PERSON OF THE YEAR 2011. Introduction.

     In the end of every year, Time magazine choose a person that they think contributed to do the world a better place, somebody that they would like to highlighted for doing beyond in his or her profession. In 2010, they chose Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook. In 2009, they chose Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve President. In 2008, they chose Barak Obama, US President. In this report I am doing a summary now, they explain who they chose in 2011 and why. I totally agree with them. It was published at Time.com at Dec.14,2011 and was written by Rick Stengel. The title is above.
   
     History often emerge in retrospect. Events become significant only when looked back on. No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, he would spark protests that would bring down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and rattle regimes in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Or that that spirit of dissent would spur Mexicans to rise up against the terror of drug cartels, Greeks to march against unaccountable leaders, Americans occupy public spaces to protest income inequality, and Russians to marshal themselves against a corrupt autocracy.
     Is there a global tipping point for frustation? Everywhere, it seems, people said they would had enough. They dissented, they demanded, they did not despair, even when the answers came back in a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets. And although it was understood differently in different places, the idea of democracy was present in every gathering.
     Technology mattered, but this was not a technological revolution. Social networks did not cause these movements, but they kept them alive and connected, but this was not a wired revolution, it was a human one, of hearts and minds.
     Everywhere this year, people have complained about the failure of tradicional leadership and the fecklessness of institutions. Politicians cannot look beyond the next election. That´s one reason we did not select an individual this year. For capturing and highlighting a global sense of restless promise, for upending governments and conventional wisdom, for combining the oldest of techniques with the newest of technologies to shine a light on human dignity and, finally, for steering the planet on a more democratic though sometimes more dangerous path for the 21st century, THE PROTESTER IS TIME´s 2011 PERSON OF THE YEAR.


    Spur - encourage.
    Unaccountable - irresponsible.
    Dissent - disagreement with a widely held view.
    Autocracy - system of government in which one person has total power.
    Hail - large number of things through the air.
    Restless - unable to rest.
    Fecklessness - lacking strengh of character.
    Steering - guide.
    Upending - set something on its end.

Volunteer Teacher XV

    There is a issue that have not been commented in the Brazilian media very often, but I think this issue is extremely important in order to improve education, the dissemination of information to a bigger democratization and other benefits that the digital inclusion brings.
     For somebody to have access through internet wi-fi is necessary to be in the corevage area of an access point, this points is called as ¨hotspots¨, generally is a public place where there is wireless net and to use a notebooks, netbooks, tablets or smartphones. The point of access transmits the signal at a distance of more or less 300 m if the pattern is IEEE 802.11.
     Many places around the world has been concerned with dissemination of the broadband to all citizens, for example: In Seoul, South Korea, 80% of the city already has the wireless connection. In Rio de Janeiro state there is a program called, ¨Rio-estado digital¨, under coordenation of UFF that will offer free wireless connection to half of the citizens in Duque de Caxias and Belfort Roxo. In Rio`s beachs already has the wi-fi. In Londrina (PR) there are many squares where the city council has put free wi-fi. In Acre state there is a program supported by World Bank and US Trade and Development Agency called ¨Digital forest¨, that has been installing antennas, the Acre government promises to cover all state. Brasília wants to be the first Brazilian city with total wi-fi coverage until 2014, for while there are only in the bus station and around the football stadium. In the São Paulo city during 2012 the city council will put free wi-fi in the bus station for municipal transport, the first will be ¨terminal de Santo Amaro¨.




                                                                     source: wikipedia and goggle.

Maplecroft ranking reveals India lagging behind Brazil,Russia and China.

      This report was published by the British consultancy Maplecroft.com at 30/03/2011.The title is above and it is a summary.

