Extra credit? Want to make up for lost time?

You may have noticed that for this week (the tenth week) I have listed readings under "bringing it home" .... and you were probably asking yourself whether the instructor has gone nuts to include stuff that won't be discussed.

Nuts I am, ahem, but there is a method to my madness.
I have this for a few reasons:

• The discussions on international trade and transport are not something far removed from our own public policy issues right here in Oregon/Pacific Northwest. The two readings demonstrate how the issues are absolutely local--including containerization of cargo.
• For those of you who for any reason could not participate in any of the past DQs, well, here is a chance to make up for at least one of them.
• For those of you who could not care whether you get credit or not, but want to discuss anyway, go for it.
• For those of you who will work only for credit, yes, this is an extra credit opportunity.

Your responses to the readings ought to be well-focused and well-thought out.  Particularly when you consider that the two readings are "old"--they were from towards the tail end of the economic expansion, before the global economy crashed like a collapse of a huge ponzi scheme :(

Final Discussion Question

Hey, in case you sent me the abstract for the final paper and I have not replied to you, it might be that somehow I missed your email.  In case you are yet to email me about the final paper, ahem, don't waste time ...

Even as you are doing that (and even as I get to grading your Essay 2) it is my job to bug you with one more task--the final Discussion Question.

For this week, I have three pieces for you that look at some of the important, but not that much discussed, aspects of international trade.  I would like you to read through them--each one is fascinating in its own way--and provide us with your take on those reports.

In this final round of discussions, I would like you to tell us, with respect to each of the pieces:

• What was absolutely new to you in them?
• Have you even vaguely heard about these before?
• What is the significance--from a consumer perspective?
• What is the significance--from a government perspective?

You do not need to respond to each and every one of those four questions--go after as many as you want to, even if only one.  The key though is to bring in fresh insights so that you do not echo your fellow-student's comments, and to continue the conversations. 

For the final paper

Hey everybody, I will soon start reading and evaluating your essays.

As diligent students, you have been keeping up with the schedule in the syllabus, and completed the readings for this week, and watched the video embedded in one of those readings.  I bet you are feeling uneasy that I have not given you work, and I shall address that right here and right now!

The readings for this week are all related to understanding some of the environmental aspects of trade and transport, with food as case study.  These materials will set the stage for the final paper you have to work on.

However, though the final paper is due only by 9:00 am on the Wednesday of Finals Week, I want you start thinking about that right now.  (In fact, you should be in a similar stage in other classes too where a final paper is required.)  We will work with the following schedule (a ten-step program!) with respect to how you will work on the paper:

• Step 1: Complete all the readings listed in the syllabus--the readings and the video related to "food miles"
• Step 2: Think about what you have read and watched.  Not just for a minute or two, but for a couple of days.  (Ideally by now you would have completed the readings, and so you are already in the thinking stage)
• Step 3: Given what you read, now think about a potential thesis that you can defend in a final term paper
• Step 4: Draft, and re-draft, and fine-tune, a 50- to 100-word paragraph where you present the "abstract" for the paper--the "thesis"
• Step 5: Email me (not the class) the abstract before Tuesday noon of next week.
• Step 6: Even as you wait for my feedback on your idea for the paper, you start collecting additional reference materials that will help you put together convincing arguments.  In the final paper, while you will definitely refer to the materials I have listed in the syllabus, you will need at least three additional credible and authoritative analytical references.  Do not merely pick three--you may have to scan through a few before you can zoom into at least three that best fit your thesis topic.
• Step 7: Pay attention to my feedback on your thesis statement
• Step 8: By Tuesday noon of "Dead Week" email me the revised abstract and the list of references.
• Step 9: Email me the final paper by Wednesday morning of Finals Week
• Step 10: Celebrate St. Patrick's Day :)

A note on the "abstract"
The focus will be only on the ideas and arguments.  In other words, do not provide a laundry-list of sorts of what you are going to do.  The following is an example--well, actually the abstract of a paper that I am on schedule to present at the upcoming annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers.

