Unions in Peril

Purpose Motive

This video explains why the standard model for incentives does not work at an Academic institution. Most of the faculty are interested in Autonomy, the desire to be self directed. The traditional rules of management which stresses compliance does not work with the faculty. The other interest of faculty is Engagement and studies show that self directed or the appearance of self direction works best. Finally, Mastery is another motivator for faculty.
All of these points are covered better in this video and I hope you will spend 10 minutes to watch this video. If interested you can read more about this in the book by Dan Ariely titled Upside of Irrationality.

Important Questions

Watch 'What Money Can't Buy' and What it Shouldn't Buy on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

4 Steps 2 Happiness

I subscribe to illustrations by Carl Richards on his website Behavior Gap. I found this latest illustration on point. In my Economics classes I try to explain the concept of unlimited wants vs limited resources. Most of my students do not accept this concept and confuse wants with needs. I am thinking of assigning the following questions as homework after the first lecture.

• What if financial happiness is not about getting more but about wanting less?
• What if things start out as wants and become needs not because the thing itself has changed but because our feelings about it have changed?
• What if you can never really get enough of something that you don’t need?

I will modify the questions removing the word financial.  I encourage everyone to follow this link to view Mr. Richard's illustration.

The Future of Online Education?

I was listening to Marketplace Money on NPR today and heard the following story.
The concept of a certificate in Critical Thinking caught my attention.

Employers are hungry for better ways to measure a job applicant's skills. At the same time, individuals are looking for cheaper ways to get an edge in the workforce.
Enter alternative credentials, which offer new ways to certify what people know.

...StraighterLine, a start-up in Baltimore that offers low-cost online courses. Students get credit at partner universities. And starting this fall, they'll be able bolster those credits with something new: A critical thinking score.

If the player does not work or you need the transcript click here.

Why Technology Matters To Our Students

This is why we need to concentrate more on teaching via technology. Technology changes how society and institutions organize. Students need to use technology so they will have a better understanding of it. Experiencing an online class is different than a face to face class and I believe by exposing students to this difference will prepare them for the future.

Race Against the Machine from Compass Summit on FORA.tv

Fight of the Century: Keynes vs. Hayek Round Two

Here is a video that makes econ interesting. I need to learn how to rap.

Should Everybody Go To College

Here is an interview that challenges everything we like to believe. Robert Shwartz of Harvard argues we need to concentrate more on vocational education, something similar to the European system and I agree with him. He points out that the differences between the unemployment rate for young people and older generation is narrower.

Mathew Crawford from University of Virginia argues that students will learn to focus more by hands on experiences. He also argues for licensing to build up a barrier to entry similar to Germany to encourage students getting into the vocational fields.

The Economic Debate

I found this video interesting and may use it in my Econ 106 class to start a discussion on the debate between various schools of Economics. Do Not Worry! This video is not boring!

Higher Education Going the Way of Manufacturing

Is Higher Ed going the way of manufacturing? Will the U.S. higher education system fall behind the rest of the world? Here is an interesting interview on this topic.

Create Your Own Economy

Here is an interview with the Economist Tyler Cowen. I always suspected that better economists are autistic.

Questioning More is better

I am in Japan. I am traveling with my wife and an old friend. I have seen two old friends and both seemed depressed. One is a Japanese friend worried about losing his job in this economic downturn and a second an American Ex-pat secure in his position yet willing to take a pay cut to have more vacation days. My two friends are both trapped. The first is trapped by fear the second by a good job if all you think about is the pay.
This trip has me questioning the concept of more is better in economics.

Generation Next

A great video that gives me hope.

Unemployment

I like the title of this video. An economist would have titled it "Imports equal Exports" or "globalization and employment". It is a very good video.

Lost Vegas

Here is another video from the people who did the Japan video. It is on the Economic bust that is Las Vegas, or as they call it Lost Vegas. This video scares me because it shows that this recession is different than other recessions.

A video for Sociologist and Anthropologist on Japan

I am going to Japan this July to visit my wifes family. I found the following video and thought it will be of interest to our Anthropologists, and Sociologists.

Value of College Degree

Are you feeling upbeat? Want to be depressed? Here is a story to listen to...

Economics Video

Here is another video on the economy:

Transfer From 4 year to 2 year

Here is an interesting story from the show Marketplace. Many students are transferring from the four year schools to the community colleges.

An Excellent Interview on Truth, Bias and Disagreements

As I have stated in previous posts, I listen to an extremely boring podcast called Econ Talk. The interviewer is Russel Roberts a free market economist and the person being interviewed is Daniel Klein at George Mason University. He starts the interview with stating his idealogy which is not the same as mine. However, Daniel Klein made me think about my own views. This interview is more about Philosophy and Sociology than Economics. This is an excellent interview. click here to listen

Dan Klein, of George Mason University, talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts on
truth in economics, bias, and groupthink in academic life. Along the way they
discuss the Food and Drug Administration (and the drug approval process), the
culture of academic life and the roles of empirical evidence and prediction
markets in adjudicating academic disagreement. The conversation closes with a
discussion of Econ Journal Watch--the watchdog journal Klein founded and
edits--and an invitation to listeners to join a discussion of The Theory of
Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith.