Multiculturalism Literature Review essays

Multiculturalism Literature Review essays Education in the United States will need to become significantly more multicultural if it is to meet the needs of its student base, according to reported statistics and results of studies. Such curriculum changes will be required for children at all educational levels, from those in general classes to those in exceptional or gifted programs. Over the next 50 years, the country's Latino and Asian populations are expected to triple, reports the U.S. Census Bureau. The white, non-Latino population will drop to just 50.1 percent by 2050 the lowest in the nation's history. The African-American population is projected to rise from 35.8 million to 61.4 million in 2050, or an increase of about 71 percent. At the same time, the world is becoming considerably more global in economic, political, social and technological spheres. These factors, alone, will necessitate a change in the now standardized Anglo-American Studies report a number of other reasons in addition to population changes that will make diverse education mandatory. A number of reports show that a multicultural curriculum can increase academic relevance for students of color, attitudes in ethnic group interrelationships and degree of creative learning for everyone. Other benefits for students may include greater intellectual involvement, more advanced thinking, enhanced intellectual and academic skill building, better cross-racial socialization (Bowen and Bok, 1998), and more preparation for living in a culturally rich As early as 1975, sociologist Coser emphasized the advantages gained by all ages when living in complex social structures or social situations, as he defined them, that are familiar to the residents yet often quite discrepant with past lives. Complex structures are composed of many rather than few people who have different contradictory expectations of one other. Coser argues that unfamiliarity,...

The Francophone Literary Movement (La Négritude)

The Francophone Literary Movement (La Nà ©gritude) La Nà ©gritude was a literary and ideological movement led by francophone black intellectuals, writers, and politicians. The founders of la Nà ©gritude, known as  les trois pà ¨res  (the three fathers), were originally from three different French colonies in Africa and the Caribbean but met while living in Paris in the early 1930s. Although each of the  pà ¨res  had different ideas about the purpose and styles of la Nà ©gritude, the movement is generally characterized by: Reaction to colonization: Denunciation of Europes lack of humanity, rejection of Western domination and ideasIdentity crisis: Acceptance of and pride in being black; valorization of African history, traditions, and beliefsVery realistic literary styleMarxist ideas Aimà © Cà ©saire A poet, playwright, and politician from Martinique, Aimà © Cà ©saire studied in Paris, where he discovered the black community and rediscovered Africa. He saw la Nà ©gritude as the fact of being black, acceptance of this fact, and appreciation of the history, culture, and destiny of black people. He sought to recognize the collective colonial experience of Blacks- the slave trade and plantation system- and attempted to redefine it. Cà ©saires ideology defined the early years of la Nà ©gritude. Là ©opold Sà ©dar Senghor Poet and first president of Sà ©nà ©gal, Là ©opold Sà ©dar Senghor used la Nà ©gritude to work toward a universal valuation of African people and their biological contributions. While advocating the expression and celebration of traditional African customs in spirit, he rejected a return to the old ways of doing things. This interpretation of la Nà ©gritude tended to be the most common, particularly in later years. Là ©on-Gontran Damas A French Guyanese poet and National Assembly member, Là ©on-Gontran Damas was the  enfant terrible  of la Nà ©gritude. His militant style of defending black qualities made it clear that he was not working toward any kind of reconciliation with the West. Participants, Sympathizers, Critics Frantz Fanon: Student of Cà ©saire, psychiatrist, and revolutionary theoretician, Frantz Fanon dismissed the Nà ©gritude movement as too simplistic.Jacques Roumain: Haitian writer and politician, founder of the Haitian Communist Party, published  La Revue indigà ¨ne  in an attempt to rediscover African authenticity in the Antilles.Jean-Paul Sartre: French philosoper and writer, Sartre assisted in the publication of the journal  Prà ©sence africaine  and wrote  Orphà ©e noire, which helped to introduce Nà ©gritude issues to French intellectuals.Wole Soyinka: Nigerian dramatist, poet, and novelist opposed to la Nà ©gritude, believing that by deliberately and outspokenly taking pride in their color, black people were automatically on the defensive:  « Un tigre ne proclà ¢me pas sa tigritude, il saute sur sa proie  » (A tiger doesnt proclaim its tigerness; it jumps on its prey).Mongo Bà ©tiAlioune DiopCheikh Hamadou Kane  Paul NigerOusmane Sembà ¨neGuy Tirollien

