China is making a huge investment in its universities, hoping to leverage its enormous population into 195 million college graduates by the end of the decade.
"China is making a $250 billion-a-year investment in what economists call human capital. Just as the United States helped build a white-collar middle class in the late 1940s and early 1950s by using the G.I. Bill to help educate millions of World War II veterans, the Chinese government is using large subsidies to educate tens of millions of young people as they move from farms to cities.
The aim is to change the current system, in which a tiny, highly educated elite oversees vast armies of semi-trained factory workers and rural laborers. China wants to move up the development curve by fostering a much more broadly educated public, one that more closely resembles the multifaceted labor forces of the United States and Europe."
An animated highlight of John Seely Brown's Keynote Presentation, "Cultivating the Entrepreneurial Learner in the 21st Century," at the 2012 Digital Media an...
An interactive series of maps show possible new additions to the world’s list of independent nations.
This is great way to show examples of devolution and political instability. Included are 11 potential scenarios where further fragmentation/disintegration might occur or even greater regional integration that would redraw the map. These case studies include: Somalia, Korea, Azerbaijan, Belgium and the Arabian Gulf Union.
Tags: political, devolution, supranationalism, war, autonomy, unit 4 political.
This article is probably one of my favorites I have read so far. It describes perfectly the political instability still present in the world, and that the globe and its boundaries are constantly changing, never staying put for too long. It surprised me at the new borders which most likely are going to happen, such as the unification of parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Also, the fact that South Korea is subtly getting ready for the reunification of North and South Korea. Also, there may be devolution in Mali and splintering devolution in the Congo's.
This shows devolution as the power in these nations in which are breaking up, such as Belgium and the Flemish peoples. It shows the centrifugal forces behind the breakup of nations, such as ethnicities which vary, or the centripetal forces which bring nations together such as the combination of South and North Korea.
This article is about nations that could become potentially independent in the near Future, whether due to chronic ethnic incoherence, redrawn governemnt policies, or a growing stateless nation group. Some examples given are an independent Khurdistan, a larger Azerbaijan, and the split of Belgium.
Centrifugal forces are the root of conflict in many countries. These forces include ethnic variety, lack of common language, political instability. These are what may be causing a split in both Belgium (developed country) and Somalia (developing country). There may also be a unification of countries—the map gives an example of the Saudia Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, and other melding into one Arabian Gulf Union, of China absorbing Siberia. This does not necessarily herald the presence of centripetal forces, as these countries may be the result of military conquest.
The natural landscapes shown as captured by satellite imagery is as beautiful as anything artists have ever created. Some of the colors shown in the video may seem otherworldy. Most of those color anomalies are due to the fact that remotely sensed images have more information in them than just what we see in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. Some of these images are processed to show different bands so we can visually interpret data such as what is in the near infra-red band, skewing the color palette.
This is a great way to create eBooks from your own online content or from any content you find online. You can create and share reading lists for courses. Create your own eBooks of yours or your students' stories. Create your own collection of your favourite articles. Collect a reading list of articles to read when you don't have an Internet connection. Webpages that you capture in this way can be much easier to read and of course you have all the eBook's mark up and note taking functions which will store all your annotations on the eBooks you create.
"Archaeologists working in one of the most impenetrable rain forests in Guatemala have stumbled on a remarkable discovery: a room full of wall paintings and numerical calculations.
The buried room apparently was a workshop used by scribes or astronomers working for a Mayan king. The paintings depict the king and members of his court. The numbers mark important periods in the Maya calendar.
The room is about the size of a walk-in closet. It's part of the buried Maya city of Xultun. There are painted murals on three walls, depicting a resplendent king wearing a feather and four other figures. Maya paintings this old — the site dates to the ninth century — are very rare; tropical weather usually destroys them."
TED Fellow Abigail Washburn wanted to be a lawyer improving US-China relations -- until she picked up a banjo. She tells a moving story of the remarkable connections she's formed touring across the United States and China while playing that banjo and singing in Chinese.
