Discover how AI and technology are changing our lives A New World ISSUE 22 Lancaster University Management School | the place to be Supporting Natural Disaster Response 30Asteroids: The Future of Mining 6AI's Workplace Transformation 22 FIFTYFOUR DEGREES
Topics to include: Entrepreneurship, Social Innovation and Marketing Strategic Leadership, Governance and Ethics Organisational Behaviour and Operations Management A two-year hybrid EMBA designed for busy professionals. Enjoy the flexible experience you need with online core modules and in-person electives. Expand your network and develop as a strategic, responsible leader ready to shape the future. Executive MBA New for Autumn 2025 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS 2:1 Hons degree (UK or equivalent) in any subject. We may also consider nonstandard applicants, please contact us for more information. IELTS 6.5 overall with at least 6 in each component. Other English language qualifications are accepted. mba@lancaster.ac.uk lancaster.ac.uk/asklums TUITION FEES & SCHOLARSHIPS £15,250 per year (£30,500 for the full programme) Scholarships available for up to 50% off tuition fees. *
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 3 A Hybrid Approach to Success Professor Niki Panteli, Associate Professor Blooma John and Dr Zeena Alsamarra’I examine how workplaces have transformed through hybrid working. 34 In this issue... 30 Asteroids: The Future of Mining? Dr Craig Jones blasts into space to explore how close we are to theory becoming reality. 46 What does Having a Social Impact Mean for Business? Beatriz Bonilla Berrocal outlines how having a positive impact and being socially responsible have become a key driver for companies. 42 A National Reset on Workforce Health The Work Foundation’s Asli Atay presents research showing the importance of making the workplace more accessible. Supporting Natural Disaster Response Distinguished Professor Konstantinos Zografos explains his work on the RESPOND-OR project, aiming to improve emergency response operations. 6 The Tech Adoption Challenge Professors James Faulconbridge and Martin Spring explain how the TiPS project helps businesses integrate new technology into their operations. 14 26 AI’s Workplace Transformation Professor João Baptista outlines his work with businesses to discover how they are using the new technology, and how it affects their actions and processes. 10 Be Conscious of AI’s Evolution Artificial Intelligence may not yet be achieving consciousness, but Professor David Knights and Dr Guy Huber warn we should pay attention to its impact on our identities. The Hidden Mental Toll of Your Morning Cuppa Dr Saurabh Singhal shows how the mental health and wellbeing of farmers thousands of miles away is affected by events far beyond their control. 38 A New Era of Cyber Dark Tourism Dr Sophie James and Professor James Cronin take a trip into the dark side of the web and discover a realm where people take tourism to strange new worlds. 18 22 Moving Away from Pollution Dr Aurelie Slechten outlines research that shows how economic inequalities mean it is often only the rich who have the money necessary to move away from polluted neighbourhoods and into clean ones.
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 5 Foreword Subscribe online at lancaster.ac.uk/fiftyfour SUBSCRIBE W hile I have declined the use of Generative AI to draft this introduction, it is hard to escape the increasing presence of Artificial Intelligence and other technologies in our everyday lives. We are not yet (and hopefully will never be) at the stage where the machines have taken over and we are at best redundant from our roles in society, and at (apocalyptical) worst under their control and command. We are, though, using technologies in ever-evolving ways. Across Lancaster University Management School, many of our researchers conduct work with technology at its heart, and this edition is built around a selection of those projects and expertise. João Baptista is looking at how AI is already affecting leadership and management within organisations. It is fascinating to see how his work shows the evolution beyond the straightforward – keeping notes from a meeting, summarising a report – to more complex, creative and strategic applications. João’s work suggests the need to clearly shape how we use AI from the start, and that is something that can be seen in the work being carried out by Martin Spring and James Faulconbridge on the Technology in Professional Services (TiPS) project. James and Martin are part of a team working with law and accountancy firms on how they adopt technology into their businesses. This goes beyond just AI – though that is inevitably becoming more common – and examines the processes that are needed for adoption to be successful. On a similar note, David Knights and his colleague Guy Huber from Oxford Brookes University, have explored how AI may be affecting our emotions and behaviours. The prospects of machines and technology having emotions themselves is a long way from fruition, yet their research shows that AI is already changing how we think and act – something that has deep repercussions as it becomes more ingrained in our lives. Natural disasters are a part of life in countries such as Indonesia, so the efforts of Konstantinos Zografos and his colleagues on the RESPOND-OR project using programmes and algorithms to develop more effective response operations has the potential for great impact. While most of us use technology every day, how many of us will be exploring The Backrooms? Sophie James and James Cronin’s work takes us into a realm where tourism is exploring strange new worlds online. I have no real desire to go to these places myself – and am not quite sure what to make of the creepypasta phenomenon – but they exist, and a growing number of us enjoy, if that is the right word, these imagined worlds. It was not so long ago that hybrid working was an imagined world – now it is common in many countries and professions. Niki Panteli and her colleagues from Canberra look at how technologies can be used to help remote and hybrid employees stay engaged with the companies they work for. It is something business and management schools like ours need to consider, as well as many other companies. The same may not be true right now for asteroid mining, but Craig Jones takes us on a journey into space with this fascinating topic. You may think it sounds like science fiction – but as we have seen with AI, the future is always closer than you think. Welcome to another packed and informative edition of Fifty Four Degrees. Professor Claire Leitch Executive Dean Lancaster University Management School
6 |
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 7 Is AI an aid to better decision-making, or is it dislodging humans from management? Professor João Baptista outlines his work with businesses to discover how they are using the new technology, and how it affects their actions and processes. AI’S WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION
