The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Transcript:
The global economic financial crisis has reignited public interestin something that's actually one of the oldest questions in economics,dating back to at least before Adam Smith.And that is, why is it that countries with seemingly similar economies and institutionscan display radically different savings behavior?
Now, many brilliant economists have spent their entire lives working on this question,and as a field we've made a tremendous amount of headwayand we understand a lot about this.What I'm here to talk with you about today is an intriguing new hypothesisand some surprisingly powerful new findings that I've been working onabout the link between the structure of the language you speakand how you find yourself with the propensity to save.Let me tell you a little bit about savings rates, a little bit about language,and then I'll draw that connection.
Let's start by thinking about the member countries of the OECD,or the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development.OECD countries, by and large, you should think about theseas the richest, most industrialized countries in the world.And by joining the OECD, they were affirming a common commitmentto democracy, open markets and free trade.Despite all of these similarities, we see huge differences in savings behavior.
So all the way over on the left of this graph,what you see is many OECD countries saving over a quarter of their GDP every year,and some OECD countries saving over a third of their GDP per year.Holding down the right flank of the OECD, all the way on the other side, is Greece.And what you can see is that over the last 25 years,Greece has barely managed to save more than 10 percent of their GDP.It should be noted, of course, that the United States and the U.K. are the next in line.
Now that we see these huge differences in savings rates,how is it possible that language might have something to do with these differences?Let me tell you a little bit about how languages fundamentally differ.Linguists and cognitive scientists have been exploring this question for many years now.And then I'll draw the connection between these two behaviors.
Many of you have probably already noticed that I'm Chinese.I grew up in the Midwest of the United States.And something I realized quite early onwas that the Chinese language forced me to speak about and --in fact, more fundamentally than that --ever so slightly forced me to think about family in very different ways.
Now, how might that be? Let me give you an example.Suppose I were talking with you and I was introducing you to my uncle.You understood exactly what I just said in English.If we were speaking Mandarin Chinese with each other, though,I wouldn't have that luxury.I wouldn't have been able to convey so little information.What my language would have forced me to do,instead of just telling you, "This is my uncle,"is to tell you a tremendous amount of additional information.My language would force me to tell youwhether or not this was an uncle on my mother's side or my father's side,whether this was an uncle by marriage or by birth,and if this man was my father's brother,whether he was older than or younger than my father.All of this information is obligatory. Chinese doesn't let me ignore it.And in fact, if I want to speak correctly,Chinese forces me to constantly think about it.
Now, that fascinated me endlessly as a child,but what fascinates me even more today as an economistis that some of these same differences carry through to how languages speak about time.So for example, if I'm speaking in English, I have to speak grammatically differentlyif I'm talking about past rain, "It rained yesterday,"current rain, "It is raining now,"or future rain, "It will rain tomorrow."Notice that English requires a lot more information with respect to the timing of events.Why? Because I have to consider thatand I have to modify what I'm saying to say, "It will rain," or "It's going to rain."It's simply not permissible in English to say, "It rain tomorrow."
In contrast to that, that's almost exactly what you would say in Chinese.A Chinese speaker can basically say somethingthat sounds very strange to an English speaker's ears.They can say, "Yesterday it rain," "Now it rain," "Tomorrow it rain."In some deep sense, Chinese doesn't divide up the time spectrumin the same way that English forces us to constantly do in order to speak correctly.
Is this difference in languagesonly between very, very distantly related languages, like English and Chinese?Actually, no.So many of you know, in this room, that English is a Germanic language.What you may not have realized is that English is actually an outlier.It is the only Germanic language that requires this.For example, most other Germanic language speakersfeel completely comfortable talking about rain tomorrowby saying, "Morgen regnet es,"quite literally to an English ear, "It rain tomorrow."
This led me, as a behavioral economist, to an intriguing hypothesis.Could how you speak about time, could how your language forces you to think about time,affect your propensity to behave across time?You speak English, a futured language.And what that means is that every time you discuss the future,or any kind of a future event,grammatically you're forced to cleave that from the presentand treat it as if it's something viscerally different.Now suppose that that visceral differencemakes you subtly dissociate the future from the present every time you speak.If that's true and it makes the future feellike something more distant and more different from the present,that's going to make it harder to save.If, on the other hand, you speak a futureless language,the present and the future, you speak about them identically.If that subtly nudges you to feel about them identically,that's going to make it easier to save.
Now this is a fanciful theory.I'm a professor, I get paid to have fanciful theories.But how would you actually go about testing such a theory?Well, what I did with that was to access the linguistics literature.And interestingly enough, there are pockets of futureless language speakerssituated all over the world.This is a pocket of futureless language speakers in Northern Europe.Interestingly enough, when you start to crank the data,these pockets of futureless language speakers all around the worldturn out to be, by and large, some of the world's best savers.
Just to give you a hint of that,let's look back at that OECD graph that we were talking about.What you see is that these bars are systematically tallerand systematically shifted to the leftcompared to these bars which are the members of the OECD that speak futured languages.What is the average difference here?Five percentage points of your GDP saved per year.Over 25 years that has huge long-run effects on the wealth of your nation.
Now while these findings are suggestive,countries can be different in so many different waysthat it's very, very difficult sometimes to account for all of these possible differences.What I'm going to show you, though, is something that I've been engaging in for a year,which is trying to gather all of the largest datasetsthat we have access to as economists,and I'm going to try and strip away all of those possible differences,hoping to get this relationship to break.And just in summary, no matter how far I push this, I can't get it to break.Let me show you how far you can do that.
One way to imagine that is I gather large datasets from around the world.So for example, there is the Survey of Health, [Aging] and Retirement in Europe.From this dataset you actually learn that retired European familiesare extremely patient with survey takers.(Laughter)So imagine that you're a retired household in Belgium and someone comes to your front door."Excuse me, would you mind if I peruse your stock portfolio?Do you happen to know how much your house is worth? Do you mind telling me?Would you happen to have a hallway that's more than 10 meters long?If you do, would you mind if I timed how long it took you to walk down that hallway?Would you mind squeezing as hard as you can, in your dominant hand, this deviceso I can measure your grip strength?How about blowing into this tube so I can measure your lung capacity?"The survey takes over a day.(Laughter)Combine that with a Demographic and Health Surveycollected by USAID in developing countries in Africa, for example,which that survey actually can go so far as to directly measure the HIV statusof families living in, for example, rural Nigeria.Combine that with a world value survey,which measures the political opinions and, fortunately for me, the savings behaviorsof millions of families in hundreds of countries around the world.
Take all of that data, combine it, and this map is what you get.What you find is nine countries around the worldthat have significant native populationswhich speak both futureless and futured languages.And what I'm going to do is form statistical matched pairsbetween families that are nearly identical on every dimension that I can measure,and then I'm going to explore whether or not the link between language and savings holdseven after controlling for all of these levels.
What are the characteristics we can control for?Well I'm going to match families on country of birth and residence,the demographics -- what sex, their age --their income level within their own country,their educational achievement, a lot about their family structure.It turns out there are six different ways to be married in Europe.And most granularly, I break them down by religionwhere there are 72 categories of religions in the world --so an extreme level of granularity.There are 1.4 billion different ways that a family can find itself.
Now effectively everything I'm going to tell you from now onis only comparing these basically nearly identical families.It's getting as close as possible to the thought experimentof finding two families both of whom live in Brusselswho are identical on every single one of these dimensions,but one of whom speaks Flemish and one of whom speaks French;or two families that live in a rural district in Nigeria,one of whom speaks Hausa and one of whom speaks Igbo.
Now even after all of this granular level of control,do futureless language speakers seem to save more?Yes, futureless language speakers, even after this level of control,are 30 percent more likely to report having saved in any given year.Does this have cumulative effects?Yes, by the time they retire, futureless language speakers, holding constant their income,are going to retire with 25 percent more in savings.
Can we push this data even further?Yes, because I just told you, we actually collect a lot of health data as economists.Now how can we think about health behaviors to think about savings?Well, think about smoking, for example.Smoking is in some deep sense negative savings.If savings is current pain in exchange for future pleasure,smoking is just the opposite.It's current pleasure in exchange for future pain.What we should expect then is the opposite effect.And that's exactly what we find.Futureless language speakers are 20 to 24 percent less likelyto be smoking at any given point in time compared to identical families,and they're going to be 13 to 17 percent less likelyto be obese by the time they retire,and they're going to report being 21 percent more likelyto have used a condom in their last sexual encounter.I could go on and on with the list of differences that you can find.It's almost impossible not to find a savings behaviorfor which this strong effect isn't present.
My linguistics and economics colleagues at Yale and I are just starting to do this workand really explore and understand the ways that these subtle nudgescause us to think more or less about the future every single time we speak.Ultimately, the goal,once we understand how these subtle effects can change our decision making,we want to be able to provide people toolsso that they can consciously make themselves better saversand more conscious investors in their own future.
Thank you very much.
(Applause)
In this blog, teachers, students and all those who have some kind of interest in the English language will find useful, interesting, curious and funny things to be used in their classes or for their personal enjoyment.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
EDU-TED Talks-Andreas Schleider: Use data to build better schools (PISA)
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Transcript:
Radical openness is still a distant futurein the field of school education.We have such a hard time figuring outthat learning is not a place but an activity.
But I want to tell you the story of PISA,OECD's test to measure the knowledge and skillsof 15-year-olds around the world,and it's really a story of how international comparisonshave globalized the field of education that we usually treatas an affair of domestic policy.
Look at how the world looked in the 1960s,in terms of the proportion of peoplewho had completed high school.You can see the United States ahead of everyone else,and much of the economic success of the United Statesdraws on its long-standing advantageas the first mover in education.But in the 1970s, some countries caught up.In the 1980s, the global expansionof the talent pool continued.And the world didn't stop in the 1990s.So in the '60s, the U.S. was first.In the '90s, it was 13th,and not because standards had fallen,but because they had risen so much faster elsewhere.
Korea shows you what's possible in education.Two generations ago, Korea had the standard of livingof Afghanistan today,and was one of the lowest education performers.Today, every young Korean finishes high school.
So this tells us that, in a global economy,it is no longer national improvement that's the benchmark for success,but the best performing education systems internationally.The trouble is thatmeasuring how much time people spend in schoolor what degree they have got is not alwaysa good way of seeing what they can actually do.Look at the toxic mix of unemployed graduates on our streets,while employers say they cannot find the peoplewith the skills they need.And that tells you that better degrees don't automatically translateinto better skills and better jobs and better lives.
So with PISA, we try to change thisby measuring the knowledge and skillsof people directly.And we took a very special angle to this.We were less interested in whether students can simplyreproduce what they have learned in school,but we wanted to test whether they can extrapolatefrom what they knowand apply their knowledge in novel situations.Now, some people have criticized us for this.They say, you know, such a way of measuring outcomesis terribly unfair to people, because we test studentswith problems they haven't seen before.But if you take that logic, you know,you should consider life unfair, becausethe test of truth in life is not whether we can rememberwhat we learned in school,but whether we are prepared for change,whether we are prepared for jobs that haven't been created,to use technologies that haven't been invented,to solve problems we just can't anticipate today.
And once hotly contested,our way of measuring outcomes has actually quickly become the standard.In our latest assessment in 2009,we measured 74 school systemsthat together cover 87 percent of the economy.This chart shows you the performance of countries.In red, sort of below OECD average.Yellow is so-so, and in green are the countries doing really well.You can see Shanghai, Korea, Singapore in Asia;Finland in Europe;Canada in North America doing really well.You can also see that there is a gap of almostthree and a half school years between15-year-olds in Shanghai and 15-year-olds in Chile,and the gap grows to seven school yearswhen you include the countries with really poor performance.There's a world of difference in the way in whichyoung people are prepared for today's economy.
But I want to introduce a second important dimensioninto this picture.Educators like to talk about equity.With PISA, we wanted to measure how they actually deliver equity,in terms of ensuring that peoplefrom different social backgrounds have equal chances.And we see that in some countries, the impactof social background on learning outcomesis very, very strong.Opportunities are unequally distributed.A lot of potential of young children is wasted.We see in other countries that it matters much lessinto which social context you're born.We all want to be there, in the upper right quadrant,where performance is strong and learning opportunities are equally distributed.Nobody, and no country, can afford to be there,where performance is poorand there are large social disparities.And then we can debate, you know, is it betterto be there, where performance is strongat the price of large disparities?Or do we want to focus on equity and accept mediocrity?But actually, if you look at how countries come out on this picture,you see there are a lot of countries that actuallyare combining excellence with equity.In fact, one of the most important lessons from this comparisonis that you don't have to compromise equityto achieve excellence.These countries have moved on from providing excellencefor just some to providing excellence for all,a very important lesson.And that also challenges the paradigms of many school systemsthat believe they are mainly there to sort people.And ever since those results came out, policymakers,educators, researchers from around the worldhave tried to figure outwhat's behind the success of those systems.
But let's step back for a momentand focus on the countries that actually started PISA,and I'm giving them a colored bubble now.And I'm making the size of the bubbleproportionalto the amount of money that countries spent on students.If money would tell you everythingabout the quality of learning outcomes,you would find all the large bubbles at the top, no?But that's not what you see.Spending per student only explains about,well, less than 20 percentof the performance variation among countries,and Luxembourg, for example, the most expensive system,doesn't do particularly well.What you see is that two countries with similar spendingachieve very different results.You also see -- and I think that's one of the most encouraging findings --that we no longer live in a world that is neatly dividedbetween rich and well-educated countries,and poor and badly-educated ones,a very, very important lesson.
Let's look at this in greater detail.The red dot shows youspending per student relative to a country's wealth.One way you can spend money is by paying teachers well,and you can see Korea investing a lotin attracting the best people into the teaching profession.And Korea also invests into long school days,which drives up costs further.Last but not least, Koreans want their teachersnot only to teach but also to develop.They invest in professional development and collaborationand many other things.All that costs money.How can Korea afford all of this?The answer is, students in Korea learn in large classes.This is the blue bar which is driving costs down.You go to the next country on the list, Luxembourg,and you can see the red dot is exactly where it is for Korea,so Luxembourg spends the same per student as Korea does.But, you know, parents and teachers and policymakersin Luxembourg all like small classes.You know, it's very pleasant to walk into a small class.So they have invested all their money into there,and the blue bar, class size, is driving costs up.But even Luxembourg can spend its money only once,and the price for this is thatteachers are not paid particularly well.Students don't have long hours of learning.And basically, teachers have little time to do anything else than teaching.So you can see two countries spent their money very differently,and actually how they spent their moneymatters a lot more than how much they invest in education.
