Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Quest for semantic consistency in relativity

Posted on January 24, 2016March 25, 2016 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Quantum reality. Fractals that appear and disappear as probabilities, when the observer is standing teetering from left to right to peek at the sunset between. “Classical systems are supposed not to be disturbed by measurement, for the state of a quantum system measurement is crucial” [1:1174]. By ‘measurement’ it is also understood that what is being measured depends upon the position from where the measurement takes place, as when Heisenberg suggests “I believe that one can fruitfully formulate the origin of the classical ‘orbit’ in this way. The ‘orbit’ comes into being only when we observe it. [13:73 in [1]]
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2016

As the field of quantum physics advanced in theory and discoveries in the past century, what scholars have noticed was just how inadequate language is to frame what Robbert Dijkgraaf calls ‘the study of nothing’ [2]. It is this very topic of language and reality that was addressed in Brigitte Falkenburg’s [1] paper on Peter Mittelstaedt’s contributions to the philosophy of physics. His works addressed a constant quest for semantic self-consistency in the field of quantum mechanics.

Mittelstaedt’s quest for semantic consistency has to do with how relativity and quantum theory get into conflict with traditional philosophical assumptions about the structure of the physical world. Continue reading “Quest for semantic consistency in relativity” →

Carl G. Jung on reductionism, and its implication on homo oeconomicus in the era of big data analytics

Posted on December 28, 2015December 28, 2015 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Carl Gustav Jung, on reductionism in science, with in my view, implications for the current dominant paradigm of theories of human cognitive development, and culture. Transcript from a 1990 documentary of Jung [1] based on his works [2, 3].

“Mythology is pronouncing of a series of images that formulate the life of archetypes. So the statements of every religion, of many poets and so on, are statements about the inner mythological process, which is a necessity because man is not complete if he is not conscious of that aspect of things. So you see, a man is not complete if he lives in a world of statistical truths, he must live in a world of his biological truth, that is his biological truth that is not merely statistics. Yet our natural science makes everything into an average, reduces everything into an average, and of course, all the individual qualities are wiped out. That of course is most unbecoming, it is unhygienic, it deprives people of their specific values where they are individuals. It deprives them of the most important experiences of their life where they experience their own value, the creative background of their personality and we think we are able to be born today with no history. That is a disease. That’s absolutely abnormal. Because man is not born everyday. He is once born in a specific historical setting, with its specific historical qualities and therefore he is only complete when he has a relation to these things. It is as if you were born without eyes and ears when you are growing up without connection to the past. From the standpoint of natural science, you need no connection to the past, you can wipe it out. And that is a mutilation of the human being.” [1: 45:43-49:25] Continue reading “Carl G. Jung on reductionism, and its implication on homo oeconomicus in the era of big data analytics” →

The 21st International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015) NEDO Robot Forum, Tokyo.

Posted on December 7, 2015October 6, 2018 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Dr. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro, with MIT Professor Emeritus Rodney Brooks, CTO and Chairman of Rethink Robotics [1,2].
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2015

The NEDO Robot Forum took place between 3 to 4 December 2015 in conjunction with the 21st International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015). Held at the conference tower of Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan, the forum saw a gathering of some of the best minds of the industry and academia.

Two presentations of particular personal interest included Service Robotics by Dr. Steve Cousins, and Collaborative Robots in Factories and Beyond by Professor Emeritus Rodney Brooks.

NEDO Robot Forum 2015, Tokyo

I. Service Robotics

Steve Cousins is the founder and CEO of Savioke, creators of the Relay (Botir and Dash) delivery robots for hotels and was previously President and CEO of Willow Garage, overseeing the creation of the robot operating system (ROS), the PR2 robot and the open source TurtleBot. Over the next decade, Continue reading “The 21st International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015) NEDO Robot Forum, Tokyo.” →

The 21st International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015) Robot Summit, Tokyo.

