Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement and Potential Employment Effects: Analysis of Studies

[Excerpt] Similar to other trade agreements, the proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement(KORUS-FTA) has attracted both supporters and detractors, primarily over the impact the agreement could have on employment in the economy. Supporters argue that the agreement could create as many as 280,000 jobs in the economy. Others, however, argue that the agreement could lead to an overall loss of up to 159,000 jobs in various sectors of the economy. Still others contend that the United States stands to lose exports, employment, and extended economic opportunities if it fails to sign a trade agreement, while the European Union and other nations are lining up to finalize similar agreements with South Korea. Estimating the economic impact of trade agreements, however, is a daunting task, due to a lack of data and important theoretical and practical matters associated with generating results from economic models. In addition, such estimates provide an incomplete accounting of the total economic effects of trade agreements. This report assesses the results of a number of models that are being used to generate estimates of the effect of the KORUS FTA on employment. These studies were chosen specifically because they estimate (or can be used to estimate) data on employment effects of the trade agreement. All economic models incorporate various assumptions that are necessary in order for the model to generate results. Invariably, these approaches determine, to some extent, the results that are generated and, therefore, limit their representation of the real world economy. Currently, the various models produce widely disparate estimates of the number of jobs affected by the trade agreement, reflecting the various assumptions that are used in the models and differences in the approaches

"Distracters" do not always distract : Visual working memory for angry faces is enhanced by incidental emotional words.

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Angry expressions strengthen the encoding and maintenance of face identity representations in visual working memory

This work was funded by a BBSRC grant (BB/G021538/2) to all authors.Peer reviewedPreprin

A Collective Documentary? A case study of audio-visual UGC surrounding the Christchurch earthquakes

This thesis centres upon the study of the audio-visual user-generated content (UGC) relating to the series of earthquakes between September 2010 and January 2012 in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. The analysis of 200 user-generated videos, largely from YouTube, reveals clear distinctions between the key patterns of eyewitness footage, conversational or explanatory pieces, recombinant works, and professional content re-uploaded by users. These broad patterns include generally low quality images across all ‘types’ of UGC, the rapid upload of content after a major earthquake which results in a steady decline of uploads over time, and key pieces of what could be termed ‘raw’ footage that was easily appropriated by traditional news organisations (footage which then circulated local and global news networks). However, absent from this collection of material is any attempts made by users to recombine such raw footage into a coherent narrative, therefore the only material on YouTube that provides contextual information is that of re-recorded televised news broadcasts that have been re-uploaded to the platform by users. Though the indexical qualities of this UGC and how they have the potential to form a type of ‘documentary narrative’ utilising YouTube as the key facilitator, is the true focus of this research. There are two main components within this thesis; the first is an exploration of the trends associated with the production and distribution of the UGC through a survey 200 user-generated videos sourced, mainly, from YouTube, discussing in particular pivotal ‘documental’ elements of the material. The second is an investigation into how YouTube and the uploaders of such content work in conjunction with one another to ultimately create a collective of material (although, this collective is of material has degraded over time due to the unstable nature of the platform). This includes an inspection of how uploaders ‘market’ their material on the platform, and how YouTube distributes and displays this content to potential audiences. This research has found that YouTube, not only works as a ‘platform’ or an ‘archive’, but a facilitator of potential pathways through similar content. By establishing relationships between this content based on user-defined ‘tags’ and descriptions, YouTube then automatically recommends the audience to follow hyperlinked routes through this related material. These pathways can be seen as ‘narrative possibilities’ as the system encourages users to follow a sequence of related material - a pathway that needs to be ‘performed’ by users which can, arguably, provide a kind of narrative of the events in Christchurch. The traditional definition of ‘documentary’ does not take into account these new media and new modes of distribution and reception; this thesis, however, has argued that this level of interactivity, and the ways in which YouTube and content creators present material, has the potential to create a type of documentary narrative

A nurse led assessment prior to elective admission for surgery

'This thesis reports on a study undertaken at an NHS Trust during a thirty month period commencing January 1994. The aim of the study was to evaluate the results of a preoperative assessment clinic for adult patients due to undergo major and minor elective surgery, (other than those admitted for gynaecological procedures). The primary focus was on hospital efficiency, within government initiatives, and the use of assessment as a means to guarantee a bed on admission, reducing theatre cancellations and waiting list times. The main outcome measures are the reduced theatre cancellation rates, increased patient throughput, and a clear reduction in length of stay. A secondary theme was explored, that of multi-disciplinary collaboration in particular doctor nurse collaboration; the role and ability of an advanced nursing role, whereby the assessment clinic provided the environment for comparison of patient outcome between those seen by doctor or by nurse assessor. The study compared all patient admission episodes and outcomes with respect to patients assessed and those not assessed. The study is able to demonstrate that a nurse performed at least as well as the doctor

An Exploration of Children’s Literature and Death 1890-2010.

