China, the United States, Vietnam, South Korea, and Europe are rushing to replace human intelligence with artificial intelligence (AI). Recent magazine articles try to reassure readers that they need not fear being replaced by robots, but the evidence is far from conclusive.
An article in The Economist magazine (January 12, 2019) claimed China can cushion falling employment in export-related industries and its tech sector by increasing jobs in labor-intensive services "from restaurants to couriers." But the December 2018/January 2019 issue of the AARP magazine arrived with news that the vending machine business grew 26% in 2018. Sales went up once machines began accepting payments for beverages and snacks by processing credit cards and other cashless payments. The same magazine also touted the "Starship delivery robot," tested in 100 cities around the world, that uses cameras and sensors, not couriers, to avoid traffic by using sidewalks to deliver meals.
According to "The Truth about Robots," an article in TIME magazine (February 4-11, 2019), AI will not replace some jobs: creative jobs performed by inventors, scientists, novelists, artists; complex, strategic jobs of executives, diplomats, economists; and empathetic and compassionate jobs of teachers, nannies, and doctors. Considering there are a limited number of these positions, automation is making inroads into many of them, and others are low-paid, I am not reassured.
AI tells consumers, if you like that, you'll also like this. It suggests more things to buy but not more ways to make money to buy them. Unemployment raises the specter of modern Luddites, civil unrest, and fear of death by unmanned weapons attacking from land, sea, and space. Jobless, frightened humans are going to protest at home, to cause refugee disease and terrorist problems when they migrate to look for work elsewhere, and to prove vulnerable to scams.
Retraining the workforce seems a key path to the future. When executives in any field spot a new direction their business is going, trendwatching.com suggests they form alliances with academic institutions to help teachers train students for future opportunities. The 3M company, for example, created a free, 110-hour college course to help teachers prepare elementary and middle school students for a science competition that opened young eyes to future careers.
At the very least, countries need to focus on educating the public. Left to themselves, the untethered elite will go on blissfully making fortunes and inventing and doing things without considering the consequences as a helpless majority stands by. John Gray's critique of modern secular humanism identifies the mismatch between the human need for income-producing employment and technology's rush to replace human labor. In his new book, Seven Types of Atheism, he writes, "The cumulative increase of knowledge in science has no parallel in ethics or politics, philosophy or the arts."
There was a time when well-educated folks looked out at the world and decided they could help the sick with "Doctors without Borders" or field a Peace Corps to teach all sorts of skills. Dr. Lorna Hahn organized an association that brought together newly-independent countries with experts who knew how to do things like write constitutions.-
We are at a crossroads, where humanity needs the wisdom, for example, to use CRISPR-Cas9 technology to develop uniform crops machines can harvest to feed the human race, while refraining from using CRISPR-Cas9 technology to edit genes that can eliminate all or part of the human race. (Also see the earlier post, "The Where Did I Come From? Game.") We need experts with ideas about how to engage the billions of workers robots are rushing to replace.
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Friday, January 18, 2019
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
2018-2019 Struggle for Human Rights
No struggle for human rights around the world is ever complete. The record that I began in the earlier post, "Hope for the Future," needs to be updated with some positive and negative developments.
Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered by a military death squad in 1980 because he spoke out for unions and poor peasant groups against the grip of prosperous coffee growers and capitalism in El Salvador, was declared a saint of the Catholic Church in 2018.
Vietnam released and exiled "Mother Mushroom," Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who had been jailed for writing about the country's corruption and pollution.
Boko Haram continues to kill and kidnap innocent victims in Nigeria and the Cameroon.
North Korea has re-education camps for thousands, and China also holds Muslim Uighurs in camps because their religion is said to undermine peace and security. In March, 2019, Kazakhstan would demonstrate an effort to maintain good relations with its Chinese neighbor by arresting Serikzhan Bilash for supporting Uighurs detained in Xinjiang's camps.
Russia tried unsuccessfully to poison a spy in the UK in 2018, and it continues to hold political prisoners, such as Oleg Sentsov and Oleg and Alexei Navalny. In February, 2019, Russia would arrest Michael Calvey, a U.S financier, which is reminiscent of the expulsion of Browder, whose tax expert, sometimes called his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, died in a Russian prison.
For criticizing the regime of King Salman and his son, Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi Arabian journalist and US resident, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October, 2018, but in the same month, a Turkish court released a US pastor, Andrew Brunson, who had been in prison there on false terrorism charges for two years.
Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was murdered by a military death squad in 1980 because he spoke out for unions and poor peasant groups against the grip of prosperous coffee growers and capitalism in El Salvador, was declared a saint of the Catholic Church in 2018.
Vietnam released and exiled "Mother Mushroom," Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who had been jailed for writing about the country's corruption and pollution.