Formative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Formative - Essay Example For all these reasons, television is a good source of health information. There has been a remarkable reduction in diseases and an overarching improvement in the living standards of people all over the world in general and in the advanced countries in particular ever since the introduction of television in the society. â€Å"Among the nations that receive the greatest amounts of international assistance in health, education, child rights, ecology and the environment, many now contain 20 to 40 million or more individuals who regularly see TV† (Palmer). Television has helped raise awareness about behaviors and practices that are unhygienic. The programs, television shows, and documentaries shown on television not only educate people on the factors causing diseases, but also create awareness about the measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of contracting diseases. Television has promoted health information on a variety of levels. People are educated not only through shows and documentaries, but also the ads supporting those shows create a wealth of information for the audience. Even a milk ad starts with how bones need calcium, how bones lose strength with age, and what nutrients are essential for the bones to maintain their density and strength as one ages. Then the ad suggests the consumption of milk of a certain brand because it contains those essential minerals and nutrients that bones need. Many ads also refer to reliable research results in an attempt to support their claims. Some of the best sources of health information are exercise and yoga practices that are described in the television shows. People can follow the trainers without having to pay them or leave their homes to join a training center. This makes it very convenient as well as cost-effective for them to do exercise daily. Such shows have a huge impact on the audiences’ perceptions of health and fitness because they can see

New product Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

New product - Research Paper Example This pricing strategy allows the business to attract customers through using persuading the customers emotionally in terms of the pricing messages (Schlag & Schade, 2003). The business set the prices of their offerings at prices points that seem unusual which makes the customers feel that the prices offered are los. For instance, more consumers will go for the products with prices set at $29.99 rather than $30. This pricing strategy will attract the customers who usually look for value of the product. The preference of this method is due to the chance that if gives to the business allowing it to attract more customers without changing the content of the product. This pricing strategy allows the business to adjust pricing in favor of the customers with reference to variety of circumstances. The differential pricing may come in form of discounts coupons or rebates. The discounts will increase the number of customer since it attracts those who might not be able to afford the original price. The differential pricing serves as a form of incentive to the customer since it relieves them of the supposed high prices. This is a pricing strategy used by firms, which would like to sell different products in the same product range and at different prices points based on the features and benefits (Smith, 2012). It is suitable for the business since it would like to offer mobile grooming services that always come with multiple products. Mobile grooming is the primary while other product arises from this such as maintaining friendly environment for the pets. This strategy is suitable for Pyramid Solution business since it involves the firm being flexible in their prices (Smith, 2012). This pricing strategy allows the business to reduce the price of offering in the quest of attracting customers. It applies to almost all existing industries hence it will be suitable for the business. Road transport involves the use of the motorway network to transport goods to

