Two of the ideas that I've seen come up often that I really like are 1) simulating internal strife, such as civil wars and ethnic division and 2) adding in some kind of simulated slave trade. I think that you can see how much of a huge impact slavery can have on a country if you look at structural racism in America.

One other idea I had had to do with communication. If we incorporated cell phones into the game to communicate, we could maybe add them in post-industrial revolution, but only for the colonizers. And then each round, the colonizers would get the newest update in communication, and the colonized would get the one that the colonizers had the round before. Because in the U.S., we have an average of 3 t.v.'s per household, and almost every household has a computer, but in some of the poorest parts of the world, they don't even have telephone lines.
Countries need to be notified when their technology updates, and need to know how this affects their abilities. For example, if a country that could previously only journey to the neighboring country receives technology from their colonizers that enables them to travel longer distances, then they need to know how far they can travel, so that near the end, when we start to try and find solutions, everyone can be involved. Knowing your technological capabilities can affect the way you offer to help change the world.
I also think the game could be improved if we added the ideas of semi-periphery and external countries to the game. I know that if my country had used our hard power in a smarter way, we could probably have resisted colonization past the point where the colonizers cared.
mwesch wrote:
> Hi class,
> Post your world simulation ideas here. Read Wallerstein, Lappe & Collins, and the first 2 pages of Wolf. Using the ideas you gather there, re-write the rules and post them here.

Has some good statistics. Highlights the lack of treatment available to people in Africa.

Presents differing ideas on globalization and financial aid to Africa.

Explains how giving away free mosquito netting can help the child mortality rate in mozambique.

This article gives insight into the reasons that throwing money at issues does not work. It shows where the money goes instead of going to actually buy the things that might solve the problem.

Puts forth some ideas that could make NGO's more effective. One thing noted is that even NGO's have to pay their employees wages high enough to have a low turnover rate, or else they cannot be effective.

Has recent news relating to U.S. Doctors for Africa. Particularly interesting is the section about the VP of Ghana joining. Ghana is one country highly affected by the "brain drain" in Africa, and they are very active in trying to find a solution, but they still have a huge healthcare problem.

Has recent news relating to U.S. Doctors for Africa. Particularly interesting is the section about the VP of Ghana joining. Ghana is one country highly affected by the "brain drain" in Africa, and they are very active in trying to find a solution, but they still have a huge healthcare problem.

Describes the solution/plan/methodology of U.S. Doctors for Africa.

This video explains one "grassroots" solution to the healthcare crisis in Africa called "U.S. Doctors for Africa. The video comes from a meeting and has a lot of other stuff, but the important part is the explanation of how U. S. Doctors for Africa planned/plans to make a difference.

This video explains one "grassroots" solution to the healthcare crisis in Africa called "U.S. Doctors for Africa. The video comes from a meeting and has a lot of other stuff, but the important part is the explanation of how U. S. Doctors for Africa planned/plans to make a difference.

Examines the problems with not having free access to healthcare. It shows the effects of people not being able to afford to be treated for their illnesses.

Philip Emeagwali offers his opinion on why Africans are leaving and why they aren't coming back.

Describes the "Diaspora Option" for alleviating the brain drain in Africa. This would allow Africans to contribute to the economic growth of their countries from out of country.

Good statistics, again. Describes the exodus of people from Africa, and the solution that SANSA proposes to reverse it.