Boko Haram continues to kill and kidnap innocent victims in Nigeria and the Cameroon.
North Korea has re-education camps for thousands, and China also holds Muslim Uighurs in camps because their religion is said to undermine peace and security. In March, 2019, Kazakhstan would demonstrate an effort to maintain good relations with its Chinese neighbor by arresting Serikzhan Bilash for supporting Uighurs detained in Xinjiang's camps.
Russia tried unsuccessfully to poison a spy in the UK in 2018, and it continues to hold political prisoners, such as Oleg Sentsov and Oleg and Alexei Navalny. In February, 2019, Russia would arrest Michael Calvey, a U.S financier, which is reminiscent of the expulsion of Browder, whose tax expert, sometimes called his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, died in a Russian prison.
For criticizing the regime of King Salman and his son, Muhammad bin Salman (MBS), the Saudi Arabian journalist and US resident, Jamal Khashoggi, was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Turkey in October, 2018, but in the same month, a Turkish court released a US pastor, Andrew Brunson, who had been in prison there on false terrorism charges for two years.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
When Survival is Reality, Not a Sideshow for Man and Beast
Buddhists call the saola (sow-LAH) the "polite animal." Biologists call it "critically endangered."
Saolas are the cattle-like, grazing mammals with long tapered horns that inspired William DeBuys to write about them in The Last Unicorn. The elusive saolas live in a remote, forested area on the Laos-Vietnam border, where a Hmong team captured one for the private collection of a tribal leader in 1996. Bill Robichaud braved malaria, dengue fever, typhus, and leeches to study the captured saola that lived only 18 days.
Robichaud's experience shows how the protection of wildlife can become an international career for curious young people who grow up hiking, camping, fishing, wondering about different cultures, and testing their survival skills in freezing weather and steamy heat. The following examples of where Robichaud has worked during his career provide a glimpse of job opportunities in the international wildlife field:
Saolas are the cattle-like, grazing mammals with long tapered horns that inspired William DeBuys to write about them in The Last Unicorn. The elusive saolas live in a remote, forested area on the Laos-Vietnam border, where a Hmong team captured one for the private collection of a tribal leader in 1996. Bill Robichaud braved malaria, dengue fever, typhus, and leeches to study the captured saola that lived only 18 days.
Robichaud's experience shows how the protection of wildlife can become an international career for curious young people who grow up hiking, camping, fishing, wondering about different cultures, and testing their survival skills in freezing weather and steamy heat. The following examples of where Robichaud has worked during his career provide a glimpse of job opportunities in the international wildlife field:
- International Crane Foundation
- Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area of Laos
- Bronx Zoo Wildlife Conservation Society
- Global Wildlife Conservation
- Saola Working Group
- International Union for the Conservation of Nature
A day's work for those in international wildlife conservation often entails convincing villagers to protect forest resources by removing the traps used for illegal wildlife poaching. Since Laos knew the United Nations considered the country among the world's least developed, it was a source of pride to discover the forests of their Annamese mountain range housed rare saolas. Laotians also learned their forests and rivers produced commercial bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and fish not only exotic "bush meat" urban consumers consider a status symbol and monkey, rhino, box turtle, and other animal parts Vietnamese wildlife traders collect for traditional Chinese medicine.
Like areas being set aside for the preservation of elephants and tigers, the Saola Working Group hopes to capture all living saolas and breed them in a center in Vietnam. Under the leadership of Poland's Wroclaw Zoo, a consortium of zookeepers is studying methods to keep captured soalas alive in captivity. In 15 to 20 years, these saolas would be released into protected forests in Laos and Vietnam. No saolas ever will be headed to zoos.
Monday, January 9, 2017
Future Career Opportunities
For youngsters around the world, where they will work or launch a business seems many years away. Yet, thinking about what factors a country needs to offer employees and employers can begin at any age. Forbes magazine (December 21, 2016) helped the process of identifying "Best Countries for Business" by ranking 139 countries on a composite of factors including: taxes, innovation, technology, regulations, corruption, property rights, investor protection, per capita income, and trade balance. Other factors to consider might be: infrastructure; political stability; threat of terrorism; human rights of men, women, and children; and health conditions.
The Forbes ranking placed Sweden first and Chad last. At forbes.com/best-countries-for-business/list/, there is a brief evaluation of the business climate in each of the 139 counties listed. You can find out why a negative trade balance, regulations, government intervention in the housing and health insurance markets, budget deficits, and modest growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) positioned the United States 23rd among countries best for business.
Looking for future opportunities, I paid special attention to the 26 countries with economic GDP growth of 5% of more. Admittedly, countries with less developed economies may be able to show the greatest growth compared to countries with more developed economies, such as the US with 2.6% growth. Nonetheless, growth is an important factor to consider.
