Is Technology a Boon or a Bane? An Essay

Hernandez et al. (2025), in their focal article, have put the spotlight on the role of animals in I-O psychology.It is true that animals are neglected by I-O psychologists, who have traditionally focused on human beings in the workplace and how they feel, perceive, and behave.It is therefore of great importance to extend our reach and research to animals.In this piece, we raise the question how I-O psychology can theorize on animals in the workplace.In so doing, we advocate integrating a dignity perspective on animals (Bal, 2017; Challenger, 2003) into the field to postulate possible research questions and provide answers as to how I-O psychologists can relate to animals in the workplace.To understand how animals fit into workplace dynamics, it is crucial to broaden our conceptualization of work.Traditionally, work has been narrowly defined as paid, intentional human activity, often tied to formal employment with written contracts.However, recent scholarship in labor studies and human-animal relations challenges this anthropocentric view, advocating for a more inclusive understanding.Work can be defined as the contribution of labor, whether cognitive, emotional, physical, or biological, toward the production, maintenance, or reproduction of value (Porcher & Schmitt, 2012).This definition allows us to recognize animals as workers, not only when they perform visible service or assistance roles but also when their bodies themselves are the object and instrument of labor, such as in meat, dairy, and pharmaceutical industries.Reframing work in this way invites I-O psychologists to engage with the often-unseen labor of nonhuman agents.Moreover, animals are not passive tools but sentient beings with cognition, conscience, attitudes, and feelings (Challenger, 2023).Therefore, I-O psychologists should be concerned with animal workers in the same way they are concerned with human workers, as both contribute to work systems and are affected by the conditions under which they labor. Animals working for humansThe primary argument of Hernandez et al. is that animals have long been used within workplaces, in various capacities and roles, such as livestock at farms, therapy animals, rescue dogs, or racing horses.Animals can be perceived as coworkers, who have feelings and attitudes, and as such are anthropomorphized, positioned akin to human beings, with feelings of joy, awe, compassion, or anxiety when integrated into the workplace.Such anthropomorphizing may be appropriate in the context of service dogs or truffle-hunting pigs but also overlooks another dimension of the role of

A pedal-operated cleaner-cum-grader having common bicycle chain-sprocket mechanism to get the speeds of 240 and 720 rpm of eccentric shaft and blower shaft, respectively for the desired cleaning/grading of grains was developed earlier by CIAE, Bhopal. Also, in order to utilize the human energy in more efficient way through pedalling mode, CIAE has recently developed a dynapod. The dynapod is a pedal operated rotary device, which can be used as an interface between human worker and any rotary-type machine. The developed dynapod was used to operate the cleaner-cum-grader to assess the drudgery reduction in its operation in comparison to original pedalling mechanism. The dynapod was interfaced with the cleaner-cum-grader by carrying out minor modifications in the original unit. Eight male agricultural workers with mean stature and weight as 168.4 cm and 54.4 kg, respectively participated in the study. The cleaner-cum-grader was used for cleaning and grading of soybean grains. Heart rate of the workers was measured during operation of cleaner-cum-grader using the dynapod as well as the original pedalling mechanism. Mean working heart rate during operation of machine with original pedalling mechanism was 114 beats min-1 as against 108 beats min-1 in case of pedalling with dynapod. The work pulse (ÄHR) with the original pedalling mechanism was 35 beats min-1 as against 29 beats min-1 during pedalling with dynapod. The output capacity of the machine increased from 303 kg h-1 in case of original pedalling mechanism to 345 kg h-1 with dynapod. Considering the cardiac cost as well as output of the machine, the drudgery reduction by using dynapod with cleaner-cum-grader was about 25.4% as compared to the original pedalling mechanism.

Peer Review Report For: Utilization and associated determinants of multi-sectoral approach in zoonotic disease surveillance among animal and human healthcare workers in Nakuru County, Kenya [version 1; peer review: 1 approved with reservations, 1 not approved

The purchase of agricultural machinery should be determined by technological and technical policies. The purpose of the study is to increase the efficiency of grain production through the use of innovative resource-saving technologies and equipment. The solution of this problem includes the definition of model farms that characterize the soil and production conditions of the forest-steppe zone of Siberia, the development of mathematical tools, the calculation of promising compositions of the machine and tractor fleet and alternative options for grain production technologies, depending on the availability of agricultural producers with resources. It allowed us to establish that if a commodity producer can spend 10-12 thousand rubles per 1 ha of grain crops on chemization and has 4 machine operators per 1000 ha of grain crops, then it can work on the classical intensive technology based on dump plowing and or deep loosening; if at the same level of chemization per 1 ha of grain crops and has 3 machine operators per 1000 ha of grain crops,then it must switch to intensive resource-saving technology at minimum or zero tillage. Switching to more energy-intensive tractors and resource-saving technologies allows you to save fuel by 30-35%, personnel by 1.5-2.5 times, and operating costs by 10-15%.

