Discussion Question #4

So, I could not do a YouTube video lecture yesterday--I fell victim to a nasty migraine headache.  This has not been a good term as far as my health is concerned.  Oh well.  At least I have not had to cancel any class yet.
Anyway, I was all set with my talking points and to record a video from my office on campus.  But, guess what?  I didn't bring with me the Bluetooth gadget ..... aaaaaaahhhh!!!! 

Chapters 6 and 7 are discussions on many interesting aspects of urban economic georgaphy--you know, the kind of topics that keep me going on and on. 
DO NOT worry about the differences in the urban models that are discussed there. But, I want you to get a feel for how we might reduce the complex world to models.  Obviously, when we reduce the complexities of the world to simpler models, well, we have to sacrifice on nuances--which is the reason why we then have competing models.

I would like you to make sure you understand the importance of the following concepts, at least:

• The importance of human talent in modern economic georgaphy
• Flexibility of production
• Agglomeration economies (urbanization and localization economies)
  
• The Rust Belt
• The Central Business District (CBD) and suburbs

Now, after reading up the chapters and having an understanding of the concepts I have listed, you might probably wonder whether all these are strictly academic concepts that pointy-headed intellectuals worry about in their free time, or whether they actually have real world implications. 

So, I want you to have an opportunity to check it out for yourself, which is where DQ #4 comes in.
Read this article by Richard Florida.  Don't worry--it is a very, very, very, short piece :-) 
After reading the article, think about the article with respect to the concepts that I asked you to focus on--the previous bullet list.

Your task for DQ#4:

Take up any one of those concepts and test that against Florida's arguments--does Florida's essay validate those concepts?  Contradict those concepts?  ....

Your response does not have to be about each and every one of those concepts--focusing on one of them is all you need to do.  Which also then means that later responses should either be about the uncovered concepts or should continue with the conversation with richer details and arguments.

Let me know if I have not presented the task clearly enough. 

Feedback on Essay 1, and grades

First, I have posted here my feedback (your scores) on your DQs and Essay 1.

Second, Bob emailed me that the text notes that the:

terms "Third World, Less developed world, and Developing countries" are all used interchangeably.(pg 425 bottom left)

I would "argue" with the text's authors that using "Third World" in academic contexts is not kosher--has not been kosher for a few years now.

Now, about the essay itself:
1. Stay focused on the question.  In most of my classes, and definitely in the online classes, I started requiring paper-length responses to specific questions.  Only graduate students get the "luxury" of choosing a topic on their own for a final paper. 
The question this time was specifically about urbanization and economic development.  It was not about the US alone, and not about urban sprawl.

2. Follow the directions. 

3. Write well.Avoid some of the common issues that I came across--such as:

• "we", "you", "our", etc.: if you mean by "we" the United States, then write it out as "the United States".  "You" refers to the reader, which is me and I bet that is not what you--as the writer--intended.
• "I feel", "I believe", "I think", etc.: It is your paper that you are writing.  So, unless you are borrowing ideas from somebody else, then I as the reader know that those are your arguments.  No need to qualify them with additional wording.  
• spelling mistakes: More so when word-processing programs highlight the mistake even as we type a word.  Spell-check maniacally!
• metaphors: the best rule is to avoid them.  If you simply cannot resist that temptation, then use them sparingly.  And, most of all, do not mix metaphors.  

4. Support your arguments.  Think of yourself as a lawyer presenting a case to the judge and jury.  As much as lawyers can be very good talkers, they make sure they introduce evidence to support their arguments.  They bring in experts to testify.  It is the same logic here. 
Do not base all your arguments only on one example--particularly the personal examples.  A quick question should arise right away: what if the example is merely an exception?  Thus, we find support through what other people have demonstrated through their research and analysis.

5. Use appropriate technical knowledge gained from this course.  For instance, when you want to argue that urbanization and economic development have a mutually reinforcing relationship, maybe that is when you can highlight circular/cumulative causation.  

In a way, the rubric I had referred you to addresses many of these aspects of writing a paper. 

My computer is having problems with attaching files.  So, I will have to wait--maybe until tomorrow--to email you the Word files of yours where I have inserted my comments. 
I have provided an example of a good response to the question.  I have removed from the paper the name of the student--so, there is no loss of privacy.

Finally, do not get discouraged if the grade is not what you were expecting, or if I have too many comments on your paper.  This is after all only one component for the final grade. I am confident that your next set of responses will be significantly better than this one--that has been my experience in classes past, and there is no reason for me to even remotely think improvements will not happen this time too.

As always, feel free to contact me.

First and Third Worlds .... no more

Hey, I am a tad past the halfway mark in terms of the number of essays I have graded thus far.  I should be able to complete the grading before this evening.  I will update you at that time.

In your responses to DQ 3 and in some of your essays I notice the usage of "Third World" countries and cities.  Yes, colloquially we use them.  But not anymore in the academic world.  Which is why the textbook authors and I use phrases like "developing countries" ....

So, what is the deal with "First" and "Third" Worlds anyway?  It refers more to the Cold War era than anything else.  Western European countries, Japan, Australia, US, Canada, etc. were classified as the First World, back in the dark ages of the nasty Cold War, and the Soviet bloc countries were the Second World.  And the rest of the world, which was mostly poor countries anyway, were referred to as the Third World.

In a way, a majority of the so-called Third World countries were also members of the Non-Aligned Movement--that they were not aligned with the American influence nor with the Soviet influence.  I personally think that this non-alignment was more a fiction than a fact; but the reality was that this was a large number of countries.

Of course, the fall of the Soviet Union and the communist governments of its erstwhile ideologically aligned countries means that there is no longer a "Soviet bloc" and no "Second World."  East Germany--a former Second World country--does not exist anymore and neither does Czechoslovakia, which split up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Meanwhile, many old Third World countries have rapidly moved out of "Third World" economic conditions.  Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Brazil, ..... the list is long.

So, the academic world, and the political world too, has abandoned the usage of "Third World".  If we are not happy with a dualistic Developed versus Developing usage, then we go with, for instance, "high income", "middle income" and "low income".  Note that "middle income" does not mean the old "Second World"--there is no one-to-one correspondence other than that at the high-income level.

I hope this helps.  Let me know if I can "talk" more about this; will gladly do.  Meanwhile, I will get back to grading.