Soviet Participation Essay Example for Free

Soviet Participation Essay When the games were reinstated in 1920 and again in 1948, [9]the Soviets initially declined to take part. The primary goal of â€Å"Socialist sports† was to benefit the masses, not the elite athletes. Marxist-Leninist ideology intended all citizens to participate to enhance their own strength as well as the strength of the state. They believed that recreation and the training of the body allowed workers to remain strong and healthy as well as productive. Health and productivity would also lead to building moral character and social responsibility. Since sports were intended for the masses, rather than for an athletic elite, the Soviet rulers saw no use for participation in the Olympic games. Soon after the 1917 revolution ended, Bolshevik leaders established a state-run sports system, which consisted of hundreds of sports clubs as well as two large sports societies run by the secret police and the Army (Rosellini n.pag.). Unfortunately, as quickly as these well- intended clubs were formed, their original purpose began to disintegrate. As early as 1926, the sports clubs were accused of ignoring â€Å"the vast mass of young people† and focusing on the athletic elite, because the sports facilities were straying from their initial goal of supporting the masses and focusing on the athletically gifted (Rosselini n.pag.). Between the World Wars the Soviets remained separate from the games. But away from the rest of the world, they were devising a plan to make their athletes rank among the best in the world. Finally, in 1948, the Soviets and their Satellites decided to challenge the West in the 1952 Olympics. The ruling Soviet party demanded that government officials â€Å"raise the level of skill, so that Soviet sportsmen might win the world supremacy in the major sports in the immediate future† (Rosellini n.pag.). To do this children were evaluated and if found suitable, were taken to live in â€Å"sports factories.† There, children were trained many hours a day and were secretly dosed with steroids. Child athletes were usually between the ages of six and eighteen in these training facilities and could have been taken from their parents as early as the age of three. Each athlete had his or her own trainer, doctor, masseuse, physiologist, and sports conceptualizer to plan an individual program. The outside world remained unaware of the Soviet design for sports dominance. Not until members of the Soviet Union entered Olympic competition did steroid use affect athletic achievement. The Soviet factories greatly threatened the ideals of the International Olympic Committee. Competitive fair play and international cooperation were jeopardized by the Soviet’s desire for political superiority. The factories were a symptom of one of the greatest threats to the Olympic ideals: countries seeking political influence and international recognition. The Soviets used these â€Å"factories† as a way to improve the international standing of their country. If they came out on top in sports they believed they would appear to validate the communist political system to the rest of the world. But, Soviet athletes physically looked different. When swimmer Raik Hannemann was seventeen, his trainer approached him and said, Were going to try something secret, keep it to yourself. It will add two percent to your time and bring you to that extra level of excellence (Rosselini n.pag). Hannemann knew the blue tablets had to do something with steroids, but he didn’t know what the side effects were and trusted his trainer. He was even told to keep the tablets a secret from his parents. Once he took the performance-enhancing drugs his speed immediately increased by six seconds (Rosselini n.pag). Athletes competing in a variety of sports were treated with performance-enhancing drugs, but the swimmers especially boasted abnormal musculature. The judges and spectators demanded explanations, of how these athletes grew so grotesquely strong. Although no medical tests for sports enhancing drugs existed yet, in 1976, performance-enhancing drugs were placed on the International Olympic Committee’s banned substances list in response to the unproven Soviet’s steroid use in the recent Olympic games (Chidlovski n.pag.).[10] A decade later the Olympic committee introduced newly designed doping tests to detect if athletes used the drugs in their training period rather than during competition. Some Olympic events, such as the Hungarian defeat of the Soviet water polo team in 1956 took a large symbolism significance (Sterngass pg. 37).  Drug Use by Other Countries  Of course, the U.S.S.R. was not the only country to seek international recognition through Olympic success. Many other countries have defied the Olympic code by using performance-enhancing drugs as well. â€Å"Sports became a propaganda tool and athletic success was closely tied to nationalism and patriotism† (Sterngass pg.37). [11] As medal counts became more important, the use of performance-enhancing drugs also became more prevalent. Steroids first threatened the Olympic ideals by countries seeking political superiority. Suspicion of steroid use began as early as 1968, but the drugs did not become common until the 1972 Olympic games (â€Å"Steroid Abuse in Sports-Steroid Abuse.com† n.pag.)[12] The East German’s joined in the use of performance-enhancing drugs early on as well. â€Å"In 1968 East Germany’s chief medical officer submitted a report to the government recommending the total and collective administration of steroids to all East German athletes† (â€Å"Steroid Abuse in Sports- Steroid Abuse.com† n.pag.). In the twenty years preceding this recommendation, Eastern Germany dominated nearly every international sporting competition. The East German drug use was yet another effort to prove their own superiority over the West, just as the Soviets had done just a few years earlier. Many East-German athletes were told that they were taking vitamins, rather than steroids. So, not only was the East German government practicing the use of unfair drugs, but they were also lying to their own athletes and jeopardizing the long-term health of the individuals. Since then, as more drugs have been developed, drug tests and methods for testing have also expanded (Benagh n.pag.).[13] In recent years, many American athletes have been accused and have tested positively for drug use. This kind of cheating is highly unethical and defies the Olympic code of fair play and good sportsmanship. Performance-enhancing drugs add a more political aspect to the games, causing less focus on the actual competitive athletics. As more and more athletes defy the Olympic ideals, rules must be regulated even more closely. These changes in rules also affect the spirit of the Olympics, which fosters an international feeling of community and competition. As more athletes break the rules, more stringent oversight ensues. This strict regulation takes much of the integrity out of the games, diminishing the Olympic spirit. In the 2008 Beijing games alone, 4,500 athletes were tested; only eight of those tested positive and were banned from competing (â€Å"OLYMPIC GAMESà ¢â‚¬  n.pag.).[14] But, many more athletes also may have been guilty, perhaps they were not caught because the tests were not rigorous enough. Canadian sprinter, Ben Johnson, was just one athlete who was found guilty after winning an Olympic medal. In 1988, Johnson won the gold medal in the one hundred meter final in the Seoul games, setting a world record and was considered the best one hundred meter runner of his time. However, just three days after winning Olympic gold, Johnson’s urine sample tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and his medal and records were stripped. Johnson was suspended from competition until 1991, but re-entered the indoor track scene and qualified for the 1992 games, where he placed last. Just one year later, Johnson came close to a fifty-meter record, but again failed a drug test (Whooley n.pag). [15]Marion Jones, a former track star who won five medals in the 2000 Sydney games, was convicted of steroid usage and all of her medals were stripped. Years later, evidence and testimony supported a conviction, sentencing Jones to six months in prison (Mulero n. pag.).[16]

