It’s Not Just Your Credit Card Score – The Erosion of Privacy

What is Privacy Good For?

Strains on Privacy

Privacy, of course, is under continual strain. In his recent article, “Uh-oh: Silicon Valley is building a Chinese-style social credit system,” (Fast Company, August 8, 2019) Mike Elgan notes that China is not alone in seeking to create a “social credit” system—a system that monitors and rewards/punishes citizen behavior.

China’s state-run system would seem to be extreme (e.g., it rewards and punishes for such things as failure to pay debts, excessive video gaming, criticizing the government, late payments, failing to sweep the sidewalk in front of your store or house, smoking or playing loud music on trains, jaywalking, etc. It also publishes lists of citizens’ social credit ratings, and uses public shaming as a means to enforce desired behavior.) Elgan notes that Silicon Valley has similar designs on monitoring and motivating what it deems as “desirable and undesirable” behavior. The outlines of an ever-evolving corporate-sponsored, technology-based “social credit” system now include:

• Life insurance companies can base premiums on what they find in your social media posts
• Airbnb—now has more than 6 million listings in its system, and the company can ban customers and limit their travel/accommodation choices. Airbnb can disable your account for life for any reason it chooses, and it reserves the right to not tell you the reason.
• PatronScan, an ID-reading service helps restaurants and bars to spot fake IDs—and troublemakers. The company maintains a list of objectionable customers which is designed to protect venues from people previously removed for “fighting, sexual assault, drugs, theft, and other bad behavior,” A “public” list is shared among all PatronScan customers.Under a new policy Uber announced in May: If your average rating is “significantly below average,” Uber will ban you from the service.
• WhatsApp is, in much of the world today, the main form of electronic communication. Users can be blocked if too many other users block you. Not being allowed to use WhatsApp in some countries is as punishing as not being allowed to use the telephone system in America.

The Consequences

While no one wants to endorse “bad behavior,” ceding the power to corporations and technology giants to determine which behavior counts as undesirable and punishable may not be the most just or democratic way to ensure societal norms and expectations. As Elgan observes, “The most disturbing attribute of a social credit system is not that it’s invasive, but that it’s extra-legal. Crimes are punished outside the legal system, which means no presumption of innocence, no legal representation, no judge, no jury, and often no appeal. In other words, it’s an alternative legal system where the accused have fewer rights.” Even more ominously, as Julie Cohen writes, “Conditions of diminished privacy shrink the capacity (of self government), because they impair both the capacity and the scope for the practice of citizenship. But a liberal democratic society cannot sustain itself without citizens who possess the capacity for democratic self-government. A society that permits the unchecked ascendancy of surveillance infrastructures cannot hope to remain a liberal democracy.”

Resources:

“America Isn’t Far Off from China’s ‘Social Credit Score’” Anthony Davenport, Observer, February 19, 2018.

“How the West Got China’s Social Credit System Wrong,”  Lousse Matsakis, Wired, July 29. 2019

“Ten Reasons Why Privacy Matters” Daniel Solove

“What Privacy Is For?” Julie Cohen, Harvard Law Review, Vol. 126, 2013

Meritocracy: Who Deserves to Succeed?

Meritocracy is a system in which skills, ability, talent, and knowledge are thought to be the best basis for promoting people to positions of power and social standing. Advancement in a meritocratic system is based on performance, typically as measured through examination, or otherwise demonstrated achievement. Meritocracies can be found as far back as 6th century BC China, where an administrative meritocracy was based on civil service examinations, rather than inherited offices. In contemporary England, there is a Meritocratic political party which believes, among other things, that there should be a 100% inheritance tax, so that the super-rich can’t pass on their wealth to a select few (their privileged children) and that every child should get an equal chance to succeed in life. Needless to say, a fully realized meritocracy could go a long way to ending elite dynasties and hereditary monarchy.

