Análisis audiovisuales mediante el cruce de disciplinas
II.5 La vídeo-instalación
II.5.5 La multi-pantalla como ampliación del plano
PS -0.27 PS, CC -0.13 CC 0.04 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 -2.5 -2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2000 1998 1996 G ov ernance score (- 2. 5 to 2. 5) P ercent ile ran k
Voice & Accountability score Political Stability score Control of Corruption score V&A rank
English, the second language, is mandatory from primary until graduation in the twelfth grade (2011). English is also commonly understood between the upper and middle classes and is widely used within the business community. Actually, within the Middle East context, Jordan prides itself as having a highly developed educational system that has been compulsory and free since 1952 for children from 6-15 years of age (King Abdullah II Website, 2011). As the government recognizes the need to fill the gap between education and training and the country’s employment requirements, education has become a greater priority receiving an increasing percentage of the national budget. During the period 1990-1999, UNESCO ranked Jordan 21 of 130 countries ahead of France (27), the UK (46) and the US (47) for government expenditure on public education at 6.4% of gross domestic product (GDP).Conversely, it ranked third last in the world for public spending on private educational institutions in 1999 (UNESCO, 2007). Meanwhile, literacy rates still lag at 89.9% that placed Jordan in the mid range of all countries during 2011(2011). However, earning an educational degree, once a near certain vehicle for upward mobility, no longer guarantees employment (Mapzones, 2007). The government had passed the Vocational Training Establishment Act of 1985 as a first step to fill the gap between education and employment needs. Since then, the government has built several applied and technical universities, some as joint ventures with European governments and/or western universities that cater to the changing needs of the labour market. While education, especially applied education remains a top priority for the country a more concrete strategy must be developed and implemented to prepare the next generation for globalization and workforce diversity with suitable educational, technical and vocational training.
There are, moreover, some internal pressures along socio-economic lines caused by the prevalent ethnic or tribal mix in Jordan. The majority of the population is almost evenly divided between indigenous Bedouins or ‘pure’ Trans-Jordanians belonging to a tribal system and Palestinian refugees that immigrated into the country in four waves since 1948 (1967, 1973, and 1991 being the others) from Israel, the occupied West Bank and more recently from the Gulf states (Sayigh, 1996). September 1970, also known as Black September, was a dark period in
Jordanian history as King Hussein’s crown wasat risk from an uprising by the PLO’screationofastatewithinastate.Eventually,theJordanianarmycrushed the PLO whose fighters were forced to flee to Lebanon. It was a turning point for Jordanianidentity,asthekingembarkedontheprogramof‘Jordanization’ofthe society that led to mistrust between Jordanians and Palestinians. For the most part, the Jordanian labour market remains divided; 82% of the private sector is in Palestinian hands, while the government - and particularly the higher-level bureaucracy – as well as the armed forces and Foreign Service are dominated by Jordanians and statistics show that not one refugee moved up in these sectors (PASSIA, 2007). Unofficial yet generally accepted figures are that the population is divided about evenly between the two. In 2006, The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) accounted for over 1.8 million registered Palestinian refugees and another 400,000 Palestinian refugees who were not registered with UNWRA but received UN assistance. Nearly one half of the total population depend on assistance (2011). This, though, does not include the segment of Palestinians who are not registered and do not receive direct aid from UN agencies. In the meantime, the government is creating civil servant and underemployment jobs by expanding ministries, building new regional universities, and schools with the aim to guard against social discord. Nonetheless, the Jordanian-Palestinian schism may cause social unease down the road especially if production capacity does not increase and the labour market fails to meet demand.
Further complicating the socio-ethnicdichotomyisJordan’sdemographicprofile, whichposesseriouschallengesforthecountry’seconomicdevelopmentduetoits high population growth rate and skewed age distribution. With an estimated total population of 6.5 million in 2011 and ranking 103 of 238 countries in population size (2011), figures from Jordan’s Department of Statistics (DOS) reveal that nearly 70%ofthecountry’spopulationisundertheageof29andapproximately 68% are under the age of 29 (DOS Jordan, 2012). Figure 4.13 below shows the structure of Jordan’s total population distribution according to age for the year 2010. Table A-3 in Appendix A presents the data for the population figures.
