Khan Academy is another example of our flat world, a term coined by Pulitzer-prize winning author Thomas Friedman in the book titled The World is Flat.
A simple yet brilliant concept, Salman Khan's initiative has made math learning easy and fun for kids all around the world at the comfort of their home or wherever they are.
Mr. Friedman in his book emphasized about the value of science and technology. He lamented how the kids in the U.S. have fallen behind kids from other countries in this area. The problem, perhaps, is not that the kids are not learning. But why they are not learning?
The education system in the U.S. is complicated and convulted with bureaucratic measures. Unless and until we untangle this mess, the kids in the U.S. will continue to be at a disadvantage of not using their full potential.
Mr. Khan's idea, at least, for now brings the world of learning together. The learning at the Khan Academy is very intuitive and interactive. As an adult, I have learned a lot as I am surviving my micro economics class in my master's program in public policy.
All of us should bask in the glory of this brilliant invention. And learn. The link to Khan Academy and a PSA follow:
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Public Safety and Technology: an integrated approach to enrich communities and cities
The growth and invention of technology continue to benefit many aspects of our lives. One such area is public safety. Protecting public from natural disasters to terrorist attacks, public safety has become a key policy issue. Both government and private initiatives are underway these days to leverage technology in developing effective public safety measures. Modernizing and updating advanced computer system and utilizing trained professional to protect public have become a top priority for government, NGOs, and private sector businesses.
The following video shows a brief analysis from an IBM expert on the issue of technology and public safety.
The following video shows a brief analysis from an IBM expert on the issue of technology and public safety.
Spectrum: a new frontier of technology and net neutrality
Dr. Lawrence Summers gave an insightful speech on spectrum at the New America Foundation.
The link follows:
http://wirelessfuture.newamerica.net/events/2010/technological_opportunities_job_creation_and_economic_growth
Courtesy: New America Foundation
The link follows:
http://wirelessfuture.newamerica.net/events/2010/technological_opportunities_job_creation_and_economic_growth
Courtesy: New America Foundation
Market System: how it influences our behavior
Let me be the devil’s advocate. Advertisers are a byproduct of the powerful manufacturers. According to Ewen’s 1976 article, the underlying idea of advertising in a market system is to create desires and habits of people to increase consumption. I agree with his theory. Because we live in a market system that voluntarily or involuntarily paralyzes us by limiting our choices to make decisions about what to buy, eat, wear, and so on. Enter advertisers who are the master manipulators of our psyche. But their purpose also focuses on the “education to production” (p. 36). The market system imprisons us. As Lindblom (1982) says that our democracy today is joined hand-in-hand with the market system. Furthermore, to achieve a full democracy, we’d need to eliminate the market system. Arguments abound against Lindblom’s theory.
Polley (1990) used a great quote of engineering of consent. It says that the engineering of consent “is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest. The freedoms of speech … which make the engineering of consent possible are among the most cherished guarantees of the ‘Constitution of the United States’” (p. 89).
It is, therefore, inherent in our system that people are going be informed, educated, and persuaded and that we are limited in our legal and moral capacities to prevent it from happening. As Lindblom aptly added, “Our dilemma or difficulties are extraordinary – and are not clarified for us by the current state of either of market theory or democratic theory” (p. 332).
If market can provide what we need, we ought to accept it but certainly not by compromising our cognitive power and moral stance. If we see something detrimental against our well-being, we have the power in this democratic process to speak up. The very notion of freedom of speeches also empowers us as citizens. While the powerful companies have the leverage of engineering consent, we also have the power to frame issues to claim our well-being.
But, perhaps, we also need to acknowledge, or at the very least, consider, the fact that the “… market system imprisons policy. And we are less free … such are the inevitable consequences of imprisonment” (Lindblom, 1982, p. 336).
Polley (1990) used a great quote of engineering of consent. It says that the engineering of consent “is the very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and suggest. The freedoms of speech … which make the engineering of consent possible are among the most cherished guarantees of the ‘Constitution of the United States’” (p. 89).
It is, therefore, inherent in our system that people are going be informed, educated, and persuaded and that we are limited in our legal and moral capacities to prevent it from happening. As Lindblom aptly added, “Our dilemma or difficulties are extraordinary – and are not clarified for us by the current state of either of market theory or democratic theory” (p. 332).
If market can provide what we need, we ought to accept it but certainly not by compromising our cognitive power and moral stance. If we see something detrimental against our well-being, we have the power in this democratic process to speak up. The very notion of freedom of speeches also empowers us as citizens. While the powerful companies have the leverage of engineering consent, we also have the power to frame issues to claim our well-being.