       New research developed to identify countries whose populations and economies are stifled by a lack of "digital inclusion", the ability to use and access information communication technologies (ICT) such as computers, internet and mobile phones.
       The digital inclusion index, uses 10 indicators to calculate the level of digital inclusion in 186 countries. These include numbers of cellular and broadband subscriptions, fixed telephones lines, household with PCs, internet users, etc.
       Of the BRIC nations, India 39ª is the only country to be classified as "extreme risk".  China 103ª,   Brazil 110ª, Russia 134ª  are rated "medium risk". The countries with the best access to ICT are:  Netherlands 186ª,  Denmark 185ª,  Sweden 183ª,  UK 182ª.
       "Digital inclusion is important in both enabling people to participate in economic activity as well as facilitating their participation in the very process of democratic governance and education." State professor Alyson Warhurst, CEO of Maplecroft.
       Internet freedom is also a serious issue especially in China and to a lesser extent Russia. In China, the internet remains heavily controlled. A sophisticated system of monitoring exist in the country and access to many websites is restricted and freedom of expression online is denied.

Brazil does not follow international standard and wi-fi net is left behind.

     This report was published at www.diariodepernambuco.com.br at 08/02/2011. The title is above and this is a summary.

     Survey made by the consultancy Teleco point out that Brazil is very low in the number of points to acess freely the internet wireless, known as "hotspots".
     Here there are 4,035 places to connect wireless and free the internet, while countries such as South Korea with a quarter of this population has 42,143. To make matters worse, only in the Sao Paulo state there are almost 62% of the points.
      Brazil is also being left behind by other emergents countries such as: China with 102,260 places and Russia with 14,674 places.
      If it depend on the speed in which new points are installed, the trend is Brazil becoming increasingly outdated.

Latin America: Maintaining the Growth Momentum.

    This was published at World Economic Outlook, at www.IMF.org. In September 2011.The title is above.This is a summary.

     The Latin America region is projected to expand 4.5% in 2011, moderating to about 4% in 2012.
     Growth in the region remains strong supported by buoyant domestic demand, easy external financial conditions and favorable terms of trade. The key now is to maintain growth as macroeconomic policies move to a more neutral position boom-bust risks must be contained, through tighter fiscal and macroprudential policies.

      The GDP growth projections.              2011                   2012

      Argentina                                           8.0%                    4.6%
      Chile                                                  6.5%                    4.7%
      Paraguay                                            6.4%                    5.0%
      Peru                                                   6.2%                    3.1%
      Uruguay                                             6.0%                    4.2%
      Ecuador                                             5.8%                    3.8%
      Bolivia                                               5.0%                     4.5%
      Colombia                                           4.9%                     4.5%
      Brazil                                                 3.8%                     3.6%

      USA                                                  1.5%                     1.8%
      UK                                                    1.1%                     1.6%
      Germany                                             2.7%                    1.3%
      Sweden                                               4.4%                    3.8%
      Russia                                                 4.3%                     4.1%
      China                                                  9.5%                     9.0%
      Portugal                                             -2.2%                    -1.8%
      Japan                                                -0.5%                      2-3%
   

Middle Class in Latin America is Economically Vulnerable, says OECD.

     This was published at Latin America Outlook 2010, at OECD.org and this is a summary.The title is above.

       ¨A growing and vibrant middle class is a sign of good economic prospect in L.A.¨ Said, Ángel Gurria, secretary general of the OECD. ¨However, they still face serious hurdles in terms of purchasing power, education and job security.
         Labour market informality remains high among this segment of the population as informality goes hand-to-hand with low social-protection coverage, on average in L.A. fewer than half of these workers will benefit from a social safety net when they get old or lose their jobs. In Chile 39% of the population within this group does not contribute to any pension scheme, in Brazil 52%, and in Bolivia 95%.
         Education is the surest way to lift child to higher social and economic levels, but the ability of education system in L.A. to boost social mobility remains very limited. The quality of the education received is closely linked to the socio-economic background.
          High levels of labour informality, low coverage of social-protection programs and limited fiscal resources to improve public services could cancel-out the possible benefits of a growing middle class in L.A.
         Instruments for creating more opportunities for upward mobility through more and better education include, increasing the quality of public education, through measure such as: Better administration of schools, a modern system of evaluation, better recrutment and training of teachers as well as better incentive systems, and financing tertiary education through grants and loans.