Abigail Washburn pairs venerable folk elements with far-flung sounds, creating results that feel both strangely familiar and unlike anything anybody's ever heard before. Full bio »
'I see the power of music to connect cultures. I see it when I stand on a stage at a bluegrass festival … and I bust out into a song in Chinese, and everybody's eyes just pop wide open.' (Abigail Washburn)"
"President Hu Jintao of China has said that the West is trying to dominate China by spreading its culture and ideology and that China must strengthen its cultural production to defend against the assault, according to an essay in a Communist Party policy magazine published this week.
Mr. Hu’s words signaled that a major policy initiative announced last October would continue well into 2012.
The essay, which was signed by Mr. Hu and based on a speech he gave in October, drew a sharp line between the cultures of the West and China and effectively said the two sides were engaged in an escalating culture war. It was published in Seeking Truth, a magazine founded by Mao Zedong as a platform for establishing Communist Party principles.
'We must clearly see that international hostile forces are intensifying the strategic plot of westernizing and dividing China, and ideological and cultural fields are the focal areas of their long-term infiltration,' Mr. Hu said, according to a translation by Reuters.
'We should deeply understand the seriousness and complexity of the ideological struggle, always sound the alarms and remain vigilant and take forceful measures to be on guard and respond,' he added.
Those measures, Mr. Hu said, should be centered on developing cultural products that can draw the interest of the Chinese and meet the “growing spiritual and cultural demands of the people.”
Chinese leaders have long lamented the fact that Western expressions of popular culture and art seem to overshadow those from China. The top grossing films in China have been 'Avatar' and 'Transformers 3,' and the music of Lady Gaga is as popular here as that of any that of any Chinese pop singer. In October, at the annual plenum of the party’s Central Committee, where Mr. Hu gave his speech, officials discussed the need for bolstering the 'cultural security' of China."
"Lawmakers to begin debating bill criminializing denial of 1915 Armenian genocide, though Turkey threatens retaliation if it becomes law." "Diplomatic tension between France and Turkey rose Wednesday, after the French government said it backed a draft bill that would make it a crime to deny Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. 'The government backs the idea that genocides can't be denied,' Budget Minister and government spokeswoman Valérie Pecresse said after the weekly cabinet meeting. "Each and every country must have the courage to... assess its history with lucidity." The bill, which French lawmakers are scheduled to examine Thursday, has exacerbated an already frosty relationship between Paris and Ankara. Ms. Pecresse said that while the French government backs the philosophy of the bill, 'it doesn't think it is an attack against Turkey.' But Turkish officials have a different view. In a statement, Turkey's President Abdullah Gul said Tuesday he hopes 'France will not sacrifice centuries-long Turkish-French friendship... on account of petty political calculations.'"
"Brazil, caretaker of the world’s largest rain forest, is about to enact broad new regulations that opponents say could loosen restrictions on Amazon deforestation and increase the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
The move comes after two years of often roiling debates and dozens of hearings across the country over how to update a 1965 law that was designed to control slash-and-burn agriculture. Backers say the proposed Forest Code bill, which is expected to be signed into law early next year, would protect the Amazon while easing the regulatory burden on small farmers.
Brazil, a leader on climate change and host of next June’s U.N. Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, is charting a climate strategy shaped by domestic politics and economic concerns that sometimes appears at odds with its international environmental rhetoric.
Such domestic pressures — clear also in increasingly influential developing countries such as China and India — have created uncertainty over how the world will curb its carbon output by the end of the decade, even as negotiators gear up to forge a new global warming pact by 2015.
'It sends a mixed message because Brazil has positioned itself as a country that’s committed itself to saving the forest cover to the benefit of the world,' said Christian Poirier, Brazil program director for Amazon Watch. 'The new forest code flouts all that.'"
Anger at a possible land deal boiled over in Wukan, China, after a popular villager chosen to negotiate a solution died in police custody.
