CIDAS members conduct research in various areas of Data Science and digitization, addressing both methodological and applied research questions. Social science perspectives on digitalization are also explored. Below, you will find a selection of projects and publications in which CIDAS members play a significant role. If you have questions regarding individual projects, you are invited to contact the respective project leads.
This project is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the Priority Program 2267 “The Digitalisation of Working Worlds” (11/23 to 10/26), carried out in cooperation with ISF Munich and ZZF Potsdam. Project duration: 11/2023 – 10/2026.
Technological Inscription as a Field of Performance Politics
Building on the first project “Politics of Performance,” which explored the interplay between broader corporate digitalization strategies and performance politics, this follow-up project focuses on technological inscription and appropriation in interaction with digitalization strategies on the one hand and performance policies on the other. Specifically, the project investigates how corporate digitalization strategies and technological innovations mutually influence each other. It examines how companies shape technology design and how digital technologies both expand corporate control options and require organizational adaptations that can limit autonomy. Furthermore, the project looks at how digital technology is utilized in concrete work processes. As with performance conditions and performance politics, technology development is understood as a contested field, shaped by diverse actors and their (sometimes contradictory) interests. Thus, the “politics of performance” extends to the “politics of inscription,” where users, providers, and industrial relations actors negotiate the concrete design of technology.
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Contact: Prof. Dr. Sarah Nies
Funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the Priority Program “The Digitalisation of Working Worlds. Conceptualising and Capturing a Systemic Transformation” (SPP 2267). Project duration: 11/2020 – 10/2023.
Performance Politics in the Digital Transformation of Work
Digital technologies create new conditions for the control and management of labor and performance, including the shop floor. Automated data acquisition and processing increase transparency and surveillance potential, while the integration of physical components (Internet of Things) allows more direct interventions across entire value chains. In addition, self-learning systems, lightweight robotics, and digital assistance systems expand possibilities for flexible automation. Nevertheless, performance management extends beyond mere control and restrictions; it also involves motivating and activating employees. Furthermore, companies often pursue digital transformation strategies that go beyond labor rationalization alone, targeting broader system-level changes or reorganization across entire value chains (systemic rationalization).
Goals and Research Questions
This project examines how performance management in industrial work changes amid diverse and partly contradictory digitalization strategies pursued by companies and stakeholders, and how digitalization influences negotiations over working conditions, labor processes, and performance standards.
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Contact: Prof. Dr. Sarah Nies
Abstract: The project addresses the necessity of developing systems for automatic behavior classification as a basis for research in livestock science and a future key competency for early-career researchers. Understanding animal behavior is crucial for designing future-oriented husbandry systems, breeding, and nutrition. Automation and especially machine learning methods offer the possibility to generate larger volumes of data in shorter time frames, enabling more contemporary research questions. This project aims to strengthen data science competencies among young livestock researchers for behavior classification and the creation of individual temporal and spatial behavior profiles of pigs using video recordings and innovative machine learning approaches. Establishing such an innovative data culture for automated gathering of ethological traits is a fundamental skill for the next generation of researchers, supporting sustainable husbandry systems and robust animal breeding. Specifically, using video data from research projects focused on improving pig husbandry systems (with emphasis on animal welfare and tail-biting), the project will identify a set of methods that automatically classify specific pig behaviors and derive behavioral profiles. These profiles can then be used in ethological research, automatic phenotyping, or animal monitoring systems. The project’s innovative aspect lies in the lasting implementation of data science methods, solidly anchoring these competencies within future agricultural science curricula. This, in turn, promotes not only future livestock research but also the digital transformation of livestock farming.
Contact: Prof. Dr. Imke Traulsen or
Prof. Dr. Thomas Kneib
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Abstract: The goal of this project is to provide GPU resources for scientific applications in the area of Machine Learning or Artificial Intelligence, with a focus on image analysis in life science applications, particularly neuroscience and bioimaging. The system is intended to significantly accelerate existing processes and enable new methods and applications, while optimizing resource utilization.
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Abstract: The central aim of KISSKI is to research AI methods and provide them via a high-availability AI service center for critical and sensitive infrastructures. The focus lies on the socially highly relevant fields of medicine and energy. These are key areas of applied AI research in Germany.
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Abstract: The CIDAS/Sartorius Quantitative Cell Analytics Initiative is a partnership between academic partners from the Göttingen Campus and Sartorius. The aim is to combine live cell imaging with state-of-the-art artificial intelligence to advance our understanding of fundamental biological processes, examine therapeutic interventions, and ultimately foster the development of new therapies.
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