GlobalStudies06

and here are the links…I hope they show up here:

Links for You:
“Education.” 28 Sept. 2006

“Education.” World Geography. 2006. ABC-CLIO. 28 Sept. 2006

“UNICEF Appeals for Sudan Donations.” World Geography. 2006. ABC-CLIO. 28 Sept. 2006

sorry it’s me Carly S…I’m not the best at technology stuff

     In Sudan students begin school at the age of six and have 8 years of primary school.  It is mandatory from ages 6 to 14.  After primary school students may choose to continue with a three-year curriculum in junior secondary schools, then qualified students could go on to either a program preparing students for higher education, commercial and agricultural technical schools, or teacher-training.

     In 1956 the adult illiteracy rate was 77.1 percent and even with the effort from the government, by 1990 it was 70 percent with a rapidly expanding population.  Most recently in 2005 the illiteracy rate was 41%. The whole country is having educational issues, the north suffered from a small amount of teachers and buildings, but the situation in the south was worse.  Also the demand for more schools could not be met due to the lack of Sudanese teachers, at least not by the better educated ones.  For every 29 students there is one teacher.  As a result, education in Sudan continued to depend upon expensive foreign teachers.

     After winning independence in 1956 education was only 15.5 percent of the Sudanese government.  However by the 1970s the education was largely reorganized mainly in urban areas.  For girls this education reorganization may shed some hope. Traditionally, girl’s education was the most rudimentary kind, usually provided by religious schools.  After the reorganization started to begin, there was a slow development in the girl’s education.  Sadly, parents tended to look down at their daughters getting education fearing that they would corrupt the morals of their daughters.  Another fact was that a smart girl can’t go far; while a smart boy can-so educating girls was not a priority.  However in 1990 Ahfad University College in Omduram which was once an elementary school for girls had evolved into a woman’s University College, 1,800 was the enrollment.

     By 1990 president Bashir proclaimed a new philosophy of education allocating £sd400 million for the academic year 1990-1991.  His new education philosophy was based on the permanence of human nature, religious values, and physical nature-but this could only be accomplished by a Muslim curriculum.  Sadly after much reorganization-the bottom line was that Sudan does not have enough resources to properly educate most Sudanese children.
 

Links for You:
“Education.” 28 Sept. 2006

“Education.” World Geography. 2006. ABC-CLIO. 28 Sept. 2006

“UNICEF Appeals for Sudan Donations.” World Geography. 2006. ABC-CLIO. 28 Sept. 2006

Discussion Questions:

1. What actions should the government of Sudan take to gain more teachers?
2. What are the main issues involving education in Sudan?
3. Is Bashir’s new philosophy of education a good idea?  Explain.
4. What are some solutions Sudan and all of Africa can do to fix the education issues?  Name at least two.
5. How can the world help the education situation in Sudan?

“UNICEF Appeals for Sudan Donations.” World Geography. 2006. ABC-CLIO. 28 Sept. 2006

   In Africa children suffer from many different diseases, family issues, and even lack of supervisions. These kids are suffering because the economy is weak and the government is not very aware of the things that are happening in their country. Children are dying due to diseases, poor supervision and rape.

   Many people in Africa are suffering from severe cases of malnutrition. It is said that almost 70% of people in curtain areas of Africa are at risk of starvation. Unfortunitly the poor economy of Africa and the realiability on havesting is the reason for these incidents. Weather ruins crops and enables the families to collect food. It has come to the point where some parents are so desperate to feed their children that they would even sell one of their children to feed themselves and their other children. Government is supposibly supplying the poor areas of Africa with food and water and helping to provide them with shelter but Africa is a very big continent and there is no way that the government can handle feeding all of those people.

    Another issue is Africa is the amount of children that are found on the streets without parents, who are then sent to a orphanage. Although orphanages supply the children with shelter and supervision, there is a lack of responsibility from the people that work in the orphanages towards the children. A lot of the times the staff will neglect the children or even physically abuse them. The orphanages also have a low supply of food and water to supply the children with so the children are also very malnutritioned even living in a orphanage. The spread of HIV has also impacted the orphanages significantly because kids become very sick and spread germs all over and the kids immune systems are already weak enough that they can not handle all of these germs. Many of the children in orphanages end up dead or very sick due to the lack of medical attention as well as sterilization.

   The spread of HIV in Africa is very easy because of the lack of medical assistance but also because of the sex scandals that happen in Africa. People in Africa will do just about anything to supply their families and themselves with food and money, and unfortunitly sex is a way for these people to earn money. Many families have admitted that either them or one of their children have had sex in order to get for or favors. Sex is a way for some families to survive. Although they are giving themselves away to sometimes complete strangers they still do it because they need for and stuff for their families and themselves.

   Africa is a very poor place where poverty is obviously shown. People are in the streets dying, or being raped and abused. Diseases are being spread very rapidly and adding to the deaths of many people.

“Child Refuee Sex Scandal.” BBC News. BBC News. 10 Oct.-Nov. 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk.

“Orphans and Abandoned Children.” Children’s Rights. Human Rights Watch. 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.hrw.org.

“Southern Africa Threatened by Famine.” BBC News. BBC. 10 Oct. 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk.

Zambia, Lusaka. “Africa’s Hidden Killers.” Oct. 1999. Africa Wired. 10 Oct. 2006 http://www.africawired.com.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think would be more productive to illiminate the amount of people who are doing sexual favors for money. Government awareness and enforcement of laws, or simple education or explain to the people the risks they are taking?

2. In your opinion what would be the most important thing to terminate in Africa, the rapes in orphanages, starvation, or the reduction of diseases by eliminating the amount of people who do sexual services for money?

3. In your opinion, how do you think the government can make sure the orphans and abandoned children are being properly taken care of?

4. In your opinion, do you think the government is doing all they can to help provide the people of Africa with support and supllies?

5. In your opinion, what do you think that people around the world could do to help the people of Africa?

Alex S.

            Education in South Africa spans 13 years. It starts with grade 0, preschool, also known as the reception year. The reception year can also be completed the first year in primary school but it is most common for the preschool year. The matric years, 10^th through 12^th grade, are not compulsory which means they are not required. There are 12 millions learners to 366 thousand teachers. South Africa offers a variety of schools ranging from special needs, private, high schools and 21 universities.

            One of the problems with the education in South Africa is that it is very diverse. The better the school the more expensive it is to go there so only the wealthy students can get the best education. The poorer schools have oversized classes with poor educated teachers. There are universities that are offering adults a place to learn and become better teachers.

            The illiteracy rates in South Africa are really high. The percent of illiterate adults over 15 years old is 30%. Also the teachers do not receive the right education to become good educators. This is a problem for the children who go to poorer schools because they are already not in a good learning environment and with the poor educators it makes learning even worse.

            The government of South Africa offers the education system a big percent of the budget to help with equipment and learning tools. This year the education system received 24% and next year it is said to increase by 8.5%.

Links:

“Education.” South Africa.  10 Oct. 2006 .

“Education in South Africa.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Wikipedia. 30 Sept. 2006. 10 Oct. 2006 http://en.wikipedia.org/‌wiki/‌Education_in_South_Africa. 

Garson, Philippa. “Education in South Africa.” South Africa Alive with Possibility.  10 Oct. 2006 .

Discussion Questions-

1. Why does the government of South Africa give the education system a big percentage of the budget?
2. Which years in the school system are not compulsory?
3. What is being done to help adults become better educators or just a place for them to learn?
4. Where are the two places that the reception year can be completed?
5. What are the four types of schools that South Africa offers?

Jamie W

Toxic waste spills are not an unheard of occurrence in the United States.  Yet in August 2006, when several tons of waste were dumped improperly in Côte d’Ivoire, the world hardly blinked.  But the tragedy of this accident is still unfolding.In August 2006, a ship called Probo Koala improperly dumped toxic waste in fourteen of Abidjan’s open-air trash sites.  In late August residents of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s capitol and largest city, began complaining of nosebleeds, trouble breathing, nausea, and a pervasive smell of rotten eggs in the city.  By the end of September, ten thousand people had sought treatment for these symptoms and nineteen people were hospitalized.  Seven of the hospitalized victims died. 