Abstract:
"Volunteer tourism" is exactly what it means: tourists heading to far away places not to kick back in the sun and the sands but to volunteer their services.  Volunteer tourism, or sometimes referred to simply as "voluntourism", has even been described as "a kind of mini version of the Peace Corps." While a very small aspect of global tourism, it is a fast growing segment in the travel industry, so much so that Travelocity even launched a "Travel for Good" program in 2006 in order to lure customers who were likely to take volunteer vacations.  Volunteer tourism becomes significant for at least one reason that they are geographically localized.  Africa attracts a significant percentage of voluntourists primarily because of the nature of the problems that appear to impede growth and development in many countries.  As one can imagine, the efforts of celebrity volunteers focusing their attention on Africa has also catalyzed voluntourism there.  However, the question of how much volunteer tourism benefits the local community has not been systematically examined—neither in the popular media nor within the academic contexts.  In this project, I will discuss the local, community-level, benefits generated through volunteer tourism by using Pommern, in Tanzania, as a case study.

Essay 2

So, hey, we are right on schedule for Essay #2. 

Make sure you read the materials listed for this week first.  Then,
Read them a second time, because now you will be able to make connections with the other essays you read the first time.

Then, do not start writing anything, even though you have lots of ideas floating around in your head.  Not yet.


Your task for Essay 2 is to respond to the following prompt:

Marc Levinson's argument appears to be that containerization has benefited all the countries.  The readings for this week pay particular attention to the developing countries.  Have they also benefited from containerization and the phenomenal growth in global trade?

All the resources that are listed for this week will help you articulate your thesis.  The entire Levinson text is also a valuable resource here.
In addition, you need to get at least one other authoritative reference to support your arguments.  This reference can be an article in a "scholarly journal", or a publication from a think-tank, or an analytical report (not a mere news item) in a newspaper, .... the bottom-line is that the source should be credible and considered authoritative enough.

As you write the essay, and definitely after you finish it, compare it with guidelines I gave you earlier.  This way, you can then amend your essay if appropriate. And keep in my mind my feedback on your first essay.
And, always ask yourself whether you are clear about the thesis that best answers the question.  You know, the bottom line.

Let me know if I might clarify further.  I shall gladly jump in.

Discussion Question #5

We are wrapping up Week 6, folks.  Time flies when we have fun, right?  Hey, don't snigger :)

The photo here is from the photos I have taken in my wanderings.  This was on a mid-summer day in Anchorage, Alaska, now almost three years ago.  I think it was not long after I had read Levinson's book, and when I walked out of the motel and saw stacks of containers at a distance, well, I had to take a photo!  No zoom nothing in my simple camera  ... 

With this week, we wrap up the Levinson text as well.  I bet from now on you won't ever see the "box" the same way again.  When you see that long freight train with containers after containers, you will recall the text, this class, and then you will swing by the post office and mail me a check for $5,000!

Levinson winds up the discussions with some wonderful summaries of the previous chapters.  Even now, when I read how much everybody underestimated the impacts that containerization was going to have, I am reminded of Yogi Berra's succinct summation that "it is tough to make predictions, especially about the future." 

To add an epilogue of sorts, I have included the news item about the Panama Canal's expansion. 

I will leave it relatively unstructured for your comments and observations.  I do expect your posts to be substantive, with facts and evidence, and with as minimal repetition and as much continuation of threads as possible.

Enjoy the Valentine's Day weekend, everybody. 

Discussion Question #4

Maybe you are getting ready for a big Super Bowl party.  The Super Bowl also comes pretty much at the same time that we begin to schedule mid-term exams in the academic quarter system.  What fun, eh!  Not in this class, though--your essays came in a few days before, and the next essay is not due for a while.

So, there you are sitting in front of the television and wondering whether the electrifying Reggie Bush of the Saints is the reason that USC will have its national championship yanked.  Of course, Bush might have his Heisman Trophy taken away too.

And then it strikes you that the television set you are watching all these was manufactured in China :)  Which is when you begin to forget about the Super Bowl and, to the annoyance of the rest of those at the party, you start talking to them, very loudly, about international trade and transportation, the box, and China.  And then yo wonder why all of a sudden you are all alone!

But you don't care, because you have done the readings for this week.  You know that this week is a continuation of some of the ideas from last week.  As Levinson notes in Chapter 12, "government investment in ports had been crucial to the development of container shipping in the 1960s and 1970s."  in 1977, "container shipping reached a landmark" writes Levinson.  What was that landmark?  You tell me, because you, too, have done all the readings.

