To Leverage the Innovation Capability by Co-creation of Human-Machine

Although a societal consensus has been reached about the partnership between human beings and smart machines, limited research has been carried out to consider advances in its combination pattern, function mechanism, and developing creativity. Based on occurred disruptive changes form theory to practice, a new paradigm of co-creation by synergistic human-machine is proposed, which refers to that interaction of human-machine learning in a holistic system increase complementarity of abilities and integration of wisdom to realize an augmented synergy made up of hybrid intelligences. This augmented intelligence can effectively account for shifts in business logic and the productive solutions to the multiple complex problems during smart manufacturing. It has been discovered that the positive consequences of synergistic human-machine co-creation include not only sustainable labor patterns, but the ability to overcome multiple complexities and steadily increase business value. All this is further elaborated in the Baizhentang Foods case. This paper discusses the main prospects of the theoretical developments presented here for future research on organizational behavior and a synergistic human-machine structure.

The effects of ideological value framing and symbolic racism on pro-environmental behavior

Environmental degradation continues to be one of the greatest threats to human well-being, posing a disproportionate burden on communities of color. Environmental action, however, fails to reflect this urgency, leaving social-behavioral research at the frontier of environmental conservation, as well as environmental justice. Broad societal consensus for environmental action is particularly sparse among conservatives. The lack of even small personal sacrifices in favor of the environment could be attributed to the relatively low salience of environmental threats to white Americans and the partisan nature of environmentalism in America. We evaluate if (1) environmental action is causally related to the ideological value framing of an environmental issue; and (2) if the perceived race of impacted communities influences environmental action as a function of racial resentment. With this large-scale, original survey experiment examining the case of air-pollution, we find weak support for the first, but we do not find evidence for the second. We advance our understanding of environmental justice advocacy and environmental inaction in the United States. Protocol registration The stage 1 protocol for this Registered Report was accepted in principle on 10 June 2021. The protocol, as accepted by the journal, can be found at 10.6084/m9.figshare.14769558.

Germline genome modification through novel political, ethical, and social lenses

Much has been written about gene modifying technologies (GMTs), with a particularly strong focus on human germline genome editing (HGGE) sparked by its unprecedented clinical research application in 2018, shocking the scientific community. This paper applies political, ethical, and social lenses to aspects of HGGE to uncover previously underexplored considerations that are important to reflect on in global discussions. By exploring 4 areas—(1) just distribution of HGGE benefits through a realist lens; (2) HGGE through a national interest lens; (3) “broad societal consensus” through a structural injustice lens; and (4) HGGE through a scientific trustworthiness lens—a broader perspective is offered, which ultimately aims to enrich further debates and inform well-considered solutions for developments in this field. The application of these lenses also brings to light the fact that all discussions about scientific developments involve a conscious or unconscious application of a lens that shapes the direction of our thinking.

Absolutely right and relatively good: Consequentialists see bioethical disagreement in a relativist light

Background: Contemporary societies are rife with moral disagreement, resulting in recalcitrant disputes on matters of public policy. In the context of ongoing bioethical controversies, are uncompromising attitudes rooted in beliefs about the nature of moral truth? Methods: To answer this question, we conducted both exploratory and confirmatory studies, with both a convenience and a nationally representative sample (total N = 1501), investigating the link between people’s beliefs about moral truth (their metaethics) and their beliefs about moral value (their normative ethics). Results: Across various bioethical issues (e.g.,medically-assisted death, vaccine hesitancy, surrogacy, mandatory organ conscription, or genetically modified crops), consequentialist attitudes were associated with weaker beliefs in an objective moral truth. This association was not explained by domain-general reflectivity, theism, personality, normative uncertainty, or subjective knowledge. Conclusions: We find a robust link between the way people characterize prescriptive disagreements and their sensibility to consequences. In addition, both societal consensus and personal conviction contributed to objectivist beliefs, but these effects were asymmetric, i.e., stronger for opposition than for approval.

