Final Project and Presentation (Inspired Post 8)

When we originally picked topics for this project, I was pretty much open to any idea that wasn't super technical or very much based in science. I had no idea the depth of understanding that would be required, nor the amount of time that I would eventually put into the project. Our group put in more time on this single project than I have ever put in to a project in my life. For four weeks, every Sunday night, we met for two to three hours to work on the initial part of the project. Yet it wasn't until we were preparing for the presentation that we were actually able to put all of our ideas together and really gain an in-depth understanding of the issue at hand.

Today, we met at 4:00pm and it is 10:25pm and we are still going.

This is about how I feel after concentrating intently for over 6 hours....

I have never experienced such dedication to a project in my entire schooling career. Perhaps it is because it is an honors class, but I have drawn a separate conclusion. I believe that the intensity of having to give the presentation in front of a panel of judges initially led us to become completely invested in actually understanding as many facets of the problem as possible. This is rare--usually students (myself included) work to complete projects as fast as possible while covering their bases in the most efficient manner possible. This project was different in that we actually cared about understanding the ins and outs of the entire problem and wanted to become experts on it.

Coming into the project, the amount of knowledge I had on the Mexican drug cartels was nothing more than they were bad, dangerous and were making it so people thought twice about traveling to Mexico. I had no idea about the root of this issue, the programs we currently had in place, or how to best go about solving the problem. I didn't even consider Latin America, Europe or North Africa having an effect on the problem that I had previously associated as only being between the United States and Mexico. I now feel that I can confidently explain the problem to anyone and be able to hold up my end of a conversation about it. That is what this class is about--understanding the importance of being active in current events. Back in August, I said that I was hoping to get back into current events (I was heavily involved in Speech and Debate in high school) after feeling trapped in the bubble that Penn State has put me in. I can honestly say that this class has helped me pop that bubble and helped me become a more informed, educated citizen.

Aging Discussion (Bonus Blog)

Tonight, I went to a discussion on aging through the Distinguished Honors Faculty discussions through the Schreyer Honors College. I figured this would be particularly interesting after learning about the demographic issues that aging causes during our visit to CSIS. This discussion was from a Health Policy Administration professor who had a very differing perspective than the one we heard at CSIS simply because it was based more in the healthcare policies rather than general public policy.

It was incredible to learn how much we have spent on healthcare in the past year: 2.3 trillion dollars. This breaks down to 7,500 dollars per capita. The next highest per capita country is Switzerland, but they merely spend around 3,000 dollars for each citizen. Perhaps it was ignorant, but I had always assumed that the U.S. spent less on healthcare than other countries, considering all the debate it. One of the most interesting things about this is that the United States is one of the most unhealthy developed countries even though we spend so much. We have less doctors, lower life expectancy and higher infant mortality. If you want to read more about this, you can read this article because it touches on a lot of what we discussed tonight.

We also discussed how women use more healthcare than men. They live longer but eventually are sicker. It was fascinating that the professor made it seem so obvious when he drew a simple parallel when explaining why this occurs. He talked about males inability to ask for directions when they get lost driving; men also do not go to the doctor when they have a health problem. This inevitably leads to their death. Yet the single strongest predictor of male life expectancy is whether or not they are married. That nagging wife that makes her husband ask for directions or go to the doctor inevitably makes him live longer. Who woulda thunk? It was such a simple explanation for this difference, but in reality it made a lot of sense. I would like to have seen some statistical backup to such a claim, but I certainly wouldn't doubt it.

At the end of the talk, we talked about caregiving which is a pretty controversial issue. We watched a clip about elderly persons who could not take care of themselves whom needed 24/7 care. We discussed how this is a problem that we didn't have to face until recently because just 100 years ago, the most common reasons for death were things that killed us quickly--now we die slow deaths like cancer and it is super expensive to cover such caregiving.