Ironically, the term ‘meritocracy’ was coined as a satirical slur in a dystopic novel, The Rise of the Meritocracy, 1870–2033, published in 1958, by the British sociologist and Labor party politician Michael Young. The Rise of the Meritocracy imagines a world in which social class and inherited position has been replaced by a system that promotes those to the top those who have advanced educationally as evidenced via rigid testing and objective standards. The book, however, argues that meritocracy doesn’t eliminate ruling elites, but simply ends up recreating a new class system by means of education and testing. As the conservative commentator, Toby Young, (the son of the author of Rise of the Meritocracy) recently observed “(there is) the tendency within meritocracies for the cognitive elite to become a self-perpetuating oligarchy.”

For many years, the US has been thought to be predominately a meritocracy–one in which the social power of inheritance and privilege had been superseded by a system in which leaders and socially prominent persons are those who possess superior knowledge and talent. A spate of recent articles, some of which were precipitated by the recent college-admissions scandal (See, for example. “A History of College Admissions Schemes, From Encoded Pencils to Paid Stand-Ins,” Adeel Hassan, March 15, 2019, New York Times) calls into question many of the assumptions about the benefits of meritocracy, and suggests that meritocracy has not yet been realized.

There are, of course, a number of criticisms of meritocracy and the concept of “merit” on which it is based. Among these:

• What counts as meritorious and who decides which qualities, skills, and knowledge are worthy of merit?
• In educational systems, do standardized tests and other measures of merit accurately and thoroughly indicate merit/worth?
• Is meritocracy a kind of “social Darwinism,” in which the survival (and promotion) of the physically “fittest,” is replaced by the survival of the cognitively “smartest” (i.e. the best test takers)?
• Does wealth and inheritance affect individuals’ ability to obtain the educational credentials by which meritocracy is demonstrated? (For example, does the level of education required for a person to become competitive in a meritocracy discriminate against those who are unable to afford the often expensive and time-consuming “markers” that an education affords?)
• Does meritocracy, despite its original anti-elitist intentions, merely recreate another kind of permanent elite?

The ultimate question is whether a meritocracy is the best we can do? While meritocracy is problematic, is there a fairer system to replace it? (See for example Richard Dawkins brief discussion, “Democracy or Meritocracy: Which is the Government of Reason?”)

Resources:

“Meritocracy: Real or Myth?”

“A History of College Admissions Schemes, From Encoded Pencils to Paid Stand-Ins,” Adeel Hassan, March 15, 2019, New York Times

“A ‘Meritocracy’ Is Not What People Think It Is.” Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic March 14, 2019

“The Scandals of Meritocracy,” Ross Douthat, New York Times, March 16, 2019

The Big Test: The Secret History of the American Meritocracy, Nicholas Lemann, Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (October 1, 1999)

“Meritocracy” at Wikipedia

“What’s (still) wrong with meritocracy” Toby Young, The Spectator

“College Admission Scandal,” various authors, New York Times

Glitches in Philanthropy?

Over the years, Brad Rose Consulting has provided evaluation services to philanthropies and community service organizations. These clients are dedicated to making the world a better place, often through philanthropic work with disadvantaged populations. While the work of philanthropies is generally perceived as laudable, there are a number of potential objections to the rise of philanthropic largesse.

• Charities often target symptoms, not causes- Charity helps the recipient with their problem, but it doesn’t do much to deal with the causes of that problem.
• Charity may become a substitute for real justice- The idea that charity is wrong when it’s used to patch up the effects of the fundamental injustices that are built into the structure and values of a society.
• Charity may not provide the best solution to a problem- Charitable giving may not be the most effective way of solving world poverty. Indeed, charitable giving may even distract from finding the best solution – which might involve a complex rethink of the way the world organizes its economic relationships, and large-scale government initiatives to change people’s conditions.
• Charity may benefit the state rather than the needy- If the charity sector increases spending in an area also funded by government then there is a risk that government will choose to spend less in that area.
• Charities are often accountable to the givers not the receivers- because the recipients of charity are often unorganized and the charity doesn’t know their individual identities, it’s often easier for charities to make their performance reports to the givers.

