not the mail

unlike the mail, I do post on Sundays (and Fridays)! Also, where do people get all their funny and witty titles from?!?

[imhakim]

falling in love with her again

p.s. She's only 24. TWENTY-FOUR!!

[imhakim]

Affirmative Action: Yay or Nay?

As a student at the University of Michigan, I can't help but to notice the rather recent "comeback" of race-based issues within the University compounds, both physically and subjectively.

For the past two weeks or so, the article about "being black in Ann Arbor" (and the very hostile reactions it received) and the Diag Freeze (a "freeze mob" to highlight the lack of diversity in the University) seem to be an eye-opener (for me, at least). Although I am not so sure whether the latter is a spontaneous reaction for the former, but the two events (and their subsequent reactions) made me realize something:

I have been ignorant about the race and diversity issue.

I always thought the University is already diverse. I do admit that I do not see that many Blacks and Hispanics around, heck I do think that there are more Chinese nationals alone than both of them combined, but I guess I have been seeing diversity from a different perspective. For instance, as someone who is from a homogeneous country (as compared to United States), there are many different aspects that define diversity for me. Religion, heritage/origin, background etc. 

Apparently that is not enough.

----

As I walked by the Posting Wall, I can't help but to be curious about this one table that has been there for the past few days. I can't really recall the details, but I remembered that it was about defending the affirmative action. 

"Defending the affirmative action? That's interesting."

I had to look up for Proposal 2 before I actually understand the issue here. Michiganders, back in 2006, voted to actually abolish the consideration of race in university admission.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

After further readings, the abolishment of the race-based affirmative action seems to affect the diversity among the University community. For instance, the Michigan Law School has seen fewer black students after the ruling.

No doubt, diversity is important, especially in the multicultural and global society right now. The lack of interaction with people of different background might be a problem. Some might resort to blatant prejudices, as a result of such an ignorance, thinking a race is associated with this particular trait and so on. This can be very unhealthy as it creates an imaginary friction, from the prejudices, between the social cleavages. 

I do admit that the American system has been unfair to the non-Whites. On top of the social disadvantage that most Blacks and Hispanics face (being raised in a poor community and education, making it harder for them to move up the social ladder), they also have to face social discrimination. I hope that is self-explanatory. Yes, even in the 21st century, racial discrimination still exist. In fact, a lot of discrimination still exist - gender, sexual orientation and religion.

However, I do not believe that race-based affirmative action is the key to solve the problem. Even if affirmative action can have a substantial effect on leveling the playing field, I am quite skeptical with its outcome. 

A race-based policy assumes that everyone, or a significant majority, of a particular race has the same problem. It requires one to generalize. Although race and income (zip code) are influential factors in terms of education, I believe that basing affirmative action on income would be more inclusive. Not all whites live in neighborhoods with good schools, and not all Blacks and Hispanics go to broken, under-resourced public schools. Nowadays, I don't think societal problems (e.g. poverty) are limited to just a particular race, although some race might be a bigger "stakeholder" for a particular societal problem.

In addition, I don't think that affirmative action, in the case of university admission, can actually improve the social inequality. In fact, it might worsen the condition. As one of the top universities in the world, University of Michigan has a very rigorous curriculum. It would be hard for a student, who has been at an academic disadvantage for his or her K-12 years, to be propelled into such a system, with no proper transition. It would be unfair to both the university and the student; the former having to sacrifice merit for diversity, and the latter, having to be in a hostile academic environment. Both would have to suffer, which is not the intention of affirmative action. 

"However, that would be unfair for those who go to the average schools, with no resources to prepare for all the standardized testing!"

I agree with the point, but if one insists on going with the race-/income-based affirmative action, it should not be the main factor for university admission. If I am not mistaken, being a minority gives you an automatic 20 points, with 100 being the benchmark to admission (120 is the maximum point). Do take this with a grain of salt though, I forgot where I found it. Maybe the point should be reduced to 5 or 10, to ensure that meritocracy is still the core.

Also, I have to admit that I have a bad feeling on race-based affirmative action, even though one of the reasons that I am able to study here is the scholarship from the race-based affirmative action in Malaysia.

Two reasons: it creates a negative perception and it somehow has a detrimental effect.

