Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Terrorism has become a major concern in todays world

Terrorism has become a major concern in todays world Terrorism is widespread around the world. On September 11, 2001, the attacks on New York not only inflicted thousands of casualties and significant economic damage, but also marked the beginning of a new era of terror in which counter-terrorism has become one of the highest priorities for international institutions and national governments. Ruinous events including the modern attacks in Madrid, London, Bali, and Mumbai have placed fights against terrorism high on the political agenda. As a result, many governments reacted not only by limiting civil rights and individual freedoms but also by raising their budgets for anti-terror spending. Terrorism is stated as one of the main challenges to global security. This has led to terrorism affecting a national social and economic development. Hence, the most critical evolution of a strategy is how to reduce the threat and result of catastrophic terrorism while protecting public liberties. This essay will describe and analyze the economic cos ts and overall consequences of terrorism for society, and thus provide and evaluate several practicable solutions to counter-terrorism. These include governmental aids and international cooperation strategies. Terrorism has a complicated definition that has spread all over history appropriately describes in many expressions. Among the variety of definitions of the term are: to create regular social activity difficult; to make high image impact on the public with the goal of destroying public confidence in their own government; to seek revenge on everything without justice; to cause as much casualties as possible; and to make physical suffering and stupefying psychological emotions, such as a sense of grief, anxiety, fear, unrest, chaos, anger and panic (Drummond 2002; Loza 2007). Terrorism in reaction to political power or ideology is not a new phenomenon. This type of political violence and crime has occurred since the dawn of human chronicle. The nature of this form of political conflict has changed over time, though, developing from domestic activities to regional and international events. Because of this, terrorism has become an experience shared by many individuals, organizations, and states. Nowadays, global terrorism has become a severe actuality in society. In the 19th century, some of the most famous events of terrorism happened by anarchists who murdered many political leaders. There are several reasons have given for the use of terrorist movements. Franks (2009) points out that terrorist activities are advanced plans and beyond public expectation, the main elements are shocking, and illegal violence versus common people and non-armed personnel for the sake of threatening or forcing civilian population or a government to accept an underlying ideology of terrorism or armed attack of demands. Terrorist events are depicted according to the dynamic type of uncertainty. For instance, terrorists use suicide bombings, armed attacks, and kidnapping, to accomplish goals of inflicting damage against the military, people and government. Whatever terrorist attacks depend on, the terrorist facilities and locations and time of occurrence will bring different outcomes. Terrorism has critically affected international economic harmony between the economy and led to panic. Recently, developments in terrorist acts, in particular the 9/11 events have created vast collapses in the global economy. Lenain et al. (2002) mentioned that nearly 200,000 jobs were devastated and people have been forced to move out of New York City, and this is only temporary minimum. Manhattan has lost scores of businesses and about 30 percent of its office places have vanished. Furthermore, the damage of physical property was calculated sum of $14 billion for private businesses, thus the state and local government had spent at least $1.5 billion enterprises and $700 million for federal government. Following the cleanup, rescue and related costs have been calculated the sum of $11 billion. For trade and commercial assets, casualty insurers, the calculated costs arising from the 9/11 attacks in total $40 billion U.S. dollars. (Brown et al. 2002).The global tourism, financial mark ets and the airline industries had a huge collision in short-term effect. Despite the global economy has recovered from the 9/11 event and adapting to the new global realities, thus the asset markets that around the world can feel the longer-term impact of security risk in high-risk premiums, also the handling terrorism in substitution for resources. In terms of its economic impact, the 9/11 attacks exacerbated the defects already observed seen in the global economy in 2001. Abadie and Gardeazabal (2008) state that before the terrorist attacks, great economic depression in the United States had already increased unemployment and equally revealed global total demand fell on the back of weakness in the United States economy. Based on purchaser and merchant surveys, demonstrated decline in the overall confidence measured in the United States due to 9/11 attacks, and in other countries with similar in extent measure. Therefore, counter-terrorism procedures are required in order to settl e the social, cultural and governmental panic caused by terrorism. As the result of the terrorism has destroyed the whole world economical conditions, if the society and the government want to return to the regular path and operation, counter-terrorism can be the only solution. Terrorism not only causes social problems, but inevitably aggravates international stability. That is why security is to encourage by governments to improve counter-terrorism