The Traveling Scholar » Academic Morsels

Sending Kids Abroad for University

ShannonElizabeth — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 01:00:51 +0000

Gotta love the international experience -- India, Canada, Peru + the US represent!

In response to a great article in Foreign Policy magazine, Outsource Your Kid, which notes the growing concerns of increased tertiary education costs and decreased perceived value for graduates.

If junior is willing to travel a little bit further — to colleges overseas — the world offers some incredible bargains for quality tertiary education, with the option of free language and culture immersion thrown in. Tuition costs for foreign students at some of the best universities in Asia, Europe, and Africa can be as low as $4,000, well below half the median cost of college in the United States.

Of course, just because a Kia is cheaper than a Lexus doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better value. What matters is the cost to quality equation. But before assuming that U.S. college education must be of unbeatable excellence, it is worth mulling over a 2006 assessment of adult literacy which found that fewer than a third of four-year U.S. college graduates were fully capable of tasks like comparing viewpoints in two editorials; interpreting a table about blood pressure, age, and physical activity; or computing and comparing the cost per ounce of food items.

Yes, yes, and yes. I definitely think that more and more the value of an international education trumps a domestic one. In addition to the fact that many top-notch international universities charge a fraction of what upper-level US universities get away with, there is a whole other facet that cannot be quantified. The value of cultural immersion, mastery of foreign languages, and general exposure to new experiences is something that is truly invaluable. While undertaking graduate studies abroad (still in an English-speaking country, but within a much more international environment), it was apparent that most US students lacked some valuable skills. The majority of us spoke solely English fluently, with the occasional individual speaking a second language (typically Spanish, French or Chinese). After beginning the job hunt and wanting to attain a position within an international organization, it became clear that speaking one language was not going to get me anywhere. English can get you by in the world, of course, but when it comes to setting yourself apart and adding value to your resume, being able to speak multiple languages can only help.

Languages aside, international experience and exposure is something that employers (at least in the field that I’m interested in) tend to value greatly. For the majority of us, by the time we finish university and obtain an international position (if we’re that lucky), we’ll be nearing our mid-twenties. Make that late-twenties to early-thirties by the time you get a few years of requisite experience under your belt. If you had that experience while undertaking your studies, you’re killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. Not a bad deal.

Moral of the story? I think I have a better/different perspective on the world than my parents did while they were looking into my education. I would, without a doubt, have my child look into undergraduate education abroad. Not only is it really a more affordable option, but I think it’s all around more valuable for them academically, socially and culturally.

What do you guys think? Would you be willing to send your kids to school internationally?

Take Our Poll

xoxo from San Francisco,

* Italicized texts marks original quotes from @FP_Magazine.
Read the article in its entirety at Foreign Policy’s site.

World AIDS Day

ShannonElizabeth — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 18:02:03 +0000

Sadly, it’s been a long time since I blogged about anything other than travels and adventures. Today, though, it’s definitely time to take a moment to share a few thoughts on something that I’ve been curious about for a long, long time.

When I started graduate school, I chose Social Policy and Development for a few reasons: I knew that discussions of the developing world — Africa, specifically — incited my interest. I also knew that health and education were two arenas that I found most critical. My time at LSE certainly changed my perspectives on many things and brought a number of other issues (refugee resettlement, foreign aid, gender based violence, conflict, etc.) to the fore. Nevertheless, HIV/AIDS was something that was a constant interest for me throughout my time there. At every opportunity, I chose to deliver the seminar that was related to HIV/AIDS, whether it was from a child rights perspective or a health economics perspective. The epidemic is, of course, vastly different in the developing world than it is in the developed world.

The issues that practitioners and policy makers deal with in the US are inherently different than those dealt with by Zambian or South African leaders. While I recognize that HIV/AIDS is still a somewhat silent issue in the United States, I think that education and awareness have increased remarkably and that services have made significant progress, though I am well aware that there is still progress to be made.

In Africa, where a number of countries are faced with populations with rates of infection that are over 10% (Lesotho’s rate is around 23% and Swaziland is around 25%), the epidemic is different. 90% of the children that live with HIV/AIDS reside in Africa. 90%. Many of the children are born with the virus and a number contract it through breastfeeding, etc. I remember learning about Nevirapine in graduate school and being in awe — a single dose is given to infected mothers prior to delivery and the chance of transmitting the disease to the child is reduced by 50%. Why wasn’t this available for everyone?! Of course, there is the issue of money. Drugs cost money and even when they’re subsidized it can be a struggle. Then, of course, the issue of logistics. Provided the infrastructure was awesome and everyone lived in a location that had great access, the drugs could be distributed at a reasonably high rate. Unfortunately, that’s not the case in many areas — people live in areas that aren’t easily accessible and being able to distribute and administer the medication takes man power and a population that’s educated on administering the drug. Further, there’s the ‘issue’ (I use that term loosely here) of culture. While the thought of not using a drug that’s been verifiably effective seems bizarre, culture plays a huge part in the way things are perceived by a given population. Where traditional healers are a big part of society, it would most certainly be more effective educate healers on the matter and give them an opportunity to pass the message along to a receptive community. Even where solutions are perhaps clear, there is always the issue of finite resources (financial and human) and political will.