Macedonia: Troublesome Relations Among Politics, Ethnicity, and the Military

At first sight, relations between politics and the military in Macedonia, one of the ex-Yugoslav republics that gained independence in 1991, seem to resemble the typical evolution of civil–military relations in other countries in transition. Yet, history in Macedonia is far from straightforward and simple. First, the country’s appearance on the world scene was unique: it was practically a demilitarized state with no army! Apart from that, amid the Yugoslav imbroglio it was known as an “oasis of peace.” Only 10 years later, in 2001, Macedonia found itself on the verge of an ethnic conflict, with a powerless (Macedonian-dominated) military that confronted apparently well-organized Albanian paramilitary forces. In March 2020, Macedonia became NATO’s 30th member state. Yet, the dilemma that affects civil–military relations at both the political-military and societal-military levels has not gone away. Theoretically and practically, any meaningful analysis requires detection of the troublesome aspects of each side of the triangle: state/politics/military/society/ethnicity. Though the society–state dimension is far from inconsiderable, on methodological grounds the analysis that follows is restricted to the other two dimensions. NATO membership for a transitional country usually presupposes a successful democratic transition, internal stability, and societal consensus over key national values and interests. Macedonia’s case belies that assumption. The Macedonian military has been practically invisible in internal politics, while it has been widely cited as a key asset for bringing the country closer to NATO by direct involvement in military interventions launched by the United States or NATO, starting with Afghanistan and Iraq and extending to the plans for involvement in Mali’s affairs. Behind the façade, there is silent internal strife within the ranks along political and ethnic lines (i.e., the same lines that sharply divide the state and society, challenging the country’s internal cohesion and democratic prospects). In addition, the military has to make do with scant essential resources, while the military officers’ self-respect is severely diminished by the low societal rewards for their profession. Macedonia’s democratic transition is far from complete, since the country is going through a deep internal crisis related to its societal/security dilemma, and the military is just one of the institutions that suffer because of ethnic competition and unprincipled power-sharing bargaining.

Rediscovering Britain’s Wider Constitutional Tradition

This chapter attempts to identify the deep constitutional crisis of the British body-politic and introduce a remedy in the form of new constitutional settlement founded upon a written constitution. It explains the 'unwritten constitution', which grew up over the centuries from a hotchpotch of statutes, judicial decisions, disputed conventions, and half-remembered traditions has reached the end of its useful life. It also emphasizes the revival of the British democracy through a written constitution, a supreme and fundamental law that is founded upon a broad political and societal consensus. The chapter reviews constitutional proposals that reflect the 'Charter 88 agenda', which has motivated constitutional reformers in Britain for the last three decades. It responds to the new constitutional crisis that was unanticipated by the reformers of the pre-1997 era.

Overview of the Policies for Phasing Out Ocean Dumping of Sewage Sludge in the Republic of Korea

Ocean dumping of municipal sewage sludge (MSS) that was treated in wastewater treatment plants in the Republic of Korea (ROK) began in 1993 and has sharply increased thereafter; this deteriorated the benthic environment of the dumping sites, consequently necessitating relevant policies to be developed to reduce dumping. This review introduces the outcomes of policies used to phase out ocean dumping of MSS in ROK and provides a method for improving contaminated environments. We first review a previous report submitted under the London Protocol in 2016 and then provide additional data collected since then. In addition, we introduce a scientific research result that reduced the concentration of harmful substances in the dumping sites by capping the dumping area. ROK established policies to phase out the dumping in 2006, which had immediate impacts, with dumping of MSS terminated in 2012. These policies were then expanded to terminate dumping of all types of sewage sludge in 2016, due to the fast and strict application of actions based on intergovernmental cooperation and societal consensus. In addition, the capping method that covered the contaminated sediments with dredged materials was effective. The success of the evaluated policies and research could be effectively applied to areas with similar circumstances.

A Rare Moment of Cross-Partisan Consensus: Elite and Public Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Canada

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed nearly unprecedented pressure on policymakers and citizens alike. Effectively containing the pandemic requires a societal consensus. However, a long line of research in political science has told us that polarization tends to occur on highly salient topics because partisans “follow the leader.” Elite consensus is thus essential to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. We examine the degree of partisan consensus that exists in Canada at the level of political elites and the mass public. At the level of political elites, we quantitatively and qualitatively analyze MP Twitter behaviour and show a massive increase in attention to COVID-19 and find no evidence of any MPs from any party downplaying the pandemic or spreading misinformation. At the level of the mass public, we find no association between Conservative Party vote share and Google search interest in the coronavirus, while survey data show that individual-level partisan differences are small and disappear when controlling for demographics and left-right ideology. Elite and public response to the COVID-19 pandemic can be characterized as a cross-partisan consensus.