Globalization and the Flattening of the World: A Book Review of “The World is Flat”

There is no doubt the world is changing. In cultures, in politics, and in economies, increased awareness of foreign and domestic practices has become a focal point of society. Trade has always proven beneficial to a nation due to the laws of absolute and comparative advantage, but in the modern world, international relations go beyond the boundaries of exchanging products. Now, services and collaboration are added to that realm. In his book “The World is Flat,” Thomas Friedman pinpoints the history and future of globalization in economics. Highlighting how globalization has made the world “flat” by allowing fair competition between large and small companies, corporations and individuals, and countries and continents, Friedman gives insight into how the world has changed because of innovation and history colliding at the right time

Gender gap and polarisation of physics on global courses

We extend on previous research on the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) given to first year classical mechanics students (N=66 students, over four years) pre and post score, for students on an international (global) course at Osaka University. In particular, we revisit the notion of "polarisation" in connection with the six polarisation-inducing questions in the FCI and examine its gender aspect. Our data suggest that this phenomenon is not unique to one gender. Furthermore, the extent by which it is exhibited by males may differ from that of females at the beginning (pretest) but the gap closes upon learning more about forces (posttest). These findings are for the most part, complemented by our result for the FCI as a whole. Although the differences in means for males and females suggest a gender gap, statistical analysis shows that there is no gender difference at the 95% confidence level.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figure

2003 Pollutant Loads Kings River Near Berryville, Arkansas

An automatic sampler and a USGS gauging station were established in 1998 and water quality sampling was begun in 1999 on the Kings River near Berryville, Arkansas. Continuous stage and discharge measurements and frequent water quality sampling have been used to determine pollutant concentrations and loads in the river. This report presents the results from the sampling and analysis for January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2003

The Future Smart-City: An Analysis of the Effects of Global and Technological Innovation on the Evolution of Economic Systems

In 21st century, the current economy is rapidly utilizing globalization to create a vastly different future. With the advent of new technology merging with entrepreneurs who effectively utilize that technology, the economic model is changing. Faster, sleeker, more effective forms of communication and information transfer drive the process of globalization. Production for a single product can happen in multiple countries, companies can operate virtually 24/7 through call centers halfway around the globe, and preliminary smart cities are beginning to emerge to give us a glimpse of the future world. A new category of businesspersons called “prosumers” is emerging and has created a new sharing and soon-to-be self-service economic structure. Analysis of the two drivers of economic change—globalization and technological innovation—will reveal how close civilization is to the city of the future

Strong variable linear polarization in the cool active star II Peg

Magnetic fields of cool active stars are currently studied polarimetrically using only circular polarization observations. Including linear polarization in the reconstruction of stellar magnetic fields allows more information about the magnetic field to be extracted and significantly improves the reliability of stellar magnetic field maps. The goal of this study is to initiate systematic observations of active stars in all four Stokes parameters and to identify cool stars for which linear polarization can be detected at a level sufficient for Zeeman Doppler imaging (ZDI). Four active RS CVn binaries, II Peg, HR 1099, IM Peg, and sigma Gem, were observed with the ESPaDOnS spectropolarimeter at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope during a time period from February 2012 to January 2013. The least-squares deconvolution procedure was applied to derive mean polarization profiles of all four Stokes parameters. Linear polarization was detected in all four stars in at least one observation. At the same time, II Peg showed an exceptionally strong and highly variable linear polarization signature throughout all observations. This establishes II Peg as the first promising target for ZDI in all four Stokes parameters and suggests the feasibility of such an analysis with existing equipment for at least a few of the most active cool stars.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, 1 table; Accepted for publication in MNRA

Water Quality Sampling, Analysis and Annual Load Determinations for TSS, Nitrogen and Phosphorus at the Washigton County Road 195 Bridge on the West Fork of the White River 2003 Annual Report

A water quality sampling station was installed at the Washington County road 195 bridge on the West Fork of the White River just above the confluence of the three main forks of the Upper White River in December 2001. The Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) was approved by EPA Region six on March 2002 and sampling was begun at that time. This station is coordinated with a USGS gauging station at the same location. This station was instrumented to collect samples at sufficient intervals across the hydrograph to accurately estimate the flux of total suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus into the upper end of Beaver Lake from the West Fork of the White River. The West Fork is listed on Arkansas\u27 1998 303d list as impaired from sediment. The Upper White was designated as the states highest priority watershed in the 1999 Unified Watershed Assessment. Accurate determination of stream nutrients and sediment is critical for future determinations of TMDLs, effectiveness of best management practices and trends in water quality

Monterey Bay study

The multispectral scanner capabilities of LANDSAT 1 were tested over California's Monterey Bay area and portions of the San Joaquin Valley. Using both computer aided and image interpretive processing techniques, the LANDSAT 1 data were analyzed to determine their potential application in terms of land use and agriculture. Utilizing LANDSAT 1 data, analysts were able to provide the identifications and areal extent of the individual land use categories ranging from very general to highly specific levels (e.g., from agricultural lands to specific field crop types and even the different stages of growth). It is shown that the LANDSAT system is useful in the identification of major crop species and the delineation of numerous land use categories on a global basis and that repeated surveillance would permit the monitoring of changes in seasonal growth characteristics of crops as well as the assessment of various cultivation practices with a minimum of onsite observation. The LANDSAT system is demonstrated to be useful in the planning and development of resource programs on earth

PESTICIDE PRODUCTIVITY: WHAT ARE THE TRENDS?

Obtaining estimates of pesticides productivity is an economic response to the growing public concern about the steady increase of pesticide use in the United States. This type of research indicates the cost of limiting pesticide use in terms of foregone output. Pervious empirical studies give a "snap-shot", or "average", look at pesticide productivity. This research effort employs a random coefficient model to determine the trend of the marginal value product of pesticides in agriculture in the United States. Results show a distinct downward trend in two states, Iowa and Texas. California, however, shows no evidence of a downward trend.Pesticide productivity, Marginal value product, Random coefficients, Crop Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis,

Polarization of physics on global courses

Since October 2010, the Chemistry-Biology Combined Major Program (CBCMP), an international course taught in English at Osaka University, has been teaching small classes (no more than 20 in size). We present data from the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) given to first year classical mechanics students (N=47 students over three years) pre and post score, for a class that predominantly uses interactive engagement (IE), such as MasteringPhysics. Our findings show a $G$-factor improved score of about $\sim$ 0.18, which is marginally about the average of a traditional based course. Furthermore, we analyse in detail a set of six questions from the FCI, involving the identification of forces acting on a body. We find that student answers tend to cluster about "polarising choices"-a pair of choices containing the correct choice and a wrong choice with the latter corresponding to a superset of forces in the former. Our results are suggestive that students have a good idea of the right set of forces acting on a given system but the inclusion of extra force(s) brings about confusion; something that may be explained by misleading ontological categorisation of forces. In an appendix we also comment on possible correlations between the pre/post score and the level of English ability on entry to the course.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, 1 table; modified the discussion to focus on polarisation; the discussion on English ability can now be found in the appendix; added reference