Intersection: Reimagining the Future of Mobility Across Traditional Boundaries

Mobility and transportation mean different things to people, even to those who work in various aspects of the ecosystem - from the movement of people or goods to the development of the infrastructure that enables mobility. For decades these different parts of the ecosystem have been approached as entirely independent industries, but the quickened pace of technological change has driven the need to reconsider how these distinct groups create the vibrant tapestry that is our mobility ecosystem. This book seeks to capture the varied perspectives as a collection of diverse views on the future of mobility, to provide a clearer view on the broad base of possibility and opportunity across this interconnected system. Contributors: Jonathon Baugh, Geoffrey Boquot, Reilly Brennan, Tiffany Chu, Jordan Davis, Courtney Erlichman, Elaina Farnsworth, Valerie Lefler, Wolfgang Lehmacher & Mikail Lind, Shoshana Lew, Suzanne Murtha, Mary Nichols, Trevor Pawl, John Perrachio, Aishwarya Raman, Karina Ricks, Alex Roy, Avinash Ruguboor, Anthony Townsend, Marla Westervelt, and Candace Xie. "Amazing roster of thought leaders come together to paint a picture of a whole new mobility paradigm in the interest of safety, sustainability, and equity." -- Sven Beiker, PhD. Managing Director at Silicon Valley Mobility and Lecturer at Stanford University

‘Subaltern’ pushbacks: An analysis of responses by Facebook users to ‘racist’ statements by two French doctors on testing a COVID-19 vaccine in Africa

In April 2020, two French doctors discussed on television the idea of testing a COVID-19 vaccine in Africa. The controversial utterances were widely condemned, subsequently leading the doctors apologizing. Using thematic analysis, and drawing on Stuart Hall’s encoding–decoding model and the concepts of coloniality and decoloniality, this article analyses responses to the doctors’ statements by social media users. Of the decoding positions proposed by Stuart Hall, many Facebook users occupied the oppositional decoding position. Facebook users dethroned ideas rooted in colonialism that positioned Europeans as superior thought leaders and Africans as inferior and passive recipients of western knowledges and leadership. They also dismissed the doctors as flagrant racists. Facebook users affirmed that Africans were not guinea pigs and Africa was not a laboratory. The visceral pushbacks by social media users discredited and delegitimized the doctors’ ideas as well as to foster solidarity among Africans in disparate locations.

The State of Music-Based Interventions for Mental Illness: Thought Leaders on Barriers, Opportunities, and the Value of Interdisciplinarity

Hundreds of studies regarding music's effects on mental health have accumulated across multiple disciplines; however, access to and application of music as a support for mental health remains limited, due in part to the multidisciplinary nature of related research and difficulties synthesizing findings. This qualitative study is the first to address these barriers by gathering current thought leaders and stakeholders at intersections of music and mental health, representing multiple disciplines and backgrounds, to (1) document understandings of and recommendations for the field, and (2) examine how views converge or conflict. Participants (n = 36) viewed preliminary results of a global scoping review, then engaged in focus groups which were transcribed and de-identified for analysis. An interdisciplinary research team coded and iteratively analyzed transcripts. Six themes emerged: Barriers to Quality/Improved Research, Disciplinary Differences, Research Recommendations, Implementation and Access, Public Perception and Education, and Need for Training. Discussions offered wide-ranging observations and recommendations while revealing challenges and opportunities related to interdisciplinary work. Findings indicate broad agreement regarding current barriers and opportunities at intersections of music and mental health. While highlighting challenges, participants also indicated multiple avenues for advancing research quality, intervention effectiveness, and equitable access to music as a support for mental health. Responding to the study’s illumination of the benefits and challenges of interdisciplinary work, four brief recommendations are offered to support future efforts.

Innovate this ! Bullshit in academic libraries and what we can do about it

Academic libraries produce and perpetuate their fair share of management speak - or, bullshit. We create checklists of core competencies to actualize our value propositions. We revere the Thought Leaders in the Innovative Library of the 21st Century. We create synergistic space to incubate the next big game changers. We create and administer committees and task forces that in turn generate a never ending cycle of emails to nail down agendas and meeting minutes. I will reflect on how this proliferation of empty language affects our collective psyche, and what we might do to shovel our way out and focus on meaningful work that provides resonance through all stages of our careers.

Innovate this ! Bullshit in academic libraries and what we can do about it

Academic libraries produce and perpetuate their fair share of management speak - or, bullshit. We create checklists of core competencies to actualize our value propositions. We revere the Thought Leaders in the Innovative Library of the 21st Century. We create synergistic space to incubate the next big game changers. We create and administer committees and task forces that in turn generate a never ending cycle of emails to nail down agendas and meeting minutes. I will reflect on how this proliferation of empty language affects our collective psyche, and what we might do to shovel our way out and focus on meaningful work that provides resonance through all stages of our careers.

Deciphering China

This chapter examines Singaporean elite perspectives towards China and how China’s rise is understood and debated in Singapore. It argues that Singapore’s reading of China’s rise is broadly divided into three schools that parallel theories of mainstream international relations, namely, the realist, economic institutionalist, and the constructivist positions. By analyzing the views put forth by three Singaporean thought leaders that are representative of each of these schools, the chapter argues that at the crux of Singapore’s perspectives on China is a contestation between these three schools of thought as well as the extent to which Singapore perceives China as exceptional.