Thursday, October 31, 2019

Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman - Essay Example Hughes is famous for writing about the ordinary lives of black people from the 20s to the 60s. Hughes claimed that his writings were influenced by Paul Lawrence Dunbar, W.E.B. Du Bois, Carl Sandburg, and Walt Whitman. On the other hand, Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819 in New York. Whitman worked as a printer, teacher, journalist, editor and during the war, he volunteered as a nurse in hospitals. His literary inspirations are Homer, Dante and Shakespeare. The era when Hughes became very popular was during the Harlem Renaissance (1918 to 1930) which was during the time when the Blacks were discriminated against. Being a Black himself, his themes were about social injustices against the Blacks and what it meant to be black, which earned him the title â€Å"The Black Poet Laureate†. Hughes also believed in socialism and became a member of the Communist Party. In contrast, Whitman’s epoch was during the Civil War. He witnessed the rise of the United States as a commerc ial and political power. He witnessed both the peak and the abolition of slavery. This is why the themes of his poems are mainly on the ideas of democracy, equality and brotherhood (SparkNotes Editors, par.6). With regards to writing style, both Whitman and Hughes use rhythm and repetition which creates a captivating quality of incantation. Both of them use anaphora, which is a literary device where several lines in a row begin with the same word or phrase. In Whitman, an example of this is his poem â€Å"When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer† (1865), where the first four lines each begin with â€Å"when†, as illustrated below: When I heard the learn’d astronomer; When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me; When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them; When I, sitting, heard the astronomer, where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, In Hughes’ â€Å"Let America Be America Againâ₠¬ , the first three lines begin with â€Å"let†. Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Unlike Whitman, Hughes’ poems are more pessimistic about the nature of America; but at the same time he offers a call to change, as can be seen in his poem above. The themes of Whitman’s works revolve around democracy as a way of life, the cycle of growth and death and the beauty of the individual. On the other hand, Hughes’ themes are based on his personal life, his travels, his involvement in radical and protest movements, his interest in Africa and South America as well as the Caribbean. With regards to the use of language, Whitman widened the possibilities of poetic diction by including slang, colloquialisms, and regional dialects, rather than employing the stiff, erudite language so often found in nineteenth-century verse (SparkNotesEditors, par.2). In contrast, Hughes language style incorporates rhythm ical language, jazz, blues structures, dialects and colorful verses. Hughes’ poetry is best read aloud because of its cadence. Whitman and Hughes are poets who were largely influenced by the political and social issues during their times. Their works goes beyond literature, crossing the boundaries of political and social content. Both the subject matter and language contribute to its aesthetic value. This is what made their poems more memorable and considered to be among the masterpieces of world literature. Work Cited â€Å"Poets.org. Guide to Langston Hughes.† Poets.org. Web. 18 May 2011. http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/323 SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on Whitman’s Poetry.† SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 18 May 2011.

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

English Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

English - Coursework Example view is able to lend a certain degree of integrity to the story’s content because in a way, all the characters were given equal levels of attention. This is quite important because the story emphasizes the different struggles that each character went through and the third-person omniscient point of view is able to provide the reader with the opportunity to pick his or her own side. The short story that I wish to analyze is Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour.† The overall theme of the story generally revolves around freedom, and, more specifically, women’s search for selfhood, for self-discovery or identity. This theme is aptly symbolized by the open window, out of which Mrs. Mallard could see patches of blue sky, the tops of trees that were signaling a new spring life, and the many other wonderful things outside of her window. All of these things represented a â€Å"new life† for Mrs. Mallard who has been under the clutches of her husband for a very long time. While Mrs. Mallard was stricken with grief at the initial news of her husband’s death, she was able to look at the situation at a whole new light upon looking out the window. Thus, the open window that presented a view into an entirely new life without her husband’s repression represented Mrs. Mallard’s supposedly new lease at life. The difference between a poem and a short story is that a poem is more imaginative, as it is driven with words that create more spontaneous, intuitive responses, while a short story oftentimes depends on descriptive language and logical structure. In addition, a poem adheres to rhythm while a short story can be a static flow of words. For example, the following lines from Alexander Pope’s â€Å"An Essay on Criticism† is very rich in imaginative, metaphoric, rhythmic language while the lines from â€Å"A Father’s Story† by Andre Dubus are very literal and static. Hearing the poem â€Å"We Real Cool† recited aloud by the author herself, Gwendolyn Brooks, provided