Beyond mother-to-child transmission, there’s the general issue of transmission amongst adult populations (between 15 – 49). A lot of research that I have come across does note a bit of optimism in the younger generation, probably due to greater awareness and education in recent times. Generally speaking, we have a greater understanding of how HIV is transmitted, the co-factors involved and the ways in which we can reduce the rates of transmission. In terms of behavior, we know, for example, that condoms play a big role and that having concurrent sexual partners also increases the chance of transmission. We also know that women are more likely to be infected and that male circumcision helps reduce the chances of infection. Having that kind of knowledge certainly helps greatly with prevention efforts and guiding people in the right direction.

Of course anti-retrovirals are amazing — many people have lived a number of years with HIV due to the availability of anti-retroviral therapy. [Watch a video of the 'Lazarus Effect' to see the effects of ARVs.] Still, I see a few problems with ARVs (though I was a huge proponent prior to grad school):

1) They’re expensive. The cost is prohibitive, making it very difficult for many individuals to access life-saving drugs. We have seen some amazing public-private and CSR initiatives (like that of Anglo-American in South Africa) where the private sector is stepping up to help in providing therapies for their employees. Still, it is not the responsibility of businesses to provide that and I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect those provisions from companies broadly (though I applaud companies that have stepped up and taken on that role). I could honestly talk on this topic forever. In fact, I did in my dissertation so I’m not going to regurgitate it all through my blog. Suffice it to say, I have mixed feelings about this route.

2) Now, this is a general observation/concern and I, admittedly, don’t have an article to back this up though I imagine there is a wealth of research that exists. If you watch the video of the ‘Lazarus Effect’ you’ll see the physical improvement that is apparent. People go from emaciated HIV victims to healthy-looking individuals that seemingly beat HIV. Well, sadly you don’t ‘beat HIV’, really. You’re still infected, regardless of how healthy you look. As such, you can still pass along the virus to others; others who may not, at first glance, realize that you’re infected. I’m going to preface this by saying that this sounds awful, but it’s just a point to recognize: before ARVs, if you contracted HIV/AIDS and the effects started manifesting themselves physically (the individual is obviously sick at first glance) there was no real way of going back… after AIDS actually set in, there was a short period of time that an individual would be able to live with it. Realistically, during that period, the chances of an infected individual actually passing along HIV was likely minimal — not only is the person pretty weak at that point, but it would be apparent that the individual was infected so the chances of sexual transmission were likely pretty low. Now, however, an individual can be infected for a very long period of time (tens of years even) and not look ill. That provides many, many more years that an infected individual can actually pass HIV along with no real physical signs of the infection for those that are unaware. I’m not saying that people shouldn’t live with HIV by any means — I think that ARVs have been incredible, especially where children are concerned — but I also think that education is a very important component to be tied to the delivery of these drugs. Ultimately, I see ARVs as a great drug, but not a sustainable response.

Ultimately, it comes down to education. I think prevention is the only real answer. Prevention really is key to ensure that mothers do what they can to prevent mother-to-child transmission, that adults are taking every precaution to reduce the chance of spreading infection and that individuals know their options. If children are raised with a great understanding and realize that it’s not taboo to discuss, I think there’s a solid chance that HIV/AIDS incidence will decrease in our lifetime. Here’s to hoping.

Spread the word — #WorldAIDSDay.

A few good reads:

Bongaarts, J. (1996) Global Trends in AIDS Mortality, Population and Development Review, 22 (1)

Caldwell, J. and Pat Caldwell (1993) The Nature and Limits of the sub-Saharan Africa AIDS Epidemic: Evidence from Geographic and Other Patterns, Population and Development Review, 19 (4), pp. 817-848

Canadian Government Matching Donations for East Africa

ShannonElizabeth — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:49:20 +0000

East Africa Map (The Economist)

I find that it’s hard to absorb all of the information that comes our way on a daily basis. With the news at our fingertips (thanks to TIME, CNN, the Economist and Al-Jazeera‘s twitter feeds), we’re constantly inundated with information from happenings across the globe. In the last day, I’ve seen more tweets surrounding rebels closing in on Tripoli and the capture of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi than I thought possible (literally 1/3 of my twitter feed is #Libya-related), plus information around the presidential election, the world economy, the riots in London, Palestine’s views on a two-state solution, etc., etc. Amidst all of this information, it seems that the situation in East Africa has not taken hold of headlines like many other (more sensational?) stories.

