tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.comments2021-09-02T05:40:30.339-07:00Peace of MindPeace of Mindhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-78199364630625402972012-01-26T04:14:30.685-08:002012-01-26T04:14:30.685-08:00Here is a definition of globalization:
"Glob...Here is a definition of globalization:<br /><br />"Globalization is the intensification of trade and cultural interchange to such an extent that national economies and national boundaries have little, or greatly reduced, significance. It is the trend towards the whole world acting as a single economy and with a single culture."<br /><br />See <a href="http://pol-check.blogspot.com/2012/01/future-of-globalization.html" rel="nofollow">The Future of Globalization</a>.<br /><br />In the 21st century the battle is between globalizing corporatists and the people rather than between "capitalists" and the people. The modern capitalist is an investor in a pension fund. <br /><br />The globalizers have done a really good PR job. So good that "occupy" protesters believe in globalization but are protesting about the results of globalization. Little wonder that they cannot quite pin down what is wrong! See <a href="http://pol-check.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupy-london-movement.html" rel="nofollow">The Occupy London Movement</a>Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07442010719863995872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-73085779014596327532011-12-13T04:30:07.225-08:002011-12-13T04:30:07.225-08:00Fortunately, State Department (ECA Bureau) does fu...Fortunately, State Department (ECA Bureau) does fund several excellent teacher exchange programs. <br /><br />For example, you might like to take a look at the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) program, which is most similar to the Japan program described in your post: http://flta.fulbrightonline.org/about.html <br /><br />There's also a more traditional program, a direct teacher swap involving the U.S. and 7 other countries; most are in Europe, but India and Mexico also participate: http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/cte.cfm<br /><br />In addition, there's a "Distinguished Teacher" exchange program that provides university-level training and collaborative learning for U.S. teachers who go abroad and foreign teachers who come to the U.S.: http://www.fulbrightteacherexchange.org/dteIndex.cfm<br /><br />An excellent new program for U.S. participants is the English Teaching Assistantships (ETA) -- sort of a cross between Peace Corps and Fulbright: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/thinking_teaching.html<br /><br />State Department also offers a six-week program for foreign teachers from over 35 countries to come to the U.S. for advanced courses in their subject fields and in education: http://exchanges.state.gov/globalexchanges/teaching-excellence-and-achievement-tea-program.html<br /><br />Finally, you may be interested in this program, which appears to be jointly funded by the U.S. and Japan through the Japan Fulbright Commission; it gives American teachers the opportunity to observe and work in Japan's innovative Education for Sustainable Development (ESD): http://www.iie.org/en/Programs/ESD<br /><br />You have mentioned the key element of follow-up with alumni of such programs, and this is a priority within State Department public diplomacy, given the potential of such program alumni to build more permanent bridges and maintain stronger and deeper understanding between the U.S. and other countries. This alumni website is a foundation element of alumni outreach, but there are many other Washington-based and Embassy-based programs aimed at maintaining relationships with and through alumni: https://alumni.state.gov/landing-pageGlobe2Uhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00965860008589259720noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-24629462887831832752011-12-12T07:34:16.708-08:002011-12-12T07:34:16.708-08:00That's a great quote.
The school is also at ...That's a great quote. <br /><br />The school is also at fault here, and its administration's actions show that it's important to educate with actions too. It would have sent a great message had they refused to punish the girl because it is her right to say that the governor sucks.<br /><br />It's a great thing, though, that the press is able to uncover these types of things and change their outcome.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-69388389476278845732011-12-10T13:24:07.574-08:002011-12-10T13:24:07.574-08:00Its interesting how words can be manipulated to ch...Its interesting how words can be manipulated to change meanings and the way people interpret them. I recently saw a video which dictated the evolution of the word shell shocked, which originated in WWI to describe the overwhelming number of soldiers dealing with psychological trauma. The video (which I have desperately searched for on google but cannot locate) then goes on to note how this phenomenon had a new name after every 20th century war. By the 1970s during Vietnam this was called Post Dramatic Stress Disorder. The author of the video notes that with each war new words were added making the name of the trauma less tangible and more vague thus less powerful. Ultimately, the author believes that by making the verbiage more technical it becomes less human and thus citizenry treatment and understanding of veterans going through this significant psychological trauma less forgiving and supportive. <br /><br />It is interesting how branding a disease, campaign, etc can facilitate different emotions in people. An interesting study would be on the strategic of branding "pro-life" and "pro-choice."