Best for Business GDP growth
Ranking
4 Ireland 26.3%
130 Ethiopia 10.2%
106 Cote d' Ivoire 8.5%
85 India 7.6%
134 Laos 7.6%
97 Dominican Republic 7.0%
122 Tanzania 7.0%
123 Cambodia 7.0%
78 Rwanda 6.9%
102 China 6.9%
133 Dem. Republic of Congo 6.9%
117 Bangladesh 6.8%
98 Vietnam 6.7%
113 Mozambique 6.6%
81 Senegal 6.5%
30 Malta 6.2%
109 Mali 6.0%
111 Tajikistan 6.0%
89 Philippines 5.9%
59 Panama 5.8%
128 Cameroon 5.8%
105 Kenya 5.6%
63 Namibia 5.3%
94 Bhutan 5.2%
44 Malaysia 5.0%
100 Benin 5.0%
Of these 26 countries, almost half are in Africa. Youngsters might keep their eyes on what these countries do to remedy the problems identified in their Forbes descriptions, since African countries might offer the best opportunities in the future.
The Forbes ranking placed Sweden first and Chad last. At forbes.com/best-countries-for-business/list/, there is a brief evaluation of the business climate in each of the 139 counties listed. You can find out why a negative trade balance, regulations, government intervention in the housing and health insurance markets, budget deficits, and modest growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) positioned the United States 23rd among countries best for business.
Looking for future opportunities, I paid special attention to the 26 countries with economic GDP growth of 5% of more. Admittedly, countries with less developed economies may be able to show the greatest growth compared to countries with more developed economies, such as the US with 2.6% growth. Nonetheless, growth is an important factor to consider.
Best for Business GDP growth
Ranking
4 Ireland 26.3%
130 Ethiopia 10.2%
106 Cote d' Ivoire 8.5%
85 India 7.6%
134 Laos 7.6%
97 Dominican Republic 7.0%
122 Tanzania 7.0%
123 Cambodia 7.0%
78 Rwanda 6.9%
102 China 6.9%
133 Dem. Republic of Congo 6.9%
117 Bangladesh 6.8%
98 Vietnam 6.7%
113 Mozambique 6.6%
81 Senegal 6.5%
30 Malta 6.2%
109 Mali 6.0%
111 Tajikistan 6.0%
89 Philippines 5.9%
59 Panama 5.8%
128 Cameroon 5.8%
105 Kenya 5.6%
63 Namibia 5.3%
94 Bhutan 5.2%
44 Malaysia 5.0%
100 Benin 5.0%
Of these 26 countries, almost half are in Africa. Youngsters might keep their eyes on what these countries do to remedy the problems identified in their Forbes descriptions, since African countries might offer the best opportunities in the future.
Saturday, September 10, 2016
Become A Discriminating Chocolate Consumer
Buy a chocolate bar and only 3% of the price usually pays for the raw ingredients (cocoa, butter, milk, and sugar). Buy a chocolate bar that comes from one country, such as Madagascar, where the cocoa is processed and the bar is manufactured and more people are employed, companies make more money, and countries collect more taxes.
When there is more money to be made, why don't the many cocoa growers in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, Papua New Guinea, Grenada, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, and Vietnam become single origin chocolate producers for the chocolate bar, bulk cocoa, and fine chocolates market?
The obstacles are many. Dedicated people have to prune, deliver, and peel cocoa beans. Since the manufacturing process determines the finished chocolate product's taste, setting up a factory requires a major amount of investment and production expertise. Current labeling doesn't help consumers determine if the raw cocoa and the finished chocolate product come from the same country. Finally, there is the challenge of breaking into European and US markets dominated by companies, such as Hershey.
Nonetheless, kids search for Pokemon Go characters, why not look for African stores that carry Chocolat Madagascar chocolate bars?
When there is more money to be made, why don't the many cocoa growers in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, Papua New Guinea, Grenada, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, and Vietnam become single origin chocolate producers for the chocolate bar, bulk cocoa, and fine chocolates market?
The obstacles are many. Dedicated people have to prune, deliver, and peel cocoa beans. Since the manufacturing process determines the finished chocolate product's taste, setting up a factory requires a major amount of investment and production expertise. Current labeling doesn't help consumers determine if the raw cocoa and the finished chocolate product come from the same country. Finally, there is the challenge of breaking into European and US markets dominated by companies, such as Hershey.
Nonetheless, kids search for Pokemon Go characters, why not look for African stores that carry Chocolat Madagascar chocolate bars?