The people of Abidjan were exposed to hydrogen sulfide and hydrocarbons, which were contained in the byproduct of a fuel shipment that Probo Koala dumped.  These toxins are harmful to both humans and the environment.  A further complication arose once the symptoms of exposure began: overwhelmed hospitals.  Medical staff and supplies were stretched to the limits.  Patients who come in seeking treatment for illnesses unrelated to chemical exposure are unable to be helped because the entire hospital is focusing on treating those affected by the toxic dump.  Doctors can only treat the aforementioned symptoms of chemical exposure, and then send the patients home.  At home, more chemicals get into their systems and they grow sick again or even sicker.  The only definitive cure is removing the waste.  France and the U.N. have sent scientists to help Côte d’Ivoire figure out how the waste can be removed.

A political roadblock is also delaying the clean up process.  The Prime Minister, Charles Konan Banny, was instructed by the president to release his entire cabinet to appease the people’s protests over the government’s slow reaction.  Banny will stay in power but is preoccupied with his search for a new staff.  Though Côte d’Ivoire has a power-sharing government, there has been tension and fighting between the north and the south for a while.  The spill comes just on the heels of a failed attempt to negotiate a peace agreement between the two sides.  Now, the northern political parties are refusing to cooperate with the rest of the government until those responsible for the spill are punished.  But responsibility is proving hard to pin down.  Trafigura Beheer B.V., a Dutch commodities company that chartered Probo Koala, denies responsibility.  The company is claiming the handling of the waste was “careless” but they had filled their responsibility by notifying the government of their handling such toxic chemicals.

Check out these sites to further your understanding.  I recommend they be viewed from top to bottom so that you can see the development of the accident:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5321272.stm
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-09-15-ivory-coast_x.htm?csp=34
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14816391/
http://www.globalhealth.gov/hhsandotherfederalpartnerssept2006.shtml
Questions
1.  Who is responsible for cleaning up the mess and why?

2.  Name three things that can be done to prevent future toxic spills (all over the world, not just in Africa).

3.  When the Exxon Val Dies dumped tons of oil in Alaska, all of America was outraged over the impact on wildlife.  Yet when several tons of harmful chemicals are dumped off the coast of Africa few news stations even report it, despite the fact people have died.  Why is this?

4.  Should the people sickened by the waste receive reparations for their pain?  If so, from who?

5.  Are the people going to benefit from the resignation of those in the government?  Give two reasons why or why not.

-Kara Buchan

Technology in Africa is the only way that Africa will up and come out of the slump of third wordless that many of its countries are in. technology is the future and if it is not accepted as such, the country will be left behind. In Africa there are only 90 places in Africa where one can learn to truly use computers. This is a problem because, well many of these institutes are backed by US companies like Cisco Systems, not by the government. This can be seen as the government letting another country help out or as the African countries using the companies as a crutch for they do not truly see that the future is technology. This can be seen by showing that 90% of the software in Africa is illegally downloaded this happens because there is no one in the government to set laws to enforce the stopping of illegal pirating.

http://www.fin24.co.za/articles/economy/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&lvl2=econ&ArticleID=1518-25_2013809

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/tech_afam.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2539327.stm

Discussion Questions:

1. what is the problem with the technology level in africa?

2. why is it important for the technology level in thirdworld countries and for everywhere else not to be held back due to their tech level?

3. what countries in africa are activly trying to resolve these problems caused by the lack of technology?

I am not total sure if this was my topic or if it was Enviroment but i did this.

Joseph Affel

      The Kenya education system is based on an 8-4-4 system.  This means 8 years in primary school (grades 1-8), 4 years in secondary school (grades 9-12), and 4 years in a university. Until 2003 education in Kenya was not free.   Still 1.7 children remain out of school. 

      Schools are becoming over populated now that schools are free.  Also there are not enough teachers to fulfill all the positions needed.  Many teachers are not being paid properly.  This leads to teachers going on strike.  Those students that are not in school are not being well educated and this leads to drug abuse, early pregnancy, crime, and other dangerous behaviors. 

      The UK Government department for International Development(DFID) provided Kenya with 97 million dollars.  The goals for the (DFID) are to improve heath programs, expanding sexondary education and universities, and also reconstruction in classrooms and improvements in water and sanitation facilities.  The Kenyan government is working to make education better in Kenya. 

