Monday, October 31, 2011
Society creates/chooses your identity
Society is like a parent, it pushes you in directions, it tells you what you are and who you'll become. So it's up to you to be rebellious and decide for yourself who you'll be.
Started reading some article about comparative economics. to be continued
Assertion: "Formal constraints, Informal constraints, and the their enforcement characterisitcs. Together they define the incentive structure of societies and specifically economies."
Assertion: "Most analysts select arbitrarily one or two key institutions with which to specify the economic system, for instance, market versus planned economy, the share of government ownership in the means of production, the relative importance of government expenditures or regulation, the dominant ideology, the most important economic values (individualistic, social, communitarian), the most common structure of enterprises, and so forth."
Criticism: "Moreover, we cannot be sure that the most important institutions and organisations in the economy are taken into account since only two or three features are singled out as crucial. Another problem in using these ad hoc procedures is that little attempt is made to link the selected criteria with the full range of other economic institutions and organisations that structure the society in question. Such approaches can be justified, however, when the analyst cannot get adequate data on the society's full range of economic institutions, although the results must be accepted with caution."
Assertion: "Most analysts select arbitrarily one or two key institutions with which to specify the economic system, for instance, market versus planned economy, the share of government ownership in the means of production, the relative importance of government expenditures or regulation, the dominant ideology, the most important economic values (individualistic, social, communitarian), the most common structure of enterprises, and so forth."
Criticism: "Moreover, we cannot be sure that the most important institutions and organisations in the economy are taken into account since only two or three features are singled out as crucial. Another problem in using these ad hoc procedures is that little attempt is made to link the selected criteria with the full range of other economic institutions and organisations that structure the society in question. Such approaches can be justified, however, when the analyst cannot get adequate data on the society's full range of economic institutions, although the results must be accepted with caution."
Sunday, October 30, 2011
11 American Uprisings
1. Lowell Mill Women’s Strikes (1834 and 1836)
2. Great Railroad Strike (1877)
3. The Pullman Strike (1894)
4. The Bonus Army War (1932)
5. Auto-Lite Strike (1934)
6. West Coast Waterfront Strike (1934)
7. Minneapolis Teamster Strike (1934)
2. Great Railroad Strike (1877)
3. The Pullman Strike (1894)
4. The Bonus Army War (1932)
5. Auto-Lite Strike (1934)
6. West Coast Waterfront Strike (1934)
7. Minneapolis Teamster Strike (1934)
8. Flint Sit-Down Strike (1936)
9. Post-World War II Servicemen’s Strike Wave (1945)
10. Black Revolutionary Union Movement (1968)
11. Serviceman Resistance to the Vietnam War
Source: http://www.alternet.org/story/152824/beyond_occupy_wall_street:_11_american_uprisings_you%27ve_never_heard_of_that_changed_the_world?page=1
Action and Space
Commence rambling:
We have designated places for behavior, places appropriate for recreation: parks, places for exercise: gyms. Incubators for knowledge: libraries, schools, places for dancing: clubs, places for personal relief: restrooms (lol). Action in our society is heavily dictated by space, and as a result space helps create predictability, routine, and boundaries for individuals.
However there are some benefits. For example, the benefits of allocating space for personal relief, in some ways, contributes to improving public health. On the other hand, the cost of designating particular spaces for learning, affects how we think about learning and this can be detrimental to individuals and society as a whole.
Why does behavior happen in specific places? Possibly because we think behavior can only happen in some places. Perhaps because we think of some action as part of a space. Perhaps because we think it is the most rational and convenient place to do something. Perhaps because we will be penalized if we do something that is illegal, such as sex in public, or living in the park.
We have designated places for behavior, places appropriate for recreation: parks, places for exercise: gyms. Incubators for knowledge: libraries, schools, places for dancing: clubs, places for personal relief: restrooms (lol). Action in our society is heavily dictated by space, and as a result space helps create predictability, routine, and boundaries for individuals.
However there are some benefits. For example, the benefits of allocating space for personal relief, in some ways, contributes to improving public health. On the other hand, the cost of designating particular spaces for learning, affects how we think about learning and this can be detrimental to individuals and society as a whole.
Why does behavior happen in specific places? Possibly because we think behavior can only happen in some places. Perhaps because we think of some action as part of a space. Perhaps because we think it is the most rational and convenient place to do something. Perhaps because we will be penalized if we do something that is illegal, such as sex in public, or living in the park.