"WUKAN, China — Each day begins with a morning rally in the banner-bedecked square, where village leaders address a packed crowd about their seizure of the village and plans for its future. Friday’s session was followed by a daylong mock funeral for a fallen comrade, whose body lies somewhere outside the village in government custody.
It has been nearly a week since the 13,000 residents of this seacoast village, a warren of cramped alleys and courtyard homes, became so angry that their deeply resented officials — and even the police — fled rather than face them. Now, there is a striking vacuum of authority, and the villagers are not entirely sure what to make of their fleeting freedom.
'We will defend our farmland to the death!' a handmade banner proclaims, referring to a possible land deal they fear will strip them of almost all their farmland. 'Is it a crime,” another muses, “to ask for the return of our land and for democracy and transparency?'"
"Royal books of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910) were returned to Korea from Japan, Tuesday, marking the completion of a mission that kicked off in 2006 to retrieve cultural heritages looted during colonial rule.
A total of 1,200 books, including 167 about royal protocols called “Uigwe,” were retrieved in the second batch delivered.
Among them was a book written by Admiral Yi Sun-shin that was stolen 105 years ago, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
In October, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda handed over five volumes of Uigwe to President Lee Myung-bak during a summit in Seoul.
The Uigwe are a unique collection of rites and rituals, which describe through prose and illustration the major ceremonies of the royal family throughout the Joseon Kingdom’s 500-year history."
"GroupTweet enables 2 to 100,000+ contributors to tweet from the same account. No longer is the burden of content creation on one person's shoulders. Contributors' names can be hidden or displayed at the beginning or end of each Tweet. Whether you have a small group powering a company account or thousands of people powering a group account, you can leverage the power of the crowd with GroupTweet!"
Dennis Richards's insight:
How do you build community when the number of participants is 1000+ from across the planet?
#etmooc will be using this digital tool as one way to facilitate community for the people participating in this 2013 course.
Manhole covers are a ubitquitous part of the urban fabric, and they are typically drab and purely utilitarian. In Japan, municipalities take pride in the this ordinary piece of the landscape and convert them into extraordinary works of art that reflect the local people, place and culture.
Tags: book review, landscape, art, urban, culture, place.
This is a great take on art and the ways of celebrating Japan with touches of personal findings and ideas. These manhole covers are cheery and reflect a piece of Japan that not only tell stories, but embrace history.
While many would consider it silly to turn something as ordinary as manhole covers into pieces of art, I believe that it is an amazing way to represent the culture of a place. Different townships and neighborhoods in Japan have distinct designs that relate to that place. This acts as an artistic expression of the characteristics of that place, since the designs are often chosen and designed by the people of that place. Some covers show historical events, animals, and even religious symbolism. I would love to flip through the book and try to imagine why each place chose each design.
Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping urged Party cadres to constantly absorb new knowledge and maintain theoretical study to improve the level of leadership.
I found these cartograms from an article in the Telegraph and was immediately impressed. The cartograms originated here and use data from the Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project as to create the int...
This series of cartograms shows some imbalanced populations (such as the pictured Australia) by highlighting countries that have established forward capitals. Question to ponder: Do forward capitals change the demographic regions of a country significantly enough to justify moving the capital?
This is from 'worldmapper' - it is a great sight to help you understand using technology the most densely populated areas of various countries. What do you think they are?
"Live from the TED Stage in Long Beach, the 2012 TED Prize winner – the City 2.0 – spoke through the voices of world leaders, advocates, and visionaries, calling on people around the world to forge a new urban outlook.
In December, for the first time ever, the TED Prize went not to an individual but to an idea on which our planet’s future depends: the City 2.0. This is the city of the future in which more than ten billion people must somehow live happily, healthfully, and sustainably.
Today, the official “wish” of the City 2.0 was unveiled in the form of a film showing the wish’s key phrases on billboards, graffiti and stock market tickers. Its message: “I am the crucible of the future…where humanity will either flourish or fade. Dream me. Build me.”
