Name ______
Date ______
From Newsweek Magazine
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/16/best-countries-in-the-world.html
By Rana Foroohar - August 16, 2010
Ranking the Top 100 Countries in the World
Warren Buffett likes to say that anything good that’s ever happened to him can be traced back to the fact that he was born in the right country—America—at the right time. And it’s true: while remarkable individuals can be found in any nation on earth, certain countries give their citizens much greater opportunity to succeed than others at certain points in time. It’s an issue that is particularly pressing today. As wealth and power shift from West to East, and a new post-crisis world order continues to take shape, it’s no longer clear that being born and raised in Omaha offers quite the edge that it once might have.
In NEWSWEEK’s first-ever Best Countries special issue, we set out to answer a question that is at once simple and incredibly complex—if you were born today, which country would provide you the very best opportunity to live a healthy, safe, reasonably prosperous, and upwardly mobile life? Many organizations measure various aspects of national competitiveness. But none attempt to put them all together. For this special survey, then, NEWSWEEK chose five categories of national well-being—education, health, quality of life, economic competitiveness, and political environment—and compiled metrics within these categories across 100 nations. A weighted formula yielded an overall list of the world’s top 100 countries.
The effort took several months, during which we received copious aid from an advisory board that included Nobel laureate and Columbia University professor Joseph E. Stiglitz; McKinsey & Co. Social Sector Office director Byron Auguste; McKinsey Global Institute director James Manyika; Jody Heymann, the founding director of McGill University’s Institute for Health and Social Policy and a professor at the university; and Geng Xiao, director of Columbia's Global Centerfor East Asia.
They would be the first to admit that like any list, this one isn’t perfect. Finding comparable data points for the world’s richest and poorest countries alike was hugely constraining—often we had to choose fewer or less-nuanced metrics in order to include the broadest array of nations. What’s more, our list represents a snapshot of how countries looked in 2008 and 2009 (we always used the most recent data available for each metric), rather than a historic or predictive view—a country like Thailand or Kenya, for example, may have scored higher on political stability two years ago than it would today. Careful readers will notice that while some of the effects of the financial crisis can already be seen in our list, others are still playing out. (Rich but indebted countries like the U.S. and the U.K. may pay a price for their massive deficits in the future.) It’s also important to remember that rankings are perhaps most illustrative when comparing countries of equal size and wealth—which is why we broke down our main group of 100 into smaller sublists based on population and income
All that said, the list tells us some important things about the world. For starters, smaller is often better. While there’s no denying the vitality of emerging-market giants like China or Brazil or Turkey, they are often bested by tiny nations like Slovenia or Estonia, according to the data, simply because it takes less effort for these countries to improve their overall levels of well-being. (China may be the world’s second-largest economy, but more than half of its 1.3 billion population still lives in grinding poverty.) Of course, being small and rich is best—witness the continuing success of the Nordic nations. A good, broad-based educational system is crucial—it’s very closely linked to future economic prosperity, and one of the most important reasons that the U.S., Western Europe, and rich Asian nations like South Korea and Japan score well.
Europe Greatness Essay and Project
Europe is a continent containing some of the most unique and historically powerful countries on earth. Many of these countries are ranked by numerous publications as some the "best countries" in the world (see previous page). Although it's a fairly subjective concept, ranking and exploring what makes countries great can be a great way to understand the many intricacies of the over 200 countries in the world, or in this case the over40 countrieson the European continent. In this assignment, it is your job to explain in essay form, what it is that makes your chosen country great? Areas of exploration that could be used in your essay include economic prowess/accomplishments, social service opportunities (i.e. Health care), educational opportunities, cultural events/achievements, historical importance, human rights records, environmental record, climate/physical geography, famous citizens, or various otherareas.
It is up to you to define areas that you think make countries great in general AND todecide on what areas make your country "great." If you begin your research and find that your country isNOT "great" you have theability to prove why your country is the "worst" country in the world (with approval) and you can discuss all the ways that country must improve. Whether you think your country is the “best” or the “worst” many of these reasons are up to subjective reasoning, but you MUST provide substantial factual information from various sources to support your reasoning and you must support your ideas. Also, you must have a concession paragraph indicating some of your countries problems and what they are doing about them.
In addition, you will have to create a visual that represents your ideas. The visual must include a map, flag and pictures/graphs/charts demonstrating your countries greatness.