But, governments were equally worried about a reverse of the "build it and they will come" approach: what if nobody came, and the ports with all the expensive equipment lay idle?  So, what did they do? Many of them decided to turn over the day-to-day operations to the private sector.  You can then see how the Dubai-based corporation I referred to earlier becomes a part of the story.

So, a wonderful confluence of events.  In 1977 that major shipping landmark.  In 1979, China's Deng Xiaoping famously declared that "to get rich is glorious" and unleashes economic reforms.  Fast forward thirty years and the reading I have included for you that China dethrones Germany as the top exporter.   

Which is where you begin to yell, "stop, Dr. Khe, I have a few things to say."  Sounds good to me.
Your task, for this Discussion Question, is to demonstrate your understanding of the readings for this week, with the following caveats:

• All the comments cannot be based only on the China/Germany news item
• All your comments cannot be standalone comments--after the first few, we need rejoinders and critiques and discussions.

Get set. Ready. Go
Nope, that is not it.  In football language, "hut! hut! hike!" :)

ps: if you read until here, well, you might be interested in this Super Bowl prediction!
pps: the reality is that I have no plans to watch the game. ha ha ha.  I am just an information junkie.

On DQ #3, and more

Hey, first about your essays.  I have barely finished reading a third of the essays that came in.  You can imagine the reasons why; the primary one being that this is the time of the term when the first of the major assignments from other classes also come in.  I will try to get you the feedback at the earliest.

In the meanwhile, I have updated the grades page, where you can check your progress--if you had provided me with a four-digit code. If you have not, and want to keep track as well, make sure to email me (not the class) a preferred four digit code for you, and that number ought not to be the last four of your SSN or V#.
This is also a neat way for you to make sure I have not made any data entry error.
My hope is that deciphering the evaluation that I have provided is simple; email me if I need to clarify.

I am delighted with your responses to Discussion Question 3.  As much as international trade and transportation are market activities--largely governed by supply and demand--the reality is that there is extensive government involvement as well.  Some of those are well discussed in other courses too--such as the subsidies and tariffs that governments might use in order to influence how competitive their own "domestic" production can be in the global market.  But, I have opted to stay out of those aspects of trade and economic issues so that we can focus on the geographic aspects, particularly with the neat case of the "box."  In other words, I want to remind you that there is a lot more extensive government involvement than we could discuss in DQ 3. (My favorite complaint is discussed here.)

We can even take a step back in time and look at the interstate system that was built.  The trigger for that was Eisenhower's experience as a young army captain--In 1919 that Eisenhower participated in the army’s exercise to study the logistical issues in moving military vehicles and equipment from coast to coast, along the Lincoln Highway.  It was this, together with his war-time experiences in Europe, which led Eisenhower to call for a national system of highways when he was elected to the presidency.
So, yes, there is that government/military/transport connection in the interstate system, too.

The container revolution was similarly catalyzed by the logistical demands of the Vietnam War, as you found out from Levinson's presentation.  It is interesting, eh!  So, yes, this too is an example of market-state partnership of sorts, even though they did not start working as partners with a fixed goal of sorts.

By the same token, even though governments might own the ports, the day-to-day operation could be contracted out to the market.  This became a huge controversy recently here in the US. 

The efficiency gains from standardization of the "box" have been tremendous, as Levinson points out.  This standardization might have eventually happened; but the government getting into it perhaps catalyzed an acceleration of the standardization.  I mean, if you think about, pretty much most of the goods we use are standardized somehow, right?

We also notice that the takeoff stage of the diffusion process is highly related to the standardization time frame as well.  Which sounds logical even to an intuitive understanding.

Finally, it appears that this term I am completely lost on the popular media references you folks are making ...  First it was about a Bruce Willis movie, and then about "The Wire"... and now the Discovery Channel's program.  Hmmm.... I have a lot to catch up on, eh .... maybe I can if I didn't have to grade essays :)

As always, feel free to post your rejoinders, questions, ....

I will get the next DQ out in the next couple of days

ps: if you read until here, you deserve another "groaner" ....