Let's go back to the year 2000.Remember, that was the year before the iPod was invented.This is how the world looked thenin terms of PISA performance.The first thing you can see is that the bubbles were a lot smaller, no?We spent a lot less on education,about 35 percent less on education.So you ask yourself, if education has become so much more expensive,has it become so much better?And the bitter truth really is that, you know,not in many countries.But there are some countries which have seenimpressive improvements.Germany, my own country, in the year 2000,featured in the lower quadrant,below average performance, large social disparities.And remember, Germany, we used to be one of those countriesthat comes out very well when you just count people who have degrees.Very disappointing results.People were stunned by the results.And for the very first time, the public debate in Germanywas dominated for months by education,not tax, not other kinds of issues, but educationwas the center of the public debate.And then policymakers began to respond to this.The federal government dramatically raised its investment in education.A lot was done to increase the life chances of studentswith an immigrant background or from social disadvantage.And what's really interesting is that this wasn't just aboutoptimizing existing policies,but data transformed some of the beliefs and paradigmsunderlying German education.For example, traditionally, the education of the very young childrenwas seen as the business of families, and you would have caseswhere women were seen as neglecting their family responsibilitieswhen they sent their children to kindergarten.PISA has transformed that debate,and pushed early childhood education right at the centerof public policy in Germany.Or traditionally, the German education divides childrenat the age of 10, very young children,between those deemed to pursue careers of knowledge workersand those who would end up working for the knowledge workers,and that mainly along socioeconomic lines,and that paradigm is being challenged now too.A lot of change.
And the good news is, nine years later,you can see improvements in quality and equity.People have taken up the challenge, done something about it.
Or take Korea, at the other end of the spectrum.In the year 2000, Korea did already very well,but the Koreans were concerned that only a small shareof their students achieved the really high levels of excellence.They took up the challenge,and Korea was able to double the proportion of studentsachieving excellence in one decade in the field of reading.Well, if you only focus on your brightest students,you know what happens is disparities grow,and you can see this bubble moving slightly to the other direction,but still, an impressive improvement.
A major overhaul of Poland's educationhelped to dramatically reduce between variability among schools,turn around many of the lowest-performing schools,and raise performance by over half a school year.And you can see other countries as well.Portugal was able to consolidate its fragmented school system,raise quality and improve equity,and so did Hungary.
So what you can actually see, there's been a lot of change.And even those people who complain and say thatthe relative standing of countrieson something like PISA is just an artifact of culture,of economic factors, of social issues,of homogeneity of societies, and so on,these people must now concede that education improvement is possible.You know, Poland hasn't changed its culture.It didn't change its economy. It didn't changethe compositions of its population.It didn't fire its teachers. It changed its education policiesand practice. Very impressive.
And all that raises, of course, the question: What can we learnfrom those countries in the green quadrantwho have achieved high levels of equity,high levels of performance, and raised outcomes?And, of course, the question is, can what works in one contextprovide a model elsewhere?Of course, you can't copy and paste education systems wholesale,but these comparisons have identified a range of factorsthat high-performing systems share.Everybody agrees that education is important.Everybody says that.But the test of truth is, how do you weigh that priorityagainst other priorities?How do countries pay their teachersrelative to other highly skilled workers?Would you want your child to become a teacherrather than a lawyer?How do the media talk about schools and teachers?Those are the critical questions, and what we have learnedfrom PISA is that, in high-performing education systems,the leaders have convinced their citizens to make choicesthat value education, their future,more than consumption today.And you know what's interesting? You won't believe it,but there are countries in which the most attractive placeto be is not the shopping center but the school.Those things really exist.
But placing a high value on educationis just part of the picture.The other part is the belief that all childrenare capable of success.You have some countries where studentsare segregated early in their ages.You know, students are divided up,reflecting the belief that only some childrencan achieve world-class standards.But usually that is linked to very strong social disparities.If you go to Japan in Asia, or Finland in Europe,parents and teachers in those countriesexpect every student to succeed,and you can see that actually mirrored in student behavior.When we asked students what countsfor success in mathematics,students in North America would typically tell us,you know, it's all about talent.If I'm not born as a genius in math, I'd better study something else.Nine out of 10 Japanese students saythat it depends on my own investment, on my own effort,and that tells you a lot about the system that is around them.
In the past, different students were taught in similar ways.High performers on PISA embrace diversitywith differentiated pedagogical practices.They realize thatordinary students have extraordinary talents,and they personalize learning opportunities.
High-performing systems also shareclear and ambitious standards across the entire spectrum.Every student knows what matters.Every student knows what's required to be successful.
And nowhere does the quality of an education systemexceed the quality of its teachers.High-performing systems are very carefulin how they recruit and select their teachersand how they train them.They watch how they improve the performances of teachersin difficulties who are struggling,and how they structure teacher pay.They provide an environment also in which teachers work togetherto frame good practice.And they provide intelligent pathways for teachers to growin their careers.In bureaucratic school systems,teachers are often left alone in classroomswith a lot of prescription on what they should be teaching.High-performing systems are very clear what good performance is.They set very ambitious standards, but then they enabletheir teachers to figure out,what do I need to teach to my students today?The past was about delivered wisdom in education.Now the challenge is to enable user-generated wisdom.High performers have moved on from professionalor from administrative forms of accountability and control --sort of, how do you check whether people do what they're supposed to do in education --to professional forms of work organization.They enable their teachers to make innovations in pedagogy.They provide them with the kind of development they needto develop stronger pedagogical practices.The goal of the past was standardization and compliance.High-performing systems have made teachersand school principals inventive.In the past, the policy focus was on outcomes,on provision.The high-performing systems have helped teachersand school principals to look outwards to the next teacher,the next school around their lives.
And the most impressive outcomes of world-class systemsis that they achieve high performance across the entire system.You've seen Finland doing so well on PISA,but what makes Finland so impressiveis that only five percent of the performance variationamongst students lies between schools.Every school succeeds.This is where success is systemic.And how do they do that?They invest resources where they can make the most difference.They attract the strongest principals into the toughest schools,and the most talented teachersinto the most challenging classroom.
Last but not least, those countries align policiesacross all areas of public policy.They make them coherent over sustained periods of time,and they ensure that what they do is consistently implemented.
Now, knowing what successful systems are doingdoesn't yet tell us how to improve.That's also clear, and that's where some of the limitsof international comparisons of PISA are.That's where other forms of research need to kick in,and that's also why PISA doesn't venture intotelling countries what they should be doing.But its strength lies in telling themwhat everybody else has been doing.And the example of PISA shows that datacan be more powerful than administrative control of financial subsidythrough which we usually run education systems.
You know, some people argue thatchanging educational administrationis like moving graveyards.You just can't rely on the people out there to help you with this. (Laughter)But PISA has shown what's possible in education.It has helped countries to see that improvement is possible.It has taken away excuses from those who are complacent.And it has helped countries to set meaningful targetsin terms of measurable goals achieved by the world's leaders.If we can help every child, every teacher, every school,every principal, every parent see what improvement is possible,that only the sky is the limit to education improvement,we have laid the foundationsfor better policies and better lives.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Transcript:
Radical openness is still a distant futurein the field of school education.We have such a hard time figuring outthat learning is not a place but an activity.
But I want to tell you the story of PISA,OECD's test to measure the knowledge and skillsof 15-year-olds around the world,and it's really a story of how international comparisonshave globalized the field of education that we usually treatas an affair of domestic policy.
Look at how the world looked in the 1960s,in terms of the proportion of peoplewho had completed high school.You can see the United States ahead of everyone else,and much of the economic success of the United Statesdraws on its long-standing advantageas the first mover in education.But in the 1970s, some countries caught up.In the 1980s, the global expansionof the talent pool continued.And the world didn't stop in the 1990s.So in the '60s, the U.S. was first.In the '90s, it was 13th,and not because standards had fallen,but because they had risen so much faster elsewhere.
Korea shows you what's possible in education.Two generations ago, Korea had the standard of livingof Afghanistan today,and was one of the lowest education performers.Today, every young Korean finishes high school.
So this tells us that, in a global economy,it is no longer national improvement that's the benchmark for success,but the best performing education systems internationally.The trouble is thatmeasuring how much time people spend in schoolor what degree they have got is not alwaysa good way of seeing what they can actually do.Look at the toxic mix of unemployed graduates on our streets,while employers say they cannot find the peoplewith the skills they need.And that tells you that better degrees don't automatically translateinto better skills and better jobs and better lives.
So with PISA, we try to change thisby measuring the knowledge and skillsof people directly.And we took a very special angle to this.We were less interested in whether students can simplyreproduce what they have learned in school,but we wanted to test whether they can extrapolatefrom what they knowand apply their knowledge in novel situations.Now, some people have criticized us for this.They say, you know, such a way of measuring outcomesis terribly unfair to people, because we test studentswith problems they haven't seen before.But if you take that logic, you know,you should consider life unfair, becausethe test of truth in life is not whether we can rememberwhat we learned in school,but whether we are prepared for change,whether we are prepared for jobs that haven't been created,to use technologies that haven't been invented,to solve problems we just can't anticipate today.
And once hotly contested,our way of measuring outcomes has actually quickly become the standard.In our latest assessment in 2009,we measured 74 school systemsthat together cover 87 percent of the economy.This chart shows you the performance of countries.In red, sort of below OECD average.Yellow is so-so, and in green are the countries doing really well.You can see Shanghai, Korea, Singapore in Asia;Finland in Europe;Canada in North America doing really well.You can also see that there is a gap of almostthree and a half school years between15-year-olds in Shanghai and 15-year-olds in Chile,and the gap grows to seven school yearswhen you include the countries with really poor performance.There's a world of difference in the way in whichyoung people are prepared for today's economy.
But I want to introduce a second important dimensioninto this picture.Educators like to talk about equity.With PISA, we wanted to measure how they actually deliver equity,in terms of ensuring that peoplefrom different social backgrounds have equal chances.And we see that in some countries, the impactof social background on learning outcomesis very, very strong.Opportunities are unequally distributed.A lot of potential of young children is wasted.We see in other countries that it matters much lessinto which social context you're born.We all want to be there, in the upper right quadrant,where performance is strong and learning opportunities are equally distributed.Nobody, and no country, can afford to be there,where performance is poorand there are large social disparities.And then we can debate, you know, is it betterto be there, where performance is strongat the price of large disparities?Or do we want to focus on equity and accept mediocrity?But actually, if you look at how countries come out on this picture,you see there are a lot of countries that actuallyare combining excellence with equity.In fact, one of the most important lessons from this comparisonis that you don't have to compromise equityto achieve excellence.These countries have moved on from providing excellencefor just some to providing excellence for all,a very important lesson.And that also challenges the paradigms of many school systemsthat believe they are mainly there to sort people.And ever since those results came out, policymakers,educators, researchers from around the worldhave tried to figure outwhat's behind the success of those systems.
But let's step back for a momentand focus on the countries that actually started PISA,and I'm giving them a colored bubble now.And I'm making the size of the bubbleproportionalto the amount of money that countries spent on students.If money would tell you everythingabout the quality of learning outcomes,you would find all the large bubbles at the top, no?But that's not what you see.Spending per student only explains about,well, less than 20 percentof the performance variation among countries,and Luxembourg, for example, the most expensive system,doesn't do particularly well.What you see is that two countries with similar spendingachieve very different results.You also see -- and I think that's one of the most encouraging findings --that we no longer live in a world that is neatly dividedbetween rich and well-educated countries,and poor and badly-educated ones,a very, very important lesson.
Let's look at this in greater detail.The red dot shows youspending per student relative to a country's wealth.One way you can spend money is by paying teachers well,and you can see Korea investing a lotin attracting the best people into the teaching profession.And Korea also invests into long school days,which drives up costs further.Last but not least, Koreans want their teachersnot only to teach but also to develop.They invest in professional development and collaborationand many other things.All that costs money.How can Korea afford all of this?The answer is, students in Korea learn in large classes.This is the blue bar which is driving costs down.You go to the next country on the list, Luxembourg,and you can see the red dot is exactly where it is for Korea,so Luxembourg spends the same per student as Korea does.But, you know, parents and teachers and policymakersin Luxembourg all like small classes.You know, it's very pleasant to walk into a small class.So they have invested all their money into there,and the blue bar, class size, is driving costs up.But even Luxembourg can spend its money only once,and the price for this is thatteachers are not paid particularly well.Students don't have long hours of learning.And basically, teachers have little time to do anything else than teaching.So you can see two countries spent their money very differently,and actually how they spent their moneymatters a lot more than how much they invest in education.
Let's go back to the year 2000.Remember, that was the year before the iPod was invented.This is how the world looked thenin terms of PISA performance.The first thing you can see is that the bubbles were a lot smaller, no?We spent a lot less on education,about 35 percent less on education.So you ask yourself, if education has become so much more expensive,has it become so much better?And the bitter truth really is that, you know,not in many countries.But there are some countries which have seenimpressive improvements.Germany, my own country, in the year 2000,featured in the lower quadrant,below average performance, large social disparities.And remember, Germany, we used to be one of those countriesthat comes out very well when you just count people who have degrees.Very disappointing results.People were stunned by the results.And for the very first time, the public debate in Germanywas dominated for months by education,not tax, not other kinds of issues, but educationwas the center of the public debate.And then policymakers began to respond to this.The federal government dramatically raised its investment in education.A lot was done to increase the life chances of studentswith an immigrant background or from social disadvantage.And what's really interesting is that this wasn't just aboutoptimizing existing policies,but data transformed some of the beliefs and paradigmsunderlying German education.For example, traditionally, the education of the very young childrenwas seen as the business of families, and you would have caseswhere women were seen as neglecting their family responsibilitieswhen they sent their children to kindergarten.PISA has transformed that debate,and pushed early childhood education right at the centerof public policy in Germany.Or traditionally, the German education divides childrenat the age of 10, very young children,between those deemed to pursue careers of knowledge workersand those who would end up working for the knowledge workers,and that mainly along socioeconomic lines,and that paradigm is being challenged now too.A lot of change.
