Each December, bookstores receive copies of the Economist magazine's The World in 2011, a special issue in which Economist writers as well as world political and business leaders share their thoughts about current world trends and make predictions about events and developments that might occur in the following year.
Students interested in completing an extra credit project over Winter Break should purchase a copy of the magazine from a local bookstore (such as the Barnes & Noble at New Hope Commons on 15-501 in Durham, or the Borders down the road). You can also see many of the articles online by searching for them at http://www.economist.com/worldin2011.
Project guidelines:
The purpose of this extra credit project is to give students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with a major current issue in world affairs.
1. Choose a topic and read the article mentioned. Pick a topic from the list below; read the articles mentioned next to the topic (all of the articles listed can be found in The World in 2011).
2. Find and read THREE additional news articles about the topic that have been written in the past year. You should search for relevant articles at the following news sources (and only these sources, unless you clear a different source with me in advance). These are great sources for research and current events that you may want to bookmark for future use:
General news and current events:
BBC (British Broadcasting Corp.)
The Economist
New York Times
NPR (National Public Radio)
Reuters
The Wall Street Journal
Foreign policy and international affairs:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Council on Foreign Relations
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Policy
Other resources:
CIA World Factbook
3. Country research. Please visit the CIA World Factbook website to do additional research on countries mentioned in your articles. Look for the drop-down menu that says "---Select a Country or Location---." For at least THREE of the countries mentioned in your articles, read the description of the country, and research the basic statistics listed below. For each statistic, include both the statistic itself and the country's rank in the world:
Population; Population growth rate; Life expectancy at birth; GDP (purchasing power parity); GDP - per capita (PPP); Distribution of family income - Gini Index.
All of these measures are explained here - make sure you understand them. Feel free to include additional measures that are relevant to your article.
4. Article summaries and analyses. For each article you read, type two paragraphs. The first paragraph should summarize the article's main points and conclusion. The second paragraph should be your analysis of the article and informed opinion about the topic discussed in the article.
5. Visual aid - optional but recommended for extra points. Please consider developing a large poster or Powerpoint presentation about your topic; for additional credit, you can schedule a time to present it to the class in 5 minutes or less.
How many topics can I choose?
-As few as one or as many as three.
How much extra credit is this project worth?
-It depends on how much you do, how much effort you put into it, and the overall quality of the final product. Overall, the maximum amount of extra credit I can envision giving out for a marking period would be up to 6% of a student's grade. This would be in the rarest of cases for exceptional extra credit work. More realistically, a high-quality project could bring your final marking period grade up one grade - from a B+ to A-, an A- to an A, a high A to an A+, etc.
Due date: Your complete project must be received no later than Wednesday, 1/12
Topics to choose from (with The World in 2011 article):
Please note: If you want to propose a different topic, or you do not want to use an article from The World in 2011, I am open to alternative suggestions.
-General predictions for the next 25 years: "The world in 2036" (pp. 111-114)
International Affairs
-U.S. foreign policy: "The limits of power" (pp. 37-38) and "Way to Lead" (p. 52)
-China's rise; competition between the U.S. and China: "Welcome to a zero-sum world" (pp. 85-86)
-North Korea's soon-to-come transfer of power: "Kim-wee" (p. 64)
-Territorial disputes involving China: "A sea of troubles" (p. 65)
-U.S. war in Afghanistan / development in Afghanistan: "More gloom for Afghanistan" (p. 72)
-U.S. war in Iraq / development in Iraq: "Still nothing like normal" (p. 77-78)
-Middle East peace talks (between the Israelis and Palestinians): "What if..." (p. 79)
-Iran's economy; economic sanctions on Iran; conflict over Iran's nuclear program: "Iran's president nuked by the economy?" (p. 78)
-The weakening of nation-states (national governments): "The state of the state" (p. 90)
Politics and Government:
-Government spending, government debt, and cuts in government spending: "Tremble, Leviathan" (pp. 17-18) and "Avoidable errors" (p. 22)
-Chinese politics: "The long goodbye" (pp. 63-64)
Regions of the World:
-Democracy and development in Latin America: "Latin America changes its guard" (pp. 55-56), "Castro v. Cuba" (p. 56), and "We, the bicentennials" (p. 60)
-South Sudan - a soon-to-be new country; also, the conflict/genocide in Darfur: "Hello country number 193" (p. 82)
-Turkey's politics and foreign policy; Islam in Turkey; Turkey's relations with Europe and Israel: "The trouble with Ottomania" (p. 100)
-Politics, economics, and development in Russia: "Twenty years on" (pp. 101-102)
Population and the Environment:
-Climate change (global warming), political responses to climate change, and geoengineering: "Cooling the Earth" (p. 26)
-World population growth: "Another year, another billion" (p. 28)
-Building environmentally-friendly cities: "Let it Pour" (p. 50)
-The retirement of the baby-boomers; economic and political consequences of aging populations in the U.S., Japan, and other wealthy countries: "The slow farewell" (p. 89)
Science, Technology, and Global Health:
-Newspapers, Media, and the Internet: "Metering the news" (p. 141)
-Eradicating malaria: "A fight to the death" (pp. 159-160)
-Space exploration and space technology: "Mars trek" (p. 163)
Economics and Business:
-U.S. economy: "Cheer up" (p. 48, 50)
-India's economy and China's economy: "The fastest lap" (p. 68, 70); "How fast can they go?" (p. 70-71).
-Economics and development in sub-Saharan Africa: "South of the Sahara" (p. 80)
-Germany's economy: "Powerhouse Deutschland" (pp. 93-94); "A chancellor at bay" (p. 95)
-Economic outlook for different industries: "The world in figures: Industries" (pp.125-128) (choose five different industries)
-New emerging markets (fast-growing economies in developing countries): "The emerging emerging markets" (pp. 131-132)
Please let me know if you have any questions!
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