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U.S. Debt Clock — 11/20/11 vs. 8/24/11

On 11/20/2011, in change, corporate / business world, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, disruption, economics, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, leadership, legislatures / government / legal, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, political science, real-world assignments, society, United States, by Daniel Christian

As of 11/20/11 (~2:00pm EST)

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As of 8/24/11:

usdebtclock.org

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From DSC:
With the increase in globalization — and from what I’ve seen happening in the financial systems (i.e. how what happens in Europe affects the financial systems in the U.S./Asia/other and vice versa) — it seems clear that we are all in this boat together.  If that’s true, what does that mean for:

  • Businesses and economies around the world?
  • The ability of families and individuals to afford the increasing cost of getting a degree?
  • Higher educational systems — and business models — around the world?
  • How do we resolve such massive problems?
  • What does all of this mean for how we should be educating our students?

 

Addendum on 11/21/11:

  • Debt committee: Why $1.2 trillion isn’t enough — from money.cnn.com by Jeanne Sahadi
    Excerpts:
    That’s because under the most likely scenario, reducing deficits by $1.2 trillion won’t stop the accumulated debt from growing faster than the economy.
    …
    Thus, to stabilize the debt, Congress would need to pass a debt-reduction plan worth $4 trillion to $6 trillion, budget experts say.
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Study: More companies embracing new media for employee communication [CLO]

On 11/18/2011, in communications, corporate / business world, global / globalization, new media literacies, productivity / tips and tricks, social media, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Study: More companies embracing new media for employee communication — Chief Learning Officer

Excerpt:

A majority of companies worldwide say they are becoming more knowledgeable about the use of social media tools to connect with and keep their workforces informed.

In fact, more than two-thirds of companies surveyed by global professional services company Towers Watson plan to increase their use of social media tools over the next 12 months, although many question their cost effectiveness.

The biannual study also found that companies with the best communication programs enhance the communication skills of their leaders and managers, and continuously evaluate performance.

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Globaia creates a ‘Cartography of the Anthropocene’ [Geere]

On 11/11/2011, in Africa, global / globalization, society, sociology, technology (general), by Daniel Christian

http://globaia.org/en/anthropocene/

 

Also see:

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The 2011 Global Education Conference will be held November 14 – 18, online and free.

On 11/11/2011, in communities of practice, global / globalization, K-12 related, social learning / networks, by Daniel Christian

Global Education Conference - November 14-18, 2011

The 2011 Global Education Conference will be held November 14 – 18, online and free. Sessions will take place in multiple time zones and multiple languages over the five days. The 2010 Global Education Conference had 15,028 unique logins and presentations from 62 countries.

To attend and be kept informed of the latest conference news and updates, please join this network (you can still attend sessions if your membership is pending). The sessions schedule is now live and available in multiple time zones HERE.

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The Networked Society — from Ericsson

On 11/10/2011, in 21st century, career development, change, changing business models, colleges, communities of practice, community colleges, education technology, emerging technologies, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, higher education, human-computer interaction (HCI), usability, user experience (UX), workplace, by Daniel Christian

 

Originally saw a reference to this piece at Harold Jarche’s blog.

 

 

 

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7 billion — iPad-based app from the National Geographic Society

On 10/31/2011, in change, future, generational differences, global / globalization, psychology, real-world assignments, society, sociology, by Daniel Christian

7 billion -- from the National Geographic Society

Also see:

 

 

 

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A devotion for Wall Street [Claiborne]

On 10/26/2011, in corporate / business world, ethics, faith, global / globalization, hearts -- matters of the heart, relationships, society, by Daniel Christian

A devotion for Wall Street — from www.redletterchristians.org (a blog by Tony Campolo & friends) by Shane Claiborne; with a special thanks going out to Mr. David Goodrich for posting a URL to this item via LinkedIn

Excerpt:

A reporter recently asked me, “As a Christian leader, does your faith have anything to say about Wall Street?”  I said, “How much time do you have?”

The Christian message has a lot to say to Wall Street.

Theologian Karl Barth said, “We have to read the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.”  For too long we Christians have used our faith as a ticket out of this world rather than fuel to engage it.

In his parables, Jesus wasn’t offering pie-in-the-sky theology… he was talking about the real stuff of earth.  He talks about wages, debt, widows and orphans, unjust business owners and bad politicians. In fact Woody Guthrie breaks it all down in his song “Jesus Christ”.  The song ends with Woody singing, “This song was written in New York City… If Jesus were to preach what he preached in Galilee, they would lay him in his grave again.”

…

From the Start here page at RLC.org:

The goal of Red Letter Christians is simple: To take Jesus seriously by endeavoring to live out His radical, counter-cultural teachings as set forth in Scripture, and especially embracing the lifestyle prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount.

Ironically, it was a secular Jewish country-and-western disc jockey in Nashville, Tennessee who first suggested that title. During a radio interview with my friend Jim Wallis, that deejay declared, “You’re one of those Red-Letter Christians – you know, the ones who are really into all those New Testament verses that are in red letters!” When Jim said, “That’s right!” he answered for all of us. By calling ourselves Red Letter Christians, we refer to the fact that in many Bibles the words of Jesus are printed in red. What we are asserting, therefore, is that we have committed ourselves first and foremost to doing what Jesus said.

