The Oregon Trails :: Education, Culture

Race, gender, sex, death; these are some topics that are frequent occurrences in literature, history, and present day life. Regardless of the frequency of these subjects instructors are often hesitant to embark upon discussing them during instruction. Despite apprehensions to discuss these controversial topics they shape events and society, and should be incorporated in a student’s education. In fact by not examining these topics students are being done a grave disservice. Exploring these troublesome topics and even questioning why they may not be spoken about or how they influence society cause students to gain vital knowledge and become less ignorant. The Oregon Trails may be considered by some to be a tool to aide students in becoming more knowledgeable on diverse topics. It has been called a â€Å"multiethnic† interactive computer game that allows students to travel along the trail and gain insight on the life of a person traveling to the Oregon Territory (Bigelow, 2009, p. 317). This game has been put on a pedestal by critics and has been awarded five stars by the Pride’s Guide to Educational Software for being â€Å"a wholesome, absorbing historical simulation† (Bigelow, 2009, p. 317). The outstanding critiques of this software creates an appealing route for many teachers to take in order to incorporate an engaging activity that abides by state and school curriculum standards. However what the critics do not inform teachers is this educational game is in reality spoon feeding students a dishonest account of history. The game takes on the white males view and neglects to account for gender and cultural bias es that occur during this time period (Bigelow, 2009, p.319). By not pointing out the societal issues that occurred during this time period, students are really being done a disservice. There is no reason why instructors have to keep the fact that racism against minority groups and gender groups occurred, and still do. As Bigelow (2009) stated, â€Å"Just as we would not invite a stranger into our classrooms and then leave the room, teachers need to become aware of the political perspectives of CD-ROMs and need to equip students to â€Å"read† them critically†(p. 318). Instructors should point out the data deceptions within The Oregon Trails to aide students in gaining a stronger sociological eye to examine historical accounts and society as a whole. Teachers should have students approach the game and question why social groups are missing from the game, why they are perceived the way they, are and how these social groups may influence society or change the game. The Oregon Trails :: Education, Culture Race, gender, sex, death; these are some topics that are frequent occurrences in literature, history, and present day life. Regardless of the frequency of these subjects instructors are often hesitant to embark upon discussing them during instruction. Despite apprehensions to discuss these controversial topics they shape events and society, and should be incorporated in a student’s education. In fact by not examining these topics students are being done a grave disservice. Exploring these troublesome topics and even questioning why they may not be spoken about or how they influence society cause students to gain vital knowledge and become less ignorant. The Oregon Trails may be considered by some to be a tool to aide students in becoming more knowledgeable on diverse topics. It has been called a â€Å"multiethnic† interactive computer game that allows students to travel along the trail and gain insight on the life of a person traveling to the Oregon Territory (Bigelow, 2009, p. 317). This game has been put on a pedestal by critics and has been awarded five stars by the Pride’s Guide to Educational Software for being â€Å"a wholesome, absorbing historical simulation† (Bigelow, 2009, p. 317). The outstanding critiques of this software creates an appealing route for many teachers to take in order to incorporate an engaging activity that abides by state and school curriculum standards. However what the critics do not inform teachers is this educational game is in reality spoon feeding students a dishonest account of history. The game takes on the white males view and neglects to account for gender and cultural bias es that occur during this time period (Bigelow, 2009, p.319). By not pointing out the societal issues that occurred during this time period, students are really being done a disservice. There is no reason why instructors have to keep the fact that racism against minority groups and gender groups occurred, and still do. As Bigelow (2009) stated, â€Å"Just as we would not invite a stranger into our classrooms and then leave the room, teachers need to become aware of the political perspectives of CD-ROMs and need to equip students to â€Å"read† them critically†(p. 318). Instructors should point out the data deceptions within The Oregon Trails to aide students in gaining a stronger sociological eye to examine historical accounts and society as a whole. Teachers should have students approach the game and question why social groups are missing from the game, why they are perceived the way they, are and how these social groups may influence society or change the game.

