Tags for this video have been changed from 'Amazon, Kiva, Fora, Staples' to 'Amazon, Kiva, Fora, Staples, warehouse, picker' - edited by lucky760

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Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Nice links. I like this particular section very much:

As for accountability of teachers and administrators, Sahlberg shrugs. "There's no word for accountability in Finnish," he later told an audience at the Teachers College of Columbia University. "Accountability is something that is left when responsibility has been subtracted."

For Sahlberg what matters is that in Finland all teachers and administrators are given prestige, decent pay, and a lot of responsibility. A master's degree is required to enter the profession, and teacher training programs are among the most selective professional schools in the country. If a teacher is bad, it is the principal's responsibility to notice and deal with it.

@smooman

Yeah, I think the way you worded your first post led me to believe you were advocating just doing things the way they've always been done until now and that you didn't consider it that big of a problem. I think though that bullying is much more complex than just the parental/family issues you mentioned. Certainly I'm sure you going to find something there, but I think @dag has pointed out that institutional learning as it is currently carried out in most Western countries carries part of the blame as well. My question is, do things have to be this way? Do we have to be complacent with the current level of bullying? Is it beyond our control (i.e. we can't change what is happening in the homes after kids get out of school). I don't believe so, and I think Finland's school system is pointing the way for how we'll get there.

You and @dag might want to take a look at Finland's educational system, in particular their anti-bullying measures, which have been shown to a statistically significant degree to reduce self and peer-reported bullying. For an overview, check out this website: http://www.kivakoulu.fi/there-is-no-bullying-in-kiva-school I googled some of the articles cited and found them online if you want more specific information about their program and how they defined and measured bullying.

Of course, Finland's education system has introduced some other radical changes which no doubt are also contributing to the decline in bullying. See this article for more informations: http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2011/12/what-americans-keep-ignoring-about-finlands-school-success/250564/

My point is this--I agree with you that we can't eliminate bullying (within schools) entirely. But I think we reduce the frequency of its occurrence and deal with it in much better ways than we currently do when it does happen. Like you said, we need to address the causes--psychological, social, institutional, etc.--rather than put out fires after they've already been started.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'kiva, uganda, small loans, yunus' to 'kiva, uganda, small loans, yunus, microloans, microlending' - edited by marinara

Yes, indeed, my friend. I think through the World Bank. This is a bunch of young 20-somethings who liked the idea and ran with it -- matching up small loaners to small loanees. World Bank not needed.

www.kiva.org great place.

>> ^Yogi:

Wasn't there an economist that won a noble prize based on this idea? Anyways bombs explode soo they win.

Thanks for the promote!

I love Kiva.

In reply to this comment by geo321:
That was nicely done

>> ^Pprt:

This is the future of civilization.
Automation is the most logical step over importing labour from the excess population of third world countries. It's more sustainable and more humane.


Definitely... some marxists believe next-generation automation is the path to freedom from drudgery for humankind.

>> ^rottenseed:it looks like a way for banks in third world countries to get fat without having to fund their own loans or take any risks.

I've been neck deep in this debate, and the way I look at it is this:

Kiva does subsidize Micro Finance Institutions (MFI), which are basically banks.
Kiva does require that MFIs they fund offer significantly better rates that locally available.
Many of the places where MFIs operate have a loan-shark credit system where > 100% interest per month is common.
The MFIs do run the risk of losing money on inflation, since the loans must be paid back in US dollars, and the only legal reason not to repay kiva is that the recipient did not repay the loan from the MFI.
Kiva Audits the books of MFIs it uses to make sure they are legit.

The rates, when all fees are considered, look absurd to someone accustomed to a world where a major loan is rarely less than $100k at a time. But consider if you want a home loan you will likely pay more than $1000 in fees, if you only want to borrow $1500 you can see how this can be a problem.

Since the MFIs have legal reporting requirements which cost money to meet, the fees must be paid, the 50% rates you hear are fully inclusive of the fees. The accumulable interest is rarely over 20% APR, and then only in places where monthly loan-shark interest is in the 200% range. Remember most of the places where MFIs operate have high inflation, charging 15% APR with 15% annual inflation, is, in effect interest free money.

