World Bank Virtual Economy report: Secondary markets worth $3 billion — from virtualeconomy.org by Vili Lehdonvirta; originally saw these two items at the Futurist Update
Also see:
On 06/07/2011,
in business, economics, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
On 05/25/2011,
in 21st century, business, economics, global / globalization, internet, society, trends, workplace,
by Daniel Christian
Measuring the Net’s growth dividend
New McKinsey research finds that the Internet now accounts for a significant share of global GDP and plays an increasingly important role in economic growth.
Excerpt:
The Internet is a vast mosaic of economic activity, ranging from millions of daily online transactions and communications to smartphone downloads of TV shows. Little is known, however, about how the Net in its entirety contributes to global growth, productivity, and employment. New McKinsey research examined the Internet economies of the G8 nations (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), as well as Brazil, China, India, South Korea, and Sweden. It found that the Internet accounts for a significant and growing portion of global GDP.
An extensive study by the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI)—Internet matters: The Net’s sweeping impact on growth, jobs, and prosperity—includes these findings…
On 04/18/2011,
in business, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, future, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Addendum #1 – 4/18/11:
and
Addendum #2 – 4/18/11:
Finally, here are some potentially-effective ideas on how to fix Congress:
Congressional Reform Act of 2011 (If passed, this will eliminate many current problems).
1. Term Limits.
12 years only, one of the possible options below..
A. Two Six-year Senate terms
B. Six Two-year House terms
C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms
2. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
3. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people.
4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen. Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.
Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
On 04/18/2011,
in business, economics, legislatures / government / legal, political science, project-based learning, real-world assignments, society,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
Here is an idea for a project-based learning assignment for Business, Economics, & Political Science Students/Faculty:
Your mission, if you decide to accept it, is to investigate and answer the following questions:
- Can people on Wall Street affect the price of a gallon of gasoline?
- If so:
- How? How could they do that?
- How much could they increase the price of a gallon of gasoline?
- When do they make their move?
- Are their any limits to what the folks on Wall Street can do?
- How much are we paying — not to the companies actually producing and selling the gas — but possibly to those who work on Wall Street? (Who is making the $$?)
Find out. That’s your assignment. Then…
- Once you determine those things and IF there should be a change in our systems…what are your recommendations for change?
- Who would be involved in making this change? i.e. How could the average citizen get involved to help make positive changes?
This tape will self-destruct in 30 seconds…
On 04/13/2011,
in budgets, cost of getting a degree, economics, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, society, student-related,
by Daniel Christian
On track for $1 trillion: Student loan debt greater than credit card debt — from GOOD Education by Liz Dwyer
Last June, for the first time in history, Americans owed more on their student loans, a record $833 billion, than on their credit cards, $826.5 billion. The amount owed on student loans increases at a rate of about $2,853.88 per second, meaning we’re on track for total student debt to cross the $1 trillion mark sometime this year.
According to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, this increasing student debt has long term, macroeconomic implications for our society. He told NPR’s Marketplace that the amount of money students owe—on average, $24,000—is usually repaid over a 20-year time frame, which means
more and more students are going to still be repaying their own student loans when their children enroll in college. That may make those families less willing to borrow to pay for their children’s educations. It also means that they aren’t going to be as capable of saving for their children’s education or even for their own retirement.
…
The other insidious consequence of the debt is that students are less likely to purse nonprofit careers or work they truly enjoy.
On 03/09/2011,
in business, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, economics, faith, game-changing environment, global / globalization, ideas, political science, United States,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
On February 24th, I saw this piece at Forbes.com — > USA Inc.: Mary Meeker’s Deep Dive Into The Federal Budget
Excerpt:
“By the standards of any public corporation, USA Inc.’s financials are discouraging,” she writes in an introduction to the report. “True, USA Inc. has many fundamental strengths. On an operating basis (excluding Medicare and Medicaid spending and one-time charges, the federal government’s profit and loss statement is solid, with a 4% median net margin over the last 15 years. But cash flow is deep in the red (by almost $1.3 trillion last year, or ~$11,000 per household) and USA Inc.’s net worth is negative and deteriorating. That net worth figure includes the present value of unfunded entitlement liabilities but not hard-to-value assets such as natural resources, the power to tax or mint currency, or what Treasury calls ‘heritage’ or ’stewardship assets’ like National Parks. Nevertheless, the trends are clear, and critical warning signs are evident in nearly every data point we examine.
