Daily Archives: May 20, 2022

The Idaho Republican Party is merging with domestic terrorist groups, and it’s not going to end well – Daily Kos

Posted: May 20, 2022 at 2:33 am

It was an act of pre-planned sedition, and the continued inability or unwillingness of the Department of Justice to bring the hammer down on those who attempted to overthrow democracy itself may yet be the thing that kills that democracy. Those who organized the "march" had planned it specifically to interfere with the ability of Congress to function. The evidence clearly shows that the organizers and allies used the resulting violence as part of a larger plan in which Trump would then issue a declaration restoring "order" by seizing faux emergency powers. The organizers included Republican lawmakers inside the Capitol, Trump administration officials, Trump himself, Republican strategists, Republican lawyers, and violent militia groups acting in a coordinated fashion with the others.

The Daily Kos Elections Team talks with Joe Sudbay about the big primaries and all of the redistricting nonsense on The Downballot podcast

Everyone who so much as crossed a single toe into the Capitol building itself should be rotting in federal prison for at least the next several years, but only a handful are charged with the sedition that each one of them so clearly intended. Most have been given probation or other light sentences, then left to return to their guns, their fellow extremists, and innumerable Republican campaign trails.

To get a feel for what is most likely to happen next, two stories from the rapidly failing state of Idaho give an unpleasantly detailed look at just how vigorous the American fascist movement has become. The New York Times focuses on the entirely deserved travails of the Idaho Republican Party, which has embraced fascist extremism wholeheartedly only to find that their less extremist officials have little hope of holding out against the venomous terrorist-adjacent batshit extremist white nationalist pro-fascist scum that the party embraced in their long-term efforts to demonize anyone in the state not willing to do the most extremist thing at any given moment.

The party is now a den of militia-premised violent extremism. it has been taken over by white nationalists who identify not just with the state's growing fascist militia groups but with the tattered remnants of the John Birch Societya segregationist, misogynistic conspiracy group that was once akin to the current "QAnon" movement, but one that flourished back in the times when unhinged conspiracy rants had to be mailed out from one person to the next behind actual postage stamps. The poster child for this new pro-fascism Republicanism is the state's own Lt. Governor Janice McGeachin, now infamous for staging her own petty coups every time the state's hard-right sitting governor so much as goes out for a cup of coffee.

The story of the Idaho Republican Party is quite simple. The party continues to embrace the state's most dangerous proto-terrorist networks, white supremacist cults that have moved to the state and set up shop there with the specific intent of toppling the American government and founding a white nationalist ethnostate premised on shooting anyone who objects. The party endorses radicals who promote violent solutions. Itis unashamed about putting the endorsers of terrorist rhetoric on school boards or in other local positions because backing anti-American militia crackpots is considered the lesser of two evils when considered against the purely imaginary dangers of supposed "critical race theory" being taught in the public schoolsschools that much of the movement believes shouldn't exist at all.

So you've got Republican candidates for office showing up at events in which other speakers are leading prayers asking for God's support for their attempts to secede from America to form their own nationalist murderstate, and anyone left in Republican circles who thinks that might be grotesque behavior now labels themselves a "traditional" Republican and struggles to explain to voters that despite their own party's willing embrace of this batshit nuttery, embracing terrorism-premised ethnostate rebellions is Bad, actually, and what the hell are the rest of you people even thinking.

The second look into Idaho's collapse into what seems likely to become a failed state is a much longer and more comprehensive writeup from Huffpost's Christopher Mathias, one that examines what the guts of Idaho's rapidly surging extremism actually looks like on the ground.

The most important takeaway is that the extremists make no effort to hide their eagerness to embrace terrorismnot just to achieve their desired white nationalist utopia, but against any public official, private citizen, or stray school-aged children who offer up objections. Far-right activists brag not just about their intentions of wiping America out and replacing it with a fascist state, but about their access to doting Republican leaders who continue to back them no matter how radical the movement becomes.

So, as one example, a racial justice protest by a group of local high schoolers suddenly finds themselves opposed by "40 men in camo gear carrying AR-15s" telling them they "deserved to be raped" for staging their rally. The militia stains were backed by a Republican county commissioner, who had requested a public counter to the high schoolers, and if you are beginning to believe that there's no evident means of de-radicalizing Idaho's violent underbelly aside from sending in armed federal officials in to clean house the hard way, you're not likely to be alone.

This is what the new anti-democratic, pro-fascist, pro-violence bent of Republicanism looks like. It is not a question of avoiding violence; the people with pictures of guns on their hats and clothing are intent on using violence, real or threatened, against anyone who might oppose them. To be a non-radical government official in Idaho means facing violent threats over anything from textbooks to mask guidance to vaccines to local ordinancesthreats which will be either ignored or endorsed by Republican candidates looking to consolidate power.

Both of these Idaho reports focus, perhaps as necessity, on individual officials who are either promoting the radicalization or attempting to oppose it. Much of the radicalization can be traced to profoundly mean two-bit local Republican powerbrokers like Brent Regan, a valuable ally to anti-semites, white supremacists, and assorted other terrorism-adjacent extremists. Less examined is the plain truth that none of these white nationalist thugs and other human poisons would be getting anywhere if a very broad chunk of the state's Republican voters didn't back those things. They do. McGeachin hangs out with the would-be architects of a terrorism-premised white nationalist state and pays no price because the Republican church-goers of her state want someone at least as extremist is she is to be in a top government position.

For all the talk about fascist outsiders traipsing into Idaho to transform it into White Nationalist Disneyland, you don't hear many accounts of them facing widespread public opposition from the good Christian salt-of-the-earth locals who don't want white nationalist terrorism, just the white nationalism part. Those are the people who may or may not have power to stop domestic terrorism cells from flourishing in their own towns, but they absolutely have the power to prevent such cells from gaining Republican Party-backed representation in their local and state governments.

