Asian Roboticism: Connecting Mechanized Labor to the Automation of Work

Abstract This article reconsiders the present-day automation of work and its transformation of who we are as humans. What has been missing from this important conversation are the social meanings surrounding Asian roboticism or how Asians have already been rendered as “robotic” subjects and labor. Through this racial gendered trope, I assess whether industrial automation will lessen, complicate, or exacerbate this modern archetype. By looking at corporate organizational practices and public media discourse, I believe that Asian roboticism will not simply vanish, but potentially continue to affect the ways such subjects are rendered as exploitable alienated robots without human rights or status

Climate risk mapping provides rice growers with adaptation options in the Mekong River Delta

The Mekong River Delta in Vietnam accounts for over half of the country’s domestic #rice production yet is increasingly affected by climate change. Dr. Bui Tan Yen is leading a team to develop an approach known as CS-MAP, a participatory approach of climate risk mapping, which provides farmers with adaptation options

Gaps between zeros of the derivative of the Riemann \xi-function

Assuming the Riemann hypothesis, we investigate the distribution of gaps between the zeros of \xi'(s). We prove that a positive proportion of gaps are less than 0.796 times the average spacing and, in the other direction, a positive proportion of gaps are greater than 1.18 times the average spacing. We also exhibit the existence of infinitely many normalized gaps smaller (larger) than 0.7203 (1.5, respectively).Comment: 15 page

The Impact of Quasi-Regulatory Mechanisms on Polluting Behavior: Evidence from Pollution Prevention Programs and Toxic Releases

To date, there is little convincing evidence on the effectiveness of “quasi-regulatory” mechanisms. Here I investigate how quasi-regulatory policies known as pollution prevention (“P2”) programs affect toxic pollution. I construct a data base on state-level P2 programs as well as the 1990 federal Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) and exploit variation in state adoption dates and program characteristics to study their effects on facility-level toxic releases. I find strong evidence that these mechanisms can affect pollution outcomes. In particular, I find that (1) the 1990 PPA has had a significant effect on toxic releases; (2) state programs geared to reducing the costs of P2 activities led to significant reductions in toxic releases; and (3) the response to P2 programs that increased the regulators’ ability to monitor polluting behavior could either increase or decrease reported releases, depending on the regulators’ ability to verify the accuracy of the reported releases.TRI, Quasi-Regulation, Voluntary Programs, Toxic Pollution

Comparative research: Team learning in higher education

Team learning is the process of aligning and developing the capacity of a team to create the results its members truly desire‟ (Senge, 1990, p 236). This emphasizes the significance of team learning as the fundamental learning units. Despite its importance, team learning among employees in higher education, especially among academics remains poorly understood. This research aims at shedding a light in the area which has recently been urged by the increasingly demanding requirements of interdisciplinary research and teaching in higher education around the world. Through a thorough literature review, a model of team learning has been built with a set of antecedents, two moderators, and the outcome of mental models. Hypotheses were formed, including team commitment, goal setting, development and training, organizational culture, and leadership are positively associated with team learning (antecedents), team learning is positively associated with knowledge sharing (outcome), and better communication systems, and learning environment provide better outcome of team learning (moderators). Thus, the study tested both mediating and Kaleidoscope Postgraduate Conference, Cambridge 2009 http://www.educatejournal.org/ 92 moderating relationships. The data were collected in a form of self-report questionnaires. The model was tested with the data collected from employees of two universities, one in the UK and the other in Vietnam. The findings revealed interesting information on the differences between two universities/two cultures, which is often the benefits of comparative research. The case in VN had more positive results than the case in the UK. There are not many differences between academic and non-academic employees, or between employees who work in science and non-science areas. The research could not avoid some limitations due to self-report questionnaires, though some actions were conducted to reduce research bias. In addition, it is really difficult to measure team performance in higher education, which should have been another outcome of team learning