Resources

Do Work Teams Work?

“Collaboration” and “teamwork” are the catchphrases of the contemporary workplace. Since the 1980s in the U.S., work teams have been hailed as the solution to assembly line workers’ alienation and disaffection, and white-collar workers’ isolation and disconnection. Work teams have been associated with increased productivity, innovation, employee satisfaction, and reduced turnover. Additionally, teams at work are said to have beneficial effects on employee learning, problem-solving, communication, company loyalty, and organizational cohesiveness. Teams are now found throughout the for-profit, non-profit, and governmental sectors, and much of the work of the field of organization development (OD) is devoted to fostering and sustaining teams at work.

In his recent article “Stop Wasting Money on Team Building,” Harvard Business Review, September 11, 2018, Carlos Valdes-Dapena, argues that teams are less effective than many believe them to be. Based on research conducted at Mars, Inc. “a 35 billion dollar global corporation with a commitment to collaboration,” Valdes-Dapena argues that while employees like the idea of teams and team work, employees don’t, in fact, much collaborate in teams. After conducting 125 interviews and administering questionnaires with team members, he writes “If there was one dominant theme from the interviews, it is summarized in this remarkable sentiment: “I really like and value my teammates. And I know we should collaborate more. We just don’t.”

Valdes-Dapena reports that employees “…felt the most clarity about their individual objectives, and felt a strong sense of ownership for the work they were accountable for.” He also shows that “Mars was full of people who loved to get busy on tasks and responsibilities that had their names next to them. It was work they could do exceedingly well, producing results without collaborating. On top of that, they were being affirmed for those results by their bosses and the performance rating system.” Essentially, Valdes-Dapena, argues, teams may sound good in theory, but it is probably better to tap individual self-interest, if you really want to get the job done.

In “3 Types of Dysfunctional Teams and How To Fix Them,” Patty McManus says that there are different types of dysfunctional work teams. She characterizes these different team types as: “The War Zone,” “The Love Fest,” and “The Unteam.” In “War Zone” teams, competition and factionalism among members obscure or derail the potential benefits of teamwork. In the “Love Fest” team, there is a focus on muting disagreements, highlighting areas of agreement, and avoidance of tough issues in the interest of maintaining good feelings. “The Unteam” is characterized by meetings that are used for top-down communication and status updates, and fail to build shared perspective about the organization. In the “Unteam” members may get along as individuals, but they have little connection to one another or a larger purpose they all share.

McManus claims that the problems of teams may be overcome by what she terms “ecosystems teams,” i.e., teams that surface and manage differences, build healthy inter-dependence among members, and engage the organization—beyond the mere confines of the team.

Matthew Swyers also sees problems in teams at work. In “7 Reasons Good Teams Become Dysfunctional,” (Inc. September 27, 2012,) Swyers writes that there are seven types of problems that teams may experience:

• absence of a strong and competent leader
• team members more interested in individual glory than achieving team objectives
• failure to define team goals and desired outcomes
• disproportionately place too much of the team’s work on a few of its members’ shoulders
• lack focus and endless debate, without moving toward an ultimate goal
• lack of accountability and postponed timetables
• failure of decisiveness.

Each of these writers highlight the vulnerabilities of teams at work. Although the work of these writers doesn’t foreclose the positive possibilities of team organization at work, they raise important questions about both the enthusiasm for, and the effectiveness of, teams. Additionally, each author suggests that with enlightened modifications, organizations can overcome the liabilities of teams and begin to reap the benefits of team-based employee collaboration. That said, none of these writers, and few among the other U.S. based writers who have engaged this topic, treat the underlying assumptions of workplace reform—that work can be made more habitable and humane without the independent organizations that have traditionally represented workers’/employees’ interests in the workplace. For discussion of models of workplace reform that genuinely represent workers’ interest in more humane, collaborative, and ultimately, productive working environments, we will need to look elsewhere.