The Work of F. Scott Fitzgerald :: Fitzgerald Author Essays

Francis Scott Fitzgerald once said "Mostly we authors must repeat ourselves?that's the truth. We have two or three experiences in our lives? experiences so great and moving that it doesn't seem at the time that anyone else has been so caught up" (de Koster n. pag.). Fitzgerald's works contain many themes that are based from experiences in his life. Many of these experiences he talks about were with the women in his life. People like his mother, Ginerva King, and Zelda Sayre all had major impacts on Fitzgerald. The women in F. Scott Fitzgerald's life influenced his writing in a number of ways. The first major woman to make and impression on Fitzgerald's life was his mother. Mary (Mollie) McQuillan was of Irish decent. Her parents were Irish immigrants who became rich as grocery owners in St. Paul (Bruccoli 1). Mollie inherited a fair amount of money from her family, but the family had difficulty maintaining the high standard of living they were accustomed to (Bloom 11). When they fell into financial trouble it was her father they turned to. The fact that Fitzgerald's mother, rather than his father, was the financial foundation for their family influenced Fitzgerald greatly. Even as a young boy he was aware of this situation. The theme that arose from this about a wife's inherited money appears frequently in Fitzgerald's writing (Magill 679). When the Fitzgeralds fell into financial trouble, the family had to depend on Mollie's family's money. When times like that came Mollie "abandoned the attempt to Tarleton 2 keep up her personal appearance (neglecting both grooming and fashion), which embarrassed her fastidious son. Scott later recorded a dream in which he admitted being ashamed of her" (de Koster 15). Furthermore, Fitzgerald's attitude toward his mother influenced him as a person. Because two of Mollie's children had died before Fitzgerald, she was very protective of him. She often worried about his health and babied him. But "her attempts to spoil him stren gthened his distaste for her" (de Koster 15). She wanted her only son to have "social ambition" ("Brief Biography 1). Fitzgerald's negative description of her in "An Author's Mother" where he describes her as "a halting old lady" in a "preposterously high-crowned hat" reveals his feelings (de Koster 15). Fitzgerald was affected by all these emotions towards his mother in his personality and his work. Another influence on Fitzgerald was his first love, Ginerva King.