There are several different ways to get extra credit on this assignment. The extra credit should somehow relate to your ideas on the greatness of your country. Examples are bringing in food, music (with lyrics), a game and/or an artifact from this country. If you are deciding to do any extra credit please indicate this to Mr. Moore before the assignment is due for verification.
Rubric/Requirements
Formatting
2-5 Pages, double spaced - 2 Points 12 point font or less - 2 Pts At Least 6 Paragraphs - 2 pts
______/6 Points
Opening Paragraph
1. Attention getter
3 = Interesting/fitting attention getter 0 = zero/unfitting attention getter
3 2 1 0
2. Background - General info on country to “paint a picture” (i.e. location, brief history)
3 = Fitting background info “paints a picture” 0 = Zero/random/copied info
3 2 1 0
3. Thesis - Definition of greatness, Describe how your country fit definition of greatness
3 = Supported definition/thesis, well organized 0 = no understanding of “greatness”/no definition
3 2 1 0
______/9 Points
Body Paragraphs (at least 3)
1. Topic Sentence/s - Includes transitions from previous paragraph, main idea of paragraph
3 = Clear/focused/detailed transition, intro topic 0 = No transition, no intro
1st Paragraph - 3 2 1 0 2nd - 3 2 1 0 3rd - 3 2 1 0
2. Explanation of greatness - (At least 3 examples that support topic sentence)
3 Points = 3 or more, supporting, well developed ideas 0 = No/vague support
1st Paragraph - 3 2 1 0 2nd - 3 2 1 0 3rd - 3 2 1 0
3. Factual information - (Citations/detailed facts to support main idea)
3 Points = cited correctly, fitting detail, smooth and fluently 0 = No citations, awkward flow
1st Paragraph - 3 2 1 0 2nd - 3 2 1 0 3rd - 3 2 1 0
______/27
Concession Paragraph - (Explain what problem/s they have that may hurt its greatness)
1. Topic Sentence/s - Includes transitions from previous paragraph, main idea of paragraph
3 = Clear/focused/detailed transition, intro topic 0 = No transition, no intro
3 2 1 0
2. Explanation of Problem/s - Describe problem/s and how they are/could be solved
3 Points = 3 or more, supporting, well developed ideas 0 = No/vague support
3 2 1 0
3. Factual information - (Citations/detailed facts to support main idea)
3 Points = cited correctly, fitting detail, smooth and fluently 0 = No citations, awkward flow
3 2 1 0
______/9
Conclusion Paragraph
Transition - from previous paragraph, including indication the paper is ending
3 = Clear/focused/detailed, “know its ending” 0 = non existent/confusing, “leaves hanging”
3 2 1 0
Restatement of thesis and main ideas
3 = Clear/precise, matches introduction 0 = no restatement/random, doesn’t match intro
3 2 1 0
Conclusion ideas - relates back to attention getter,
3 = clear/precise, matches intro ideas 0 = no attempt to conclude, new ideas, “leaves hanging”
3 2 1 0
______/9
Paper Format Overall
Spelling, grammar (number of mistakes)
2 or less 4 or less 6 or less 8 or less more than 10
4 3 2 1 0
Sentence style/fluency
4 = Smooth, flowing, diverse 1, 0 = Short, choppy, dull repeating sentence structure
4 3 2 1 0
Word choice
4 = varying/fitting/grade appropriate 1,0 = Repeated/confusing/OBVIOUSLY COPIED words
4 3 2 1 0
______/12
Works Cited page - At least 4 sources (1 NON internet source)
Cited correctly - (see works cited page on Moodle)
______/8
Visual - Poster/PowerPoint
Include country name, your name, class period (colored) - 3 Points
Include pictures, graphs, charts, drawings that represent EACH of the points in your essay
(At least 2 for each point with explanation) - 9 Points
Map - Labels capital, 4 other geographic location - 4 Points
Flag - With indication of flag meaning - 4 Points
______/20
Extra Credit
Food (+ ingredients) +15 Music (+ lyrics if they have some) + 10
Game/Dance +10 Money/artifacts from country +5 (For each)
Total of 15 bonus points possible
4.5 Computer Work days - Remaining days - Mon. March 14, Thurs. March 17, Wed March 23
Due Date - Thursday March 24th 2011 - 10% penalty for each day late
Final Grade ______/100