A woman had twins, and gave them up for adoption at birth.
One of the twins went to a family in Egypt, and was named "Amal." The other twin went to a family in Spain, and they named him "Juan."
Years later, Juan sent a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she told her husband that she wished she also had a picture of Amal.
Her husband responded, "But they are twins. If you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal." 

(read the italics aloud if you don't get the pun at first!!!)

Discussion Question #3

So, thanks to you folks I have lots of work to do--grading papers :)  Which means, it is only fair that I return the favor and make you work as well, eh!

The chapters you read (you have read them already, right?) this week deal with the dynamics that provided the take-off for containerization in trade and transportation.  To  large extent, that is how any new idea diffuses through the economy and geography.  There is a phase of early adoption, and then a steep take-off, and then a leveling off.
The graphic on the left, which I have "borrowed," shows how typically an innovation is adopted.  In modern times, it seems like the take-off portion is getting steeper and steeper.  We used to marvel at how rapidly the VCR found its way into households.  But,the diffusion of the internet into households was even more rapid.  The adoption of cell phones has been even more rapid--the take-off is  near vertical--particularly across the planet.

In the case of containerization, Levinson discusses the take-off after all the years of various entities working on various details--from standardizing the dimensions of the box, to making sure that it can work across the different modes (ships, trains, trucks.)  And we notice that there was extensive government involvement in this otherwise a private sector market activity.

So, ok, here is your task:
Think through the details of the private sector involvement and the role of the government in the diffusion of this innovation, and provide your insights.  Remember that you responses ought to have a lot more detail in them as opposed to the previous ones because of the logic that we have been picking up "knowledge" since day one and ought to be way wiser now compared to day one.
Let me know if this is not clear, and if I need to provide additional information.

Discussion Questions 1 and 2

My responses, trivial and profound, to your comments, trivial and profound :)
As always, I have provided hyperlinks in case you want more info.  And if you want even more info, well, email me.

First, an overall comment: I am excited with your excitement and, yes, keep up the tempo.
As we get into the rest of the DQs this term, because of the logic that we ought to know more by, for instance, week 6 compared to what we knew in week 2, well, we will also expect more as we head into the term.  So, if there is any one thing that I would like you to watch out for, it is this: make sure your responses are focused on the content and arguments as we get into the term :)

Ok, now to my follow-up on your responses
Yes, the humor is not without a reason, I suppose.  I am referring to the comment:

One of my favorite lines from the chapters we read appears in Chapter 2 on page 26.  It says, "[T]he dockers are such difficult people, just the fathers and the sons, the uncles and the nephews.  So, like the House of Lords, hereditary and no intelligence required."  I find this line to be very witty.

The author, Levinson, used to be with the Economist, which always has articles written in a certain style that includes an undercurrent of humor, sometimes sarcastic and cynical.  In this quote, I find that same Economist humor :)

Transportation logistics is vastly under-appreciated.  The only time we talk about transportation is when it is not happening, or not happening at the pace at which we expect.  And, otherwise, we simply take it for granted.  Yes, as you noticed in Daniel Gross' essay, Amazon.com alone ships out a gazillion items a year, and all we have to really worry about is to click on the appropriate buttons on the website!  (An aside: unless the guy has changed jobs, Amazon's chief of transportation logistics is from India, and is my brother-in-law's cousin's brother-in-law.  Confused?!  I tell you, it is a small world when we look at such degrees of separation!!!)  Anyway, now you have a feel for why this field warrants special attention at a few universities.

As many of you commented, dock operations are way different from those portrayed in "On the Waterfront." Levinson's "House of Lords" joke does not apply anymore :)  The quantity and quality of labor needed at the docks to the equipment used to the sheer volume handled .... and the transportation has speeded up while costs have come down.  And it all goes back to the dream, determination, and drive of one character: Malcom McLean.

So, thanks to all these innovations and developments, we are able to get at ridiculously low prices goods manufactured far away in China.  As one of you commented, we American consumers wanted goods at low prices and we are able to get them.  Would this have been possible without the container, the standardization of the container, the development of ships and ports to adapt to this invention, ....?  That is the argument that Levinson pursues in the book.

Now, some of your comments reflect a concern over such high levels of global interdependence.  And the concerns come in many flavors.  And, yes, most of them are not baseless.  Yet, in order to have a structured discussion, we will place this on hold, and come back to it later in the term.