And yet:

The state of Idaho provides us with what may be a very accurate picture of what the rest of Republicanism will soon look like, as the party refuses to back down from its own attempted coup, as it continues to work feverishly to sabotage investigations into the violence it caused, as it brazenly passes law after law putting new asterisks on presumed civil rights, and smugly brags as a judiciary stacked with movement ideologues nods and claims none of those things are rights to begin with. There's no effortinside Fox Newsto stop hosts from broadcasting false claims used to justify new terrorist movements. The Republican officials who have encouraged militia thugs to turn out to oppose protesting schoolchildren have not been wringing their hands at how far downhill things have gone since then.

Most to the point, however, both the nation's media and the nation's government has signaled that violent insurrection is not, in fact, so antithetical to our nation's democracy that it cannot be tolerated. It is being tolerated. It is being pressed for, still, and none of the people doing the pressing are paying any significant price. The architects walk freeand, through lawyers, simply ignore congressional and law enforcement demands to tell what they know.

That lack of urgency, treating a party-backed descent into fascism as a status quo issue in which congressional panels shuffle along in relative obscurity and individual saboteurs rallying to thwart the transfer of presidential powers get hurried through our courts while largely dodging the question of how it was that each of them got there, is almost certainly working to boost Idaho's own seditionist fervor. If you can intentionally storm the Capitol and successfully, for a time, thwart the outcome of a democratic election, and even that is met with no great resistance from the government you were trying to topple, then as an extremist it would seem quite reasonable to treat the episode as little more than a practice run. The militia groups threatening schoolchildren in Idaho will hardly be quaking in terror if a few of their members are slapped with middling sentences for doing what their entire militias are premised on doing.

And the Republican Party officials who continue to back the notion of erasing elections when the votes coming in from non-Republican American cities go to candidates who are not their own have no reason whatsoever to balk now. There is no national shunning. Chuck Todd and Meet the Press will banter with the advocates for sedition on what new tax policies might look like. Local far-right gadflies who have screamed for scrubbing out votes are elected to new positions; those unwilling to back such crimes continue to be tossed out.

The press has acted with cowardice from beginning to end, treating democracy and overthrow as competing theories of government that must each be balanced against the other.

The Republican Party has acted as fervent backer of fascist insurrection, and continues to, and pays no price.

The Democratic Party pretends at normalcy even after coup, still waiting for "decent" Republicans to find their soul rather than acknowledging that anti-election extremism coupled with faux-populist hoax is the soul of Republicanism as currently practiced.

We are told that the Department of Justice, the independent portion of government tasked with responding to criminal acts by American citizens against each other, is on the case. And the clock ticks ontoward a November election that may render their careful deliberations moot as pro-insurrection candidates vow to immunize the top criminals from whatever charges prosecutors might yet announce.

There is literally no reason for the Idaho Republican Party to disengage from the state's pro-sedition, pro-terrorism wingat least until acts of terrorism start popping up in the state with enough regularity or impact to cause the federal government to step in and erase whichever militias crossed those lines. Republican lawmakers will continue to carry guns to protect themselves from their own far-right. School board members will continue to face personal threats of violence after Republican-backed smear campaigns, and local officials will continue to face Republican-backed opponents who appear at white nationalist conventions and bow their heads with everyone else as the crowd prays for the violent erasure of all those who oppose them, or might oppose them, or who they simply do not like.

The real question is not how this ends, because it will absolutely end with violence. The Republican Party in Idaho is absolutely assuring that. The only question is how the violence will unfold, how many victims there will be, how many of the victims will be Republicans that the party pretends to give a damn about versus other Idaho residents that they don't, and which of the names currently appearing in these two news stories will end up dead at the end of it, elevated to martyr status by Tucker Carlson and/or whatever collection of dimwitted fascists remain.

This will end with the feds having to take action, because the Idaho Republican Party is rapidly becoming a front for the state's far-right militia groups and the whole premise of those militia groups is to push against the boundaries of what's considered terrorism and what's not until there's no choice left but to get into a shooting war. Even the state's Republicans can see things bending that way, but so long as it provides a momentary election advantage, they're still content to ride that extremist wave.

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The Caligula Effect 2 PC Steam Version Announced with Free Costume – Sirus Gaming

Posted: at 2:33 am

Historia Inc. has announced The Caligula Effect 2 PC Steam version and its release date.

The juvenile school RPG The Caligula Effect 2 PC version will be coming to the Steam Store on June 23, 2022 10 AM JST/ June 22, 2022 6PM PDT. This will be released as well on the Epic Games Store at a later time. Aside from the release date, a new costume, Retro Tatefushi Uniform, will be included for free when the game launches to commemorate the 6-year anniversary of The Caligula Effect series.

The Caligula Effect is a juvenile school RPG series titled after the sense of guilt and exhilaration that one feels from doing something they shouldnt. It explores two core themes, characters who are afflicted with the suffering of the current era known as Modern Pathology, and a thrilling scenario centered around the phrase Killing your idols. The Caligula Effect series has received a lot of attention from its initial release in June of 2016 on the PlayStation Vita, its subsequent anime adaptation, and a follow-up game that featured additional elements, The Caligula Effect: Overdose.

The Caligula Effect 2 carries over two core themes from the original, its unique battle system, and songs by Vocaloid-P musicians, and adds an all new story and cast for a completely new experience. The Caligula Effect 2 has been available from publisher FURYU on the PlayStation4 and Nintendo Switch since June 24th, 2021, and now historia Inc. is handling sales on the Steam and Epic Games storefronts.

No RegretsThe mysterious virtual doll, Regret.The virtual world, Redo, that she created, in which the regrets of the past are erased. Its a world where the thoughts of if only it went differently or if I had done that instead that plague us all, become a reality.

In an ideal world separated from past regrets, the main characters who noticed the deception of this world gain the help of another virtual doll and form the Go-Home Club with the intent to return to reality. Taking on the creator of this virtual world, they embark on the most difficult walk home from school imaginable.