To cut a long story short, having graduated from a public daily high school in KL, I had to work the extra mile just to prove that they are wrong - that I did not get the overseas scholarship, which many of the smarter minorities are excluded from, just by being a member of the right race. 

Also, after 55 years of race-based affirmative action for the majority AND discriminatory policies for the minorities, the return of investment is very low. The Malays are still left behind, economically and academically, even when they had everything they needed - policies, resources and institution. Weirdly enough, the discriminated Chinese are more successful, controlling much of the economy and graduating from top universities in the world. Although some might argue the abuse of such polices by the executive branch is the main reason for the stagnation of the Malays, but I do believe that it is also the result of the nature of the race-based affirmative action: the Malays are spoonfed for everything, making them rather dependent when it comes to survival. Also, I believe that the lowering of the standards made the Malays mediocre. Achieving lower standards require less effort, which is different from the minorities, having to try harder just to reach the same bar.

This might be a different scenario and system as compared to those of the United States (for the majority rather than the minority), but I do feel that the results would be similar. 

"So if you reject race-based affirmative action, how can Blacks and Hispanics reduce the social inequality in the system and society that are discriminatory towards them?

That is a good question. 

A simple 30-second answer?

Try as hard as you can.

[imhakim]

A misconception on education?

(Note: I intend to make this into a three-piece part since it would be too time-consuming for me and too long for you to read at once. In this post, I am writing about some misconceptions on how to improve the education quality. The things that I am going to highlight in this, and the subsequent posts, are increasing teaching selectivity and the "hire and fire" policy. This post covers mostly on increasing teaching selectivity and why it might not work in improving the education standards.)

(Part 1)

During my stint as a "fellow" at the Ministry of Education (Malaysia) last summer, I was lucky enough to be able to (unofficially) collect views of others on how to improve the education quality, which, unfortunately, has been declining for the past few years (being in the bottom third tier for Mathematics, Science and Reading in 2009). 

Most people had somewhat similar views. They believe that some teachers are weak and the curriculum is not holistically developed i.e. too much emphasis on knowing rather than understanding and practical application. Makes sense to some, yes, since weak teachers will be less efficient at dispersing information to students?

I asked a follow-up question: what is the best way, in your opinion, to improve the teachers? 

Some said improve selectivity, and some said reduce job security for teachers.

The basis for the first suggestion is quite clear that even the Minister of Education himself has said it. Smarter (or academically-excellent) students would be better teachers since they (are assumed to) have better mastery on the subject knowledge. Surely students are more confident learning English from A+ graduates than B- graduates.

For the latter, some view that some teachers are too complacent, knowing that one cannot be fired for underperforming. They can just produce a half-baked effort in class and still get a decent (compared to effort) pay at the end of the month. Some suggested that the "hire and fire" policy will corporatize the teaching profession, making them stay on their toes the whole time.

Although my sample size is not suitable to make any conclusions (for it being too small and not widespread enough), I do feel there are some misconceptions (which might be an outlier) that I have to address.

For instance, it is a rich assumption that smarter graduates can produce better teachers. No doubt that they have shown their mastery on the subject knowledge, but are they able to eloquently teach others? Although not entirely relevant, but from my personal experience, I kept getting turned down by smarter students when I asked for their help, with the standard reply of "I know how to do it, but I don't know how to explain it". It is either that, or they were unfriendly...

Understanding how students see the content is as, or even more, important as mastering the subject knowledge. If you are a primary school Mathematics teacher, for instance, you have to understand why students would make certain mistakes.

Like how did the student get:

    49

x  25

--------

 1275

If you are one of those smart graduates, regardless of discipline, it will take you at most three seconds to know that the answer is wrong. Do you know how did one arrived to that answer, though? Do you know the thought process of that student? Do you know what needs to be done to prevent the student from making the same mistakes? Just saying the answer is wrong and showing the right way of doing it alone is not enough, especially for someone who is still learning.

Also, how do we actually improve selectivity? How do we even define selectivity? Do we use the standardized tests that are constantly wet from being constantly showered by criticism?

Just to be clear, I have no qualms on having tighter requirements for future teachers. I agree that it can serve as a weeding out process, eliminating the notion of the teaching profession being a career of last resort. The only issue I see is the overreliance on the idea that smarter graduates make better teachers because they know more of that particular field.