Obviously, containers do not work for some kind of products.  Oil and natural gas, for instance, require other ways of transportation.  Everything from oil supertankers to the natural gas pipelines that we looked at.

Finally, to get back to one of the first questions, neighboring countries do not always trade with each other.  In other words, distance is not the most influential factor when it comes to trade.  For various reasons.

• Both the neighbors could be poor, which means there is not a whole lot to trade with/for in the first place.  Here, you can insert quite a few examples from Africa.
• Or, the neighbors could have serious diplomatic issues that preclude extensive economic interactions--how about India and Pakistan as examples? Or here, the US and Cuba?
  
• Or, it could be that there are physical, geographic, barriers that prevent a whole lot of interaction--think of the Amazonian territory in South America
• Or, maybe a country is not open to trade--has a regime of tariffs that discourage trade, including with its neighbors.  This is how most of the world was for the longest time.

The net result is that sometimes China "seems" to be closer to the US than even Mexico is!  But, we would not have been able to bridge the real world distance without the fantastic improvements in shipping, with containerization, and transportation logistics. 

Any comments, thoughts, rejoinders?

Essay guidelines, and more

It is so wonderfully sunny that I have a tough time believing it is late January and, more than that, working instead of being outside.  I suppose we will eventually have to pay for this el nino effect, eh!

First, email me--NOT the entire class, but only to me--a four digit code that I will use to identify you and your progress, which I will begin to post on the web.  Make sure the four digit code is NOT the last four of your SSN or V#.

Second, about answering the essay question.
Make sure you support your arguments with appropriate evidence/quotes from the materials. 
For two reasons:

• The essay cannot be merely your opinion.  Well, yes, it is your opinion, but it has to be an informed opinion that is built on evidence.  Think of yourself as a lawyer presenting a case to the judge and jury.  As much as lawyers can be very good talkers, they make sure they introduce evidence to support their arguments.  They bring in experts to testify.  It is the same logic here.
  
• This is your opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the materials, which means making appropriate connections is the way to do it, right?

In case you use a word-processing program other than MS Word, let me know what program you used so that I can try all the tricks I know to open the file.

In terms of the mechanics of writing itself, avoid some of the following typical issues that I came across:

• "we", "you", "our", etc.: if you mean by "we" the United States, then write it out as "the United States".  "You" refers to the reader, which is me and I bet that is not what you--as the writer--intended.
• "I feel", "I believe", "I think", etc.: It is your paper that you are writing.  So, unless you are borrowing ideas from somebody else, then I as the reader know that those are your arguments.  No need to qualify them with additional wording.  
• spelling mistakes: More so when word-processing programs highlight the mistake even as we type a word.  Spell-check maniacally!
• metaphors: the best rule is to avoid them.  If you simply cannot resist that temptation, then use them sparingly.  And, most of all, do not mix metaphors. 
  

And, yes, let me know if I need to provide additional info.
In a few minutes, another post/email about the DQs; I shall resist the temptation to do nothing but enjoy the sun's warmth :(

Essay Question 1

Hey, it was really tempting to make the Bruce Willis movie the topic for Essay 1; but then better sense prevailed :)

Because of the kind of responses you had to DQs 1 and 2, I have decided to change the way in which I was planning to use a couple of materials for this class.  In the syllabus, I had originally scheduled the two pieces by James Fallows for much later in the term.  But, given many of your comments, well, I need to strike when the metaphorical iron is hot, eh!

Now, before I give you the essay question, yes, for various reasons I am slightly behind in summarizing the DQs so far and in adding my perspectives.  But, that will not affect your response to this essay question by any means.  Also, if you think you need a day more in order to submit Essay 1, no problems as long as it reaches me by noon of next Wednesday.

Ok, what is the question for the essay?  Well, you have read through quite a few chapters of Levinson, and a few current news items too.  Levinson's thesis is that the shipping container was an important development that made international trade possible to the large extent that we see today.  In other words, if there were no containers, well, the maginitude of international trade would be significantly less than what we have today.

In his essay and the multimedia presentation, James Fallows adds more to this when he discusses the country that we now associate with when it comes to global exports: China.  Firs read/watch/listen to these.

