Sumblog 7: Learning to Infinity and Beyond the Books

As we began to look at a global society, we examined two aspects of this which were education and health care. I found that education becoming a global entity was very intriguing and the more we began to discuss this thought in class the more interested I became. Whittling down to the core of what education is, one can extract the latent curriculum, or the unofficial forms of schooling. Some examples of this would be how we as students build up our time management skills and working with groups. The other curriculum we receive from education is manifest, which is the actual information being transmitted. As the level of our education goes up, we expand on these skills and use them to build upon the persons we wish to be.

A specific aspect of how the education system has become homogenized, is that many countries are following the western example. It can vary from how many years we are education children to the structure of the classroom but the trend that I wanted to focus on was studying abroad. Thinking of this idea as something beyond America is different because all the research we see is based off of where we are traveling to as American students. In addition, it is a very new topic and there are not many studies done at this time. Even as I tried to get more information on the topic, all I could find are the increasing numbers of students from the United Sates and the rising popularity of certain locations, mostly in Europe. In my blog, I have included an article listing the top ten places American students venture for a semester or more. While this is interesting I really wanted to see the trends of other countries grabbing hold of the "study abroad" train. It makes me wonder, of these top countries, how many of the students from those locations are studying in different countries?

In my study abroad experiencing of going to the number two country on the top ten list, Spain, I learned an exponential amount that I feel will help me so much in my professional future.  The other idea tied to studying abroad popularity across the globe that has been studied, is why students decided to take the leap of faith for their education. As the globe consistently continues to be more interconnected the abroad experience can only benefit. The experiences give insight of the latent curriculum kind and knowledge of in the manifest curriculum. The thought of having students from across the world broadening their horizons to the more global picture is exciting. This is one western trend that I wish to see continue to grow for years to come.

Article---> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/28/the-most-popular-study-abroad_n_1307971.html#s736426&title=10_Argentina

Sumblog 6: Gettin' Globally Greener

We have now started to discuss the political facet of sociology and how each nation works. In the beginning there was empires that covered vast amounts of territory and were functioning on the rulings of the empire and nothing more. As we have become more modern and have made nation-states, which encompass both the ideas of a nation and a state, we have tried to differentiate how these countries work. One of these theories is that each country is becoming more like everyone or isomorphic, because of a common world culture. This world culture is composed of many international groups that are there to create the greater good globally. The world culture is there to not only provide a central authority but also gives an identity to nations that are part of it.
Knowing all of this I wanted to take one of these identifiers and see how countries have "peer pressured" one another into moving forward. Sustainability is an initiative that has exploded across the globe and since the world culture is in support of it, every country has been making their own efforts to exemplify this. In the article I found, the top ten sustainable countries offer something different to take a stance on this global issue. Iceland, the number one country, has taken advantage of their pristine forests by preserving them. The research conducted looked at many aspects like air quality, biodiversity, agriculture, and water quality. It is interesting that even though there can be a broad topic like sustainability each country finds its identity with the location and people it has been provided with.

The functioning of the globe is pushed to be better in many factors, because of this "peer pressuring." The underlining thought that if the world culture wants it, we will want it too. The transformation may be slower for others and look unique to their circumstances, but if it has been decided as a positive alteration, the isomorphic push of the world will act. In the eyes of sustainability, I think the green push will benefit the world more than we realize.

Article ---> http://carbonpig.com/article/10-most-sustainable-countries-world

Sumblog 5: The Tortoise and The Hare

In looking at economical progress, we addressed three different theories that could explain how the world functions in this aspect. The one I want to break down more is Modernization Theory, formulated by Herbert Spencer and Carl Marx in the 1940s. The main idea of this is that the transformation of countries is unidirectional and that each one follows the same path to success. Now, in the historical context this theory was formed right after World War II, so I understand that the powerful countries could been seen as a good modeling point. However, to think that a country's main wish is to become more like America or the other winning countries is foolish to me.

Every country offers it's own resources, regulations, and labor. It is unfair to say that all the aspects of one country are bundled together as they make their way down the one and only line of transformation. Looking at the world today, it would be ethnocentric to observe the world functioning in this way. In the video I included it discusses how even though we give approximately 50 billion dollars to other countries annually the approval rate of Americans is only 63%. The majority of residents in countries that disapprove of America come from those that receive money from us such as Egypt and Pakistan. In the news clip the reporter states that these countries may be feeling like it is America trying to put on Band-Aid on problems of the past. I would also argue that it has to do with it feeling like pity money. These countries want to work on their own wellbeing instead of being offered money that appears to the rest of the world as a helping hand.

The truth about it all and the true irony is that even though we are offering to help all these other countries to become more like us, we ourselves continue to raise our national debt. We cannot even function as a nation right now because our federal government is shut down on a dispute between raising the national debt more or not. Even the most "powerful" appearing countries have their own issues. Although America is viewed in the light of dominance, my point is we still do not have it all together. The world's countries are each taking this "race" at their own pace, where the finish line is in different locations. We are not all the same. Our paths to success aren't either. And success is defined by the country itself.
VIDEO---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oiFH0pMGhI

Sumblog 4: First the Worst, Second the Best, Third the Golden Bird

As we begin to cover the economic facet of globalization it is important to categorize the globe. There is a world systems theory that addresses this idea. When we were brainstorming in class the categories that we came up with are the first, second, and third worlds. We also covered developed and underdeveloped but how do we come up with these categories. Is it fair to break down the world based on the "haves" and the "have-nots"? I realize in order to study the globe and try to get a grasp on the economic growth we have to put up the lines somewhere but could we look at it from a different angle?

As I write this I know that much of the economy and capitalism is based on money. Since these categorizations are mostly formed on GDP and other branches connecting to tangible money in the country it does make sense. Also, if we are accepting capitalism as a strong component to our world's economy then I suppose looking at the financial status of a country as a way of categorization is acceptable. My argument is whether in today's day and age, if it is just.

The link I have connected to the blog gives a plethora of information on underdeveloped and developed countries. It states, "...37 of the 46 states ranked as having low human development are located in Africa." My next point is that since we are studying globalization and know that underdeveloped countries exist why are we not stepping up our game? The developed countries should see this as an opportunity to share the wealth both literally and figuratively. If each country is seen to have a role then as a world we should be working together as a team to be victorious. Each country has something unique to offer and instead of working to capitalize the money for one given country there should be a sense of good for all. I think there is a way to add the cohesive cement to the global economy to keep the cycle functioning but better yet, balanced.

Link--> http://www.globalization101.org/the-divide-between-developed-and-developing-countries