It would be disappointing if they managed to get all the top scorers into the teaching profession, only for them to have a little to no impact on the education standards (in comparison to the stark improvement in selectivity). 

[imhakim]

I support a government default.

If the government shut down is not enough, the U.S. has one more problem to face.

Apparently, it has a week or so (Oct. 17th) to raise the debt ceiling, currently at $16.7 trillion, or the country will go into default. The argument is, the U.S. Treasury will run out of money to pay its massive debt. However, Moody's, a credit rating agency, said that the debt limit has no effect on the country's ability to service its debt.

At the moment, it is very important to the U.S. to maintain its AAA credit rating so that the world does not collapse. A downgrade on the credit rating will make lenders lose confidence with the U.S.' ability to pay its debt. When that happens, no one will lend money (at such a huge amount), and U.S. will fail to operate.

Looks like it is going to be the same old story. Let's see who will blink first.

-----

I am interested with Barack Obama's quote in the aforementioned article. He said that "missing the Oct. 17 deadline would invite “economic chaos." 

So, with all due respect, you are saying that all is well before this? 

-----

To be honest, I really hope that the U.S. government will default.

No, it is not because I am anti-America or anything.

I might be pessimistic, but I find it very hard to see the U.S. paying all $17 trillion of its debt. 

Sure, all of that can be paid off in a year, but the government would have to cut spending altogether and raise taxes by at least 10%.

Again, I might be pessimistic, but I have a feeling that we might have a higher chance to find the cure for cancer than to not spend a cent for a year.

Since you know you are going to be bankrupt, might as well go bankrupt now, where the situation is slightly better. The more you try to delay, with false hopes that things will be better in the future, the higher the price you have to pay in the future.

US needs a system restart. 

[imhakim]

Why Are American Health Care Costs So High?

In which John discusses the complicated reasons why the United States spends so much more on health care than any other country in the world, and along the w...

Since the government shut down is, in a way, caused by American health care, I think this short video is a good introduction on the issue for you and me.

[imhakim]

Oh you, Economist.

[imhakim]

If you're talking about the Surface Pro 2, it is a computer. You can install "real" programs on it. (Versus the regular Surface which is just a tablet that can only run Microsoft App store apps.)

Thanks for the clarification! Guess I did not read the articles properly...

[imhakim]

Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 vs Surface RT and Surface Pro

How do Microsoft's new Surface Pro 2 and Surface 2 compare to last years' models? We take a look.

Hmmm, never knew they were releasing Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2. 

I might not be a tech wiz, but I am quite puzzled with Microsoft's plans to release a 512GB tablet, with a price tag that is comparable to MacBook ($1,799). Might as well buy a new computer, no? It's hard to see people carrying a high-tech tablet just to use Words. 

I am clearly not a tech wiz...

(Still waiting for the right time to buy a tablet...)

[theituneslibrary]

Visit Original Link

Stay The Night / Clarity | Zedd (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore + Foxes) x

[imhakim]

Who Goes to Work? Who Stays Home?

If the federal government shuts down on Tuesday, some employees will continue reporting to their departments and agencies, while others will be furloughed.

The U.S. government is officially "closed" twenty-five minutes ago after both the House and Senate, unsurprisingly, failed to reach an agreement. I think both sides are at fault for refusing to budge, and I also believe that both will be affected during the midterm elections next year.

In the mean time, take a look at the interactive provided by NYT so you know whether you can sleep in tomorrow morning.

P.s: schools are still open, kids!

p.p.s: Someone just posted the picture of "The Purge" underneath the headlines of government closing. Never seen a more accurate usage of such picture.

p.p.p.s "you do know that the police and stuff are still active, right? so it is nothing like the purge..." you do know I was joking right...?

[imhakim]

66 questions and answers about the government shutdown

As an international student, the best way to observe the reaction of the locals (in this case, Americans) is through social media. Judging from my Facebook feed and my Twitter timeline recently, I am quite surprised with the reaction (or the lack of it) from my Facebook friends. The thing is, everyone is a political expert nowadays. Not seeing a lengthy op-ed or the Facebook shares by now is quite worrisome. Even the media is rather lacklustre on its coverage (or am I not seeing it?) of the shut down. I remembered the fiscal cliff getting way more social attention than this.

