Exercises, chapter 5

Analysis assignments 5.1. The prisoner’s dilemma Write an essay of 500 to 1,000 words in which you explain what the prisoner’s dilemma means to sustainable development. Before starting, focus on a specific target group that fits in with your current or future situation as either a professional or an individual. Your target group could, for example, be: municipal officials, corporate managers, politicians, technical designers, artists, or children in a given primary school or senior secondary school grade. You could also use your neighbours, parents or your children as a target group. You can also vary the assignment by selecting a different topic in this chapter. 5.2. Diverging consequence periods Determine the consequence period of: a. The choice of what to study at (for example) a university b. The choice of a novel to take out of a library c. The decision to build the Golden Gate bridge. d. Choosing to buy a new pair of pants

5.3. Stakeholder analysis Consider which stakeholders are involved in the following: a. A higher education course being of good quality b. A grant given to a football club c. Buying a round of beers in a bar d. Preserving the rainforest in South America

The Golden Gate bridge, connecting San Francisco and Marin Counties, California. (Photo by El Frito on Flickr.)

5.4. Stand by me – language, literature and music

No matter who you are, no matter where you go in life You gon’ need somebody, to stand by you. No matter how much money you got, or the friends you got, You gon’ need somebody, to stand by you When the night has come, and the way is dark, And that moon is the only light you see. No I won't be afraid, no I won't shed one tear Just as long as the people come and stand by me.

These lyrics make up the start of a song called ‘Stand by me’, performed by many artists all over the world, playing together while being separated by distances of thousands of miles. Among them are Roger Ridley in Santa Monica, California; Clarence Bekker in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Grandpa Elliott in New Orleans, Louisiana; Junior Kissangwa Mbouta in The Congo, Africa; Dimitri Dolganov in Moscow, Russia; Cesar Pope in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the Sinamuva Group in Umlazi, South Africa. Their contributions were joined in a masterly way by the organization ‘Playing for Change’, which has as its motto: ‘Connecting the World through Music’. The song was written by Ben E King, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. a. Find the full text of the song and read it. b. Watch and listen to the song, which you can find on www.playingforchange.com. c. Does the full text of the song apply to you, personally? d. Study the philosophy and the activities of the organization ‘Playing for Change’. e. Consider options to undertake comparable activities, perhaps together with your friends, family or

colleagues in other parts of the country or the world. Maybe you can do this together with the ‘Playing for Change’ organization. If not, consider other ways to realize your plans.

f. What do you think – do initiatives like this one contribute to international solidarity, and perhaps more generally to sustainable development?

Numerical assignments 5.5. Population density For this exercise use the spreadsheet named “Data of five world regions”, which can be downloaded from the website of the book. This spreadsheet contains data on the size of the population at different periods. Select the year closest to the one in which you are performing this exercise. a. Calculate the population density (in terms of the number of people per square kilometre) in each of the

regions discussed in this chapter. Also work out the population density in the separate EU nations (including candidate members) and the ECOWAS region.

b. Compare the highest result to the lowest one. c. Explain why a comparison of these figures is only of value in a highly relative sense. d. Perform the same calculation for the year 2050, and compare the results with those for question a. e. Provide a definition of ‘overpopulation’, such that you are personally convinced that this is a correct

definition. f. Select a number of the most striking results from the comparison between questions a and d, and draw a

graph of the population size between 1950 and 2050 for the selected countries and regions. g. Draw your conclusions.

Research assignments 5.6. More regions of the world In chapter 5 a number of the world’s regions were discussed, but there are still others. Create a sketch like those in this section of another region.

5.7. A closer look at regions of the world Select one of the regions you studied in chapter 5, or another region, provided you have a good reason for doing so. The information provided in chapter 5 is relatively superficial. Perform your own investigation and make the outline more thorough. You can do this for all topics that are of interest in respect of people, planet and prosperity. However, instead of this, you can also concentrate on a specific topic that is of interest to your own education or area of expertise. So if you are studying or working in the field of healthcare, you can conduct a specific investigation into healthcare - including the costs and effects thereof - of the region you are studying. Or if you are studying or working in the field of written media (such as journalism), then examine the freedom of expression and press freedom in the region. If you are engaged in a technical or scientific field, then you might investigate the level of technical knowhow or the role of high-quality technology played in the region, and so on. If possible, perform the study with students or professionals in the region you have selected. You might do this by using email, Skype, YouTube, LinkedIn, or other means of communication. 5.8. Mencius, a historical perspective The Chinese philosopher Mencius (Meng Tzu), who lived around 300 BCE, complained of the degradation of the natural landscape in his writings. Read the extract from book 6, part 1, chapter 8 of his collected works, which have been translated into English, one of which is “The Works of Mencius”, (1895) published by the Clarendon Press. He writes:

