Industry In Recent Decades Research Articles

The reliability of electronic systems — The contribution of the chip industry

Many of the innovations that have emerged in the automotive industry in recent decades have been made possible largely by advances in electronics.

‘Sex Slaves’ Or ‘sex Workers’? Cross-cultural and Comparative Religious Perspectives on Sexuality, Subjectivity, and Moral Identity in Anti-sex Trafficking Discourse

The global trafficking in women and children (primarily girls) for prostitution and sex work has become a multi-billion dollar industry in recent decades, especially in parts of South and Southeast Asia. Despite their common goal to eliminate or diminish the sex trafficking industry and assist the victims, the various entities engaged in anti-sex trafficking efforts have sharply disagreed about a variety of issues, including a basic definition of sex trafficking and the appropriate strategies for combating it. In this article, I examine one central area of disagreement, which revolves around the issue of the morality of prostitution and other forms of commercial sex work. This issue brings with it divergent, even antithetical, views regarding women's gender roles, self-identity and moral agency in relation to sex work. I show how the religious dimensions of this issue have been inadequately attended to by demonstrating how anti-trafficking discourse is devoid of non-Western religious perspectives. Since Thailand has been the centre for sex trafficking and the commercial sex industry in the Asia-Pacific region, where the greatest percentage of sex trafficking takes place, this article will discuss Thai Buddhist perspectives to illustrate how the anti-sex trafficking discourse has ignored cultural differences in its analysis.

Automatically extracting sheet-metal features from solid model

With the development of modern industry, sheet-metal parts in mass production have been widely applied in mechanical, communication, electronics, and light industries in recent decades; but the advances in sheet-metal part design and manufacturing remain too slow compared with the increasing importance of sheet-metal parts in modern industry. This paper proposes a method for automatically extracting features from an arbitrary solid model of sheet-metal parts; whose characteristics are used for classification and graph-based representation of the sheet-metal features to extract the features embodied in a sheet-metal part. The extracting feature process can be divided for valid checking of the model geometry, feature matching, and feature relationship. Since the extracted features include abundant geometry and engineering information, they will be effective for downstream application such as feature rebuilding and stamping process planning.

Industrialized Animal Production—A Major Source of Nutrient and Microbial Pollution to Aquatic Ecosystems

Livestock production has undergone massive industrialization in recent decades. Nationwide, millions of swine, poultry, and cattle are raised and fed in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) owned by large, vertically integrated producer corporations. The amount of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in animal manure produced by CAFOs is enormous. For example, on the North Carolina Coastal Plain alone an estimated 124,000 metric tons of nitrogen and 29,000 metric tons of phosphorus are generated annually by livestock. CAFO wastes are largely either spread on fields as dry litter or pumped into waste lagoons and sprayed as liquid onto fields. Large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus enter the environment through runoff, percolation into groundwater, and volatilization of ammonia. Many CAFOs are located in nutrient-sensitive watersheds where the wastes contribute to the eutrophication of streams, rivers, and estuaries. There is as yet no comprehensive Federal policy in place to protect the environment and human health from CAFO generated pollutants.

Exploitation of genetically modified inoculants for industrial ecology applications.

The major growth seen in the biotechnology industry in recent decades has largely been driven by the exploitation of genetic engineering techniques. The initial benefits have been predominantly in the biomedical area, with products such as vaccines and hormones that have received broad public approval. In the environmental biotechnology and industrial ecology sectors, biotechnology has the potential to make significant advances through the use of genetically modified (GM) microbial inoculants that can reduce agri-chemical usage or remediate polluted environments. Although many GM inoculants have been developed and tested under laboratory conditions, commercial exploitation has lagged behind. Here, we review scientific and regulatory requirements that must be satisfied as part of that exploitation process. Particular attention is paid to new European Union (EU) regulations (Directives) that govern the testing and release of genetically modified organisms and microbial plant protection inoculants in the EU. With regard to the release of GM inoculants, the impact of the inoculant and the fate of modified genes are important concerns. Long term monitoring of release sites is necessary to address these issues. Data are reported from the monitoring of a site 6 years after release of GM Sinorhizobium meliloti strains. It was found that despite the absence of a host plant, the GM strains persisted in the soil for at least 6 years. Horizontal transfer and microevolution of a GM plasmid between S. meliloti strains was also observed. These data illustrate the importance of assessing the long-term persistence of GM inoculants.

Pollution and the immune response: atopic diseases--are we too dirty or too clean?

The effect of pollutants on the immune system has filled tomes and is almost always controversial whether the topic is disinfectants in drinking water or particulates and lung cancer. Even whether outdoor and indoor air quality is improving or declining has been a source of considerable investigation, consultation and often litigation. Few areas, however, yield so much uncertainty and debate as the role of airborne pollutants in atopy. Atopy is defined as an immunoglobulin E- (IgE) mediated allergic response to environmental antigens and can be manifested as rhinitis, asthma or atopic dermatitis. While there is some debate over whether there has been a real increase in atopy over the last decades, it is indisputable that there has been a dramatic change over the last 200 years. While isolated cases of anaphylaxis had been noted before, allergies were unheard of until the early 19th century. Only 54 years after the first description of hay fever in England in 1819, it was considered an epidemic and a clear association with urbanization had been reported.1 What aspect of urbanization is involved has been much debated. There has been much discussion amongst both experimental immunologists and epidemiologists over whether pollutants are responsible for increased allergic sensitization and/or severity.2,3 In the last few years new studies have supported an alternative explanation, namely the decline in infectious diseases in industrialized countries.4,5 Does this ‘hygiene theory’ toll the death knell for the ‘pollution theory’? In this review I will argue that there is a compelling case to be made for both theories and that even this is not the entire picture.

Inventory Reduction and Productivity Growth: A Comparison of Japanese and US Automotive Sectors

This study assesses the inventory and productivity performance of the Japanese and US automotive industries in recent decades. Within each country we distinguish between vehicle assemblers and parts suppliers. In Japan, assemblers and suppliers made dramatic inventory reductions and productivity gains, particularly during the 1970s. By comparison, we find an unbalanced pattern for the United States: American assembly plants have been streamline~ but parts suppliers have stagnated. In both countries our findings suggest a strong association between inventory reduction and productivity growth (j 1997 by John Wiley& Sons, Ltd. Manage. Decis. Econ. 18:73-85 (1997)

“Syrup in the Wheels of Progress”: The Inefficient Organization of the Philippine Sugar Industry

While the organization of the Philippine sugar industry evolved to promote and balance the short-term interests of planters, millers and traders, it now undermines the industry and threatens the economic fortunes of those who depend upon it. By perpetuating inefficiency and fostering a frenzy of trading that affords inordinate profits for the least productive sector, this structure has become the major obstacle to restoring the Philippines to its former status as one of the world's most efficient and technologically advanced producers of cane sugar. As efficiency falls further behind that of other sugar producing countries, and as industrial consumers become more disgruntled with paying high prices for sugar, the nation risks the collapse of an industry that has already proven vulnerable to intermittent crises. The last time a crisis occurred — in the mid-1980s — planters faced foreclosure, mills stood idle, and workers and their families suffered malnutrition and dislocation, leading commentators to refer to Negros, the nation's premier sugar-growing island, as “Asia's Ethiopia” and a “social volcano”. While conditions have improved since the EDSA Revolution, the structure that has emerged does little to encourage productivity, efficiency and fairness. Since the industry continues to employ 500,000 workers, with as many as three million dependents, a collapse would lead to mass displacement, hunger, and political upheaval.This paper will outline the history of the Philippine sugar industry, examine its current structure, and describe the political and economic forces that sustain it. My first contention is that the institutional organization, rather than government policy, cultural attitudes, or neo-colonial dependency, is fundamentally responsible for the poor performance of the industry in recent decades and, unless major changes are forthcoming, will be mainly responsible for its ultimate demise.

Prospects for non-OPEC oil supply

The political and economic importance which has been attached to the oil industry in recent decades relates to the rapid increase in the demand for oil over the period from 1950–1980 and to the dominant role played by the politically volatile Middle East in its supply. Although global demand for oil has grown little over the last decade, during which period the role of Middle East supplies has fallen both relatively and absolutely, contemporary conventional wisdom on the future of oil envisages the reestablishment of Middle East supply dominance. This paper will challenge the validity of this view in the context of a realistic evaluation of the longterm demand prospects for the commodity.

Does long-term concrete work cause silicosis?

The machining of cast concrete often produces heavy exposure to respirable silica dust. Work with concrete in general results in considerably less exposure, however, and only a few cases of silicosis due to work with concrete have been reported. Telephone interviews with detailed questions on occupational history were made with 271 construction workers specializing in concrete work for more than 20 years, and exposure data were evaluated for different work tasks. The mean cumulative exposure of subjects to silica was estimated to be 2.4 mg.years.m-3. Chest radiographs were classified according to the International Labour Office classification. There was no suspicion of silicosis for any of the workers. The risk of contracting silicosis from work with concrete in the Swedish construction industry in recent decades is considered to be slight and does not justify general, periodic chest radiographic screening.

Transportation in suburbia: Trends in attitudes, behaviors and policy preferences in Orange County, California

This paper analyzes transportation attitudes, behaviors and policy preferences in a suburban region. The focus of the study is Orange County, which has experienced rapid growth and industrialization in recent decades. The results from the 1989 Orange County Annual Survey indicate that most residents perceive traffic to be the most serious problem facing the area, and most residents are dissatisfied with the current freeways. Over time, the trend is increased perceptions of traffic problems, However, there is little evidence that residents have changed their driving habits in recent years and there is considerable opposition to new transportation taxes and policies aimed at reducing traffic congestion. These trends are related to opposition to change by affluent suburban residents and to distrust of local government. Traffic attitudes and conservativism appear to play a minor role in predicting current driving habits and policy preferences. The results have important implications for future efforts to improve suburban traffic.