Canada: The Defining Moments of a Nation

A defining moment is the point at which, a situation is clearly seen to undergo a change. Canada, as a growing nation, has encountered many defining moments throughout it's history. During the twentieth century women of Canada have undergone numerous moments that brought about significant changes for themselves. The most prominent moments, which brought about the most change and significance are: the persons case of 1928, the women's liberation movement throughout the 1960's and 70s and the ratification of the Treaty for Rights of Women (CEDAW) in 1981. These three events in Canada's history brought about many crucial changes for the woman of Canada. After woman won the persons case in 1929, Canada finally considered women to be legal persons. Awareness of women's equality came to the fore front during the woman's liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s. Finally in 1981 Canada enforced stricter laws for crimes against woman, when it ratified the Treaty for Rights of Women. It became socially and politically unacceptable for women to be the scapegoats of society. These moments changed they way women where treated in society, politics, and in the workforce. The infamous persons case of 1928 gained national recognition when five Alberta women, known today as the famous five took on the Supreme Court of Canada, asking if the word â€Å"persons† in section 24 of the British North American Act included women. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the word â€Å"persons† did not include women. This meant women were not considered legal persons, eligible to run or hold office, or be a part of any political stance. After their great loss to the Supreme Court, they continued the fight, and brought their case to the British Privy Council, where they where victorious. The British Privy council announced that women were indeed persons, and as Lord Chancellor of the Privy Council put it â€Å"The exclusion of woman from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. † The persistence of these five Alberta women led all Canadian women to victory in 1929. It was no surprise these women are known today as the â€Å"famous five. † Prior to this defining moment, women were not considered legal persons in the matters of rights and privileges. However, when they won their case women were considered legal persons and now had the same rights and privileges of any man. Before this time in history, women were not eligible to run or hold public office. It was simply not allowed under the British North American Act. The word â€Å"persons† excluded woman and â€Å"all nouns, pronouns and adjectives in the British North American act where masculine, and that was who was meant to govern Canada. † The triumph of the persons case allowed women to become appointed senators of Canada and members of federal bodies. In 1930 the first female senator, Carnie Wilson, was appointed by Prime Minister Mackenzie King. Today 229 members of parliament are women. The persons case also gave women hope. The persons case brought about numerous significant changes for women, and can be considered a defining moment for the women of Canada. By 1960 women's rights groups were showing up all over Canada. The women's movement had begun. In 1966 thirty-two different women's groups from across Canada came together to for the Committee for the Equality of Women in Canada. Within a year the committee forced the government to launch a Royal Commission on the Status of Women. The journalist Florence Bird who covered the story, submitted a report a few years later, known today as the Bird Report. It consisted over 160 recommendations addressing the decreasing equality of women. While Ottawa tried to avoid these issues the women's organizations where growing. By 1972, three-hundred women's rights groups came together to form The National Action Committee for the Equality of Women (NAC). This committee saw it their duty to see that the Bird Report's recommendations were put into practice. At the end of the movement, women had greater equality within the workforce. In a recent public-opinion poll, three out of four Canadian citizens agreed that the women's movement had a positive effect on Canadian society. This time in history was a huge breakthrough for all woman, it brought about immense significant changes for the working women of Canada. The United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW) is a treaty to eliminate violence and discrimination towards women. Canada ratified this treaty in 1981. It was a defining moment for all women of Canada because it was not only socially unacceptable for women to play the role of scapegoats, but new enforced laws wouldn't allow it. Ratifying countries, such as Canada where to condemn discrimination in all forms and ensure that legal framework, including all laws, policies and practices would provide protection against discrimination and embody the principle of equality. The treaty also commits ratifying nations to overcome barriers to discrimination against women in the areas of egal rights, education, employment, healthcare, politics and finance. In order to overcome these barriers Canada set up numerous new programs and institutions to help distressed women, or women seeking advice or help. In 1980, the year before Canada ratified the treaty, 90% of women reported receiving unwanted sexual attention on the job. After 1981, this statistic dropped dramatically. In addition, ratifying countries must submit a progress report to the United Nations for review. This progress report Canada must write ensures that discrimination and violence against women is minimal. Canada does not want to end up in the United Nations international court of justice. This moment in Canadian history truly helped all women overcome existing barriers towards the end of the 20th century. Over the 20th century women in Canada have struggled for equality. The persons case of 1928 began an atmospheric change for women. In the early 1960s the women's liberation movement carried the fight for equal rights for women, and the ratification of the treaty for rights of women in 1981 was a milestone in the fight for equality. These defining moments gave women the same political rights with the persons case, equality with the women's liberation movement, and reassurance these rights would be enforced when Canada ratified the treaty for rights of women. All throughout Canada's history women's rights have been a touchy issue. The battle for equality is still driven today by the new generation. It appears as if the battle will never be quite over, but Canadian women have been blessed that these event occurred in our history, or the women of Canada would not be anywhere close the equality we have today

Does education always provide a means to better life? Essay

Education is believed to be a good bet for success. It is for this reason that governments invest huge amounts of resources with the aim of ensuring that its people acquire education. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGS) were a set of goals accepted by nations for the purpose of ensuring better lives for the people of the world. The second goal of the MDGs deals with the achievement of the universal primary education. It is no doubt that the importance of education cannot be underestimated. However, education that is learnt in class is based on books, facts and theories. This knowledge is does not exist in the hands of the bearer; thus, to succeed and have a better life depends on how one utilizes the knowledge as it will be discussed in this paper. A classroom is composed of people from different backgrounds. It is expected that the brains of the students are not homogenous. Some people have high IQ levels while as others have lower levels. It thus implies that there are people whose academic performances are better than others. Once it comes to the job market, the criteria of hiring and recruiting employees is based on the skills that individuals possess. There are high possibilities that those people who passed the exams with good degrees still struggle to have better lives while others who failed succeed very well as it is evident in everyday life. The truth is that success in life is based on the skills other than what people learn in schools. Life has proven to take a different dimension in how people succeed. There are people who drop out of school but they end up being millionaires while others study consistently and still continue to struggle for better lives. Not everything that is learnt in school is relevant in life. What is learnt in schools is the methods that one can apply in life based on skills and talents to lead a successful life. These skills are usually learnt out of class while others are inherited through heredity. It is one’s responsibility to realize these skills and talents so that he or she may apply them in daily life to succeed. This calls for someone to think out of the box. One who is able to think out the box has the chances to strategize things that need planning for the purpose of better life. It is for this reason that some people with professional degrees struggle to earn a better life since they over rely on what they learnt other than thinking out the box. A big gap exists between the educated people those who did not get an opportunity to go to school. Those people who did not get an opportunity to study find themselves struggling to survive. The uneducated people in the society know that they do not have a choice other than to work hard if they rely have to succeed. On the contrary, the educated people fail to work hard since they believe that they stand a better chance in life as there are many job opportunities available to them. The educated forget that there are few job opportunities available since many people are today educated thus making the job market competitive. In conclusion, education can be termed as tool that can lead one’s path to success but it is not a ticket for a better future. Education on the other hand will ensure that someone is well respected in the society. This respect can only be rewarded by the few job opportunities available in one’s locality. Securing such jobs does not mean that one will have a better life. As such, one is required to think out of the box and realize how he or she can apply the knowledge acquired in order to have a better future.