Then, spend some time thinking about China, international trade, and shipping containers.  Think about the Levinson chapters you have read thus far, and also some of the news item we have discussed.  Yes, thinking comes first.

When you are then equipped with a whole bunch of thoughts, put together an essay, a cogent argument, that relate to China, international trade, and the "box"

In doing so, do not merely summarize the readings.  Do not go off on a tangent, how much ever that topic might tempt you, and end up discussing, for instance, China's human rights issues and why Google has issues in China now.  While those topics are important, stay focused on the assigned task. 
In case you have never been given guidance on how faculty typically evaluate essay responses, well, there is a method to the madness :)  Here is the guiding rubric that I use and share with my students. 

Let me know if you think that you or the class might benefit from additional information/clarification from me.

Discussion Question #2

So, a neutron walks into a bar and orders a martini.
Then looks up at the bartender and asks, "how much?"
To which the bartender replies ....
"No charge for you"

ha ha haha

Ok, that was not the DQ. 

First a few background comments, and then the actual question itself. 
A couple of days ago, Jacob commented to me that when he first looked at the book, well, to put it mildly, he was not impressed.  A big, fat, book about the shipping container!  But then as he started reading it, he apparently found it to be a neat discussion after all.  Thanks for that feedback, Jacob.  Feel free to give me your feedback at anytime, in any mode that appeals to you.  My teaching and learning depends, to quite a significant extent, on the explicit and implicit feedback from students.

I told Jacob that my only complaint with the book is that despite all the discussions on shipping routes, ports, and canals, there are no maps in the book, except that graphic on the port of NY.  And then I added that I remarked about it in my review of this book, which was published in the Professional Geographer, Volume 60, Number 2 (May 2008).  Now I am thinking that perhaps my book review will be a good reading for you--in a way to set up the overall theme of the book itself.  Click here for the PDF version of the book review; at about 1000-words or so, it is not a lengthy read at all.

Finally, to the DQ itself.  Hey, hey, wake up and read this :)

Your task is this: think about the chapters 1 through 4 that you have read by now.  Even if you have already watched the interview with the author, Levinson, I suggest re-watching it now that you have read the first four chapters.  As you think about the contents of these four chapters, I want you to read and think about Daniel Gross' piece on "logistics."
By the time you are done with all these, I bet you will be ready to engage us all in a fantastic discussion.  So, what are you waiting for? :)  Provide us your observations, and as we get a few posts, the later ones ought to try continue with the conversations.

I hope this is clear.  Let me know if otherwise.

Because of the Monday holiday, the deadline for this is NOT Tuesday, but Wednesday by 9:00 am.

Using the Monday holiday as a learning opportunity

Monday, January 18^th, is a holiday in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Typically, I would use a few minutes of class-time the following Tuesday or Wednesday to talk about MLK, and to listen to a part of his “I have been to the mountain top” speech and engage in discussions. 

Of the few speeches of MLK that I have listened to, I rank this “I have been to the mountain top” speech even higher than his “I have a dream” and the “Beyond Vietnam” speeches, primarily because it was his final one, delivered the night before he was assassinated.

But, in this online class, we won't be able to listen to this together at the same time, and then share our thoughts on the speech, MLK, ...

So, your task is to:

1. Locate an audio file of that talk by searching for it on the web.  If you do not want to search, well, here is one.  You will also be able to read the transcript of the speech; listening to him without being distracted might be the best experience.
   For this assignment, you do not have to listen to the entire speech; it is more than 40-minutes long.  You can choose to do like how I would play the audio file in my classes

Almost the first seven minutes, up until MLK says “the cry is always the same—“I want to be free”. 

Then I would fast-forward to about 34 minutes into his speech, when he starts with “That’s the question before you tonight.” And then all the way until the end. 

2. After you have listened to these 16+ minutes, think about his message for a while, and write down your thoughts as they relate to the speech and MLK’s idea(l)s.
3. Email the class your thoughts before 9:00 am on Tuesday
1. This is a non-credit assignment, which means there will be no implications for the course grade if you do not participate in it.  
2. In order to encourage you to do this, how about if I made this an extra-credit assignment? Yes, that is what this is :-)
3. Keep in mind that you cannot merely respond to a fellow student's posting; it needs your original contribution.
1. Yes, of course, you may certainly engage us in discussions--but, only after you email us your thoughts.
   