But, perhaps, we also need to acknowledge, or at the very least, consider, the fact that the “… market system imprisons policy. And we are less free … such are the inevitable consequences of imprisonment” (Lindblom, 1982, p. 336).
Friday, October 15, 2010
Public Transportation: a policy paradox
The 2010 snowstorms shutdown government for four days, almost a full working week. The snowstorm was so severe that some counties even shut down the snowplowing operations.
Someone like me who uses public transportation can only understand the limitation of human intellect and the power of technology against the elements of weather. The effect of not having a public transportation puzzled me more than anything else about our policies on government spending on public transportation.
First, let me explain the effect of lack of public transportation. I live in Arlington, a suburb in the Northern Virginia, and near a major public transportation thoroughfare – Columbia Pike. The weather, instead of dampening my spirit, invigorated me to step outside and take long walks along Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive to see the might and awe of the blizzard.
Furthermore, a keen interest in photography motivated me not to become a victim of the cabin fever. Because of its close proximity to DC and a strategic transportation value, Arlington did not suffer the fate of a county or a city far removed from DC or situated deeper into Virginia suburbs where the blizzard cast its biting effect on people.
Let’s shift gear to politics. The U.S. continues to enjoy a higher gross domestic product (GDP) per person than its European counterpart. The trend has remained this way since 1950 although the European Union has claimed sporadic higher growth rates. But the overall GDP per capita remains in favor of the U.S. Does the higher GDP mean higher quality of life? It is certainly arguable. According to a report by The Economist (2005), the U.S. GDP does not take into account of the quality of life that the people in Europe enjoy.
For example, the U.S. government spends more on roads and infrastructures to compensate for the lack of adequate public transportation, causing people to spend more on goods and services. This spending raises the GDP but not the convenience, nor the benefit of the mass public transportation system. Another factor that contributes to U.S. GDP is the purchases of home security devices. Because of higher crime rates, people in the U.S. spend more on the home security. Gone is the peace of mind (2005).
Could a sound transportation policy have stopped the blizzard and the shutdown? Probably not. But after the blizzard people would have more places to go. More subways, trolleys, and buses would have hummed along the neighborhood streets without shedding an ounce of carbon emission to the environment. I call it a quality of life.
The nature’s fury did not bring the government to its knees. Politics of indifference did.
Someone like me who uses public transportation can only understand the limitation of human intellect and the power of technology against the elements of weather. The effect of not having a public transportation puzzled me more than anything else about our policies on government spending on public transportation.
First, let me explain the effect of lack of public transportation. I live in Arlington, a suburb in the Northern Virginia, and near a major public transportation thoroughfare – Columbia Pike. The weather, instead of dampening my spirit, invigorated me to step outside and take long walks along Columbia Pike and George Mason Drive to see the might and awe of the blizzard.
Furthermore, a keen interest in photography motivated me not to become a victim of the cabin fever. Because of its close proximity to DC and a strategic transportation value, Arlington did not suffer the fate of a county or a city far removed from DC or situated deeper into Virginia suburbs where the blizzard cast its biting effect on people.
Let’s shift gear to politics. The U.S. continues to enjoy a higher gross domestic product (GDP) per person than its European counterpart. The trend has remained this way since 1950 although the European Union has claimed sporadic higher growth rates. But the overall GDP per capita remains in favor of the U.S. Does the higher GDP mean higher quality of life? It is certainly arguable. According to a report by The Economist (2005), the U.S. GDP does not take into account of the quality of life that the people in Europe enjoy.
For example, the U.S. government spends more on roads and infrastructures to compensate for the lack of adequate public transportation, causing people to spend more on goods and services. This spending raises the GDP but not the convenience, nor the benefit of the mass public transportation system. Another factor that contributes to U.S. GDP is the purchases of home security devices. Because of higher crime rates, people in the U.S. spend more on the home security. Gone is the peace of mind (2005).
Could a sound transportation policy have stopped the blizzard and the shutdown? Probably not. But after the blizzard people would have more places to go. More subways, trolleys, and buses would have hummed along the neighborhood streets without shedding an ounce of carbon emission to the environment. I call it a quality of life.
The nature’s fury did not bring the government to its knees. Politics of indifference did.
The U.S. Army's Role in Afghanistan: a paradigm shift
The U.S. Army is changing. All battles cannot be won by force alone, argued Rohde (2007). A paradigm shift is taking place where fire power has dominated the military culture. Places like Afghanistan poses various challenges for the U.S. forces that were not quite understood or known before. The local culture must be learned and the locals must me engaged.