Urbanisation Is Sea

SE1101E Group Essay Rural-Urban migration, or â€Å"urbanization†, has led to a better life for a majority of Southeast Asians. To what extent is this true? Discuss your answer using examples from at least three different Southeast Asian societies to illustrate your points. ____ Introduction For the longest time, Singaporeans lived in a relative urban oasis – coined, praised and awarded as the ‘Garden City’. Even so, in the last 2 years, Singaporeans have experienced the stress of continued urbanization, created primarily through migration.This stress has been manifested physically as inadequate infrastructure, socially as rising xenophobia and politically as rising discontentment, leading to the long-ruling People’s Action Party to face its worst electoral performance since independence in 1965. It is this backdrop that propelled our group to comparatively examine the urbanization experiences of three of Southeast Asia’s largest countries, an d evaluate the outcomes. Firstly and most importantly, it is important to delineate the two key terms – â€Å"rural-urban migration† and â€Å"urbanization†.While â€Å"rural-urban migration† is a subset of â€Å"urbanization†, urbanization as a process is far more encompassing, as Terry McGee has noted to include the expansion and encroachment of urban regions into formerly rural areas through land-use conversion practices. For the scope of this essay, we will limit our arguments to the process of â€Å"rural-urban migration†. The process of migration is simply defined by Zelinsky as â€Å"a permanent or semipermanent change of residence†.Petersen offers a sociological perspective, defining migration as â€Å"a spatial transfer from one social unit or neighbourhood to another†. Extending these, rural-urban migration can be broadly defined as the movement of people from rural home locations to urban locations, which results in socio-economic impacts for â€Å"both the origin and destination societies†. This includes circulatory migration, where rural migrants return to their home location after a period in the urban location, and permanent relocation from the rural location to the urban location.Further to this, to achieve a manageable scope of discussion, we have elected to focus on (domestic) rural-urban migration, where the rural and urban locations are located within the same country, as opposed to the processes of transnational (and regional) rural-urban migration. In this essay, we will argue that while the process of rural-urban migration has created a better life for some, it has not necessarily created a better life for the majority of Southeast Asians especially when evaluated on a holistic level. Specifically, we will use the case studies of Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines to support our argument.These three countries were selected as their combined populations of over 400 millio n, consist a majority 65 per cent of Southeast Asia’s 620 million people, in addition to their relative comparative congruence within the extremely diverse Southeast Asian region. Secondly, this essay strives not to be an ideological critique of the processes of â€Å"rural-urban migration† and â€Å"urbanization† but rather, serve as a comparative exposition on the impacts of rural-urban migration in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines and provide an objective evaluation of whether this process has created a â€Å"better life† for the â€Å"majority of Southeast Asians†.Aptly congruent, Tjitoherijanto and Hasmi describe urbanization as an expression of â€Å"people’s desire for a better life† and â€Å"must be recognized as a natural modern process by which humans attempt to improve their welfare†. The central themes of what is â€Å"a better life†, has rural-urban migration created it and for whom, form the framewo rk of our discussion. Case Study: The Philippines In our first case study, we analyze the Philippines. The state of urbanization in the Philippines is comparatively the most advanced of the three case studies, with 33 highly urbanized cities and 4 surpassing the 1 illion-population mark. While the 2010 census depicts the state of urbanization in the Philippines, it does not describe the flow of domestic rural-urban migration. From 1970 to 1990, the percentage of the Philippine population identified as â€Å"urban† surged from 36% to 52%, which further increased to 59% by 2000. Not all of this growth can be attributed to rural-urban migration. In fact, 47. 2% is actually due to reclassification of formerly rural areas as urban and natural urbanite population growth.While explicit data is sparse, Hugo provides a basis to assume that the remaining and majority 52% of this urban growth, is likely due to rural-urban migration. In tandem with rising urbanization, cursory economic i ndicators also rose. GDP increased from USD 6. 6 billion in 1960 to USD 199. 5 billion by 2010. Even with considerable population growth, GDP per capita also grew during the same period, from USD 692 to USD 1,383. Nakanishi forwards that the rural sector conditions in the Philippines, where peasants do not own their land, are â€Å"insupportable† and conditions in the city, though not the best, are an improvement.Knight and Song, who compute the Philippine’s urban-to-rural income ratio to be 2. 26, give further credence to the possibility, that perhaps, rural-urban migration might create a better economical life for rural migrants, and for all Filipinos too. These quantitative indicators are, however, quickly problematized as overly simplistic. To begin, consider the Gini coefficient, which measures the inequality of income distribution. For the Philippines, this stood at 0. 46 in 2010; the income share held by the top 10% was 36% while the income share held by the bot tom 10% was only 2%.This significantly unequal distribution of income evidences that the benefits associated with economic growth has not reached and has not benefitted a vast majority of Filipinos. Also, counterintuitively, higher income levels in urban areas do not actually lead to economic improvement on all accounts, as the Harris-Todaro model establishes. Simply put, the wage differential between the urban and rural areas (2. 26 in the case of the Philippines) compels rural populations to igrate to urban areas despite urban unemployment which further, and continually, increases unemployment, as long as urban wage levels continue to exceed that of rural areas. This thesis holds true in the Philippines context, where even as unemployment rates rose from 5% in 1980 to 11% by 2000, rural-urban migration continued to rise. This self-perpetuating cycle is particularly significant as it confirms that rural-urban migration, far from leading to a better life, actually results in the opp osite. Rising unemployment creates further problems.One is the creation of urban slums, where the poorest rural migrants generally live. In fact, from 2000 to 2006, urban slums grew at a rate of 3. 5%, faster than the urban population growth rate of 2. 3%. This evidences that rural-urban migration (which generates the majority of urban population growth) creates negative socioeconomic ripple effects, which compound with time, noting that rural-urban migration began in the 1960s in the Philippines. In Manila alone today, 35% of the 12 million population live in slums.Urban slums, which are â€Å"characterized by poor sanitation, overcrowded and crude habitation, inadequate water supply, hazardous location and insecurity of tenure†, have been recognized to lead to widespread environmental degradation. Most prominently, the lack of proper sanitation and sewerage services in slums contaminate citywide and nationwide water supplies, creating over 38 million cases of life-threateni ng diarrhea in the Philippines every year. This is despite the percentage of urban population with access to sanitation in the Philippines increasing from 69% in 1990 to 79% in 2010.This contradiction recalls Ulrich Beck’s pithy quote â€Å"smog is democratic†; that environmental impacts (linked to rural-urban migration and its ensuing employment) created by a small segment of the population can degrade the quality of life for a significant majority, in a ripple-like effect. However, ripple effects can work both ways, and in a positive sense too. One common example is that of the increased literacy rate as a result of rural-urban migration. From 1980 to 2000, the literacy rate increased from 84% to 93%. The literature is clear; generally speaking, a higher literacy ate and education level are two of the most significant positive externalities of rural-urban migration. The causation link between rural-urban migration and literacy is primarily due to the higher accessibi lity of schools in urban regions, which allow rural migrants in urban centers to more readily access schooling. This causation is however, problematic in the Philippines, where there is no wide disparity in literacy rates between rural and urban areas that would support such a causation thesis. The primary school net attendance rate in rural areas was only marginally lower at 86%, compared to 89% in urban areas.Some theorists have hypothesized that a strong historical cultural emphasis on education in the Philippines is one reason for this comparative equality in literacy rates in both urban and rural areas. Regardless, the lack of causation between rural-urban migration and literacy rates in the Philippines, further evidences that rural-urban migration, has not led to a â€Å"better life† for a significant majority of Filipinos. The discussion thus far surfaces a most important facet of the discussion – that of policy responses to rural-urban migration.It is apparent that the impacts created by the process of rural-urban migration might not be as deterministic as Harris and Todaro implied (their simplifying assumptions have been widely critiqued). It is crucial to note that the impact of the rural-urban migration process, whether positive or negative, is molded through the lens of government policy responses. In the case of the Phillipines, the indicator of increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, was contradicted by a highly unequal distribution of income and rising unemployment.Policy intervention is thus required to equalize this. Also, the formations of slums are not a direct result of rural-urban migration but due to inept city planning and a lack of sufficient public housing, again demonstrating the collision between policy and process as fundamental to our discussion on the impacts of rural-urban migration. In sum, one last indicator, mentioned in passing at the beginning of this case study, of increased life expectancy, exempl ifies one of the themes stated at the outset – what constitutes a better life?Does increased life expectancy constitute a â€Å"better life†, or just a longer one? Based on the evidence presented, we are inclined to think it is the latter. While Philippines represent a country in a highly urbanized state, Thailand represents one on the other spectrum. As such, our next case study will examine the rural-urban migration pattern in Thailand. When we analyze the rural-urban migration of Thailand, we can roughly translate it to the rural-urban migration to Bangkok. This is due to Bangkok’s dominance and influence in the country’s political and economical landscape.The size distribution of cities in a country roughly abides to the â€Å"rank-size rule†: The second largest city is half the size of the first largest city and the third largest city is half the size of the second. In Thailand’s case however, the second largest city is a mere 6% the si ze of Bangkok. As such, it is not an overstatement to describe Thailand as a one-city state. Thus in this case study, we will examine the urban landscape with reference to Bangkok as a comparison. Thailand’s urbanization rate is at a low 38% , significantly lower than their peers such as Indonesia (53%) and Malaysia (71%) (percentage not accurate as of 2012.Need comparison and citation). This figure has stalled since 2007, only changing by 0. 8% between 2002 and 2009. This is because Bangkok has stopped growing. In fact, it has shrank by 1% between 2007 and 2009. As of late, Thailand’s urbanization trends began shifting away from Bangkok to the peripheral provinces such as Songkhla; Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani. As such, while the top 10 cities in the vicinity of Bangkok grew collectively by 17%, a 1% decrease in Bangkok has dropped that urbanization growth to a mere 0. 