My next tasks are to:

• Email you the Discussion Question #2, and
• Follow-up on your responses to DQ#1

BTW, are we all doing ok?  Any logistical issues to address?

Syllabus update, and more on "The world is bumpy"

Hey, I have updated the syllabus page.  I think we are in for an exciting term.

I had planned to do a video update, but then as I put together my talking points, I realized that a written mode is the one that will help when it comes to providing you with links if you decide that something is worth following-up. The idea here is that I don't bore the life out of you if all you want is a quick summary, and at the same time I provide you with more info should you want them ....
You folks had lots of interesting observations related to the non-credit task I had for you: your thoughts after reading "The world is bumpy"  Specifically, the task was to email the class about the following:

1. Is there anything in particular that grabbed your attention?

2. Is there any one specific item there that nags you because you don't quite get what the issue is?

I am really pleased that some of you took the non-credit task seriously, and provided significant feedback to the class.  In this note, I want to follow-up on your comments:

• Deglobalization: At this time, this is more a "worry" than a reality that countries will close their economies from the external world--at least with the industries they want to protect.  This worry is not because of any understanding that globalization caused this Great Recession.  Instead, it is a worry that protectionism could result in a nasty global depression.  If you find this fascinating, then click here for Paul Krugman's column from just a few days ago.
• Yes, Singapore is one of the countries that was hit hard by this Great Recession.  More here.
  
• Could it be possible that the rich countries and India and China will come out of this recession relatively ok, while the rest of the world go through more agonizing periods?  Well, India and China had slowing down of their economic growth, but no recession.  A recession means a decline in the country's economic output (GDP) for at least two consecutive quarters.  China and India experienced only a slow down, not a negative growth in the economy.  Many other poor countries also came out without a contraction in their economies.  Surprising, eh!  Professon Daniel Drezner writes:
  

  While this was a bad decade for America, it was actually a pretty great decade for large swathes of the globe.  China, Russia, India, Brazil, and much of sub-Saharan Africa recorded sustained levels of economic growth., for example.
  

• The impact of the recession (which is the trigger for the discussion on deglobalization) will be felt on migration as well.  Both in terms of voluntary decisions, and in terms of governments potentially tightening up their immigration policies.  Interestingly enough, work visas (H1-B) here in the US can be an indicator of the economic well being.
• On the comment on perhaps countries in Africa need to form their own equivalents of the EU, well, you might be excited all the more that serious efforts are underway.  Here is an example.
• On whether buying locally or globally is better, well, how about we wait on this until later this term when we are scheduled to discuss this?  You might be in for a surprising twist to the story :-)
• If we want to understand how this Great Recession happened, .... this is a tough one, and certainly outside the scope of this class.  It is a tough one because economists and policymakers are still grappling with it.  We do not yet have the luxury of being able to look back .... so, for now, it is a cacophony of explanations out there :-) There is going to be an "independent" Congressional commission too!  Anyway, click here if you are simply itching for a quick summary :)
  
• Finally, what does the "Doha Round" mean? Doha is in the Middle East--in Qatar.  You might be familiar with this country, which was a key base for the US before launching the Iraq War.  Back before 9/11, it was in Doha that the international community launched the attempt to negotiate rules for international trading.  It has been ongoing, not because of 9/11, but because it is easy for countries to point fingers at unfair practices of others, but is quite difficult for the same countries to admit to their wrongdoing and correct them.  Since then meetings have been held at other places, but the reality is that the talks have sort of stalled.  Even though the meetings are held at various locations (often at wonderful vacation spots!!!) it is still referred to as the "Doha" round ....
  

Any more thoughts? You ask, and I shall clarify.
Again, my idea in having that as an "intro" reading was to demonstrate that we have courses like this one in order to help students understand the world around us, so that you can be that much more productive--economically, and as citizens.  More power to you, eh!

Discussion Question #1

Hey, I will wait maybe one more day for any more thoughts on the non-credit question I had for you.