<br /><br />-ClairePeace of Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-1130864332252907612011-12-08T12:45:33.026-08:002011-12-08T12:45:33.026-08:00You're right, a free press is absolutely neces...You're right, a free press is absolutely necessary for TANs to be effective. I would imagine that they would find crafty ways to reach non state media, but the ideal environment is one where the press is free to chose what they cover, and TANs can reach the press without fear.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-7498842931258350502011-12-08T12:33:11.916-08:002011-12-08T12:33:11.916-08:00I agree with you that the US needs to be in "...I agree with you that the US needs to be in "the room" for its diplomatic strategies to be effective (or to even have diplomatic strategies). But I think that even if it's present, there needs to be a change in focus. I feel like a lot of US diplomatic efforts are too much about winning, instead of about communicating for *mutual* understanding. It should be about sharing the room, not controlling it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-6190706008150887092011-12-06T15:19:07.557-08:002011-12-06T15:19:07.557-08:00You bring up a very pertinent topic, especially du...You bring up a very pertinent topic, especially during election time! I would agree with you that public diplomacy and instituting actual policy to support these diplomatic efforts has been fair at best. It would seem the United States is all bark and no bite. I like your example of Pakistan, but I would like to propose another example of friction between these two aspects of government.<br /><br />Hillary Clinton and the State Department have been huge proponents of Internet freedom, as we have learned from the speeches she has given on the topic. They have called it one of their top goals for diplomacy. However, as we've seen Internet freedom isn't always so free even in the United States. Especially with the introduction of the Stop Online Piracy Act, that cracks down a bit too heavily on infringers of copyright, we see that the government has been a bit hypocritical about calling out other nations for authoritarian tactics, while we're on the way to instituting our own!Corey Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08154757983089469045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-15082488846248833652011-12-05T20:24:10.070-08:002011-12-05T20:24:10.070-08:00That is truly an interesting argument. While readi...That is truly an interesting argument. While reading that piece, I was more struck with the methods of communication being described and completely glossed over what you're pointing out. But, the more I read your post, the more I think that you are definitely right in your thinking and I agree. We have become a society of "buzzwords" and it's no wonder that people don't understand what we are trying to convey. <br /><br />I think the only thing I'm really struggling with is this question. How do we go back to a world where things seem much more straightforward and leave behind the world of "buzzwords" we have come to know? I don't necessarily think that it would be as simple as snapping one's fingers.Beckyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04546172080165104278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-88075815658738538822011-11-15T07:12:42.781-08:002011-11-15T07:12:42.781-08:00This is a very interesting concept, I wonder how T...This is a very interesting concept, I wonder how TAN's are working in closed environments though. Are they able to break through censorship or highly controlled state media? Can they? What sorts of techniques can they use to get their information framing out there. It seems that TANs work very well, but the concept of a free press has to come first.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06831407364369368803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-15587642306886232842011-11-07T09:50:11.992-08:002011-11-07T09:50:11.992-08:00I wonder how much of this has to do with the conso...I wonder how much of this has to do with the consolidation of media into four or five giant media conglomerates who hold a lot of political power. Is the decision to not publish these photos coming from the top because they want to generate pro-war sentiment? Do media giants still wield enough political power like the story of William Hearst telling his reporters to stay in Cuba because he would 'bring the War'?Peace of Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-88323840717420864422011-11-02T08:15:18.524-07:002011-11-02T08:15:18.524-07:00Your sister sounds cool! I will say this, though. ...Your sister sounds cool! I will say this, though. Some negative WOM about The New Girl has reached me and it's sort of ruining the show for me!