Technically, I would be really worried if my government were to shut down. Even the term itself is worrying.

So, it can either be:

i) people are not affected with the shut down, hence, the lack of attention,

ii) people are not surprised with the shut down, as it is a result of ANOTHER political tussle,

iii) politicians are skeptical with the government actually shutting down, so there are no reasons to be worried,

iv) the effects of the shut down are not that bad?

v) media blackout to maintain calm?

Since the world gets sick whenever America sneezes, I think it is best if they could avoid unnecessary tussles. 

Bigger picture, guys, bigger picture.

[imhakim]

What's with ______?

...the education system?

Killing two birds with one stone here, I think this is a good way for me to revise for my quiz on education policy.

So, what seems to be the problem with education? Is there a problem in the first place?

Unless you're Finland, South Korea or Singapore (with the last two having their own critics), your education system might require some tweaking.

I am lucky enough to be in two countries that are undergoing massive education reforms (Malaysia and the United States). However, I am rather skeptical with its implementation.

The problem with the education system, from my point of view, is its measurability. It is hard to measure the effectiveness of an education policy. Unlike sales, there's no easy way to deduce that the teachers have been teaching and the students have been learning.

Grades? Through repetition and memorization, an average student can easily bump up his or her grades, thus, not showing a proportional evaluation of one's "intelligence". Student growth? If you put aside the administrative burden on pre- and post-testing, there are other external factors, which teachers and schools have no control on, that affect students' learning experience e.g. poverty.

Besides the problem of coming up with a standardized, working barometer that measures the effectiveness of the education system, education is a very long-term sector.

Unlike other skilled industry, it takes months or years to actually identify if the implemented policies do work. Plumbers will know straight away if a screw is loose or the pipe needs one more swing of the wrench. Pilots will know straight away if the elevation is not right (I clearly know nothing about flying). Surgeons know something is wrong when blood starts shooting out from places it's not supposed to. They know when something is not right, and where the problem is, immediately. Or at least faster than the teachers.

But teachers don't have the luxury of that instant response. They don't know if their method of teaching is the right way, and most likely, they would only know the source of the problem when it is a little too late.

Then again, coming up with a perfect education policy is just impossible. Especially in a large country, when you need five-odd million teachers. 

-tbc-

[imhakim]

Zedd - Stay The Night ft. Hayley Williams

They totally made up for the repetitive nature of the lyrics, which are somehow more obvious than Clarity's, with the AWESOME music video. I don't really have a creative eye, but I loved the dance moves! The cool effects (I don't really know the proper term) also deserved a mention, since they really brought that extra edge to the song.  

Also, Hayley Williams.

And Zedd's stare-face.

[imhakim]

What are your interests?

At first, in high school, I thought that I liked economics. Reading the online version of the Economist (before it had the free articles cap) never fails to fascinate me, as I learn about quantitative reasoning, and being amazed on how easy it is to print money.

I still like to learn about economics, though. The only thing is now, in sophomore year, I begin to realize that I am more interested in the policy area, and not so much the mathematics. I am interested in knowing what to manipulate in order to stimulate or cool down an economy. However, I am not that excited to learn how to derive the demand function. Since economics is multivariable calculus and linear algebra (excuse me for the oversimplification), I knew I could not go far in economics if I hated the mathematics.

Thankfully, it is possible to do economics without all the heavy mathematics. You just call them public policy (again, sorry for the oversimplification). As a half-baked, aspiring economist, public policy can still hit the spot since it has some elements of economics. You can't come up with sustainable and efficient environmental policies if you ignore the factor of discount rates! So for me, whenever I find economics gruesome, I would seek the comfort of public policy. Also, growing up in the government, I am really interested in knowing how the government works i.e. why are certain policies implemented and not implemented?

That curiosity brings me to another topic. Since public policy is government and government is public policy (I should stop oversimplifying things now), the rather effective way to know how or why government react is through political science. It is rather interesting talking about clientelism, and how policies are based around it. There is still economics involved, as predatory dictators value whether they should provide private goods to the winning coalition or public goods to the society, hence, becoming benevolent dictators!

So, in a way, I have found my 'Holy Trinity'. Political science, economics and public policy seem to be perfect complements for each other.

Hopefully it is not a naive statement as I take more classes...

[imhakim]

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

Scandinavia.