Educating Cambodians about Safe Drinking Water

I heard this story on NPR a few months ago and meant to share it with the students in my Developing World classes. I wanted to link to it here before it was too long for me to remember when I heard it. It's a fascinating piece that illustrates an innovative and simple approach to solving a lethal problem.

Outsourcing for Parents

In our FDINT 202 class last week we discussed Thomas Friedman's book "The World is Flat." Here's another example of outsourcing that might be of interest to readers with young children at home.



Report: Many U.S. Parents Outsourcing Child Care Overseas

Victor Mair on Chinese Names

Students in my Chinese 347 course will recognize Professor Mair as the editor of our text, The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature. Here he comments in depth on an article in today's New York Times about some of the curiosities of Chinese names and naming conventions.

Tips to Some Chinese Translation Technologies

This is an interesting interview, but if you don't have time to read the whole thing, scroll down to section six for some excellent tips on software useful to the Chinese learner and/or translator.

中文102学生你们好！

This post is for my Chinese 102 class.

你们好！我们这个学期要用Blogger做播客。每个星期你们要写一次播客。古老师也会写几次播客。希望大家都会喜欢这个活动。

Bono on Soul Searching

Since I recently gave space on this blog to a link to one of Bono's critics, I've no reason to not give him some space too. In this guest opinion in the New York Times, he discusses our individual and collective soul searching in these more difficult economic times.

Indoor Air Pollution

As I began just over a year ago to prepare to teach "The Developing World" (a new gen ed course at my university), it came as no surprise to me that air pollution is one of the more serious environmental concerns plaguing millions of people in the developing world. What I didn't realize, however, is that the most pernicious and pervasive form of this air pollution is indoor air pollution, caused by improperly vented, primitive indoor cook stoves. In this article in the New York Times, Elisabeth Rosenthal looks not only at the health concerns raised by these stoves but also the collective environmental impact they are imposing on the global climate.

Dambisa Moyo on Aid to Africa

This five minute clip from bigthink.com provides valuable insight into what is and is not working in African development. Though not opposed to emergency relief, Moyo takes the long view and sees investment (many forms, including micro-loans) as the only sustainable road leading Africa out of poverty. Moyo is the author of Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa.

"The Blue Sweater"

Students in my FDINT 202 class watched a TED talk by Jacqueline Novogratz last week in which she describes a life-changing event experienced as a 20-something working in Rwanda. That particular experience has shaped her life and career, and can now be read about in more detail in her book "The Blue Sweater."

Peter Singer

Take two and a half minutes to listen to Peter Singer discuss his ideas for addressing global poverty.

On the Ground in Haiti with Nicholas Kristof

This week, students in my course on the developing world will begin to assess the problems they've studied in developing countries to come up with a project that they will either carry out or one they could conceivably carry out in the future. In today's New York Times, Nicholas Kristof introduces Sasha Kramer and Sarah Brownell, two young American women running a bare bones non-profit organization in Haiti. Their project addresses both sanitation and agricultural issues. Watch the five-minute short documentary about their work here.

Societal Breakdown in China?

Special thanks to Xujun Eberlein, who translated this important article by Sun Liping. Sun is a sociology professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing and this essay is currently very popular on the Chinese Internet. The essay provides some keen and controversial insights into contemporary Chinese society, as well as some observations that clearly transcend China. Consider the following passage, which with a few phrases changed could characterize contemporary life in the US equally well:

"Society has lost the ability to think long-term. Vested interest groups formed on bureaucratic capitalism pay overly great attention to short term interests; they have neither the ancient emperors' responsibility toward their descendants, nor the nobleman's detachment and transcending spirit. There is a tendency in our society for an exaggeration-syndrome over short-term problems to co-exist with a numbness-syndrome over long-term behavior. For every problem at the moment, each bush and tree looks like an enemy soldier; Problems concerning our descendants and society's long-term development all meet with a blind eye. 'Get drunk today when there is still wine' becomes institutionalized behavior. With resource and environmental issues, they drain the lake to catch all the fish."

A Gut-Wrenching View of Hyperinflation

Victoria, one of the students in my "Developing World" class, a few weeks ago shared her family's experiences with hyperinflation in Zimbabwe. This short segment (referred by student Matt M.), documents the rapidly worsening situation of the collapse of the Zimbabwean currency. Sam Chakaipa, a native Zimbabwean, recently returned to his home village and documented the dire situation, where currently only gold is accepted for exchange of goods. The film appears to have been picked up by The Guardian.

My Next Car . . . er, Plane?

This post strays a bit from my more common themes. Few people know that I hold a private pilot license (although I haven't flown in years). If vehicles like this are available when I hit retirement, I just might have to get my ticket current.

Podcasts in Chinese

I'm often asked to direct people toward advanced listening material in Chinese. Adam Schokora at 56minus1.com has compiled an excellent intro to a variety of podcasts in Chinese.

Economist in Chinese

Interesting article on waxy.org about an underground, online effort which renders each weekly issue of The Economist into Chinese. (via chinadigitaltimes.net)

The Impact of "Floating Populations" on Children

Students in my developing world class have learned about the "floating populations" created when people in developing countries leave rural areas for urban in search of better employment. China is home to the largest floating population in the world (around 150 million people--about half the population of the United States). Recent reports indicate that as many as 58 million children are left behind by parents seeking work away from their rural homes. Li Jianguo, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, the top legislature, has indicated that many of these 58 million children (about 1 in 6 Chinese children) are not properly cared for. The following documentary (on YouTube! in three parts) looks at the way children are affected by this phenomenon. (via Shanghaiist)

Dazhalan and China's Hope for Obama

In this blog post at the New York Times website, Michael Meyer (author of The Last Days of Old Beijing: Life in the Vanishing Backstreets of a City Transformed) mentions the Beijing district of Dazhalan prior to discussing Chinese hopes for the Obama administration. Dazhalan has been one of my favorite places to wander since my first trip to Beijing in 1989. I've known about its imminent demise for some time. It has been sad to witness its "modernization" bit by bit over the years. One of my fondest memories of the place is from a balmy July evening in 2000, when a brawny six-foot-eight administrative colleague from my university and I sauntered through the district's serpentine alleys for a couple hours. As you might imagine, the people--especially the children--were fascinated by my colleague's stature. My friend's warm disposition, combined with his impressive height and my ability to speak Chinese, provided for a number of pleasant exchanges with the denizens of Dazhalan.

Beijing Rap

Students in my Chinese Literature in Translation (CHIN 347) will recognize the name of Victor Mair. Professor Mair is a professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania and the editor of the The Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, the text we use in our course. In this entry on the blog "Language Log" hosted at UPenn, Professor Mair posts and comments on the language and culture of a rap video entitled "Beijing Natives." Language students will enjoy the complete transcription and translation Mair and his colleagues have provided.

American Dog Derby

I've heard that the American Dog Derby dogsled race in Ashton, Idaho is the largest of its kind in the lower 48 States. I accompanied my son and his 3rd grade class today to watch the start of the 100- and 60-mile races. The 12-dog sleds really fly off the starting line.