in seven different methods: Development of terrorist detailed databases and relevant intelligence gathering; Creation and use of third-force, by means of build special military units, or Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams to deal with terrorist cases (Branscomb, 2004); Countries should signing and complete of new treaties; Adequate use and development of anti-terrorist technologies; Extended use of counter-terrorism intelligence and justice; Signing and implement of new laws in violation of national and international terrorism (Boulden, 2009); Keep suspected terrorists and their supporters under su rveillance. Therefore, governments could built an anti-terrorism systems; such a system brings together advanced and diverse and technologies, reconnaissance missions, persistent intelligence and surveillance, to potential actions. Another valuable way to defeat terrorism is by refusing resources to the terrorists. As Sandler and Enders (2004) emphasized, it is more productive to deny terrorists resources of financing, support groups, weapons, propaganda, recruits and intelligence. Rather than trying to protect wealth at risk which is extraordinarily hard or impossible in view of the extremely large amount of purpose and substitute possibilities. With use these ways to resist terrorism will control the terrorist activities in actuality or potency. The scope of international cooperation and mutual support should range from local law enforcement and first responders to corporations, states and regions, up to and including nations and international organizations. For example, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization is an institution that combats terrorism at the international level that includes Russia, China, and the central Asia republics, sharing intelligence and has a training program in Bishkek (Intriligator, 2009). Another suggestion has been the collection and timely analysis of superior intelligence, both human and technologically be captured. Although the aims of counter terrorism require nations cooperation, government agencies lack for a common definition of the term terrorism. Thus, there have some of the perplexities that impede effectively counter-terrorism, these include the lacking of cooperation; not only between countries that may have helpful terrorist information, but also among state agencies who have an intere st in monitoring terrorism. Mass of these entities are refuse to share information to each other, especially secret intelligence, only when they believe that it is in their short-term political benefits. Also, countries will need to rely more on good informants. Stewar (2009) claim that the confidential nature of anti-terrorist organizations, including the inability to develop appropriate sources, and the lack of expertise in appropriate foreign languages caused many intelligence make it difficult for agencies to obtain detailed information on terrorist organizations. Therefore, states should develop a holistic national database to track suspected terrorists and to permit criminal justice to integrate the appropriate infrastructure. These plausible solutions will most definitely be useful in practicing counter-terrorism. In conclusion, counter terrorism will become an ineluctable part of our lives. Even though the immediate economic influence of the 9/11 events was devastating, consumer confidence and the stock markets recovered rapidly. Public cost on military operations and security is rising. The governments use counter-force in terms of anti-terrorism, carrying out passive sanction in reality and disincentive policy to presumptive terrorists to reduce the event of terrorism. Countries and their national security agencies must also carefully balance the personal freedoms of citizens versus that of the pursuit of terrorists. Otherwise, there would be a lot of repression and the legitimacy of the existing regime would be questionable. In reprisal of terrorist actions, there is always the possibility of collateral damage, especially when innocent civilians are detained, injury of death and when property is damaged or destroyed. Terrorist attacks will cause economic social and political panic; therefo re, every country should adopt complete policies and operations to resist terrorism, through governmental aids and international cooperation strategies. By solving the problems caused by terrorism, nationals will indubitably draw closer to a more harmonious and peaceful world. References ¼Ã… ¡ Abadie, A Gardeazabal, J 2008, Terrorism and the world economy, European Economic Review, vol. 52, pp. 1-27. Boulden, J 2009, Terrorism and civil wars, Royal Military College of Canada, vol. 11, no.1, pp.5-21. Branscomb, L 2004, Protecting civil society from terrorism: the search for a sustainable strategy, Technology in Society, vol. 26, pp. 271-285. Brown, JR, Kroszner, RS Jenn, BH 2002, Federal terrorism risk insurance, Nberworking Paper, vol. 9271. Drummond, JT 2002. How to fight terrorism: alternatives to deterrence, Defence and Peace Economics, vol. 14, pp. 237-249. Franks, J 2009, Rethinking the roots of terrorism: beyond orthodox terrorism theory-a critical research agenda, Global Society, vol. 23, No. 2, pp154-176. Intriligator, MD 2009, The economics of terrorism, Economic Inquiry, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 1-13. Lenain, P Bonturi, M V 2002 The economic consequences of terrorism, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Discussion Paper, vol. 20, pp. 22-30. Loza, W 2007, The psychology of extremism and terrorism: a Middle-Eastern perspective, Aggression and Violent Behavior, vol.12, pp.141-155. Sandler, T. and Enders, W. 2004, An economic perspective on transnational terrorism,European Journal of Political Economy, vol.20,pp.301-316. Stewar, MG 2009 , Risk-informed decision support for assessing the costs and benefits of counter-terrorism protective measures for Infrastructure, International Journal of Critical Infrastructur protection, vol. 3,pp.29-40.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Copyrights And Patents :: essays research papers

