Artificial intelligence at work: The problem of managerial control from call centers to transport platforms.

There has been much recent research on the topic of artificial intelligence at work, which is increasingly featuring in more types of work and across the labor process. Much research takes the application of artificial intelligence, in its various forms, as a break from the previous methods of organizing work. Less is known about how these applications of artificial intelligence build upon previous forms of managerial control or are adapted in practice. This paper aims to situate the use of artificial intelligence by management within a longer history of control at work. In doing so, it seeks to draw out the novelty of the technology, while also critically appraising the impact of artificial intelligence as a managerial tool. The aim is to understand the contest at work over the introduction of these tools, taking call centers and transport platforms as case studies. Call centers are important because they have been a site of struggle over previous forms of electronic surveillance and computation control, providing important lessons for how artificial intelligence is, or may, be used in practice. In particular, this paper will draw out moments and tactics in algorithmic management has been challenged at work, using this as a discussion point for considering the possible future of artificial intelligence at work.

Product of the Physician Global Assessment and body surface area: a simple static measure of psoriasis severity in a longitudinal cohort.

BACKGROUND: The Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) is considered the gold standard assessment tool for psoriasis severity, but PASI is limited by its complexity and insensitivity in people with mild psoriasis. OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate the product of a Physician Global Assessment (PGA) and Body Surface Area (BSA) (PGAxBSA) as an alternative to PASI. METHODS: Psoriasis severity was evaluated at 6-month intervals in participants of the Utah Psoriasis Initiative registry. Correlation coefficients were used to compare PGAxBSA with PASI and the Simplified PASI (SPASI). RESULTS: Between August 2008 and November 2010, 435 assessments were completed in 226 participants. The median PASI score was 3.2 (interquartile range 1.8-5.4) and the median BSA was 3.0% (interquartile range 1.0%-5.0%). PGAxBSA had higher correlations with PASI than SPASI (0.87 vs 0.76, P < .001). PGAxBSA also had higher correlations with a Global Patient Assessment of psoriasis severity (0.65) than both PASI (0.59, P < .001) and SPASI (0.51, P < .001). LIMITATIONS: The use of PGAxBSA for measuring severe psoriasis and response to therapy is unclear, because most participants had mild to moderate psoriasis and data were not collected at predefined intervals in relation to therapy initiation. Interrater reliability was not assessed. CONCLUSIONS: PGAxBSA is a simple and sensitive instrument for measuring psoriasis severity.

Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis video project: an update from the 2010 GRAPPA annual meeting.

Changes in severity of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are assessed in clinical trials by a variety of physical examination instruments. At the 2010 annual meeting of the Group for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis (GRAPPA), members were updated on the development and availability of modules that teach these instruments. Web-based interactive multimedia presentations for psoriasis assessments have been completed, including modules for Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and Body Surface Area, 5-point and 6-point Physician Global Assessment, the original and modified Nail Psoriasis Severity Index, the Palmar-Plantar Pustular Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, and the Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index. Rheumatology modules will include assessment of tender and swollen joints, and evaluations of enthesitis, dactylitis, and axial disease. Each module will include the background and rationale for each tool, demonstration video of each examination, diagrams and photographs to emphasize teaching points, and an optional examination at the end. The rheumatology modules have been recorded but were not yet available for review at the meeting. The dermatology modules are currently in use by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies engaged in research on treatments for psoriasis and PsA. The next phase of this project includes analysis of interobserver reliability, translation into languages other than English for international users, and other proposed studies.

Genetic variations associated with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis found by genome-wide association.

Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are immune disorders with a complex polygenic basis. HLA-Cw6, which lies in the major histocompatibility region on chromosome 6, is considered the major genetic determinant of psoriasis. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified new variants outside of the MHC with relevance to the immunology of psoriasis. Variants in or near genes that encode subunits of cytokines (IL12B, IL23A) or cytokine receptors (IL23R) are interesting given that the gene product of IL12B, p40, is the target of a recently approved monoclonal antibody therapy for psoriasis (ustekinumab). Association with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis has been found in TNFAIP3 and TNFIP1, ubiquitin ligases in the NF-kappaB pathway, and IL13, a Th2 cytokine. Copy number variation of human beta-defensin and late cornified envelope genes also associate with psoriasis. Many of these genetic variations also associate with immune disorders considered psoriatic co-morbidities, including Crohn's disease and diabetes.