Emerging applications of cold plasma technology in cereal grains and products

High Degree of Coordination and Division of Labor among Subunits in a Homomeric Ring ATPase

New technology products are continuously replacing the older ones especially in medical devices. The time interval between successive technologies of medical devices is less. This reduces the impact of new technology in terms of adoption, product effectiveness and efficiency. Organizations face tighter targets with respect to new technology introduction due to lack of developmental time. Stringent government regulations further concern the medical device industry in terms of new technology selection, product development and effective diffusion. A systematic approach towards technology development helps the medical device industry to foresee the issues related to technology with respect to policy planner, manufacturer and user. Morphological analysis is employed in this chapter to discuss the possible issues of Indian medical device industry from the perspective of policy planners, manufacturers and users.

Changes in the consumption culture of individuals, the economic problems experienced and the increase in environmental awareness cause significant increases in the sales of refurbished products, especially technological devices. While the growth of the refurbished product market contributes to consumers having these products at more economical prices, it also contributes to the reduction of the production costs of the enterprises and, from an environmental point of view, to the prevention of possible waste and damages that may arise during the production of new products. Therefore, it would not be wrong to argue that the sales of refurbished products will increase gradually and to predict that the refurbished product market will grow by diversifying. The present study investigates the effect of perceived risk dimensions of young consumers living in Turkey on their intention to purchase refurbished products. The reason why the Z generation was chosen in the study is to learn the buying habits of new or renewed products in technological products and to examine their attitudes towards refurbished products as a generation born and grown up in technology. Another reason for the selection of the Z generation in the research is that the Z generation, which constitutes an important part of society in Turkey, directs technological trends. It is thought that the findings of the research will make significant contributions to the marketing decisions of the companies producing technology for the Z generation, lawmakers and researchers. The research was carried out between January and March 2022 with 415 participants living in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, determined by the convenience sampling method. In this research, regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The research was carried out with 415 participants. As a result of the research, it was determined that social risk has a low positive and significant effect on the effect of perceived risk dimensions of Generation Z consumers on the purchase intention of the refurbished product, performance risk has a low negative significant effect, psychological risk has a good positive and significant effect, time risk has a low positive significant effect, and physical risk has a low negative and significant effect. These results show that the psychological risk perception of Z generation consumers is important in their renewed product preferences. For this reason, companies should be careful to offer products that meet the expectations of consumers for refurbished products and not disappoint Z generation consumers.

In production technology innovative machining methods such as additive manufacturing are changing the work-fields and work-processes of skilled workers and thus their professional training needs to be altered. Laser additive manufacturing currently experiences introduction in serial applications in aircraft or medical industry. In this context parts of very high quality are mandatory and to achieve this it is necessary to set up processing strategies and parameters. Nevertheless a high complexity in the relationship between parameter setting and process outcome is characteristic for additive technology. Due to this fact comprehensive experience and know-how, which is yet few to be found, is demanded from machine operators. Surveys conducted in the industry show that consequently changed qualification requirements upon skilled workers can already be defined in detail for additive manufacturing. Therefore a corresponding professional training was developed which is work-process orientated and focuses on the specialized competencies for professional decision-making and responsibilities. In this context the training approach explicitly does not concentrate only on simple machine or process instruction for additive manufacturing. Rather the methodical didactic concept bases on a blended learning approach which includes the combination of multiple learning locations as well as project based learning in a professional context. Here technical contents are connected to a sequence of tasks in form of modules each with a reference to the professional practice. In this way also the shift towards close to engineering tasks and methods for continuous self-learning are addressed. Finally learning systems regarding the infrastructure and capacities that are required for a learning environment are assessed. In conclusion additive manufacturing and its digital process chain represents a typical example for changing work settings for trained professionals in the context of increasingly interconnected industrial processes. Therefore the developed professional training can perspectively also be transferred to further processes in Industry 4.0.