The video showed people whos quality of life was so diminished that some of the people in the room thought they would rather be dead. Some said of course they would rather be spoon-fed and on bed rest for months on end because at least they would be alive. In all reality, I find it extremely difficult to have a true opinion on this matter because I haven't yet had to deal with the effects of long-term caregiving for a loved one, although I do expect that at some point in my lifetime, that will unfortunately occur many times.

This was a really interesting discussion and I hope to be able to attend the future talks next Spring that revolve around similar topics. I think that this is something we need to be talking about more because it is such a huge issue and such a difficult thing for people to really feel comfortable discussing.

UC Davis Pepper Spray (Inspired Post 7)

My Facebook was flooded with "shame on you"s and tons of posts about the UC Davis pepper spray incident. I had yet to see the actual video, but I had heard about it from lots of other people and had painted a picture of it in my head. And then this was posted to my Facebook newsfeed...

If you have time to watch it, it is certainly worth your time. This video gives a timeline of events through a video stream that shows the events of the Occupy Davis event from start to finish. It shows how the students not only were blocking the police from getting through but also threatening them as well. The students literally make a circle around the cops and tell them that they will only let them leave once they release the students who were previously arrested. It also captures the police explicitly asking the students ofer and over to move and telling them of the consequences if they don't. The students sort of laugh it off and don't take the police seriously. When the other cops run up and the students still won't move, they resort to pepper spray.

From this point of view, the police did everything in their power to avoid using painful tactics. They were more or less defenseless and had no other option.

This article explains the events by saying nothing about the events that occured beforehand but making it seem as if the police simply randomly started spraying a whole bunch of students with pepper spray. One girl even says, "I think UCD just got radicalized," Carla told the World Socialist Web Site. "We're going to meet back here next week... I feel like we have to understand that this system is not set up to protect us—we have a human response to say, 'that's completely unjust'."

When the media acts the way they do, it is so hard to ever find the truth within a story. Every story has at least two sides, and the media jumps right on the most flashy, interesting, emotional side they can grasp. I simply hope that the students at UC Davis are able to watch the video above, see the events unfold, and realize that the pepper spray usage may not hae been as "completely unjust" as they originally claimed. Lots of my friends go to UC Davis, so it will be interesting over Christmas break to ask them if they watched it. (Finally, something to talk about other than Sandusky and Joe Paterno!)

Cyber Security Simulation (Inspired Post 6)

After listening to Jim Lewis speak about Cyber Security on the first day of our trip to CSIS, I felt as if I had learned a lot about the topic, but still felt overwhelmed by the idea of doing a Cyber Security Simulation the following day. During lunch on Thursday, I reviewed the notes that I had taken during his presentation in preparation for the simulation. When the simulation finally began, it was awkward because we sat there and attempted to come up with three pillars for cyber security but didn't want to go too in depth knowing that any minute something new would be thrown our way.

When we initially found out the Chicago's power had gone down and it was an expected cyber attack, the first thing our group did was rule out pointing fingers.

We didn't want to blame anyone for this attack until we had hard, legitimate evidence to support such an accusation. This was a very interesting situation to be put in. We needed to find out who did it (Madame President was waiting) but we had no real evidence, let alone any real leads. We didn't know who we could trust so collaborating with other allies seemed like a poor choice. We also didn't even know if the attack had come internally, so we didn't even know if we could trust our own people.



Once China was thrown into the mix, the situation became much more complicated. We had to watch our every move to make sure we didn't piss of China, but we also had to look over our shoulder to make sure China wasn't planning another attack.