8%. These reflect how this single city is able to impact the country’s economy.As such we shall analyze the impact of urbanization by using Bangkok as our case study. The growth of Bangkok brings about social and economical progress, with economical taking priority. National income statistics from the NESDB have shown that though contributing a mere 15. 8 per cent of total population in 1988, Bangkok and its vicinity generated more than 50 per cent of the gross domestic product. Socially, the Bangkok and its neighboring region has enjoyed better health care (2. 12 hospital beds per residents, compared with 0. 38 per 1,000 residents in Sri Saket, the poorest province of Thailand. and higher access to water (About 12 percent compared with 1. 2 percent in North, 1. 4 percent in the South, and 0. 9 percent in the North-east. ) While the figures reflect an improvement in the quality of life, this may not translate into an improvement for the people. There exist an overlying assumption that there would be a trickle down effect to benefit the less well off. Dr. Puey, a famo us Thai economist observed otherwise. Thailand’s pursuit of economic growth has widened the rich-poor disparity where urbanized regions in Thailand have experienced economic benefits at the expense of villages.Furthermore, it is alleged that there has been a social tension within the rural community between the few who have benefitted and the majority who have not. Critics of these distributions of wealth have blamed the monopoly of capitalism from emerging corporations in finance and banking centered in Bangkok. On October 14, 1973, a student led uprising threw the exploitation of rural villagers in the spot light, highlighting the dissent over the rich-poor divide. Furthermore, Thailand has traded a social benefit for a social problem.As Bangkok swelled as the only go-to urban destination in the 1970s, Bangkok’s infrastructure failed to expand at the same pace as its growing population. Overpopulation and congestion were frequent social issues that the government had to address. The high influx also led to pollution, and by consequence, disease. As such, it may be argued that while the urban population enjoyed better health care services, there was also a higher propensity to get sick due to more frequent interactions and mass pollutions. As such, while the face value of urbanization reveals measurable benefits, the real value actually shows a decrease.This aforementioned issue indicates a situation where rural-urban migration works too well. Bangkok grew haphazardly without an official city plan until 1992, a growth necessitated by Economic interest. Accompanied by poor city planning is its poor infrastructure of roads, leading to massive traffic jams. BBC has ranked Bangkok as having one of the top ten worst traffic jams in the world. For residents in this urban landscape, such issues have become so commonplace that they have come to accept these problems as part of their everyday lives.The process of rural-urban migration, at least until 200 7, has played the role of an instigator that negatively impacted the lives of those living in the urban landscape. Hence, rural-urban migration has its pros and cons. However, while it is important to weigh the different opportunities offered due to rural urban migration, we should also consider how these citizens perceive these opportunities offered and whether they consider themselves better off. Here lies the paradox. Both rural and urban parties perceive themselves as beneficiaries to the rural urban migration.A collection of data from six rural villages in the Nong Muun Than and Phon Muang communes revealed that villagers overwhelmingly felt that they had came up on top compared to their urban counterparts. Villages were perceived to be better in terms of standard of living, the friendliness, the working conditions and the environment to raise children although they conceded that urban areas posed a better environment to specialize. On the contrary, urban areas felt that they b enefitted from better facilities, higher pay and wider job opportunities.As such, while visible problems exist in both rural and urban states, they remain predominantly contented. This approach, however, comes with its own associated problems. It fails to recognize social identity which compels participants to be more biased towards their own home society, and it also assumes all Thais are well-informed of the opportunities and problems offered in both societies. For example, villagers in a rural area may be contented with life, but they may still be unable to comprehend the benefits urban areas provide.Their contentment hence lies in their simplicity of thought rather than the effect of rural-urban migration. As such, we turn our attention to more obvious indicators while still taking account, albeit more cautiously, people’s perception of such benefits. Recognizing the growing rural-urban divide, the 9th developmental plan of Thailand explicitly tackles such rural-urban lin kages in the country. Longitudinal studies on migration patterns conducted by the Nang Rong Project and Kanchanburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS) were used to evaluate emerging problems faced by Thailand.It concluded that economical pull factors were the main cause of migration towards urban areas, although their search for financial stability came with a string attached. According to the DFG Bangkok Migrant Survey, (2010), 67 percent of migrants reported an improvement in living conditions since leaving rural areas while 60 percent of migrants reported stable income. However, 70 percent of migrants do not possess a written work contract and 80 percent of respondents have no insurance at all.Most of these migrants consist of family members forced to find work in urban areas due to rural poverty and hence migration was influenced not out of choice but rather that of necessity. As such, although they travel to urban regions in search of better prospects, their nature of trave l is necessitated for survival and their trip comes with little or no social safety net. Another issue they face is not simply acquiring employment, but rather quality employment. 70 percent of migrants earn less than 300 bahts (or $8) a day.While these still represents an increase in pay as compared to their rural counterparts, they also face a higher cost of living in an urban environment and therefor tend to spend more. Hence, most migrants aimed for quality employment, but only a mere 2 percent earn around 2. 