Political, Economical, Social Effects of Globalization

Globalization has been the main theme of most news articles, magazines and even to most policies that exist in many countries around the globe today. Globalization transforms various things and ideas in order to come up with a new set of products and services that will meet the present demand of the market. With the increasing knowledge of many scholars regarding the effects of globalization to political, social, and economic status of different nations across the globe, it would be extraordinary on observing how people from different walks of life react to the benefits and loses that globalization has been offering to the international community. Though, many still believes that there are far more losers than gainers with the existence of globalization in the international community, the fact that the said global phenomenon continuous to become prevalent even to the developing countries nowadays serves as the evidence that globalization is indeed having enough influence to penetrate even the most conservative countries with respect to embracing global changes and pressures. Globalization has profound both negative and positive effects to the field of politics, society, and economics and since these three fields signifies the entire sectors of a nation/country it would be necessary and beneficial for a given government to determine the effects of globalization on their country. This global phenomenon has been the source of down turns and competitive advantages of different countries around the globe which can be seen to many developed and developing countries of different regions around the globe. With the inability to determine the kind of effect that globalization is providing into a given country, there is a great possibility that either this country would be able to fully utilize their potential gains to its optimal level or this country would just let globalization to destroy the stability of its various vital sectors. Therefore, it would be very important to pinpoint the effects of globalization to the said identified three fields above in order for a given country to determine how they will use globalization in order to attain impressive political, social, and economic stability in the present and coming years. At the end of this paper, expect a set of alternatives wherein countries can utilize globalization into their major source of competitive advantage and ways in order to protect their interest on the negative effects of globalization into the various sectors of a given country. Effects of Globalization to Political Stability Globalization has been being associated with democracy for many political analysts say that in order to attain the optimal benefits of globalization one must first embrace democracy (Hewa & Stapleton 2005: 1-2). With the launching of Bush administration’s â€Å"Freedom Agenda†, which main objective is to democratically transform Arabic countries through encouraging most Arabic countries to open their market [globalization] and with the opening of their market to international trading comes democratization according to the speech made by Bush during the G8 Summit at Prague last 2007 (Burnett 2007: 1) & (Yerkes 2006: 1), presently the Middle East is becoming a democratic region as many countries are starting to open their market into the international market and embrace the idealism behind globalization. In this regard, it is clear that globalization provides enough force for most of the Arabic countries like Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, and Pakistan to accept democracy and become one of the United States to promote democracy around the international community. Another effect of globalization’s rise would be the relaxation of some of the â€Å"serious† international policies of different countries to give way on the entry of globalization into their doors. Globalization has been greatly associated with international trading and most countries concentrates on regulating their trading volume with other countries for the past years. Globalization promotes free market principle wherein there would be as much as possible less government interference that will happen in the market and this can only be achieved through the relaxation of some of the current government policies that impedes the existence of free market system in the international market. At the end of the day, by the time those â€Å"serious† government policies pertaining to international trading is already relaxed, then that is the only time wherein gains from globalization can be realized. The only thing that makes this scenario negative to some countries is that only the developed countries receives the highest benefits from the relaxation of government policies of the trading countries while developing countries are being left with fewer gains relative to the developed countries. This is the main reason why many are opposing to globalization since they believe that this will only make rich countries richer while poor countries poorer considering that most of the benefits will still fall under the sides of rich/developed countries in the international market. Furthermore, globalization is said to be deteriorating the autonomy of many countries around the globe as pressures coming from the external market continues to leave no room for less influential countries to oppose the demands of developed countries when it comes to shaping the formers international trading policies (Sarget 2003: 3) & (Held & McGrew 2000: 13). Like for instance, the United States, for many years, has been keeping its hands to the policy making decisions of most developing countries like the Philippines which at first seems beneficial to both countries. But through close analysis one can see clearly that United States already stands into the sovereignty of the Philippines while at the same time receives most of the benefits from the said trading partnership. In this regard, globalization serves as a tool in order for developed countries to easily hold on and gets into the sovereignty of developing countries like for the case of the Philippines wherein they left with no choice but grant the demands of the United States in exchange for a small amount of gain even if it will cost their sovereignty or autonomy. Based from the identified effects of globalization above, it is therefore clear that globalization only benefits developed countries more while leaving developing countries with less gains. Both developed and developing countries gain from the advent of globalization although it also led for the developed countries to get into the way of developing countries and become more powerful in the international community compared. Effects of Globalization to Social Stability. It was identified above that only the developed countries benefits more from the advent of globalization in the international community as compared to the developing countries. In response to this inequality, various groups, organizations of the society have been organizing mass demonstrations in order to condemn the said inequality when it comes to the distribution of gains from the advent of globalization plus the interference of most developed countries to the sovereignty of many developing countries. Pro and anti-globalization groups have been on conflict which created various social conflicts between both parties. It has been identified that the rise of globalization led for many countries to suffer from the lose of nationhood as many of its sector starts experiencing instability like geographical political instability, rise of â€Å"trans-border† ethnic and religious identities to name a few. With this differences, political instability and conflict of various communities and civic groups within and outside the territorial boundaries of many countries around the globe caused by globalization was identified as one of the many reasons why cold war exists between many countries nowadays and from the past and one possible example to this would be the cold war between Yugoslavia and Soviet Union. The big question now would be if whether democracy, which is caused by globalization, could solve the internal stability that reigns on many countries nowadays (Raghavan 1997: 1). Another social effect of globalization would be the down turn of the labor union in many countries like the case of the United States. During the 1970s when the presence of globalization starts to exist in the market system of United States, there was a pressure for the economy of the United States to recover after World War II thereby leading for the rise of the private sector and rise of the free market system on the domestic market of United States. In this regard, most of the federal laws and regulations supported the interest of private sector leaving labor union with less bargaining power and support from the government in the form of government policies. Labor union membership in the United States during that time