Posted on December 6, 2015August 30, 2017 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

A scene at the International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015).
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2015

The 21st International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015) took place between 2 to 5 December in Ariake at the Tokyo Big Sight in Tokyo, Japan. Organized bi-annually by the Japan Robot Association (JARA) and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, LTD and supported by varoius Japanese trade organizations, this robotics exclusive event attracts an average of over fifty multinational enterprises in exhibition and more than five thousand visitors interested in the latest robot technology.

Robots have gained popular interest in recent years, firing debates on whether robot solutions are deemed as key to economic growth across the globe whether developed or emerging economies [1]. Of personal interest was the parallel Robot Summit 2015 session that saw a keynote speech entitled For Realization of Robot Revolution delivered by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and a panel discussion take place between eight industry leaders in robotics on the theme of the pioneering efforts of the robot revolution. The eight industry representatives, Continue reading “The 21st International Robot Exhibition (iREX 2015) Robot Summit, Tokyo.” →

Time, through and within

Posted on November 15, 2015April 8, 2017 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Leonids Over Monument Valley. NASA’s astronomy picture of the day. Photo by Sean M. Sabatini

Over the past years, I’ve been increasingly interested in the concept of Time, due to a singular observation that if nothing goes faster than the speed of light, then what happens in the non-void between the musical notes / frequencies from a grammarphone as the needle touches the record, to when you actually hear the music? Time would have passed in seeming linearity, and in that non-void, space would be created. The two are co-created, interdependent and interwoven, thus the concept of spacetime. And if you could play the record backwards and listen to it being played backwards, why was this spacetime still moving forwards?

A group discussion a few days ago ensued about the concept of Time. Ideas were shared on whether one felt that Time was linear or circular in nature, whether individuals shared the same time if they were sharing the same space, or if time was felt differently by different people. The ideas sharing led me to do some small further research on the topic [1-5], pulling up journal articles gathered from various disciplines. Continue reading “Time, through and within” →

Fang’s Yin Yang perspective on culture as complementary to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions paradigm

Posted on November 8, 2015November 15, 2015 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

[notes from an evening contemplation from 22 April 2012]

The world is getting faster and smaller. We are at an age where social media platforms over the internet are no longer activities that we engage in only during our spare time, but rather have them as integrated activities into the workings of our lives. Internet and wireless technology today allows us to traverse geographic boundaries, space and time in order to create new relations, work across cities in virtual groups with people from different time zones, where getting in touch with others from different cultural backgrounds is the norm. It is in view of this scenario of the greater interconnectedness in the world that this paper is writ, where together with other scholars [1-5], supports the call for more comprehensive perspectives in the study of national cultures.

The call towards a more dynamic and integrated perspective towards the study of culture, can be viewed as a development of theory in the field that is built upon the previous works of other outstanding scholars in the field of cultural studies that began in the 1930s with studies in cultural anthropology in relation to organisation [6-10]. Theoretical development in cultural studies at both national and organizational levels took ground during the 1970s with the expansive work of Geert Hofstede. Covering more than 70 countries with IBM employee values scores collected between 1967 and 1973, his efforts culminated in a book in 1980, Cultures Consequnces that outlined Continue reading “Fang’s Yin Yang perspective on culture as complementary to Hofstede’s cultural dimensions paradigm” →

Transdiciplinary language: coloured by coloured metaphors

Posted on October 17, 2015November 15, 2015 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

A travel bookshop in the heart of the old city of Zürich, Switzerland.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2015

I read with interest a 2006 research article by Grupo de Estudio de Sistemas Integrados [1] in Argentina on the topic of transdiciplinary unified theory that discussed the importance of establishing a common language of transdisciplinarian concepts, defined as a language of “interconnected significant isomorphies” [1:621] not just among systems but among our understanding of models of systems. The push towards this new practice of research methodology has been generally founded in the workings of Industry 4.0, where changes in the knowledge demography that comes with more dispersed and varied education systems contribute to a shift in the landscape of knowledge production in the era of the global knowledge economy [2].