…
She points out that Congressional Budget Office data suggests that by 2025 all of the government’s income will go to entitlement spending and interest payments, leaving nothing for any other expenditures.
From DSC:
The day before, I had seen a video mentioned on TV. From the mentioned URL, I checked the majority of it out. It made me ask, “Is this for real!!!???”
Most likely it is just a sales pitch. But the underlying concept of the growing national U.S. debt is not a joke — and, if not reversed, could have a serious affect on global economies.
As I don’t know, I’m seeking input/feedback from any and all economists out there! If what he is saying is even remotely true, the financial aftershocks will be felt throughout the world. Below are my reflections/questions on that potentially-very-important topic/perspective.
.
I’m not sure what I think about a video that I ran across the other day. I’m referring to a video done by Porter Stansbury, founder of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research. I saw the URL posted on a cable TV station, referencing a URL/video at:
- EndOfAmerica2011.com
Note: This video is a long video, running 1:17:41; a transcript of the video is provided here.
While I’m not big on the latter part of the video/piece where he pitches some potential investing solutions and reports, (and, NOTE: I do not mean to endorse any strategy he may be talking about nor is this posting meant to get into investment strategies or advice!)
I studied Economics at Northwestern years ago and several things this gentleman says in this video seemed within reason/feasible. Also, I have heard a variety of economists (here in the United States) through the years voicing their concerns about the enormity of the growing level of federal debt and the amount of our debt being owned by other countries.
(As an aside, people don’t like to hear bad news and we don’t vote the rare politicians into office who actually stand up and tell us what we really need to do to fix whatever mess we were/are in. I’ve noticed that in the world of higher education, many don’t like to hear news of the disruptions already underway either.)
Spiritually speaking, America has pushed the LORD out of the public square for so long, that it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see our nation continue its steep and rapid decline. Throughout history, nations have come and gone…risen and fallen…why should we be any different? (Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD…Psalm 33:12 — and conversely…)
By way of a quick piece of research I did — this page on their website claims that the total outstanding debt of the U.S. Federal government is $14.131 trillion — which appears to be true:
Questions:
- Is this presentation for real? Are the facts and figures accurate?
- Could these things occur? Are there grounds to his assertions/predictions?
- Have these things happened to nations in the past? If so, under what conditions?
- Would some macroeconomics professor or an international business class review this video and get to the bottom of his arguments and assertions?!?
It’s very real world and students could work to try and pick apart the various arguments/assertions/implications mentioned therein. Prove if this is a scam or not.
Your thoughts on this anyone?
.
Thanks!
Daniel
.
.
.
.
On 03/08/2011,
in business, change, economics, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, lifelong learning, technology (general), workplace,
by Daniel Christian
2020 Learners — from learning with ‘e’s by Steve Wheeler
Excerpt:
Children of the future will also need to learn for life – learning to be flexible, adaptable and open to changes that might – for our current generation at least – be perceived as a threat. Of one thing we can all be certain – that change will accelerate in the next few years. Change can be disruptive and can take time, energy and effort to adapt to, but learners of the future will need to see change as an opportunity, and will need the requisite skills to take the opportunities that are presented and turn them into positive and sustainable outcomes.