And the good news is, nine years later,you can see improvements in quality and equity.People have taken up the challenge, done something about it.
Or take Korea, at the other end of the spectrum.In the year 2000, Korea did already very well,but the Koreans were concerned that only a small shareof their students achieved the really high levels of excellence.They took up the challenge,and Korea was able to double the proportion of studentsachieving excellence in one decade in the field of reading.Well, if you only focus on your brightest students,you know what happens is disparities grow,and you can see this bubble moving slightly to the other direction,but still, an impressive improvement.
A major overhaul of Poland's educationhelped to dramatically reduce between variability among schools,turn around many of the lowest-performing schools,and raise performance by over half a school year.And you can see other countries as well.Portugal was able to consolidate its fragmented school system,raise quality and improve equity,and so did Hungary.
So what you can actually see, there's been a lot of change.And even those people who complain and say thatthe relative standing of countrieson something like PISA is just an artifact of culture,of economic factors, of social issues,of homogeneity of societies, and so on,these people must now concede that education improvement is possible.You know, Poland hasn't changed its culture.It didn't change its economy. It didn't changethe compositions of its population.It didn't fire its teachers. It changed its education policiesand practice. Very impressive.
And all that raises, of course, the question: What can we learnfrom those countries in the green quadrantwho have achieved high levels of equity,high levels of performance, and raised outcomes?And, of course, the question is, can what works in one contextprovide a model elsewhere?Of course, you can't copy and paste education systems wholesale,but these comparisons have identified a range of factorsthat high-performing systems share.Everybody agrees that education is important.Everybody says that.But the test of truth is, how do you weigh that priorityagainst other priorities?How do countries pay their teachersrelative to other highly skilled workers?Would you want your child to become a teacherrather than a lawyer?How do the media talk about schools and teachers?Those are the critical questions, and what we have learnedfrom PISA is that, in high-performing education systems,the leaders have convinced their citizens to make choicesthat value education, their future,more than consumption today.And you know what's interesting? You won't believe it,but there are countries in which the most attractive placeto be is not the shopping center but the school.Those things really exist.
But placing a high value on educationis just part of the picture.The other part is the belief that all childrenare capable of success.You have some countries where studentsare segregated early in their ages.You know, students are divided up,reflecting the belief that only some childrencan achieve world-class standards.But usually that is linked to very strong social disparities.If you go to Japan in Asia, or Finland in Europe,parents and teachers in those countriesexpect every student to succeed,and you can see that actually mirrored in student behavior.When we asked students what countsfor success in mathematics,students in North America would typically tell us,you know, it's all about talent.If I'm not born as a genius in math, I'd better study something else.Nine out of 10 Japanese students saythat it depends on my own investment, on my own effort,and that tells you a lot about the system that is around them.
In the past, different students were taught in similar ways.High performers on PISA embrace diversitywith differentiated pedagogical practices.They realize thatordinary students have extraordinary talents,and they personalize learning opportunities.
High-performing systems also shareclear and ambitious standards across the entire spectrum.Every student knows what matters.Every student knows what's required to be successful.
And nowhere does the quality of an education systemexceed the quality of its teachers.High-performing systems are very carefulin how they recruit and select their teachersand how they train them.They watch how they improve the performances of teachersin difficulties who are struggling,and how they structure teacher pay.They provide an environment also in which teachers work togetherto frame good practice.And they provide intelligent pathways for teachers to growin their careers.In bureaucratic school systems,teachers are often left alone in classroomswith a lot of prescription on what they should be teaching.High-performing systems are very clear what good performance is.They set very ambitious standards, but then they enabletheir teachers to figure out,what do I need to teach to my students today?The past was about delivered wisdom in education.Now the challenge is to enable user-generated wisdom.High performers have moved on from professionalor from administrative forms of accountability and control --sort of, how do you check whether people do what they're supposed to do in education --to professional forms of work organization.They enable their teachers to make innovations in pedagogy.They provide them with the kind of development they needto develop stronger pedagogical practices.The goal of the past was standardization and compliance.High-performing systems have made teachersand school principals inventive.In the past, the policy focus was on outcomes,on provision.The high-performing systems have helped teachersand school principals to look outwards to the next teacher,the next school around their lives.
And the most impressive outcomes of world-class systemsis that they achieve high performance across the entire system.You've seen Finland doing so well on PISA,but what makes Finland so impressiveis that only five percent of the performance variationamongst students lies between schools.Every school succeeds.This is where success is systemic.And how do they do that?They invest resources where they can make the most difference.They attract the strongest principals into the toughest schools,and the most talented teachersinto the most challenging classroom.
Last but not least, those countries align policiesacross all areas of public policy.They make them coherent over sustained periods of time,and they ensure that what they do is consistently implemented.
Now, knowing what successful systems are doingdoesn't yet tell us how to improve.That's also clear, and that's where some of the limitsof international comparisons of PISA are.That's where other forms of research need to kick in,and that's also why PISA doesn't venture intotelling countries what they should be doing.But its strength lies in telling themwhat everybody else has been doing.And the example of PISA shows that datacan be more powerful than administrative control of financial subsidythrough which we usually run education systems.
You know, some people argue thatchanging educational administrationis like moving graveyards.You just can't rely on the people out there to help you with this. (Laughter)But PISA has shown what's possible in education.It has helped countries to see that improvement is possible.It has taken away excuses from those who are complacent.And it has helped countries to set meaningful targetsin terms of measurable goals achieved by the world's leaders.If we can help every child, every teacher, every school,every principal, every parent see what improvement is possible,that only the sky is the limit to education improvement,we have laid the foundationsfor better policies and better lives.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Buenos Aires:Las mil y una curiosidades de Buenos Aires
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Las mil y una curiosidades de Buenos Aires
Diego M. Zigiotto convirtió su pasión por la ciudad en una colección interminable de anécdotas, mitos, y leyendas sobre los 48 barrios; hoy, enseña a recorrerla como si fuera la primera vez
Por Valeria Vera | LA NACION
El colorido barrio de La Boca, un clásico de la ciudad que ni turistas ni porteños desean perderse. Foto: LA NACION / Ezequiel Muñoz
En "Balada para un loco", el poeta y letrista Horario Ferrer recreó ese "qué se yo" asociado a las tardecitas y calles de Buenos Aires que tiempo después alimentaron otros tantos autores con su propia pasión y admiración por la ciudad. Ese sentimiento, variado, simple y profundo, alcanzó también a muchos que, sin fama, le rindieron su pequeño tributo. Así ocurrió con Diego M. Zigiotto, porteño de nacimiento y por elección, que supo convertir un interés personal en una radiografía completa de sus 48 barrios.
"Nací en Flores, al año me fui a vivir a Lanús y a los 29 volví a la Capital. Siempre me gustó residir en Buenos Aires y no podía estar lejos", reconoce durante la entrevista con LA NACION. Además de porteño, Diego es periodista y agente de viajes. Desde marzo de 2004, lidera un circuito que propone a los visitantes alejarse del tour tradicional para "mostrar hallazgos insólitos, ocultos en las calles, plazas y monumentos de Buenos Aires". Todo ese bagaje de datos y anécdotas culminó en "Las mil y una curiosidades de Buenos Aires", un proyecto, que finalmente tomó forma de libro en 2007 y que ya alcanzó la séptima edición.
"Con frecuencia los mismos participantes me indicaban su deseo de quedarse con algo escrito, una vez transcurrida la excursión. Y así, de a poco, se fue armando como un complejo puzzle", recuerda. "El objetivo es que el público se sorprenda en las calles de esta ciudad en la que vivimos, trabajamos o estudiamos, y en la que estamos siempre urgidos, sin tiempo para mirar aquello que ofrece", asegura en el prólogo.
¿Dónde radica el encanto de la ciudad? La pregunta recorre las casi 450 páginas que conforman su obra, en la que nada, ni siquiera los nombres de las calles, los fantasmas o los personajes legendarios, parece escaparse de su cuidadoso registro.
Como resultado del diálogo que mantuvo con LA NACION acerca de esta colección de misceláneas, se desprende una especie de mapa que invita a recorrer Buenos Aires como si fuera la primera vez.
Los recomendados del autor
El listado de imperdibles que propone este porteño oscila entre sus puntos más clásicos, con datos desconocidos, hasta zonas originales, que escapan de las sugerencias más comunes:
Se trata del primer monumento emplazado en Buenos Aires. Foto: LA NACION / Ezequiel Muñoz
Pirámide de Mayo
- Inaugurada en 1811, al conmemorarse el aniversario de la Revolución de Mayo, representa el primer monumento construido en la ciudad.
- Estaba originalmente emplazada frente a la Catedral, pero en noviembre de 1912 -mientras se realizaban las obras de construcción a cielo abierto del subte A- fue trasladada del "centro" de la plaza. En realidad, aclara Zigiotto, nunca quedó en el centro exacto, sino que por errores de cálculo se desplazó un metro hacia la izquierda, si se la ve desde el nacimiento de la Avenida de Mayo.
- Un dato no menor es que el cantero que la rodea contiene tierra de cada una de las provincias argentinas.
La Boca
- La mayoría de los conventillos de fines del Siglo XIX contaba con un sólo baño, pese a que el promedio de habitantes por inquilinato era de 56 personas.
- "La casa del fantasma", una de las paradas obligadas del itinerario dominguero de los vecinos del lugar, era una suerte de castillo, ubicado en el triángulo que forman las calles Almirante Brown, Benito Perez Galdós y Wenceslao Villafañe. Según una leyenda urbana, en el torreón superior, que escondía un tanque de agua, habitaban fantasmas durante el año.
La bóveda más antigua data de 1823. Foto: LA NACION / Maxie Amena
Cementerio de la Recoleta
- Aloja a casi todas las personalidades ilustres del país, aunque paradójicamente no reposa allí su creador, Bernardino Rivadavia, que tiene su mausoleo en la plaza Miserere.
- Concentra un total de 4780 bóvedas, 80 de las cuales fueron declaradas Monumento Histórico Nacional. La más antigua pertenece a la familia Bustillo y fue edificada en 1823, un año después de la inauguración de la necrópolis.
- Los entierros importantes debían, a fines del Siglo XIX, pasar por la calle Florida antes de ir hacia el cementerio.
Puente de la Mujer
- Diseñado por el valenciano Santiago Calatrava, el puente se inauguró un día polémico para los argentinos: el 20 de diciembre de 2001, cuando caía el gobierno de Fernando De la Rúa.
- Su tramo central puede girar sobre su eje 90 grados en tan sólo dos minutos, y ubicarse paralelo a los diques para cederles el paso a los barcos.
Integran este particular edificio 105 departamentos. Foto: LA NACION
Edificio Kavanagh
- Se trata del primer edificio con aire acondicionado y calefacción de la Argentina, y la estructura de hormigón armado más alta de Sudamérica.
- Actualmente, no tiene cocheras ni portero eléctrico. Cada visitante debe anunciarse en la recepción, y desde allí se da aviso, por teléfono, a alguno de los 105 departamentos.
- La Unesco lo declaró Patrimonio Mundial de la Arquitectura de la Modernidad en 1999. En consecuencia, la distinción exime a los propietarios de pagar impuestos municipales.
Facultad de Ingeniería de la UBA
- Muchos peatones suponen que el edificio de estilo neogótico que se levanta en Las Heras y Azcuénaga es una iglesia. De hecho, se persignan cuando pasan por delante. Sin embargo, constituye una de las sedes de la Facultad de Ingeniería, aunque hasta 1950 funcionó allí la Facultad de Derecho. Por esa razón varios vitrales conservan todavía el símbolo de la balanza, que hace alusión a la Justicia.
- En 1938 la obra quedó interrumpida por su alto costo. Eso explica por qué todavía se percibe la falta de revoque en sus paredes exteriores.
Su gemelo está ubicado en París. Foto: LA NACION / Rodrigo Néspolo
Pasaje Rodolfo Rivarola
- Es uno de los pasajes más peculiares de la ciudad. Diseñado en 1924, tiene entrada por Bartolomé Mitre al 1300 y salida por Teniente General Perón a la misma altura. Cuenta con un gemelo en París: en ambos casos, los frentes de las casas de las veredas opuestas son idénticos, como si se reflejaran en un espejo.
Mirador Massué
- La esquina de Tucumán y Talcahuano conserva la torre del que fuera el palacio Massué. Construido en 1907 por el arquitecto homónimo, era uno de los más extravagantes edificios de Buenos Aires, sobre todo, por su mirador en forma de templete griego. Hoy, esas vistas panorámicas podrían obtenerse desde el Obelisco, si se pudiera subir, o desde alguna habitación en la planta alta o terraza del Hotel Panamericano, ubicado en Carlos Pellegrini al 500.
Una de las esquinas que más refleja el espíritu porteño, según el autor. Foto: LA NACION / Ezequiel Muñoz
Calle Defensa
- "Los Altos de Elorriaga" es la casa más antigua aún en pie, situada en el ángulo noroeste de Adolfo Alsina y Defensa. Su propietaria original fue doña Leocadia Segurola, viuda de Elorriaga. Desde la década de 1970 el lugar pertenece al patrimonio del Museo de la Ciudad.
- En un local diminuto cuyo horno a leña funciona desde 1923, se encuentra Pirillo, una pizzería que en los años cincuenta colocaba en una pizarra los resultados de los partidos de fútbol. Hoy sigue siendo una tradición comer una porción de pizza "de parado", acompañada por un vaso de vino moscato. Se la puede visitar en Defensa al 800.
Sobre las primeras veces...
Edificio público (1595): Se trata de la Real Fortaleza de San Juan Baltasar de Austria, más conocido como El Fuerte. Contaba con un foso -que estaba siempre repleto de basura- y un puente levadizo -que nunca se usó. La cerradura y la llave del portón de hierro del antiguo Fuerte se conservan en el Museo Histórico Nacional.