A starting point for scholars could be establishing a common understanding and definition of the words interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdiciplinary in the context of academia, in order to facilitate more effective meaningful exchanges of ideas on systemic theories and complexity management. In general, transdisciplinarity foregrounds an integrated, holistic perspective [3-5] that recognises systemic behavioural patterns as organic and evolving. Continue reading “Transdiciplinary language: coloured by coloured metaphors” →

The Singapore identity beyond SG50: an integrated systemic approach

Posted on August 6, 2015September 17, 2015 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

SG50: Singapore at 50, 2015

I read with inquisitive delight the introductory paragraph cited below, in a book entitled Reframing Singapore: Memory – Identity – Trans-Regionalism, a collection of scholarly articles in exchange of ideas of the different narratives of Singapore, edited by Derek Heng and Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied published by the Amsterdam University Press, 2009.

“Any tourist who strolls along the Singapore River will find picturesque cityscapes that evoke paradoxical mental images in the mind. Skyscrapers are juxtaposed with shop houses that have been synthetically pre- served so as to suggest memories of the island’s past. Painted black and raised high on a concrete pedestal, the statue of the colony’s British ‘founder’, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, stares at the modern, durian- shaped Esplanade Theatres on the Bay. Colonialism was here, and so were the Japanese. A tour of the Asian Civilizations Museum adds to the sense of confusion and ambivalence. Impressed by high-tech dis- plays of the tapestry of cultures that evolved over the last two centuries and the migration of men and women from far-off lands, the tourist wonders why Chinese, Malays, Indians and ‘Others’ are the only categories, which have been accorded demographic significance. She would be informed later of the authoritarianism and the technocracy. But the orderliness, security and comfort she has enjoyed thus far tend to disguise the assertions of injustice. Continue reading “The Singapore identity beyond SG50: an integrated systemic approach” →

10th Ph.D. and Post-Doc Seminar and Conference, Maastricht University 2015

Posted on June 23, 2015October 5, 2015 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Dr. Cheryl Marie Cordeiro with Emeritus Professor Geert Hofstede, showing his University of Gothenburg ring where he has been conferred the title of Doctor Honoris Causa. He has eight honorary doctorates, that include those at Nyenrode, Sofia, Athens, Pécs, Liège and Vilnius.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2015

The 10th Global and Cross Cultural Organizational Research Ph.D. Workshop and Conference was hosted by the Hofstede Chair, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS) at Maastricht University, Netherlands from 14 to 19 June 2015.

The week-long programme that was held in seminar format, provided a platform for doctoral and post-doctoral students interested in organizational culture studies research to meet with some prominent and influential scholars of the field. The noted guest lecturers to the programme included distinguished scholar Geert Hofstede, Professor Emeritus of Organizational Anthropology and International Management at Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and Mikael Minkov, Professor of Cross-Cultural Awareness and Organizational Behavior at International University College, Bulgaria. Minkov has co-authored several publications with Hofstede, and is known for his quantitative cross-cultural analysis across modern nations that led to a development and update of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory and model. Continue reading “10th Ph.D. and Post-Doc Seminar and Conference, Maastricht University 2015” →

The 9th GEM&L 2015 workshop, Helsinki, Finland

Posted on June 21, 2015July 7, 2017 by Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

The 9th international Groupe d’Études Management & Langage (GEM&L) International Workshop on the theme Language in Global Management and Business: Theoretical, Methodological and Empirical Advances.
Text & Photo © CM Cordeiro, Sweden 2015

11 to 12 June 2015 saw the 9th international GEM&L workshop take place at Aalto Univeristy, School of Business in collaboration with the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki, Finland.

Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland.

Continue reading “The 9th GEM&L 2015 workshop, Helsinki, Finland” →

ACADEMIC REFLECTIONS | CV

Author: Cheryl Marie Cordeiro