T he jury is out on the role and effects of Artificial Intelligence in the workplace and in management. Many people worry about AI numbing and deskilling workers, narrowing creativity and innovation, and a wide range of unintended risks. Others focus on AI’s potential in liberating workers from tedious tasks, augmenting their abilities and capabilities, and leveraging human thought and digital assets at scale for more powerful and insightful business decisions. This dichotomy exists because AI is still mostly an unknown variable and does not fit into established management theories and frameworks. Although it masquerades as a plain and innocuous aid to human work, the reality is that agentic AI has the potential to operate and function independently or in collaboration with humans, and lead to the end of several analytical and managerial functions. We are not there yet though. In my work with Professor Malar Hirudayaraj, at the Rochester Institute of Technology; and Dr Bonnie Cheuk, at AstraZeneca, we have been following the adoption of AI at a global pharmaceutical company, studying their approach in involving the workforce in the process of learning about and integrating AI in their day- to-day work. ADOPTING AI Our research is part of an upskilling initiative to encourage employees to engage with a new internally developed and company-specific version of Gen AI, which we refer to as “GPT”. The organisation collected data in multiple stages through surveys and employee journal entries to capture concerns and to understand the support required to better integrate these technologies into everyday work. We found that the tasks delegated to GPT at this stage ranged from simple and repetitive to more complex, strategic and creative functions. All were in a supporting role to human work at this stage. We categorised these tasks by the level of cognitive effort and strategic thinking required into three distinct levels: low, moderate, and high cognitive complexity. These range from routine tasks that were mostly administrative to higher complexity tasks requiring creativity and strategic thinking, planning and innovation. LEVEL 1 At this level, workers used GPT for the summarisation of meetings and reports, organising content, and formatting and improving presentations. These were mainly routine and administrative tasks. The nature of interaction between Humans and GPT was transactional – inputting simple requests and receiving quick outputs. The tasks were repetitive, not requiring deep engagement, creativity, or strategic thought. GPT enhanced efficiency by taking on low-value activities, which are typically time and labour intensive. Employees told us: “I needed to summarise more than 1000 comments from Zoom chat during a live interactive workshop. I used prompts on GPT and got this done within a minute.” “Summarising a large report took me some time, I tried GPT and quickly summarised the key points and made the report more succinct.” LEVEL 2 At this level, the digital agent supported tasks that required more contextual understanding and a degree of analysis or creativity. Here, employees used GPT as a tool for four purposes: 1 To write and assist with professional communication such as drafting reports, formal emails, or improving language and structure. 2 For data synthesis and analysis of large datasets, identifying themes, and extracting actionable insights. 3 To support meetings in taking notes, summarising discussions, and creating follow-up items or action plans. 4 For idea generation, brainstorming and developing meeting agendas. The nature of interaction between humans and digital agents is more collaborative. AI assists with the first steps, and the user refines or evaluates the output. Employees told us: “I was writing a response to a letter that needed to have succinct and accurate arguments – I used GPT to check what I was writing and make it read better.” 8 |
“I used GPT to help me brainstorm a difficult conversation with a team member who was radio silent for weeks. GPT helped with suggestions on how to begin the conversation, and ways I might influence this team member to communicate, and identified some approaches to avoid.” “I was setting up a programme management team so asked GPT for help with suggesting roles and responsibilities. I used the suggestions as a thought-starter and was a very useful shortcut.” LEVEL 3 Here, GPT supported employees with four types of tasks: 1 Strategic planning and decision- making. 2 Problem-solving and risk assessment. 3 Collaborative and strategic communication. 4 Creative and innovative work. These tasks required significant cognitive effort from the user and often involved complex decision-making processes. GPT’s role was more as a collaborator in strategic thinking, helping shape ideas and decisions that go beyond routine or creative work. GPT provided insights, generated strategic suggestions, and helped navigate complex scenarios. Users demonstrated judgement and engagement in decision-making as they evaluated, prioritised, and applied GPT’s insights to broader business or strategic contexts. GPT not only augmented users’ abilities but also changed the nature of their role within the organisation structures and workflows. Employees told us: “I was preparing a roadmap for the next few years. I imported the business scorecard into GPT and asked for opportunities for improvements and development. It suggested several ideas, some of which we hadn’t previously thought of. AI is helping us shape our long-term strategy.” “During a workshop, AI helped us outline our vision, problem statement, and operational model. It gave us a great starting point for strategic planning.” “GPT contributes to problem-solving by generating multiple scenarios and solutions.” “We were brainstorming ideas for a product design workshop, and AI helped us generate a focused agenda and questions. This allowed us to spend more time thinking about the big picture and less time on the logistics.” KEY INSIGHTS FOR MANAGEMENT Our study shows employees use AI to support decision-making but also in higher-level thinking, as a strategic partner and to amplify human creativity. This means AI is already aiding and operating in cognitive managerial work. The future of work requires a synergetic and harmonious relationship between human creativity and AI's capacity to support and amplify that creativity. However, the level of control and authority over final decisions by humans can become blurred and this can undermine efforts to retain AI as a complement, rather than a replacement for human judgment. This raises important considerations around trust, control and the balance between human oversight and AI autonomy. AI is embedded and enveloped within the human and