Confitería (1605): También era una dulcería, que pertenecía a Pedro Copacho, y estaba instalada sobre la actual calle Florida.
Barbero (1605): Se llamaba Manuel Alvarez. Además de afeitar a los vecinos, cumplía labores de médico, con pociones, ungüentos y brebajes provistos por el Cabildo.
Hospital (1611): Era el Hospital San Martín, de la Ciudad o del Rey, y tenía capacidad para veinte enfermos. Comenzó como hospicio para los militares de la guarnición de Buenos Aires, y sólo cuando los soldados dejaban libre alguna cama podían ocuparla los indigentes enfermos.
Comisaría (1826): Funcionaba en Maipú 118, en el barrio de San Nicolás, a cargo del comisario Juan Perichón.
Parque público (1875): Se trata del parque Tres de Febrero, conocido popularmente como los "bosques de Palermo".
Bicicleta (1885): Era un "velocípedo" importado de Francia para la familia Nouguier. Sus llantas eran de acero exigían pedalear con mucha fuerza para lograr avanzar. Dos años después, se abrió la primera bicicletería en la ciudad.
Bautismo (1611): Se realizó en la Iglesia Mayor y la niña se llamaba Antonia Sosa. Intervino el sacerdote Juan Martínez de Macedo.
Casamiento (1611): Los contrayentes fueron Francisco Gery y Francisca Rodríguez, cuya boda se celebró en la misma iglesia y fue oficiada por el mismo sacerdote.
Librería (1759): Estaba ubicada en el barrio San Nicolás y contaba sólo con unos veinte o treinta libros para vender a sus clientes, básicamente a funcionarios virreinales y curas.
Teatro (1783): Era La Ranchería, que recibió su nombre por su cercanía a la zona de ranchos de soldados, negros y aborígenes. En 1792 se incendió por una cañita voladora disparada desde el atrio de una iglesia cercana.
Fuente:www.lanacion.com.ar
Las mil y una curiosidades de Buenos Aires
Diego M. Zigiotto convirtió su pasión por la ciudad en una colección interminable de anécdotas, mitos, y leyendas sobre los 48 barrios; hoy, enseña a recorrerla como si fuera la primera vez
Por Valeria Vera | LA NACION
El colorido barrio de La Boca, un clásico de la ciudad que ni turistas ni porteños desean perderse. Foto: LA NACION / Ezequiel Muñoz
En "Balada para un loco", el poeta y letrista Horario Ferrer recreó ese "qué se yo" asociado a las tardecitas y calles de Buenos Aires que tiempo después alimentaron otros tantos autores con su propia pasión y admiración por la ciudad. Ese sentimiento, variado, simple y profundo, alcanzó también a muchos que, sin fama, le rindieron su pequeño tributo. Así ocurrió con Diego M. Zigiotto, porteño de nacimiento y por elección, que supo convertir un interés personal en una radiografía completa de sus 48 barrios.
"Nací en Flores, al año me fui a vivir a Lanús y a los 29 volví a la Capital. Siempre me gustó residir en Buenos Aires y no podía estar lejos", reconoce durante la entrevista con LA NACION. Además de porteño, Diego es periodista y agente de viajes. Desde marzo de 2004, lidera un circuito que propone a los visitantes alejarse del tour tradicional para "mostrar hallazgos insólitos, ocultos en las calles, plazas y monumentos de Buenos Aires". Todo ese bagaje de datos y anécdotas culminó en "Las mil y una curiosidades de Buenos Aires", un proyecto, que finalmente tomó forma de libro en 2007 y que ya alcanzó la séptima edición.
"Con frecuencia los mismos participantes me indicaban su deseo de quedarse con algo escrito, una vez transcurrida la excursión. Y así, de a poco, se fue armando como un complejo puzzle", recuerda. "El objetivo es que el público se sorprenda en las calles de esta ciudad en la que vivimos, trabajamos o estudiamos, y en la que estamos siempre urgidos, sin tiempo para mirar aquello que ofrece", asegura en el prólogo.
¿Dónde radica el encanto de la ciudad? La pregunta recorre las casi 450 páginas que conforman su obra, en la que nada, ni siquiera los nombres de las calles, los fantasmas o los personajes legendarios, parece escaparse de su cuidadoso registro.
Como resultado del diálogo que mantuvo con LA NACION acerca de esta colección de misceláneas, se desprende una especie de mapa que invita a recorrer Buenos Aires como si fuera la primera vez.
Los recomendados del autor
El listado de imperdibles que propone este porteño oscila entre sus puntos más clásicos, con datos desconocidos, hasta zonas originales, que escapan de las sugerencias más comunes:
Se trata del primer monumento emplazado en Buenos Aires. Foto: LA NACION / Ezequiel Muñoz
Pirámide de Mayo
- Inaugurada en 1811, al conmemorarse el aniversario de la Revolución de Mayo, representa el primer monumento construido en la ciudad.
- Estaba originalmente emplazada frente a la Catedral, pero en noviembre de 1912 -mientras se realizaban las obras de construcción a cielo abierto del subte A- fue trasladada del "centro" de la plaza. En realidad, aclara Zigiotto, nunca quedó en el centro exacto, sino que por errores de cálculo se desplazó un metro hacia la izquierda, si se la ve desde el nacimiento de la Avenida de Mayo.
- Un dato no menor es que el cantero que la rodea contiene tierra de cada una de las provincias argentinas.
La Boca
- La mayoría de los conventillos de fines del Siglo XIX contaba con un sólo baño, pese a que el promedio de habitantes por inquilinato era de 56 personas.
- "La casa del fantasma", una de las paradas obligadas del itinerario dominguero de los vecinos del lugar, era una suerte de castillo, ubicado en el triángulo que forman las calles Almirante Brown, Benito Perez Galdós y Wenceslao Villafañe. Según una leyenda urbana, en el torreón superior, que escondía un tanque de agua, habitaban fantasmas durante el año.
La bóveda más antigua data de 1823. Foto: LA NACION / Maxie Amena
Cementerio de la Recoleta
- Aloja a casi todas las personalidades ilustres del país, aunque paradójicamente no reposa allí su creador, Bernardino Rivadavia, que tiene su mausoleo en la plaza Miserere.
- Concentra un total de 4780 bóvedas, 80 de las cuales fueron declaradas Monumento Histórico Nacional. La más antigua pertenece a la familia Bustillo y fue edificada en 1823, un año después de la inauguración de la necrópolis.
- Los entierros importantes debían, a fines del Siglo XIX, pasar por la calle Florida antes de ir hacia el cementerio.
Puente de la Mujer
- Diseñado por el valenciano Santiago Calatrava, el puente se inauguró un día polémico para los argentinos: el 20 de diciembre de 2001, cuando caía el gobierno de Fernando De la Rúa.
- Su tramo central puede girar sobre su eje 90 grados en tan sólo dos minutos, y ubicarse paralelo a los diques para cederles el paso a los barcos.
Integran este particular edificio 105 departamentos. Foto: LA NACION
Edificio Kavanagh
- Se trata del primer edificio con aire acondicionado y calefacción de la Argentina, y la estructura de hormigón armado más alta de Sudamérica.
- Actualmente, no tiene cocheras ni portero eléctrico. Cada visitante debe anunciarse en la recepción, y desde allí se da aviso, por teléfono, a alguno de los 105 departamentos.
- La Unesco lo declaró Patrimonio Mundial de la Arquitectura de la Modernidad en 1999. En consecuencia, la distinción exime a los propietarios de pagar impuestos municipales.
Facultad de Ingeniería de la UBA
- Muchos peatones suponen que el edificio de estilo neogótico que se levanta en Las Heras y Azcuénaga es una iglesia. De hecho, se persignan cuando pasan por delante. Sin embargo, constituye una de las sedes de la Facultad de Ingeniería, aunque hasta 1950 funcionó allí la Facultad de Derecho. Por esa razón varios vitrales conservan todavía el símbolo de la balanza, que hace alusión a la Justicia.
- En 1938 la obra quedó interrumpida por su alto costo. Eso explica por qué todavía se percibe la falta de revoque en sus paredes exteriores.
Su gemelo está ubicado en París. Foto: LA NACION / Rodrigo Néspolo
Pasaje Rodolfo Rivarola
- Es uno de los pasajes más peculiares de la ciudad. Diseñado en 1924, tiene entrada por Bartolomé Mitre al 1300 y salida por Teniente General Perón a la misma altura. Cuenta con un gemelo en París: en ambos casos, los frentes de las casas de las veredas opuestas son idénticos, como si se reflejaran en un espejo.
Mirador Massué
- La esquina de Tucumán y Talcahuano conserva la torre del que fuera el palacio Massué. Construido en 1907 por el arquitecto homónimo, era uno de los más extravagantes edificios de Buenos Aires, sobre todo, por su mirador en forma de templete griego. Hoy, esas vistas panorámicas podrían obtenerse desde el Obelisco, si se pudiera subir, o desde alguna habitación en la planta alta o terraza del Hotel Panamericano, ubicado en Carlos Pellegrini al 500.
Una de las esquinas que más refleja el espíritu porteño, según el autor. Foto: LA NACION / Ezequiel Muñoz
Calle Defensa
- "Los Altos de Elorriaga" es la casa más antigua aún en pie, situada en el ángulo noroeste de Adolfo Alsina y Defensa. Su propietaria original fue doña Leocadia Segurola, viuda de Elorriaga. Desde la década de 1970 el lugar pertenece al patrimonio del Museo de la Ciudad.
- En un local diminuto cuyo horno a leña funciona desde 1923, se encuentra Pirillo, una pizzería que en los años cincuenta colocaba en una pizarra los resultados de los partidos de fútbol. Hoy sigue siendo una tradición comer una porción de pizza "de parado", acompañada por un vaso de vino moscato. Se la puede visitar en Defensa al 800.
Sobre las primeras veces...
Edificio público (1595): Se trata de la Real Fortaleza de San Juan Baltasar de Austria, más conocido como El Fuerte. Contaba con un foso -que estaba siempre repleto de basura- y un puente levadizo -que nunca se usó. La cerradura y la llave del portón de hierro del antiguo Fuerte se conservan en el Museo Histórico Nacional.
Confitería (1605): También era una dulcería, que pertenecía a Pedro Copacho, y estaba instalada sobre la actual calle Florida.
Barbero (1605): Se llamaba Manuel Alvarez. Además de afeitar a los vecinos, cumplía labores de médico, con pociones, ungüentos y brebajes provistos por el Cabildo.
Hospital (1611): Era el Hospital San Martín, de la Ciudad o del Rey, y tenía capacidad para veinte enfermos. Comenzó como hospicio para los militares de la guarnición de Buenos Aires, y sólo cuando los soldados dejaban libre alguna cama podían ocuparla los indigentes enfermos.
Comisaría (1826): Funcionaba en Maipú 118, en el barrio de San Nicolás, a cargo del comisario Juan Perichón.
Parque público (1875): Se trata del parque Tres de Febrero, conocido popularmente como los "bosques de Palermo".
Bicicleta (1885): Era un "velocípedo" importado de Francia para la familia Nouguier. Sus llantas eran de acero exigían pedalear con mucha fuerza para lograr avanzar. Dos años después, se abrió la primera bicicletería en la ciudad.
Bautismo (1611): Se realizó en la Iglesia Mayor y la niña se llamaba Antonia Sosa. Intervino el sacerdote Juan Martínez de Macedo.
Casamiento (1611): Los contrayentes fueron Francisco Gery y Francisca Rodríguez, cuya boda se celebró en la misma iglesia y fue oficiada por el mismo sacerdote.
Librería (1759): Estaba ubicada en el barrio San Nicolás y contaba sólo con unos veinte o treinta libros para vender a sus clientes, básicamente a funcionarios virreinales y curas.
Teatro (1783): Era La Ranchería, que recibió su nombre por su cercanía a la zona de ranchos de soldados, negros y aborígenes. En 1792 se incendió por una cañita voladora disparada desde el atrio de una iglesia cercana.
Fuente:www.lanacion.com.ar
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
HHRR-Culture and the HR function-Culture cannot be ignored
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Culture and the HR function
Culture cannot be ignored
What does culture have to do with Human Resources (HR)? Surely the HR function is about contracts and recruitment, pay and conditions, jobs and promotion, training and development? All correct. However if your organisation markets and sells its products overseas, has customers or suppliers in other countries, employs nationals in or from other countries, or moves (expatriates) its employees across the world, then culture is an issue. This fact has been enhanced by globalization where the processes of business (design, manufacture, marketing, retailing, etc.) can be widely dispersed in a physical sense, and completely dispersed in a virtual sense. In the EU, as well as the free trade of goods and services, labour can flow seamlessly across most of its constituent countries, so your UK team could comprise many nationalities. This, together with the need to expatriate staff, means that culture cannot be ignored.
Enhancing awareness, skills and attitudes
Those doing business overseas or managing culturally diverse teams at home are more effective if they are aware of the key variations that occur across cultures, and of some of the distinctive features of particular cultures. For examples, whilst in the UK work is primarily about getting the task done, in Kenya there is a greater focus on forming relationships first. In the US individual drive and innovation are highly valued, whereas in Indonesia the approach is more collective. Attitudes of openness, curiosity and giving others the benefit of the doubt can really help overcome misunderstandings and misconceptions, create relationships where people appreciate each other’s differences, and build teams that utilise such diversity for business advantage. Skills to communicate and negotiate, manage and motivate across cultures help ensure business is gained rather than lost, and employee relations kept positive and productive. The HR function has a key role to play in ensuring employees are equipped with the knowledge and skills to work across cultures and to manage diverse teams, and in fostering open and inclusive attitudes towards cultural diversity.
Mobilising people
Facilitating the movement of employees to work outside their own countries (expatriation) is another area where the HR function can have huge impact. It can mean the difference between the success or failure of an assignment which, quite apart from the personal upheavals involved, also represents a large financial investment by the organisation. Such assignments are required to deliver skills where they are needed, and can be a powerful means of transferring skills to staff locally, as well as accelerating the expatriate’s personal development. To be successful they require HR support at the home location through: careful selection and preparation of the expatriate; contract, remuneration, social security and tax support; removals and travel, career development and repatriation; and at the host location through: local pay, allowances and partner assistance, housing and education, language and cultural awareness.