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Effects of Age on Economic Growth

Effects of Age on Economic Growth 1.0 LITERATURE REVIEW People today, live longer and often healthier lives owing to advances in various areas. It is a challenge to maintain and plan longer lives. Societal ageing hampers economic growth and issues such as sustainability of families, the states and communities capacity to provide for older people. A quick look at the recent decline in fertility rates combined with increases in life expectancy and strong evolution from past fluctuations in birth and death rates depicts a really significant shift in the global age structure. So much so that by 2050, twenty two percent of the worlds population will be over the age of 60 or a figure reaching almost 2 billion compared to expectations for year 2020 of 1 billion. As for citizens aged 80 or above, statistics predict an increase from 1 to 4 percent. It is undeniable that a countrys economic character will tend to change as its population ages since different age groups have different economic needs and productive capabilities. These changes can be measured by assuming a certain age-specific behaviour in relation to earnings, employment and savings and to assess the implications of modifications in the relative size of different age groups for these main contributors to the national income. However this tends to be misleading in the long run. Normally, changing expectations about life cycle and demographic shifts are likely to entail behavioural changes and thereby influencing economic consequences of ageing. One good example is an individual who expects to live longer than his ancestors who will continue to work for longer and therefore start benefiting his savings at a later age. 2.0 WORLD AGEING SITUATION Rapid reduction in infant mortality rates coupled with a dynamic fall in the death rate has resulted in a sharp rise in the proportion of older people in the population. This phenomenon of ageing population is fast becoming a worldwide problem. In 1950 there were about 200 million people above 60 years old in the world. This figure has risen some 616 million in the year 2000 and is expected to rise to 1.2 billion in 2025. A majority of them, about 72% of the total, will be living in developing countries. The projections indicate that the demographic transition will proceed much more rapidly in developing countries than it did previously in developed ones. The continuing fertility decline in many developing countries today is faster than the gradual decline experienced by the currently developed countries. In the developing countries, therefore, the pace of population ageing will exceed the pace in the developed countries. For example, it took France and Belgium more than 100 years to double the rate of the population over 60 from 9% to 18%. In Mauritius, the same change will occur in only 25 years. 3.0 Mortality and Life Expectancy We are ageing not just as individuals or communities but as a world. There were almost 500 million People aged 65 and above across the world in 2006 and that number is likely to reach 1 billion by 2030. An increase in the ageing population is more significant in developing countries, which is expected to rise to 140 percent by 2030. For the first time in human history, children under age 5 will be outnumbered by people age 65 and over. Life expectancy is steadily rising and the number of oldest people aged 85 and over is increasing. Chronic non communicable diseases are now becoming the main cause of death among elderly in both developed and developing countries. Some populations are going to shrink in the next decades. In some countries, the total population is decreasing simultaneously with the increase of an ageing world population. The growth of a very old population can have the following implications: 1. Retirement money and pensions will have to cover a longer period of life. 2. Even if disability rates decrease, health care costs are going to rise. PROJECTED INCREASE IN GLOBAL POPULATION BETWEEN 2005 AND 2030, BY AGE 4.0 THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF POPULATION AGEING 4.1 The importance of age structure. Economic growth may be influenced by changes in population age structure. To analyse age structure, a life-cycle perspective is adopted, based on peoples economic needs and contributions during the various stages of life. The ratio of consumption to production is higher for the young and old people and lower for working adults. The key drivers of economic growth such as labour, productivity, consumption and savings vary according to where people fall in the life cycle. Labour and savings are higher among working adults than among those aged above 60. Declining fertility and mortality rates during the past four decades have significantly changed the age structure of the population. There will be a 23% increase in the proportion of the elderly population. The proportion of the population aged under 15 is expected to decline to 19% in the next four decades. The population of the Republic of Mauritius will continue to age. Both past and projected ageing is illustrated in Table 2. The elderly population will triple in the next four decades to attain 332,000 with more women (184,000) than men (148,000). Table 1 presents a summary of the projections and gives the evolution of the pensioner support ratio for two cases, i.e age of retirement is 60 and 65 years. Table 2 gives the evolution of the life expectancy. Life expectancy was quite low in 1950 compared to the present level. Life expectancy has significantly improved over the past fifty years and is expected to improve further in the future. 