social layers of organising. It is important to recognise that AI is not in the realm of traditional IT, and it does not follow typical processes of design and development. This means that we as users are constantly shaping its features through our use of the tool and other ongoing digital interactions. A key characteristic of AI is that it responds to user needs and leverages user data. From this perspective, it is user and employee centric. This means that we are not passive onlookers, and this is true also for us as researchers when reporting our insights and proposing visions for future use and adoption. It is within our power to shape and inform our joint evolution between humans and AI. RECOMMENDATIONS We recommend that organisations approach AI adoption from the ground up and engage openly with employees on learning about use cases and their effects in real time and in a dynamic way. This means decommissioning established IT frameworks and rollout plans, and allowing experimentation and organic learning instead. Further, we recommend constructing visions and scenarios collectively with the workforce that inform and shape the development and embedding of AI. The key areas that should be engaged in this process are HR, Innovation, and Risk and Security. HR needs to evolve from using AI to manage internal processes, to supporting AI rollout across all business functions. Innovation should become a top priority for senior management, supporting the organisation to absorb, redesign and recapacitate the workforce in a more dynamic and responsive mode. Thirdly, the Risk and Security function needs to be involved in creating spaces for emergent new forms of organising that challenge established risk frameworks but that are essential for the long-term evolution and survival of the organisation. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 9 João Baptista is a Professor and Chair in Information Systems in the Department of Management Science, and Director of the Centre for Technological Futures. His research focuses on the adoption of modern technologies such as AI in the workplace. j.baptista@lancaster.ac.uk
10 | Artificial Intelligence may not yet be achieving consciousness, but we should pay attention to its impact on our identities. Professor David Knights and Dr Guy Huber look at the role AI is already playing in how we think and act, and whether it may be affecting our emotions and feelings even if it cannot – yet – have them itself. BE CONSCIOUS OF AI’S EVOLUTION
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 11
A rtificial Intelligence (AI) programmes are “more and more pervasive in our day-today lives… turning into an integral, seamless” aspect of living. Indeed, over a short period of time, AI has become a daily news item and, regardless of our intentions, it is now impossible to avoid interacting with, or “speaking to” AI, if only because of its displacement of human-to-human interaction in everyday activities. From corporate customer relations to social media communications, as well as a diverse range of other commercial and domestic use, we cannot be other than deeply affected by AI. Social scientists see it as ‘affecting our very existence’, yet we remain largely unaware of the hidden algorithms doing the heavy legwork on social platforms. FRAMING ETHICS Our research focuses on conversations with specialists working within the field of AI. We wanted to interrogate them regarding their own thinking and values. For example, we ask AI programmers what ethical considerations they deem most important and why? As you might expect, their responses reflect dominant discourses and assumptions emerging from their training, together with beliefs, norms and values derived from life experience. These frame what is deemed important for producing what they see as the technically rational content of AI. What is then hidden or obscured are those other lesser cognitive elements of experience: norms and values that become embedded in the data and algorithms that form the basis of AI with little awareness of how they are deployed to render AI proficient in its multiple uses. Some of these have recently been brought to the attention of programmers through an examination of the ethical implications of AI such as its gender, racial and other ideological discriminatory tendencies, its neglect of security and privacy matters, lack of transparency and thus accountability, the dangers of too heavy a human reliance on systems leading to a paucity of creative and critical thinking, job displacements and unemployment, and even apocalyptic fears of computers taking over the world. UNEXPECTED CHANGES While these fears are ‘real’, they vary in their plausibility for most people. There is more of a consensus regarding the need for regulation. What is neglected, however, is a concern with how AI might transform us as individuals into subjects who secure our sense of meaning, identity and reality through engaging with the services that it facilitates. AI may not have consciousness, but it exercises power in ways that affect our subjectivity because we freely identify with – and participate in – the pursuits enabled by its presence. In this sense, 12 | @Nifty Fox Creative 2024
AI is not some great conspiracy designed to control the world and all its inhabitants but more like a force, neither necessarily good nor bad, that may lead us down a cul-de-sac of collective selfdiscipline of totalising proportions. Take, for example, the performance guidelines for, and monitoring of, delivery drivers that have been described by a UK all-party parliamentary group (APPG) as affecting negatively the mental and physical wellbeing of workers as “they experience the extreme pressure of constant, real-time micro-management and automated assessment”. Or worries that a Stanford economist has about the “Turing trap”, wherein the automation of human activities using brute computational force could leave wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands. Erik Brynjolfsson writes “With that concentration comes the peril of being trapped in an equilibrium in which those without power have no way to improve their outcomes”. More recently, Jeremy Howard, an Artificial Intelligence researcher, introduced ChatGPT to his seven-yearold daughter and – after she asked several questions – concluded that it could become a new kind of personal tutor, teaching her maths, science, English and other important lessons, though he warned her not to believe everything it told her. A TRANSFORMATIVE EFFECT These examples clearly demonstrate the way AI transforms the sense we have of ourselves (our identities), in terms of both our economic and social existence. They indicate how there is a relation of power between AI and users in which the voice of one (AI) exercises authority over the subjectivities of those with whom it interacts. Research by Taina Bucher suggests