Friday, August 12, 2016
Empower Yourself: Know Your Enemy
When facing a bully, an unfair teacher or police officer, an angry parent or one who ignores you, a potential employer, or a terrorist group, what is the natural reaction? Cower in a corner, plot revenge, accept the enemy's position and join the opposition?
Only by understanding an enemy can you gain confidence in tailoring an effective approach to each situation. Bill Gates was said to know more about his competitors' products than his competitors did. One size does not fit all, when dealing with enemies.
In his book, Playing to the Edge, Michael V. Hayden, who headed two U.S. intelligence agencies, explained the MICE system for recruiting spies. Those close to enemy leaders who are willing to betray their countries are not motivated by one thing. Some want Money; some share your Ideology; some are Compromised because they are about to be exposed for something they did; and some who have a huge Ego feel they aren't appreciated. Different motivations require different approaches.
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson knew exactly what each member of the U.S. Senate wanted (a bridge in his home state, a trip to Europe with his wife, a certain committee assignment), when he was Senate majority leader. On the other hand, his failure to understand the motivation of Vietnam's revolutionary leader had dire consequences,
Wednesday Marten gained the results she wanted, when she decided to study the social elite who were ignoring her on New York City's upper East Side. She wrote in Primates of Park Avenue how her study enabled her to join Manhattan's high society. Victims of bullying might benefit by studying popular kids.
Without an understanding of an enemy's culture, however, Michael Morell, a former director at the Central Intelligence Agency, pointed out in the New York Times Opinion section (August 5, 2016) how easy it is to fall into an enemy's trap. Those ignorant of the point of view of Muslim extremists who see themselves engaged in a holy religious war against the secular West live up to this enemy stereotype with every anti-Muslim position they take and every anti-Muslim statement they make. If the enemy likes what you are doing, he may compliment you and you will keep on doing his bidding. What does a young man do, if a gang leader compliments him for killing a rival gang member?
By putting together bits and pieces of the present, it even is possible to understand good and bad futures before they occur. In his book, Submission, Michel Houellebecq anticipates how an Islamic party would go about winning an election and imposing Islamic law in France. Such knowledge, actually any knowledge about an enemy, really is power.
(The idea of understanding an enemy also is discussed in the earlier blog post, "Fight, Flight, or Something Else.")
Only by understanding an enemy can you gain confidence in tailoring an effective approach to each situation. Bill Gates was said to know more about his competitors' products than his competitors did. One size does not fit all, when dealing with enemies.
In his book, Playing to the Edge, Michael V. Hayden, who headed two U.S. intelligence agencies, explained the MICE system for recruiting spies. Those close to enemy leaders who are willing to betray their countries are not motivated by one thing. Some want Money; some share your Ideology; some are Compromised because they are about to be exposed for something they did; and some who have a huge Ego feel they aren't appreciated. Different motivations require different approaches.
U.S. President Lyndon Johnson knew exactly what each member of the U.S. Senate wanted (a bridge in his home state, a trip to Europe with his wife, a certain committee assignment), when he was Senate majority leader. On the other hand, his failure to understand the motivation of Vietnam's revolutionary leader had dire consequences,
Wednesday Marten gained the results she wanted, when she decided to study the social elite who were ignoring her on New York City's upper East Side. She wrote in Primates of Park Avenue how her study enabled her to join Manhattan's high society. Victims of bullying might benefit by studying popular kids.
Without an understanding of an enemy's culture, however, Michael Morell, a former director at the Central Intelligence Agency, pointed out in the New York Times Opinion section (August 5, 2016) how easy it is to fall into an enemy's trap. Those ignorant of the point of view of Muslim extremists who see themselves engaged in a holy religious war against the secular West live up to this enemy stereotype with every anti-Muslim position they take and every anti-Muslim statement they make. If the enemy likes what you are doing, he may compliment you and you will keep on doing his bidding. What does a young man do, if a gang leader compliments him for killing a rival gang member?
By putting together bits and pieces of the present, it even is possible to understand good and bad futures before they occur. In his book, Submission, Michel Houellebecq anticipates how an Islamic party would go about winning an election and imposing Islamic law in France. Such knowledge, actually any knowledge about an enemy, really is power.
(The idea of understanding an enemy also is discussed in the earlier blog post, "Fight, Flight, or Something Else.")
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Characters with Diverse Nationalities Populate A Summer Reading List
Children who read for fun under a shady tree or beach umbrella this summer will be in good company. Microsoft's co-founder, Bill Gates, considers "the chance to sit outside reading a great book" summer's gift for "gutting out" the rest of the year inside.