4.2 Social Security Benefits Social Security benefits and public sector pensions are among the sectors that will certainly be affected by the ageing issue. Nowadays, the composition of social security benefits is two-fold, non contributory and contributory. Basic retirement pensions of the elderly and the elderly invalids irrespective of their economic status are non-contributory benefits wholly financed by government. The actuarial report on the National Pensions Fund has drawn attention to the fact that future increases in the number of pensioners will make the financing of basic retirement pensions an increasing burden on resources. The cost of basic retirement pensions rose sharply from about Rs 2.3 billion in 1999/2000 and is estimated to be Rs 3.5 billion in 2015 and Rs 6.4 billion in 2035. Examination of the implications of the projected strain on government resources is therefore becoming a high priority. Assuming that the rate of basic pension remains more or less the same, it should be noted that an in crease in pension age from 60 to 65 would lead to significant saving to the government in respect of basic pensions. Tax revenues may also increase as a result of employment continuing between ages 60 and 65 but there would be no financial impact on the NPF as a result of these changes. Welfare services such as long term care and any payment (other than from the NPF) to the elderly out of the state budget which are likely to increase faster than GDP in future are other examples of financial implications of ageing on state budgets. The ageing of the population will increase the financial strain on the state budget in future as follows: Basic pension expenditure (all of which is financed by general taxation) is projected to increase by 75% in some twenty years and to almost triple by 2040 if present pension rates are maintained. Expenditure from the NPF is projected to exceed contribution income by 2015. Part of the NPF expenditure will need to be met by investment income, most of which is derived from Government bonds or loans. In the absence of corrective measures, the investment income required to meet NPF expenditure would be derived largely from taxation. Expenditure on public service pensions is projected to increase by about 80% in real terms over the next 20 years, that is , from about 11/4% to 21/4% of GDP; Expenditure on healthcare and social services for the elderly can also be expected to increase substantially over the same period. To ensure that the state pension system remain financially sustainable in future, many countries are increasing the minimum state pension age. In Mauritius, the expectation of life at age 60 is significantly higher than when the current pension system was introduced. There has also been improvement in the health of the retired population aged 60 above, thereby enabling many of them to continue to work. Provided they have sufficient financial resources many people might decide to retire from their main occupation before the state pension age. In these cases it seems reasonable that the individuals or their employers finance the early retirement. 4.3 BUDGETARY MEASURES In his budget speech 2011, the Minister of Finance commented all our elders deserve to live in dignity. The wealth we are creating today, the prosperity we are enjoying also bear the indelible footprints of their hard work. They must get their fair share. The government of Mauritius is preparing for the challenges of an ageing population and ramp up its support for our seniors. The Mauritian population is ageing .It is a new trend with new implications for economic and social policies. The government must provide for the changing needs such as new patterns of consumption and greater demand for health care. The government wants to make of Mauritius a society that can allow its elderly to live the high quality of life that they deserve. It is essential that Mauritius is on top of the issues of an ageing population and formulate effective policies. The second measure relates to health care for the elderly. A carers strategy and Action Plan will be prepared to address all issues relating to the need of our elderly population for carers Services. Third, the NEF will leverage on the high level of women seeking employment to train women in the skills and knowledge required to give care to elderly people. The training will provide certification and allow them to register as professional carers with the Ministry of Social Security and be given a certified carer ID. Fourth, the Cite des Metiers will open a section dedicated to facilitate our seniors in their search for carers and other services. Fifth, a new recreational centre for elderly, costing Rs 120 million and with a swimming pool, will soon be inaugurated at Belle Mare. Recreational centres are being constructed at Pointe aux Piments and at Riambel. Sixth, a get together Programme is being set up to give our elders who live alone and are on social aid the opportunity to socialize around a hot meal once weekly. Seventh, the government is extending the additional monthly allowance for persons suffering from incontinence to bed-ridden beneficiaries of Basic Retirement Pension aged 75 years and above. Eighth, to protect more the seniors from normal and regular flu outbreaks and from pandemics such as the HINI virus, free vaccinations against flu are being extended to our elders aged 60 years and above. Ninth, the government will invest in two low floor buses for senior citizens for outings from the recreation centres at Belle Mare and Pointe aux sables. Tenth, government is increasing the amount of income tax exemption for lump-sum on retirement and severance from Rs 1 million to Rs 1.5 million. For elders who have toiled hard in the sugar industry, the government is amending the Sugar Industry Pension Fund Act to allow payment of benefits to exceed two-thirds of final salary. 