‘The trees of the Niu mountain were once beautiful. Being situated, however, in the borders of a large State, they were hewn down with axes and bills. Could they still retain their beauty? And yet, through the regenerative powers of the vegetative life, day and night, and the nourishing influence of the rain and dew, the plants were not without buds and sprouts springing forth. But then came cattle and goats, and browsed upon them. To these things is owing the bare and stripped appearance of the mountain which, when people see it, they think it was never finely wooded. But is what they see the nature of the mountain?’

a. Study the extract, the preceding paragraphs and the later ones and the context in which this was written.

Consider to what extent it is justified to say that we have here an early precursor of the modern concept of ‘sustainable development’.

b. Try and find other texts from ancient cultures – no matter where they were located – that are comparable to Mencius’ extract quoted above.

5.9. Groundwater in India Watch the video ‘India Groundwater Depletion 2002-2008’, which can be found on the website of the book. Study the deterioration of the groundwater in the north-west of India. What are the causes, and what are the consequences? How could the situation be improved, and are there signs that this is already happening?

5.10. Health insurance in Africa Find out how things are presently going with the PharmAccess plan, as described in case 5.9.

Debating assignments 5.11. Fair trade How do Fair Trade shops contribute to sustainable development? Provide a well-founded assessment. 5.12. Human rights in Nigeria a. Examine the case of the death of the Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995. What role did the Nigerian

government and Shell play in it? Also examine the role of Greenpeace. b. Investigate what the consequences of his death were for human rights in Nigeria. c. What were the consequences in respect of Shell’s policies? d. Discuss the question of whether the changes to Shell’s policies were merely window-dressing, or whether

the company’s mentality has genuinely changed. 5.13. The farmer’s seven sons Analyse the story of the farmer’s seven sons that concludes chapter 5. Compare this story to the real world. In your analysis, make use of the words: window-dressing, terrorism, consequence reach, short and long term, as well as others. 5.14. Prisoner’s dilemma: a game Imagine that one day the police arrest you, also detaining your good friend Ron. You are both suspected of committing a serious crime. It is of no concern (to this assignment) whether or not you actually committed that crime. The police tell you: - If both you and Ron confess to the crime, you’ll both be sentenced to three years in prison. - If both of you deny, and continue to deny, having committed the crime, the police can at best prove you

committed a lesser offence and you’ll both be sentenced to six months in prison. - If you confess to the crime but Ron doesn’t, then you’ll be released immediately for cooperating with the

police. Ron, on the other hand, will be sentenced to five years in prison. - The same applies for Ron, of course, and if Ron confesses to the crime but you don’t, then you’ll find

yourself in prison for five years while he walks free. Ideally you’ll want to consult with Ron, but the police have separated you. So what are you to do – confess to the crime or not? This ‘prisoner’s dilemma’ can easily be converted into a game. It is played with another person, and the two of you are not ‘arrested’ just once, but on multiple occasions. Each time you have to choose whether to confess or not. The length of your prison sentence is based each time on your decision and that of your fellow-player. Add the years of prison time together from each round, with the goal of the game being to get the lowest possible total personal score. You must naturally focus on the other person’s behaviour, as that will aid you to develop your own strategy. a. Play the game at least ten times before adding up the years. b. Repeat the game with different partners – you can even turn it into a mini-tournament. c. Afterwards, examine together whether it is possible to constantly use the same strategy with different

partners? 5.15. Jelly beans dilemma: a game The following game is a variation on the prisoner’s dilemma. a. Together with a group, prepare a sociable afternoon or evening. Buy a whole lot of jelly – or anything else,

provided that the participants like it and that everyone will want at least a few dozens of them over the course of a few hours. During the game nothing else may be eaten, although the participants may drink. The game ends at a prearranged time and not when the jelly beans are finished. Put all the jelly beans together in a large container in the middle of the group of people, visible to everyone. No agreements are allowed to be made in advance on how the sweeties are to be divided up, but ensure that everyone understands this is a game, and that sharing does not have to be fair.

b. Hold the gathering and eat the jelly beans together. Make sure that there is no communication during the game on how they are divided up, whether using words, gestures or facial expressions (nonverbal communication).

c. At the conclusion of the game, discuss its course. Did every participant receive a reasonable share of jelly beans? How quickly were they finished? Did anyone feel indignant?

d. Now imagine that the game was about oil reserves instead of jelly beans, and imagine that the participants were all representing a country. Discuss what the game means in respect of sustainable development.

You can change the rules, such as placing the jelly beans in a non-transparent container with a lid, so that nobody knows how many are left. You could also allow the players to make agreements with each other on how they are to be shared out, but at the same time allow them to violate those agreements. 5.16. Democracy in your own environment a. Let’s say that you are part of a circle of four friends. Each year the group of friends goes on vacation

together, with three of the four wanting to go to Mexico each year. However, one person would rather go to Hawaii. What would happen if it was decided where to go every year on the basis of a majority vote?

b. How could you create a fair decision-making process in this situation? c. In this respect, how is decision-making undertaken on a national level in the country in which you live? 5.17. Opposing perspectives for action First read the ‘Additional material’ for chapter 5: ‘Perspectives for action’, which can be found on the website of the book. For this exercise use the spreadsheet ‘Opposing action perspectives’, which can also be downloaded from the website of the book. This spreadsheet contains a number of options and assertions. You can indicate to what extent you believe the options and assertions can contribute to sustainable development by placing a figure between 0 and 10 in the adjoining cell. If you believe it contributes nothing whatsoever, score it with a 0, while if you believe it contributes to the fullest extent, award it with a 10. The results will be displayed below in a graph, which shows your personal perspective for action. a. Find words and concepts in the spreadsheet that you do not understand, or do not understand completely,

in a dictionary, encyclopaedia or online. b. Complete the spreadsheet according to what you believe, using the first worksheet of the spreadsheet. Do

not discuss your opinions with others. c. Now compare them with those of others that have also completed the exercise. d. Can you reach a consensus? Use the second worksheet of the spreadsheet for this purpose.

Problem-based learning assignments 5.18. The Aids drug

5.19. Poster Source: www.loesje.org (downloaded: January 2011) 5.20. Foxconn Together you make up the management board of the Chinese company Foxconn (see case 5.2). Six months have passed since the second salary increase, which saw wages doubled. Initially it seemed to have the desired effect, but in the last two months the wave of suicides has once again increased.

Dear Gerald, I am approaching you because I have no idea who else to turn to. I have very bad news that could cause us to lose everything, I’m afraid. Research that I’ve conducted has shown that it is quite likely that the huge loss of floriferous plants in Nigeria is due to our drug TPF (Transgenic Pentobenzo-three-Fosfaldecryde, but you knew that already, didn’t you?), our brilliant Aids inhibitor. Should this be true, it means that our major market breakthrough – which, please note, we have already announced to the press – is a complete fabrication! Moreover, consider all those Africans infected with HIV, for whom we finally had an affordable drug. Shit, shit, shit! What’s going to happen to those poor people if our drug is not available to them? It seems as if the bodily waste containing our drug, which is removed from an Aids-sufferers’ body through urination and defecation, has a deadly effect on flowering plants. I’m not yet sure what the entire process is, and I’m not sure how certain it is that it is caused by our medication, but I fear the worst. I do not dare to take this news to the board – I cannot predict how they will act on this information. They might decide to keep my entire investigation confidential! In other words, you and I are the only two people who know this information. I hope that we can keep the media out of the picture for now, as you know what would happen to our shareholders if we didn’t. Gerard, you’re in the Marketing department, and I know you as a sensible and conscientious person. What should I do? Robert