The real-world lives of your friends in the Go-Home Club are full of pain and trauma that are difficult to face. Why are you trying to return to your harsh reality despite that? is something only you can begin to explore. There may even be some among the group whose true self you as a player just cant accept. Youll need to take personal responsibility and a no regrets attitude if you want to move forward

A turn-based combat system where you can assure the success of each move you select. Used right, it allows you to build teamwork and get out of jams.

Standing in the way of the Go-Home Club are The Obbligato Musicians who want to protect their utopia. Awaiting in dungeons where brain-washing songs play on a loop, they are joined by people who have been enchanted by the music and regard the Go-Home Club as traitors to be defeated. Meanwhile, the Go-Home Club, along with Kis singing, fights back. The in-game music is provided by popular composers who are active on video sharing platforms.

Character Composers (listed in no particular order):kemuShota HorieAyasePolice PiccadillyKairiki bearnulutNeruTSUMIKIcosMo@BousouPsasakure.UK

An old style Tatefushi Academy(the school attended by the Go-Home Club) uniform that no longer exists, will be added as a new costume. You can change costumes via the newly added costume field in the equipment screen. Youll be able to change outfits right from the start of the game, so its a feature that can be enjoyed by new and old players alike.

*The Retro Tatefushi Uniform is also planned to be added to the PS4 and Nintendo Switch/Lite versions in future updates.

The Caligula Effect 2 PC Steam version launches on June 22, 2022. Epic Games Store version coming soon.

Source: Press Release

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SUCCESSION PLANNING – The Matrix Resurrections – Print Issue 211 May 2022 | Article of the Week | theHRD – The HR Director Magazine

Posted: at 2:33 am

Article by: LINDSAY KOHLER, LEAD BEHAVIOURAL SCIENTIST - SCARLETTABBOTT | Published: 18 May 2022

LINDSAY KOHLER, LEAD BEHAVIOURAL SCIENTIST - SCARLETTABBOTT28 April 2022

We all reflect upon the future of work, but focus on where and when we work, not how we work and what new leadership looks like. Whether in the office five days a week or zero days a week no longer matters, what does matter is that systemic and deep-rooted processes and structures at work, are much simpler to change than previously thought. However, approaches to succession planning too will have to adapt to altered frameworks and flattened hierarchical structures.

During lockdown and the rush to remote working, collaboration between different parts of the business became more difficult and created communication barriers and unnecessary levels of bureaucracy, which reinforced silos within the business. Reflecting on all that we have experienced, those businesses that insist on returning to the old working hierarchy model risk losing talent, as well as access to the innovation and creativity that alternative working models unlock. A more fluid work structure allows teams to change tactics more quickly and adapt more easily to shifting demands. It also allows more room for experts from other departments to move around teams as needed. That said, leaders must go in with eyes wide open, a distributed workforce and the hierarchy that emerges to best support it needs clear accountability. Ambiguity in job duties and ownership arises more easily in a distributed workforce, so constant communication on expectations is key. So, what alternative hierarchical models will emerge and how might this impact succession planning?

Different businesses and industries will, of course, have different models that emerge as predominant, but many will discover that traditional hierarchies are an inappropriate framework to base a distributed workforces leadership structure on. One key reason for this is that it better lends itself to distributed networks of power. Networks are decentralised and often lack visible leadership or figureheads, which comes with many benefits. However, a cautionary note on going too far in the other direction is that the opposite of a traditional hierarchy is one that is completely decentralised and solely reliant on self-organisation and self-management to work. The most famous example of this so-called Holarctic style is the shoe retailer Zappos, which rolled out a no job titles and no managers organisational style, only to find out quickly that wasnt the workers Utopia it had envisaged. One downside to having no formal power structures is that informal power structures emerge, often with no accountability, creating an environment, where bullying and harassment can thrive. So, the winner is likely to be a blend of the two styles, one that favours skills and competency.

Importantly, succession planning in the future has to be about skills, not favourites, as seen in the traditional succession planning culture, which was based on direct lines of reporting and grooming someone for a particular role. Indeed, Harvard Business School research shows that the concept of an old boys club at work is real and found that men managed by men are promoted faster than any other group. One caveat is that this research was conducted when physical presence in the office was still the norm and it is too early to tell if a shift to hybrid working will reduce the promotional effects of proximity bias. But the point is, promotions of the past were largely based on factors that, in many cases, had little to do with competency and efficiency.

So, what measures will we use to identify potential successors and base promotions on going forward, if not the markers of high visibility to peers or best friendship with the boss? Skills and impact, of course, because the prominent skills needed to propel a business forward become more obvious when everyone is less physically visible. Those with business-critical skills versus those in close proximity to the powers that be will rise into positions of power, based on the respect they gain as subject matter experts. But this rise wont follow traditional hierarchical structures. Rather, more heavily matrixed organisations will emerge because of this shift in what traits a business values in a leader and how it chooses who leads. A matrixed structure helps to embrace leaning on the most qualified person to make a decision, rather than x the most senior person.

Matrixed organisations arent necessarily new, go back to 2016 and a Gallup poll reported that 84 percent of employees had experienced matrix working at some point, to differing extents. But matrix organisations will become more common in a distributed workforce and one driving reason for this is that a key area that matrixed organisations thrive in is collaboration. Embracing new ways of collaboration and collaborating with more people across the organisation was one of the pandemics key wins. This is because a distributed workforce evens the playing field between remote-only and onsite workers and simply functions more cohesively, if the organisation structure is matrixed. So, the burning question is, do we still need bosses in a distributed workforce? The answer is yes and likely more than one because in matrixed organisations, employees have more than one direct reporting line. But this manager will not look like the bosses of yesteryear because, while teams that self[1]organise dont require a manager to assign work, they still need someone to encourage, mentor and help develop their skills. So, an increase in leadership coaching among people at all levels of a business not just the C-suite will become more common. Above all else, adaptation, flexibility and resilience will be the keys to making a matrixed hierarchical model thrive and distributed working encourages all three. As we adjust to the changes required in succession planning, leaders must take a moment for self-reflection and focus on being a force of support for their people, enable them to do their best work and move out of the way, rather than being a hindrance. We need to go the extra mile to clarify roles within the new structure that emerge in the business. The alternative is to double-down on control, cling to outdated management models and risk losing talented people.