4.4 Accounting Effects If age-specific behavior in respect of labour supply and savings were fixed, labour supply and savings per capita would decrease with a rising elderly share of the population. Keeping all other factors such as productivity and migration equal, this would imply lower growth in income per capita. Peter Peterson (1999), argued that, global ageing could trigger a crisis that engulfs the world economy and may even threaten democracy itself. Alan Greenspan (2003), former U.S Federal Reserve Chairman has stated that ageing in the United States makes our social security and Medicare programs unsustainable in the long run. The European Unions Economic Policy Committee (2010) is more measured in its assessment of the threat: The ageing of the population is becoming a growing challenge to the sustainability of public finances in the EU Member States. The increase of the ratio between the number of retirees and the number of workers will gradually increase expenditure on public pensions and health and thus creates difficulties on maintaining a sound balance between future public expenditure and tax revenues. The retirement of baby boomers and the increase in the share of elderly in the population will create economic and fiscal stresses on the second decade of the 21st century. These demographic developments, if not offset by changes in household behavior and government fiscal policy, will reduce the number of workers in relation to the population needing support and lower the national saving rate. The result will be slower growth in national income and consumption after 2010. Aging-related expenditures are one of the fastest growing components of government expenditures. Over the next 40 years, the share of working adults will decline from 59 percent of the population to about 56 percent. The share of older adults (65 and over) will increase from just over 12 percent to almost 21 percent of the population. The higher costs of supporting these retirees will be offset partially by lower costs of supporting children, as the share of the population age 19 and under will drop from 29 percent to just over 23 percent 4.5 Future Labour supply After 2010 the population between ages 20 and 64 will decline and the percentage of people over age 65 will increase dramatically. These changes reflect the short run effect of the ageing of baby boomers while the long-run effect of reduced fertility and increased life expectancy. If labour force participation rates in each age group remain the same, the ratio of workers to retirees will decline sharply between 2010 and 2030. A decrease in the share of workers in the population means that, if all else remains the same, output per capita and living standards will be lower than they otherwise would have been if the share of workers had remained stable. The change in age composition of the population will reduce the share of workers and increase the share of dependent elderly. The increase in experience associated with an older workforce will raise average earnings and productivity per worker. With better health and increased life expectancies, one can expect individuals to work longer. As shown in Bloom, Canning, Mansfield and Moore (2007), the response to rising life expectancy is to increase the number of working years and the number of years in retirement proportionately, without changing period-specific saving behaviour. While a large set of factors such as increasing demand for leisure, general increases in wealth and difficult labour markets have contributed to low labour force participation among the elderly, social security systems have undoubtedly been a key reason for the continued low labour force participation among the elderly. Even if individuals decide not to work longer, increased life expectancies can be expected to induce increased savings over the working life in order to finance a continued high standard of life in retirement. As the elderly are healthier, they can work longer and more productively and place fewer demands on public resources. Businesse s can play a role in encouraging older workers to continue working, and they can in turn benefit from such workers experience and reliability. Allowing flexible schedules, offering ongoing training in new skills, providing wellness programmes, and re-allocating physically demanding tasks to younger workers are measures that can help retain the older segment of the workforce. 4.6 Consequences for Living Standards Labour supply adequacy is one factor influencing standard of living of the population. It refers to the ratio of the quality-adjusted workforce to the total consumption needs of the population. But not all people have equal consumption needs. For example, the government spends much more per capita on the over-65 population than it does on other age groups. Demographic trends will have adverse effects on economic growth after 2010, due in large part to the slowdown in the growth of the workforce and the increase in spending on age-related government transfers. But the effects do not appear to be catastrophic. The economy will continue to grow, even at a slower rate. Capital will increase considerably, even though lower national savings rate, as a smaller workforce requires less capital. Individual and population ageing are not gender neutral. Womens entitlement to goods and services over time is closely related to their work history, pension, property and inheritance rights. Old women generally occupy a precarious economic position, as they have accumulated fewer financial reserves than men, have fewer assets of their own and, more often than not, experience a weakening of their control over the family assets with the death of the husband. Poverty is a real threat to women as they get older. It is therefore imperative that any financial and social scheme developed to care for an ageing population should include targeted policies for the support of the elderly women. 4.7 Theories of Saving One of the most important theories of saving is the life-cycle model (LCM), which predicts that people will save in order to translate their fluctuating levels of income into smooth paths of consumption. Consumption implies that households borrow when young, save when middle-aged, and spend savings, or dissave, when old. The life-cycle Model assumes that people by death would have consumed all their wealth and that people have unlimited access to capital markets at a single interest rate paid by borrowers or received by savers. Given these assumptions, the pure LCM implies pronounced differences in annual saving rates by age, with consumption fluctuating with changes in permanent income but not transitory income. The private sector of the economy will account for a larger share of the nations saving in the future. Maintaining private saving in the face of potentially increased public dissaving will be critical for continuing future economic prosperity. While changing demographic may increase private saving, the government should also create appropriate incentives for private saving. 4.8 Influences on Public Savings Public saving is what is left of taxes after subtracting transfers, interest paid on government debt, and government consumption. Public saving is also government investment minus the budget deficit. Future public saving will be affected by the ageing of the population because major government transfer programs-social security and the health programs (Medicare and Medicaid)- disproportionately benefit the elderly. Danziger et al. found that the elderly not only do not dissave to finance their consumption during retirement, they spend less on consumption goods and services than the young at all levels of income. Moreover, the oldest old save the most at a given levels of income. At the same time, while their human capital and private pension wealth is being depleted, especially at the most advanced ages, the elderly face a complex problem of uncertainty about their health, life expectancy, and ability to maintain independent households. In these circumstances, they reduce their consumption to maintain their wealth. The problem of population ageing, which is a consequence of fertility decline, has become the new bÃÆ'Â ªte noire of development, replacing rapid population growth, a consequence of high fertility. It is ironic that population ageing and rapid population growth are two faces of the same coin: fertility. Both population growth and ageing have an adverse effect on savings, it is argued, as the young and the old are more consumers than producers, and thus dependent on the working population. The orthodox debate not only ignores the positive contribution that the old could and do make to the economy, but also fails to recognize the fact that there are other sections of the population, such as the unemployed, who are also supported by the working population. From a long term point of view, however, it is the working age and not just the working population that matters. Keynes and others argued that population ageing would reduce growth via its adverse impact on aggregate demand and inve stment, and not because of a higher tax burden and government expenditure on social security and pensions. The relevance of this approach to the current debate on ageing in its integrated view of the demand and supply or consumption and production implications of population ageing, in contrast to the orthodox approach which is primarily concerned with the consumption effects of ageing. The economic implications of an ageing population are intricately intertwined with the macroeconomic performance of a society over time. At the macro level it is the current output that has to pay for the subsistence of the population, young or old, at working age or retired. The current output, however, depends in part on past savings and investment. In other words the work and savings of the present generation provide subsistence and employment for the present as well as for the future generation. The benefits of growing national income and increased productivity will not, however, be distributed equally among the old whose claim on the national income depends on their accumulated assets, including savings and pensions. An economy which distributes its assets and income unequally over its working age population carries such inequalities into old age, thus creating a differentiated group of old people. This has to be taken into account in the setting up of national pension plans in order to prevent hardship among those old people whose poverty when of working age prevented them from saving for their old age.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Emma is a novel about youth through self-knowledge. Discuss. Essay

