Post by Sunday at midnight.
[1]
1. Mark Whitaker
2. Trends of U.S. inequality and marriage bodes poorly for U.S. quality of life
3. There are some cultural reproduction issues in the USA that could pull the USA apart: massive social reproduction of inequality and poverty for children; many children without the social, emotional, and financial stability of two parents in the USA; and ethnic inequalities tensions with different marriage rates; and women particularly without financial standing outside of marriage, despite gaining independence. Just a few of the trends of the USA that bode poorly I think.
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05-22-2011 15:03
Schwarzenegger just part of story of marriage woes
By Jay Ambrose
...It's now Arnold Schwarzenegger's media moment, something he earned by extra friendliness with household help, having a love child and finally telling Maria Shriver, his wife, about it. She has naturally enough separated from him, and some may think this one more message about an institution in deep trouble, though it is far from the heart of that story.
No, the Schwarzenegger tale mostly symbolizes how ambitious, driven, ego-centered men seem especially given to wandering off the ranch, the examples running the political gamut from John F. Kennedy in the 1960s to Newt Gingrich more recently.
These particular men, however, are upper middle class ― well, upper, upper, upper middle class. It's mostly poorer Americans with scant education who are most abandoning marriage, often not even giving it a whirl, as you can learn from Kay S. Hymowitz, a Manhattan Institute scholar and author of several books and some online writings I recently encountered.
She's full of reason, understanding and facts, and tells us among other things that all the news gab about the marital mayhem of celebrities can be very misleading.
Most educated, better-off folks are in fact growing more in love with marriage. When you catch a story such as a recent one saying three percent more married-couple families are celebrating 10th wedding anniversaries than in the 1980s, you can bet it's the most advantaged taking more advantage of this absolutely crucial institution.
Go back to the 1960s, and we were a marrying, stay-together nation. But then came the birth control pill, something called the sexual revolution and more widely respected rights and opportunities for women. Says Hymowitz, all of this caused many women to reevaluate the old idea that first comes love, marriage, then the baby carriage.
Divorce became a big deal with us, and still is, despite some decline over the past two decades. Very, very scary on top of that is that something more than a third of children are now born out of wedlock, if only a tiny percentage of them to college educated women. They've figured something important out. Marriage matters to children.
They get it that kids with two parents earning money are going to have more money coming in. They get it that having two married-couple parents means more training for the children, more guidance by example toward the kind of life that works best for families, more attention to academics. Those who don't get it are people with the least education ― often less than high school. Here is what single-parent homes give us on average: still no education to speak of in the next generation, still more poverty, still more single-parent moms.
Hymowitz skillfully takes on the people who argue differently, saying that it's the market economy or inadequate social programs that cause these difficulties or that poor women don't marry because there is no one out there for them, no acceptable male. She grants the market is increasingly less friendly to unskilled labor, but notes that marriage tends to engender education and skills in children.
She observes, too, that the women who don't marry often have live-in boyfriends. They have in fact located men they find suitable to have in the home. Hymowitz agrees that marriage may not be a panacea for poverty, but argues something bigger: It is the "sine qua non," that without which you get none of the rest of what it takes to climb out of it.
The percentages of unwed mothers among poor whites, blacks and some other minority groups are over half, and if we are going to fix what ails us, we have to fix this. I am dubious about the role of politics, though some good examples and good preaching might help.
I do believe that cultural values count, as opposed to the politically correct social scientists, some of whom were saying in one news account that talking about wrong values amounts to blaming the victims. No, it's blaming the culture, including the social scientists who help form it. We need a new revolution, and wise thinkers like Hymowitz can help us get there.
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http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/05/160_87418.html
[2]
1. Mark Whitaker
2. Quality of Life Editorial in Korea Times--Mentions Our Course Content!
3. I feel somewhat vindicated to see someone else in Korea discussing the exact same issues I have chosen for my course. Interesting that this person has MET many of the people we are discussing as well.