3% fall in this category. To summarize, economical growth only represents the net value earned ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Terry Mc Gee – The Spatiality of Urbanization, The Policy Challenges of Mega-Urban and Desakota Regions of Southeast Asia- Published by Penerbit Lestari, Univeriti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 2009. 2 ]. The Hypothesis of the Mobility Transition Author(s): Wilbur Zelinsky Reviewed work(s): Source: Geographical Review, Vol. 61, No. 2 (Apr. , 1971), pp. 219-249 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/213996 [ 3 ]. Migration and split households: a comparison of sole, couple, and family migrants in Beijing, China C Cindy Fan, Mingjie Sun, Environment and Planning A 2011, volume 43, pages 2164 ^ 2185 [ 4 ]. William Petersen: A General Typology of Migration, Amer. Sociol. Rev. , Vol. 23, 1958, pp. 246-266. [ 5 ]. Devasahayam makes a compelling study of these processes hrough the lens of remittances. Making Remittances Work in Southeast Asia By Theresa W. Devasahayam in http://www. iseas. edu. sg/documents/publication/ISEAS%20Perspective_09nov12. pdf [ 6 ]. https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/wfbExt/region_eas. html [ 8 ]. http://www. census. gov. ph/content/2010-census-population-and-housing-reveals-philippine-population-9234-million [ 9 ]. Flieg er, W. 1995. The Philippine population: 1980-90. Paper prepared for Conference on Population, Development and Environment, Program on Population, East- West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S. A. [ 10 ]. http://www. nscb. gov. ph/pressreleases/2004/30Jan04_urban. asp [ 11 ]. The Book [ 12 ]. Hugo, G. (1999), Demographic Perspectives on Urban Development in Asia at the Turn of the Century, in: Brotchie, J. , Newton, P. , Hall, P. and Dickey, J. (eds. ), East West Perspective on 21st Century Urban Development, Alder- shot, UK: Ashgate. [ 13 ]. World Bank Statistics [ 14 ]. Nakanishi (1996), Comparative Study of Informal Labour Markets in the Urbanisation Process: The Philippines and Thailand, The Developing Economies, 34(4): 470-96. [ 15 ]. Knight, J. and Song, L. 2002, 2nd ed. ), The Rural-Urban Divide – Eco- nomic Disparities and Interactions in China, Oxford: Oxford University Press. [ 16 ]. World Bank [ 17 ]. World Bank [ 18 ]. Source Needed [ 19 ]. http://www. irinnews. org/Rep ort/89348/PHILIPPINES-Slum-populations-brace-for-storm-season [ 20 ]. according to Marife M. Ballesteros. [ 21 ]. World Bank [ 22 ]. http://www. epdc. org/sites/default/files/documents/Philippines_coreusaid. pdf [ 23 ]. SCB Insight 2010, Looking beyond Bangkok: The urban consumer and urbanization in thailand) by SBS Economic intelligence sector [ 24 ]. ttp://urbantimes. co/2012/08/the-outcomes-of-rapid-urbanization-in-thailand/ [ 25 ]. SCB Insight 2010, Looking beyond Bangkok: The urban consumer and urbanization in thailand) by SBS Economic intelligence sector [ 26 ]. http://www. scb. co. th/eic/doc/en/insight/SCB%20Insight%20Dec%202010%20Eng. pdf [ 27 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 28 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 29 ]. Economic Development and rural-urban Disparities in Thailand by Prasert Yamklinfung*, Southeast Asian Studies vol 25, no. , page 342 [ 30 ]. http://archive. unu. edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu 11ee/uu11ee0z. htm [ 31 ]. http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/magazine-19716687 [ 32 ]. Rural – Urban mobility in Thailand: A decision-making approach by Theodore D. Fuller, Paul Lightfoot and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa [ 33 ]. Rural – Urban mobility in Thailand: A decision-making approach by Theodore D. Fuller, Paul Lightfoot and Peerasit Kamnuansilpa [ 34 ]. http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/48316/1/4_amare. pdf (page 7) [ 35 ]. http://econstor. eu/bitstream/10419/48316/1/4_amare. pdf (Page 17)

Accelerating Growth Between Marketing and Sales With Steli Efti

Accelerating Growth Between Marketing and Sales With Steli Efti Do you enjoy your morning commute? Do you use that time to figure out what you want to accomplish? Goals you want to crush? It can be a peaceful time to think about various projects and who to work with to make things happen. Today, we’re talking to Steli Efti, co-founder and CEO of Close.io, about the intersection of inbound marketing and outbound sales. We discuss where to start, how to work collaboratively, how to grow and scale practices, and HUCA. Some of the highlights of the show include: Starts with customers if you’ve had success with inbound marketing and data to identify ideal/non-ideal customers, that’s the foundation of outbound sales Outbound Strategy: Ask customers for advice on how to sell to them Be vulnerable when doing sales, ask for help, and create an MVP for insights Decision-maker milestones to reach through outbound efforts that can be improved, replicated, and scaled Not all sales reps are created equal; requires consistency and persistence Would I want to buy from this person? Would I want to buy something from this person that I don’t really want to buy? Salesperson Characteristics: Knowledgeable, influencing, trustful, confident, authentic, honest, competitive, and adaptive Depending on your buyers, send emails or make calls to reach them Hang Up and Call Again (HUCA): Philosophy that applies to trying again to get everything you want in life Get outbound sales and inside marketing to work together to understand what they’re trying to accomplish and what insights they’re gathering Links: Close.io Steli Efti’s Blog Steli Efti Keynote Steli Efti’s Email (subject: bundle, and refer to AMP) Send suggested AMP topics If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Steli Efti: â€Å"My entrepreneurial superpower has always been sales and marketing. I’ve always been communicating to drive things forward and to make my businesses succeed.† â€Å"Most of the advice that I give is super obvious stuff, but it’s stuff that people don’t want to do.† â€Å"Just ask a bunch of your customers to give you advice on how to sell to them from an outbound perspective.† â€Å"What separates a great from the good is real consistency and persistency.† If you sound confident and comfortable, it’s going to make me feel like I should stay on the phone and keep listening.

