Weekly Roundup 7/23/2012

The Trouble with Online Education    

Mark Edmundson, The New York Times, July 19, 2012
Synopsis: Online education doesn't allow the kind of teacher-student or student-student interaction that makes learning come alive, argues a University of Virginia professor of English.

Takeaway: "We tend to think that the spellbinding lecturers we had in college survey classes were gifted actors.... But I think that the best of those lecturers are highly adept at reading their audiences...They feel it when the class is engaged, and when it slips off. And they do something about it....The Internet teacher, even one who responds to students via e-mail, can never have the immediacy of contact that the teacher on the scene can.”

For more, see our reports on Digital Education (Dec. 2, 2011) and Career Colleges (Jan. 7, 2011).

--Marcia Clemmitt, Staff Writer

**********************

Greg Ousley Is Sorry for Killing His Parents. Is That Enough? 

By Scott Anderson, The New York Times Magazine, July 22, 2012

Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Greg Ousley shot and killed his parents at home in Indiana. He has been in an adult prison for 19 years and says he is sorry for the crime and rehabilitated. He wants his freedom.

Takeaway: Does it make sense to keep Greg in prison? Many people who know Greg, including the warden and his caseworker, say he is a changed person, and some but not all his family members favor his release. “Greg’s case is a telling one in the national debate over just what is accomplished by sentencing juveniles to long prison sentences. In the case of juvenile parricide, there is an added paradox. Because it is among the most target-specific of crimes, criminologists believe that an abused juvenile who killed a parent is likely to be at low risk of future criminality if he gets treatment and has a strong social support system when he is released.”

For background see Youth Violence, March 5, 2010 and Downsizing Prisons, March 11, 2011.

--Thomas J. Colin, Contributing Editor

Weekly Roundup 7/17/2012

Crooked Bankers Are Corrupting Government: The Real LIBOR Story
Richard Eskow, Huffington Post, July 11, 2012

Synopsis: The truly alarming financial news is not that banks manipulate the LIBOR  -- the interest rate banks charge other banks -- says Eskow, a writer for a liberal advocacy group. The big story is that politicians, regulators and financial journalists ignored the immoral and damaging practice.

Takeaway: "Reports say that the Fed knew about Barclays' deception back in 2007" but nevertheless "rescued Barclays and its executives with nearly a trillion dollars in publicly backed loans,” Eskow writes. “That means that Barclays probably made billions off the reduced interest rate alone, courtesy of the American people...after [the Fed] learned that the bank was lying."

For more, see our reports on "Financial Misconduct," Jan. 20, 2012, and "Financial Industry Overhaul," July 30, 2010.

-- Marcia Clemmitt, Staff Writer

**********************

Amid Reports of Ineptitude, Concerns Over Security at London Olympics
John F. Burns, The New York Times, July 15, 2012, p. 10

Synopsis: Two weeks before the start of the London Summer Olympics, security experts, whistleblowers and even government officials say security plans are in complete disarray.

Takeaway: The problems go far beyond the shortfall in private security guards, which will now be filled by Britain’s armed forces. For example, recruits repeatedly failed to spot fake bombs and grenades during X-ray training, and cleared people through security without spotting hidden weapons.

For background see “Hosting the Olympics,” CQ Global Researcher, July 3, 2012.

-- Thomas J. Colin, Contributing Editor

This Week’s Report: “Privatizing the Military”

Over the past decade, the United States has hired tens of thousands of private security contractors to support its military missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, alleviating some of the pressure on American service personnel but raising significant questions about the role of soldiers-for-hire in U.S. foreign policy, according to this week’s Researcher.

As staff writer Marcia Clemmitt notes, politicians and military leaders long resisted sending large numbers of private contractors into war zones. But that thinking changed in the past two decades. “The government has increasingly turned to security companies … to assist in armed and unarmed military operations and help other government agencies working abroad,” Clemmitt writes. The trend originally was driven by military downsizing in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s, but “the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have fueled it, as has increased public acceptance of privatization as a way to increase quality and efficiency while reducing the number of jobs handled by government.”

While most contractors perform mundane duties, such as running food-service operations on military bases or building temporary structures, a growing number have taken on “delicate, mission-critical jobs” that analysts say “skate perilously close to duties that should be performed only by military personnel,” Clemmitt writes.  That expanded role has led to charges that using contractors for dangerous or questionable military activities gives policymakers too much latitude to take military action without citizens’ support or lawmakers’ consent.

This important report is ideal for those studying foreign policy, political science, military policy and history, the growing trend of privatization in both the public and private sectors and the application of human-rights law to international business.

--Thomas J. Billitteri, Managing Editor  

Weekly Roundup 7/9/2012

Verizon: Net Neutrality Violates Our Free Speech Rights
Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, July 3, 2012

Synopsis: As debate continues over "net neutrality," Verizon argues that requiring Internet providers to treat all content equally would violate its free-speech rights as the Internet's owner and publisher.

Takeaway: "Broadband networks are the modern-day microphone by which their owners [e.g. Verizon] engage in First Amendment speech,” Verizon writes. Verizon believes that it's entitled to the same kind of control over the content that flows through its network as newspaper editors exercise over what appears in their papers. That includes the right to prioritize its own content, or those of its partners, over other Internet traffic."

For more, see our report on "Internet Regulation," April 13, 2012.

-- Marcia Clemmitt, Staff Writer

**********************

The Drone Zone
Mark Mazzetti, The New York Times Magazine, July 9, 2012

Synopsis: Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico is the Air Force’s primary training center for Predator and Reaper pilots, who can become certified in less than two years. But problems with flying planes from the ground remain.

Takeaway: Much is known about the government’s drone program, but much remains under wraps. The Pentagon, which is increasing its drone fleet by 30 percent, has acknowledged its drone operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But programs run by the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command remain classified.

For background see the CQ Researcher report "Drone Warfare," Aug. 6, 2010, updated April 27, 2012.

-- Thomas J. Colin, Contributing Editor

This Week's Report: Whale Hunting

Once hunted aggressively for their oil, blubber and other byproducts, whales and other marine mammals are widely viewed today as intelligent creatures in need of protection. But despite a voluntary moratorium on commercial whaling in place since 1986, Japan, Norway and Iceland still hunt whales, and Japan continues to slaughter dolphins for their meat.

As this week’s compelling report details, hunting of whales, dolphins and porpoises continues to spark bitter disputes between animal-welfare activists and countries that defend whaling as legitimate. Meanwhile, other forces are also threatening marine life. They include climate change, entanglement in commercial-fishing gear and ocean noise pollution.

This report includes sidebars on a rare dolphin species in China that has gone extinct and on links between underwater sonar testing and the death of marine mammals. The report is ideal for classes on environmental policy, animal rights and international politics.

-- Thomas J. Billitteri, Managing Editor