The author duo of Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner have made economics accessible to the general reader through their popular work Freakonomics and its sequel. Continuing on with the spirit of scholarly adventure, they yet again unfold unexpected correlations in understanding odd phenomenon. In the article in question, originally published in Slate magazine…
The leadership of Antonio Agostinho Neto
What does this person do? What are their primary areas of interest? Antonio Agostinho Neto rose from a simple background to become the first President of Angola in 1975. He served as the leader of Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and guided his country through the years of civil war. Although he…
The three phases of a project and the responsibilities of project managers
Project Management can be seen to contain three distinct phases: Planning, Scheduling and Controlling. During the Planning phase, the requirements of the project are properly understood. The Project Manager (PM) fits the new project within the broader Project Organization, so that existing projects continue to run smoothly. The PM also interacts with the clientele and…
Do we need American hegemony to build and maintain the global capitalist economic order?
In the era past World War II, America established itself as one of two superpower nations. With the Soviet Union providing counterbalancing power, America waged a diplomatic war (Cold War) to assert and spread its ideological content. This ideological confrontation manifested in two forms: 1. between communism and liberal democracy, 2. between socialism and capitalism. …
Experiences of Divorced Women versus Divorced Men
Marital divorce can be a very painful experience for both the parties. But it can affect the genders in quite different ways. It is a well known fact that divorce rates in advanced nations are quite high compared to that of developing and under-developed nations. The United States and Europe have gained notoriety for their…
Book Review: Courtroom 302 by Steve Bogira
The book Courtroom 302 is a detailed analysis of the American Criminal Justice system. Written by author Steve Bogira, the book documents the insights and observations made by him during his tenure as a crime reporter for the Chicago Reader and later during his job as a police reporter. The book in question focusses on…
Symbolism in Waiting For Godot
Written by Samuel Beckett originally in French in 1948, the translated English version was first enacted on stage in 1953. One of the masterpieces of the absurdist tradition, the play is infused with psychological, political and philosophical symbolism. It is also rich in its layered themes and motifs. The plot is outwardly quite simple, involving…
Causes and consequences of low motivation among teens and possible interventions
Lack of motivation among teenagers is an area of concern for parents and school administrators alike. Low motivation can manifest in the form of disinterest toward studies, unwillingness to participate in extracurricular activities and disinclination toward sports, etc. Low motivation was also closely linked to a plethora of other teenage problems, including “detrimental family background,”…
Anglo-US invasion of Iraq (2003): A study of sociological and political economic theories of news production
The invasion and occupation of Iraq since 2003 is a classic example of the power and effectiveness of propaganda campaigns. For some people, subsequent revelations about the lack of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) might have come as a surprise. But even before the invasion took place, many people across the world (including Americans) took…
Amartya Sen: His contribution to ‘welfare economics’
Amartya Sen is a Nobel Prize winning economist of Indian origin, who has made vital contributions to the field of development economics. One of his major seminal contributions is ‘social choice theory’, but his contributions extend to ‘welfare economics’ and studying the problems of poverty as well. Born in a country with one of the…