The MFIs provide an important service, we help them capitalize and grow, so they can do more of it. They are legal entities with staff and documentation costs, these costs are legitimate, and we do help them get paid.

Subsidizing MFIs may be the most efficient way to alleviate world wide poverty. I know it seems impure, but pure solutions rarely work. Please don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

I've been reading about KIVA...it looks like a way for banks in third world countries to get fat without having to fund their own loans or take any risks. I've read about the interest rates being as high as 50%. I know it's usually small amounts of money, but over long enough periods of time, it equates to high dollars. That, to me, sounds stupid. Maybe somebody can explain it to me in a way that justifies it.

I've got about $1000 in kiva that I keep churning back in. I attribute all my loans to the, currently dominant, Atheist/etc team, largely because I think it's great to have something to point to when people ask "Where are all the atheist charities?".

hmm more exciting then www.kiva.org

Hey hey, I just got back from Reno and... [end random Simpsons ref]

Some quick comments, because if ANYONE's going to necropost around here, it's *ME*.

From Fedquip:
>Now I understand the self promotion policy, but I honestly didn't think it has to be so black and white.

No, it doesn’t *have* to be, but it is. You would need to get the community and admins to agree to change the policy first.

The proper forum, IMHO, for challenging the policy would be in its on Sift Talk, rather than in a Full-on Siftquisition, though - this is more of a forum of defending oneself, rather than attacking existing policy. Despite the maxim that “the best defense is a good offense”, it simply looks REALLY bad in this context. Burnings aren’t necessary, but a bit of contrition is nice.

You did bring on the contrition in comment #142423, though, (and majorly in the offer to leave, which was as dramatic as it was appreciated), so I’m totally appeased.

I know Kiva.org, though... how does that fit into all this, though?

From James:
>With the exception of QM I think we are almost all frothing at the mouth liberals.

*Almost* all. I like wildmanBill’s GDI label.

I just like my latte foam frothing.

From bl968:
>But his employement has absolutely nothing to do with his self linking.

Actuallllllly.... it may not be directly related, but it’s a CLEAR example of why the rule exists in its Super Black & White Form in the first place.

The Sift is about more than just promoting yourself and gaining rank like the monkies dag cited in his initial post introducing the rankings (click on the link on the Top 15 list to see that old Sift Talk post... oh, here it is: http://www.videosift.com/talk/Member-Rankings-Added-to-VideoSift).

However, if you were looking for a New Media job, putting “Top 15 Sift” user on your C.V. definitely wouldn’t hurt.

But if you attain that rank by digging up/creating your own clips then publishing *and* sifting them, it subverts the unique *value* and *meaning* of a top-ranked Sifted video/user.

Similar to monetary inflation, posting your own links dilutes the value of the posting (i.e. it means you couldn’t find someone else willing to post the video... therefore it has lost one step of “approval” before entering the Sift Queue). When a government prints more money, the value of its money falls, and soon you get hyper-inflation.

From MINK:
>and behold, the web 2.0 dream continues to be exposed as an empty idealistic circular argument between well meaning geeks with too much time on their hands.

Well clearly.

Kiva is amazing.

And it is a much more productive and radical concept than mere food dumps on third world countries and block grants to NGOs.

Choggie hates microfinance because of the potentially large interest rates and his undying pledge of support to World Bank/IMF.

I concede that I self linked, in all honesty I knew I was doing it but I didn't think twice because I was not doing it to promote (except promote Attenborough and Burke if anything)

Honestly I am sorry that this has caused such a stir.

If anybody wants to re-submit those clips please by all means do so, I know the community liked them.

I have been in a bit over my head my with my new job, it's a welcome challenge and it has the opportunity to bring many of the issues discussed on the social web to a different type of audience.

And maybe someday I can get Kiva.org there too, it's a great opportunity and the last thing I want to do is lose the support that I have been given from the sift community.