Challenging Labour - Working Conditions in the Electronics Industry

The growing importance and availability of electronics products has transformed the lives of people around the globe. According to estimates by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), today one third of the world's population is using the Internet, the global penetration of mobile phone subscriptions has reached 87 % and 74 % of all households in developed countries and 25 % of households in developing countries own a computer (ITU 2011, 1-2). New information and communication technologies have the potential to connect people around the world, to facilitate communication and co-operation, to assist political protest and to foster participation as well as to alleviate work. However, at the same time the production of these electronics products often takes place under unacceptably burdensome conditions. This chapter aims to focus attention on the darker side of the electronics boom. It builds on the results of a number of empirical studies conducted by the European makeITfair project, which is presented below. In this chapter we provide insights into the working reality in the electronics manufacturing sector and points at specific challenges. Based on research results of the makeITfair project we argue that corporate self-regulation is unlikely to lead to sustainable improvements. By building a better understanding of the causes and effects of labour rights violations in the electronics production sector the project highlights the necessity for structural reforms. Fostering such long-term transformations requires raising awareness regarding labour rights, exposing corporate social irresponsibility, and increasing public pressure on corporations. This chapter makes an important contribution to that task. In the following we will give an overview of market leading companies in the sector (section 1) and introduce the makeITfair project (section 2). In the next section we briefly describe some common characteristics of four major electronics production countries (section 3), before we provide more detailed evidence regarding several work-related problems in the electronics manufacturing sector (section 4). Finally, in the conclusion we point towards some starting points for improving the situation of workers (section 5)

Cybersecurity Paradigm Shift, The RIsk of Net Neutrality Repeal to Energy Reliability, PUblic Safety, and Climate Change Solutions

This Article contends that the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) January 2018 repeal of net neutrality rules creates cybersecurity vulnerabilities for the energy sector and other critical infrastructure. Unbridled from enforceable net neutrality rules, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) create systemic supply chain risks as the Internet has become embedded into the energy sector’s distributed ecosystem. This Article argues that cybersecurity has been primarily viewed from a “hacker paradigm” that obscures systemic threats such as those posed by an ISP since firewalls and traditional cybersecurity techniques do not protect against ISP conduct. The Article contends that the FCC’s failure to consider the consequences of net neutrality repeal on public safety and critical infrastructure facilities and services constitutes arbitrary and capricious decision-making under the Administrative Procedures Act. The Article recommends that the D.C. Circuit vacate the FCC’s net neutrality repeal order and remand it to the FCC for analysis of cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, and public safety issues. To protect energy reliability, safety, resiliency, renewable integration, just and reasonable rates, and the environment, this article recommends that regulators and energy grid laboratories test the effect of ISP-induced communications delays on electric reliability, safety, and distributed energy generation. This article urges regulators, energy operators, and academics to address ISP and FCC-induced energy-sector cybersecurity risks

Properties of Magnetized Quark-Hybrid Stars

The structure of a magnetized quark-hybrid stars (QHS) is modeled using a standard relativistic mean-field equation of state (EoS) for the description of hadronic matter. For quark matter we consider a bag model EoS which is modified perturbatively to account for the presence of a uniform magnetic field. The mass-radius (M-R) relationship, gravitational redshift and rotational Kepler periods of such stars are compared with those of standard neutron stars (NS).Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, prepared for the 2nd International Symposium on Strong Electromagnetic Fields and Neutron Stars (SMFNS2011), Varadero, Cuba, 5-7 May 201

Structure formation in the presence of relativistic heat conduction: corrections to the Jeans wave number with a stable first order in the gradients formalism

The problem of structure formation in relativistic dissipative fluids was analyzed in a previous work within Eckart's framework, in which the heat flux is coupled to the hydrodynamic acceleration, additional to the usual temperature gradient term. It was shown that in such case, the pathological behavior of fluctuations leads to the disapperance of the gravitational instability responsible for structure formation. In the present work the problem is revisited now using a constitutive equation derived from relativistic kinetic theory. The new relation, in which the heat flux is not coupled to the hydrodynamic acceleration, leads to a consistent first order in the gradients formalism. In this case the gravitational instability remains, and only relativistic corrections to the Jeans wave number are obtained. In the calculation here shown the non-relativistc limit is recovered, opposite to what happens in Eckart's case.Comment: 10 pages, no figure

Nanotailoring Stereolithography Resins for Unique Applications using Carbon Nanotubes

Nanostructured materials and exploiting their properties in stereolithography (SL) may open new markets for unique rapidly manufactured functional devices. Controlled amounts of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were successfully dispersed in SL epoxy-based resins and complex three-dimensional (3D) parts were successfully fabricated by means of a multi-material SL setup. The effect of the nanosized filler was evaluated using mechanical testing. Small dispersions of MWCNTs resulted in significant effects on the physical properties of the polymerized resin. A MWCNT concentration of .05 wt% (w/v) in DSM Somos® WaterShed™ 11120 resin increased the ultimate tensile stress and fracture stress an average of 17% and 37%, respectively. Electron microscopy was used to examine the morphology of the nanocomposite and results showed affinity between the MWCNTs and SL resin and identified buckled nanotubes that illustrated strong interfacial bonding. These improved physical properties may provide opportunities for using nanocomposite SL resins in end-use applications. Varying types and concentrations of nanomaterials can be used to tailor existing SL resins for particular applications.Mechanical Engineerin

Genetic algorithm optimization of entanglement

We present an application of a genetic algorithmic computational method to the optimization of the concurrence measure of entanglement for the cases of one dimensional chains, as well as square and triangular lattices in a simple tight-binding approach in which the hopping of electrons is much stronger than the phonon dissipationComment: 26 pages with 13 figures, based on Chapter 3 of the Master thesis of the first author defended at IPICyT, San Luis Potosi, Mx, on 22nd of February 2006, similar to the published version [Fig. 5 left out but contains the Appendix figure