Ecological interaction and adaptation both depend on phenotypic characteristics. In contrast with the common conception of the 'adult' phenotype, plant bodies develop continuously during their lives. Furthermore, the different units (metamers) that comprise plant bodies are not identical copies, but vary extensively within individuals. These characteristics foster recognition of plant phenotypes as dynamic mosaics. We elaborate this conception based largely on a wide-ranging review of developmental, ecological and evolutionary studies of plant reproduction, and identify its utility in the analysis of plant form, function and diversification. An expanded phenotypic conception is warranted because dynamic mosaic features affect plant performance and evolve. Evidence demonstrates that dynamic mosaic phenotypes enable functional ontogeny, division of labour, resource and mating efficiency. In addition, dynamic mosaic features differ between individuals and experience phenotypic selection. Investigation of the characteristics and roles of dynamic and mosaic features of plant phenotypes benefits from considering within-individual variation as a function-valued trait that can be analysed with functional data methods. Phenotypic dynamics and within-individual variation arise despite an individual's genetic uniformity, and develop largely by heterogeneous gene expression and associated hormonal control. These characteristics can be heritable, so that dynamic mosaic phenotypes can evolve and diversify by natural selection.

Migration under crisis; household safety nets in Indonesia's economic collapse

Flexible wearable device is an innovative technology product, using soft, lightweight material design, can fit the curve of the human body, providing a comfortable wearing experience. These devices typically integrate a variety of sensors, batteries, and connectivity technologies to enable biometric monitoring, motion tracking, communication, and other intelligent functions. Traditional electronic products tend to give a "stiff" impression that they cannot withstand bending, twisting and stretching. In recent years, under the background of the integration of electronic technology and modern material science technology, the emerging flexible electronic wearable device has become a research hotspot with its more flexible material, more sensitive and accurate signal transmission, and more extensive monitoring range. The development of flexible electronic technology has greatly improved the user's wearing experience and is more suitable for the free movement of the human body. This paper summarizes the basic principle and classification of key technologies of wearable electronic devices, and introduces the research progress and research trend.

In today’s manufacturing systems, a high degree of automation, high reliability in operations, and low maintainability contribute significantly to an increase in productivity. Trends in manufacturing are now moving toward computer-integrated systems which use computers to plan the production schedules and control the operations of machines. Among those, several manufacturing industries have found flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs) to be most promising. This is due to the fact that an FMS is able to automate most of the manufacturing processes, including the handling, storing, and retrieving of materials between workstations and storage areas. Several functions which used to be performed by human workers are now handled by machines as one result of these trends. However, while jobs are preferably assigned to machines where applicable, a number of workers are still found on the factory floor and they perform certain important functions such as installing and programming the machines, monitoring their operations, maintaining them, and repairing the malfunctioning equipment. Such preference in job assignments is also believed to reduce human errors which sometimes lead to injury-causing accidents. Here a question is raised whether the safety of workers in the automated systems is more than that in the traditional ones.

Media society (MS) is understood as an emergent social formation that develops when the modern media system, by way of technological means, typical content, and a patterning communicative logic, enters ever deeper into the individual, institutional, and societal sphere of contemporary society. As media and information technologies merge to provide the technical infrastructure of the bulk of human communication, they become the backbone of both private and public social interaction. While media's emergence as a major force of modernization and social change is structurally related to technological innovation and institutional differentiation, their cultural significance lies with their new social, political, and cultural roles. Hence, media have come to be designated a “total social phenomenon” brought about by a rapid process of the mediatization of human relations on the micro‐, meso, and macro‐levels. First, as sophisticated means of (interpersonal) communication, they organize and shape the most fundamental of human traits – communication – as social interaction in work and leisure time, in public and in private, as people increasingly rely on technological devices. Second, in their joint role as social, cultural, and economic institutions that provide professional communication, they increasingly set the standards, and the pace, and suggest the format of human interaction. The modern media system has thus begun to exert increasing pressure on other social fields (Altheide & Snow 1979), as the way they select, shape, and distribute their messages becomes the prevalent source of information and mode of experience. Third, on the macro‐level, they have become a social subsystem (Luhmann 2000) in its own right, as the increasing division of labor and rapid specialization has transformed the media from intermediaries in the service of other social fields into major economic and cultural actors that impact on and irritate other social subsystems such as politics, the economy, science, and education.

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