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05-26-2011 17:28
Measuring happiness
By Shin Hyun-gook
Throughout history, all around the globe, humankind has been on a quest. A quest whose completion is as elusive as the Loch Ness monster, yet as easy to attain as looking in the mirror, that quest being the pursuit of happiness. American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, said, ``Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."
What is happiness? The term happiness is abstract and means many different things to many different people. According to Miriam-Webster, happiness is ``a state of well-being and contentment." That emotional state the dictionary refers to is arguably different for everyone. Quotes from many saints, religious leaders and philosophers lead us to deal with the idea of happiness in more emotional terms.
But, there are organizations trying to measure happiness by indexing the quality of life. The United Nations annually releases [one version of this idea of Quality of Life, measured in its own way:] what is called the Human Development Index. This statistic ranks countries by their level of development, calculated from data on life expectancy, education and per-capita gross national income. For instance, The 2010 Human Development Report by UNDP lists the Republic of Korea 12th in the category of very highly developed countries.
The same report however, ranks Korea 27th by applying, for the first time, an inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, which factors in inequalities [discussed by Navarro and others] in the three basic categories of human development: income, life expectancy and education. Former U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy said ``GDP measured everything except that which makes life worthwhile." Discrepancies such as this lead to the study and development of other indexes and methods of “measuring happiness.”
For the last two years I have been hosting a weekly television program, ``Diplomacy Lounge” on Arirang Television. On this program I have been meeting with foreign ambassadors and international dignitaries to discuss their country's history, culture, society, economy, scientific development as well as other subject matters in order to provide an arena for exchange and communication.
In two recent interviews, one with the visiting Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan, His Excellency Lyonchhehn Jigmi Y Thinley on October 26, 2010 and the other with Ambassador Fernando Borbón Arias of Costa Rica to Korea on April 13, 2011, the topic of ``happiness” was discussed.
The prime minister of the Kingdom of Bhutan claimed that Bhutan is one of the happiest nations on Earth and is one of the original promoters of ``Gross National Happiness.” The term was coined in 1972 by Bhutan's former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. This index measures the usefulness and the rightfulness of a nation's production. Sub-categories are under consideration for this index such as: psychological health, physical health, time management, education, culture, good governance, ecology etc.
And in my interview with the Ambassador of Costa Rica to Korea, Mr. Fernando Borbón Arias, I learned that Costa Rica ranked number one on the 2009 Happy Planet Index. After my discussion with Bhutan’s Prime Minister, this was yet another surprise. I found that the Happy Planet Index was introduced by the New Economics Foundation in 2006, indexing average subjective life satisfaction, life expectancy at birth, and the ecological footprint per capita of each nation. Scholars calculated happiness by determining ``happy life years.” This figure results from merging average self-reported happiness with life expectancy [and divided by material consumption averages in the country, for a measure of 'material efficiency in creating subjective happiness']. The Republic of Korea was listed 68th.
Therefore, it is apparent that things like money and education do not affect happiness the way one might expect. [Easterlin and the ongoing debate with him] There are various factors that have been correlated with happiness. Gross domestic product and the Human Development Index are not taken into account. Being happy and healthy is regarded as the ultimate goal of most people. But without proper income and social infrastructure how can you reach that ultimate goal? Moreover, concepts related to happiness, quality of life and well-being are somewhat subjective. U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said, ``You cannot capture happiness on a spreadsheet any more than you can bottle it,” which leads some to think there is potential for governments to define GNH in a way that suits their own interests. Therefore, cross-cultural comparisons of happiness are sometimes controversial.
These controversies and discrepancies guide me to the teachings of saints and philosophers. ``The Art of Happiness” a book by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, a psychiatrist who posed questions to the Dalai Lama, stated that “Happiness is determined more by the [subjective] state of one’s mind than by one’s external conditions, circumstances, or events ― at least once one’s basic survival needs are met.” [With 97% of Bhutan subjectively happy, this is worth considering, though there is data as well showing that happiness is correlated with objective measures as well, up to a basic material satisfaction point and without going beyond that (i.e., more material fails to equal more happiness).] Prior to this statement, Bengali Ramakrishna Paramhansa had asked, ``What do a house, money and honor mean to you if you are not happy? If you think you are already happy what do those things mean to you?”
