You will be working on a project to analyze the development issues facing the worlds least developed countries (LDCs).  You may choose from any of the LDC's found on the United Nation's Human Development Index.  Once someone has chosen, you cannot repeat the country.  Check all blog entries before posting your choice!

The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) were created by the United Nations in 2000 to work towards the eradication of poverty by the year 2015.  We are only a few years away from this target date but have not fully achieved these ambitious goals.  I would like you to weigh in on these goals.  Of the 8 MDGs, which three do you think are the most important ones to achieve in order to end poverty and why do you think that?  Which ones do you believe can actually be achieved and which ones do you think are going to prove more difficult?  What, if anything, do you think your country (whatever one you feel most affinity towards) could or should be doing to help achieve the goals?  What, if anything, do you think you could do personally to end poverty by 2015?

Sorry everyone, I know you were waiting patiently for this, but I went home after school feeling pretty lousy...and I am hoping to stave off something worse by going to bed early.  So, nothing to blog for you tonight...but come thinking about development issues tomorrow in class!!

One of the good things about Western aid to less developed countries is that it brings technology and medical aid where it has been previously lacking.  However, this is not always a wholly positive thing.  In the two articles you read tonight from The Economist ("Hailing the Google Bus" and "Growing Pains") identify and discuss some of the failings of Western aid to developing nations in terms of medical support and technology support.  What is the motivation of Google in providing a free mobile cybercafe?  Why is the medical support being given to the developing world not necessarily helping people in the long run?  What do you think might be a better way to provide the type of technology and medical care that will help the developing world?

We are going to start looking at how we measure and evaluate "development" on a global scale.  To start thinking about this, you need to go to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) site and look at some data on the 201o Human Development Index (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/  I want you to pick one country from each of the four categories (Very High, High, Medium and Low) of human development and make some observation regarding the differences in data that you see there.  You may not understand all of the terminology, but pick something that interests you and post a comment here.  We will discuss