Death is often considered to be a taboo subject, even more so when we try to think about addressing the subject with children. Nonetheless, it is an important subject which impacts the lives of all of us and often as children. Finding the way in which the subject has been dealt with for children can be problematic; however, it is possible to explore this subject via the medium of children’s literature. This exploration uses both books, which are text only and also picture books. This thesis uses a social constructionist perspective to explore notions of the ‘child’ and childhood’, which assumes that no concepts have a pre-existing, given nature and that all things are shaped by culture and history. By exploring the ways in which concepts of ‘child’ and childhood’ have altered over time it is then possible to consider and analyse how the subject of death has been presented and, altered overtime, within children’s literature Books are also constructions and here they have been analysed to offer some insight into what has been deemed suitable subject matter for a child to read and thus to allow prevailing attitudes towards children across the 120 year period of the study to be explored. The study uses a sample from three periods within the 120 year time span: 1890-1910, 1950-1970 and 1990-2010. Comparison of the ways in which death has been addressed within each period is considered alongside prevailing notions of ‘the child’. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the books and serves to point up the more surprising findings where death has been addressed in a direct manner across the 120 years. Although it is clear that the subject has been addressed directly in terms of language used (dead, died) what is also clear is from the 1890’s to 2010 it is the construction of childhood prevalent at the time that alters and thus impacts what can deemed suitable for children

Envisioning the Virtual Workplace: Conceptualizing Virtualization

Virtual organising is a term which commonly describes an approach to managing and configuring organisational resources beyond the spatial and legal boundaries of the firm. To better manage the process of virtualisation, three things need to be understood: how virtual the organisation wants to be, how virtual the organisation is, and how capable the organisation currently is of operating virtually. Analysis of an organisation along these three dimensions will identify the appropriateness of the present state of virtualisation and guide planning for bridging any gap between the current and desired states. In this article, we describe how data specific to these dimensions was collected in an organisation that has just initiated a conscious strategy of virtualisation. By analysing remarks made in a workshop and interviews with members of the organisation’s management team, we identify a new dimension for understanding virtualisation: the mindset of the people in the organisation, and we extend the set of capabilities for virtualisation described in the literature to: leadership and vision, management capability, employee capability, virtual mindset, technology, and economics. We show how three dimensions can be used to plan to improve the process of virtualisation

Transactive memory in distributed organizations

Transactive memory systems (TMS) are systems of directories that are used to locate and use knowledge in groups. Previous research indicates that, by supporting group cognitive activities, TMS are important determinants of group performance. This paper applies the concept of TMS to knowledge sharing in organizations. The three process dimensions of TMS – directory maintenance, information storage and information retrieval – were used to identify the characteristics of TMS in a case study organization. TMS directories are stored in several types of media, and the processes for maintaining and using these directories varies. The authors conclude that organizational knowledge sharing may be assisted by information systems developed to support TMS, and suggest how an understanding of the nature of an organization’s TMS might be used to design information systems and management interventions to improve knowledge sharing

Language, identity and interculturality

The concept of identity is probably one of the most important and researched concepts in the social and human sciences today. It has also received widespread interest by the public and titillated the media ( Sen 2006 : 1). In many studies of interculturality, identity has taken over and somewhat substituted the contested concept of culture in order to refl ect ‘critical questions to do with access, power, desire, difference and resistance’ ( Pennycook 2001 : 6). Identity goes hand in hand with other concepts, which affect all societies: inclusion, equality/equity, and social justice. It is thus a very relevant concept for study abroad. Besides potentially transforming students, study abroad inevitably leads to implicit/ explicit involvement with these phenomena.Peer reviewe