Accompanying the wish is a new online platform that allows citizens anywhere to participate in the creation of their own City 2.0.
With context and urgency expressed through talks on the city by Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes, Harvard professor and economist Edward Glaeser, and Vice Mayor of Long Beach Suja Lowenthal, the words of the City 2.0 wish called for action with these words:
“Imagine a platform that brings you together, locally and globally. Combine the reach of the cloud with the power of the crowd. Connect leaders, experts, companies, organizations and citizens. Share your tools, data, designs, successes, and ideas. Turn them into action.”"
Broadening its challenge to the United States, the Chinese government on Thursday announced an ambitious five-year plan for space exploration that would move China closer to becoming a major rival at a time when the American program is in retreat.
Coupled with China’s earlier vows to build a space station and put an astronaut on the moon, the plan conjured up memories of the cold-war-era space race between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States, which has de-emphasized manned spaceflight in recent years, is now dependent on Russia for transporting its astronauts to the International Space Station. Russia, for its part, has suffered an embarrassing string of failed satellite launchings.
China has been looking for ways to exert its growing economic strength and to demonstrate that its technological mastery and scientific achievements can approach those of any global power. The plan announced Thursday calls for launching a space lab and collecting samples from the moon, all by 2016, along with a more powerful manned spaceship and space freighters.
In recent years, China has also sought to build a military capacity in keeping with its economic might, expanding its submarine fleet and, this year, testing its first aircraft carrier, a refurbished Soviet model. Under the new space plan, it would vastly expand its version of a Global Positioning System, which would have military as well as civilian uses.
"In an effort to prevent farmers from cutting down rain forest, environmental groups are offering money."
"José Marcolini, a farmer here, has a permit from the Brazilian government to raze 12,500 acres of rain forest this year to create highly profitable new soy fields.
But he says he is struggling with his conscience. A Brazilian environmental group is offering him a yearly cash payment to leave his forest standing to help combat climate change.
Mr. Marcolini says he cares about the environment. But he also has a family to feed, and he is dubious that the group’s initial offer in the negotiation — $12 per acre, per year — is enough for him to accept.
'For me to resist the pressure, surrounded by soybeans, I’ll have to be paid — a lot,' said Mr. Marcolini, 53, noting that cleared farmland here in the state of Mato Grosso sells for up to $1,300 an acre."
Experts worry that if the permafrost thaws in the Northern Hemisphere, huge amounts of carbon will be released into the air, greatly intensifying global warming.
"In the minds of most experts, the chief worry is not that the carbon in the permafrost will break down quickly — typical estimates say that will take more than a century, perhaps several — but that once the decomposition starts, it will be impossible to stop.
'Even if it’s 5 or 10 percent of today’s emissions, it’s exceptionally worrying, and 30 percent is humongous,' said Josep G. Canadell, a scientist in Australia who runs a global program to monitor greenhouse gases. 'It will be a chronic source of emissions that will last hundreds of years.'
A troubling trend has emerged recently: Wildfires are increasing across much of the north, and early research suggests that extensive burning could lead to a more rapid thaw of permafrost."
An infographic snapshot of the rapidly changing world of computing, communications and technology.
A GLOBAL INTERNET
In just four decades the Internet has spread to much of the world. Now, the shift to high-bandwidth connectivity and the global availability of supercomputing is accelerating.
A MORE CONNECTED WORLD
Cellphones are proliferating rapidly in much of the developing world. The use of smartphones and other Internet-connected devices is still low, but should rise quickly in countries like China, which will soon have the world’s largest domestic market for Internet commerce and computing.
TOWARD AN INNOVATIVE CHINA
China is the dominant maker of computers and consumer electronics, and is readily able to adapt and improve on technology innovations made elsewhere. But innovation within the country has been limited by government controls and the relative lack of intellectual property protection.
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