Rohde (2007) mentioned that the Army has begun to examine the war in Afghanistan from “human” point of view. “We are not focused on the enemy. We’re focused on bringing down governance to the people.”
The venerable institution has recruited anthropologist and social scientists to replace where M-16s won’t get the job done. These social scientists are responsible for enhancing “military operations and strategy.” For example, the army personnel now work with local tribal councils or jirgas to establish a strategic link between the local community and the armed forces.
The Army is also working to improve the economic conditions of the communities in Afghanistan. According to Atran (2004), poverty is one of the leading reasons among the insurgents and youth to become so-called terrorist.
The Foreign Affairs reported that the Army is no longer focusing on the war in Afghanistan on political and social issues. It is now undertaking to focus on the economic factors, a notion known as “expeditionary economics.”
According to The Foreign Affairs, this theory offers post-war strategy to rebuild war-torn nations and to facilitate international aid to promote economic growth. The economic factor is central to the success of this theory. Atran (2004) noted that the root causes of terrorism stem from poverty, social dysfunction, and inadequate education.
Rohde (2007) illustrated a brilliant example where economic distress is directly related to insurgency. Many widows in Afghanistan’s remote villages are economically distressed. This puts pressure on the sons of many of these widows to join insurgency because of monetary incentives offered by the local insurgents.
The paradigm shift offers a solid bridge between the insertions of social scientists into war zone and resolving economic and social crisis in Afghanistan. This will also help rebuild the war-torn country’s political structure. A recent report by Seth Johns of The Foreign Affairs supports what Rohde describes in his article about Army’s cooperation with the local tribes or jirgas.
Johns (2010) said that building a central government in Afghanistan alone will further destabilize the country. It must be aligned with decentralized form of power among the tribal leaders. The former is a top-down approach and the latter is a bottom-up approach. To achieve balance in Afghanistan’s governance, both must be installed.
Bernard Lewis (1995) concluded in his article nearly two decades ago that “something deeper” is in the works within the roots of Islamic terrorism. The idea of resolving poverty through innovative policy and retooling existing U.S. institutions might have just unearthed Lewis’ unfounded “something deeper.”
Rohde (2007) mentioned that the Army has begun to examine the war in Afghanistan from “human” point of view. “We are not focused on the enemy. We’re focused on bringing down governance to the people.”
The venerable institution has recruited anthropologist and social scientists to replace where M-16s won’t get the job done. These social scientists are responsible for enhancing “military operations and strategy.” For example, the army personnel now work with local tribal councils or jirgas to establish a strategic link between the local community and the armed forces.
The Army is also working to improve the economic conditions of the communities in Afghanistan. According to Atran (2004), poverty is one of the leading reasons among the insurgents and youth to become so-called terrorist.
The Foreign Affairs reported that the Army is no longer focusing on the war in Afghanistan on political and social issues. It is now undertaking to focus on the economic factors, a notion known as “expeditionary economics.”
According to The Foreign Affairs, this theory offers post-war strategy to rebuild war-torn nations and to facilitate international aid to promote economic growth. The economic factor is central to the success of this theory. Atran (2004) noted that the root causes of terrorism stem from poverty, social dysfunction, and inadequate education.
Rohde (2007) illustrated a brilliant example where economic distress is directly related to insurgency. Many widows in Afghanistan’s remote villages are economically distressed. This puts pressure on the sons of many of these widows to join insurgency because of monetary incentives offered by the local insurgents.
The paradigm shift offers a solid bridge between the insertions of social scientists into war zone and resolving economic and social crisis in Afghanistan. This will also help rebuild the war-torn country’s political structure. A recent report by Seth Johns of The Foreign Affairs supports what Rohde describes in his article about Army’s cooperation with the local tribes or jirgas.
Johns (2010) said that building a central government in Afghanistan alone will further destabilize the country. It must be aligned with decentralized form of power among the tribal leaders. The former is a top-down approach and the latter is a bottom-up approach. To achieve balance in Afghanistan’s governance, both must be installed.
Bernard Lewis (1995) concluded in his article nearly two decades ago that “something deeper” is in the works within the roots of Islamic terrorism. The idea of resolving poverty through innovative policy and retooling existing U.S. institutions might have just unearthed Lewis’ unfounded “something deeper.”
Saving Energy At Home: advice from an expert
Saving environment has become a everyday mantra these days. YouTube recently posted an interview with Energy Secretary Steven Chu. He discusses various ways we can make our home enery efficient.
Here's an YouTube video of that interview:
Here's an YouTube video of that interview:
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