A [Canadian] girlfriend of mine from the LSE sent me a message about the situation, highlighting the starvation and effects of the drought in the region. The famine that East Africa (Ethiopia, Northern Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya) is experiencing is the worst that it has seen in 60 years. The situation in the region was clearly already dire beforehand. Somalia has faced the effects of years of civil war, an unstable/nonexistent government and now the effects of hard-line Islamist group, al-Shabab, on foreign aid distribution efforts. [Click here to learn more about al-Shabab],

An article in the Economist notes that 12 million people are believed to be affected by the drought, with tens of thousands already found dead and countless more at risk of starvation. Affected individuals are making their way to refugee camps that are already overburdened and many already malnourished individuals are dying of hunger and dehydration alone en route to a safe(r) haven.

Humanitarian aid has certainly been an issue due to interference with aid distribution but there’s still an opportunity for us to help out and assist a population in great need. Until September 16th, the Canadian government actually matches all donations made to the Humanitarian Coalition (a Canadian umbrella organization of Oxfam, Save the Children & CARE). I definitely think creating awareness and educating people on the issue is a huge step, but for anyone interested in helping out financially, this is the time — we can make our donations go twice as far!

Want to learn more about what’s going on in East Africa?
Check out the articles below for more.

- East Africa: Food Insecurity Continent’s Worst in 20 Years (Porter, C.)
- Behind East Africa’s Famine (Al Jazeera)
- East Africa’s Famine: Disunited in Hunger (The Economist)

Newsy on LSE and Howard Davies

ShannonElizabeth — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:45:27 +0000

A reader just shared with me a video from Newsy.com related to Howard Davies’ resignation. It’s only a couple of minutes long but it attempts to incorporate both sides of the issue:

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com

xoxo,

Thoughts on LSE/Libya

ShannonElizabeth — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:17:03 +0000

As I mentioned recently, LSE has been under a great deal of scrutiny over accepting a hefty endowment from the Gaddafi clan. While the legitimacy of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s PhD is also a blemish on the institution, this seems to be but a secondary source of pain for the university. As many know (as every alum knows, I’m sure), the university’s director, Sir Howard Davies, resigned yesterday after what the media has dubbed the ‘Gaddafi scandal.’ Now, admittedly, I was a shocked and a bit sad to hear about this. In spite of everything that’s going on right now (including the heat the uni has taken over this), I didn’t really see his resignation coming.

I’m really of two minds on this however. First, I have to wonder: when was it ever a good idea to take the money? This has been an argument from many and it’s one that I definitely understand. Yes, the current situation in Libya has highlighted how toxic this regime is, but even before all of this happened — did we ever think what was happening in Libya was positive? A friend of mine noted the following: ‘Even at the time [when the money was accepted] it was shameful to be accepting money from (and thereby supporting the legitimacy of) the Gadaffis and their regime. It’s not like they suddenly became bad in February 2011 – they have been killing their citizens and funding uprising across the rest of Africa for decades.’ This is very, very true. Of course, I can’t assume I understand their thought process though. Were they just too eager to accept a hefty donation or did they honestly view Saif as a more progressive thinker? Perhaps as an individual that was part of a new generation that would help in transforming Libya.

Also, as my friend noted — even when the money was accepted, the regime wasn’t exactly the paragon of democracy. I haven’t fully done my research on this (shame on me), but where were the protests then? How heavily was this scrutinized at the time? An article in the Guardian discussed how Saif al-Islam Gaddafi had the West convinced; that he fooled people into believing that he was progressive and of a different mind than the family with which he was affiliated. Was his speech from a few nights ago the tipping point? Did that speech make the endowment that was accepted by the London School of Economics suddenly unacceptable? Why wasn’t it unacceptable before? It wasn’t as if it was a secret that Gaddafi went to the LSE and it wasn’t a secret that the North Africa Programme was funded by a donation from the Gadaffi foundation, right? This didn’t all just come to light suddenly. While I don’t really understand the reasoning behind accepting the money in the first place (lots of money or not, it wasn’t the best source for a donation), it still saddens me that it has brought attention to the university in such a negative way. While I wouldn’t have made the same decision if I were in Sir Howard Davies spot, I still find it rather shocking (and a bit sad) that he resigned over the issue. On the flip side, I also find it respectable that he recognized the error and took it upon himself to resign to assist in restoring the university’s reputation. While he was, of course, not the only person involved in this decision, he is the face of the university and an important representative of the institution. While I’m sure it was a very difficult decision to make, I think it was a respectable one.