Together with such administrative and technical support, the HR function also supports expatriates and their families as they live and work in an unfamiliar setting, and thus embodies the organisation’s duty of care when people are at their most vulnerable.
Culture matters
To manage a business successfully across different countries, and to ensure the effective working together of employees of differing nationalities, necessitate that cultural diversity is taken seriously, not least in the HR function, which is charged with supporting the recruitment, retention, expatriation and development of the organisation’s people to work in an increasingly inter-cultural world. So, to the HR function, culture matters.
By Peter Curran, Senior consultant, Farnham Castle Intercultural Training
Source: www.farnhamcastle.com
Culture and the HR function
Culture cannot be ignored
What does culture have to do with Human Resources (HR)? Surely the HR function is about contracts and recruitment, pay and conditions, jobs and promotion, training and development? All correct. However if your organisation markets and sells its products overseas, has customers or suppliers in other countries, employs nationals in or from other countries, or moves (expatriates) its employees across the world, then culture is an issue. This fact has been enhanced by globalization where the processes of business (design, manufacture, marketing, retailing, etc.) can be widely dispersed in a physical sense, and completely dispersed in a virtual sense. In the EU, as well as the free trade of goods and services, labour can flow seamlessly across most of its constituent countries, so your UK team could comprise many nationalities. This, together with the need to expatriate staff, means that culture cannot be ignored.
Enhancing awareness, skills and attitudes
Those doing business overseas or managing culturally diverse teams at home are more effective if they are aware of the key variations that occur across cultures, and of some of the distinctive features of particular cultures. For examples, whilst in the UK work is primarily about getting the task done, in Kenya there is a greater focus on forming relationships first. In the US individual drive and innovation are highly valued, whereas in Indonesia the approach is more collective. Attitudes of openness, curiosity and giving others the benefit of the doubt can really help overcome misunderstandings and misconceptions, create relationships where people appreciate each other’s differences, and build teams that utilise such diversity for business advantage. Skills to communicate and negotiate, manage and motivate across cultures help ensure business is gained rather than lost, and employee relations kept positive and productive. The HR function has a key role to play in ensuring employees are equipped with the knowledge and skills to work across cultures and to manage diverse teams, and in fostering open and inclusive attitudes towards cultural diversity.
Mobilising people
Facilitating the movement of employees to work outside their own countries (expatriation) is another area where the HR function can have huge impact. It can mean the difference between the success or failure of an assignment which, quite apart from the personal upheavals involved, also represents a large financial investment by the organisation. Such assignments are required to deliver skills where they are needed, and can be a powerful means of transferring skills to staff locally, as well as accelerating the expatriate’s personal development. To be successful they require HR support at the home location through: careful selection and preparation of the expatriate; contract, remuneration, social security and tax support; removals and travel, career development and repatriation; and at the host location through: local pay, allowances and partner assistance, housing and education, language and cultural awareness.
Together with such administrative and technical support, the HR function also supports expatriates and their families as they live and work in an unfamiliar setting, and thus embodies the organisation’s duty of care when people are at their most vulnerable.
Culture matters
To manage a business successfully across different countries, and to ensure the effective working together of employees of differing nationalities, necessitate that cultural diversity is taken seriously, not least in the HR function, which is charged with supporting the recruitment, retention, expatriation and development of the organisation’s people to work in an increasingly inter-cultural world. So, to the HR function, culture matters.
By Peter Curran, Senior consultant, Farnham Castle Intercultural Training
Source: www.farnhamcastle.com
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Brasil sacó de la miseria a 22 millones de personas en dos años
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Brasil sacó de la miseria a 22 millones de personas en dos años
El gigante sudamericano se propone localizar a otros 2,5 millones en lugares remotos para acabar definitivamente con la pobreza más extrema
Una de las muchas favelas que hay en Brasil. Foto: Archivo
BRASILIA.- La presidenta Dilma Rousseff anunció este martes que su gobierno ayudó a sacar en dos años a 22 millones de brasileños de la pobreza extrema y ahora se propone localizar a otros 2,5 millones en lugares remotos para acabar definitivamente con la miseria en Brasil.
"Falta muy poco para que superemos la pobreza extrema", dijo la mandataria al anunciar una nueva ampliación de los programas sociales.
"Conseguimos desde junio de 2011, cuando lanzamos el Plan 'Brasil sin Miseria', hasta hoy, que firmo esta nueva ampliación de los beneficios, retirar a 22 millones de brasileños y brasileñas de la miseria", afirmó.
La presidenta consideró que este es "un hecho diferente de lo que está sucediendo en el mundo", donde países que eran líderes en bienestar social están reduciendo los derechos laborales y beneficios sociales de sus ciudadanos.
Rousseff llegó al poder en enero de 2011 con el compromiso de acabar con la miseria en este gigantesco país de 194 millones de habitantes, sexta economía mundial, pero también con una enorme brecha entre ricos y pobres.
Los programas de transferencia de renta conocidos como Bolsa Familia, impulsados por el expresidente Lula desde 2003, "aliviaron mucho la pobreza" en Brasil, integrando a millones de personas a la clase media, pero "en 2011 todavía 22 millones continuaban en extrema pobreza", dijo la ministra de Desarrollo Social Tereza Campello en una entrevista con corresponsales de agencias internacionales.
"Brasil sin Miseria" se ha centrado en garantizar que todas las familias inscritas en los programas sociales del gobierno alcancen una renta per cápita mínima de 70 reales por mes, o 1,25 dólares por día, considerada internacionalmente como el umbral de la extrema pobreza.
Beneficios sociales
El gobierno anunció este martes una última ampliación de los beneficios sociales que se hará efectiva en marzo, con la que pretende llegar a los últimos 2,5 millones de personas inscritas en los programas sociales, pero cuya renta no alcanza ese nivel.
La ministra explicó que existen aún unas 700.000 familias (unos 2,5 millones de personas) que viven en la miseria pero están fuera de los programas sociales, porque viven en áreas remotas del país como la selva amazónica y también en las periferias de las grandes ciudades del sur y sureste.
"Nuestro objetivo es localizar a esas personas en el tiempo que tenemos" de gobierno, que concluye en 2014, señaló.
Casi 50 millones de brasileños se benefician hoy de los programas sociales contra la pobreza, que cuentan con un presupuesto de 11.500 millones de dólares, 60% más que el aplicado al término del gobierno de Lula, en 2010.
Rousseff afirmó que Brasil construyó "la tecnología social más avanzada del mundo (...) capaz de enfrentar el hambre, combatir la miseria y disminuir la desigualdad" y que está exportando a otros países en desarrollo.
Los programas de combate a la pobreza, además de complementar la renta, tienen como prioridad garantizar "acceso a servicios públicos de salud, educación, luz o agua potable o saneamiento", y "llevar oportunidades de empleo a esas familias", dijo a su vez la ministra Campello.
Fuente: www.lanacion.com.ar/Agencias EFE, Télam y AFP.
Brasil sacó de la miseria a 22 millones de personas en dos años
El gigante sudamericano se propone localizar a otros 2,5 millones en lugares remotos para acabar definitivamente con la pobreza más extrema
Una de las muchas favelas que hay en Brasil. Foto: Archivo
BRASILIA.- La presidenta Dilma Rousseff anunció este martes que su gobierno ayudó a sacar en dos años a 22 millones de brasileños de la pobreza extrema y ahora se propone localizar a otros 2,5 millones en lugares remotos para acabar definitivamente con la miseria en Brasil.
"Falta muy poco para que superemos la pobreza extrema", dijo la mandataria al anunciar una nueva ampliación de los programas sociales.
"Conseguimos desde junio de 2011, cuando lanzamos el Plan 'Brasil sin Miseria', hasta hoy, que firmo esta nueva ampliación de los beneficios, retirar a 22 millones de brasileños y brasileñas de la miseria", afirmó.
La presidenta consideró que este es "un hecho diferente de lo que está sucediendo en el mundo", donde países que eran líderes en bienestar social están reduciendo los derechos laborales y beneficios sociales de sus ciudadanos.
Rousseff llegó al poder en enero de 2011 con el compromiso de acabar con la miseria en este gigantesco país de 194 millones de habitantes, sexta economía mundial, pero también con una enorme brecha entre ricos y pobres.
Los programas de transferencia de renta conocidos como Bolsa Familia, impulsados por el expresidente Lula desde 2003, "aliviaron mucho la pobreza" en Brasil, integrando a millones de personas a la clase media, pero "en 2011 todavía 22 millones continuaban en extrema pobreza", dijo la ministra de Desarrollo Social Tereza Campello en una entrevista con corresponsales de agencias internacionales.
"Brasil sin Miseria" se ha centrado en garantizar que todas las familias inscritas en los programas sociales del gobierno alcancen una renta per cápita mínima de 70 reales por mes, o 1,25 dólares por día, considerada internacionalmente como el umbral de la extrema pobreza.
Beneficios sociales
El gobierno anunció este martes una última ampliación de los beneficios sociales que se hará efectiva en marzo, con la que pretende llegar a los últimos 2,5 millones de personas inscritas en los programas sociales, pero cuya renta no alcanza ese nivel.
La ministra explicó que existen aún unas 700.000 familias (unos 2,5 millones de personas) que viven en la miseria pero están fuera de los programas sociales, porque viven en áreas remotas del país como la selva amazónica y también en las periferias de las grandes ciudades del sur y sureste.
"Nuestro objetivo es localizar a esas personas en el tiempo que tenemos" de gobierno, que concluye en 2014, señaló.
Casi 50 millones de brasileños se benefician hoy de los programas sociales contra la pobreza, que cuentan con un presupuesto de 11.500 millones de dólares, 60% más que el aplicado al término del gobierno de Lula, en 2010.
Rousseff afirmó que Brasil construyó "la tecnología social más avanzada del mundo (...) capaz de enfrentar el hambre, combatir la miseria y disminuir la desigualdad" y que está exportando a otros países en desarrollo.
Los programas de combate a la pobreza, además de complementar la renta, tienen como prioridad garantizar "acceso a servicios públicos de salud, educación, luz o agua potable o saneamiento", y "llevar oportunidades de empleo a esas familias", dijo a su vez la ministra Campello.
Fuente: www.lanacion.com.ar/Agencias EFE, Télam y AFP.
SDL Trados Studio-Video Tutorial
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Source: www.youtube.com
Source: www.youtube.com
Sunday, February 17, 2013
TED Talks-Shabana Basij-Rasikh:Dare to Educate Afghan Girls
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TED Talks-Young-Ha Kim: Be an artist, right now!
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Transcript:
The theme of my talk today is,"Be an artist, right now."Most people, when this subject is brought up,get tense and resist it:"Art doesn't feed me, and right now I'm busy.I have to go to school, get a job,send my kids to lessons ... "You think, "I'm too busy. I don't have time for art."There are hundreds of reasons why we can't be artists right now.Don't they just pop into your head?
There are so many reasons why we can't be,indeed, we're not sure why we should be.We don't know why we should be artists,but we have many reasons why we can't be.Why do people instantly resist the idea of associating themselves with art?Perhaps you think art is for the greatly giftedor for the thoroughly and professionally trained.And some of you may think you've strayed too far from art.Well you might have, but I don't think so.This is the theme of my talk today.We are all born artists.
If you have kids, you know what I mean.Almost everything kids do is art.They draw with crayons on the wall.They dance to Son Dam Bi's dance on TV,but you can't even call it Son Dam Bi's dance -- it becomes the kids' own dance.So they dance a strange dance and inflict their singing on everyone.Perhaps their art is something only their parents can bear,and because they practice such art all day long,people honestly get a little tired around kids.
Kids will sometimes perform monodramas --playing house is indeed a monodrama or a play.And some kids, when they get a bit older,start to lie.Usually parents remember the very first time their kid lies.They're shocked."Now you're showing your true colors," Mom says. She thinks, "Why does he take after his dad?"She questions him, "What kind of a person are you going to be?"
But you shouldn't worry.The moment kids start to lie is the moment storytelling begins.They are talking about things they didn't see.It's amazing. It's a wonderful moment.Parents should celebrate."Hurray! My boy finally started to lie!"All right! It calls for celebration.For example, a kid says, "Mom, guess what? I met an alien on my way home."Then a typical mom responds, "Stop that nonsense."Now, an ideal parent is someone who responds like this:"Really? An alien, huh? What did it look like? Did it say anything?Where did you meet it?" "Um, in front of the supermarket."
When you have a conversation like this,the kid has to come up with the next thing to say to be responsible for what he started.Soon, a story develops.Of course this is an infantile story,but thinking up one sentence after the nextis the same thing a professional writer like me does.In essence, they are not different.Roland Barthes once said of Flaubert's novels,"Flaubert did not write a novel.He merely connected one sentence after another.The eros between sentences, that is the essence of Flaubert's novel."That's right -- a novel, basically, is writing one sentence,then, without violating the scope of the first one,writing the next sentence.And you continue to make connections.
Take a look at this sentence:"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug."Yes, it's the first sentence of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis."Writing such an unjustifiable sentenceand continuing in order to justify it,Kafka's work became the masterpiece of contemporary literature.Kafka did not show his work to his father.He was not on good terms with his father.On his own, he wrote these sentences.Had he shown his father, "My boy has finally lost it," he would've thought.
And that's right. Art is about going a little nutsand justifying the next sentence,which is not much different from what a kid does.A kid who has just started to lieis taking the first step as a storyteller.Kids do art.They don't get tired and they have fun doing it.I was in Jeju Island a few days ago.When kids are on the beach, most of them love playing in the water.But some of them spend a lot of time in the sand,making mountains and seas -- well, not seas,but different things -- people and dogs, etc.But parents tell them,"It will all be washed away by the waves."In other words, it's useless.There's no need.But kids don't mind.They have fun in the momentand they keep playing in the sand.Kids don't do it because someone told them to.They aren't told by their bossor anyone, they just do it.
When you were little, I bet you spent time enjoying the pleasure of primitive art.When I ask my students to write about their happiest moment,many write about an early artistic experience they had as a kid.Learning to play piano for the first time and playing four hands with a friend,or performing a ridiculous skit with friends looking like idiots -- things like that.Or the moment you developed the first film you shot with an old camera.They talk about these kinds of experiences.You must have had such a moment.In that moment, art makes you happybecause it's not work.Work doesn't make you happy, does it? Mostly it's tough.