Resources:

Workgroups vs. Teams

“Importance of Teamwork at Work,” Tim Zimmer

“Importance of Teamwork in Organizations,” Aaron Marquis

“What Makes Teams Work?” Regina Fazio Maruca, Fast Company

“Stop Wasting Money on Team Building,” Carlos Valdes-Dapena, Harvard Business Review, September 11, 2018

“3 Types Of Dysfunctional Teams And How To Fix Them,” Patty McManus, Fast Company

“When Is Teamwork Really Necessary?” Michael D. Watkins, Harvard Business Review, August 16, 2018

“7 Reasons Good Teams Become Dysfunctional,” Matthew Swyers , Inc. Sept 27 2012

“Why Teams Don’t Work,” Diane Coutu, Harvard Business Review, May 2009

Learning to Learn

In a recent article in the May 2, 2018 Harvard Business Review, “Learning Is a Learned Behavior. Here’s How to Get Better at It,” Ulrich Boser rejects the idea that our capacities for learning are innate and immutable. He argues, instead, that a growing body of research shows that learners are not born, but made. Boser says that we can all get better at learning how to learn, and that improving our knowledge-acquisition skills is a matter of practicing some basic strategies.

Learning how to learn is a matter of:

1. setting clear and achievable targets about what we want to learn
2. developing our metacognition skills (“metacognition” is a fancy way to say thinking about thinking) so that as we learn, we ask ourselves questions like, Could I explain this to a friend? Do I need to get more background knowledge? etc.
3. reflecting on what we are learning by taking time to “step away” from our deliberate learning activities so that during periods of calm and even mind-wondering, new insights emerge

Boser says that research shows we’re more committed, if we develop a learning plan with clear objectives, and that periodic reflection on the skills and concepts we’re trying to master, i.e., utilizing metacognition, makes each of us a better learner.

Transparent as a Jellyfish? Why Privacy is Important

Two Cheers for Bureaucracy in Education

Evaluation in Complex and Evolving Environments

Program evaluations seldom occur in stable, scientifically controlled environments. Often programs are implemented in complex and rapidly evolving settings that make traditional evaluation research approaches—which depend upon the stability of the “treatment” and the designation of predetermined outcomes—difficult to utilize.

Michael Quinn Patton, one of the originators of Developmental Evaluation, says that “Developmental evaluation processes include asking evaluative questions and gathering information to provide feedback and support developmental decision-making and course corrections along the emergent path. The evaluator is part of a team whose members collaborate to conceptualize, design and test new approaches in a long-term, on-going process of continuous improvement, adaptation, and intentional change. The evaluator’s primary function in the team is to elucidate team discussions with evaluative questions, data and logic, and to facilitate data-based assessments and decision-making in the unfolding and developmental processes of innovation.”

In their paper, “A Practitioners Guide to Developmental Evaluation,” Dozios and her colleagues note, “Developmental Evaluation differs from traditional forms of evaluation in several key ways:”

• The primary focus is on adaptive learning rather than accountability to an external authority.
• The purpose is to provide real-time feedback and generate learnings to inform development.
• The evaluator is embedded in the initiative as a member of the team.
• The DE role extends well beyond data collection and analysis; the evaluator actively intervenes to shape the course of development, helping to inform decision-making and facilitate learning.
• The evaluation is designed to capture system dynamics and surface innovative strategies and ideas.
• The approach is flexible, with new measures and monitoring mechanisms evolving as understanding of the situation deepens and the initiative’s goals emerge

Development evaluation is especially useful for social innovators who often find themselves inventing the program as it is implemented, and who often don’t have a stable and unchanging set of anticipated outcomes. Following Patton, Dozois, Langlois, and Blanchet-Cohen observe that Developmental Evaluation is especially well suited to situations that are:

• Highly emergent and volatile (e.g., the environment is always changing)
• Difficult to plan or predict because the variables are interdependent and non-linear
• Socially complex— requiring collaboration among stakeholders from different organizations, systems, and/or sectors
• Innovative, requiring real-time learning and development

Developmental Evaluation, however, is increasingly appropriate for use in the non-profit world, especially where the stability of programs’ key components including the program’s core treatment and eventual, often evolving, outcomes, are not as certain or firm as program designers might wish.