Emma is a novel about youth through self-knowledge. Discuss. The learning processes that are experienced through youth often lead to greater self-knowledge. This idea is readily demonstrated in Jane Austen’s â€Å"Emma† where the protagonist is established as an esteemed individual, living in the comfort and indulgence consequent of the limitations of her rural society. It is only when Emma opens herself to new experiences that she matures from one who lacks self-knowledge to a fulfilment of self-knowledge. The various events that occur ultimately challenge her viewpoint of the world she lives in. Emma’s dealings with befriending and matchmaking Harriet and her misinterpretation of clues given by Mr Elton and Frank Churchill are events which lead her to first lose confidence in her judgement and which later propels her to greater self-knowledge. Mr Knightley is a key figure in her process of change, leading her to a greater acceptance of others’ viewpoints. At the beginning of Austen’s novel, Emma Woodhouse is established as the central character of the novel who suffers from a lack of good judgement and awareness of the world she lives in. Austen establishes this idea through her opening sentence, conveying the idea that Emma is â€Å"handsome, clever, and rich†. The responder is given the impression that she thinks rather too well of herself as she has â€Å"been mistress of his house from a very early period†. We are told that she has been spoiled and indulged by â€Å"a most affectionate, indulgent father† and governess whose â€Å"shadow of authority being now long passed away†. The praise that Emma receives from Mr Woodhouse, Mrs Weston and Mr Knightley is warm acknowledgement of her education and accomplishments but is... ...tain self-knowledge. The various events that occur during the course of the novel develop Emma into a rounded individual who possesses a wealth of self-knowledge. This was not achieved without the aid of new experiences that penetrated the stability in her life, largely through the limitations presented by Highbury society. Emma’s overconfidence in her own judgement and her misinterpretation of clues given by Mr Elton and Frank Churchill, are important learning processes in Emma’s education. With the good judgement of Mr Knightley and her own self scrutiny, Emma is provided with the impetus to improve on her faults. Her growth to maturity and correct judgement ultimately leads to an attainment of greater self-knowledge. In balance, it can be seen through the character of Emma Woodhouse that â€Å"Emma† is blatantly a novel about youth through self-knowledge.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Effects of lobbying and its effectiveness in America Essay

Effects of lobbying and its effectiveness in America Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A lobbyist is anyone with a clear understanding of working of the federal government and the legislative actions taken each day as well as their impacts. He might represent an individual, a party, company or a group of people (Hrebanar, 2009). Yearly, many dollars are spent on lobbyists in Washington DC. We shall discuss about the effects and effectiveness in this city.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   For a start, not every American citizen can approach members of the Congress or to government officials to have their interests addressed. Anyone who has an issue seeks the help of lobbyists who represents their interests to the congress. The fee charged is high but one is fully represented and listened to. They represent anyone who seeks their help not the interest of all citizens. This is a direct form of corruption.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The lobbying companies make a lot of profits based on the purpose of forming the company. The benefits may be in terms of direct cash, reduction of taxes or being awarded any contract of government. This is a form of corruption and unfairness because the citizens who cannot afford to approach them can’t win such tenders or have any interest in the congress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many companies opt to pay lobbyists who in turn help them evade paying the corporate tax of 35%. The whole process is facilitated by politicians receiving money from the lobbyists (Waterhouse, 2013). This leads to reduction in the income of the country in terms of taxes collected thus the economy is also affected. Living standards of citizens also become poorer because they are forced to pay more taxes for the government to operate efficiently.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Since lobbyists have a great impact on the laws passed in the Congress, some important regulations may be passed in favor of corporations which carry out illegal activities such as emission of poisonous gases to the atmosphere or trafficking of drugs. Congress members and other officers in governmentare paid to help in passing these regulations. This is harmful to the general public since the products affect them negatively. In this case, environmentalpollution through poisonous gases increases cases of cancer and. Practical examples of such companies are tobacco and extraction companies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lobbyists are not always effective even though they have much influence in the government and its officials. The court is always a fair representer of the normal citizens and it may rule that a regulation should not be passed because of its impact on the American society. A good example is when the court stopped the FDA tried to introduce the generic version of Lovenox but the court stopped the procedure despite the huge sums of money the company spend on lobbying. In addition, there are leaders in power who don’t accept any type of bribes so the influence of lobbyists does not affect their decisions pertaining some regulations or policies. These leaders condemn fully the activities of lobbyists hence the regulations passed and enforced in the country are in favor of the citizen’s not individual groups or companies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, lobbyism is rampant in America especially in Washington and the results of such groups may affect the normal citizens positively or negatively. A significant amount of capital is spent on lobbying which reduces the net income on taxes hence affecting the economy. The health and normal lives of citizens are largely affected by lobbyism. Luckily, they are not effective always thus some of their policies are neglected especially by the court and no-corrupt officers. The best way possible out of this is through campaigns to alert government officials of the effects of lobbying. References Hrebenar, R. J., & Morgan, B. B. (2009).Lobbying in America: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Waterhouse, B. C. (2013). Lobbying America: The politics of business from Nixon to NAFTA. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Source document

