Wisconsin Sentences

Posted: 5 March 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment
Protesters in Madison on 26 Feb 2011

Protesters in Madison on 26 Feb 2011

In this accentuated war of words and ideas on the collective bargaining rights in the state of Wisconsin, I thought you would appreciate two more bits of information.

Hendrik Hertzberg has written a thoughtful piece on what taking those rights away would mean for workers in Wisconsin, that state’s citizens and those of the nation. It is important to note that Hertzberg is left-leaning, worked for the Carter administration, was the son of a teacher and grandson of union garment workers. Nevertheless he raises some interesting points on the historical progression (or digression) of unions in the US. http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/03/07/110307taco_talk_hertzberg

Along with the article, he hosted a chat that brought out even further interesting points. Here is the link and a copy-paste of what I fear is the most detrimental and irreversible portion of this legislation:

QUESTION FROM ELLENS: Most reports of the protests in Wisconsin report that the governor wants to end collective bargaining, but this seems not to be the whole story. As I understand it, collective bargaining would still be allowed for salaries but not for benefits. Am I wrong or is the media simply not finishing the sentence … and why?

HENDRIK HERTZBERG: I haven’t noticed the media not finishing the sentence. Sometimes, though, they don’t add the next sentence, which describes how any future raises could be no higher than the rate of inflation and would have to be approved by a public referendum. And the sentence after that, about how the unions have to win a recertification election every year. And the one after that, about how they’d have to get a majority of the whole work force, not just a major of the vote.

Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/ask/2011/02/hendrik-hertzberg-wisconsin.html#ixzz1Fk82DLZy

Pablo Boczkowski au CELSA – 15 juin 2010

Posted: 12 May 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Journalism, Pedagogy, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Professor Pablo Boczkowski sera au CELSA entre 10h30 et 14h, mercredi 15 juin 2010.

Here is a video (in English) explaining his research/teaching at the School of Communication at Northwestern University.

Une traduction française d’un de ces articles a été récemment publiée dans le N° 160 de Réseaux.

Vous pouvez consulter son CV et m’envoyer vos questions pour plus de renseignements sur sa visite : kyle [at] breakborder [dot] eu.

Singin’ the EU Blues

Posted: 12 January 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Europe, European public policy, Pedagogy | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Watching the following EU promotional video for the Erasmus programme, a recurring theme is stated between all the students’ experiences that are highlighted: The Erasmus Blues.

While most would have a hard time criticizing the value of the inter-European higher education program, these blues do underline that perhaps Erasmus still has challenges. What is the added value of Erasmus if it only remains at the individual student or professor level? How is the programme making efforts to reintegrate scholars in their home country, while promoting further exchange of ideas and scholarship from respective host countries associated with Erasmus?

Furthermore, is there more this public policy aim could be doing to promote a truly European higher education culture? Or are the students shown in the video destined to life-long frustration in their respective home countries singing the blues?

healthcare: supply drives demand?

Posted: 25 October 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Europe, European public policy, International Relations | Leave a comment

Alix Spiegel, Social Policy reporter for National Public Radio, has recently put together a radio story on the rise in healthcare procedures and costs in the US (listen here act one, 5min in).

Her 18-minute piece based on research conducted at Dartmouth contends that supply drives demand in the healthcare economy in the US.  In short, the more doctors one finds in a given market, the more (sometimes unnecessary) healthcare procedures conducted.  Healthcare costs then follow suit.

Listening to her interviews, I couldn’t help but think of the environment for healthcare consumption in France.  While most would be uncomfortable calling healthcare a market in the country, consumption is rather easy.  Government regulation has made access to doctors, lab procedures and phramacists simple, especially in densely-populated urban environments you often find in Europe.

What changes between the two continents though, is the communicational environment surrounding the promotion of procedures and medications.  The ‘ask your doctor if it is right for you’ ads in the States, add a new element of pressure to a  consultation and even to the perceived health-based need in the patient’s mind, causing doctors to doubt their abilities.  However, patients should be allowed to access information on drugs, conditions and health threats they may encounter.

At what point do doctors get to make the call?  Can one trust that doctors will always put the patient’s interests in front of their own, especially given an environment of increasing awareness amongst patients?  Are television, magazine and internet ads (aka direct to consumer prescription drug advertising) effective ways of informing the population from a wholistic healthcare perspective?  I’m going to ask my doctor today.

soi-même

Posted: 19 October 2009 | Author: | Filed under: New media, Pedagogy | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Working in education you get all sorts of little pleasures when students take a project assignment and run with it.

Check out the work of fellow colleague, Bob Spaulding, and his new media + communications master’s students on their video CVs.  I think you’ll agree that CELSA students possess a great amount of talent.  See them all on their class channel.

They also have good taste in music: