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May 1, 2008

Class Presentation Analysis II

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Although not fresh in my head, I remember the group with Goal #3: Promote gender equality and empower women. I remember it because they mentioned a lot about HIV/AIDS, which was my groups' topic. This just goes to show that many of our world's problems overlap. The reason for this is because many of the roots of these problems are the same: such as unemployment, homelessness, poverty, etc--problems grow exponentially and branch out from these base issues. This group's goal was to promote gender equality and empower women...they chose to focus on violence towards women. They then researched violence towards women in different parts of the world. For example, in Africa, when the man of the house dies, the women is exiled from her house (which renders her homeless and starts the cycle of problems again). They didn't directly make the point, but attitudes toward women are based very much on culture and customs. Much of it is based on religion. Think about the Middle East and Muslim women being covered up. Think of Christianity and the undeniable presence of masculinity (which has more to do with history and politics). Men and women are different! This is a problem that dates back to the beginning! This is an old problem, and an ongoing problem--something I don't see getting resolved by 2015 because of the psychological nature of it. Sometimes it's in fun and play...but other times the battle of the sexes can lead to violence. This is what we need to focus to get rid of by 2015. Maybe to strengthen their project, this group could do some research on men--try some reverse psychology; learn from opposites.

Class Presentation Analysis I

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The first group that went had the task to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Their project stood out from the others and was more effective for three reasons: it was organized, background research was evident, and it took the "solution" one step further. Their presentation was guided by their webpage that they created. Its plan was simple and easy to follow with no "frilly" fonts or distractions. Each group member spoke equally and held their own. When confronted about the communication issue in Haiti, the group member replied intelligently rather than being submissive. The background research was evident because of the statistics and their focus on Haiti. They must have researched other places where poverty is prevalent (places like Sub-Saharan Africa come to mind), but the fact that they narrowed it down strengthened their point. They also offered a solution; they offered more than one solution (which is obviously needed). Their solution was to create jobs. If they would have stopped there, it would have been cut and dry. However, they present ways HOW to create jobs...such as tourism, or planting the jatropha plant. I am especially intrigued with the plant idea because I think it fits well with this class--solutions that are not banal, natural, sustainable, etc.