Hey guys, Can anyone tell me the strengths and limitations of the HDI. Thanks
Strengths:
> broader than purely economic indicators - focuses more on people and their achievements
> two countries with similar income can have a very different HDI; this encourages countries with unexpectedly low HDI to
question their national policy choices and figure out why other people with the same income are managing to get a higher HDI
Limitations:
> data isn't available from all countries
> it's not a complete measure of human development - doesn't include difficult-to-measure indicators, like gender equality or respect for rights
I'm also not fully understanding the elements of sustainability
So the dot point says: Definitions of sustainability (including elements of appropriateness, affordability, equity)
The cambridge textbook doesn't have actual definitions for the social, economic and environment elements, or the appropriateness, affordability and equity elements, just explains it. . .
Any help will be appreciated :-)
Learn the definition of sustainability: Meeting the needs of others without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
You don't need a definition of social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability (yes, they're dimensions not elements; I lost a mark on a SAC because it said 'dimensions' and I translated it as 'elements', and thus wrote about appropriateness/affordability/equity). They're not mentioned in the study design and I personally don't think you have to know about them at all, I don't think they'd be on a VCAA exam.
Again, I don't think you need a definition of the three elements that ensure sustainability of programs. Normally you're asked to show how a program shows the elements, or last year's exam asked you to create a program, taking into account two of the elements.
Appropriateness is about a program addressing the community's needs, empowering the community, and focusing on those most in need. e.g. involving the locals in planning/implementation of the program, respecting cultural values, being appropriate to the illiterate through stuff like drama or music, being accessible by foot. If it's not appropriate to the community's needs and wishes, they won't keep supporting it so it won't get anywhere.
Equity is about a program providing all people with equal access to services. e.g. targets women and those in rural/remote areas.
Affordability is about a program being affordable for the community long-term (i.e. once it's set up, they can sustain it, without needing constant payments). e.g. it involves education (like, if you just give them food you'll need to keep that up, if you teach them soil and irrigation techniques they can grow more food for free from then on), it involves one-off infrastructure, it involves teaching the community to be teachers, etc.
Let me know if that doesn't make sense; pretty much, you've got to know vaguely what each of the elements and dimensions is (they may nastily throw you an unexpected question), but in general it's just about applying the three elements to a program.