0-14 years 15-29 years 30-44 years 45-59 years 60+ years 5% 30.5% 19% 8% 37.5%
Figure 4.13:Jordan’spopulationagestructure, 2010 (percent) Sources: Adapted from (DOS Jordan, 2012; UNDP, 2011, p. 31)
The World Bank estimates that the population growth rate will continue to decline from 3.7% during the period from 1975-2002 to 2.1% during the 2002-2015 period. This is a liberal estimate given the age structure above; nevertheless, it remains aboutdoubletheestimatedworld’srateof1.1% (World Bank, 2011). Figure 4.14 shows the population by age and sex for 2010. As can be seen, the current population is quite young with half of the total population for males and females under 19 years, meanwhile a small percentage of Jordanians are 60 years or older. Resources, however limited, must therefore be channelled into creating a growing and dynamic labour market fuelled by sustainable economic growth.
Figure 4.14: Population pyramid by age distribution, 2010 (percent) Source: (FAO, 2011; DOS Jordan, 2012)
12.8% 12.6% 12.0% 11.0% 10.6% 9.0% 7.8% 6.4% 4.7% 3.3% 2.5% 2.2% 1.9% 3.2% 0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-9 60-4 65+
Total % of population by age group 2010
As the population matures, a host of worrisome conditions may develop when almost half of the population reaches the age of employment. A crisis point may result if the labour market remains saturated and unable to accommodate the millions of new entrants into the marketplace that are competing for jobs. According to the US Census Bureau, the projected population distribution after 20 years by age and sex for the year 2025 is shown in Figure 4.15. The pyramid shows a significant increase in the middle, employable portion of the population, while at the same time those under the age of 15 remain a significant percentage of the total population. This disproportionate increase may create serious implicationsforJordan’sfutureoutlookintheareasofpovertyandunemployment that places further strains on the country’s industrial capacity and limited resources.
Figure 4.15: Population pyramid by age & sex distribution projected, 2025 Source: (US Census Bureau, 2007).
On the other hand, there are some recent signs of improvement in the standard of living as measured by the World Bank’s human development index (HDI). According to the UN, the HDI is a composite index measuring average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development - a long and healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living and four indicators, life
expectancy at birth, mean years in schooling, expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita (World Bank, 2011, p. 29). Jordan’sHDIhashad an unstable climb from .509 in 1980 to .698 in 2011 on a scale of zero to one, which represents a 17%improvementoverthepast30years.In2011,Jordan’s HDI ranked 95 among 187 countries in the world with a rank classification of a medium human development index on a scale from very high to low human development (UNDP-HDI, 2011). Jordan ranked above the Arab States region that had a 43% increase in HDI from 0.44 in 1980 to 0.63 in 2011 (UNDP-HDI, 2011). Jordan also ranked well above other middle human development countries. On a comparative basis Jordan ranks even above the world rank of 6.82 in 2011. Figure 4.16 illustrates the HDI trend from 1980 through 2011.
Figure 4.16: Trend of Human Development Index, 1980-2010
Sources: (UNDP, 2011, p. 32; World Bank Group, 2012; UNDP-HDI, 2011)
The HDI is relevant because a closer look at the human development factors shows that Jordan still has to overcome challenges with national poverty and unemployment levels. In 2000, Jordan made the pledge with the UN to reach the 8 millennium goals by the year 2015. Jordan is on track in most goals which are presented in Figure 4.17. 0.54 0.49 Jordan 0.698 0.44 0.641 0.42 0.630 0.56 0.682 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 80 82 84 86 88 90 92 94 96 98 00 02 04 06 08 10 HD I v alue
Figure 4.17: UN Millennium Development Goals, 2000 Source: Adapted from (UN, 2011)
Jordan has achieved mixed results in reducing national poverty. During the eighties, Jordan had little poverty concerns as only 1% of the population were at the international poverty line at $2 per day and 3% at the national poverty line (World Bank, 2011). By 1990, however, poverty had become a national crisis as more Jordanians feel below the national poverty line. The percent of population in poverty depends on which unit of measure is used. Poverty levels have improved based on the percent of the population living on less than $1 per day but has worsened based on national poverty lines. In 1990, 11.7% were at or below the national poverty line and that has increased to 13.3% in 2009 or an increase of 13.6% of the population. Using the more stringent measure, the population living on less than $1 per day in 1990 was 2.13% and in 2009 it was reduced to 1.4% or a 60% improvement in poverty levels. In real terms, there has been little change during the period 1990-2009 based on $1 in constant price (1993) Purchasing Power Parity converted to Jordanian Dinars (JDs). In 1990 it was .46 and in 2009 it went up to .57% of the population. Moreover according to the UN the intensity of deprivation for those at the poverty line is 34.4% with a further 1.3% vulnerable to poverty. Figure 4.18 illustrates the trend in poverty during the period 1990-2009.
Goal Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal Achieve universal primary education
Goal Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal Reduce child mortality