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How AI and automation play a role in ITOps – TechTarget

Posted: at 2:31 am

In recent years, slews of tech professionals have turned their attention to AI, automation and cybersecurity and the benefits they can provide in the enterprise.

At IBM's Think 2022 conference, a session titled "Rethinking ITOps with AI and automation" provided insight on the need for digital transformation and the role AI, automation and cybersecurity play in this effort to modernize IT operations.

If organizations want to transform and scale to meet today's challenges, AI will need to play a key role in accelerating this, according to the speakers. AI not only automates repetitive tasks so human professionals can focus on innovation and moving forward, but the technology also mitigates contemporary global issues such as supply chain disruption.

"I've seen a lot of organizations using AI technology for charting out the whole network of the ecosystem of the supply chain," said Ritu Jyoti, program vice president of AI strategies at IDC's software market research and advisory practice. "You can do it dynamically, on the fly and in real time."

Artificial intelligence can also quickly identify when it's important to go in a different direction.

"If this particular supply ecosystem doesn't work, what are the alternate routes?" Jyoti said.

For businesses going through digital transformation, there are three distinct challenges, according to Ritika Gunnar, vice president of IBM Expert Labs. Those challenges are acquiring the technology or tools needed to complete a digital transformation, identifying the processes that need to adapt and changing the company culture. Culture is the most difficult to change because organizations need to reposition and retrain all types of workers.

AI and automation are essential ingredients in this effort, as are having the right personnel. Specifically, when organizations automate manual processes, like watching stocks or administering bank loans, with AI and automation, workers can shift from performing these manual, repetitive tasks to perpetually training the AI and automation models and algorithms. That way, they aren't being replaced by these technologies.

The current state of cybersecurity, and its huge ramifications within modern data-driven businesses, was another big topic at IBM Think. Cyber attacks are increasing across industries, with critical infrastructure and government organizations particularly vulnerable.

AI and automation are essential ingredients in this effort, as are having the right personnel.

"When critical infrastructure is down, it's affecting quality of life," said Stephanie Balaouras, vice president and group director at Forrester. "It's affecting physical safety of individuals. It's drastically affecting the economy, so there's a huge emphasis on critical infrastructure."

Automated security technologies can help. For instance, an IT security incident could trigger an automated business action. This new type of business ops model would be like "an automated flight plan where a series of bots work together to collect, enrich and correlate data," according to Jerry Cuomo, vice president of technology at IBM.

For example, say an IT service reliability bot produces data about defective services, then a business event kicks in where a bot is triggered with precise information about all compromised accounts. Affected customers are contacted and the business saves money by avoiding further harm.

Session attendees saw an example of QRadar XDR, an IBM cybersecurity tool that uses AI and automation. It processes 100 billion events per day, and 75% of those alerts are handled without human intervention. Businesses that are enthusiastic about scaling and transforming digitally should be evaluating how AI, automation and cybersecurity capabilities can serve as critical infrastructure to help them meet the challenges of the future.

Day two of the conference closed out by showing how the U.S. government partners with industries to foster innovation -- particularly investments in AI.

"When we're looking at what the technologies of the future are, it's baking security and safety into technology so that safety and security aren't an option," said Kiersten E. Todt, chief of staff at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

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Thousands of Hoosiers at risk of job loss from automation – FOX 59 Indianapolis

Posted: at 2:31 am

INDIANAPOLIS In 1908, Americans stepped into Fords Model T and drove a stick shift; drivers now sit back as the car drives itself.

Automation isnt new, but as technology advances, it puts thousands at risk.

Its very sad. You watch the equipment trickle out. You watch them tear things down, throw things away, said Jason Waller. Its an experience I would not wish on anybody to go through that and see it almost, in a way, makes you feel like all the years that you worked toward something were for naught.

The 45-year-old tells FOX59 hes one of eight final employees working the plant floor in Greencastle.Hundreds of others were laid off earlier; now the same has happened to him, nearly 30 years after he started as a die setter.

Starting over after all that time is definitely a little bit daunting, he said.

He has no choice but to start over and many Hoosiers in these types of jobs will have to do the same.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports at least 42% of U.S. employees jobs are at high risk of automation; that same data shows nearly 310,000 Hoosiers in Central Indiana alone will be impacted.

Mohan Tatikonda with IUs Kelly School of Business teaches his students about the 3 Ds companies consider ahead of automation.

Pros are when we have work thats difficult, dangerous, dull, the operations management professor explained. If its dirty or dangerous, we may not want to have workers doing it or doing less of it. If it is particularly dull its easy to make mistakes and to get bored with the work. This is where automation and robotics and so forth have traditionally been applied. We can use these for cost reductions as well.

As he explains, automation decreases company risks and increases employee productivity whenever the 3 Ds are present. Difficult, dangerous, and dull work have contributed to industry changes over the decades in Indiana.

FOX59 requested data from the Department of Workforce Development (DWD).

We found in the 3rd quarter of 2002, nearly 600,000 Hoosiers worked in the industry, earning a weekly average of just over $800. In 2012, that dropped to just under 500,000 Hoosiers, making just over $1,000 weekly. In 2021, a reinvestment in Indiana manufacturing as about 535,000 Hoosiers were employed in manufacturing, making nearly $1,300. Wages went up only $500 dollars on average in 2 decades.

With more automation, those low wages wont go up and instead those jobs will likely disappear.

Generally, theyre going to have to increase their skillset to working with the equipment, programming the equipment, Tatikonda advises, when asked how employees can be more employable and valuable in the workforce. Who installs the robot? Who makes sure the robot is oiled? Who programs or re-programs the robot so it makes a slightly different product? Who makes sure parts and pieces get to the robot? So we need those people. We may not need as many workers as we did before, but we still need skilled workers who will work with this equipment.