starts to deteriorate as the working class begins to lose their trust regarding the power of labor unions to protect the interest of its members. Actually, it was not only the membership of labor union that was affected, even the number of labor union on the domestic market of United States begins to decline resulting to rampant injustices coming from the members of the private sector (DeLong 1999: 1). Wages of the workers were cut at least twice a year plus different kinds of harassment were just some of the injustices that American workers experienced with the birth of globalization in United States. Countless mass demonstrations were held by the remaining labor unions during that time in order to show their opposition on the rise of private sectors power backed up by government policies due to globalization. It took years before this social conflict between the private sector and labor union community to settle down by the time the federal government starts shifting their support from the private sector going to the labor union during the early 1990’s (Rodrick 1997: 4-5). Therefore, globalization does not only disrupt the sovereignty of many nations, but also provides internal instabilities even on developed countries like the case of United States which causes social conflicts between different social class, civic groups to name a few. Effects of Globalization to Economic Stability Despite of the fact that globalization only led developing countries to lose their grip on their autonomy/sovereignty, globalization still provide enough room for the improvement of their economic growth (Hoang & Liao 2002: 2). Globalization, as what have already discussed earlier, provides an avenue towards the attainment of greater gains from international trading. International trading has been the main source of wealth and influences of many countries in the international community since the higher a country’s role on the international market, the greater is the probability that it can influence the supply or prices of goods in the global market. Globalization provides enough avenue towards the influx of foreign investment from developed to developing countries which offers additional job opportunities to the workers of the latter while giving competitive advantages to the former. In this regard, both of the trading countries benefits from this kind of market set up. With the improvement of number of job opportunities for developing countries, households will now receive higher income, and with higher household income comes higher domestic activities awaits local investors (Goldberg & Pavcnik 2006: 1). In the end, developing countries become self sustainable by using the foreign investments in order to improve the welfare condition of every households of a given country plus their trade balance which is one of the main economic indicator of how well a country is performing in the international market. Look at the case of China, with its cheap and abundant supply of laborers for many multinational companies from different countries have given the said country impressive economic growth for the past years during the time globalization forced many multinational companies to operate internationally and outsourced some of their products to other countries (Hoang & Liao 2002: 18-19). With this, China presently becomes one of the top performing countries around the globe in terms of volume of exports plus large foreign reserves generated from their surpluses from their trade balance. Many countries are becoming dependent on the products and laborers of China such as the United States despite of the fact that the former is still being considered by many countries as a developing one. Furthermore, globalization provides enough pressure for different industries of various countries to become innovative in developing new products to supply the growing needs of man kind. The development of new product provides competitive advantage for a given country since the latter can monopolize the production of that particular product which in the end would grant the country on issue higher income and influence in the international market. For instance, the innovations of Microsoft on its software in the market provides enough room for the United States to have more influence in the international market since they have the competitive advantage in producing software for personal computers present in the market. Globalization dictated to many consumers in the international market that computers nowadays are already necessity and one must have a personal computer with software from Microsoft. With this booming demand for Microsoft’s software, United States starts experiencing improvement on their income, trade balance and bargaining power with other countries. In other words, through globalization, the booming of the IT industry in the United States would not be as high as it is today and the federal government will not be able to charge Microsoft with higher tax if the latter’s products did not successfully penetrated its target market. At the end of the day, it is therefore clear that globalization serves as a tool in order for both developing and developed countries to mutually gain from its existence in the global community through the improvement of country’s trade balance, job opportunities, per capita income and domestic consumption. Effects of Globalization on Technology Technology serves as the main driving forces of many globalization processes especially in the field of international trading. Many countries spent billions of dollars just to invest on technologically advanced machineries and equipment that will further increase their production level and efficiency (Rand. org 2008: 1). Technology, aside from capital and labor, is among the main factors of production in today’s market system as well as the source of competitive advantages of many countries in overcutting the performance of their competitors in the international market. The know-how of technology of a given country could contribute for the attainment of impressive growth like for the case of Japan who presently leads the production of various lines of appliances, automobiles, mobile phones to name a few. Japan has been known for its ability to surpass the technology of many top nations in the international market. Despite the fact that it is still being considered among the developing countries, still, Japan has been able to compete at par with top developed countries like United States, United Kingdom to name a few. In this regard, considering the case of Japan, it is therefore clear that globalization has been forcing the development of technology beyond its limits in order to suffice the growing needs and demand of the international community when it comes to machineries and gadgets that would make their everyday living easier and more comfortable. Effects of Globalization on Culture. With the increasing integration and linkages/connectivity between various region and countries of the international community, there has been a transfer of cultural influences between those countries that interact with one another (Tomlinson 2006: 2-3). Like for instance, with the improvement of the trading condition between the Philippines and United States, the former starts to imitate Western style of living after becoming familiar with the customers, preferences, tastes, and behavior of American through the transfer of products between the ports of the said two countries. Asians has been known for their ability to imitate Western style of living through consuming imported products from western countries. With globalization, the entry of western products will now be much greater as compared before leading for countries in Asia to become more familiar and exposed to western products. At the end of the day, the transfer of customs, style of living, and product preferences will serve as the main tool of globalization to culturally link different countries. By exposing each trading country’s product to one another would provide enough roads for one country to influence one another like for the case of United States and Asian countries like the Philippines and Japan. Conclusion Though globalization has negative effects being imposed to both developing and developed countries, at the end of the day when we add all of the benefits and loses caused by globalization, the result would provide a positive answer; meaning the global community did gain from the advent of globalization in the international market. As for the developing countries, they must tried to find other ways in order to attract more foreign investment without sacrificing their sovereignty like providing incentives instead of restructuring their current policies based from the demands of developed countries. On the other hand, developed countries must watch out for the internal conflicts that globalization might bring into their territory as different social class fight and struggle with one another for dominancy.