Links:

1. http://www.dfid.gov.uk/News/files/pressreleases/education-kenya.asp

2.http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?tname=education%2Din%2Dkenya&print=true

3. http://www.fsdinternational.org/?q=ntlopps/country/kenya/youthanded

Discussion Questions:

1. What problems does the education program in Kenya face?

2.  What is the result of many Kenyan children not attending school?

3.  What goals does the Department for International Development (DFID) hope to achieve in the Kenyan education system?

4.  What is the Kenya education system made up of?

5.  What is the money the UK Government is giving Kenya going to be used for?

Alli B.

The Social issues in Africa have been going on for the past years and looks to have no end in site. People are fighting people and HIV/AIDS is becomeing a bigger problem by the day.  The reason that people are fighting is because there is a large disagree between the government and the people who are fighting in the country. 

The HIV/AIDS controvery has began to be a large problem because people in that area can not pay for the material necessary to protect each other from the spreading of this deadly virus.  But the world has seen this problem and is now tring to help, a combined $100 billion was donated by the I.F.F (International Finance Facility) and A.S.C (Airline Solidarity Contribution).  World Health Organization’s also donated 3 million dollars, and according to WHO “Overall more than 50 countries doubled the number of people receiving treatment between June 2004 and June 2005.”

The fighting going on in Africa is also a big deal because hundreds of people are being killed a day. In the case of Rwanda 800,000 people killed over the genocide that happened in only 100 days.  800,000 died in only 100 days thay is a lot a of people that have died. In the case of Democratic Republic the Congo hundreds die a week and this killing must stop before there is no one left in the country. 

The Social Issues of Africa is becoming a large problem that needs to be solved before it is to late and nothing is left in the country.  The fighting needs to stop before it is to late because if the fighting keeps going on there is no reason to fight and i believe the U.N needs to fix this problem.  Also HIV/AIDS is becomeing a big problem and with the help of the world it can be fix to help the people that are in Africa.

1. What three Organizations donated money to Africa that are named in this reading?

2. Name three reason why the people in Africa are getting AIDs and HIV easier than people who live in the U.S.?

3. What Social Issues is more of a problem HIV/AIDs or the war between countries and explain?

Chinua Akukwe, “HIV/AIDs: The Growing Momentum for Universal Access to Treatment”.  March 8, 2006, October 6,2006. >  

1.  Pick two quotes from King Mohammed’s speech and argue why you agree with these quotes.

2.  Think about what we have learned about Morocco thus far.  Now pick two quotes from this speech that go against what we have learned and argue why you disagree with King Mohammed.

Knowledge and Understanding

1.  IN YOUR OWN WORDS, describe the difference between the “Power Politics model” of peacekeeping and the “Problem Solving model” of peacekeeping.

Analysis

2.  Apply the “Power Politics model” of peacekeeping to our studies of Rwanda and support your argument with three examples.

Knowledge & Understanding

1.  The author, Howard Adelman, mentions four pressing security needs on page 90 and goes on to explain each issue in the article.  Describe two of these security issues in as much detail as possible. 

Analysis

2.  The United Nations is primarily a diplomatic organization that works to achieve change through negotiation, discussions and mutual agreements.  Argue what the largest area of diplomatic or United Nations failure was in regards to the Rwanda refugee camps.  BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.

You’re welcome for ANOTHER day off from outside reading!!! - J.M. 

Remember to only use your first name and first initial of your last name! 

Analysis 

1.  Do the “failures of the [International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda] far outweigh the benefits” or has the ICTR and gacaca system “produced an imperfect but ultimately practical search for truth and redemption?”  Argue for either side using three main points.

Knowledge & Understanding 

2.  In your view, what are the three most important lessons learned from Rwanda ten years later?

Knowledge & Understanding

1.  Explain in your own words what the Security Council mission to Rwanda recommends after their visit in February 1995.

Analysis

1.  The report states that “fear remains the single most important factor…” and that “progress has been marginal so far.”  List the first three steps needed to be taken in Rwanda after the genocide and argue why each is vital.