THOSE ASYLUM SEEKERS DO NOT SEEK ASYLUM AT ALL JUST A PLACE TO LIVE

The wage increases have not improved the company’s competitive position either, with the profit margin per product halved, even after the sales prices of the various products were adjusted upwards. The higher price has not been beneficial, as competitors kept their prices unchanged. Of course they did not raise wages either. So sales have shrunk by 12 percent, partly due to the higher price but also partly due to the company’s reputation after the negative international media attention. That’s a problem, in no small part because the provincial authorities are demanding a rise of sales of 30 percent in the next year. (The above data are not drawn from reality, they are just imagination – but they might be realistic. Treat them as such.) 5.21. Fraudulent elections In the Ivory Coast presidential elections were held in November 2010, with the incumbent president having blatantly rigged the results by declaring the votes in a couple of provinces – which did not support him – as invalid. He refused to leave the presidential palace and, backed by the army, he simply continued to govern. And this while the United Nations, which had observers in place for the elections, declared that he had lost. Heads of state of the other ECOWAS members met to discuss the crisis. Imagine that you are these heads of state. What are your options – impose an economic boycott? Expel the Ivory Coast from ECOWAS? Resign yourselves to the rigged results and recognise the incumbent president? 5.22. The Three Gorges Dam Watch the video ‘Three Gorges Dam 1987-2006’, which you can find on the website of the book. If you were the leader of China, would you have built the Three Gorges Dam?

5.23. Perspectives on the future First read the ‘Additional material’ for chapter 5: ‘Perspectives for action’, which can be found on the website of the book. Create your own edition of an imaginary newspaper. First choose a year and a date. If you wish, you can use ‘The Perspective (still empty).doc’, a mock-up newspaper that you can download from the website of the book.

Project assignments 5.24. War Child protest a. Study projects that schools, companies and societies have undertaken together with War Child. You

can find outlines of these on www.warchild.org. b. Design a project that you as a group can undertake. c. Contact War Child and discuss how to go about it with them.

d. Undertake the project. 5.25. Theatre Write a play or a bunch of texts for stand-up comedians of 15 to 60 minutes around the theme of one of the topics in this chapter. Find suitable actors for the roles and practice the piece. Perform it in public. 5.26. The consequence period in practice Select a major constructional project that is currently being prepared or is ongoing. Examples from the past (which mean they cannot be selected by you) include “Big Dig”, the Central Artery & Tunnel Project in the city of Boston, USA; Palm Island in Dubai; the Three Gorges Dam in China; London Heathrow Airport, UK; and the International Space Station.

a. Determine, by means of a debate between the participants in this assignment, a reasonable

consequence period for the project you selected. b. Using a variety of sources, examine whether something like the consequence period was/is taken into

account when decisions on the project were made. At this stage of your assignment, do not get in touch with any people involved in the project. Remember that the phrase ‘consequence period’ was in all likelihood not literally used, so you will have to assess the content of the documents you study and try to read between the lines.

c. Get in touch with one or more people heading the project – people who can have an influence (or have had an influence) on the decision-making process. Check, through on or more interviews, whether these people are (or were) inclined to take the consequence period into account. If necessary, explain to them what the concept means.

Palm Island, Dubai (photo by Helmut Pfau on commons.wikimedia.org)

5.27. Small islands Watch the video ‘Islands Going Under’, which can be found on the website of the book. Examine the significance of AOSIS, the Alliance of Small Island States, and study the AOSIS Climate Change Declaration. Check which legal, diplomatic or other attempts are being undertaken to solve the problems that the AOSIS member states are struggling with as a result of climate change. Design a role-playing game in which an international court case is underway between AOSIS and an adversary of your choosing. Play the game.

Film assignments 5.28. Feature films and documentaries Watch one of the following, preferably with others in your class:

China Blue (2005), an internationally lauded documentary by Micha X. Peled that mercilessly examines the lives of workers in Chinese factories

Up the Yangtze (2007), a documentary directed by Yung Chang on the lives of people living on the Yangtze River during the time the Three Gorges Dam was being constructed and the water was rising

Slumdog Millionaire (2008), a feature film directed by Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan in which a teenager who was raised in the slums of the Indian megacity Mumbai, wins the big prize on a television quiz show

Read the reviews and other comments. Discuss the film. 5.29. Make your own film Watch the video ‘Boomerang’, which you can find on the website of the book. Make your own short film, documentary or art video in which you explain the concepts of consequence scope and consequence period using a surprising approach. Should you be very happy with your video, then submit it to the above website. Who knows, maybe your film, along with your name, will be placed on the website so that all users can view it. If you decide to do this, do make sure that you hold full copyright, including for any music, photos or anything else used.