Black House For David Gernert and Ralph Vicinanza

You take me to a place I never go, You send me kisses made of gold, I ‘ll place a crown upon your curls, All hail the Queen of the World! -The Jayhawks. Right Here and Now . . †¦..RIGHT HERE AND NOW,as an old friend used to say,we are in the fluid present,where clear-sightedness never guarantees perfect vision. Here:about two hundred feet,the height of a gliding eagle,above Wisconsin's far western edge,where the vagaries of the Mississippi River declare a natural border.Now:an early Friday morning in mid-July a few years into both a new century and a new millennium,their way-ward courses so hidden that a blind man has a better chance of seeing what lies ahead than you or I.Right here and now,the hour is just past six a.m., and the sun stands low in the cloudless eastern sky,a fat,confi-dent yellow-white ball advancing as ever for the first time toward the fu-ture and leaving in its wake the steadily accumulating past,which darkens as it recedes,making blind men of us all. Below,the early sun touches the river ‘s wide,soft ripples with molten highlights.Sunlight glints from the tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad running between the riverbank and the backs of the shabby two-story houses along County Road Oo,known as Nailhouse Row,the lowest point of the comfortable-looking little town extending uphill and eastward beneath us.At this moment in the Coulee Country, life seems to be holding its breath.The motionless air around us carries such remarkable purity and sweetness that you might imagine a man could smell a radish pulled out of the ground a mile away.

An Overview of Brazil and Its Geography

An Overview of Brazil and Its Geography Population: 198,739,269 (2009 estimate)Capital: BrasiliaOfficial Name: Federative Republic of BrazilImportant Cities: So Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, SalvadorArea: 3,287,612 square miles (8,514,877 sq km)Coastline: 4,655 miles (7,491 km)Highest Point: Pico da Neblina 9,888 feet (3,014 m)Brazil is the largest country in South America and covers nearly half (47%) of the South American continent. It is currently the fifth-largest economy in the world, is home to the Amazon Rainforest and is a popular location for tourism. Brazil is also rich in natural resources and active in world issues such as climate change, giving it significance on a worldwide scale. The Most Important Things to Know About Brazil 1) Brazil was given to Portugal as part of the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 and the first person to officially claim Brazil for Portugal was Pedro lvares Cabral.2) The official language of Brazil is Portuguese; however, there are more than 180 native languages spoken in the country. It is also important to note that Brazil is the only country in South America whose dominant language and culture comes from Portugal.3) The name Brazil comes from an Amerindian word Brasil, which describes a dark rosewood type common in the country. At a time, the wood was Brazils main export and thus gave the country its name. Since 1968 however, the export of Brazilian rosewood has been banned.4) Brazil has 13 cities with over one million residents.5) Brazils literacy rate is 86.4% which is the lowest of all South American countries. It falls just behind Bolivia and Peru at 87.2% and 87.7%, respectively.6) Brazil is a diverse country with ethnic groups including 54% European, 39% mixed European-Africa n, 6% Africa, 1% other. 7) Today, Brazil has one of the largest economies in the Americas and is the largest in South America.8) Brazils most common agricultural exports today are coffee, soybeans, wheat, rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, citrus, and beef.9) Brazil has a plethora of natural resources which include: iron ore, tin, aluminum, gold, phosphate, platinum, uranium, manganese, copper and coal.10) After the end of the Brazilian Empire in 1889, it was determined that the country would have a new capital and shortly thereafter, the site of present-day Brasilia was chosen in an effort to promote development there. Growth did not occur until 1956 and Brasilia did not officially replace Rio de Janeiro as Brazils capital until 1960.11) One of the most famous mountains in the world is the Corcovado located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is known worldwide for its 98 foot (30 m) high statue of the citys emblem, Christ the Redeemer, which has been on its summit since 1931.12) Brazils climate is considered mainly tropical, but it is temperate in the south. 13) Brazil is considered one of the most biodiverse places in the world because its rainforests are home to more than 1,000 bird species, 3,000 fish species and many mammals and reptiles such as alligators, freshwater dolphins, and manatees.14) The rainforests in Brazil are being cut at a rate of up to four percent per year due to logging, ranching, and slash and burn agriculture. Pollution of the Amazon River and its tributaries is also a threat to the rainforests.15) The Rio Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro is one of the most famous attractions in Brazil. It attracts thousands of tourists yearly, but it is also a tradition for Brazilians who often spend the year prior to the Carnaval preparing for it.To learn more about Brazil, read the Geography of Brazil on this site and to see photos of Brazil visit the Images of Brazil page on South America Travel. References Central Intelligence Agency. (2010, April 1). CIA - The World Factbook Brazil. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Brazil: History, Geography, Government, and Culture - Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: infoplease.com/country/brazil.html United States Department of State. (2010, February). Brazil (02/10). Retrieved from: https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35640.htm Wikipedia. (2010, April 22). Brazil - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil

How Mother Nature Became the Inspiration Behind Velcro

How Mother Nature Became the Inspiration Behind Velcro Before the middle of 20th century, people lived in a Velcro-less world where zippers were standard and shoes had to be laced. All that changed though on one lovely summer day in 1941 when an amateur mountaineer and inventor named  George de Mestral  decided to take his dog for a nature hike. De Mestral and his faithful companion both returned home covered with burrs, the plant seed-sacs that clung to animal fur as a way to spread to fertile new planting grounds. He noticed his dog was covered in the stuff. De Mestral was a Swiss engineer who was naturally curious so he took a sample of the many burrs stuck to his pants and placed them under his microscope to see how the properties of the burdock plant allowed it stick to certain surfaces. Perhaps, he thought, they can be used for something useful. Upon closer examination, it was the small hooks that enabled the seed-bearing burr to cling so stubbornly to the tiny loops in the fabric of his pants. It as during this eureka moment that  De Mestral smiled and thought something along the lines of I will design a unique, two-sided fastener, one side with stiff hooks like the burrs and the other side with soft loops like the fabric of my pants. I will call my invention velcro a combination of the word velour and crochet. It will rival the  zipper  in its ability to fasten. De Mestrals idea was met with resistance and even laughter, but the inventor was undeterred. He worked with a weaver from a textile plant in France to perfect a fastener by experimenting with materials that would hook and loop in a similar manner. Through trial and error, he realized that nylon when sewn under infrared light formed tough hooks for the burr side of the fastener. The discovery led to a completed design that he patented in 1955. He would eventually form Velcro Industries to manufacture and distribute his invention. In the 1960s, Velcro fasteners made its way to outer space as Apollo astronauts wore them to keep items like pens and equipment from floating away while in zero-gravity. In time, the product became kind of a household name as companies like Puma used them in shoes to replace laces. Shoe makers Adidas and Reebok would soon follow. During de Mastral’s lifetime, his company sold an average of over 60 million yards of Velcro per year. Not bad for an invention inspired by mother nature. Today you can’t technically buy velcro because the name is the registered trademark for the Velcro Industries product, but you can have all the velcro brand hook and loop fasteners you need. This distinction was done on purpose and illustrates a problem inventors often face. Many words used frequently in everyday language were once trademarks, but eventually become generic terms. Well-known examples include  escalator, thermos, cellophane and nylon. The problem is that once trademarked names becomes commonplace enough, the U.S. Courts can deny exclusive rights to the trademark.

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Eli Whitney and the Cotton Gin - Research Paper Example The most famous inventions of Eli Whitney was the cotton gin which saw forth the revival of slave trade, a practice that was by the time of the invention was on its rapid decline not only in the south but also in the northern parts of the American continent (Alan, 2014)1. The cotton gin bore tremendous benefits to the slave owners and plantation farmers. The invention and production of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin created a very profitable business in the cotton industry. This invention later led to increased slavery in both the south and northern America and consequently seeing through the dawn of civil wars. Eli Whitney was born in Westborough, Massachusetts on December 8, 1765. He graduated from Yale College in 1792 with some hopes of becoming a lawyer (Olmstead, 1832: 207)2. After graduation, he got a job as a tutor in South Carolina. On his way to South Carolina, he met a woman by the name of Catherine Greene, who was a widow of a general. She had invited Eli to stay on her plantation called Muylberry Groove to study law (Mitchell, Simon, & Schuster, 1954: 75)3. After Eli found out that his tutor job was not going to be half of what he was told, he accepted Catherine Greene’s offer. While staying on Catherine Greene’s plantation, Eli learnt about cotton production and the difficulty farmers underwent while eking out a living from cotton production. Cotton was a very important crop, it was easy to grow and its fibers could be stored for a long time. The problem however, was that cotton had seeds that were very hard to separate from the fibers. Another type of cotton called ‘the lone staple’ was very easy to clean but only grew along the coast. Most of the farmers had to grow the ‘short staple cotton’ which required a lot of labor. It had to be cleaned by hand, which was a very difficult and very time consuming4. A cotton picket could pick the seeds from one pound of short staple cotton a day. In this