that because of how AI continually represents our preferences or past ways of behaving, we are beginning to see ourselves through the ‘eyes’ of the algorithm. However, since AI is unable to embody feelings, emotions and a sense of what it is to be human, it remains constrained within a cerebral logic and rationality. While this can capture our concerns to behave rationally in decision-making and physical operations, it is bereft of the soul, affective energy and passion. This is clear from asking ChatGPT the question: Can AI be embodied? While claiming it could, on elaboration, the focus was restricted to the physical body and its relationship to external objects. As well as physicality, embodiment involves the emotions, feelings and spontaneity that allow us a diverse range of expressions including humour, sentiment and empathy that may not be reducible to linear sequences of instructions constructed by an algorithm. Of course, AI reinforces our existing identities insofar as its algorithms are based on data drawn from our past behaviour. In this sense, it affects our emotions, feelings and affective energy even though it cannot itself reproduce them. While there is no question that AI can advance our civilisation for the benefit of us all, and that there is no possibility of reversing its continuing development, we do have to restrain its potential for harm. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 13 David Knights is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology. His research interests encompass areas including gender, technology, and higher education within the sphere of work and organsations. Dr Guy Huber is a Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes Business School. His primary research interests centre on issues of discourse, power, ethics, identity, embodiment, sensemaking, autoethnography and reflexivity. d.knights@lancaster.ac.uk; ghuber@brookes.ac.uk
14 | If you want to bring in new technologies – including Artificial Intelligence – to improve your business, planning is needed. Based on their experiences working with firms on the Technology in Professional Services (TiPS) project, Professors James Faulconbridge and Martin Spring advise companies on how they can make tech adoption more successful. THE TECH ADOPTION CHALLENGE
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 15
When your business brings in new technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI), there are sure to be challenges. Adoption is hard, and there are important areas to consider when taking on any tech. Through the Technology in Professional Services (TiPS) project, we work with around 30 small and mid-tier law and accountancy firms who have been thinking about using AI for some time, but who had not yet turned intention into action. We are helping businesses respond to the well-recognised challenge of technology adoption. With some, we work to train them on the basics of AI application using technology they already have. With others, we bring cohorts of companies together, allowing them to learn from mentors and network over a period of eight-10 months. We also have a group of three firms that are advanced adopters. We are helping them to super-charge their use of technology. Across the firms, we have encountered certain challenges on a regular basis. We have come to see them not as problems, but rather opportunities to do things in a different way to ensure a greater chance of success. Adoption can be smoothed by recognising the obstacles ahead of time and addressing the issues headon. If you acknowledge a challenge, you can tackle it. While our work has been with law and accountancy firms, many of our lessons will also be actionable at a wide range of professional services and other companies. Here we present some of the challenges everyone will need to address at some point in their technology adoption journey. BUSINESS CONTEXT Assessing the state of your business, and where you stand in terms of need, capability and capacity is a first step. Different technologies bring different benefits. Understanding the kind of project you are engaging with, what kind of benefit you might gain, and who will benefit, is essential. You might think it is all about the return on investment by saving time and cutting costs. But there are other reasons for adoption. It might be about improving work-life balance for staff by reducing workload; making sure your firm is up to date enough to attract young talent; or providing access to services for underserved communities. There are many ways you can gain value. Getting started does not mean planning a project for 10 years. There will always be uncertainty – you cannot know everything, and if you want to wait until you do, you will never actually do anything. But you do need a coherent idea that guides your project. USE CASES One way of refining your idea for a project is to think about use cases. Does your business need AI or another technology? If so, where will you use it – and how? Demonstrating a definite use case for technology rather than talking in generalities and hypotheticals is a major challenge. You need concrete examples of positive application if you are going to invest time, money and resources. Think about what you need the technology for in the first place. Where could it benefit your business? Where could it save time and resources? You also need to think carefully about what kind of project is most appropriate. What capability and capacity do you have when it comes to tech adoption? An all-pervasive project might be attractive and deliver big changes and benefits, but they are more complex, riskier and perhaps not suitable for those who have never run a tech adoption programme before. It may be best to start with something small, such as saving time on expense claims. You can then learn and build from that initial experience. 16 |