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Comparison and Contrast of Hispanic Culture and Anglo-American Culture Essay

There is no universal culture amongst the world society as each community embraces a unique culture that guides and defines their behavior. The differences that are exhibited within any particular group of people in a country or a cultural group are usually greater than those differences that may be in a homogeneous group. The differences are usually noted in level of education, social standing, religious beliefs, personality definition, previous experiences, and affection that prevails in the home among other many factors that have an influence on human behavioral and cultural practices. Cultural differences are persistent even in the globalized world. It is therefore important to take note of the differences in order to have good knowledge of the customs, beliefs, values and norms of the divergent cultural groups. Cross cultural studies therefore are essential as they assist in coming up with a comparison of the various cultural differences that is observed in the various ethnic groups. When conducting cross-cultural studies, comparison becomes the main essence of the study thereby ensuring that generalized assumptions are inevitable as the researchers seek to categorize the cultural groups. We need however to be cautious that generalizations may lead to serious negative impacts especially when they are made from faulty observations. This paper shall aspire to give a comparison and contrast of the Hispanics and the Anglo-American cultures Hispanics: An analysis of the Hispanic community in the United States is not an easy task as there are several Hispanic groups in the country having different backgrounds especially in relation to their point of origin. The Hispanics are therefore not a single group with similar cultural characteristics as they exhibit differences in regard to political views, customs, religious beliefs, familial and other conventions that distinguish each group from the others. The focus on the Hispanics in this paper shall focus on four categories which include the Mexicans Americans, the Puerto Ricans, Cuban Americans, and those from the Central American region. The Mexican Americans trace their place of origin from Mexico while the Puerto Ricans are considered the citizens of the United States given that Puerto Rico is a United States’ territory. The Cuban Americans on the other hand are those who fled Cuba due to the political and economical turmoil that has been experienced in their country for quite some time. Lastly, the Hispanics from the central part of the Americas are said to have originated from various countries in the region (Kanellos, 1994). The Anglo-Americans: The Anglo-American refers to the ethnic group of individuals of European origin. The term ‘Anglo’ has come to be used to refer to the English speaking Americans with little reference to their particular origin more like the term Hispanic has been used to refer to the various groups that make the Native American population. The Anglo-Americans comprise of English speaking Americans who are in most instances Protestants with minority of them adhering to the Roman Catholicism. The term Anglo-American has been used to refer to all those individuals who originated from countries that traditionally spoke English as their main language and also those whose families have adopted the English speaking culture in the United States and Canada to perfection (Diaz-Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). Comparison and Contrast of the Hispanic and the Anglo-American Cultures: As stated earlier, there are various groups in the United States which form the larger Hispanic category. Nevertheless, the different groupings within the Hispanic block have distinct features which come out especially when compared to the Anglo-American way of doing things. The Mexican Americans for instance, are known to speak Spanish and they are taught in bi-lingual classes which involves English as their second language. The Mexican Americans have various values which are unique of the Anglo-Americans. The familial values of the Mexican Americans for instance are uniquely different from that exhibited by the Anglo-Americans. The Mexico Americans for instance emphasizes on the social structure that is rooted in the family unit (Kanellos, 1994). Though the women are greatly respected in their culture, the Mexican Americans holds that the women are inferior to their husbands in the homes. The husband is seen as the figure of authority and the chief decision maker for the family. They usually cherish large families and extended family ties are maintained. This is in contrast to the typical Anglo-American culture where both the man and woman in the house enjoy equal or almost equal right in the decision making process for the family. The family is based on democratic principles and small nuclear families are cherished. The bond for extended family ties is usually loose in the setting of the Anglo-American culture. Most Mexican Americans are also observed as Catholics and