The French writer Michel Tournier has a famous saying.It's a bit mischievous, actually."Work is against human nature. The proof is that it makes us tired."Right? Why would work tire us if it's in our nature?Playing doesn't tire us.We can play all night long.If we work overnight, we should be paid for overtime.Why? Because it's tiring and we feel fatigue.But kids, usually they do art for fun. It's playing.They don't draw to sell the work to a clientor play the piano to earn money for the family.Of course, there were kids who had to.You know this gentleman, right?He had to tour around Europe to support his family --Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart --but that was centuries ago, so we can make him an exception.Unfortunately, at some point our art -- such a joyful pastime -- ends.Kids have to go to lessons, to school, do homeworkand of course they take piano or ballet lessons,but they aren't fun anymore.You're told to do it and there's competition. How can it be fun?If you're in elementary school and you still draw on the wall,you'll surely get in trouble with your mom.Besides,if you continue to act like an artist as you get older,you'll increasingly feel pressure --people will question your actions and ask you to act properly.
Here's my story: I was an eighth grader and I entered a drawing contest at school in Gyeongbokgung.I was trying my best, and my teacher came aroundand asked me, "What are you doing?""I'm drawing diligently," I said."Why are you using only black?"Indeed, I was eagerly coloring the sketchbook in black.And I explained,"It's a dark night and a crow is perching on a branch."Then my teacher said,"Really? Well, Young-ha, you may not be good at drawing but you have a talent for storytelling."Or so I wished."Now you'll get it, you rascal!" was the response. (Laughter)"You'll get it!" he said.You were supposed to draw the palace, the Gyeonghoeru, etc.,but I was coloring everything in black,so he dragged me out of the group.There were a lot of girls there as well,so I was utterly mortified.
None of my explanations or excuses were heard,and I really got it big time.If he was an ideal teacher, he would have responded like I said before,"Young-ha may not have a talent for drawing,but he has a gift for making up stories," and he would have encouraged me.But such a teacher is seldom found.Later, I grew up and went to Europe's galleries --I was a university student -- and I thought this was really unfair.Look what I found. (Laughter)
Works like this were hung in Basel while I was punishedand stood in front of the palace with my drawing in my mouth.Look at this. Doesn't it look just like wallpaper?Contemporary art, I later discovered, isn't explained by a lame story like mine.No crows are brought up.Most of the works have no title, Untitled.Anyways, contemporary art in the 20th centuryis about doing something weird and filling the void with explanation and interpretation --essentially the same as I did.Of course, my work was very amateur,but let's turn to more famous examples.
This is Picasso's.He stuck handlebars into a bike seat and called it "Bull's Head." Sounds convincing, right?Next, a urinal was placed on its side and called "Fountain".That was Duchamp.So filling the gap between explanation and a weird act with stories --that's indeed what contemporary art is all about.Picasso even made the statement,"I draw not what I see but what I think."Yes, it means I didn't have to draw Gyeonghoeru.I wish I knew what Picasso said back then. I could have argued better with my teacher.Unfortunately, the little artists within usare choked to death before we get to fight against the oppressors of art.They get locked in.That's our tragedy.
So what happens when little artists get locked in, banished or even killed?Our artistic desire doesn't go away.We want to express, to reveal ourselves,but with the artist dead, the artistic desire reveals itself in dark form.In karaoke bars, there are always people who sing"She's Gone" or "Hotel California,"miming the guitar riffs.Usually they sound awful. Awful indeed.Some people turn into rockers like this.Or some people dance in clubs.People who would have enjoyed telling storiesend up trolling on the Internet all night long.That's how a writing talent reveals itself on the dark side.
Sometimes we see dads get more excited than their kidsplaying with Legos or putting together plastic robots.They go, "Don't touch it. Daddy will do it for you."The kid has already lost interest and is doing something else,but the dad alone builds castles.This shows the artistic impulses inside us are suppressed, not gone.But they can often reveal themselves negatively, in the form of jealousy.You know the song "I would love to be on TV"? Why would we love it?TV is full of people who do what we wished to do,but never got to.They dance, they act -- and the more they do, they are praised.So we start to envy them.We become dictators with a remote and start to criticize the people on TV."He just can't act." "You call that singing? She can't hit the notes."We easily say these sorts of things.We get jealous, not because we're evil,but because we have little artists pent up inside us.That's what I think.
What should we do then?Yes, that's right.Right now, we need to start our own art.Right this minute, we can turn off TV,log off the Internet,get up and start to do something.Where I teach students in drama school,there's a course called Dramatics.In this course, all students must put on a play.However, acting majors are not supposed to act.They can write the play, for example,and the writers may work on stage art.Likewise, stage art majors may become actors, and in this way you put on a show.Students at first wonder whether they can actually do it,but later they have so much fun. I rarely see anyone who is miserable doing a play.In school, the military or even in a mental institution, once you make people do it, they enjoy it.I saw this happen in the army -- many people had fun doing plays.
I have another experience:In my writing class, I give students a special assignment.I have students like you in the class -- many who don't major in writing.Some major in art or music and think they can't write.So I give them blank sheets of paper and a theme.It can be a simple theme:Write about the most unfortunate experience in your childhood.There's one condition: You must write like crazy. Like crazy!I walk around and encourage them,"Come on, come on!" They have to write like crazy for an hour or two.They only get to think for the first five minutes.
The reason I make them write like crazy is becausewhen you write slowly and lots of thoughts cross your mind,the artistic devil creeps in.This devil will tell you hundreds of reasonswhy you can't write:"People will laugh at you. This is not good writing!What kind of sentence is this? Look at your handwriting!"It will say a lot of things.You have to run fast so the devil can't catch up.The really good writing I've seen in my classwas not from the assignments with a long deadline,but from the 40- to 60-minute crazy writing students didin front of me with a pencil.The students go into a kind of trance.After 30 or 40 minutes, they write without knowing what they're writing.And in this moment, the nagging devil disappears.
So I can say this:It's not the hundreds of reasons why one can't be an artist,but rather, the one reason one must be that makes us artists.Why we cannot be something is not important.Most artists became artists because of the one reason.When we put the devil in our heart to sleep and start our own art,enemies appear on the outside.Mostly, they have the faces of our parents. (Laughter)Sometimes they look like our spouses,but they are not your parents or spouses.They are devils. Devils.They came to Earth briefly transformedto stop you from being artistic, from becoming artists.And they have a magic question.When we say, "I think I'll try acting. There's a drama school in the community center," or"I'd like to learn Italian songs," they ask, "Oh, yeah? A play? What for?"The magic question is, "What for?"But art is not for anything.Art is the ultimate goal.It saves our souls and makes us live happily.It helps us express ourselves and be happy without the help of alcohol or drugs.So in response to such a pragmatic question,we need to be bold."Well, just for the fun of it. Sorry for having fun without you,"is what you should say. "I'll just go ahead and do it anyway."The ideal future I imagine is where we all have multiple identities,at least one of which is an artist.
Once I was in New York and got in a cab. I took the backseat,and in front of me I saw something related to a play.So I asked the driver, "What is this?"He said it was his profile. "Then what are you?" I asked. "An actor," he said.He was a cabby and an actor. I asked, "What roles do you usually play?"He proudly said he played King Lear.King Lear."Who is it that can tell me who I am?" -- a great line from King Lear.That's the world I dream of.Someone is a golfer by day and writer by night.Or a cabby and an actor, a banker and a painter,secretly or publicly performing their own arts.
In 1990, Martha Graham, the legend of modern dance, came to Korea.The great artist, then in her 90s, arrived at Gimpo Airportand a reporter asked her a typical question:"What do you have to do to become a great dancer?Any advice for aspiring Korean dancers?"Now, she was the master. This photo was taken in 1948 and she was already a celebrated artist.In 1990, she was asked this question.And here's what she answered:"Just do it."Wow. I was touched.Only those three words and she left the airport. That's it.So what should we do now?Let's be artists, right now. Right away. How?Just do it!
Thank you.
(Applause)
Transcript:
The theme of my talk today is,"Be an artist, right now."Most people, when this subject is brought up,get tense and resist it:"Art doesn't feed me, and right now I'm busy.I have to go to school, get a job,send my kids to lessons ... "You think, "I'm too busy. I don't have time for art."There are hundreds of reasons why we can't be artists right now.Don't they just pop into your head?
There are so many reasons why we can't be,indeed, we're not sure why we should be.We don't know why we should be artists,but we have many reasons why we can't be.Why do people instantly resist the idea of associating themselves with art?Perhaps you think art is for the greatly giftedor for the thoroughly and professionally trained.And some of you may think you've strayed too far from art.Well you might have, but I don't think so.This is the theme of my talk today.We are all born artists.
If you have kids, you know what I mean.Almost everything kids do is art.They draw with crayons on the wall.They dance to Son Dam Bi's dance on TV,but you can't even call it Son Dam Bi's dance -- it becomes the kids' own dance.So they dance a strange dance and inflict their singing on everyone.Perhaps their art is something only their parents can bear,and because they practice such art all day long,people honestly get a little tired around kids.
Kids will sometimes perform monodramas --playing house is indeed a monodrama or a play.And some kids, when they get a bit older,start to lie.Usually parents remember the very first time their kid lies.They're shocked."Now you're showing your true colors," Mom says. She thinks, "Why does he take after his dad?"She questions him, "What kind of a person are you going to be?"
But you shouldn't worry.The moment kids start to lie is the moment storytelling begins.They are talking about things they didn't see.It's amazing. It's a wonderful moment.Parents should celebrate."Hurray! My boy finally started to lie!"All right! It calls for celebration.For example, a kid says, "Mom, guess what? I met an alien on my way home."Then a typical mom responds, "Stop that nonsense."Now, an ideal parent is someone who responds like this:"Really? An alien, huh? What did it look like? Did it say anything?Where did you meet it?" "Um, in front of the supermarket."
When you have a conversation like this,the kid has to come up with the next thing to say to be responsible for what he started.Soon, a story develops.Of course this is an infantile story,but thinking up one sentence after the nextis the same thing a professional writer like me does.In essence, they are not different.Roland Barthes once said of Flaubert's novels,"Flaubert did not write a novel.He merely connected one sentence after another.The eros between sentences, that is the essence of Flaubert's novel."That's right -- a novel, basically, is writing one sentence,then, without violating the scope of the first one,writing the next sentence.And you continue to make connections.
Take a look at this sentence:"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug."Yes, it's the first sentence of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis."Writing such an unjustifiable sentenceand continuing in order to justify it,Kafka's work became the masterpiece of contemporary literature.Kafka did not show his work to his father.He was not on good terms with his father.On his own, he wrote these sentences.Had he shown his father, "My boy has finally lost it," he would've thought.
And that's right. Art is about going a little nutsand justifying the next sentence,which is not much different from what a kid does.A kid who has just started to lieis taking the first step as a storyteller.Kids do art.They don't get tired and they have fun doing it.I was in Jeju Island a few days ago.When kids are on the beach, most of them love playing in the water.But some of them spend a lot of time in the sand,making mountains and seas -- well, not seas,but different things -- people and dogs, etc.But parents tell them,"It will all be washed away by the waves."In other words, it's useless.There's no need.But kids don't mind.They have fun in the momentand they keep playing in the sand.Kids don't do it because someone told them to.They aren't told by their bossor anyone, they just do it.
When you were little, I bet you spent time enjoying the pleasure of primitive art.When I ask my students to write about their happiest moment,many write about an early artistic experience they had as a kid.Learning to play piano for the first time and playing four hands with a friend,or performing a ridiculous skit with friends looking like idiots -- things like that.Or the moment you developed the first film you shot with an old camera.They talk about these kinds of experiences.You must have had such a moment.In that moment, art makes you happybecause it's not work.Work doesn't make you happy, does it? Mostly it's tough.
The French writer Michel Tournier has a famous saying.It's a bit mischievous, actually."Work is against human nature. The proof is that it makes us tired."Right? Why would work tire us if it's in our nature?Playing doesn't tire us.We can play all night long.If we work overnight, we should be paid for overtime.Why? Because it's tiring and we feel fatigue.But kids, usually they do art for fun. It's playing.They don't draw to sell the work to a clientor play the piano to earn money for the family.Of course, there were kids who had to.You know this gentleman, right?He had to tour around Europe to support his family --Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart --but that was centuries ago, so we can make him an exception.Unfortunately, at some point our art -- such a joyful pastime -- ends.Kids have to go to lessons, to school, do homeworkand of course they take piano or ballet lessons,but they aren't fun anymore.You're told to do it and there's competition. How can it be fun?If you're in elementary school and you still draw on the wall,you'll surely get in trouble with your mom.Besides,if you continue to act like an artist as you get older,you'll increasingly feel pressure --people will question your actions and ask you to act properly.
Here's my story: I was an eighth grader and I entered a drawing contest at school in Gyeongbokgung.I was trying my best, and my teacher came aroundand asked me, "What are you doing?""I'm drawing diligently," I said."Why are you using only black?"Indeed, I was eagerly coloring the sketchbook in black.And I explained,"It's a dark night and a crow is perching on a branch."Then my teacher said,"Really? Well, Young-ha, you may not be good at drawing but you have a talent for storytelling."Or so I wished."Now you'll get it, you rascal!" was the response. (Laughter)"You'll get it!" he said.You were supposed to draw the palace, the Gyeonghoeru, etc.,but I was coloring everything in black,so he dragged me out of the group.There were a lot of girls there as well,so I was utterly mortified.
None of my explanations or excuses were heard,and I really got it big time.If he was an ideal teacher, he would have responded like I said before,"Young-ha may not have a talent for drawing,but he has a gift for making up stories," and he would have encouraged me.But such a teacher is seldom found.Later, I grew up and went to Europe's galleries --I was a university student -- and I thought this was really unfair.Look what I found. (Laughter)
Works like this were hung in Basel while I was punishedand stood in front of the palace with my drawing in my mouth.Look at this. Doesn't it look just like wallpaper?Contemporary art, I later discovered, isn't explained by a lame story like mine.No crows are brought up.Most of the works have no title, Untitled.Anyways, contemporary art in the 20th centuryis about doing something weird and filling the void with explanation and interpretation --essentially the same as I did.Of course, my work was very amateur,but let's turn to more famous examples.