LEADERSHIP Recognising how decisions are made; who is in charge; and who can agree the kind of changes that might be needed to adopt technology is a crucial starting point. The success of a new tech project will be determined in part by getting the right decisions from the right people at the right time. Senior managers and, in professional services, partners, generally expect to have a big influence on decisionmaking. But often the adoption of technology requires an integrated approach, with coordinated decisions that bring multiple different groups into the process. One part of this story involves recognising the changing role of the people running technology in your business. They have to be involved in the big conversations. Firms must think about how they can reach the point where the chief technology officer or equivalent has the relationships with partners and key influencers that ensure decisions about technology are informed by insights from inside and outside the top team. Those managing a firm’s technology stack need a presence and the ear of management to help the board make the right decisions. That is a big cultural shift in professional services, but a key ingredient for success. And do not stop there… A TEAM ENDEAVOUR Ensuring technology adoption is informed by an understanding of the needs and ideas of everyone is crucial. Involve both tech and non-tech people. Listen to what staff at all levels are saying about the opportunities that technology provides for their work. It is not just those in senior roles who need to be persuaded. You need buy-in from everyone impacted. So, include users of the tech from the start by listening to their needs and by showing how tech projects are designed to deal with their frustrations and allow them to exploit new opportunities. People need to see what is in it for them if you are going to ask them to change the way they work to adopt new technology. It is vital that the case is made using rationales that talk to the motivations and interests of those being asked to change. You need to understand what motivates them, show them why they would want to adopt the technology, demonstrate how it solves problems and creates opportunities for them. It is unrealistic to expect to convince everyone – but you want the majority on side and, crucially, you need to convince the people that everyone else listens to. Or at least ensure the key influencers are willing to not stand in the way of the tech adoption project. MAKE IT STICK The interesting question for all the firms we work with is how they make change stick. If you have addressed the kinds of issues outlined here, then this is more likely. Within TiPS, the companies we work with are evaluating the success of their tech adoption projects and seeing how they can ensure it is successful in the long term. They are seeing that adoption is ongoing. You do not finish a project, and that is it. Job done. Using new technology requires future adoption activity, because technology or your company’s needs will change. One project might lead to another and there will be new challenges. There are lessons to be learned from where you are applying technology now and how you might apply it elsewhere. THE BIGGER PICTURE Technology adoption projects also require firms to navigate the world of technology companies and digital ecosystems. You need to know how the market works, how other companies are adopting technologies, how to learn about the latest developments, and how to be a savvy buyer. You are not on your own. All firms find the market for digital technologies challenging to navigate. We found that firms benefit from involvement in networks and associations where they can share problems. We know that professional bodies are thinking about these issues as much as you are. Special interest groups and networks make the transitions more straightforward and stop people going off on the wrong path. Likewise, regulators are considering which guidelines and rules need to be put in place. These regulations will shape what you need to do – and may mean that any adoption now needs to be adapted further down the road. None of the challenges we have highlighted are insurmountable, but all need to be considered for your technology adoption to succeed. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 17 Martin Spring is a Professor of Operations Management in the Department of Management Science, and Director of the Centre for Productivity and Efficiency in Lancaster University Management School. m.spring@lancaster.ac.uk Technology in Professional Services (TiPS) is an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Innovate UK-funded project involving Lancaster University Management School, Oxford Brookes University and Hyperscale Group Ltd. The programme aims to help professional service sectors develop and use digital technologies. https://tipsaccelerator.co.uk James Faulconbridge is a Professor in the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology. His research focuses primarily on professions, professional service firms, and knowledge-intensive services. j.faulconbridge@lancaster.ac.uk
18 | The internet has opened up opportunities for users to explore previously unimaginable horizons. Dr Sophie James and Professor James Cronin take a trip into the dark side of the web and discover a realm where people take tourism to strange new worlds. A New Era of Cyber Dark Tourism
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 19
Dark tourism, the practice of venturing to places characterised by death, disaster, and destruction, has long captivated those drawn to confronting the shadowed depths of human history. With greater participation on social media platforms, expanded means for novel content creation, and the growth of internet-savvy ‘meme cultures’, new forms of dark tourism that diverge from factually grounded locations requiring travel have emerged. By enabling entry to fabricated and performative spaces that lack tangible connections to real places or history, digital phenomena transform dark curiosity into a realm of simulation and hearsay, misinformation, conspiracy, myth-making, and collective imagination. CREEPY STORIES TO COLLABORATIVE NIGHTMARES Unlike ‘virtual dark tourism’, which uses technology to interact with and learn about real-world locations tied to historical tragedy from afar (for example, Auschwitz-Birkenau’s online virtual reality tour, or the online collection of stories and photographs digitalised from the 9/11 Memorial Museum), the cybercultural variant we are interested in relates to online spaces dedicated to ‘touring’ the unsettling, surreal content of unsubstantiated legends that exist solely in the digital realm. Platforms such as Reddit’s r/nosleep or 4chan’s /x/ (a forum for paranormal discussions) and the growing universe of creepypasta (creepy stories copied and pasted from around the internet) curate spaces for cyber dark tourists to consume, speculate upon, and perpetuate unsettling narratives devoid of historical or factual grounding. Through discussion board posts, memes, vlogs, fan art, reader responses and other user-generated content, participants share personal accounts, supposed witness statements, and cryptic tales that foster a sense of discovery and wonder, where each interaction deepens the mystery. Members thrive on collaboration and creativity, inviting participants to contribute their own twisted narratives or decode hidden clues. In doing so, they curate an immersive participatory experience that feels both personal and collective, as they navigate an ever-evolving, dreamlike labyrinth of the unknown. THE BACKROOMS The Backrooms is a cursed location that originated in 2019 on 4chan’s /x/ board and has evolved into a vibrant community on Reddit’s r/backrooms. Described as an infinite, eerie maze of yellow rooms with flickering fluorescent lights and aging carpets, The Backrooms tap into