they put emphasis on the holding of religious moral values than their Anglo-American counterparts. Politically, the Mexican Americans have not been quick to stamp their authority in the political landscape within the United States save for the appointment of Alberto Gonzales as America’s Attorney General (Kanellos, 1994). This is in contrast to their Anglo-Americans who have dominated the political scene with most being identified with the Republican Party. Economically, the Mexico-Americans have remained generally sidelined as their Anglo-Americans counterparts continue to dominate the economic landscape. From the study done in 1989 it was revealed that Mexicans Americans earned 21% wages lower than the Anglo-Americans. Though these statistics can no longer be relied upon die to the passage of time, there still remains a significant gap between economic gains by these two groups (Franklin, 2010). The Puerto Ricans are well known for their general proficiency in Spanish and English languages. This concept has made life for this group of Hispanics more bearable than any of the other Hispanic groups. Contrary to the Mexican Americans, most of the households amongst the Puerto Ricans are headed by females. The Puerto Ricans submit to various religious groups which include Baptism, Catholics, Methodist and any other of the world religion more like their Anglo-Americans counterparts. Politically, the Puerto Rican have limited access to the same rights and political privileges enjoyed by any other American citizen though Puerto Rico is considered a United States’ territory from the year 1917. They are for instance not allowed to take part in presidential election. They are however exempted from paying the federal income tax. Though they have limitation on the rights associated with citizenship, the Puerto Ricans continue to enjoy exceptional unrestricted US migration (Diaz -Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). The Cuban Americans have come from a difficult background that was characterized by unstable political environment in their backyard and difficult economic conditions. They however carried with them much of the Spanish culture given that the Spanish had great influence on the Caribbean Island. Most of the Cuban Americans are Catholics though some traces of Protestantism, Jewish, Santeria, and nonreligious beliefs can be traced. It has however been noted that most Cuban Americans have been assimilated in the mainstream culture meaning that they have taken most of the Anglo-American culture leaving their own though they have kept a small portion of their original culture (Diaz -Guerrero & Szalay, 1991). The other Spanish group from the Central American region comprise of the Venezuelan Americans most of whom are Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Though most of them came to stay in America after the completion of their college studies in the US, they still maintain their familial ties which are very strong. They imbue in their children the value of family as an important aspect of the society at an early age. The familial ties are so strong that they at tomes make it hard for them to get assimilated in the American mainstream culture. Most of the Venezuelan Americans are Catholics though most do not hold religion in high esteem as the other Hispanic groups (Franklin, 2010). Other general aspects of the Hispanic groups’ culture include privacy which is only handled by the family members. They value modestly as part of their culture and that the area between the waist and the knees is considered as private. This is not common with the Anglo-Americans who are often exposes their body parts that would otherwise be considered private in Hispanic culture. The old members of the family are greatly respected given their experience with life. In regard to health practice, the Hispanics are known to be emotionally expressive and individuals are expected to be pampered when they fall ill. To most Hispanics, birth control measures are not entertained a part from the natural ones given that most are Catholics. They also view thinness as a problem and plumpness is considered ideal. This is in contrast to the Anglo-Americans who are pragmatic on heath issues and readily accept the birth control methods and also despise plumpness of the body (Culturediversity. rg, 2008). In a study conducted by Pablo G. Cardona, Bonnie C. Nicholson, and Robert A. Fox, in the year 2000 entitled ‘Parenting Among Hispanic and Anglo-American Mothers With Young Children’ it was found that Hispanic mothers had higher frequency of discipline and a lower frequency of nurturing with their young children compared to their Anglo-American counterparts though no differences were recorded in the expectations of both the Hispanic and Anglo-America n mothers (Cardona, Nicholson, and Fox, 2000). Conclusion: The cultural comparisons between the two cultural categories can go on and on without any sign of stopping any soon. The cultural differences observed between the Hispanics and the Anglo-Americans are reflected most in the familial affiliation, language, and religion. Most of the Hispanic groups in the United States have very strong family bonds, they subscribe to the Catholic faith and that they speak Spanish. This contrasts with the Anglo-Americans who speak English as their first language, have loose familial bonds and Protestantism is their main religion. Nevertheless, among the Hispanic groups are some differences especially in regard to how they have been able to get assimilated to the American lifestyle. The Puerto Ricans and the Cuban Americans are the most assimilated followed by the Venezuela Americans who are in the middle of being assimilated whereas the Mexican Americans are the least assimilated.