No doubt young people will find the reading list selections made by Elizabeth Perez, a children's librarian at the San Francisco Public Library, more to their liking than the books Bill Gates put on his list:
The Vital Question by Nick Lane, who explores the role energy plays in all living things, and
How Not to be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg's take on the role of math in all things, and
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, in which Noah Yuval Harari speculates on the way things like artificial intelligence and genetic engineering will change future humans.
Perez chose books featuring characters with diverse nationalities, including children from Mexico, the Caribbean, Guatemala, Ghana, Somalia, and Korea. Her choices also include children who have dual nationalities, American and Vietnamese, for example. She has age-appropriate selections for students from age 4 to age 14.
For ages 4-8
Emmanuel's Dream: the True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson.
A Ghanaian boy, born with one less developed leg, becomes a professional athlete.
For ages 5-8
I'm New Here by Anne Sebley O'Brien
Children from Guatemala, Somalia, and Korea begin to adjust to a new school with the help of new classmates.
Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina
A parrot becomes a go-between for a little girl who doesn't speak Spanish and her grandmother who does.
Mama's Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat
Librarian Perez advises adults to read this book first before deciding if children should find out letters are the only way some children have contact with their parents in detention camps.
For ages 5-9
Juna's Jar by Jane Bank
Juna uses a Korean kinchi jar to store her dreams.
For ages 6-10
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
A non-fiction book about an illustrator famous for drawing Mexican Day of the Dead skeletons.
For ages 8-12
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
Unwillingly an American girl visits Vietnam with her Vietnamese father and grandmother to learn what happened to her grandfather during the Vietnam War and to discover the Vietnamese part of her identity.
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
This book uses a half Japanese girl's interest in space to describe her feeling of being an alien in a town where almost everyone is white.
For ages 9-12
The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
An heroic young girl is determined to save her Caribbean island from the ghostly Jumbies that appear in folk tales.
For ages 10-14
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
During World War II a harmonica weaves together stories about a family living in Nazi Germany and a Mexican-American family and Japanese-American family living in the United States.
No doubt young people will find the reading list selections made by Elizabeth Perez, a children's librarian at the San Francisco Public Library, more to their liking than the books Bill Gates put on his list:
The Vital Question by Nick Lane, who explores the role energy plays in all living things, and
How Not to be Wrong, Jordan Ellenberg's take on the role of math in all things, and
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, in which Noah Yuval Harari speculates on the way things like artificial intelligence and genetic engineering will change future humans.
Perez chose books featuring characters with diverse nationalities, including children from Mexico, the Caribbean, Guatemala, Ghana, Somalia, and Korea. Her choices also include children who have dual nationalities, American and Vietnamese, for example. She has age-appropriate selections for students from age 4 to age 14.
For ages 4-8
Emmanuel's Dream: the True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah by Laurie Ann Thompson.
A Ghanaian boy, born with one less developed leg, becomes a professional athlete.
For ages 5-8
I'm New Here by Anne Sebley O'Brien
Children from Guatemala, Somalia, and Korea begin to adjust to a new school with the help of new classmates.
Mango, Abuela, and Me by Meg Medina
A parrot becomes a go-between for a little girl who doesn't speak Spanish and her grandmother who does.
Mama's Nightingale: A Story of Immigration and Separation by Edwidge Danticat
Librarian Perez advises adults to read this book first before deciding if children should find out letters are the only way some children have contact with their parents in detention camps.
For ages 5-9
Juna's Jar by Jane Bank
Juna uses a Korean kinchi jar to store her dreams.
For ages 6-10
Funny Bones: Posada and His Day of the Dead Calaveras by Duncan Tonatiuh
A non-fiction book about an illustrator famous for drawing Mexican Day of the Dead skeletons.
For ages 8-12
Listen, Slowly by Thanhha Lai
Unwillingly an American girl visits Vietnam with her Vietnamese father and grandmother to learn what happened to her grandfather during the Vietnam War and to discover the Vietnamese part of her identity.
Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
This book uses a half Japanese girl's interest in space to describe her feeling of being an alien in a town where almost everyone is white.
For ages 9-12
The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste
An heroic young girl is determined to save her Caribbean island from the ghostly Jumbies that appear in folk tales.
For ages 10-14
Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
During World War II a harmonica weaves together stories about a family living in Nazi Germany and a Mexican-American family and Japanese-American family living in the United States.
Monday, November 2, 2015
A Catholic and Communist Work to Overcome Two Countries' Major Difficulties
Vietnam and Brazil are not just accepting the status quo. With different approaches, two individuals are tackling problems and working to improve the lot of their citizens.
Using initial capital provided by an organization based in the Netherlands, Sister Mary Nguyen Thi Phuc, a member of Vietnam's religious order, the Secular Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, designed a credit and savings program for women infected with HIV/AIDS. Using a $223 loan, a woman can start a small business, e.g. by buying a motorbike to transport paying customers or by opening a stand to sell soft drinks, coffee, or fruit, that can generate enough money to provide for herself and pay student fees for her children.