More on LSE, Sir Howard Davies’ resignation and the LSE/Libya ‘scandal’ in the news for interested readers:

British government encouraged LSE to forge Libya links, says academic

Howard Davies, London School of Economics Director, Quits over Gaddafi links

London School of Economics Director Resigns Over Qaddafi Links

LSE Played a Part in Taming Libya’s Rogue Regime

Howard Davies Insists Gaddafi Gifts Did Not Undermine LSE’s Independence

Howard Davies’ Resignation Letter

LSE in the News

ShannonElizabeth — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:26:58 +0000

While I have been more than a little intrigued by the situations taking place in the Middle East (from Tunisia to Bahrain and everything in between), I find it rather difficult to keep up with everything that’s going on. What started in Tunisia has swept the region and has evolved so rapidly that it’s difficult to really wrap one’s mind atround the issues taking place in each nation. To truly understand the issues, I feel as though I need to understand each country’s history, their demographic makeup, their leadership, their alliances, etc. I don’t feel that I’ve had the time to uncover or understand the issues in enough depth to be able to engage with the information properly.

However, a particular chord was struck when the revolution spread to Libya. It was less than a year ago that I sat in front of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and listened to him speak about Libya, a country that he noted was ‘theoretically the most democratic nation in the world’. Saif completed his PhD at the LSE and Libyan money has made its way to the institution by way of endowments. While Libya has been the focus of much media attention, LSE has caught some heat for their association with the Gaddafi family. Pressure has been put on the institution to donate the funds to charity and the legitimacy of Gaddafi’s PhD has been in question. Dr. Ulrichsen, a fellow at the LSE Center for Global Governance, is one whose insight I always value. His education and research has made him quite the expert on issues with the Arab Gulf States (read his new paper on Bahrain: Evolution or Revolution?) and I always enjoy his educated insight (follow him on twitter for valuable mini updates). Being that he works with the CGG, I was drawn to their webpage for some updates from LSE’s perspective. I found the following note from David Held that I thought I would share here for anyone interested. I think that the LSE has really handled the issue with a great deal of grace and, as noted below, the institute has stopped work on the North Africa Programme. Visit the Center’s website for more.

Libya: A Personal Statement from David Held
(taken from the LSE Center for Global Governance)

I watched the speech last night by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and was deeply disturbed by its failure to grasp the changing circumstances of the Middle East in general, and of Libya in particular. Rather than seeing the opportunity for reform based on liberal democratic values and human rights, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi stressed the threat of civil war and foreign intervention.

I have known Saif al-Islam Gaddafi for several years since he did a PhD at the LSE. During this time I came to know a young man who was caught between loyalties to his family and a desire to reform his country. In many discussions and meetings I encouraged the development of his reform agenda and subsequently sought to support it through research on the North Africa Programme funded by the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (see http://www2.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news/archives/2011/02/libya_funding.aspx)

My support for Saif al-Islam Gaddafi was always conditional on him resolving the dilemma that he faced in a progressive and democratic direction. The speech last night makes it abundantly clear that his commitment to transforming his country has been overwhelmed by the crisis he finds himself in.

He tragically, but fatefully, made the wrong judgement. As a result, the LSE has stopped new work on the North Africa Programme, although we will continue to pursue research and policy development, as we have done, on behalf of the democratisation process in the Middle East.

Read David Held’s interview in The Guardian.

A further statement has been issued by the LSE.

On the menu for this evening: LSE podcasts and a scouring of Al Jazeera with a sprinkling of relevant articles from The Economist. All of this new information makes me realize how much I need to catch up!

Finally — Diploma in Hand!

ShannonElizabeth — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:37:25 +0000

Finally — finally! — I got this aesthetically pleasing piece of deliciousness in the mail. If I wasn’t official before, I certainly am now! Admittedly, I find this ‘diploma’ a bit on the lame side for an institution like LSE (though I hear Cambridge’s diplomas rival this bad boy). As much as I want to frame it, it looks like I could have printed it with my 1998 HP inkjet printer which takes away a bit of the charm.

Aesthetics aside, I have to admit that opening the envelope and seeing the diploma was actually kind of exciting! It’s definitely nice to have the confirmation that I did graduate and it wasn’t some super-long dream.

