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June 14, 2006

Escaping the Page: Doing the Oral Presentation

By Amanda Johnson

I would consider the preparation for the honors thesis presentations a true breakthrough in the writing process. Having completed a draft and feeling less than satisfied with the way my ideas had found their way into Microsoft Word, my next step was to prepare my thesis presentation slides, which required me to return to the text and distill the most important ideas into something that I could communicate in 10 minutes. It also reminded me of the importance of catering to your audience, something that I always knew that I should be doing but a priority that became occluded by the urgency of actually needing to finish the draft. The presentation was a chance to pay particular attention to how you are going to convey and persuade an audience to at least respect the value of your research if they do not agree with your argument. Constructing the presentation made the writing visual, it made it oral, and it made the typed words seem more malleable than they were before, allowing me to go back and put down my thoughts how they should be.

Posted by hilton at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2006

Op Ed: Educational Equity for Afro-Brazilians

by Nicole Medeiros

With its tropical climate and strong African cultural influences, many imagine Brazil to be a ‘racial paradise ’ — a nation that has extinguished racial and ethnic tensions by successfully fusing diverse racial and ethnic identities.
Brazil is not the racial democracy. Disparities in educational attainment rates among whites and nonwhites are overwhelming. Educational opportunity constitutes a means of social advancement and means of capital; to address these inequities the global community must support Afro-Brazilians in their efforts to gain more adequate educational resources.

In 2004, I traveled to Rio de Janeiro as a Stanford Haas Center Urban Summer Fellow. Working with Mediadors da Paz (Mediators of Peace), a government conflict-resolution program, I visited public schools in the North, East, and West regions of the city — far from the white homes, and tourist-ridden beaches and boutiques of Copacabana and Ipanema.

Teachers were overworked and under-compensated. The parents I met had little education; yet, their graciousness revealed wisdom gained from struggle. The students were bright and perceptive to the shortcomings of their school facilities. Most, if not all, of the parents and students I met were Black.

I was overwhelmed by the inadequacies of the majority Afro-Brazilian schools. I had awakened to the myth of the Brazilian ‘racial democracy, ’ and it resonated deeply. How many of the students I met in Brazil would graduate from college and become professionals? When I returned to the United States, I found an answer – though Black Brazilians constitute 45 percent of the population, only two percent would receive university degrees.

The status of Afro-Latinos is often overlooked. Like the United States, Latin America used the labor of thousands of slaves. Their histories and run parallel to African descendents in North America; unfortunately, their gains in terms of civil rights still are still disparaging. The UN Conference in Durban, South Africa was a great effort to address racial discrimination in our global community. We must continue to address racial and ethnic inequalities by lending our support to the efforts of Afro-Brazilian activists in leaders.

Given Brazil ‘s interest in solidifying their image and role as a regional and international power, they are in tune and susceptible to the critique of their international partners. International government bodies must pressure and challenge Brazil to delve into the fallacies of its racial democracy, and find truth. We must support Afro-Brazilians in their efforts to secure increased diversity programming and educational resources, and affirm the voices of those struggling to address what is a major civil rights crisis.

Posted by hilton at 12:19 PM | Comments (0)

June 12, 2006

Op Ed: Managing Volunteers in Honduras

Ben Fohner

When people ask us why we spend so much time and effort working in, thinking about, and advocating for Honduras, the answer seems obvious. We remember the smiling eyes of a Honduran toddler first visiting a doctor, the happiness and celebration of a village after the construction of a potable water system, looks of relief on the faces of family members surrounding a cured patient, and the personal bonds among new friends, standing out on the canvas of hardship that permeates Honduras. One memory, like millions of other factors, can easily justify our involvement in everything from volunteer clinics in Honduras to showing up to the office on Monday mornings, excited to begin another week. In non-profit organizations, as in all assembled groups working toward a common goal, individual motivation is essential to overall success. By understanding why people choose to immerse themselves in Honduras working toward particular humanitarian goals, group leaders can more effectively recruit and retain volunteers, which is essential for organizations to help more people in greater ways across further areas of Honduras.

According to the Harvard Business Review, workforce motivation is key to the success of all groups, whether a corporate office or a non-profit clinic. “Only through [understanding] motivation can managers help their employees generate the excellent performance that enables companies to boost profitability.” While organizations working toward health goals in Honduras are not looking to bolster their quarterly profit, they are striving to implement as broadly as possible highly effective programs that will create the most positive impact. As the key to achieving their lofty goals, organizations must recruit and retain an effective, well-trained corps of volunteers, which is possible only through the effective motivation of such people.