That type of skill takes more training and education, which many Hoosiers dont have!

The Employer Training Grant will reimburse an employer for up to $5,000 per trained employee who is trained, hired, and retained for six months, up to $50,000 per employer.

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FOX59 also researched state data showing 90 percent of Hoosiers, 45 to 64-years-old, have a diploma or GED; only 26 percent have Bachelor's degrees or higher.

For someone like Waller, more job training and education means not just a competitive edge and stability, but also major income growth.

"I think there can always be more education," the 45-year-old said. "Automation is going to happen it's just a matter of us changing with it and investing in better education."

This year, Governor Eric Holcomb launched his Next Level Agenda 2022, which would "skill up" Indiana's workforce, and combat issues from automation and job loss.

It plans to create easier partnerships between local businesses and technical and/or vocational programs.FOX 59's Beairshelle Edm made several requests to interview the governor about his plan, but his office declined, instead pointing to DWD or IEDC.

DWD and IEDC also declined to interview with FOX59 about this plan to invest in Hoosier employees, like Waller.

Waller plans to take training courses through a U.S. Department of Labor program, TAA, and then start his job search.

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3 Ways that Workflow Automation Can Boost Your Gig Economy Workplace Relationships – JD Supra

Posted: at 2:31 am

A recent post by Alaura Jacobs, Product Marketing Manager at Mitratech, examined three ways in which workflow automation can benefit your organization when managing freelance employees and there are obvious crossover implications for gig economy companies seeking to streamline their independent contractor processes. The three benefits you can achieve: managing high-volume onboarding and offboarding, enabling collaboration between your employees and your gig workers, and mitigating risk.

The Benefits of Mixing In Gig Workers is Well-Established

Jacobs points out that 90% of companiesbelieve that combining full-time employees with freelancers and contractors gives them a competitive advantage, leading many organizations to shift to a mix of full-time, contract, and gig employees rather than just employing a traditional W-2 workforce.

She cites Shahar Erez, CEO of Stoke Talent,who said, Bringing a highly-skilled, independent contractor on board for specific projects can save organizations tens of thousands of dollars compared to a full-time team member while delivering equally high-quality results.

3 Ways that Workflow Automation Could Aid Your Gig Model

But because there are inherent inefficiencies to mixing a traditional employment model with a gig economy model after all, you need to treat them differently if you dont want to run the risk of being accused of misclassifying your gig economy independent contractors as employees you need to take a deliberate approach to managing these relationships.

And thats where workflow automation comes into play. Automating many of the typical processes you have in place could introduce efficiencies that not only benefit your end product but protect your legal classification structure. Here are three areas where you can introduce automated workflow processes to assist your organization.

The first process that you can automate to boost your gig relationships is your high-volume onboarding and offboarding efforts. Jacobs notes that freelance relationships in the tech space are often governed by short-term contracts that may or may not be renewed, which sounds a lot like your typical gig economy relationship. You dont want to waste a lot of time when bringing these workers aboard or managing their departures, especially if they are highly skilled. Using workflow automation for contracts, redlining, approvals, and escalations means yournew hire checklist is self-driving, says Jacobs, and contractors can manage it themselves.

She also notes that automating this process ensures that all key documents that govern the relationship are kept in a centralized record repository. This can be of invaluable help to companies with a gig economy workforce especially if you find yourself on the receiving end of a litigation demand or a government investigative inquiry relating to your classification structure.

Jacobs notes that a typical freelancer may not feel connected to a companys full-time team given the short-term nature of their role, their inability to meet their colleagues, and their lack of access to a companys full compendium of resources. Again, this is also true in the gig economy world, where a company may purposefully set up guardrails to prevent contractors from fully interacting with the full-time staff (no office space, reduced access to company collaboration and communication channels, security protocols preventing contractors from connecting on certain areas, etc.) for fear of a possible misclassification claim.

Enter workflow automation. By creating a workflow for review, approval, and real-time collaboration that is accessible to outside parties without incurring additional user licenses or data risk, Jacobs says, your contractors can securely submit assets that will be routed to the correct internal employee for review or feedback (even if they dont know them by name!)

Just make sure that your managers are trained on the strict rules you have in place when it comes to what they can and cant do when interacting with your gig workforce. After all, certain actions could be seen as tipping the scale towards employment status if they are interpreted as levying too much control. Its critical that you engage your workplace law counsel to help you determine these parameters given the state(s) in which you operate and the various laws in place in each jurisdiction governing contractor status.

Finally, Jacobs points out that creating specific and detailed statements of work (SOWs), verifying vendor insurance and tax status, and collaborating throughout contract employment are among the most vital steps your organization can take to mitigate against misclassification risks. Luckily, she notes, these processes can be automated throughvendor management workflowswith built-in collaboration, document generation, and a central record repository.

You should pull together your HR team, your Legal team (including your workplace counsel), and your management team to ensure you have a full understanding of the various pieces of documentation you have and should have with respect to your gig workers before you develop them into a workflow automation process. This will help you develop a full inventory of all available legal protections structured in a way that should put you in the best position to not only optimize your processes but offer the best possible legal protections.

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3 Ways that Workflow Automation Can Boost Your Gig Economy Workplace Relationships - JD Supra

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The Future of Automation Is at Automate | RoboticsTomorrow – Robotics Tomorrow

Posted: at 2:31 am

Automate is the largest and most inspiring showcase of robotics, motion control, vision, artificial intelligence and related automation technologies in North America. Bringing together 550+ exhibiting automation innovators, manufacturers and suppliers.

Article from | Association for Advancing Automation (A3)

Whether youre looking for the latest in automation technology and equipment or want to connect with the brightest minds in automation today, Automate is the place for you.

Automate is the largest and most inspiring showcase of robotics, motion control, vision, artificial intelligence and related automation technologies in North America.The show, hosted by the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), brings together 550+ exhibiting automation innovators, manufacturers and supplierswho hold the keys to tomorrows possibilitiesand your future success.

Find out whats happening at Automate this year and how to use these one-of-a-kind opportunities to get ahead.

Automate gives you a front-row seat to a full spectrum of automation technologies. Youll see live demos of cutting-edge automation products, systems and solutionsin addition to tried-and-true automation workhorsesall of which can help move your business forward.

Heres just a glimpse at what youll find on our show floor:

Automation systems

Industrial robots and systems

Artificial intelligence solutions and software

Vision and imaging systems

Motion control products

Collaborative and mobile robots

Optics, lasers and lighting

And more!

See a full list of Automate exhibitorsfor 2022.

Automate attracts over 20,000 attendees from all over the world who are laser focused on advancing their businesses. This gives you unparalleled opportunities to build and grow your own professional network. Beyond interacting with industry-defining exhibitors on the show floor, you can attend special networking events designed to make connections and help you unlock your companys automation potential.

Automate brings together the best automation professionals in the industry and allows us to reach integrators, end users and suppliers all in one place. This is an incredible opportunity for new business and networking. Gdel

Bring inspiration and actionable insights back to your company after hearing from some of todays best and brightest in automation and business.

TheAutomate Show Theaterwill feature engaging sessions every day on a variety of topics including automation trends, the future of robotics and much more.

Be sure to attend the must-seekeynote speakersin the Grand Ballroom, including:

Daymond John, Founder/CEO of FUBU, Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, Star of ABC's Shark Tank and CEO of The Shark Group

Douglas Stanguini, Executive Director, Vehicle Systems Global Manufacturing Engineering, General Motors

Marc Raibert,Founder and Chairperson, Boston Dynamics

Rachele Focardi,best-selling author of Reframing Generational Stereotypes and leading expert on Multigenerational Workforce Effectiveness

These talks are all open and free to Automate attendees and exhibitors.

Want to know whos leading the way in innovative automation technology? Discover promising new businesses inThe Cowen Startup Challenge: Automate to Outperform. This competition spotlights up-and-coming entrepreneurs and their companies in robotics and automation. Ten finalists will compete for the top $10,000 cash prize by pitching their technology solution to a panel of industry expert judges. Its a great opportunity to witness cutting-edge automation technology and get a glimpse into whats possible for the future.

No matter what youre looking for, Automate is the best place to find automation solutions that pave your way forward. You wont want to miss it.Register FREE for Automate today!

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A unique distillery uses Pleora's Visual Inspection System to maintain brand quality standards and reduce errors that increase operating costs and slow production. To help ensure brand consistency, the distillery uses Pleora's AI-based Visual Inspection System to add decision-support for manual labelling processes. The camera-based system integrates pre-packaged AI plug-ins that are easily trained on a customer's unique requirements to visually highlight product differences and deviations for operators and inspectors on a display. The distillery trained the Image Compare plug-in to identify key brand elements on the bottle, with a real-time on-screen image overlay then guiding operators as they manually place the emblem. In addition, the system can be used as a training tool to teach new employees on brand quality standards.

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The Future of Automation Is at Automate | RoboticsTomorrow - Robotics Tomorrow

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Industrial Automation Software Market Worth $59.5 Billion by 2029 – Exclusive Report by Meticulous Research – GlobeNewswire

Posted: at 2:31 am

Redding, California, May 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled, Industrial Automation Software Market by Product (SCADA, DCS, MES, HMI, PLC, IT and Software Environment Integration Solutions, Production Process Test Systems), Deployment Type, End User, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2029, the industrial automation software market is expected to register a CAGR of 7.4% from 2022 to 2029 to reach $59.5 billion by 2029.

DownloadFree Sample Report Now @https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=5279

An increase in demand for automation for qualitative & reliable manufacturing, the growing need for mass production with reduced operation costs, and the emergence of Industry 4.0 & enabling technologies are the key factors driving the growth of the global industrial automation software market. The emerging automation-driven industries in developing countries provide significant growth opportunities for players operating in this market.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Global Industrial Automation Software Market

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a widespread economic downturn as several countries imposed strict lockdowns to contain the infection. These lockdowns have affected diverse industries, primarily due to the impact on manufacturing operations. There has been a significant impact on supply chains globally. Manufacturing & processing companies faced huge losses in the first and second quarters of 2020 due to disrupted supply chains and delayed production schedules. The rapid spread of the coronavirus in the U.S., Europe, and Asian countries resulted in nationwide lockdowns and a temporary halting of production facilities to prevent further spread.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to the downsizing of various businesses and negatively impacted the growth of the industrial automation software market. Various small- and medium-sized enterprises cannot afford the large investment needed for deploying automation for processes.

Speak to our Analysts to Understand the Impact of COVID-19 on Your Business:https://www.meticulousresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/cp_id=5279

Based on product, the global industrial automation software market is segmented into supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control system (DCS), manufacturing execution system (MES), human machine interface (HMI), programmable logic controller (PLC), IT & software environment integration solutions, production process test systems, automated material handling systems, coordinated data management systems, and automatic storage & retrieval systems. In 2022, the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) segment is expected to account for the largest share of the industrial automation software market. SCADA controls and monitors automation processes that are important for data analysis and takes decisions for optimization. In addition, the rising demand for industrial automation solutions among organizations is expected to boost the growth of the segment. However, the human machine interface (HMI) segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on deployment type, the global industrial automation software market is segmented into on-premise and cloud-based. In 2022, the on-premise segment is expected to account for the largest share of the industrial automation software market. Industries run on-premise servers to gain full control over security. However, the cloud-based segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Quick Buy Industrial Automation Software Market by Product (SCADA, DCS, MES, HMI, PLC, IT and Software Environment Integration Solutions, Production Process Test Systems), Deployment Type, End User, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2029 Research Report: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/Checkout/64951317

Based on end user, the global industrial automation software market is segmented into oil & gas, chemicals & materials, paper & pulp, pharmaceuticals & biotech, mining & metals, food & beverage, power, consumer goods, automotive, machines & tools, semiconductors & electronics, aerospace & defense, and other end users. In 2022, the oil & gas segment is expected to account for the largest share of the industrial automation software market. Some of the major areas highly influenced by automation in the oil & gas sector include drilling operations, diagnostics & inspections, pipeline monitoring systems, weather monitoring systems, and pressure & flow systems. Drilling is one of the major areas that require automation due to its high costs and safety risks.