Cheers again to the Class of 2010!

xoxo,

Graduation 2010: A Review

ShannonElizabeth — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 05:00:03 +0000

I had debated intensely as to whether or not I actually wanted to spend the $750 on a trip to London to attend graduation. After all, graduation represents one single day and the ceremony itself only an hour or so. Now that I’ve been through the ceremony, said my goodbyes and arrived safely back in California, the thought of not having gone seems ridiculous. Indeed, it was only one day and the ceremony was only a couple of hours. Of that, I was only on stage for but a split second while they called my name and recited my award. The ceremony itself seemed a bit… usual (and by that, I mean it didn’t seem to feel at all spectacular or particularly special) and the reception venue (a cafeteria-esque place on campus) left something to be desired. That being said, I can’t imagine having missed it! It wasn’t really about the ceremony as much as it was the element of closure inherent in a commencement ceremony. There’s something incredible about coming to the realization that you’ve completed something that required a good deal of dedication and hard work. There’s something even more amazing in looking around and realizing all of the people that have been there with you through your journey. It represented one of that last times I would see many of these people and gave us a bit of time to say our goodbyes and reminisce about the extraordinary times we created for ourselves throughout the year.

I’m now back in California, looking to start the next chapter of my life. I’m not sure right now whether that will be a career move, a PhD opportunity or something else entirely, but I finally feel ready to close the LSE chapter of my life. It was an extraordinary year and leaving London in October left me a little broken-hearted. I came back to California missing the UK and trying to come up with ways that would provide me a path back to London. After having gone back in December, though, I left the second time around with a different feeling; a sense of happiness and a true feeling of closure. I left this time knowing that my hard work had paid off. I left knowing that I had made friends with whom I will keep in touch for a lifetime. I left realizing that while London is wonderfully amazing, it is there for me if I want to go back. When I landed in Heathrow, it felt like I had never left. I walked the streets and stopped in shops feeling as though I had been there just a day earlier. When I landed back in California, I found myself excited: excited to be back in a sunshine-y state, near my family and friends and a mere 10-hour ride away from my favorite city.

Cheers to the next chapter,

LSE Graduation!

ShannonElizabeth — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 01:24:38 +0000

After a long night of pressing skirts and tops and preparing for our grad ceremony, we jumped out of bed at 7A to begin getting ready for our MSc graduation! A good friend from my course is a born and bred Londoner with a great, cozy flat in Camden where she allowed a couple of us to bunk. My friend, E., made it over to London from Dublin and made up our graduation trio. While the thought of three girls getting ready in the morning hurt my head a bit, it actually ended up working out perfectly and all of us were showered, dressed and out the door by 845A.

Being that we rented our caps, gowns and hoods, we had to arrive before the ceremony to pick them up and get ready. We had a few extra minutes beforehand to take a few pictures and get comfortably settled into our seats. The ceremony was through fairly quickly, with the opening and closing speeches given by Howard Davies.

Afterwards, we had a fun reception where we were able to mingle, snack, chat and say some of our goodbyes. With many people coming in from out of the country, there were a number of people that had to depart that evening to get back to the real world. Surprisingly, many parents and spouses were there to cheer on their grads and most families went out to lunch following the reception. Since I didn’t have my family in tow, my Irish friend/roommate-for-the-night’s family adopted me as a second child and took us out to Cantina Laredo in Covent Garden. Admittedly, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this Irish family actually had an affinity for Mexican food and was ecstatic to discover that a restaurant in London actually knew how to do Mexican food well! Granted, it’s not the authentic Mezzican you may find in California (read: from a semi-sketch joint where the owners/operators are actually Mexican), but for a gourmet-ified version, I was definitely impressed!

Our SPD programme was very fortunate in the fact that we all got along extremely well. While we had an after party planned at the Supper Club in London for all MSc grads, our Social Policy and Development programme planned a special outing at the Prince of Wales pub in Covent Garden. Though many people weren’t able to come (read: slept through it due to ridiculous jet lag), there were enough of us to chat for hours before finishing up at the Supper Club in Notting Hill at around 130A.

Needless to say, the day was incredibly long and incredibly eventful. It’s a bit bizarre to be able to finally say that I’m an LSE alum! I never thought this day would come so quickly!

It was amazing to reconnect with so many amazing people and have a few moments to really remember what an incredibly amazing year it was.

Cheers to the Class of 2010!

xoxo,

Grad Week!

ShannonElizabeth — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 11:51:05 +0000

I’m officially an LSE alum and am happy to say that graduation went well! I have a lot to talk about and so many pictures to post, but here are a few morsels from the week:

[picasa width="400" height="300" bgcolor="#000000" autoplay="1" showcaption="1" user="shannon.falzon" album="es_GradWeek"]

xoxo,