Borrowers are given 10 months to repay their loans with interest to a banking account. Interest is used to assist others who have accidents, illnesses, or lack funds to pay for a funeral. The microloan program has the added benefit of inspiring other women to overcome their difficulties.
In Brazil, the State of Maranhao on the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern part of the country has both dense Amazonian forests and a vast desert-like expanse of white sand dunes. Its newly elected governor, Flavio Dino, although a member of the Communist Party, is a pro-free market proponent who recognizes the private sector generates wealth. He united members of opposition parties and governs with a vice governor from a pro-business party. His first order of business was to cut palace expenses by eliminating or reducing the budget for champagne, caviar, lobsters, and the security staff.
Although Brazil is in the midst of its worst recession since the 1930s, Maranhao, the country's second poorest state, is determined to rise above Brazil's corruption (See the earlier post, "Warning to Students: Don't Cheat."), declining commodity exports (See the earlier post, "Falling Commodity Prices Spur Diversification in Emerging Markets."), and political turmoil. This toxic combination is threatening to cause Brazil's overall economy to decline 3% this year.
Using initial capital provided by an organization based in the Netherlands, Sister Mary Nguyen Thi Phuc, a member of Vietnam's religious order, the Secular Institute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, designed a credit and savings program for women infected with HIV/AIDS. Using a $223 loan, a woman can start a small business, e.g. by buying a motorbike to transport paying customers or by opening a stand to sell soft drinks, coffee, or fruit, that can generate enough money to provide for herself and pay student fees for her children.
Borrowers are given 10 months to repay their loans with interest to a banking account. Interest is used to assist others who have accidents, illnesses, or lack funds to pay for a funeral. The microloan program has the added benefit of inspiring other women to overcome their difficulties.
In Brazil, the State of Maranhao on the Atlantic Ocean in the northeastern part of the country has both dense Amazonian forests and a vast desert-like expanse of white sand dunes. Its newly elected governor, Flavio Dino, although a member of the Communist Party, is a pro-free market proponent who recognizes the private sector generates wealth. He united members of opposition parties and governs with a vice governor from a pro-business party. His first order of business was to cut palace expenses by eliminating or reducing the budget for champagne, caviar, lobsters, and the security staff.
Although Brazil is in the midst of its worst recession since the 1930s, Maranhao, the country's second poorest state, is determined to rise above Brazil's corruption (See the earlier post, "Warning to Students: Don't Cheat."), declining commodity exports (See the earlier post, "Falling Commodity Prices Spur Diversification in Emerging Markets."), and political turmoil. This toxic combination is threatening to cause Brazil's overall economy to decline 3% this year.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Coffee Prices Going Up; Allowances Going Down?
Children may be looking at a cut in their allowances, if the adults who provide them are big coffee drinkers.A quick lesson in economics teaches disposable income is the money people bring home from work after taxes are removed. For most people, a large portion of disposable income pays for such necessities as food, housing, transportation, and clothing. After paying for these necessities, what is left over is discretionary income that can be spent on things like a mango, doll, game system, or any other things children want.
For those who need their morning cups of coffee, the anticipated increase in the world's price of coffee beans will reduce the amount of disposable income they have left over for discretionary spending. Is an allowance a necessity that has a claim on disposable income? If it is, it won't be affected by higher coffee prices. But a child's allowance may suffer, if the adult paying it considers an allowance in the same category as discretionary spending for a new toy. Increased coffee prices that reduce the amount of disposable income left over for discretionary income can cause a reduction in a child's allowance. If that happens, older children might decide to look for jobs that give them an income and the power to decide their own disposable and discretionary spending.
Considering a wider economic context, kids might learn to ask why coffee, banana, soda, bus fare, and other prices go up and down. When a supply increases and demand stays the same, prices go down. But, when supplies decline and consumer demand increases, prices also increase. That explains a coffee price increase.
In Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania, because of climate change, temperatures are rising in the high altitude tropical regions that grow high-quality Arabica coffee beans. There, coffee bean output is threatened by the pests and plant disease that flourish because of long periods of drought and short periods of heavy rainfall. The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Colombia suggests survival for Arabica growers will require them to move 300 to 500 meters farther above sea level, an impossibility for Brazil's highly mechanized, commercial coffee plantations that supply 70% of the world's 1.6 billion cup daily coffee demand.