Finally, children will need to be able to design their own learning spaces, create their own content and learn from it. They will be less reliant on didactic and transmissive forms of teaching and will turn instead to more independent learning from the vast storehouse of knowledge we know as the World Wide Web. This does not preclude some form of ‘schooling’ however. The teacher’s role will change to accommodate these new needs. Teachers will become facilitators, mediators, co-authors and co-producers of content, and ultimately, companion travellers with children on their road to better learning. It is already happening in some schools. In posts later this week, I will explore what possible new roles of teachers in 2020 will need to adopt to help to prepare learners for an uncertain and certainly unpredictable future.
Lisa Gansky: The future of business is the “mesh” — from TED
At TED@MotorCity, Lisa Gansky, author of “The Mesh,” talks about a future of business that’s about sharing all kinds of stuff, either via smart and tech-enabled rental or, more boldly, peer-to-peer. Examples across industries — from music to cars — show how close we are to this meshy future.
Preparing for Generation C — from Business Spectator by Roman Friedrich, Michael Peterson, and Alex K
Excerpt:
Colin is a 20-year-old computer science student living in London with two other students in the year 2020. He enjoys backpacking, sports, music, and gaming. He has a primary digital device (PDD) that keeps him connected 24 hours a day — at home, in transit, at school. He uses it to download and record music, video, and other content, and to keep in touch with his family, friends, and an ever-widening circle of acquaintances. His apartment is equipped with the latest wireless home technology, giving him superfast download speeds of up to 100 Mbps.
…
Much of Colin’s experience at school is mediated by his PDD. He can attend lectures, browse reading material, do research, compare notes with classmates, and take exams — all from the comfort of his apartment. When he goes to campus, his PDD automatically connects to the school’s network and downloads relevant content, notices, and bills for fees, for which he can authorise payment later, at his leisure. Although he prefers to shop online, when he visits a retail store, his PDD automatically connects to the store’s network, guiding him through product choices, offering peer reviews, and automatically checking out and paying for items he purchases.
…
This is the first generation that has never known any reality, other than that defined and enabled by the Internet, mobile devices, and social networking. They have owned various hand-held devices all their lives, so they are intimately familiar with them and use them for as much as six hours a day. They all have mobile phones, yet they prefer sending text messages to talking with people. More than 95 per cent of them have computers, and more than half use instant messaging to communicate, have Facebook pages, and watch videos on YouTube. Their familiarity with technology; reliance on mobile communications; and desire to remain in contact with large networks of family members, friends, business contacts, and people with common interests will transform how we work and how we consume.
The article includes this graphic:
.
On 02/25/2011,
in business, convergence, disruption, economics, Europe, future, social learning / networks, sociology,
by Daniel Christian
On 02/16/2011,
in economics, education reform, love of learning, passions, personalized/customized learning, STEAM-related,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The first portions of Kelly Tenkely’s solid blog posting — 17 ways to meet individual learning needs in the math classroom — stirred up some thoughts from a training-related session I was in earlier today. Kelly writes:
Differentiating instruction can be challenging. Student’s educational strengths and weaknesses can be widely varied, making it a difficult task to meet each student’s needs in any given lesson. Math is one such subject area where student skill levels can be very different.
…
For most students, math takes a lot of practice. Unfortunately, the students who need the most practice are the most reluctant to do so because they haven’t been successful in the past. Many of these students have convinced themselves, through negative self-talk, that “I’m just not good at math.” What is a teacher to do with such a mix of skill and comfort levels in the math classroom?
Though there could be several lines of thought that I could pursue here — such as the good and bad sides of self-efficacy, personalized/customized learning, 1:1 initiatives, other — my thought process was most influenced from a training session I had attended earlier today. That session featured a video from Marcus Buckingham’s short-film series entitled Trombone Player Wanted.
Marcus asserts that there are several myths that many of us grow up with (such as our personalities change as we grow; we grow most in the areas of our weaknesses; our teams don’t need us to show up with our strengths, instead they need us to do ____). Marcus asserts that we should identify and develop our strengths (and manage around our weaknesses) — as we seek to create Win/Win situations. This perspective is consistent with my economics training that states that everyone benefits when each one of us does what we do best.
