Making It Personal

Targeted advertisements, tailored information feeds, and recommended content are now common and somewhat inescapable components of our everyday lives. With the help of searches, browsing history, purchases, likes, and other digital interactions, technological experiences are now routinely "personalized." Companies with access to this information often downplay the fact that users' personal data serves as a key form of monetization, and their privacy policies tend to use the terms "personalization" and "customization" to legitimize the practice of tracking and algorithmically anticipating users' daily movements. In Making it Personal, Tanya Kant sheds light on the dilemmas of algorithmic personalization, exploring such key contemporary questions as: What do users really know about the algorithms that guide their online experiences and social media presence? And if personalization practices seek to act on our behalf, then how can users constitute, retain, or relinquish their autonomy and sense of self? At the heart of the book are new interviews and focus groups with web users who-through a myriad of resistant, tactical, resigned or trusting engagements-encounter algorithmic personalization as part of their lived experience on the web. Tanya Kant proposes that for those who encounter it, algorithmic personalization creates epistemic uncertainties that can emerge as trust or anxiety, produces an ongoing struggle for autonomy between user and system, and even has the power to intervene in identity constitution. In doing so, algorithmic personalization does not just generate "filter bubbles" for individuals' worldviews, but also creates new implications for knowledge production, the deployment of cultural capital as an algorithmic tactic, and, above all, formations of identity itself.

Public social services are increasingly being individualised in order to better meet the differentiated needs of competent and independent citizens and to promote the effectiveness of social interventions. This book addresses this development, focusing on a new type of social services that has become crucial in the 'modernisation' of welfare states: activation services. The book discusses and analyses the individualisation of activation services against the background of social policy reforms on the one hand, and the introduction of new forms of public governance on the other. Critically discussing the rise of individualised social services in the light of various theoretical points of view, it analyses the way in which activation and the 'active subject' are presented in EU discourse. It compares the introduction of individualised activation services in five EU welfare states: the UK, Germany, Italy, Finland and the Czech Republic, focusing on official policies as well as policy practices. The book provides original insights into the phenomenon of the individualised provision of activation services. It is useful reading for policy makers as well as for students and researchers of welfare states, social policies and public governance.

In the world of harmonious collaboration, how does your rhythm of connection set the beat? The resounding wisdom of Frank Iero reverberates: "The best music happens when you have a personal connection to it." As a devoted music lover and practitioner, I've realized this philosophy extends far beyond melodies—it's a universal truth that underscores every interaction and achievement in life. Make It Personal: Discover the Five Dimensions of Human Collaboration in the Workplace unravels a journey through diverse experiences. As a musician, the flute, piano, and saxophone have been my companions, each whispering the importance of personal bonds. From early days with a plastic Yamaha recorder to navigating cross-industry corporate leadership, connection weaves through every note of my life's symphony, where music has been a metaphor for collaboration. Life's composition ventured into technology. As a senior leader orchestrating global innovation and transformation, the familiar cadence of personal connection echoed—why do some collaborations flourish while others falter? What sparks successful relationships in a world dominated by algorithms? In the crucible of these questions, my pursuit evolved into an academic endeavor. My exploration traversed studies, culminating in a doctoral thesis that uncovered human collaboration's five dimensions. Each melody-like dimension intertwines, creating a harmonious resonance that elevates relationships and drives innovation. Leadership, I've found, isn't confined to titles; it emanates from the heart. Minouche Shafik's words resonate: "In the future, jobs will be about using our hearts." This sentiment drives my academic exploration into a guide for nurturing workplace connections. Make It Personal melds academic insight with relatable narratives. Characters inspired by real experiences offer perspectives that illustrate collaboration's dimensions. My anecdotes provide the delicate counterpoint that accentuates the symphony of workplace connections and transformations – a journey guided by the belief that true collaboration emerges from the heart.

This book is all about sharing what I’ve heard from God about His character. It’s about introducing the significance and a means of knowing who God really is and doing away with all the assumptions, logic, opinions, and unrealistic expectations that we have about God. All these things do is create disappointment and frustration. Knowing the enemies lies from God’s Truth is housed at the point of knowing who you’re dealing with – knowing His character. God made you and I for a purpose that cannot be fulfilled without Him. We know we have a purpose and a reason for being here, but we cannot discover that apart from knowing and trusting the One we came from. None of us trust and rely on people that we don’t know. The best way for us to find out who He is and who we are is to go to the Source.

Targeted advertisements, tailored information feeds, and recommended content are now common and somewhat inescapable components of our everyday lives. With the help of searches, browsing history, purchases, likes, and other digital interactions, technological experiences are now routinely "personalized." Companies with access to this information often downplay the fact that users' personal data serves as a key form of monetization, and their privacy policies tend to use the terms "personalization" and "customization" to legitimize the practice of tracking and algorithmically anticipating users' daily movements. In Making it Personal, Tanya Kant sheds light on the dilemmas of algorithmic personalization, exploring such key contemporary questions as: What do users really know about the algorithms that guide their online experiences and social media presence? And if personalization practices seek to act on our behalf, then how can users constitute, retain, or relinquish their autonomy and sense of self? At the heart of the book are new interviews and focus groups with web users who-through a myriad of resistant, tactical, resigned or trusting engagements-encounter algorithmic personalization as part of their lived experience on the web. Tanya Kant proposes that for those who encounter it, algorithmic personalization creates epistemic uncertainties that can emerge as trust or anxiety, produces an ongoing struggle for autonomy between user and system, and even has the power to intervene in identity constitution. In doing so, algorithmic personalization does not just generate "filter bubbles" for individuals' worldviews, but also creates new implications for knowledge production, the deployment of cultural capital as an algorithmic tactic, and, above all, formations of identity itself.

This book addresses the development of increasingly individualised public social services in the EU. It focuses particularly on activation services that have become crucial in the 'modernisation' of welfare states, comparing their introduction in the UK, Germany, Italy, Finland and the Czech Republic.