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Singularity Summit 2011 — videos, recaps, other

On 10/19/2011, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, computer science, disruption, emerging technologies, ethics, future, human-computer interaction (HCI), pace of change, programming, robotics, society, trends, by Daniel Christian

SingularitySummit.com — conference website

Excerpt:

The Singularity Summit is the premier dialog on the Singularity. The first Singularity Summit was held at Stanford in 2006 to further understanding and discussion about the Singularity concept and the future of human technological progress. It was founded as a venue for leading thinkers to explore the subject, whether scientist, enthusiast, or skeptic. The goal of the Summit is to improve people’s thinking about the future and increasing public awareness of radical technologies under development today and of the transformative implications of such technologies understood as part of a larger process.

Singularity Summit 2011 — from the nextbigfuture.com

Singularity Summit 2011 videos — from the nextbigfuture.com

What you missed at Singularity Summit 2011 — from technoverseblog.com

Excerpt:

  • David Brin (scientist and sci-fi novelist)
  • Ray Kurzweil (inventor, restless genius, and author of The Singularity is Near)
  • Stephen Wolfram (physicist, developer of Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha, genius)
  • Dimitry Itskov (founder of Russia 2045)
  • Michael Shermer (contrarian and founder of Skeptic magazine)
  • Riley “Red Balloons” Crane (post doctoral fellow at MIT Media Lab and winner of DARPA’s balloon challenge)
  • Sharon Bertsch McGrayne (writer, author of “The Theory That Wound not Die”)
  • Tyler Cowen (economist, George Mason University)
  • Jaan Tallinn (founder of Skype)
  • Ken Jennings (Jeopardy champion and loser to Watson)
  • Dan Cerutti (IBM executive charged with marketing Watson)

 

Addendum on 10/20/11:

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Mary Meeker: Internet Trends [10-18-11 presentation]

On 10/19/2011, in business, content development, aggregation, repositories, corporate / business world, economics, global / globalization, internet, mobile technologies, trends, by Daniel Christian

Mary Meeker 10-18-11 presentation re: Internet Trends

 

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20 stunning infographics to show how climate change affects ecosystems [Smith]

On 10/13/2011, in change, geography / geology, global / globalization, science, society, by Daniel Christian

20 stunning infographics to show how climate change affects ecosystems — from mastersinenvironmentalscience.org; with thanks to Donald Smith for the resource

Excerpt:

According to one infographic in this list, many people believe that climate change is happening and that it is irreversible. The difference in opinion is in how climate change is occurring. On the other hand, another information graphic shows that fewer people are believing the climate change scenario despite evidence of glacier melt and an increase in dramatic weather patterns such as more rain and drought. A degree in environmental science may not affect what you believe, but evidence-based science is difficult to refute, especially when faced with over 20 graphic images that show how climate change is affecting ecosystems.

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Houston — Did you hear me? We’ve got some problems (but also some opportunities) out here!

On 10/10/2011, in 21st century, change, cost of getting a degree, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, funding / grants, future of higher education, game-changing environment, global / globalization, innovation, leadership, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, reinvent, society, staying relevant, student-related, vision/possibilities, by Daniel Christian

Check out some of these announcements from The Future of State Universities 2011 Conference

 

From DSC:
Following are some of the announcements from last week’s the Future of State Universities Conference (oddly enough, I couldn’t find any blogs, recordings, etc. here…)

 

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October 7, 2011
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10:05 AM – 87% of the respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that public universities will undergo major structural changes in the future.

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9:15 AM –Two thirds of students graduating with 4-year degrees last year, owed on average $23,186 in student loans. CNN Money

Student loan debt has eclipsed credit card debt at $1.0 trillion and counting.

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In 2010 Open Universities Australia grew 35%–the largest increase on record. The Australian

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October 6, 2011
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3:45 PM – 57% of people surveyed by Pew and the Chronicle say that the cost of college outweighs its value. Boston Magazine

Unemployment rate for people under 25 is 54% and 9 out of 10 college grads are planning to move back in with their parents. Boston Magazine

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2:45 PM – Only 11% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that student readiness for college is stable or increasing.

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2:00 PM – 100% of presidents and 75% of provosts and deans that responded to the pre-conference survey believe that faculty interactions with students will change significantly in the coming years.

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1:00 PM – Stanford professor Thrun offered his, “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence” course online and free. 130,000 students signed up. —They will get the same lectures as students paying $50,000, same assignments, same exams, and, if they pass, “a statement of accomplishment”, but not Stanford credit. “Literally,” Thrun says, “we can probably get the same quality of education I teach in class for 1 to 2 percent of the cost.” The New York Times

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12:25 PM – iTunes U online is running 300 million downloads a year, with 350,000 lectures offered by more than 1,000 universities worldwide. BBC News Oxford has 10 million downloads—130,000 per week. More than half the people using them are from the US and China.