So, what really is happiness and are you happy? Only you know the answers.
The writer is a chair professor of the Catholic University of Daegu and a show host of Arirang TV. He headed the Foreign News Division of the Korea Overseas Information Service. He can be reached at shinhyungook@hotmail.com.
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http://koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2011/05/137_87732.html
Kim Chung Gyeom
ReplyDeleteBelarus to sell gas pipeline to Russia - report
Nowadays that in a globalized world all things are related with each other so we also have to watch carefully about energy resources and how it can be used as a power of a nation and can be exported as a wealth
Belarus plans to sell its stake in the country's gas pipeline network to Russia for $2.5 billion and to unify rouble exchange rates once it receives a bailout loan from Moscow, Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich has said.
Russia this week urged Belarus to sell state assets to complement a planned $3.0-$3.5 billion loan that could be agreed in early June and help the former Soviet republic overcome a currency crisis.
"The Russian side is ready to buy our stake in (pipeline operator) Beltransgaz for $2.5 billion," Myasnikovich told state news agency Belta late on Friday.
The deal would give Russia complete control over Belarus'pipeline network which tranships Russian gas to Europe.
Russia's Gazprom paid the same sum for the 50 percent stake in Beltransgaz that it acquired through a series of purchases between 2007 and 2010.
Myasnikovich said Belarus could receive the first $800 million tranche of the bailout loan this summer.
This would allow Belarus to unify the official exchange rate, which now stands at 3,145 roubles per dollar, and the free floating interbank market rate which has reached about 8,000 per dollar, he said.
"Once we receive the loan the exchange rate will be based on supply and demand," Myasnikovich said.
(Reporting by Andrei Makhovsky; Writing by Olzhas Auyezov; Editing by Alex Richardson)
1. Jaewoo Sung
ReplyDelete2. How Do You Define Wealthy?
3. What is wealthy and how do we define it? Most people may say that wealthy means rich in money, but more the rich needs more money, so that they may feel still poor. I believe wealth can be defined as; if you happy where you are with your job, necessities, and have all the things that satisfy you; you are wealthy.
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4. Whatever the policy debates, households at President Obama’s dividing line might be wealthy, but that doesn’t mean they feel wealthy.
On a Yahoo message board, a poster named Mason, who lives in Manhattan with two young children, said his household income was $262,000. “I understand the need to raise taxes,” he wrote, “but I don’t understand why people like us are lumped in with millionaires and billionaires.”
On one level, Mason is feeling the effects of inflation; $250,000 isn’t what it used to be. If Mr. Obama were really trying to return to Mr. Clinton’s 1993 levels, he would have to adjust the bracket for inflation, moving it up to about $386,075. In fact, in Mr. Clinton’s last year in office, the top bracket had risen to $288,350 from $250,000.
Then there is the problem of keeping up with the Joneses. In 1993, earning $250,000 was a more exclusive club, making it easier to feel like one of the wealthy. Back then, households making more than $200,000 represented about .08 percent of the country.
And today, $250,000 households tend to be clustered on the coasts, where there are often better-paying jobs.
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http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/how-do-you-define-wealthy/?scp=3&sq=money%20happy&st=cse
1. Seri Yeo
ReplyDelete2.Water found beneath surface of Moon
3.
A freshman in Brown university found magma in crystal. This is so surprising. This discovery awaken that needs supplement in this model.
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It has been only one year since the discovery of water ice in the Moon’s polar crater excited the science community. Even before scientists and researchers could wholly take in the new findings, Space.com and Science Daily reported the existence of large amounts of water beneath the Moon’s mantle.
Led by Alberto E. Saal, a geological sciences professor at Brown University, a group of researchers published in Science Express its findings of possible internal reservoirs with content similar to the Earth’s upper mantle by studying the Moon soil collected by Apollo 17 in 1972.
