Exam 2: Review Questions

Intro to Global Issues
For Bhargava, what makes an issue a “global” issue? Give an example of how a global economy, global development (disease or education or hunger), and population growth are interrelated in today’s world.

U.S. Poverty in Perspective
Review the discussion/reflection sheet for “30 Days on the Minimum Wage” and think about what you learned from Spurlock. Was the experiment realistic, what are the main challenges living on minimum wage, and what insights does it provide to how we define U.S. poverty (vs. global or “deep” poverty)?

Global and Deep Poverty
What does “deep poverty” mean, as depicted in the slums of Kibera, Kenya (see Slum Survivors guide)? Relate this to how Bhargava (and Sachs) define the “levels” of global poverty. Why does Sachs believe free trade and this “5-point plan” are answers to deep poverty? Explain why Kristof is more skeptical.

Global Food Crisis
Discuss characteristics of the Congo (shared by other poor nations) that make it vulnerable to a hunger crisis. Why do you think Americans are uneasy listening to stories about global hunger? How is hunger related to other global problems, and what could you do to help bring a long-term solution to hunger?

Global Education
Use examples from “Girls Education in India” and the chapter to show why primary education is key to reducing deep poverty. How do cultural ideas about gender in India prevent progress toward primary education? Conversely, why is educating young girls/women so important in this and other nations?

Microcredit Revolution
What is microcredit, and why is it so effective in alleviating poverty (even in very poor areas)? Share an example or two (stories from the film) to illustrate why microcredit works, especially for women. Why does Ebay founder Omidyar argue that “for-profit” microfinance is better than non-profit microcredit?

Global Trade Reform
Why does the WTO say free trade reduces poverty? Use the article on global agriculture to explain (with examples) why subsidies and tariffs can hurt farmers in 3rd-world nations. While free trade is beneficial, why is it also important for consumers to be aware of “fair trade” issues (see Black Gold for illustration).

AIDS: History & Response
Discuss three key developments that enabled the faster spread of HIV/AIDS (and related deaths) in the U.S. or globally (use Age of AIDS video). How did the global political climate surrounding AIDS funding for poor nations change, and why? Discuss key ideas and terms like the Global Fund, Bush’s PEPFAR program, the ABC controversy. Use the readings to explain the successes due to global AIDS funding.

Clean Water
Why is Lagos, Nigeria a “worst-case scenario” for global water issues? How do population and pollution affect water issues (see Jakarta and Mexico City cases in the film)? Explain how subsidies and artificially low water prices add to the problem. Why did global access to clean water expand recently (handout)?

Crisis in Darfur
Review the video guide. From the Power article, why has international work on Darfur been so ineffective?

Spring Break update

I found this story very interesting, given our earlier conversations about what people give up for Lent (including "technology"). Take a look!

Exam 1: Review Questions

Student Leadership
Contrast the “traditional” definition of leadership with how Astin & Astin think about leadership. What are some the barriers (i.e. limiting beliefs) that keep students from leading/engaging in the classroom or on campus? Relate these ideas to the “silent treatment” exercise I subjected you to in class.

Engagement at Simpson
Use the highlights of the Spezio article as a jumping off point; “grade” the current level of engagement at Simpson and think about what we could do to get students more engaged (see handout on Campus Assessment of Civic Engagement, as well as Simpson Survey data).

A New Engagement, Chapters 1-2
Use your reading of Zukin (PowerPoint outline is linked to my web page) to answer the questions below. What is the main theme/thesis of Zukin’s book? How does he define “civic participation,” and what are the most important findings from his study about it? Know the 4 generations and their profiles, and be able to talk about events that shaped GenX vs. DotNets.

A New Engagement, Chapter 3
What are “public voice” and “cognitive engagement,” and can they substitute for other civic/political responsibilities of citizenship? Zukin claims about 50% of Americans are “disengaged”; how does he know this? Note the gaps in engagement between the old and the young, AND any areas where youth actually show high levels of engagement.

Individualism & Social Capital
Is Hudson right that radical individualism is a dangerous part of American culture? Explain why or why not. What does the “American creed” have to do with this? If you could propose 3 solutions to promote more “community” (vs. individualism) in the U.S. based on Putnam’s work on social capital, what would the solutions be, and WHY? What other positive effects might this have on society (see Putnam article)?

Buyology
Be ready to discuss (in depth) three findings of interest from the video on the psychology of spending.

The Overspent American, Ch. 1
Schor highlights several negative societal problems tied to our culture of materialism and consumption; describe three of these problems. Given special attention to the way we define luxuries vs. necessities, and use the handout on this issue to supplement Schor’s analysis.

Consumption and Happiness
Using the readings, wrestle with the following questions. If some choice is good, why isn’t MORE choice always better? Explain the logic of Schwartz’s arguments on this point, with examples. Then connect and extend this idea to Frank’s discussion of wealth and happiness. What do think is his main insight?

Simplicity and Generosity
Review Schor’s 9 Principles for stopping the “upward creep of desire.” Apply three of these principles (those that “hit home”) to your own life, and illustrate how you might practically use them to change. Other issues: Do you think you could “downshift”? How do you grapple with Singer’s idea on poverty?

Rising Income (1950s to 2000s)

Someone asked today about how much income has grown in the last 50 years in the U.S. Here is a report from the U.S. Census Bureau that shows the upward trend (the figures account for inflation already, by using constant 1997 dollars). See just the first few pages of the report for an answer...

FYI: the income gains have not been equal by race, with incomes of some minority groups lagging. But the overall trend is income growth since the 1950s for most socioeconomic groups / classes...

