If you throw all the products we buy and the services we use in one basket, then add up the price tag, that's the Gross Domestic Product, which is the primary metric economists use to assess the economic health of a country or region.

The easy part of calculating GDP is the calculation itself: C+I+G+(X-M)=GDP. Got it? No? Well, add Consumption, Investment by companies, Government purchases, and then take the product of eXports (calling it 'E' would lack sexiness) minus iMports ('I' was taken). Viola! GDP.

Still don't get it? Well, knowing the components helps. Consumption is the biggest component, and it's a tally of the cost of all the goods and services we buy. Investment is what companies spend on the real assets they own, plus the value of the inventory that we haven't gobbled up through consumption. Government purchases are what the Feds pay money for (whether it be highways or fighter jets, though big social programs, like welfare, aren't counted). And then we calculate the difference between the goods and services we¿re sending to other countries and the stuff we're bringing in.

Good. That explains it, except there's a catch. Inflation has a habit of distorting the numbers, so economists talk about either Nominal GDP or Real GDP. In fact, Real GDP isn't necessarily "real" for most folks, since it takes any inflation out. Nominal GDP includes the effects of inflation. (There's something called the implicit price deflator which is a calculation using the two, but we'll spare you the details.)

So, now that we know GDP, why do we want to? Well, it's good to compare different markets. And watching the trend shows whether a given economy is growing (good), stagnating (not so good), or shrinking (very not so good). When GDP goes down two quarters in a row, we're officially in a recession.

For the record, GDP is released at the end of each month, with most reporting ¿preliminary¿ data for the previous month. But you won't get final GDP numbers for the fourth quarter of a year until the very end of the first quarter of the next year. After all, it's not an easy number to calculate.

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Monday, June 30, 2008

Digital Arts Blaze Trail for Oregon, Teachers, Students

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SAN ANTONIO, June 30, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ ----E3: Employers For Education Excellence, in an effort to help teachers become better equipped to lead students into the 21st century, is joining the Digital Arts Alliance, which promotes digital arts in K-12 education through fully funded and staffed programs delivered directly to schools and community centers nationwide.

The announcement was made today at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) by the Pearson Foundation, the founding partner in the Digital Arts Alliance.

E3 is a Portland-based non-profit founded by the Oregon Business Council. During the 2007-2008 school year, teachers taking part in E3's Oregon Small Schools Initiative participated in digital arts workshops hosted by the Pearson Foundation. The Oregon Small Schools Initiative, a statewide program to increase student achievement and graduation rates in Oregon high schools, focuses on traditionally underserved students from low-income communities.

During the 2007-08 school year, teachers from host schools in E3's Oregon Small Schools Initiative took part in digital arts workshops hosted by the Pearson Foundation. These leadership teams worked together to develop digital videos that communicate their school's shared mission and vision for students. Following these professional development sessions, they worked directly with Pearson Foundation coaches to host Digital Arts Alliance Classroom Residencies, which support students as they create their digital projects. At the end of the semester-long project, students shared the resulting films with family and teachers, and with other students in a public community showcase.

"Our teachers quickly picked up digital media and collaboration skills and then made excellent use of what they'd learned as part of the Oregon Small Schools Initiative program," said Karen Phillips, E3 Executive Director. "They understand that students need to be equipped with the skills to respond to the unique challenges of the 21st century."

"We have seen tremendous results from our collaboration with E3, as we've worked to establish a professional development program that helps teachers prepare students for success in the classroom and beyond," said Mark Nieker, president, the Pearson Foundation. "The program has affected all elements of the Oregon Small Schools Initiative, including school design, the teaching and learning agenda, community engagement, and leadership development."

E3: Employers for Education Excellence joins other Digital Arts Alliance members, including Nokia, Adobe, The National Academy Foundation, the American Red Cross, and the NEA Foundation in supporting an extended network of teachers and students who take advantage of Digital Arts Alliance student and educator residency programs to develop proficiencies in core subject knowledge and other 21st Century skills.

About E3: Employers for Education Excellence

E3 is a statewide non-profit committed to dramatically improving student learning and achievement in Oregon schools. They support schools and students through their high school reform program, the Oregon Small Schools Initiative, their community involvement program, Partnership for Student Success and by advocating for meaningful change that helps improve Oregon's education system. E3 is supported by foundations and employers, and by a broad coalition of statewide education organizations. For information visit: www.E3oregon.org.

About The Digital Arts Alliance

Each year, the Digital Arts Alliance makes it possible for more than 15,000 students and their teachers to experience firsthand how laptop computers, video production equipment, and the latest mobile-phone technologies are changing the ways young people can organize, present, and share information and issues that matter to them. Alliance members believe that using technologies to enhance personal expression creates an expanded kind of literacy, often referred to as 21st Century literacy, which people -- especially young people -- already use in their everyday lives.

About the Pearson Foundation

The Pearson Foundation extends Pearson's (NYSE: PSO) commitment to education by partnering with leading nonprofit, civic, and business organizations to provide financial, organizational, and publishing assistance across the globe. The Foundation aims to make a difference by sponsoring innovative educational programs and extending its educational expertise to help in classrooms and in local communities. More information on the Pearson Foundation can be found at www.pearsonfoundation.org.

SOURCE Pearson Foundation

http://www.pearsonfoundation.org

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