existential dread and isolation; their mysterious spatiality – having no basis in real history or geography – is both unsettlingly familiar and eerily alien, creating a sense of uncanny dissonance. Digital environments dedicated to the legend of these purgatory-like spaces encourage members to not only consume but also contribute to the myth by sharing their own stories and theories about the meaning, location, and function of the fluorescent-lit maze. The participatory nature of The Backrooms mirrors the concept of ‘hyperdiegesis’ as described by the media scholar Matt Hills. For Hills, the reason for the popularity of certain fictionalised or unreal events is that they allow fans to imagine a vast and detailed world that extends beyond whatever immediate narrative (or diegesis) they are first presented with. Cyber dark tourists grow and evolve The Backrooms as they explore them, making their mythos more cohesive and compelling through collaborative worldbuilding. The longer they remain within this virtual labyrinth, the more invested and convinced they become of the sensationalised content – regardless of its truth value. MAINSTREAM APPEAL The Backrooms, once consigned to the localised myths of web forums, has rapidly become a cultural touchstone finding its way into mainstream media. Its chilling portrayal of isolation was featured in the 2024 season of American Horror Story, in an episode titled Backrooms, where it served as a metaphor for the terror of being trapped in endless, empty spaces. More recently, Netflix released a haunting teaser titled The Backrooms (Found Footage) to promote the second season of Squid Game. This shift from obscure online folklore to mainstream horror reflects the growing influence of cyber-driven content on modern storytelling. The Backrooms is now firmly integrated into the fabric of contemporary horror. REALITY OR ILLUSION? In a world where physical tourism locations are increasingly mapped, photographed, rationalised, and commercialised, the internet offers a digital abyss for sensation-seekers to immerse themselves, explore with abandonment, and navigate the boundaries between belief and scepticism. Unreal and fictive spaces like The Backrooms represent a cyber-mediated destination for the dark tourist jaded by the commodification of offline venues. This is somewhere untethered to history or reality, where the uncanny still thrives and existential anxieties can be explored earnestly. These spaces are not just for passive consumption; they are environments that invite participation and introspection. Ultimately, the rise of dark cybermediated tourism represents a significant shift in how we experience dark spaces and their relationships with human stories. As internet platforms provide a space for collaborative mythmaking and world-building, they encourage detachment and selfexploration, providing an escape from the pressures of everyday life while engaging with the ‘unknown’. Nevertheless, while they allow tourists to explore aspects of fear and anxiety, they also raise questions about the ethics of curating these feelings for entertainment. While traditional dark tourism challenges us to contextualise, ethically make sense of, and ultimately sympathise with historic sites of real suffering, cyber dark tourism risks joining the long list of activities which trivialise human fear. 20 |
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 21 Dr Sophie James is a Lecturer in Security and Protection Science based in the Marketing Department. Her research focuses on digital anthropology, exploring how individuals engage with web-based platforms for ideological reasons. s.james7@lancaster.ac.uk James Cronin is a Professor in Marketing in the Marketing Department. His interests centre on the functioning of ideology within consumer culture. j.cronin@lancaster.ac.uk
22 |
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 23 Natural disasters affect tens of millions of people worldwide every year. Between 2000 and 2019, 1.23 million people lost their lives to such events. But response operations in their aftermath can be difficult to manage in order to help as many people in as fast, fair, and efficient a way as possible. Distinguished Professor Konstantinos Zografos explains his work on the RESPOND-OR project, aiming to improve emergency response operations by developing mathematical models that reflect the decision-making context and requirements in Indonesia. SUPPORTING NATURAL DISASTER RESPONSE
With a population of 277.5 million, Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world. It sits on the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile chain of volcano and earthquake zones that encircles the Pacific Ocean. As a result, its more than 17,000 islands are prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes, as well as experiencing flooding, tsunamis, mudslides, wildfires and more. Indonesia deals with between 2,000 and 5,000 natural disasters every year. There is a natural disaster somewhere in the country at almost all times, from minor to major. For every tsunami that draws the world’s attention and sympathy, or volcano that creates dramatic images online, there are many other events that garner little notice outside the country. Indonesia's population are among the 4.2 billion people worldwide who felt the effects of natural disasters in one way or another in the 20 years from 2000 to 2019. Dealing with the aftermath of these events is an immense task involving national and regional response organisations, NGOs, and volunteers. The logistics are mammoth, with numerous complicating factors. MAKING A DIFFERENCE The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 identifies the enhancement of disaster preparedness for effective response as a key priority risk-reduction area. However, the available mathematical models and solution methodologies fall short of capturing the breadth and complexity of the real-world challenges concerning disaster preparedness and response problems. The available approaches are mostly based on generic assumptions that tend to oversimplify the decisionmaking needs of disaster management agencies. This problem is more pronounced in developing countries such as Indonesia, and this is where our work comes in. MODELLING DISASTER RESPONSE The strategic vision of our RESilient Emergency Preparedness for Natural Disaster Response through OR (RESPOND-OR) and RESPOND-OR X projects was to develop and implement mathematical models and solution algorithms that underpin the development of Decision Support Systems (DSS) for large scale disaster preparedness and response. Our research was focused on disaster response operations in both Indonesia and Sudan – a country affected by flooding and drought – but we will focus here on the former. The models and algorithms developed for Indonesia within the framework of RESPOND-OR are motivated by the emergency