Everyday businesses provide the world with products and services. People in general are just not self-sufficient. Who has time to make their own clothes, own meals,clean their own house, or even watch their own kids? Today’s every growing business world and advancements in technology make it extremely easy to obtain anything one could ever desire provided they have the money to buy it. Many people gained great success and wealth from their original product and business ideas. People have alsogained great wealth from borrowing, stealing or adapting from one â€Å"original† idea.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The majority of copying and fraud involves software and clothing items. (Edwards6) One aspect of this is known as bootlegging. this is where someone copies a program, CD, performance, etc., and sells it on the streets. According to Mike Edward’s of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry claims that world wide CD piracy accounts for 6.5% of the industries annual sales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A different approach to borrowing one’s idea doesn’t nessacarily copythe product. Instead it involves misleading the consumer. As in one case, the Miller Brewing Company developed a new beer with a label similar to Annheuser Busch’s, who is currently the number one brewer in America. The â€Å"new brew† was aimed at taking away sales from â€Å"the King of Beers.† (Melcher 37)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Logos are also often copied. A logo is defined as an advertising symbol or message that represents a product or a service. In one case, OJ Simpson has agreed to share marketing rights with the Florida Department of Citrus to use his initial in connection with orange juice. (Wells 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Materials can be illegally duplicated in many different ways. This includes everything sharing software, to copying CD’s, to illegal sweatshops. Commercial goodshave either patents which are supposed to protect them from illegal duplication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Digital technology is becoming a big problem for graphic artists who are trying to protect their creations. Scanners have made it very easy to duplicate images instantly. The creator must apply for a copyright in order to be able to sue for fraud. Images that are not copyrighted are in the public domain. Also, copyrights expire 50 years after the creator’s death. (Baer 163)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China plays a major role in copyright piracy. Officials estimate that China exports about $827 million dollars a year of impostor products. An example of this is shampoo with a familiar American brand label, but containing different ingredients than the US versions. Copyrights And Patents :: essays research papers Everyday businesses provide the world with products and services. People in general are just not self-sufficient. Who has time to make their own clothes, own meals,clean their own house, or even watch their own kids? Today’s every growing business world and advancements in technology make it extremely easy to obtain anything one could ever desire provided they have the money to buy it. Many people gained great success and wealth from their original product and business ideas. People have alsogained great wealth from borrowing, stealing or adapting from one â€Å"original† idea.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The majority of copying and fraud involves software and clothing items. (Edwards6) One aspect of this is known as bootlegging. this is where someone copies a program, CD, performance, etc., and sells it on the streets. According to Mike Edward’s of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry claims that world wide CD piracy accounts for 6.5% of the industries annual sales.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A different approach to borrowing one’s idea doesn’t nessacarily copythe product. Instead it involves misleading the consumer. As in one case, the Miller Brewing Company developed a new beer with a label similar to Annheuser Busch’s, who is currently the number one brewer in America. The â€Å"new brew† was aimed at taking away sales from â€Å"the King of Beers.† (Melcher 37)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Logos are also often copied. A logo is defined as an advertising symbol or message that represents a product or a service. In one case, OJ Simpson has agreed to share marketing rights with the Florida Department of Citrus to use his initial in connection with orange juice. (Wells 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Materials can be illegally duplicated in many different ways. This includes everything sharing software, to copying CD’s, to illegal sweatshops. Commercial goodshave either patents which are supposed to protect them from illegal duplication.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Digital technology is becoming a big problem for graphic artists who are trying to protect their creations. Scanners have made it very easy to duplicate images instantly. The creator must apply for a copyright in order to be able to sue for fraud. Images that are not copyrighted are in the public domain. Also, copyrights expire 50 years after the creator’s death. (Baer 163)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  China plays a major role in copyright piracy. Officials estimate that China exports about $827 million dollars a year of impostor products. An example of this is shampoo with a familiar American brand label, but containing different ingredients than the US versions.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Essay --

