Seminar series
This seminar explored the different types of digital data that employers collect and how they make use of them. It also examined how digital data can be mined to find indicators that may be effective in signalling employee health. In addition, it discussed key technical solutions and techniques, and data governance structures and processes.
Speakers
Dr Chris Till, Leeds Beckett University; ‘Productive Subjects: Workplace wellness programmes, big data and affective control‘
Joanne Allden and Hannah Hemmingham, IBM; ‘Collecting and analysing employee data to understand employee wellbeing – What can we learn from organisations?’
Professor Paul Clough, the University of Sheffield; ‘Big data: Big opportunities and big challenges’
Professor Vania Sena, ESRC Business and Local Government Data Research Centre, Essex; ‘Big data in the context of research on wages and related gender gaps’
Dr Gianluca Demartini, the University of Sheffield; ‘Using big data in practice: Computational infrastructures’
Dr Chris Till
Productive subjects: workplace wellness programmes, big data and affective control
Abstract:
This paper will draw on qualitative research into the implementation of corporate wellness (CW) programmes using digital self-tracking (DST) to consider the use of big data practices as a means of enabling a critical, reflexive feedback mechanism aimed at increasing productivity and improving affective relationships at work.
When seen as part of broader trends of self-tracking and Quantified Self the large-scale observation and analysis of human behaviour it can be suggested that exercise activity is in the process of being conceptually reconfigured as work. Exercise activities are increasingly being experienced and understood through quantified measures which enable accumulation and comparison with others and generate valuable data. Personal and corporate health are being conflated and private companies increasingly see it as part of their ethical responsibility to intervene in the everyday (non-work) life of individuals.
It will be suggested that a significant part of the rationale for the implementation of CW DST is the promotion of an affective and aesthetic relationship between employer and employee. The health of the individual and the health of the economy/organisation are increasingly intertwined and the definition of health (through a focus on ‘wellness’) is being aligned with productive capacity to form a new corporate health ethic.
It will be proposed that CW DST have commercial, economic interests in the incitement to health (the generation of data or a more productive workforce) which are merged with an ethical concern for the health of the population and a drive to ‘do good’ as part of social responsibility. While such initiatives are notionally open to all they subtly (and probably unintentionally) target particular groups who increasingly demand “meaningful” from an employer who is driven by values. Consequently, groups who are most in need of intervention are tacitly excluded.
Big data: Big opportunities and big challenges
Dr Paul Clough's presentation (PDF, 6.9MB)
Abstract:
We often hear the term ‘Big Data’ being used in discussions of data science and analytics. But haven’t many organisations been dealing with large amounts of data for decades? Is there something new and different about Big Data or is this just another example of ‘techno-hype’?
This presentation will consider the concept of ‘Big Data’, its definitions (such as the 4 V’s) and what this means in practice. Examples of areas in business that are utilising Big Data will provide an opportunity to discuss the big opportunities that Big Data affords along with the big problems or challenges that handling and using Big Data also entail.
The content of this talk will help to provide some preliminary context to Big Data that will then be picked up in later presentations.
Dr Gianluca Demartini
Using big data in practice: Computational infrastructures
Abstract:
Big Data is challenging to process due to its volume and velocity dimensions. It is also difficult to make sense from it because of its variety and veracity challenges.
In this talk we will discuss modern computational infrastructures to scale-out the processing of large datasets by means of distributed computing. We will introduce the concept of Map/Reduce and present Big Data systems like Apache Spark which is currently the market leader in Big Data processing solutions. We will explain by means of examples how large datasets can be processed in batch or as a stream.
Professor Vania Sena
Big data in the context of research on wages and related gender gaps
Abstract:
The use of Big Data methodologies has become very popular in companies but there is an area within companies where their progress is quite limited: human resources management.
In this talk, we will discuss how Big Data can be used for this purpose using case studies from the private sector while presenting the main empirical findings from the most recent literature in this area. In particular we will focus on how Big Data methodologies can be deployed to improve the well-being of employees.