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9:45 am – 50% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that foreign universities will increasingly become competitors with U.S. universities for U.S. students.

95% believe that foreign students will be a major source of students in the future.

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9:35 am – Did you know: global higher education enrollment increased 53% in the last decade?

Did you know: 20% of all college students in the world are studying outside of their home country.


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October 5, 2011
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5:00 pm – Pre-conference Survey:

  • 90% of respondents to the pre-conference survey believe that state funding for higher education will continue to decline.
  • 85% believe that federal funding for higher education will decrease in the future.
  • 75% believe that public support for higher education is destined to decline as costs increase.
  • 13% believe that public universities are well prepared to market their online programs effectively.

 

From DSC:
Besides the words “reinvent” and  “innovation” — and the phrase “the perfect storm” — the following graphic comes to my mind yet again:

 

Staying Relevant
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The second economy [Arthur]

On 10/06/2011, in career development, change, changing business models, economics, future, history, society, workplace, by Daniel Christian

The second economy — from McKinsey Quarterly by W. Brian Arthur
Digitization is creating a second economy that’s vast, automatic, and invisible—thereby bringing the biggest change since the Industrial Revolution.

Excerpt:

We could look for one in the genetic technologies, or in nanotech, but their time hasn’t fully come. But I want to argue that something deep is going on with information technology, something that goes well beyond the use of computers, social media, and commerce on the Internet. Business processes that once took place among human beings are now being executed electronically. They are taking place in an unseen domain that is strictly digital. On the surface, this shift doesn’t seem particularly consequential—it’s almost something we take for granted. But I believe it is causing a revolution no less important and dramatic than that of the railroads. It is quietly creating a second economy, a digital one.

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Culturomics 2.0: Forecasting large-scale human behavior using global news media tone in time and space [firstmonday.org; Leetaru]

On 10/05/2011, in future, global / globalization, journalism, society, by Daniel Christian

Culturomics 2.0: Forecasting large-scale human behavior using global news media tone in time and space by Kalev H. Leetaru
 

First Monday, Volume 16, Number 9 – 5 September 2011

Abstract

News is increasingly being produced and consumed online, supplanting print and broadcast to represent nearly half of the news monitored across the world today by Western intelligence agencies. Recent literature has suggested that computational analysis of large text archives can yield novel insights to the functioning of society, including predicting future economic events (emphasis DSC). Applying tone and geographic analysis to a 30–year worldwide news archive, global news tone is found to have forecasted the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, including the removal of Egyptian President Mubarak, predicted the stability of Saudi Arabia (at least through May 2011), estimated Osama Bin Laden’s likely hiding place as a 200–kilometer radius in Northern Pakistan that includes Abbotabad, and offered a new look at the world’s cultural affiliations. Along the way, common assertions about the news, such as “news is becoming more negative” and “American news portrays a U.S.–centric view of the world” are found to have merit (emphasis DSC).

Couple items from the Conclusions section

Monitoring first broadcast then print media over the last 70 years, nearly half of the annual output of Western intelligence global news monitoring is now derived from Internet–based news, standing testament to the Web’s disruptive power as a distribution medium (emphasis DSC).

…

While heavily biased and far from complete, the news media captures the only cross–national real–time record of human society available to researchers. The findings of this study suggest that Culturomics, which has thus far focused on the digested history of books, can yield intriguing new understandings of human society when applied to the real–time data of news. From forecasting impending conflict to offering insights on the locations of wanted fugitives, applying data mining approaches to the vast historical archive of the news media offers promise of new approaches to measuring and understanding human society on a global scale.

I originally saw this piece at the Futurist Update, from October 2011

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Some announcements from Apple today

On 10/04/2011, in Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, convergence, global / globalization, human-computer interaction (HCI), mirroring and/or multiple devices, mobile technologies, telecommunications, by Daniel Christian

Some items from Apple today:

 

 

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Some items re: robotics (and employment)

On 10/03/2011, in Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, career development, change, curriculum, dangers of the status quo, disruption, global / globalization, reinvent, robotics, staying relevant, surviving, workplace, by Daniel Christian

How did the robot end up with my job? — from the New York Times by Thomas Friedman

Excerpt:

In the last decade, we have gone from a connected world (thanks to the end of the cold war, globalization and the Internet) to a hyperconnected world (thanks to those same forces expanding even faster). And it matters. The connected world was a challenge to blue-collar workers in the industrialized West. They had to compete with a bigger pool of cheap labor. The hyperconnected world is now a challenge to white-collar workers. They have to compete with a bigger pool of cheap geniuses — some of whom are people and some are now robots, microchips and software-guided machines.

…

The proper term, says Lamy, is “made in the world.” More products are designed everywhere, made everywhere and sold everywhere.

The term “outsourcing” is also out of date. There is no more “out” anymore. Firms can and will seek the best leaders and talent to achieve their goals anywhere in the world.

 

Robots mania — from WashingtonPost.com
Each year robots are getting more sophisticated and entertaining than ever before. Check out these captivating robots that can do almost anything — from reciting Shakespeare to serving shaved ice cream with a smile.

 

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