<br /><br />http://www.cracked.com/article_19493_4-reasons-zooey-deschanel-can-stop-pretending-shes-dork.htmlPeace of Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-62410661631399419752011-10-31T09:59:38.191-07:002011-10-31T09:59:38.191-07:00I think this is a very interesting blog, and also ...I think this is a very interesting blog, and also I would like to meet your friend :) But all kidding aside, what you are proposing is not very lunatic. In cross-cultural communication we study the fact that 'reality' is learned, and we are socialized into our own cultures. So while this may seem completely nutty to us, it is only because we have been socialized into our culture and the reality we were socialized into, has us thinking this is nutty. To some, and possibly a lot more people, this makes perfect sense. As future researchers and scholars we need to recognize the inherent biases that our culture gives us and find some way to step outside of our linear way of thinking and consider all possibilities. I think it would make science a much more interesting field and offer great new discoveries.Amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06831407364369368803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-47172737832819131742011-10-28T14:44:10.067-07:002011-10-28T14:44:10.067-07:00I'm guessing its Erica's post. In any poss...I'm guessing its Erica's post. In any possible way, I feel you. Being acknowledge as 'raising economy' isn't always translated as equal distribution of people welfare, just and fair law enforcement, or flawless human right enforcement. In some cases, macroeconomic achievement does not represented well at the micro level. High GDP, low inflation, but as you've mentioned, the public education system is in crisis. But sadly, macroeconomics (cmiiw) is the only indicator used by government to evaluate economic development and economic policy. A country is not all about its macro achievement. it's a system, and like any other system, it will operate well with the support from its sub-system. if one of the subsystem down, it will affect the whole system. Perhaps now Chile is an economic star, but that won't last without any good will to fix the situation at the lower level. And based on your post, instead of being a watchdog, media seems only serves as amplifier for the status quo. <br /><br />I do hope the situation in Chile will get better! Perhaps with your smart and sharp writings, you can help them :) <br /><br />Erica-san, ganbatte ne!lodya habsanthiarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17516496522618135905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-2922721460476501332011-10-28T13:51:40.862-07:002011-10-28T13:51:40.862-07:00Your post remind me of my sister. She's a kore...Your post remind me of my sister. She's a korean drama freak, japan drama and manga freak, hollywood movie freak, french cinema freak, oh...she also enjoys bollywood! Well, she's just basically movie freak. Well, couple days ago, she called me just for letting me know that there's a new sitcom on Fox (F-O-X, just like the matthew fox character spell his family name in 'You've Got Mail') called "The New Girl". She told me how adorable this silly quirky character of Zooey Deschanel is, how funny the whole story is, and how these all resemble her or any regular girl. But that was not her main message, the main message was "Kamu harus nonton filmnya! Itu lucu banget! Kalo udah nonton, kamu pasti ketagihan!" or in English means "You must watch the show! Its so hilarious! Watch it, you'll be addicted!"<br /><br />Voila! The power of viral marketing word-of-mouth. It spreads beyond any national borders! Its everywhere and I'm infected :)lodya habsanthiarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17516496522618135905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-75134498277322596222011-10-28T13:22:16.857-07:002011-10-28T13:22:16.857-07:00i second Fatemeh. It's amazing to see how tech...i second Fatemeh. It's amazing to see how technology works, especially in US. If you come from developing country, you'd notice that internet facility in US is far much better. Free wifi anytime anywhere, not to mention the connection speed, for us 'the tech literated gen", its heaven. Meanwhile, its sad to see country still living under restricted control over technology, Myanmar (or Burma) for instance. its so bad, people consider myanmar telco as the lowest service in south east asia region. and its phone, not internet connection. can you imagine how their internet connection?lodya habsanthiarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17516496522618135905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-84685035094065262962011-10-24T22:00:47.715-07:002011-10-24T22:00:47.715-07:00I'm glad you've chosen to discuss the even...I'm glad you've chosen to discuss the