Read the following news item: "Game over" for the West
Then, re-read the "world is bumpy" piece.
As you sort out the rush of ideas in your head in response to those pieces, I want us to use these as our launching point to understand the following, which is essentially the set of questions we would want to understand through this course:

1. Why is there a need for trade amongst countries?

2. Are neighboring countries always the most important trading partners for each other?

3. Do countries buying natural gas, for instance, always buy from an exporter who happens to be, well, "next door"?  In other words, what role does distance play?

4. Why are pipelines the preferred transport mode for the commodity (natural gas) in this Russia news? I.e., how come natural gas is not being shipped, or sent across on railroads or trucks?

I want you to think through all these questions.  You don't need to do any additional reading/research for this--all the materials listed in the syllabus for Week 1 will be of use.  All you have to do is engage in critical reading/thinking. 

However, DO NOT provide your thoughts on all of them.  Instead, play by the following rule:

1. The first student to respond can choose to discuss any one of the questions.

2. The second through the fourth student can respond only to the un-addressed questions.

3. All the rest can only add to, or critique the responses from the previous posters.  In other words, you have to continue with the conversation.  This is how we would engage in discussions in the "real" classroom, right?

Typically you need not more than 75 words to provide a meaningful response.  No penalty for longer posts :-)

You can always post any number of rejoinders--again, similar to how in class we might jump in with more than one observation as the discussion picks up.

 

Note: Extra credit if you decide to post a video response, instead of typing out your responses.  Yes, every term I have been waiting for that first student to post a video response to discussion questions :( 

The easiest route for distributing videos is through YouTube.  Email me if you are interested in this, but do not quite know where to begin.

I hope it is clear enough.  If not, bug me.  The deadline?  Responses to Discussion Questions (DQ) will always be due before noon of the Tuesday that follows the Fridays when I will email you the question.  So, in this case, your responses are due before noon on Tuesday, Jan 12th.

The world is bumpy!

Hey, I notice that your intros are trickling in.  I suppose we will soon hear from the rest as well.
My thanks for the kind words from students who have been in my classes before.  Now, the pressure to live up to your expectations .... I shall try.

Here is another way to think about what this course will help us achieve.  At the end of the course, articles like this one will make a lot more sense than they might do now.

So, here is what I would like you to do.  read that article.  Don't worry about anything that comes across as strange abbreviations and technical language.  After you read it, email the class about the following:

1. Is there anything in particular that grabbed your attention?

2. Is there any one specific item there that nags you because you don't quite get what the issue is?

Of course, I will follow-up on your thoughts ....

This is a non-credit Discussion Question, more as a warm-up activity.  So, don't spend way too much time/effort on this ....

BTW, make sure you set aside time to read the class materials, just as you would allocate time to come to class in the real world.  Do not ever forget to do that; you skip out of the readings one week, and it can become way too much a burden to play catch up in the online environment.  Be way more disciplined than you will be in the regular classes.

Welcome to GEOG 418 Online, and intros

Happy new year!

I am back on the saddle, so to say, while still trying to recover from the jet lag and travel aches after almost three weeks in Tanzania.  I am sure I will bug you with anecdotes throughout the term :-)

I have most of the syllabus done.  Click here for all the info related to the class. I will have the blanks (marked as +++) filled before this week ends.

Now, the course home page has relevant links from which you can certainly find out a lot about me.  Let me know if you think there is anything I might add by way of introducing myself.

It appears from the roster that many of you have had classes with me before.  Glad to know that your previous experiences with me as the instructor did not preclude you from yet another interaction; thanks for your vote of confidence.

It will be neat if you can email the class a quick note that includes at least the following info:

• Your name
• Your major/minor
• Your standing (junior/senior ...)
• Why you are taking this course, and what you expect to gain from this experience
  
• Have you ever taken online classes before?  If so, where?
• And, finally, this is optional: if you have taken classes with me before--regular or online--is there anything you want to tell your classmates about me?

It will be best if you simply replied to this email without changing the subject line; that way we can all keep track of the conversations.  In any case, keep in mind that you can email the entire class by addressing the email to geog418@wou.edu

Am sure soon I will start YouTubing video clips, in addition to blogging my notes.  That is right; this email itself is nothing but a blog post.  Pretty much everything that I send your way will be as a posting at the blog: http://geog418.blogspot.com/

Any other questions that you might have at this point?