However, the chemicals & materials segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period due to the increasing implementation of IoT and process automation solutions. The chemical industry is witnessing intense global competition and low product differentiation, making cost control necessary. In such an environment, automation solutions offer dual benefits of innovation in the areas that matter to consumers and improved cost efficiency throughout optimized production. The chemicals & materials industry also needs to control raw material & energy costs, which can be achieved using IIoT and automation technologies, which is further expected to create opportunities for the markets growth.

Based on geography, the global industrial automation software market is segmented into North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. In 2022, Asia-Pacific is expected to hold the largest share of the industrial automation market, followed by Europe and North America. Government initiatives and policies supporting the digitization of manufacturing plants and investments in the IIoT are major factors boosting the adoption of industrial automation software in the region.

Some of the key players operating in the global industrial automation software market are Emerson Electric Co. (U.S.), ABB Ltd (Sweden), Siemens AG (Germany), General Electric Company (U.S.), Schneider Electric SE (France), Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.), Rockwell Automation Inc. (U.S.), HCL Technologies Ltd.(India), Parsec Automation Corporation (U.S.), SAP SE (Germany), Tata Consultancy Services Limited (India), Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan), OMRON Corporation (Japan), Aegis Industrial Software Corporation (U.S.) and IBM Corporation (U.S.).

To gain more insights into the market with a detailed table of content and figures, click here:https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/industrial-automation-software-market-5279

Scope of the Report

Industrial Automation Software Market, by Product

Industrial Automation Software Market, by Deployment Type

Industrial Automation Software Market, by End User

Industrial Automation Software Market, by Geography

DownloadFree Sample Report Now @https://www.meticulousresearch.com/download-sample-report/cp_id=5279

Amidst this crisis, Meticulous Researchis continuously assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on various sub-markets and enables global organizations to strategize for the post-COVID-19 world and sustain their growth. Let us know if you would like to assess the impact of COVID-19 on any industry here-https://www.meticulousresearch.com/custom-research

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https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/industrial-iot-market-5102/

About Meticulous Research

Meticulous Research was founded in 2010 and incorporated as Meticulous Market Research Pvt. Ltd. in 2013 as a private limited company under the Companies Act, 1956. Since its incorporation, the company has become the leading provider of premium market intelligence in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa.

The name of our company defines our services, strengths, and values. Since the inception, we have only thrived to research, analyze, and present the critical market data with great attention to details. With the meticulous primary and secondary research techniques, we have built strong capabilities in data collection, interpretation, and analysis of data including qualitative and quantitative research with the finest team of analysts. We design our meticulously analyzed intelligent and value-driven syndicate market research reports, custom studies, quick turnaround research, and consulting solutions to address business challenges of sustainable growth.

Contact:Mr.Khushal BombeMeticulous Market Research Inc.1267WillisSt,Ste200 Redding,California,96001, U.S.USA: +1-646-781-8004Europe : +44-203-868-8738APAC: +91 744-7780008Email-sales@meticulousresearch.comVisit Our Website:https://www.meticulousresearch.com/Connect with us on LinkedIn-https://www.linkedin.com/company/meticulous-researchContent Source: https://www.meticulousresearch.com/pressrelease/503/industrial-automation-software-market-2029

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Industrial Automation Software Market Worth $59.5 Billion by 2029 - Exclusive Report by Meticulous Research - GlobeNewswire

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Indecomm Launches GeniusWorks, an Automation-enabled Origination Workflow that Drives Significant Cost Savings in the Middle Office – PR Newswire

Posted: at 2:31 am

EDISON, N.J., May 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --Indecomm Global Services, a leading provider of mortgage automation and services, today announced the release of GeniusWorks, an automation-driven intelligent workflow solution that combines Indecomm's proprietary automation solutions with expert mortgage talent to streamline the three most cumbersome and costly middle-office origination functions: set-up, processing, and underwriting.

Built for lenders looking to maximize productivity while minimizing costs, GeniusWorks leverages Indecomm's Genius suite of automation and expert talent to take loan files at set-up and return them to the lender clear-to-close. GeniusWorks streamlines all workflow, processes, decisions, and tasks at middle-office origination so the lender's associates can focus on high-value efforts such as borrower engagement.

"We created GeniusWorks to solve fragmented and inefficient origination outsourcing models," said Indecomm CEO, Rajan Nair. "Blending automation with mortgage talent, we've created a connected, cohesive engagement model that simplifies lender oversight, speeds processing, and improves loan decisions, translating to cost-savings, fast turnaround times, and a better borrower experience."

GeniusWorks' intelligent workflow seamlessly switches between automation and expert talent based on the context of the task being executed. GeniusWorks processes both conventional loans and complex products like non-QM. Key features include:

Managed and maintained by Indecomm, the Genius automation solutions are cloud-based and integrate with the lender's loan origination platform, delivering real-time visibility into loans at every stage.

"Our models predict that lenders will achieve a meaningful 30% reduction in cost-per-loan at the middle office and a 50% reduction in the number of lender touches per loan," said Indecomm's SVP, Automation, Narayan Bharadwaj. "This efficiency allows lenders to operate profitably even during periods of economic uncertainties and without the constant yo-yo of having to manage their capacity up or down."