2 Tricks for Remembering Greater Than and Less Than Signs

2 Tricks for Remembering Greater Than and Less Than Signs SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What do those little sideways carat symbols mean? They're inequalities! Inequalities can be difficult to get a handle on, especially because the greater than and less than signs look so similar. But these symbols are very useful, because they help us show the relationship between numbers or equations in a way that doesn't just say that they're equal. In this article, we’ll be talking about what inequalities are, how they’re represented, and how to remember which sign means what. Not knowing what the signs mean may make your math homework feel something like this. What Are Greater Than and Less Than Signs For? Inequalities are math problems that don’t resolve with a clear â€Å"equals† answer- instead, they compare two things, demonstrating the relationship between them rather than showing that one is equal to another. Hence the name; â€Å"inequality† means that two things are not equal. We’re all familiar with the equal sign, â€Å"=† at this point in math. But â€Å"† and â€Å"† are not as common, let alone â€Å"≠¥Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"≠¤Ã¢â‚¬ . Here’s a chart to cover all the inequality symbols: Symbol Meaning Less than- the number on the left is less than the number on the right; 2 3 Greater than- the number on the left is greater than the number on the right; 3 2 ≠¤ Less than or equal to- the number on the left is less than or equal to the number on the right; 2 or 3 ≠¤ 3 ≠¥ Greater than or equal to- the number on the left is greater than or equal to the number on the right; 2 or 3 ≠¥ 2 ≠  Does not equal- the number on the left does not equal the number on the right; 2 ≠  3 Now we'll finally get to talk about why all these photos are of crocodiles. How to Remember Greater Than and Less Than Signs Though the greater than and less than signs have clear meanings, they can be kind of hard to remember. All of them look similar, with the exception of the â€Å"does not equal† sign. So how can you remember them? Alligator Method One of the best ways to memorize the greater than and less than signs is to imagine them as little alligators (or crocodiles), with the numbers on either side representing a number of fish. The alligator always wants to eat the larger number of fish, so whatever number the mouth is open toward is the larger number. The alligator’s mouth is open toward the 4, so even if we weren’t sure that 4 is a bigger number than 3, the sign would tell us. All inequality signs give us the relationship between the first number and the second, beginning with the first number, so 4 3 translates to â€Å"4 is greater than 3.† This also works the other way around. If you see 5 8, imagine the sign as a little alligator mouth about to chomp down on some fish. The mouth is pointed at the 8, which means that 8 is more than 5. The sign always tells us the relationship between the first number and the second, so 5 8 can be translated to â€Å"5 is less than 8.† When you’re working with inequalities, you can even draw little eyes on the symbols to help you remember which means which. These can be tricky to remember, so don’t be afraid to get a little creative until you really have them memorized! Rotateyour less than sign a little bit and you get an L for "less than!" L Method This method is pretty simple- †less than† starts with a letter L, so the symbol that looks most like an L is the one that means â€Å"less than.† looks more like an L than , so means â€Å"less than.† Because doesn’t look like an L, it can’t be â€Å"less than.† Equal Sign Method Once you’ve mastered the Alligator or L method, the other symbols are easy! â€Å"Greater than or equal to† and â€Å"less than or equal to† are just the applicable symbol with half an equal sign under it. For example, 4 or 3 ≠¥ 1 shows us a greater sign over half an equal sign, meaning that 4 or 3 are greater than or equal to 1. It works the other way, too. 1 ≠¤ 2 or 3 shows us a less than sign over half of an equal sign, so we know it means that 1 is less than or equal to 2 or 3. The â€Å"does not equal† sign is even easier! It’s just an equal sign crossed out. If you see an equal sign crossed out, it means that the equal sign doesn’t apply- thus, 2 ≠  3 means that 2 does not equal 3. Keep these things in mind and you'll look this happy about working with inequalities. Key Tips For Working With Inequalities Inequalities are tricky- we’re used to having a clear and concrete answer for math problems, butinequalities don't always give us that. When you're working with inequalities, keep these things in mind to help ease you through the process. Inequalities are All About Relationships Keep in mind as you’re working on inequalities that they’re typically asking you to solve for a relationship or to identify which symbol is appropriate rather than asking you to solve for a single number. You don’t need to end up with two numbers on either side of an equal sign to be right- the answer just needs to be true. Isolate Your Variables When you’re working with inequalities with variables, it’s important to remember that, in general, you’ll be trying to isolate the variable to one side or the other. Focus on condensing numbers and canceling things out when you can, always with the goal of getting the variable alone on either side of the equation. Negative Numbers Change the Greater Than or Less Than Sign Don’t forget that performing certain actions will flip the sign. When you multiply or divide by a negative number, you need to flip the â€Å"greater than† or â€Å"less than† sign along with it. Don't Multiply or Divide by a Variable- Most of the Time Unless you know for certain that a variable will always be positive or always be negative, don’t multiply or divide an inequality by a variable. What’s Next? Inequalities aren't the only tricky part of math- rational numbers can also be confusing! This guide will help walk you through what a rational number is and what they look like. Ever wondered how many zeroes are in big numbers? How many zeroes are there in a billion? How about a trillion? Need to get some practice in? These 5th-grade math games can help you hone your skills! Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Melissa Brinks About the Author Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education. 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The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School

The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School Year-round school in the United States is neither a new concept nor an unusual one. Traditional school calendars and year-round schedules both provide students with about 180 days in the classroom. But instead of taking off much of the summertime, year-round school programs take a series of shorter breaks throughout the year. Advocates say the shorter breaks make it easier for students to retain knowledge and are less disruptive to the learning process. Detractors say the evidence to support this assertion is unconvincing. Traditional School Calendars Most public schools in America operate on the 10-month system, which gives students 180 days in the classroom. The school year typically begins a few weeks before or after Labor Day and concludes around Memorial Day, with time off during Christmas and New Years and again around Easter. This school schedule has been the default since the earliest days of the nation when the U.S. was still an agrarian society, and children were needed to work in the fields during the summer. Year-Round Schools Educators began experimenting with a more balanced school calendar in the early 1900s, but the idea of a year-round model didnt really catch on until the 1970s. Some advocates said it would help students retain knowledge. Others said it could help schools reduce overcrowding by staggering start times throughout the year.   The most common application of year-round education uses the 45-15 plan. Students attend school for 45 days, or about nine weeks, then take off for three weeks, or 15 school days. The normal breaks for holidays and spring remain in place with this calendar. Other ways to organize the calendar include the 60-20 and 90-30 plans. Single-track year-round education involves an entire school using the same calendar and getting the same holidays off. Multiple-track year-round education puts groups of students in school at different times with different vacations. Multitracking usually occurs when school districts want to save money. PeopleImages / Getty Images Arguments in Favor As of 2017, nearly 4,000 public schools in the U.S. follow a year-round schedule- around 10 percent of the nations students. Some of the most common reasons in favor of year-round schooling are as follows: Students tend to forget a lot during the summer, and shorter vacations might increase retention rates.School buildings unused in the summer are wasted resources.Short breaks provide time for students to receive enrichment education.Remediation can occur when it is most needed during the school year.Students get bored during the long break of summer.It gives families more options for scheduling vacations, rather than restricting travel to summertime.Other countries around the world use this system.Schools on year-round schedules can accommodate more students through multitracking. Rushay Booysen / EyeEm / Getty Images Arguments Against Opponents say year-round schooling hasnt proven to be as effective as its advocates claim. Some parents also complain that such schedules make it more difficult to plan family vacations or child care. Some of the most common arguments against year-round schools include: Studies have not conclusively proven the academic benefits.Students forget information just as easily with a three-week break as 10. Therefore, teachers on a year-round system end up with four periods of review instead of just one at a new school year.Summer programs such as youth camps suffer.Student summer employment becomes virtually impossible.Many older school buildings do not have air conditioning, making a year-round schedule impractical.Band and other extracurricular programs can run into problems scheduling practices and competitions, which often take place during the summer months.With multitracking, parents could have students at the same school on different schedules. School administrators considering year-round education should identify their goals and investigate whether a new calendar can help achieve them. When implementing any significant change, involving all stakeholders in the decision and the process improves the outcome. If students, teachers, and parents dont support a  new schedule, a transition could be difficult. Sources National Education Association staff. Research Spotlight on Year-Round Education. NEA.org, 2017. Niche.com staff. Schools Without Summer Break: An In-Depth Look at Year-Round Schooling. Niche.com, 12 April 2017. Weller, Chris. Year-Round School is Booming but Its Benefits Are Overhyped. BusinessInsider.com, 5 June 2017. Zubrzycki, Jacklyn. Year-Round Schooling Explained. Edweek.org, 18 December 2015.