In the 20th century, numerous ideas of the future have entertained society. Movies such as Star Wars and Back to the Future have greatly influenced how society views the future. No one could have predicted that George Orwell’s 1984 novel came in first place when discussing about the present day. The primary goal of 1984 is to paint how life will be like under the control of a totalitarian government. This novel is way ahead of its time and gave frighteningly realistic insights into the future. Currently, the people of America are living in this reality, which Orwell prophesied. Advancement in technology today is world changing; however, it can become a dangerous weapon when left in the wrong hands. It is used as a form of distraction and control. There is a vision that, one day, there will be a monitor in every household that regularly observes people’s interest and loyalty. Even though there are no helicopters flying by and peeking through the neighbor’s windows, the government manages to spy on the average Joe in a realistic manner. Many people do not believe that the American government can implement such action, but it has been achieved and is far worst than what Orwell could have imagined. The nature of the National Security Agency revelations with the help of Edward Snowden, who leaked top secret government information, are within the scope of the Orwellian vision of the all-seeing Big Brother. Readers of the novel are able to visualize the dark and unearthly world through the eyes of Winston Smith, the protagonist. The world that he inhabits is cruel and ran by a government that controls the entire population. Big Brother is an entity in the novel who is seen as the all knowing and powerful. He is said to exists; however... ...om the government. There are no more anonymous masses. Jump forward to today, and it seems that the American people are openly giving away all sorts of freedoms and their right to privacy. There needs to be a balance. People need to take action. Also, Orwell's points out that the government is appointed too much power over apparently small things such as the Patriot Act; however, it is just a blueprint that will help widen the window of opportunity for the government to attain more power. Society is headed for a downfall where the government increasingly takes away civil liberties, whistle blowers and journalists are prosecuted, and truth is becomes a crime. It is difficult to see how anyone could make the claim that society is not headed closer to that direction. 1984 made a bold prediction. There are evidently parallels between society today and Orwell's book.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Motivation in the Classroom

One of the most difficult tasks an educator faces is motivating students. What exactly is it that makes a student want to learn? Why are some students easily motivated while other students must be coaxed to perform tasks that seem simple? A teacher has to ask these questions about each individual student in his or her class, and usually starts to search for the answers within the first few days of meeting their students. It is important for an educator to have a working com/strategies-for-academic-success/">definition of motivation if they plan on implementing motivational techniques in their classroom.According to Eric Jensen (2005), author of Teaching with the Brain in Mind, motivation is, â€Å"arousal and drive. Arousal suggests orientation towards a goal, and drive is caring enough to do something about achieving the goal† (p. 102). Jensen suggests that some students will be intrinsically motivated and require very little push to succeed. He also makes it clear that there are many students with which an educator will have to work in order to build that intrinsic motivation. Ultimately, success in the classroom can be formed in many different ways, but there are a few points that are absolutely necessary.Setting high expectations for your students is essential. Making sure that you know your students and cater to each individual child is also pertinent. Also, identifying outside factors that may cause success or a lack of success will be very important. The autonomy that a teacher shows his or her students is extremely important to success within the classroom. A student should be able to feel like what they do or say is taken into account by the teacher. This does not mean that the teacher will change the way they do things, but they will take into account the feelings and opinions of their students.This adds to the students feelings of self worth. In an article by Patricia Hardre (2003), A motivational model of rural students' intentions to persist in, versus drop out of, high school, she surveyed students asking them to rate the importance of certain qualities. Questions like, â€Å"My teachers provide me with choices and options,† and â€Å"My teachers try to understand how I see things before they suggest to me how they would handle a particular situation,† scored very highly and are viewed by the students as the most important aspect of a well rounded teacher (p.351).Providing a child with multiple ways to come to an answer will not only encourage the child, it will show them that you are interested in their success and have high expectations for them. Allison Ryan’s article, The classroom social environment and changes in adolescents' motivation and engagement during middle school, basically promotes the same ideas. She