event on friday, because I had to leave early. I, too, find it fascinating that they used word of mouth to spread the movement in the country. From the research that I've done, the population of Egyptians that actually had internet access was something along lines of 30 percent, which is pretty low in my opinion. So I think it was imperative for them to use word of mouth alongside technology to mobilize masses. What I find most interesting is that with such advanced technologies that we have today, please still use things like flyers and word of mouth to inform the public.Fatemehhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01839434189861932199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-2527000866686407882011-10-20T14:48:49.180-07:002011-10-20T14:48:49.180-07:00Oooh... Robots are one of the few things, along wi...Oooh... Robots are one of the few things, along with vampires and Sigourney Weaver, that both turn me on and scare me. This post turns me on for two reasons:<br /><br />First, because I love the way you've brought a very nontraditional form of media, graffiti, into the discussion. Of course it's media! Whether it's for artistic, subversive or informative purposes, or just to advertise PBR <a href="http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/jackalope/2010/08/pbr_mural_no_more.php" title="PBR Mural in Phoenix" rel="nofollow">like it is in my hometown</a>, graffiti is a medium of expression, and I think we really do ourselves a disservice by narrowing our studies to the obvious choices. Two chugs to you for helping us think outside the box.<br /><br />Second, because I love "cute remote-controlled robots."<br /><br />However, this post also scares me—a lot. It scares me because there's something very sinister hidden here; something you seemed to gloss over completely: the fact that, simply by adding a cute robot intermediary, IAA was able to entice people who "would never consciously commit a crime" to begin their tagging careers. The whole idea brings back bad memories of Stats class and Stanley Milgram's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_Experiment" title="Milgram experiment" rel="nofollow">obedience experiment</a>. If all you've got to do to get people to break the law is separate them from the act by one degree with a piece of technology, what are the implications for our tech-obsessed society? Will walking around with my earbuds practically glued in make me more likely to push the next person on the escalator who stands on the "walk" side to their death, "Showgirls"-style? (Okay, she didn't die, but it did screw up her career as a showgirl.) And don't even get me started on the way drones dehumanize warfare.<br /><br />What I'm saying is, maybe we need to reconsider the way we think of "information and communication technologies." What if they're just helping us exchange information, and not helping us to truly "communicate" at all?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-39942737614215621102011-10-14T13:59:31.745-07:002011-10-14T13:59:31.745-07:00Yeah, these sectors of the movie industry have bee...Yeah, these sectors of the movie industry have been shameless in their self-victimization. I can understand how piracy might affect smaller film makers who put everything they have into making a movie. And yet they're not the ones putting up a fight, they can't even afford to do it. The ones fighting are these greedy bastards, and they're certainly not fighting for the smaller fish. <br /><br />Anyway, here's another pathetic attempt at making us feel guilty about piracy. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOniKJlyPxY&feature=related) . <br /><br />I'll translate the message at the end: "Pirated movies look bad, but you as a parent look worse. What are you teaching your children?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-81766483321568141762011-10-14T13:38:27.714-07:002011-10-14T13:38:27.714-07:00From what I can interpret from that NPR article, I...From what I can interpret from that NPR article, I don't see how the new act will help innovation. It seems to me like a quicker, "first to file" process will actually harm a lot of people by helping the patent trolls get *their* patents approved more easily. <br /><br />PD. "So when they're talking about creating jobs, well, they're hiring some more patent inspectors, so that's some jobs right there."