A look at The Journal of Comparative Politics
Economic Transformation and Institutionalization in Postcommunist Party Systems
Reconsidering the Rise and Fall of the Modern State in Prussia and Poland
International norms, Domestic Politics, and the Death Penalty: Comparing Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
Violence and Control in Civil Conflict: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza
Do Participatory Governance Institutions Matter? Municipal Councils and Social Housing Programs in Brazil
When Public Goods Go Bad: The Implications of the End of the Washington Consensus for the Study of Economic Reform
Communism's Shadow: Postcommunist Legacies, Values, and Behavior
Institutions and Inequality in Single-Party Regimes: A Comparative Analysis of Vietnam and China
Patronage as Institutional Choice: Evidence from Rwanda and Uganda
The Fates of Rebels: Insurgencies in Uganda
Competition by Denunciation: The Political Dynamics of Corruption Scandals in Argentina and Chile
Participatory Institutions in Latin America: The Next Generation of Scholarship
State Support of Religion: Making or Breaking Faith-Based Social Capital
Measuring Effective Democracy: The Human Empowerment Approach
At least these are some of things scholars are talking about
Breaking it down, we can see these are some of the topics being discussed and debated within the community:
Modernity of states
Transformation of states
State violence
International norms
Domestic policies
Death penalty
Participatory governance institutions
Inequality
Rebels
Insurgencies
Did I already mention corruption?
Limited number of parties
Religion
Effective democracy
Saturday, October 29, 2011
12 Americans were killed when a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked an armored bus in Kabul
<a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/10/29/world/29kabul1_337/29kabul1_337-articleLarge.jpg">Exploded Bus in Afghanistan</a>
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/world/asia/deadly-attack-strikes-nato-bus-in-kabul.html?hp
12 Americans were killed when a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked an armored bus in Kabul. "The bombing was the single deadliest assault on Americans in the capital since the war began.
How does a sociology make sense of this??
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/world/asia/deadly-attack-strikes-nato-bus-in-kabul.html?hp
12 Americans were killed when a Taliban suicide car bomber attacked an armored bus in Kabul. "The bombing was the single deadliest assault on Americans in the capital since the war began.
How does a sociology make sense of this??
The State of Education in The US 10/29/11
After thinking about the state of education and its future, I Googled education. I came across some links to different articles and here are their topics.
Access to education, public, private, location, universities, higher learning
Curriculum: sex education
Useless and Useful Degrees
Food in schools
Bullying
Back to school
Public Intellectuals
Social media and students
After thinking about those topics I think these are the issues our education system is currently facing.
- Education and wealth
- Sex and America
- Health and schools
- Student relationships
- The value of education in society
- School events
- Student identities, student interactions
It's hard for me to not think about how involved capitalism/business/profit and "American" values are in the current state and future of our education system. I'll think more about this and post later.
Peace.
Access to education, public, private, location, universities, higher learning
Curriculum: sex education
Useless and Useful Degrees
Food in schools
Bullying
Back to school
Public Intellectuals
Social media and students
After thinking about those topics I think these are the issues our education system is currently facing.
- Education and wealth
- Sex and America
- Health and schools
- Student relationships
- The value of education in society
- School events
- Student identities, student interactions
It's hard for me to not think about how involved capitalism/business/profit and "American" values are in the current state and future of our education system. I'll think more about this and post later.
Peace.
OK so I think I might actually use this blog. And by use I mean cultivate and tend to it, and not neglect it like all my other blogs.
I say that because since I was, what, like 16, or something, I've created a new blog every year.
One thing I'm doing differently this time is I'm not going to spend hours on one post.
This blog will be a host for my half-baked ideas, rants, and occasional decent essays.
I hope that this is the first step in the direction towards a career in writing.
I invite any readers to leave comments and initiate conversation related to anything social or political, or even economical.
Peace.
I say that because since I was, what, like 16, or something, I've created a new blog every year.
One thing I'm doing differently this time is I'm not going to spend hours on one post.
This blog will be a host for my half-baked ideas, rants, and occasional decent essays.
I hope that this is the first step in the direction towards a career in writing.
I invite any readers to leave comments and initiate conversation related to anything social or political, or even economical.
Peace.
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