This made me reflect on the massive, systemic pressure most of our current educational environments/policies/curriculums put on students to get everyone to be at the same place. It seems like our systems stress conformity — in the goal of “level-setting” everyone.
This made me wonder:
- Why are STEM-related topics the most important topics being focused on by legislatures and policy-making bodies?
- Why do we attempt to make every child pursue a STEM-related field?
- Why do we assume that students should be interested in a STEM-related topic/course?
- What about all of the other gifts that students bring to the table?
- What if a child could pursue their own passion(s) — STEM-related or not?
I realize that there are basic skills that are very helpful for all adults — balancing a checkbook, being able to read and write, and many other skills. However, the question I started pondering today was…”At what point should we call it quits on a subject area — say that’s good enough — and then allow the students to pursue their individual strengths (rather than try to hammer out performance increases in an area they will rarely use)?”
Examples:
- Does a First Violinist in an orchestra need to know everything about Chemistry?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?)
- Conversely, does a Chemist need to know everything about Music?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?) - Does a Computer Systems Analyst need to know everything about Biology?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?) - Does a Biologist need to know everything about Computer Science?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?) - Etc.
On 01/18/2011,
in 21st century, biology, computer science, economics, learning agents, personalized/customized learning,
by Daniel Christian
ALA 2011: Adaptive and Learning Agents Workshop held at AAMAS 2011 — from Intelligent Systems
Adaptive and Learning Agents, particularly those in a multi-agent setting are becoming more and more prominent as the sheer size and complexity of many real world systems grows. How to adaptively control, coordinate and optimize such systems is an emerging multi-disciplinary research area at the intersection of Computer Science, Control theory, Economics, and Biology.
On 01/17/2011,
in economics, flipping -- inverted learning,
by Daniel Christian
Flipping the Economics Class — from Powerful Learning Practice
On 01/15/2011,
in Australia, budgets, economics, education reform, Europe, global / globalization, India, K-12 related, Michigan, online learning, open courseware and systems, relationships, UK, United States,
by Daniel Christian
Half of Detroit’s schools may close — from good.is
Financial mismanagement and declining enrollment are ringing a death knell for Detroit’s schools. According to Detroit Public School Emergency Manager Robert Bobb, to close a $327 million budget deficit, he’ll need to shut half of the city’s campuses over the next two years.
Under the plan, the 142 current schools in the district would be reduced to 72 by the 2012-13 school year. What will happen to the students attending those schools? Bobb plans to shift them over to the remaining campuses, raising class sizes to 62 students per teacher.
From DSC:
Seriously…this is crazy and completely unfair! Those of us who have more resources need to step in and help out. But how can we best do this? How can folks outside of the Detroit area make a solid, helpful impact? Coming from the tech side of the house, I’d like to see us offer FREE materials…online.
That assistance could come from private corporations, individuals, colleges, universities or for-profit organizations such as K12 Inc. Another idea along the lines of individuals, is to allocate $1-$5 billion from the amounts being donated by some of the nation’s wealthiest people. Use those funds to make outstanding educational materials that engage our youth. Then we could offer those incredibly-well done, multimedia-based, interactive, engaging, highly-sophisticated materials FREELY to anyone who wants access to them — whether inside or outside the United States. This would be a massive undertaking from a curricular, instructional design, programming, production, etc. standpoint. But WOW! What a difference it could make to level the playing field!
Perhaps working with vendors, some of the funding could be used for loaning out the devices needed to “play” and interact with the materials, and perhaps some other funding could be allocated to the city of Detroit to provide wireless access throughout the city and surrounding suburbs.
Also see:
The $600 billion challenge– from Fortune
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and Warren Buffett are asking the nation’s billionaires to pledge to give at least half their net worth to charity, in their lifetimes or at death. If their campaign succeeds, it could change the face of philanthropy.