While GeniusWorks leverages machine learning and robotics process automation to expedite high-quality loan processing and decisioning, Indecomm's mortgage talent addresses corrective action and human analyses not covered by automation, reducing bottlenecks, and keeping loans moving through the process. Managed by a GeniusWorks client liaison, the GeniusWorks team includes experienced loan admins, processors, and underwriters.

About Indecomm

Founded more than 25 years ago, Indecomm blends intelligent automation with deep mortgage banking expertise to deliver groundbreaking mortgage innovations that help businesses optimize operations and achieve competitive advantage. Backed by a 1500-strong global workforce, mortgage organizations benefit from Indecomm's automation-as-a-service approach, which enables better borrower experiences by streamlining middle and back-office operations.

Indecomm takes an automation-first approach, partnering with large and mid-sized lenders, servicers, mortgage insurers, and title companies to create efficiencies at every phase of the mortgage lifecycle. Specifically, Indecomm products and services leverage robotics process automation (RPA), supervised automation, and machine learning to tackle the industry's most complex operational challenges.

Media Contact:Robyn Mahoney1-732-404-0081[emailprotected]

SOURCE Indecomm Global Services

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Indecomm Launches GeniusWorks, an Automation-enabled Origination Workflow that Drives Significant Cost Savings in the Middle Office - PR Newswire

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7 Tips to Improve Field Service Automation in Your Business – The Motley Fool

Posted: at 2:31 am

Image source: Getty Images

Though the field service industry is all about hands-on work at customer sites, multiple administrative tasks also need to be completed alongside each work order. These tasks are often repetitive and time-consuming, and if theyre not completed accurately, they can ruin a technicians day and damage your customer experience.

Thats where field service automation comes into play. It frees up time spent on recurring yet crucial tasks, giving you more time to optimize business operations and maximize both revenue and efficiency.

Here, we go through the many benefits of field service automation and the seven ways you can implement it to help boost productivity.

Field service automation involves using field service management tools and other types of software to streamline processes and procedures with the goal of maximizing efficiency.

Many field service processes involve complex yet repetitive workflows which, without a field automation platform, slow down the services companies provide to customers

From preparing quotations to creating tickets, scheduling, and route planning, field service automation uses software to process tasks in a faster and more efficient way.

Field service automation relieves dispatchers and technicians from completing many manual tasks daily. Below, we discuss just some of the benefits your company can enjoy by implementing field service automation.

Coordination between the back office and technicians is key to maintaining a successful field service business that keeps customers happy. Field service automation facilitates better coordination by bringing all communication together into a central hub, where all relevant people can access it conveniently.

Manually keeping tabs on tickets, the progress of each job, and each technicians availability is an unenviable task. Since conditions are so prone and quick to change in the field service industry, managing these tasks manually can often end in chaos, missed appointments, and wasted time. Field service software helps reduce the incidence of human error by automating these tasks in a few clicks.

With field service automation, tasks that once took an age to complete can be carried out much faster, meaning the transition from one job to the next is much more streamlined.

For example, technicians dont have to wait for you to complete a work order and plan a route but can access work orders and optimize their own routes within a mobile application, meaning quicker service for customers and more jobs ticked off the list.

So, what does field service automation look like in practice? Here, we go through just a few of the ways that field service automation can tighten up business processes.

Technician scheduling can be an arduous task when jobs can get canceled or rearranged at the last minute, and new and emergency jobs can enter the system at any time.

With field service management software automation features, you can easily view work orders and the availability and location of each of your technicians. Most of these features come with simple drag-and-drop functionality to help assign technicians new jobs in one click.

You can also identify productivity gaps in technicians schedules, where you can schedule smaller jobs such as routine maintenance or follow-up calls. Plus, when technicians have completed a job, you can automatically schedule recurring work orders or annual inspections and maintenance for future dates, streamlining the workflow entirely.

mHelpDesks dashboard displays the days schedule for dispatchers. Image source: Author

Route optimization benefits field service organizations by reducing the time spent creating route plans and recreating them when schedules change.

Using complex algorithms that take into account factors such as time of appointment, length of work orders, real-time and historical traffic data, and technician proximity, route optimization features create the most efficient routes for technicians to take.

Automated route optimization has a number of benefits, including:

Jobber notifies technicians of route changes as soon as they occur. Image source: Author

When you receive multiple customer requests from multiple communication channels, its almost impossible to create a coherent system without field service automation tools.

Centralizing customer requests pulls all communication into one place, making it easy for you to schedule and prioritize tickets. Freshdesk, for example, offers an omnichannel feature that automatically converts customer requests from email, phone, social media, and live chat channels into tickets.

This helps you not only respond to customers faster and streamline the creation of tickets but also create automated workflows, easily assign technicians, and change the status of work orders.

Users can easily create tickets from multiple communication channels. Image source: Author

When your technicians are in the field, they need to collect data such as photographs, customer signatures, and other job-related information. With field service automation, this data can be collected and sent to the back office in real time via mobile applications, meaning you dont need to wait to collect mountains of paperwork at the end of each day.

Instead of waiting to return to the office to hand in invoices, your technicians can use mobile applications to help automate the billing process.

Invoices can be generated quickly, as technicians can easily populate form fields during the visit.

Another benefit of field service automation is that all necessary information about each job can be collected and then automatically stored in the cloud. This means that information is on hand for different technicians who attend any follow-up appointments or maintenance calls.

This results in the end of folders stuffed with job notes and invoices and calls to the office to confirm what tasks have been completed beforehand and the beginning of a start-to-finish streamlined workflow.

Automated reporting on your teams efficiency and productivity helps you identify areas of improvement and areas where things are going well.

Dashboards that collect information such as the number of jobs completed on time and the number of service tasks completed can help you gain insight into where operations can be adjusted to make improvements, such as building a bigger team or investing in training and development.

An investment in field service automation is an investment in field mobility -- the ability to be more responsive to your customers needs.

Automation frees up time for your team to complete more jobs more efficiently and enables you to implement smoother, more informed, and more insightful workflows.

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7 Tips to Improve Field Service Automation in Your Business - The Motley Fool

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