORKS-Work Organisation Re-structuring in the Knowledge Society (financed by the European Commission, and co-ordinated by HIVA Leuven)

WORKS final conference report

Die Ausweitung von Robotertechnologien nicht nur in der Industrie, sondern zunehmend auch in Dienstleistungsbereiche, stellt große Herausforderungen an die Mensch-Roboter-Kollaboration. Der Artikel beleuchtet psychologische, soziologische, arbeitswissenschaftliche und berufspädagogische Gesichtspunkte bei der Gestaltung und dem Einsatz von Robotern in Produktion und Service. Zu diesem Zweck werden zunächst spezifische Merkmale der Mensch-Roboter-Interaktion dargestellt, um anschließend Prinzipien der Funktionsteilung zwischen Menschen und Robotern in Arbeitssystemen des Produktions- und Servicebereichs zu diskutieren. Zu berücksichtigen sind hier die Organisation gesellschaftlicher Arbeit, die spezifischen Arbeitsaufgaben sowie die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der informationstechnischen Realisierung solcher Aufgaben. Der Artikel endet mit dem Plädoyer, bei der Entwicklung und Anwendung von Robotern arbeitswissenschaftliche Kriterien mit Ansätzen partizipativer Technikgestaltung zu kombinieren.

The social dimension of worker-robot interaction in industry is becoming a decisive aspect of robotics development. Many problems and difficulties of robotics research are not only related to technical issues but framed by social aspects. Human-robot interaction (HRI) as a specific research field of robotics tackles this issue. The debate on social involvement in HRI design of a few decades ago must be re-opened. A start-up project was initiated in 2012 at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) to define a new research field and establish a conceptual framework on HRI. It was related to recent developments in the manufacturing industry and professional service robotics. The aim was to cooperate with other research teams to establish an expert network in this field. Special focus was placed on the design of work organisation models and issues of robotics technology design for worker (or operator) and robot interaction. In the current paper we present the most important conclusions from these research activities. –

On 19 and 20 October 2006, the Research Centre on Enterprise and Work Organisation (IET) organised the first international conference on “Foresight Studies on Work in the Knowledge Society”. It took place at the auditorium of the new Library of FCT-UNL and had the support of the research project “CodeWork@VO” (financed by FCT-MCTES and co-ordinated by INESC, Porto). The conference related to the European research project “Work Organisation and Restructuring in the Knowledge Society” (WORKS), which is financed by the European Commission. The main objective of the conference was to analyse and discuss research findings on the trends of work structures in the knowledge society, and to debate on new work organisation models and new forms of work supported by ICT.

The WORKS Project started two years ago (2005), involving the efforts of research institutes of 13 European countries with the main purpose of improving the understanding of the major changes in work in the knowledge-based society, taking account both of global forces and the regional diversity within Europe. This research meeting in Sofia (Bulgaria) aimed to present synthetically the massive amount of data collected in the case studies (occupational and organisational) and with the quantitative research during last year.