For me, this simulation was an extremely good look at the problems that government officials face. Although these may not be entirely indicative of every day problems, it must be true that they are often expected to find solutions when they don't really know where to look. It is also true that we never know who are our allies and who is working against us (be it a whole country or simply an individual within that country) so it is quite a difficult predicament. I think the intensity of this simulation, combined with the effort that the students put in to come up with well thought out plans, made for a really successful and meaningful experience. I think that this a course that all students who aim to be policymakers ought to take. Because of the Honors College, I have been afforded the opportunity to take classes that were so unique and such incredible experiences. I am extremely grateful to have had the chance to go to CSIS and I plan to find as many other Honors courses like this one to take before I graduate. And of course, getting a $15 Starbucks gift card for winning the simulation was a pretty big perk, too! :)

CSIS Experience (Required Post #12)

 
After spending a few days inside the Center for Strategic and International Studies, I feel as if I finally have a clear understanding of what a think tank is and what they really do. It is hard to only read about something as complex as a think tank...the experience of listening to speakers, sitting in on an event and doing a simulation we're so much more effective than reading in a book. 

One of the things that impressed me most about CSIS was how up to date all of their material is. In the Seven Revolutions presentation, it seemed as if Scott had updated his information the day before he gave the presentation. I saw the same trend throughout the other presentations. I think staying up-to-date is essential for a think tank because of how quickly the facts and information changes. Having the most recent data is likely part of what gives them legitimacy with policymakers.

I really appreciated all of the speakers' willingness to answer the questions we had to the best of their ability. They each arrived very prepared to speak with us and make sure that we got the most out of the short time we had together. I was even a little surprised that some of them (Arnaud, Jim Lewis) were able to spend a full hour with us, when I am sure they had a million other things they could have been doing. And I'm sure they do that kind of thing a lot as it sounded like many student groups come through CSIS.

I also found it interesting that a good handful of the speakers we listened to made sure to explain that CSIS was a nonpartisan or bipartisan (they all said both) company. This blog talks about why our government should look to nonpartisan committees rather than bipartisan ones. I completely agree with what he has to say. I also think that CSIS ought to aim to be nonpartisan rather than bipartisan. America's political parties are so extreme and so limiting, that if policy was created without taking them into consideration, it would likely be better legislation. But then again, the likelihood of it getting passed would probably be less.

 One of the things that I least liked about CSIS was what I learned in the student panel: there is essentially no room for advancement. Students come in, do the (pardon my french) bitch work for a few years and then move on to bigger and better opportunities. It is as if CSIS is only a spring board for these young professionals. With that in mind, where is the incentive to teach the younger people or on the other hand for the younger people to try their absolute best. It just seems kind of weird to take a job and spend at least two years of your life just looking for the next opportunity. But I guess that is sort of how Washington is...

I found myself being very glad that I had decided not to major in Political Science, that I had decided not to do to Washington program (in which PSU students spend a semester in DC being taught by PSU professors while completing an internship). The environment and the culture seems to rushed and too intense for me. But then again, I am from California. I was inspired, though, to continue to pursue policy making outside of the capital. In my major, Education and Public Policy, there are opportunities for policy making all over the nation (and truly all over the world).

Overall, I had a great experience at CSIS. I learned a great deal, not only about the topics we discussed but also about the organization and Washington, DC as a whole.

Cybersecurity (Required Post #11)

This week in class we discussed a lot about cyber security. While this is a topic I am facing everyday when I log onto my computer, check my Facebook, sign into Gmail, or do a search on Google-- I had rarely considered the issue and knew little about its importance. My generation is so used to using the internet for just about every facet of our lives that we don't think about the implications it could have on our rights to privacy. After reading "The Significance of the Frontier: Why Privacy and Cybersecurity Clash" by James Lewis, I felt as if I got a much better understanding of the issue at hand. Cybersecurity is an extremely important, controversial and prevalent issue in today's world. The topics brought up in this article are essential for us to understand as we move forward. The article in its entirety can be found here.

Lewis states that "we are moving ineluctably into an era of decreased privacy." He believes that as we move into the 21st century and begin utilizing all the technology that surrounds us, it is inevitable that we will experience less and less privacy. Yet Lewis does not believe that less privacy necessarily means less civil liberties. While I was initially skeptical by this claim, his statement, "If free speech and freedom of assembly are protected, less privacy will not lead to decreased political freedom and civil liberties in democratic states" definitely got me thinking. After reading why he feels this way, I tend to agree with Lewis. If we are legally allowed to speak, assemble and protest freely, then our privacy may not seem as essential, as long as these rights are forever protected.