This is Picasso's.He stuck handlebars into a bike seat and called it "Bull's Head." Sounds convincing, right?Next, a urinal was placed on its side and called "Fountain".That was Duchamp.So filling the gap between explanation and a weird act with stories --that's indeed what contemporary art is all about.Picasso even made the statement,"I draw not what I see but what I think."Yes, it means I didn't have to draw Gyeonghoeru.I wish I knew what Picasso said back then. I could have argued better with my teacher.Unfortunately, the little artists within usare choked to death before we get to fight against the oppressors of art.They get locked in.That's our tragedy.
So what happens when little artists get locked in, banished or even killed?Our artistic desire doesn't go away.We want to express, to reveal ourselves,but with the artist dead, the artistic desire reveals itself in dark form.In karaoke bars, there are always people who sing"She's Gone" or "Hotel California,"miming the guitar riffs.Usually they sound awful. Awful indeed.Some people turn into rockers like this.Or some people dance in clubs.People who would have enjoyed telling storiesend up trolling on the Internet all night long.That's how a writing talent reveals itself on the dark side.
Sometimes we see dads get more excited than their kidsplaying with Legos or putting together plastic robots.They go, "Don't touch it. Daddy will do it for you."The kid has already lost interest and is doing something else,but the dad alone builds castles.This shows the artistic impulses inside us are suppressed, not gone.But they can often reveal themselves negatively, in the form of jealousy.You know the song "I would love to be on TV"? Why would we love it?TV is full of people who do what we wished to do,but never got to.They dance, they act -- and the more they do, they are praised.So we start to envy them.We become dictators with a remote and start to criticize the people on TV."He just can't act." "You call that singing? She can't hit the notes."We easily say these sorts of things.We get jealous, not because we're evil,but because we have little artists pent up inside us.That's what I think.
What should we do then?Yes, that's right.Right now, we need to start our own art.Right this minute, we can turn off TV,log off the Internet,get up and start to do something.Where I teach students in drama school,there's a course called Dramatics.In this course, all students must put on a play.However, acting majors are not supposed to act.They can write the play, for example,and the writers may work on stage art.Likewise, stage art majors may become actors, and in this way you put on a show.Students at first wonder whether they can actually do it,but later they have so much fun. I rarely see anyone who is miserable doing a play.In school, the military or even in a mental institution, once you make people do it, they enjoy it.I saw this happen in the army -- many people had fun doing plays.
I have another experience:In my writing class, I give students a special assignment.I have students like you in the class -- many who don't major in writing.Some major in art or music and think they can't write.So I give them blank sheets of paper and a theme.It can be a simple theme:Write about the most unfortunate experience in your childhood.There's one condition: You must write like crazy. Like crazy!I walk around and encourage them,"Come on, come on!" They have to write like crazy for an hour or two.They only get to think for the first five minutes.
The reason I make them write like crazy is becausewhen you write slowly and lots of thoughts cross your mind,the artistic devil creeps in.This devil will tell you hundreds of reasonswhy you can't write:"People will laugh at you. This is not good writing!What kind of sentence is this? Look at your handwriting!"It will say a lot of things.You have to run fast so the devil can't catch up.The really good writing I've seen in my classwas not from the assignments with a long deadline,but from the 40- to 60-minute crazy writing students didin front of me with a pencil.The students go into a kind of trance.After 30 or 40 minutes, they write without knowing what they're writing.And in this moment, the nagging devil disappears.
So I can say this:It's not the hundreds of reasons why one can't be an artist,but rather, the one reason one must be that makes us artists.Why we cannot be something is not important.Most artists became artists because of the one reason.When we put the devil in our heart to sleep and start our own art,enemies appear on the outside.Mostly, they have the faces of our parents. (Laughter)Sometimes they look like our spouses,but they are not your parents or spouses.They are devils. Devils.They came to Earth briefly transformedto stop you from being artistic, from becoming artists.And they have a magic question.When we say, "I think I'll try acting. There's a drama school in the community center," or"I'd like to learn Italian songs," they ask, "Oh, yeah? A play? What for?"The magic question is, "What for?"But art is not for anything.Art is the ultimate goal.It saves our souls and makes us live happily.It helps us express ourselves and be happy without the help of alcohol or drugs.So in response to such a pragmatic question,we need to be bold."Well, just for the fun of it. Sorry for having fun without you,"is what you should say. "I'll just go ahead and do it anyway."The ideal future I imagine is where we all have multiple identities,at least one of which is an artist.
Once I was in New York and got in a cab. I took the backseat,and in front of me I saw something related to a play.So I asked the driver, "What is this?"He said it was his profile. "Then what are you?" I asked. "An actor," he said.He was a cabby and an actor. I asked, "What roles do you usually play?"He proudly said he played King Lear.King Lear."Who is it that can tell me who I am?" -- a great line from King Lear.That's the world I dream of.Someone is a golfer by day and writer by night.Or a cabby and an actor, a banker and a painter,secretly or publicly performing their own arts.
In 1990, Martha Graham, the legend of modern dance, came to Korea.The great artist, then in her 90s, arrived at Gimpo Airportand a reporter asked her a typical question:"What do you have to do to become a great dancer?Any advice for aspiring Korean dancers?"Now, she was the master. This photo was taken in 1948 and she was already a celebrated artist.In 1990, she was asked this question.And here's what she answered:"Just do it."Wow. I was touched.Only those three words and she left the airport. That's it.So what should we do now?Let's be artists, right now. Right away. How?Just do it!
Thank you.
(Applause)
ENG-TED Talks-Erik Schangen: A "Self-Healing" Asphalt
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Transcript:
(Hammer)
(Laughter)
(Microwave beeps) (Laughter)
You probably all agree with methat this is a very nice road.It's made of asphalt,and asphalt is a very nice material to drive on,but not always, especially not on these days as today,when it's raining a lot.Then you can have a lot of splash water in the asphalt.And especially if you then ride with your bicycle,and pass these cars, then that's not very nice.Also, asphalt can create a lot of noise.It's a noisy material,and if we produce roads like in the Netherlands,very close to cities, then we would like a silent road.
The solution for that is to make roadsout of porous asphalt.Porous asphalt, a material that we use nowin most of the highways in the Netherlands,it has pores and water can just rain through it,so all the rainwater will flow away to the sides,and you have a road that's easy to drive on,so no splash water anymore.Also the noise will disappear in these pores.Because it's very hollow, all the noise will disappear,so it's a very silent road.
It also has disadvantages, of course,and the disadvantage of this road is that raveling can occur.What is raveling? You see that in this roadthat the stones at the surface come off.First you get one stone, then several more,and more and more and more and more,and then they -- well, I will not do that. (Laughter)But they can damage your windshield,so you're not happy with that.And finally, this raveling can also lead to more and more damage.Sometimes you can create potholes with that.Ha. He's ready.
Potholes, of course, that can become a problem,but we have a solution.Here you see actually how the damage appears in this material.It's a porous asphalt, like I said, so you have onlya small amount of binder between the stones.Due to weathering, due to U.V. light, due to oxidation,this binder, this bitumen,the glue between the aggregates is going to shrink,and if it shrinks, it gets micro-cracks,and it delaminates from the aggregates.Then if you drive over the road, you take out the aggregates --what we just saw here.To solve this problem, we thought of self-healing materials.If we can make this material self-healing,then probably we have a solution.So what we can do is use steel wool just to clean pans,and the steel wool we can cut in very small pieces,and these very small pieces we can mix to the bitumen.So then you have asphaltwith very small pieces of steel wool in it.Then you need a machine, like you see here,that you can use for cooking -- an induction machine.Induction can heat, especially steel; it's very good at that.Then what you do is you heat up the steel,you melt the bitumen,and the bitumen will flow into these micro-cracks,and the stones are again fixed to the surface.
Today I use a microwave because I cannot takethe big induction machine here onstage.So a microwave is a similar system.So I put the specimen in, which I'm now going to take outto see what happened.So this is the specimen coming out now.
So I said we have such an industrial machine in the labto heat up the specimens.We tested a lot of specimens there,and then the government, they actually saw our results,and they thought, "Well, that's very interesting. We have to try that."So they donated to us a piece of highway,400 meters of the A58, where we had to makea test track to test this material.So that's what we did here. You see where we were making the test road,and then of course this road will last several yearswithout any damage. That's what we know from practice.So we took a lot of samples from this roadand we tested them in the lab.So we did aging on the samples,did a lot of loading on it, healed them with our induction machine,and healed them and tested them again.Several times we can repeat that.So actually, the conclusion from this research is thatif we go on the road every four yearswith our healing machine -- this is the big versionwe have made to go on the real road --if we go on the road every four yearswe can double the surface life of this road,which of course saves a lot of money.
Well, to conclude, I can saythat we made a materialusing steel fibers, the addition of steel fibers,using induction energy to reallyincrease the surface life of the road,double the surface life you can even do,so it will really save a lot of money with very simple tricks.
And now you're of course curious if it also worked.So we still have the specimen here. It's quite warm.Actually, it still has to cool down firstbefore I can show you that the healing works.But I will do a trial.Let's see. Yeah, it worked.Thank you.(Applause)
Transcript:
(Hammer)
(Laughter)
(Microwave beeps) (Laughter)
You probably all agree with methat this is a very nice road.It's made of asphalt,and asphalt is a very nice material to drive on,but not always, especially not on these days as today,when it's raining a lot.Then you can have a lot of splash water in the asphalt.And especially if you then ride with your bicycle,and pass these cars, then that's not very nice.Also, asphalt can create a lot of noise.It's a noisy material,and if we produce roads like in the Netherlands,very close to cities, then we would like a silent road.
The solution for that is to make roadsout of porous asphalt.Porous asphalt, a material that we use nowin most of the highways in the Netherlands,it has pores and water can just rain through it,so all the rainwater will flow away to the sides,and you have a road that's easy to drive on,so no splash water anymore.Also the noise will disappear in these pores.Because it's very hollow, all the noise will disappear,so it's a very silent road.
It also has disadvantages, of course,and the disadvantage of this road is that raveling can occur.What is raveling? You see that in this roadthat the stones at the surface come off.First you get one stone, then several more,and more and more and more and more,and then they -- well, I will not do that. (Laughter)But they can damage your windshield,so you're not happy with that.And finally, this raveling can also lead to more and more damage.Sometimes you can create potholes with that.Ha. He's ready.
Potholes, of course, that can become a problem,but we have a solution.Here you see actually how the damage appears in this material.It's a porous asphalt, like I said, so you have onlya small amount of binder between the stones.Due to weathering, due to U.V. light, due to oxidation,this binder, this bitumen,the glue between the aggregates is going to shrink,and if it shrinks, it gets micro-cracks,and it delaminates from the aggregates.Then if you drive over the road, you take out the aggregates --what we just saw here.To solve this problem, we thought of self-healing materials.If we can make this material self-healing,then probably we have a solution.So what we can do is use steel wool just to clean pans,and the steel wool we can cut in very small pieces,and these very small pieces we can mix to the bitumen.So then you have asphaltwith very small pieces of steel wool in it.Then you need a machine, like you see here,that you can use for cooking -- an induction machine.Induction can heat, especially steel; it's very good at that.Then what you do is you heat up the steel,you melt the bitumen,and the bitumen will flow into these micro-cracks,and the stones are again fixed to the surface.
Today I use a microwave because I cannot takethe big induction machine here onstage.So a microwave is a similar system.So I put the specimen in, which I'm now going to take outto see what happened.So this is the specimen coming out now.
So I said we have such an industrial machine in the labto heat up the specimens.We tested a lot of specimens there,and then the government, they actually saw our results,and they thought, "Well, that's very interesting. We have to try that."So they donated to us a piece of highway,400 meters of the A58, where we had to makea test track to test this material.So that's what we did here. You see where we were making the test road,and then of course this road will last several yearswithout any damage. That's what we know from practice.So we took a lot of samples from this roadand we tested them in the lab.So we did aging on the samples,did a lot of loading on it, healed them with our induction machine,and healed them and tested them again.Several times we can repeat that.So actually, the conclusion from this research is thatif we go on the road every four yearswith our healing machine -- this is the big versionwe have made to go on the real road --if we go on the road every four yearswe can double the surface life of this road,which of course saves a lot of money.
Well, to conclude, I can saythat we made a materialusing steel fibers, the addition of steel fibers,using induction energy to reallyincrease the surface life of the road,double the surface life you can even do,so it will really save a lot of money with very simple tricks.
And now you're of course curious if it also worked.So we still have the specimen here. It's quite warm.Actually, it still has to cool down firstbefore I can show you that the healing works.But I will do a trial.Let's see. Yeah, it worked.Thank you.(Applause)
TED Talks-James B. Glattfelder: Who controls the world?
The following information is used for educational purposes only.
Transcript:
"When the crisis came,the serious limitations of existing economicand financial models immediately became apparent.""There is also a strong belief, which I share,that bad or oversimplistic and overconfident economicshelped create the crisis."
Now, you've probably all heard of similar criticismcoming from people who are skeptical of capitalism.But this is different.This is coming from the heart of finance.The first quote is from Jean-Claude Trichetwhen he was governor of the European Central Bank.The second quote is from the headof the U.K. Financial Services Authority.Are these people implyingthat we don't understand the economic systemsthat drive our modern societies?It gets worse."We spend billions of dollarstrying to understand the origins of the universewhile we still don't understand the conditionsfor a stable society, a functioning economy, or peace."
What's happening here? How can this be possible?Do we really understand more about the fabric of realitythan we do about the fabricwhich emerges from our human interactions?Unfortunately, the answer is yes.But there's an intriguing solution which is comingfrom what is known as the science of complexity.
