Global Publics Embrace Social Networking

Analyzes survey results on trends in the use of social networking sites, cell phone and computer ownership, and use of Internet and e-mail in twenty-two countries by age, gender, and education. Compares generational and gender gaps among countries

China's Embrace of Globalization

As China has become an increasingly important part of the global trading system over the past two decades, interest in the country and its international economic policies has increased among international economists who are not China specialists. This paper represents an attempt to provide the international economics community with a succinct summary of the major steps in the evolution of Chinese policy toward international trade and foreign direct investment and their consequences since the late 1970s. In doing so, we draw upon and update a number of more comprehensive book-length treatments of the subject. It is our hope that this paper will prove to be a useful resource for the growing numbers of international economists who are exploring China-related issues, either in the classroom or in their own research.

Should Scientific Realists Embrace Theoretical Conservatism?

A prominent type of scientific realism holds that some important parts of our best current scientific theories are at least approximately true. According to such realists, radically distinct alternatives to these theories or theory-parts are unlikely to be approximately true. Thus one might be tempted to argue, as the prominent anti-realist Kyle Stanford recently did, that realists of this kind have little or no reason to encourage scientists to attempt to identify and develop theoretical alternatives that are radically distinct from currently accepted theories in the relevant respects. In other words, it may seem that realists should recommend that scientists be relatively conservative in their theoretical endeavors. This paper aims to show that this argument is mistaken. While realists should indeed be less optimistic of finding radically distinct alternatives to replace current theories, realists also have greater reasons to value the outcomes of such searches. Interestingly, this holds both for successful and failed attempts to identify and develop such alternatives

American Populism Shouldn’t Have to Embrace Ignorance

Public ignorance is an inherent threat to democracy. It breeds superstition, prejudice, and error; and it prevents both a clear-eyed understanding of the world and the formulation of wise policies to adapt to that world. Plato believed it was more than a threat: He thought it characterized democracies, and would lead them inevitably into anarchy and ultimately tyranny. But the liberal democracies of the modern era, grudgingly extending suffrage, have extended public education in parallel, in the hope of cultivating an informed citizenry. Yet today, given the persistence and severity of public ignorance, the ideal of an enlightened electorate seems a fading wish at best, a cruel folly at worst. (excerpt

Emerging nations embrace internet, mobile technology

Description: In a remarkably short period of time, internet and mobile technology have become a part of everyday life for some in the emerging and developing world. Cell phones, in particular, are almost omnipresent in many nations. The internet has also made tremendous inroads, although most people in the 24 nations surveyed are still offline. Meanwhile, smartphones are still relatively rare, although significant minorities own these devices in countries such as Lebanon, Chile, Jordan and China. People around the world are using their cell phones for a variety of purposes, especially for texting and taking pictures, while smaller numbers also use their phones to get political, consumer and health information. Mobile technology is also changing economic life in parts of Africa, where many are using cell phones to make or receive payments.While the internet still has a limited reach in the emerging and developing world, once people do gain access to the internet, they quickly begin to integrate it into their lives. A significant number of people in these nations say they use the internet on a daily basis, including roughly half of those polled in Lebanon, Russia and Argentina. At least 20% use the internet daily in 15 of the 24 nations surveyed. In 21 of 24 nations, a majority of internet users also participate in sites like Facebook and Twitter. People are using social networking sites to stay in touch with family and friends and to share their views on an array of topics, including popular culture, religion and politics. These are among the main findings of a Pew Research Center survey conducted among 24,263 people in 24 emerging and developing economies from March 2, 2013 to May 1, 2013. All interviews were conducted face-to-face

Australian software developers embrace quality Assurance Certification

[Abstract]: This paper details a research project undertaken to assess the extent of adoption of quality assurance (QA) certification by Australian software developers. A brief history of government QA policy, the catalyst in the sudden interest in certification, is included. Primary data for the study were gathered from a survey of 1,000 Australian software developers, and were used to determine the extent of adoption of QA certification by Australian developers, their organisational characteristics, capability maturity and perceptions regarding the value of QA certification. Secondary data from the JAS-ANZ register of certified organisations enabled validation of survey responses and extrapolation of QA certification adoption. Major findings of the study revealed that 11 percent of respondents are certified to ISO 9001 or AS 3563, seven percent are in progress and 21 percent plan to adopt QA certification. It also revealed that specialist developers are adopting QA certification at twice the rate of in-house developers. Other factors found to be associated with adoption of QA certification are large development groups, developers with government or overseas clients, organisations with whole- or part-foreign ownership, and organisations undertaking corporate TQM initiatives. From the findings, detailed implications are drawn for managers and policy analysts

The academic and industrial embrace of space-time methods

[Guest Editors introduction to: Special issue on space-time transmission, reception, coding and signal processing] Every episode of the classic 1966–1969 television series Star Trek begins with Captain Kirk’s (played by William Shatner) famous words : “Space: The final frontier….” While space may not be the final frontier for the information and communication theory community, it is proving to be an important and fruitful one. In the information theory community, the notion of space can be broadly defined as the simultaneous use of multiple, possibly coupled, channels. The notions of space–time and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels are therefore often used interchangeably. The connection between space and MIMO is most transparent when we view the multiple channels as created by two or more spatially separated antennas at a wireless transmitter or receiver. A large component of the current interest in space–time methods can be attributed to discoveries in the late 1980s and early 1990s that a rich wireless scattering environment can be beneficial when multiple antennas are used on a point-to-point link. We now know that adding antennas in a rich environment provides proportional increases in point-to-point data rates, without extra transmitted power or bandwidth

Engage employees and transform social and economic performance

Forward thinking companies embrace intrapreneurs and employee social interaction to develop sustainability programmes driven from the top down and bottom up