Lewis then discusses the issue of anonymity. I am in the position of which I believe that the ability to remain anonymous on the internet is essential. It is essential for the flow of information, as people will be less apt to share information if they feel as if they are being watched or tracked and if they feel as if the information can be directly linked to them. While this picture is somewhat extreme...

it is more or less our expectation when using the internet. The internet has developed in a way that remaining anonymous has been a part of its core--it is how we began using the internet and how we aim to continue. Some have argued the need for a personalized avatar of sorts in which an individual's actions on the internet could all be traced back to that being. I think this goes against everything that the internet stands for and everything it was intended for.

One quote about anonymity that really spoke to me in light of recent events was: "Anonymity can allow the expression of opinions without fear of retaliation, such as an employee revealing misdeeds by an employer." I find this to be a really good example of why anonymity is essential not only on the internet but also in real life in the real world.


In general, I think cybersecurity is an issue that requires our utmost concern because remaining anonymous on the internet while keeping our privacy AND our civil liberties is absolutely essential.

TEDxPSU (Bonus Blog)

This morning I attended session one of TEDxPSU. My best guess is that about 800 participants gathered in Alumni Hall to hear speakers on a variety of different topics discussing "ideas worth spreading".

The introduction was a video in which the founders of TED explained that they had very little to do with the day we were about to experience, but rather the local community defined our experience. That's what is so interesting about TED. It provides a few simple tools for localities to use to put together a TEDx event, and then lets them run with their ideas.

Ideas are spread at these individual events around the globe and then broadcasted online for all to see. A specific number of minutes at each TED event is required to be dedicated to sharing the ideas of past events. For example, this video was shared at TEDxPSU.

This particular video is from Edinburgh, Scotland but was seen not only at Penn State today, but also has over 450,000 views on YouTube. It is also available with subtitles in 43 different languages. TED is changing the way we share and spread information. It is allowing people from all over the world to have their voices be heard in a constructive, straight-forward manner. TED is inspiring us to think bigger than ourselves and learn from the world around us. TED is globalization and it is awesome!


The topics of this mornings talks ranged from understanding that the deaf are bilingual to giving plants mobility to global warming. Yet what I realized from attending today's event was that TED is so much bigger than the speeches given at each single event or the videos that come from those events. It is about the thousands upon thousands of stories and ideas that are shared with anyone who is willing listen. It doesn't matter where you grew up or where you come from, not only can you hear all the amazing ideas worth spreading, but if you have your own idea, you can spread it too.


If you log onto ted.com, the front page hosts an array of different videos that all have different topics. When you put your cursor over each different video, there is not only a description, but also a few labels that each video has been given. For example, a video could be frequently deemed informative, inspiring, unconvincing, persuasive, fascinating, beautiful or funny. But the only way to really tell, is to watch it yourself.


One of the most impressive parts about today's event was the use of technology. I often find PowerPoints to be fairly distracting and to take away from a presentation like this. Yet the PowerPoints today were crafted so carefully and so strategically, they did nothing more than supplement the material. Most of the slides were extremely simple, with about 5 words tops. There were pictures that said more words than the speaker could in their entire presentation. They were clean, well-prepared, and added to the presentation. That is how PowerPoints ought to always be used.


Overall, I was extremely impressed by the work that the TEDxPSU team did to bring this event together. Not only was the event live in Alumni Hall, there were also viewing rooms around the HUB and a live stream online here. Around 2pm when I logged on, there were 50 people currently watching the stream and there had been over 700 views throughout the day. I can't wait until TED becomes as popular as it deserves to be. Most people have seen a TED talk or two, but I think the possibilities are endless for the utilization of the information they provide. I have already had a professor use a TED talk in class and I hope that as I move forward in my education, I will only see more of these ideas spread through the classroom, through the community, and around the world.