Consumer Spending/Saving Rates in 2008

There's been a lot of talk about consumer spending recently, including how this latest economic downturn might influence it. Well, now we have a better idea of what the impact has been. From today's A.P. News article...

...personal consumption spending dropped by 1 percent in December. That was slightly worse than the 0.9 percent decline economists expected. The government also revised its November estimate lower to show spending fell 0.8 percent rather than 0.6 percent in that month.

At the same time, this seems like it's having a beneficial impact on the personal SAVINGS rate, which for the last few years had hovered not far above zero...that's right...zero!

Americans worried about the possibility of more job cuts boosted their savings rate to 3.6 percent of their after-tax incomes in December. That was the highest level since tax rebate checks temporarily pushed the rate up to 4.8 percent in May

What do you think? Have your spending habits changed, as you look at your own budget? Are you saving more, if at all?

Individualism vs. Collectivism

First-year Student Engagement is Up!

Take a look at the above graphic. It confirms the solid positive movement of the DotNets in 2004 and 2008 that we discussed in class. For more interesting news on college students' civic engagement (and other aspects of "who is the incoming college freshman today?") -- see the Higher Ed Research Institute survey for 2008.

What does the 2008-09 freshman class think about issues like politics, diversity, drinking habits, and other issues? Check out the article to find out. Feel free to comment on anything you find interesting or surprising.

Are Young Voters Tied to Obama?

Here is the article.

It's written by a poli sci professor from Drake. Here are some of his concluding thoughts:

If Obama is seen as effective in putting us back on the path to prosperity, if he can organize and govern as creatively and effectively as he campaigned, the loyalties developed during this campaign could build a political base of support for the Democrats to draw upon for decades.

You can sound off on what you think by commenting below...

Leadership Models

Worst fears about (RED) campaign realized

Just a sobering "watchdog" update on a topic we addressed earlier in the semester -- the economics of the "Red" campaign...

http://adage.com/article?article_id=115287

Key quote:

...you'd expect the money raised to be, well, big, right? Maybe $50 million, or even $100 million. Try again: The tally raised worldwide is $18 million. The disproportionate ratio between the marketing outlay and the money raised is drawing concern among nonprofit watchdogs, cause-marketing experts and even executives in the ad business

How to Evaluate Charities...

I expect this web site will be very informative for you, as it has been for me in making decisions about where to give charity $ where they will be spent wisely...

Charity Navigator
(registration req. to get the good stuff)

From wikipedia...

Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit group that evaluates American charities. Their stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities…"

…with the mission of helping "donors make informed giving decisions and enabling well-run charities to demonstrate their commitment to proper stewardship" of donor dollars…Charity Navigator currently evaluates over 5,000 charities in U.S.A., in addition to hundreds of organizations with international operations.

The site also features opinion pieces by Charity Navigator experts, donation tips, and top-10 and bottom-10 lists which rank efficient and inefficient organizations in a number of categories.

The Materialist Generation?

See this article for some interesting findings from the latest CIRP survey of college freshmen. Do you think this describes Simpson students, or are we different than most? A key excerpt:

...nearly three-quarters of those surveyed in 2006 thought it was essential or very important to be "very well-off financially." That compares with 62.5 percent who said the same in 1980 and 42 percent in 1966, the first year the survey was done.

As shown above, what is striking is not just the raw numbers (see the full story), but how our generation's priorities seem to differ from the values of our parents and grandparents. Or did our parents "sell out" their idealism somewhere along the way? (This is a common charge levied by social scientists against the baby boomers.)

Thoughts on the (Red) Campaign...

The more I think about it, the more I'm skeptical of the whole (Red) Campaign. I realize it is mostly an "awareness" campaign, but still... Not familiar with it? You can read a bit more here. Here's the stuff, from the official web site:

(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world's most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)^RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT)^RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

What's the meaning of the parentheses or brackets? Well, we call them "the embrace." Each company that becomes (RED) places its logo in this embrace and is then elevated to the power of red. Thus the name -- (PRODUCT)^RED.

You, the consumer, can take your purchase to the power of (RED) simply by upgrading your choice. Thus the proposition: (YOU)^RED. Be embraced, take your own fine self to the power of (RED). What better way to become a good-looking samaritan?!

Hmm... For some reason, that last paragraph makes me cringe, especially the whole "good-looking samaritan" thing.

Here's a crazy idea: INSTEAD of buying a $28 T-shirt or a $75 hoodie or a $175 cashmere sweater (yep...that's $175) from The Gap, one that you probably don't really need anyway, why not rescue (recycle) an old T-shirt, hoodie, or sweater from a thrift shop for $2, then give the rest directly to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS? Seems like a more efficient solution to me.

Am I being too snarky here? Too cynical? I'm curious to know what you think.

UPDATE 2009: the GAP is no longer selling a $175 cashmere sweater under the RED brand (maybe they figured out how ridiculous that sounded).

Sarah McLachlan - World On Fire

This informative music video raises some of the questions we will discuss in class.

What would the world look like if we took it to heart?

Materialism, anyone?

An AP reporter relates the intriguing history of Christmas/winter solstice in a story on materialism in America. This theme will crop up at least a few times in class. Money stats:

By the time the Christmas shopping season is over, the country will have spent in the neighborhood of $150 billion...that's an average of $500 for every man, woman, and child.

A study performed in the 1990s concluded that the average person buys 36 gifts for 14 recipients, though the number is likely to have increased since then.

Merry Christmas, indeed.