preparedness and response decision-making needs and context of Indonesia. Our team here in the Centre for Transport and Logistics (CENTRAL) at Lancaster have collaborated with academic institutions, public organisations and NGOs in Indonesia to develop solutions that work for their specific geographic, social and economic situations. You cannot take in a ready-made generic model and transfer it. You have to develop something specific to their situations. Also, there can be a scarcity of resources. How organisations use efficiently the resources they have is of the utmost importance. This is coupled with the fact that when a natural disaster occurs, it generates high demand for resources like trucks to evacuate people and livestock. Only by working closely with the enduser organisations can we understand all the specificities and complexities and optimise the use of these resources. We developed mathematical models and algorithms to help disaster response management organisations to optimise two key disaster response management decisions: assisted evacuation; and disaster response personnel routing and scheduling. ASSISTED EVACUATION Besides the loss of human lives, another major impact of natural disasters with significant socioeconomic impact is population displacement. In 2020, around 30.7 million people were displaced due to natural disasters. There are two types of evacuation: i) self-evacuation; and ii) assisted evacuation. Assisted evacuation involves people who need assistance to leave disaster zones. They might not have the transport means, so this must be provided. Our models are motivated by disaster management practice in Indonesia and consider time, fairness, and the risk of the assisted evacuation operations. They help determine the number of vehicles needed, where people should 24 |
be evacuated to, and which routes should be used to evacuate them. We optimise evacuation decisions from impacted areas to shelters while considering the risk associated with different parts of the underlying road network. DISASTER RESPONSE DEPLOYMENT When you have a disaster, you have to dispatch specialists to assist the people who have been evacuated. Imagine a situation where a village or part of a village has been evacuated. You need to set-up temporary shelter facilities; you must provide medical assistance. For all of this, you need personnel – whether government employees or from NGOs – and you need to schedule them, working out the optimum way to visit the different locations they are needed. When you provide these services, not all of the specialists can arrive at the same time. For instance, before medics provide their services, somebody else has to set up the tent as a temporary clinic. So, the problem of achieving optimum scheduling of the resources available becomes more complex. Once in place, people working in disaster-hit areas generally experience two types of problem. Firstly, fatigue. The workload is huge, but emergency response workers also have lots of psychological pressure. Therefore, they need a break, and you have to take this into account when planning. The second issue is that the specialists come from different locations. You have to collect them and take them to the disaster site. That is another complex mathematical problem to be resolved. PRACTICAL APPLICATION We can build programmes to help with this, but developing the models by themselves is not enough. You can develop models and use them to produce some results, but we wanted to develop a tool that people without modelling expertise can use easily. The DSS we developed in collaboration with the University of Indonesia has a user-friendly interface. The people who need to make the decisions can enter the required information in a structured and easy to understand way. We also use information regarding the risk associated with the underlying road network. When you make the decisions to evacuate people, and to schedule disaster response personnel to reach the disaster-impacted areas, you have to consider risk. You want to schedule these movements in a way to minimise the risks to those being transported. With our system, you can visualise this information. You can see it on the map, and you can also see the trade-offs between the different objectives. The feedback we have received in Indonesia is positive. Natural disaster response will always be a complex undertaking, but through RESPOND-OR and RESPOND-OR-X we hope we can provide the tools to make it more effective, equitable and fast – helping people when they need it most. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 25 Konstantinos Zografos is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Management Science, and Director of the Centre for Transport and Logistics (CENTRAL) in Lancaster University Management School. He is the Principal Investigator on the EPSCR UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund-funded RESilient Emergency Preparedness for Natural Disaster Response through OR (RESPOND-OR) project. Lancaster University members of the team were Professor Juliana Sutanto, Dr Ahmed Kheiri, Dr Aleksandr Pirogov and Dr Istenc Tarhan. Professor Zografos, Professor Sutanto (now at Monash University, Australia) and Dr Raja Fatricia participated in RESPONDOR-X. k.zografos@lancaster.ac.uk
26 |
FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 27 How do you keep workers engaged with your business if they have a hybrid working pattern? Professor Niki Panteli, Associate Professor Blooma John and Dr Zeena Alsamarra’I examine how workplaces have been transformed through hybrid working, and how digital technologies and a caring, inclusive environment can regenerate employee engagement. A Hybrid Approach to Success
There is no doubt that the way we work and our preferences in terms of how we work have been changing. According to the Office of National Statistics, more than a quarter of working adults in the UK (28%) were hybrid working in the autumn of 2024. Similarly, Gallup reported that over half of US remote-enabled employees prefer and expect to work in a hybrid mode, a trend that is expected to grow. Despite these trends, the majority of organisational leaders do not know how to master hybrid working. As organisations adapt and transform into hybrid work practices, they need to ensure that communication, collaboration, and overall engagement of both remote and in-person employees is maintained and supported. In a project funded by the British Academy of Management - Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (BAM/ANZAM) collaborative initiative, we sought to explore influencing factors in a knowledge-based organisation that contribute towards developing and supporting employee engagement in hybrid work. Employee engagement is a motivational concept and is seen as important for increasing employee performance and productivity. Most work in the area looks at employees working on a permanent full-time basis in a collocated setting, and little explores hybrid work. COMPANY ANALYSIS To fill in some of those gaps, our study focused on the Australian division of a multinational high-tech organisation with more than 2,000 employees, where they used an algorithmic management tool for supporting employee experience in hybrid work. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, hybrid work became the predominant form of work within the company, preferred by both employees and the organisation. Soon after, they implemented Microsoft Viva as an integration platform of existing tools, powered by Microsoft 365 and integrated into Microsoft Teams to provide a unified work environment. Viva was adopted to enhance employee learning, team connection, communication, collaboration, productivity, wellbeing, and the overall engagement of employees regardless of their work arrangement. With its AI capabilities, Viva can support employees and leaders with insights and nudges related to various aspects of the employee experience, making it a suitable tool for our study. We spoke with employees and managers across the business and with various levels of seniority, all within the Australia/New Zealand region. What we found was that managers were actively putting effort in to foster employee engagement in hybrid work. We found three factors enabling this: Digital Workplace Transformation, Caring Workplace and Inclusive Leadership. DIGITAL WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION Not long after the official launch of the hybrid work policy, Microsoft Viva was introduced. This is an employee experience management platform. The platform is promoted by Microsoft as helping to create an engaged and productive workforce using work analytics. It provides insights on employees’ behaviour online, encouraging employees to stay connected to improve their learning by taking online training courses. Some participants described Viva as a personal assistant that reminds them to take a break after working online for a long time or to have focus time away from meetings. Employees can see their own work analytics, for example how long they have been online, when was the last time they had a break, or when they connected with a colleague. This helps them become aware of their work habits and to take corrective action if needed. Managers can see their team’s work analytics, warning of employee 28 |
burnout: e.g. ‘60% of your team is working after hours for more than an hour a week’. This gives them the opportunity to introduce intervention strategies and check if the team needs additional resources. CARING WORK ENVIRONMENT The use of analytics alone was not sufficient to develop the needed employee engagement in the hybrid workplace. Another theme that emerged was evidence of a caring, human-centred work environment. Employees talked about being given a choice to attend either in-person or online meetings, rather than being told they had to attend in-person. As part of developing a caring environment, new practices emerged that enable employees to remain connected with the organisation and to feel that they are valued when they choose to work remotely. For example, someone talked about being sent chocolates out of the blue, a signal that ‘we have not been forgotten’. INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP The third emerging theme is the practice of inclusive leadership. Participants reported having more frequent one-to-one meetings than in the pre-pandemic period, more meetings just to check on each other, and how they are coping with workload, contributing to a more humanised and empathetic leadership style. Leaders were also seen as modelling desired behaviours – not sending emails or having their Teams on before 9am, for instance, and there was an overall feeling that everyone tried to be kinder to others. Such forms of inclusive leadership reinforce the caring culture that has been associated with hybrid work in this organisation. BETTER INSIGHTS Our study demonstrates that with the increasing use of analytics in hybrid work, there are renewed possibilities for leaders to develop insights about employees’ experiences that can be used to develop personalised engagement practices and interventions in a timely and targeted manner. Engagement can be achieved in nontraditional work settings such as hybrid work, and leaders should adapt their behaviour and practices within the hybrid work setting to take account of the challenges employees may experience in this form of work arrangement. These practices appear to be more inclusive, humanised and empathetic. We show that algorithmic management tools, such as Viva, and work analytics go beyond the provision of metrics on employee performance. They provide opportunities for adopting a humancentric leadership approach, one that encompasses attention to learning and development, wellbeing, and work-life balance. Individuals who lead in hybrid work settings need the skills and knowledge to deal with the challenges that employees are experiencing, so they can develop appropriate responses. Ultimately, organisational leaders need to pay close attention to the data generated by algorithmic management tools. They should employ work analytics for the design and implementation of initiatives that consider the changing nature of work while ensuring the provision of individualised resources and the support required in the hybrid workplace. FIFTY FOUR DEGREES | 29 Niki Panteli is a Professor of Digital Business in the Department of Management Science. Her research interests cover digital transformation, digital platforms, cybersecurity leadership, algorithmic management, hybrid work and online collaborations. n.panteli1@lancaster.ac.uk Blooma John is an Associate Professor and Capability Leader of Information Systems at the University of Canberra, Australia. Her research interests include digital transformation, social informatics, and design science research. Dr Zeena Alsamarr’I is a Lecturer in digital business transformation and programme director of the Business Informatics (BI) programme at the University of Canberra. Her research interests include digital workplace transformation, hybrid work, knowledge mobilisation, and theory– practice research. This article is based around work on Reconfiguring digital embeddedness in hybrid work: The case of employee experience management platforms, published in Information Systems Journal; and Enhancing employee experience in the era of hybrid work: the case of Microsoft viva, published in IEEE Software, both authored by Dr Blooma John, Dr Zeena Alsamarra’I, and Professor Niki Panteli. This work was supported by the British Academy of Management (BAM)-Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) Collaborative Research Award (2021-262-BAM-ANZAM).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTI5NzM=