Check the Summary in less than 1 minute!
Research in Details
Research #1
ENERGY - Why some countries are leading the shift to green energy.
Author(s): Jonas Meckling, Phillip Y Lipscy, Jared J Finnegan & Florence Metz
Date of publication: October 2022
SUMMARY
A new study identifies the political factors that allow some countries to lead in adopting cleaner sources of energy while others lag behind. By analyzing how different countries responded to the current energy crisis and to the oil crisis of the 1970s, the study reveals how the structure of political institutions can help or hinder the shift to clean energy. The findings offer important lessons as governments race to limit the impacts of climate change.
Research #2
ENVIRONMENT - Study into global daily air pollution shows almost nowhere on Earth is safe.
Author(s): Wenhua Yu, Tingting Ye, Yiwen Zhang, Rongbin Xu, Yadong Lei, Zhuying Chen, Zhengyu Yang, Yuxi Zhang, Jiangning Song, Xu Yue, Shanshan Li, & Yuming Guo
Date of publication: March 2023
SUMMARY
In a new study of daily ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) across the globe, a new study has found that only 0.18% of the global land area and 0.001% of the global population are exposed to levels of PM2.5 -- the world's leading environmental health risk factor -- below levels of safety recommended by Word Health Organization (WHO). Importantly while daily levels have reduced in Europe and North America in the two decades to 2019, levels have increased Southern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 70% of days globally seeing levels above what is safe.
Research #3
EQUITY - Cinema has helped 'entrench' gender inequality in AI.
Author (s): Brian Mathias & Katharina von Kriegstein
Date of publication: January, 2023.
Summary
Study finds that just 8% of all depictions of AI professionals from a century of film are women -- and half of these are shown as subordinate to men. Cinema promotes AI as the product of lone male geniuses with god complexes, say researchers. Cultural perceptions influence career choices and recruitment, they argue, with the AI industry suffering from severe gender imbalance, risking development of discriminatory technology. Researchers from the University of Cambridge argue that such cultural tropes and a lack of female representation affects career aspirations and sector recruitment. Without enough women building AI there is a high risk of gender bias seeping into the algorithms set to define the future, they say.
Research #3
EDUCATION - Robot helps students with learning disabilities stay focused
Author(s): Jonas Peisker
Date of publication: March, 2023
SUMMARY
Engineering researchers at the University of Waterloo are successfully using a robot to help keep children with learning disabilities focused on their work. This was one of the key results in a new study that also found both the youngsters and their instructors valued the positive classroom contributions made by the robot. Students with learning disabilities may benefit from additional learning support, such as one-on-one instruction and the use of smartphones and tablets.
Research #5
ENERGY - From plastic waste to valuable nanomaterials.
Author(s): Kevin M Wyss, John T Li, Paul A Advincula, Ksenia V Bets, Weiyin Chen, Lucas Eddy, Karla J Silva, Jacob L Beckham, Jinhang Chen, Wei Meng, Bing Deng, Satish Nagarajaiah, Boris I Yakobson, & James M Tour
Date of publication January 2023
SUMMARY
Scientists create carbon nanotubes and other hybrid nanomaterials out of plastic waste using an energy-efficient, low-cost, low-emissions process that could also be profitable. The amount of plastic waste produced globally has doubled over the past two decades -- and plastic production is expected to triple by 2050 -- with most of it ending up in landfills, incinerated or otherwise mismanaged, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Thus, Scientists at Rice University are trying to address this problem by making the process profitable. A life cycle analysis of the production process revealed that flash Joule heating was considerably more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly than existing nanotube production processes.