Brad Rose Consulting is experienced in working with program’s whose environments are volatile and whose iterative program designs are necessarily flexible. We are adept at collecting data that can inform the on-going evolution of a program, and have 20+ years of providing meaningful data to program designers and implementers that help them to adjust to rapidly changing and highly variable environments.

Resources:

A Practitioner’s Guide to Developmental Evaluation, Elizabeth Dozois, Marc Langlois, and Natasha Blanchet-Cohen

Michael Quinn Patton on Developmental Evaluation

Developmental Evaluation

The Case for Developmental Evaluation

The Importance of Understanding Stakeholders

Every program evaluation is conducted in a context in which there are parties (persons, organizations, etc.) who have an interest, or a “stake,” in the operation and success of the program. In the corporate world, a “stakeholder” is any member of the “groups without whose support the organization would cease to exist.” (see Corporate Stakeholder). More recently, the idea of “a stakeholder” has been broadened to include “any group or individual who is affected by, or who can affect the achievement of, an organization’s objectives.” (The Stakeholder Theory Summary.)
Indeed, in the not-for-profit world, stakeholders may include an array of persons and organizations including funders, community members, program participants, family members, volunteers, staff, government agencies, and the broader public.

Stakeholders in non-profits usually fall into one of three categories of legal statuses:

1. Constitutional stakeholders such as board members or trustees of the non-profit organization
2. Contractual stakeholders, including paid staff, or any business, group or individual that has a formal relationship with the organization.
3. Third-party stakeholders including all the people and groups that may be affected by what the organization does. That includes businesses, the local government, and the citizens who live in the community. (See What is a Stakeholder of a Non-profit.)

Nonprofit stakeholders may range from those who support an organization, to those who oppose an organization. Stakeholder can include advocates, supporters, critics, competitors, and opponents. In its analysis of stakeholders in policy change efforts, the World Bank uses the categories of “promoter,” “defender,” “latents”, and “apathetics.” (See What is a Stakeholder Analysis.)

Conducting a stakeholder analysis is very useful for both evaluation and strategic planning efforts. Identifying various stakeholders’ interests in an organization’s mission and programming can help non-profit leaders and staff to be sure that their efforts and initiatives are achieving desired goals. They can also be useful in ensuring that the needs of those served are being directly met. For both evaluation and strategic planning purposes, a stakeholder analysis is an important process for achieving a shared understanding of each stakeholder’s specific interest in, and relevance to, the work of the non-profit or educational organization.

Brad Rose Consulting has developed a unique approach to stakeholder analysis, one that can be extremely useful as organizations examine the purposes, goals, specific activities, and desired outcomes of their work. We often work with organizations to implement stakeholder analyses. These analyses are helpful both in identifying where an organization is, at any given point in time, and for identifying where it wants to go in the future. You can see our basic stakeholder analysis form here.

Resources

Corporate Stakeholder

Stakeholder Theory

Summary of Stakeholder Theory

Stakeholders of a Typical Non-Profit Organization

What is a Stakeholder of a Non-profit

A Brief Guide to Evaluation (Part 2): Identifying Evaluation Stakeholders

When you and your colleagues consider conducting an evaluation, it is critical that you be clear about who the evaluation is for. Your organization is likely to have a number of stakeholders who are interested in learning about whether the programmatic work is achieving its desired results (i.e. outcomes). Some programs are funded by a single funder, others may have multiple funders. Funders are, of course, a very important audience for evaluation findings. They will want to know whether their investment is producing results. However, you will want to consider additional stakeholders as well (see the list below). When you are considering an evaluation—whether it will be conducted by an internal or external evaluator—you will benefit from considering who will be the audience for evaluation findings?

