Online Lightning Talks
Shifting Workplace Orientations and Conditions in Eurasian Nations, 1981-2016
Virtual Lightning Talk Jonathan H. Westover
The vast cross-disciplinary literature exploring worker attitudes and workplace conditions has linked worker experiences to many individual, organizational, and social outcomes; yet, this research has largely failed to shed much light on why cross-national differences in worker satisfaction and engagement and their determinants persist over time. Cross-cultural researchers suggest that these differences are due to cultural differences in each country. However, this approach has largely failed to show how countries with similar cultural orientations still experience significant differences and related challenges. Thus, the question remains, what are the causes for these differences and what are their long-term impacts of sustainable economic development and labor prosperity? Moreover, much research has been conducted that shows either the general improvement or decline in the quality of work, but few studies have looked at such changes in work quality cross-nationally, over time from the perspective of the workers, while accounting for country-contextual characteristics. This research utilizes attitudinal data from multiple waves of various international social survey databases and country contextual geopolitical and economic data to examine and explore the political and economic structural factors impacting the labor transformation in Russia, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, with a focus on changing societal and work attitudes and values from 1981-2016. Additionally, this research explores practical suggestions for implementing ethical and socially responsible management and organizational practices in the workplace in the region moving into the future.
Integrating Global Studies Across the Curriculum: Melting Pot or Salad Bowl?
Virtual Lightning Talk Kat King
Puritan John Winthrop, and countless political leaders echoing him since, claim America is “a city upon a hill—the eyes of all people are upon us." The critical thinking course I developed as a Stanford Global Studies EPIC fellow this year asked students to explore the cultural constructs of race and gender in America in juxtaposition to constructions around the globe. How is gender understood, and how is it that we are both at the forefront of a worldwide women’s rights movement and behind other countries when it comes to equitable pay and government representation? (According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2016, America ranks sixty-sixth in equitable pay.) How is the experiment of the American “melting pot” one that fosters both success and distress in our nation of immigrants? What is it about America’s global image that draws so many documented and undocumented immigrants, while we simultaneously struggle with deep-seated, insidious racial tension? These contradictions were the focus of our reading, thinking, and learning. I harnessed classroom diversity to foster conversations around these topics using Lacuna - Stanford’s free, open-source, digital annotation software. Students drew upon insights mined from their own hyphenated identities (Muslim-immigrant-students, Mexican-first-generation-college-students, international students, etc.). Students gained a better understanding of how America serves as a case study that is both role model and cautionary tale. In a world where nationalism is on the rise and alternative facts circulate more freely than global citizens, it's more important than ever to make sure students see our interconnectedness.
How Do You Feel about My Slogan? : Sociolinguistic Effects of Advertising Messages
Virtual Lightning Talk Juan Miguel Alcántara-Pilar, Alvaro J. Rojas-Lamorena, Iván Manuel Sánchez-Duarte, María Eugenia Rodríguez-López
In international advertising, a foreign language is often used for symbolic purposes. Every language is associated with some characteristic, although the listener doesn't necessarily understand it. In this research, we wish to check if the language, as cultural conveyor, moderates the characteristics associated with the slogan. This study analyzes which characteristics are associated with languages studies, with what sector of production the languages are associated, and what image of the company is generated through the language. In order to achieve this objective, we chose a between-subjects experimental design, using four independent variables and three languages, namely Italian (L1), Turkish (L2), and Russian (L3). We designed a slogan (only with audio) and translated it into the different languages. The total sample exposed to the slogan is composed of 184 subjects. The results show that the most identified language is also the one best associated with certain production sectors, which is most associated with positive characteristics of the advertising message, and the one that therefore better projects a favorable image of the advertising company. This provides business solutions in the field of advertising and the use of foreign languages to boost the effectiveness and persuasion of it.
"Game of Thrones" : How Much Sex, Violence, and Stereotypes Do You Need?
Virtual Lightning Talk Alvaro J. Rojas-Lamorena, Iván Manuel Sánchez-Duarte, Juan Miguel Alcántara-Pilar, María Eugenia Rodríguez-López
The "Third Golden Age of Television" has provoked a great television expansion where series with sexual, violent, and stereotyped elements are getting positioned as references. This research analyzes how these three elements influence the generation of "brand equity" of a series such as "Game of Thrones." After the proposal and validation of the scale, a sample of 240 subjects is obtained. Through LISREL we obtain results that confirm the presence of a positive and direct relationship between the attitudes of the spectators towards the three elements and the generation of "brand equity." With this study we provide an application of "brand equity" to television products in which, in addition, the contents included in them influence the construction of "brand equity."
Transhumanism : New Limitations in an Old Garb?
Virtual Lightning Talk Anke Sandra Bouzenita, Bronwyn P Wood
Transhumanism generally describes a philosophy that aims to enhance human existence through technical aid, ultimately trying to overcome the physical boundaries and limitations of human existence. This paper reflects on transhumanism as a culmination of different aspects of globalization. It uses Islamic culture as a filter to understand transhumanism and the mechanisms promoting it, thereby answering the following questions: Is transhumanism but the latest trend in globalization? How does Islamic culture relate to its different aspects? Is it but an attempt to enhance human life, or rather an ideology trying to defy what Islamic culture sees as a certainty – the existence of death? Can forms of transhumanism be seen as attempts to free humankind from the constraints of space and time? Or are they, rather, imposing new and more lasting limitations?
The Philosophy of the Austrian School of Economics
Virtual Lightning Talk Ionela Baltatescu
As the libertarian philosopher, D. Gordon pointed out in his article, The Philosophical Origins of Austrian Economics, philosophy has been an accompanying presence at every stage in the development of Austrian economics. The purpose of the presentation is to briefly review the philosophical origins and the philosophical foundations of Austrian economics, emphasizing the influence of Aristotelian realism on Austrian economic theory. The main problem addressed in the presentation are: (1) whether Aristotelian realism had a decisive influence on Carl Mengers’ thinking; (2) whether the Misesian perspective on praxeology is reconcilable with Carl Menger’s underlying philosophy.
Dynamics of Colombian Exports to South Korea 2010-2017
Virtual Lightning Talk Hazleth Caycedo Suarez
This study describes the dynamics and evolution of the products marketed from Colombia to the South Korean market during the period 2010-2017. By way of introduction are highlighted the aspects related to Latin America´s strategy of insertion in Asia, the economic development of South Korea, the dynamism of Colombian exports, and a review of the commercial relations between these two countries in the context of an FTA. The quantitative study was carried out considering the data recorded in the DANE database, compared by chapter, HS code and year. Concerning the analysis, the first part was developed by reviewing the evolution according to the fluctuation of exports based on a trend graph and an exploration of the first and last year by a range of participation. In the second part, the dynamics of each one of the chapters have been described in detail. Conclusions reveal it is mainly evident that exports to Korea are concentrated mostly in the extractive industry and Coffee, and that after the first year of entry into force of the FTA, the implementation of the tariff reductions have not had the expected impact on Colombian exports.