Those who choose to spend their time in Honduras are motivated by distinct factors, which can be categorized. For some, the promise of developing and honing new skills serves as the driving force for involvement, while for others, religious reasons prompt dedication of personal time and resources. Others are inspired by the bonds that form between themselves and the clients served by organizations, while another group attributes their involvement to personal appeals from friends that are already involved in such organizations. A few recognize the opportunities that organizations present to travel to remote areas and experience a foreign lifestyle, with still others pointing to more obvious benefits, such as compensation or recognition by a university admissions committee. Regardless of the factors, motivation plays a key role in staffing non-profit organizations and achieving group goals.

Directors must remember that their organizations not only contribute to the world by providing a service to those in need, but they also provide an irreplaceable environment to those that spend their time volunteering. They provide factors, from religious experiences to a glimpse into the eyes of a Honduran child, which motivate, drive, and provide meaning to the lives of countless volunteers around the world. Understanding these desires, an essential task for directors, can enable the organization to better highlight their unique service niche, inspire new volunteers to participate, and stimulate existing volunteers, thereby striving toward the goal of painting over the blank canvas of hardship in Honduras.

Posted by hilton at 02:32 PM | Comments (0)

June 05, 2006

Op Ed: The Burden

This Op Ed by Naree Chan flows from her research on the most cost-effective means to deliver vacines to prevent hepatitus B to new-borns in Cambodia. A very complex cost-analysis project -- and one with very definite possibilities for application. However, as Naree remarks in her commentary afterwards, this is not really an Op Ed but a reflection on her experience doing the project. Nonetheless, it's interesting and moving. How would you re-write it to make it a more traditional Op Ed article?

The Burden

by Naree Chan

I am guilty. I am guilty of taking time from Cambodian women, health care workers, program managers, NGO workers, and many others to ask them never ending questions. Now that I am writing a thesis, I am now possibly guilty of excluding the very voices I traveled so far to include in my research. I am guilty because I received money to a faraway place not to donate money but spend money — money for gas, phone cards, and drivers — all to simply witness poverty in the rural countryside. Yes, I was able to observe the corruption rampant in the public health system and to discover if my parents’ aversion to preventive care originated in this Cambodia, but at what cost? The money I spent to further pollute the environment and could have been spent to feed the people I met.

So when I saw a young pregnant woman with a foot swollen with infection, what was I supposed to do? She could not afford the $2 moto to the nearest health center. Should I give her money, a ride, or some other type of assistance? But my academic voice and training came through and asked, “How are my actions setting a precedent for future researchers? Would the locals simply think I was taking and not giving? After me, would they always expect outsiders to help?” Yet simultaneously, I wanted to partially absolve my guilt by driving her to the nearest clinic and paying the medical fees. So that’s what I did.

But the guilt did not go away. Instead, I watched as the health care workers in the small clinic clean and bandage her foot, asked her to return within two weeks for another cleaning, and gave her antibiotics to help the healing. She informed us she had gone to a private clinic and spent money on treatment, but she continued to work in the rice fields so she could provide for her four other children at home. How could we ask her to come back in two weeks when her situation required her to work even while seven months pregnant? It took us almost half an hour to drive from her village to the health clinic in a sturdy four wheel drive vehicle. It would probably take almost as long, if not longer, on a moto, but she would have to deal with the rough terrain and driving conditions in her condition.

Cambodia is not a country lacking assistance. Everyone wants to help, just look at the hundreds of NGOs from various countries welcomed by the government. It’s a country with the potential for economical, political, and social change, and there are tons of outside organizations purportedly there to help Cambodians rise out of its developing world status. But when I see non-Cambodians riding in SUVs and dining along the Mekong riverside in Phnom Penh, I seriously wonder if these outsiders are effectively helping the country or simply enjoying a lavish lifestyle on a western salary in a poor country. How is it that the Cambodian government embraces NGOs and appears to cooperate with international assistance but continues to be corrupt – delaying government salaries for up to half a year. Yes, the impossible will take a little while, but with this much assistance pouring into such a small country, how much longer will it take?

Reflection
I still do not feel like “The Burden” is an op-ed. It is more like my reflections on my experiences doing field research in a country that is undeveloped yet contains my heritage. If it is classified as an op-ed, I would say it reflects my poor opinion of the Cambodian government and expresses my skepticism of the altruism behind NGO workers and international development. Though I may distrust these foreigners, should I simply be grateful for their presence and attempts to make change in “my” country?

My background as a public policy major makes me realize that foreign aid is difficult to measure and observe, especially since it is heavily dependent on institutional environments that are difficult to control. In many ways, the success of a private corporation that develops a product or offers a service is much easier to implement, manage, and improve because it exists independently from other agencies. Distributing basic health care services like immunizations, however, is a logistical nightmare that depends not only on money for supplies and training but also on successful implementation in a country with few roads, unreliable electricity, and corrupt officials.

Posted by hilton at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)