Although growing coffee under a canopy of trees, such as shown in the photo of coffee growing in Mexico, would increase the predators that feast on insects that damage coffee beans, reduce the costs of chemical pesticides and fertilizer, and curtail polluting run-off, for all but a few specialty brands, the trend in the past 20 years has been away from shade-grown coffee. High-yield Robusta coffee, like that grown in Vietnam and Indonesia, can withstand higher temperatures, but its lower quality is used mainly for instant coffee. Wet processed coffee beans from the Indonesian island of Sumatra gives them a different taste that some coffee drinkers dislike but others enjoy, especially when, for example, McDonald's mixes them with beans from other sources.
Whatever the coffee type, the same conflicts the palm oil and timber industries face regarding deforestation, questions of land ownership, competition among food crops, and water scarcity affect all types of coffee growers.
While the future of coffee production is uncertain, increased demand is certain. Using Arabica grown in Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Tanzania, Starbucks, in partnership with Taste Holdings, is planning to open in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2016. Positioned as part of the fashionable, upscale urban scene in Shanghai and Beijing, coffee consumption in traditional tea-drinking China is growing faster than anywhere else in the world. Although China's four-cup-per-person-per-year is very low compared to the U.S. and Europe, Starbucks and Costa are responding to the potential for growth by planning to double and triple the number of their shops in China by 2020. Sumerian, a local company, also has entered China's coffee shop scene. Although China currently imports most of its coffee beans, domestic growers have increased their production from 60,000 to 120,000 tons in five years. Unfortunately, most Chinese coffee is grown in the sun in southern Puer, Yunnan, where more fertilizer and water are required and, at the moment, all but 30% of Yunnan's coffee is exported because it is a lower quality than what Chinese shops prefer to serve.
With coffee consumption increasing, coffee bean growers have an incentive to solve production problems and meet high quality standards. Children who receive an allowance from coffee-drinking adults have an incentive to keep an eye on coffee prices.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
See the World in Oscar-Nominated Films
In 2016, Oscars continued to honor a variety of countries at the Academy Awards ceremony on February 28. I'll just name the countries of those I remember who were involved in honored films: Mexico, Chile, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the UK, and Pakistan.
Before the Academy Awards presentations on February 22, 2015, movie theatres began to show the Live Action and Animated Shorts nominated for Oscars. Last year these shorts gave kids a chance to see life in foreign countries.
"Butter Lamp" showed the reactions of Tibetan nomads as they had their pictures taken, not by selfies, but by a professional photographer who provided various backdrops showing sites in China.
"Boogaloo and Graham" captured the reactions of a mother and two boys in Northern Ireland who took care of the chicks their father gave them during the Troubles.
In "Parvaneh" (a Persian name meaning "Butterfly"), when an Afghan girl seeking asylum in Switzerland enlisted the aid of a local girl, Emely, to help her send money to her family, she encountered lots of red tape and learned girls in different countries with very different lifestyles can be friends.
A live action short, "My Father's Truck," that didn't quite make the cut to receive an Oscar nomination, showed how family members can live very different lives. When a girl in Vietnam skipped school one day, she found out her life as a school girl was a lot easier than what her father did transporting passengers in his truck. The Chinese father in "Carry On," a film also on a short list of possible Oscar-nominated movies, sacrificed his life to save his family during the Japanese invasion in World War II.
Some films might show how kids in other countries experience the same things as they do.
One child's parents can be very different from another child's, as a Norwegian 7-year-old-girl and her sisters learn when they request a bicycle from their hippie parents in "Me and My Moulton," an animated short nominated for an Oscar.
"Baghdad Messi," a live action short considered for an Oscar, showed how kids in Iraq, even those with only one leg, love soccer as much as kids in other countries.
"Summer Vacation," an Israeli short considered for an Oscar, may remind kids that every family vacation to a beautiful beach doesn't always go as planned.
And "Symphony No. 42," an animated short from Hungary that was considered for an Oscar, even notices the similarities between the activities that humans and animals perform. Music in this film includes bird and jungle sounds from Sri Lanka.
Considering the full-length, Oscar-nominated, foreign language films from Poland (Ida), Russia (Leviathan), Estonia (Tangerines), Mauritania (Timbuktu), and Argentina (Wild Tales), making and viewing movies are popular activities all over the world.
Before the Academy Awards presentations on February 22, 2015, movie theatres began to show the Live Action and Animated Shorts nominated for Oscars. Last year these shorts gave kids a chance to see life in foreign countries.
"Butter Lamp" showed the reactions of Tibetan nomads as they had their pictures taken, not by selfies, but by a professional photographer who provided various backdrops showing sites in China.
"Boogaloo and Graham" captured the reactions of a mother and two boys in Northern Ireland who took care of the chicks their father gave them during the Troubles.
In "Parvaneh" (a Persian name meaning "Butterfly"), when an Afghan girl seeking asylum in Switzerland enlisted the aid of a local girl, Emely, to help her send money to her family, she encountered lots of red tape and learned girls in different countries with very different lifestyles can be friends.
A live action short, "My Father's Truck," that didn't quite make the cut to receive an Oscar nomination, showed how family members can live very different lives. When a girl in Vietnam skipped school one day, she found out her life as a school girl was a lot easier than what her father did transporting passengers in his truck. The Chinese father in "Carry On," a film also on a short list of possible Oscar-nominated movies, sacrificed his life to save his family during the Japanese invasion in World War II.
Some films might show how kids in other countries experience the same things as they do.
One child's parents can be very different from another child's, as a Norwegian 7-year-old-girl and her sisters learn when they request a bicycle from their hippie parents in "Me and My Moulton," an animated short nominated for an Oscar.
"Baghdad Messi," a live action short considered for an Oscar, showed how kids in Iraq, even those with only one leg, love soccer as much as kids in other countries.
"Summer Vacation," an Israeli short considered for an Oscar, may remind kids that every family vacation to a beautiful beach doesn't always go as planned.
And "Symphony No. 42," an animated short from Hungary that was considered for an Oscar, even notices the similarities between the activities that humans and animals perform. Music in this film includes bird and jungle sounds from Sri Lanka.
Considering the full-length, Oscar-nominated, foreign language films from Poland (Ida), Russia (Leviathan), Estonia (Tangerines), Mauritania (Timbuktu), and Argentina (Wild Tales), making and viewing movies are popular activities all over the world.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Idea Transfer
French artist, Junior Fritz Jacquet, used Japanese origami-like folds to create expressive faces out of toilet paper rolls, according to a report in thisiscolossal.com. Despite criticism, globalization presents the opportunity to discover something, like a new art form, in one country that can be duplicated in another by an artist or
a school's art teachers. (See similar ideas in the earlier blog post, "It Takes A World to Raise a Child.")
Globalization fosters what Baptiste Barbot, a researcher at Yale's Child Study Center, calls the "synergistic interaction" of factors that permit a person to spot associations, take risks, and entertain alternative thoughts. In short, globalization might be considered a creative shortcut that enables people around the world to think outside the box.The German company, ThyssenKrupp, for example, adapted the Japanese idea of propelling trains over tracks by magnets to propel multiple elevators up and down in magnet propelled, cable-free shafts.
By signing up for free at trendwatching.com, subscribers, without leaving home, can scan the world for ideas that can be used where they live. The following examples from recent trendwatching reports provide an idea of the valuable information this site provides:
Globalization fosters what Baptiste Barbot, a researcher at Yale's Child Study Center, calls the "synergistic interaction" of factors that permit a person to spot associations, take risks, and entertain alternative thoughts. In short, globalization might be considered a creative shortcut that enables people around the world to think outside the box.The German company, ThyssenKrupp, for example, adapted the Japanese idea of propelling trains over tracks by magnets to propel multiple elevators up and down in magnet propelled, cable-free shafts.
By signing up for free at trendwatching.com, subscribers, without leaving home, can scan the world for ideas that can be used where they live. The following examples from recent trendwatching reports provide an idea of the valuable information this site provides:
- Seeing how consumers respond to tender loving care, a French cafe began giving polite patrons a discount
- Ready made, microwavable food is as popular in Malaysia as in Manhattan
- Indonesian temporary tatoos are printed in eco-friendly ink and last three to four days
- Japan's solar lanterns in a variety of designs can light up the darkness where there is no electricity, such as on a camping trip
- Korea's Samsung NX Mini camera and a metal clamp that holds a mobile phone are innovations that facilitate group selfies, called "wefies" or "massfies"
- In Romania, people could submit a photo of racist graffiti on a building and Unilever would send a team that used its Cif brand of cleaning products to remove it
- By using an app to rate the temperature in a building or on a public vehicle, occupants and passengers can create an aggregate measure that enables CrowdComfort to adjust the thermostat to please the majority
- In Singapore, customers can set a smartphone app for a McDonald's Surprise Alarm that gives them a special deal every time their alarm goes off
- A Brazilian publisher prints stories and poems in the pockets of jeans sold by FreeSurf
- No matter where someone is in Mexico, he or she can receive a government warning of an earthquake on a small Alerta Sismica Grillo, crowdfunded by the Fondeadora platform
- In India, The Good Road campaign developed a smart helmet with sensors that tell your motorcycle to start. Take off your helmet and your motorcycle's engine turns off.
- Plastic Coca-Cola bottles in Vietnam reduce pollution, because they come with 16 different caps that convert empties into new uses, such as squirt guns, pencil sharpeners, and soap dispensers.
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