What is more astonishing is that the new research was ignited by a Brown undergraduate, Thomas Weinreich. Weinreich was assigned a minute amount of Moon sample to study the particles, and it was not long before he started noticing clear crystals containing glass beads. These glass beads were preventing any water particles from escaping, and the amount of water within the trapped glass was 100 times more than previous results.
Weinreich was listed as second author of the research. “It’s a little bit unusual, but he deserves it. He should be second author because, without his work, we would never have had the paper. Everything begins with the sample,” said Saal.
Through this discovery, scientists are turning towards the chances of the water ice detected in craters originating from the water discharged by eruptions, rather than comet and meteor impacts, a theory presented by NASA.
"In contrast to most volcanic deposits, the melt inclusions are encased in crystals that prevent the escape of water and other volatiles during eruption. These samples provide the best window we have on the amount of water in the interior of the Moon," said James Van Orman of Case Western Reserve University, a member of the science team.
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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/05/325_87825.html
1. Yeo Min Sook
ReplyDelete2. About free kindergarten
3. Most married women busy with house chores in Korea. because men doesn't help around the house (like my father...). I think this problem cause low birth rate in a sense. However free kindergarten will lighten the chore burden.
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Currently, public elementary (six years) and middle school (three years) education in Korea is free, whereas the government provides 177,000 won per month for pre-school education or childcare of 5-year-olds of low-income families.
The government’s decision to cover pre-school education costs comes as part of efforts to keep the birthrates from falling further.
Korea’s birthrate has continued to drop from 2.82 in 1980 to 1.57 in 1990, 1.47 in 2000 and 1.15 in 2009, the lowest among 34 member countries of the OECD, according to a recently issued OECD report titled “Doing Better for Families.” High housing and private education costs have been cited as the main reasons for Korea’s birthrate decline which is turning Korea into an aging society. The OECD average is 1.74.
“The government’s plan will improve the quality of childcare service and therefore help keep the birthrates from falling in the long term, but we don’t know if it will have a direct effect (on birth rates),” said Lee Mee-jung, president of the Korean Society for Study of Child Education and Care.
“Support for children aged 4 or younger would have a direct impact on the birthrate. State aid for this age group should be carefully planned based on the results of the new policy for 5-year-olds.”
“In our society, there are people who are left unattended in the blind areas of the welfare system mostly because their place of residence is unclear,” Lee said at a weekly meeting with senior secretaries, according to presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung.
Lee said the government should launch an all-out inspection to identify such people and provide them with better state care, Kim said.
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http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110502000904
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Asian men spend less than an hour a day doing home chores
Korean men spend the least amount of time doing housework in the OECD.
The 2011 edition of “Society at a glance ―- OECD Social Indicators” indicated that Southern European and Asian men were least likely to participate in household chores.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development conducted a survey on 29 countries to see how much time people devoted to unpaid work. Unpaid work was defined as the production of goods and services not sold on the market such as cooking, gardening and cleaning.
The results showed people spent 3.5 hours a day on average on unpaid work. Women spent 2.5 hours more a day doing household chores than men.
Asian men, especially those from India, Japan, and South Korea spent the least amount of time ― less than an hour a day ― doing unpaid work. American men, on the contrary, spent around three hours a day doing household chores apart from their regular work.
MCT
The study showed part of the reason for women’s higher share of unpaid work was their shorter time in paid work. Countries with high levels of female paid employment had a more equal gender division of total working time. Norway, which is well known for strong gender equality policies, had the lowest female unpaid working time.
Korean women ranked eighth for the amount of time they spent on unpaid work out of the 29 OECD countries. In contrast, Korean men were placed last among the OECD countries for their participation in unpaid work. They spent only 50 minutes a day on average compared to almost 200 minutes a day spent by their female counter parts.
Other unpaid work such as child care was low for Korea, Belgium and Hungary. Total time devoted to child care occupied less than one hour per day, the lowest among all OECD countries, whereas Anglophone countries ranked the highest.
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http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110413000921