<br /><br />That part is just laughable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-65023435480303744822011-10-12T20:30:40.693-07:002011-10-12T20:30:40.693-07:00I think when it comes to the closest personal rela...I think when it comes to the closest personal relationships (whether friendships, family or romantic ones), there's no substitute for face to face interactions. That's not to say that you can't establish a connection with people through technologies, but for me at least, the missing physical element makes it so that emotional connections are harder to achieve. But of course, when you have no other choice, they're great and help maintain already established connections. <br /><br />On the other hand, these technologies also make me feel closer and more in contact with people that I would otherwise have no communication with. I think this creates a whole new category of relationship that is real, but just not on the same level as the previous ones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-24949256300328854502011-10-10T21:04:35.481-07:002011-10-10T21:04:35.481-07:00I used to agree 100% with this point of view. As s...I used to agree 100% with this point of view. As someone in a long-distance relationship, I pretty much use Skype on a daily business. And I don't know where I'd be without email. But recently I started to change my mind about technology's influence on relationships. Last year I was a TA for a class of university freshmen. One day the 17 students in my class unanimously said they hate when their friends call them. Calling is "too invasive," they said. This didn't make much sense to me, since you can return someone's call at a later time just like you can a text message. But there was no convincing them. Now I hesitate to call my friends. Am I being annoying? Should I just text? <br /><br />I think these virtual networks change the nature of our relationships. We can communicate with more people in less time, and the communication is all about convenience. We text 10 people while commuting on the Metro. Business emails are quick and easy, but they're not the same as taking clients to lunches or events. Reliance on technology can make communication a robotic effort.Gabby LaVerghettahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09564751953885732205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-12879698177161776052011-10-03T18:55:04.488-07:002011-10-03T18:55:04.488-07:00Dan, how did you know I was a HUGE Newsies fan?! A...Dan, how did you know I was a HUGE Newsies fan?! Apparently, and according to your post not everyone in America is attracted to musical theatre, history or protests (like me) and you attribute the lack of interest, or a culturally watered down version as the reason Newsies failed in the box office. However, I wonder what Disney corporate investors thought about the film and how much pull they have in pushing out of the theaters and onto dusty Blockbuster shelves.<br />- ClairePeace of Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-82895089360146948202011-10-03T18:53:34.922-07:002011-10-03T18:53:34.922-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Peace of Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-17864726360183670352011-10-03T07:13:22.652-07:002011-10-03T07:13:22.652-07:00After reading this post, I would have to add one m...After reading this post, I would have to add one more cartoon that was geared to children that made a statement about society, Fern Gully! Does anyone remember that? It was a Disney movie from 1992 that emphasized environmental concerns and portrayed logging and destruction of the rainforest as 'evil'. That being said, I also think we are seeing more 'activist' movies from Hollywood these days, they just aren't being marketed towards children. Avatar portrayed our unending thirst for natural resources, Syriana portrayed the hypocrisy of international interference, and we also have documentaries that are becoming more profitable than ever like an Inconvenient Truth. The demand is there, people want to see these types of movies so Hollywood can be seen as playing an important role in pressing social issues in today's world.Peace of Mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17612288906615849767noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-270407956880573327.post-56339013017656249042011-09-30T12:18:53.146-07:002011-09-30T12:18:53.146-07:00Minority subordination in TV and film is definitel...Minority subordination in TV and film is definitely still an issue and I like the question you posed.<br /><br />Considering the amount of Arab-phobia in the US, I've always thought that if a TV show were created to show an everyday, Arab American family, it might have a positive effect on public opinion. <br /><br />Now, I don't watch TV often, but I am fairly certain that there aren't any TV shows of that kind these days. Most of the time you see an Arab character pop up in Law & Order as a terrorist (a friend of mine recently played one in the Criminal Intent series).<br /><br />I do remember, however, seeing a parody of an Arab version of the Cosby's. Unfortunately I can't find the link now, but it must have be from The Daily Show or SNL. It was hilarious because it mocked all the ridiculous stereotypes that Americans have. I took the skit to heart though and realized how interesting, dynamic, and informative a TV show about an American-Arab family could be.<br /><br />Unfortunately, that's not what flies with the networks these days. Shows either have to be about doctors, detectives, or vampires. The only exception could be "Modern Family" which is definitely reflective of the myriad of nuclear family arrangements that exist in the US today. Progress would be including a plot line with the "Ali's" or "Haddad's" who live next door.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com