To explain what this means and what this thing is,please let me quickly take a couple of steps back.I ended up in physics by accident.It was a random encounter when I was young,and since then, I've often wonderedabout the amazing success of physicsin describing the reality we wake up in every day.In a nutshell, you can think of physics as follows.So you take a chunk of reality you want to understandand you translate it into mathematics.You encode it into equations.Then predictions can be made and tested.We're actually really lucky that this works,because no one really knows why the thoughts in our headsshould actually relate to the fundamental workings of the universe.Despite the success, physics has its limits.As Dirk Helbing pointed out in the last quote,we don't really understand the complexitythat relates to us, that surrounds us.This paradox is what got me interested in complex systems.So these are systems which are made upof many interconnected or interacting parts:swarms of birds or fish, ant colonies,ecosystems, brains, financial markets.These are just a few examples.Interestingly, complex systems are very hard to mapinto mathematical equations,so the usual physics approach doesn't really work here.
So what do we know about complex systems?Well, it turns out that what looks like complex behaviorfrom the outside is actually the resultof a few simple rules of interaction.This means you can forget about the equationsand just start to understand the systemby looking at the interactions,so you can actually forget about the equationsand you just start to look at the interactions.And it gets even better, because most complex systemshave this amazing property called emergence.So this means that the system as a wholesuddenly starts to show a behaviorwhich cannot be understood or predictedby looking at the components of the system.So the whole is literally more than the sum of its parts.And all of this also means that you can forget aboutthe individual parts of the system, how complex they are.So if it's a cell or a termite or a bird,you just focus on the rules of interaction.
As a result, networks are ideal representationsof complex systems.The nodes in the networkare the system's componentsand the links are given by the interactions.So what equations are for physics,complex networks are for the study of complex systems.
This approach has been very successfully appliedto many complex systems in physics, biology,computer science, the social sciences,but what about economics?Where are economic networks?This is a surprising and prominent gap in the literature.The study we published last year called"The Network of Global Corporate Control"was the first extensive analysis of economic networks.The study went viral on the Internetand it attracted a lot of attention from the international media.This is quite remarkable, because, again,why did no one look at this before?Similar data has been around for quite some time.
What we looked at in detail was ownership networks.So here the nodes are companies, people, governments,foundations, etc.And the links represent the shareholding relations,so Shareholder A has x percent of the shares in Company B.And we also assign a value to the companygiven by the operating revenue.So ownership networks reveal the patternsof shareholding relations.In this little example, you can seea few financial institutionswith some of the many links highlighted.
Now you may think that no one's looked at this beforebecause ownership networks arereally, really boring to study.Well, as ownership is related to control,as I shall explain later,looking at ownership networksactually can give you answers to questions like,who are the key players?How are they organized? Are they isolated?Are they interconnected?And what is the overall distribution of control?In other words, who controls the world?I think this is an interesting question.
And it has implications for systemic risk.This is a measure of how vulnerable a system is overall.A high degree of interconnectivitycan be bad for stability,because then the stress can spread through the systemlike an epidemic.
Scientists have sometimes criticized economistswho believe ideas and conceptsare more important than empirical data,because a foundational guideline in science is:Let the data speak. Okay. Let's do that.
So we started with a database containing13 million ownership relations from 2007.This is a lot of data, and because we wanted to find outwho rules the world,we decided to focus on transnational corporations,or TNCs for short.These are companies that operate in more than one country,and we found 43,000.In the next step, we built the network around these companies,so we took all the TNCs' shareholders,and the shareholders' shareholders, etc.,all the way upstream, and we did the same downstream,and ended up with a network containing 600,000 nodesand one million links.This is the TNC network which we analyzed.
And it turns out to be structured as follows.So you have a periphery and a centerwhich contains about 75 percent of all the players,and in the center there's this tiny but dominant corewhich is made up of highly interconnected companies.To give you a better picture,think about a metropolitan area.So you have the suburbs and the periphery,you have a center like a financial district,then the core will be something likethe tallest high rise building in the center.And we already see signs of organization going on here.Thirty-six percent of the TNCs are in the core only,but they make up 95 percent of the total operating revenueof all TNCs.
Okay, so now we analyzed the structure,so how does this relate to the control?Well, ownership gives voting rights to shareholders.This is the normal notion of control.And there are different models which allow you to computethe control you get from ownership.If you have more than 50 percent of the shares in a company,you get control,but usually it depends on the relative distribution of shares.And the network really matters.About 10 years ago, Mr. Tronchetti Proverahad ownership and control in a small company,which had ownership and control in a bigger company.You get the idea.This ended up giving him control in Telecom Italiawith a leverage of 26.So this means that, with each euro he invested,he was able to move 26 euros of market valuethrough the chain of ownership relations.
Now what we actually computed in our studywas the control over the TNCs' value.This allowed us to assign a degree of influenceto each shareholder.This is very much in the sense ofMax Weber's idea of potential power,which is the probability of imposing one's own willdespite the opposition of others.
If you want to compute the flow in an ownership network,this is what you have to do.It's actually not that hard to understand.Let me explain by giving you this analogy.So think about water flowing in pipeswhere the pipes have different thickness.So similarly, the control is flowing in the ownership networksand is accumulating at the nodes.So what did we find after computing all this network control?Well, it turns out that the 737 top shareholdershave the potential to collectively control80 percent of the TNCs' value.Now remember, we started out with 600,000 nodes,so these 737 top playersmake up a bit more than 0.1 percent.They're mostly financial institutions in the U.S. and the U.K.And it gets even more extreme.There are 146 top players in the core,and they together have the potential to collectively control40 percent of the TNCs' value.
What should you take home from all of this?Well, the high degree of control you sawis very extreme by any standard.The high degree of interconnectivityof the top players in the corecould pose a significant systemic risk to the global economyand we could easily reproduce the TNC networkwith a few simple rules.This means that its structure is probably the resultof self-organization.It's an emergent property which dependson the rules of interaction in the system,so it's probably not the result of a top-down approachlike a global conspiracy.
Our study "is an impression of the moon's surface.It's not a street map."So you should take the exact numbers in our studywith a grain of salt,yet it "gave us a tantalizing glimpseof a brave new world of finance."We hope to have opened the door for more such research in this direction,so the remaining unknown terrain will be charted in the future.And this is slowly starting.We're seeing the emergence of long-termand highly-funded programs which aim at understandingour networked world from a complexity point of view.But this journey has only just begun,so we will have to wait before we see the first results.
Now there is still a big problem, in my opinion.Ideas relating to finance, economics, politics,society, are very often taintedby people's personal ideologies.I really hope that this complexity perspectiveallows for some common ground to be found.It would be really great if it has the powerto help end the gridlock created by conflicting ideas,which appears to be paralyzing our globalized world.Reality is so complex, we need to move away from dogma.But this is just my own personal ideology.
Thank you.
(Applause)
Transcript:
"When the crisis came,the serious limitations of existing economicand financial models immediately became apparent.""There is also a strong belief, which I share,that bad or oversimplistic and overconfident economicshelped create the crisis."
Now, you've probably all heard of similar criticismcoming from people who are skeptical of capitalism.But this is different.This is coming from the heart of finance.The first quote is from Jean-Claude Trichetwhen he was governor of the European Central Bank.The second quote is from the headof the U.K. Financial Services Authority.Are these people implyingthat we don't understand the economic systemsthat drive our modern societies?It gets worse."We spend billions of dollarstrying to understand the origins of the universewhile we still don't understand the conditionsfor a stable society, a functioning economy, or peace."
What's happening here? How can this be possible?Do we really understand more about the fabric of realitythan we do about the fabricwhich emerges from our human interactions?Unfortunately, the answer is yes.But there's an intriguing solution which is comingfrom what is known as the science of complexity.
To explain what this means and what this thing is,please let me quickly take a couple of steps back.I ended up in physics by accident.It was a random encounter when I was young,and since then, I've often wonderedabout the amazing success of physicsin describing the reality we wake up in every day.In a nutshell, you can think of physics as follows.So you take a chunk of reality you want to understandand you translate it into mathematics.You encode it into equations.Then predictions can be made and tested.We're actually really lucky that this works,because no one really knows why the thoughts in our headsshould actually relate to the fundamental workings of the universe.Despite the success, physics has its limits.As Dirk Helbing pointed out in the last quote,we don't really understand the complexitythat relates to us, that surrounds us.This paradox is what got me interested in complex systems.So these are systems which are made upof many interconnected or interacting parts:swarms of birds or fish, ant colonies,ecosystems, brains, financial markets.These are just a few examples.Interestingly, complex systems are very hard to mapinto mathematical equations,so the usual physics approach doesn't really work here.
So what do we know about complex systems?Well, it turns out that what looks like complex behaviorfrom the outside is actually the resultof a few simple rules of interaction.This means you can forget about the equationsand just start to understand the systemby looking at the interactions,so you can actually forget about the equationsand you just start to look at the interactions.And it gets even better, because most complex systemshave this amazing property called emergence.So this means that the system as a wholesuddenly starts to show a behaviorwhich cannot be understood or predictedby looking at the components of the system.So the whole is literally more than the sum of its parts.And all of this also means that you can forget aboutthe individual parts of the system, how complex they are.So if it's a cell or a termite or a bird,you just focus on the rules of interaction.
As a result, networks are ideal representationsof complex systems.The nodes in the networkare the system's componentsand the links are given by the interactions.So what equations are for physics,complex networks are for the study of complex systems.
This approach has been very successfully appliedto many complex systems in physics, biology,computer science, the social sciences,but what about economics?Where are economic networks?This is a surprising and prominent gap in the literature.The study we published last year called"The Network of Global Corporate Control"was the first extensive analysis of economic networks.The study went viral on the Internetand it attracted a lot of attention from the international media.This is quite remarkable, because, again,why did no one look at this before?Similar data has been around for quite some time.
What we looked at in detail was ownership networks.So here the nodes are companies, people, governments,foundations, etc.And the links represent the shareholding relations,so Shareholder A has x percent of the shares in Company B.And we also assign a value to the companygiven by the operating revenue.So ownership networks reveal the patternsof shareholding relations.In this little example, you can seea few financial institutionswith some of the many links highlighted.
Now you may think that no one's looked at this beforebecause ownership networks arereally, really boring to study.Well, as ownership is related to control,as I shall explain later,looking at ownership networksactually can give you answers to questions like,who are the key players?How are they organized? Are they isolated?Are they interconnected?And what is the overall distribution of control?In other words, who controls the world?I think this is an interesting question.
And it has implications for systemic risk.This is a measure of how vulnerable a system is overall.A high degree of interconnectivitycan be bad for stability,because then the stress can spread through the systemlike an epidemic.
Scientists have sometimes criticized economistswho believe ideas and conceptsare more important than empirical data,because a foundational guideline in science is:Let the data speak. Okay. Let's do that.
So we started with a database containing13 million ownership relations from 2007.This is a lot of data, and because we wanted to find outwho rules the world,we decided to focus on transnational corporations,or TNCs for short.These are companies that operate in more than one country,and we found 43,000.In the next step, we built the network around these companies,so we took all the TNCs' shareholders,and the shareholders' shareholders, etc.,all the way upstream, and we did the same downstream,and ended up with a network containing 600,000 nodesand one million links.This is the TNC network which we analyzed.
And it turns out to be structured as follows.So you have a periphery and a centerwhich contains about 75 percent of all the players,and in the center there's this tiny but dominant corewhich is made up of highly interconnected companies.To give you a better picture,think about a metropolitan area.So you have the suburbs and the periphery,you have a center like a financial district,then the core will be something likethe tallest high rise building in the center.And we already see signs of organization going on here.Thirty-six percent of the TNCs are in the core only,but they make up 95 percent of the total operating revenueof all TNCs.
Okay, so now we analyzed the structure,so how does this relate to the control?Well, ownership gives voting rights to shareholders.This is the normal notion of control.And there are different models which allow you to computethe control you get from ownership.If you have more than 50 percent of the shares in a company,you get control,but usually it depends on the relative distribution of shares.And the network really matters.About 10 years ago, Mr. Tronchetti Proverahad ownership and control in a small company,which had ownership and control in a bigger company.You get the idea.This ended up giving him control in Telecom Italiawith a leverage of 26.So this means that, with each euro he invested,he was able to move 26 euros of market valuethrough the chain of ownership relations.
Now what we actually computed in our studywas the control over the TNCs' value.This allowed us to assign a degree of influenceto each shareholder.This is very much in the sense ofMax Weber's idea of potential power,which is the probability of imposing one's own willdespite the opposition of others.
If you want to compute the flow in an ownership network,this is what you have to do.It's actually not that hard to understand.Let me explain by giving you this analogy.So think about water flowing in pipeswhere the pipes have different thickness.So similarly, the control is flowing in the ownership networksand is accumulating at the nodes.So what did we find after computing all this network control?Well, it turns out that the 737 top shareholdershave the potential to collectively control80 percent of the TNCs' value.Now remember, we started out with 600,000 nodes,so these 737 top playersmake up a bit more than 0.1 percent.They're mostly financial institutions in the U.S. and the U.K.And it gets even more extreme.There are 146 top players in the core,and they together have the potential to collectively control40 percent of the TNCs' value.
What should you take home from all of this?Well, the high degree of control you sawis very extreme by any standard.The high degree of interconnectivityof the top players in the corecould pose a significant systemic risk to the global economyand we could easily reproduce the TNC networkwith a few simple rules.This means that its structure is probably the resultof self-organization.It's an emergent property which dependson the rules of interaction in the system,so it's probably not the result of a top-down approachlike a global conspiracy.
Our study "is an impression of the moon's surface.It's not a street map."So you should take the exact numbers in our studywith a grain of salt,yet it "gave us a tantalizing glimpseof a brave new world of finance."We hope to have opened the door for more such research in this direction,so the remaining unknown terrain will be charted in the future.And this is slowly starting.We're seeing the emergence of long-termand highly-funded programs which aim at understandingour networked world from a complexity point of view.But this journey has only just begun,so we will have to wait before we see the first results.
Now there is still a big problem, in my opinion.Ideas relating to finance, economics, politics,society, are very often taintedby people's personal ideologies.I really hope that this complexity perspectiveallows for some common ground to be found.It would be really great if it has the powerto help end the gridlock created by conflicting ideas,which appears to be paralyzing our globalized world.Reality is so complex, we need to move away from dogma.But this is just my own personal ideology.
Thank you.
(Applause)
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