• Who are the major stakeholders or interested parties for evaluation results?
• Who wants/needs to know?
• Who will benefit from knowing about the effectiveness of your program’s efforts?
• Make a list of key stakeholders and what they might want to know.

• Current funders
• Potential funders
• Community stakeholders
• Advocacy organizations
• Government agencies
• Colleagues/Internal organizational constituencies
• Peer organizations
• Program managers and program staff
• The “field”/general public
• Political allies
• Voters
• Competitors

Evidence-Based Studies

“Evidence-based” – What is it?
“Evidenced-based” has become a common adjectival term for identifying and endorsing the effectiveness of various programs and practices in fields ranging from medicine to education, from psychology to nursing, from criminal justice to psychology. The motivation for marshalling objective evidence in order to guide practices and policies in these diverse fields has been the result of the growing recognition that professional practices—whether they be doctoring or teaching, social work, or nursing—need to be based on something more sound than custom/tradition, practitioners’ habit, professional culture, received wisdom, and hearsay.

What does “evidenced-based” mean?
While definitions of “evidence-based” vary, the most common characteristics of evidence-based research include: objective, empirical research that is valid and replicable, whose findings are based on a strong theoretical foundation, and include high quality data and data collection procedures. The most common definition of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) is drawn from Dr. David Sackett’s, original (1996) definition of “evidence-based” practices in medicine, i.e., “the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of the individual patient. It means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research” (Sackett D, 1996). This definition was subsequently amended to, “a systematic approach to clinical problem solving which allows the integration of the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and patient values” (Sackett DL, Strauss SE, Richardson WS, et al. Evidence-based medicine: how to practice and teach EBM. London: Churchill-Livingstone,2000). (See, “Definition of Evidenced-based Medicine”).

An evidenced-based program, whether it be in youth development or education, is comprised of a set of coordinated services/activities that demonstrate effectiveness, as such effectiveness has been established by sound research, preferably, scientifically based research. (See, “Introduction to Evidence-Based Practice“).

In education, evidence-based practices are those practices that are based on sound research that shows that desired outcomes follow from the employment of such practices.  “Evidence-based education is a paradigm by which education stakeholders use empirical evidence to make informed decisions about education interventions (policies, practices, and programs). ‘Evidence-based’ decision making is emphasized over ‘opinion-based’ decision making.” Additionally, “the concept behind evidence-based approaches is that education interventions should be evaluated to prove whether they work, and the results should be fed back to influence practice. Research is connected to day-to-day practice, and individualistic and personal approaches give way to testing and scientific rigor.” (See, “What is Evidence-Based Education?“).

Of course there are different kinds of evidence that can be used to show that practices, programs, and policies are effective.  In a subsequent blog post I will discuss the range of evidence-based studies—from individual case studies and quasi experimental designs, to randomized controlled trials (RCT).  The quality of the evidence as well as the quality of the study in which such evidence appears is a critical factor in deciding whether the practice or program is not just “evidence-based,” but in fact, effective. To learn more about our data collection and measurement click here.

Resources

Evidenced-based practice

What are Evidence-Based Interventions (EBI)?

Scientific Research and Evidence-Based Practice

Evidence-based medicine, Florida State College of Medicine

Evidenced-based studies in education

U.S Department of Education, “What Works” Clearinghouse

Defining Evidence-Based Programs

Child and Family Services

Linking Research with Practice in Youth Development – What Works and How Do We Know

Scientifically Based Research vs. Evidence-Based Practices and Instruction

How to Evaluate Evidence-Based or Research-Based Interventions

Issues in Defining and Applying Evidence-Based Practices Criteria for Treatment of Criminal-Justice Involved Clients

Can Randomized Trials Answer the Question of What Works?