states that, â€Å"students' perceptions of teacher support and the teacher as promoting interaction and mutual respect were related to positive changes in motivation and engagementà ¢â‚¬  (p.451).The perception of a student about his or her teacher is critical, and will play a major role in whether or not the child is successful. The expectations that an educator places on their students will in many ways shape the way the class will learn from the first day until the last. A strong teacher is one that will provide the students with discipline as well as compassion. He or she will be a leader, but not afraid to listen and understand the needs of the students and of course adapt to those specific needs when applicable.These characteristics are very important, but what will ultimately lead to success is the teacher’s ability to motivate. We know how capable children are, and we know that their capabilities are almost endless. Often times what they are missing is leadership, direction, and someone telling them â€Å"I believe in you†. Isaac Friedman (2011) in his article, Teachers' role-expectations: Altruism, narcissism, patemalistic altruism, and benevolent narcissism, explains that teachers must use what he calls â€Å"benevolent narcissism† in their classroom.Freidman explains â€Å"benevolent narcissism† as the capacity of an educator to have such high expectations of their students that they almost come off as cocky (p. 19). Having such a positive attitude will ultimately build a child’s self worth and make them feel supported and believed in. This is also explained in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As Robert E. Slavin (2012) explains, â€Å"Self esteem is critical to physical and psychological well-being† (p. 288).However, a child can be quick to doubt themselves if they feel like they have no one who believes in them. When perceived self-efficacy is high, more ambitious challenges are pursued, and commitments to lofty goals are made. When self-efficacy is low, the child will see failure as the most likely outcome of whatever obstacle they may face. Lisa Legault (2006) in her study, Why do high school students lack motivation in the classroom, explains that perceived failure is the single greatest barrier for a child to overcome if he or she hopes to be successful.She goes on to say that even students who do believe in their abilities sometimes have a difficult time believing that they will have the prowess to maintain the effort needed to complete an assignment or achieve in the classroom (p. 579). Furthermore, Johnmarshall Reeve (2003), author of the article Testing models of the experience of self-determination in intrinsic motivation and the conundrum of choice teaches that a child needs to feel â€Å"a sense of unpressured willingness to engage in the activity† (p. 380). This is completely relatable and understandable.Students are often faced with tasks that seem daunting to them, and without a support system it would be very easy to see how a child could lose belief in his or her ability to face a challenge. That is why it is so important to put each s tudent on the same playing field. In this way no student will feel inferior, but you will still be able to make sure each student is also taught to his or her specific needs. Students know when they are treated differently. They can absolutely tell whether or not their teacher is playing favorites in the classroom.It is excruciatingly painful to observe a classroom where a teacher has made some students feel special and others have been made to feel incompetent. Those students who no longer feel they have a place within the classroom are the ones with their heads down, or talking constantly to their peers, or they may even stop showing up altogether. In an article by Kristen Elmore (2012), If ‘we’ can succeed, ‘I’ can too: Identity-based motivation and gender in the classroom, she talks about the rapid decline in success of males within the classroom as opposed to their female counterparts.She talks about â€Å"identity-based motivation† and explains that male students are being stigmatized by their teachers. The male students believe that they need to be strong, and are made to feel like they should not require as much motivation as their female classmates in order to complete the same tasks (p. 181). This is an extremely unfortunate finding. By this point our educators should know that gender plays virtually no role in the intrinsic motivation of our students.Of course there may be plenty of young men and women that don’t need to be pushed in order for them to succeed, but the majority of them do need that extra push. There is no place for gender bias within our school systems. For an educator, one of the most important aspects of maintaining a thriving classroom is keeping your students engaged. When a student loses interest it becomes extremely difficult for them to be successful. In her article, Engagement and disaffection in the classroom: Part of a larger motivational dynamic, Ellen Skinner (2008) talks about the difficulty many teachers have with motivating their students.One of the main problems is that teachers are still trying to lecture at students and expect them to retain vast amounts of facts, instead of having them search for the correct answers. She maintains that when you require your students to sift through material and put together the pertinent information themselves, they are much more likely to hold on to that information. She also claims that this higher level learning will give the student more confidence because they will believe that the teacher has faith in them to learn the material (p. 772).Likewise, Xiaoying Wu (2013), author of Enhancing motivation and engagement through collaborative discussion, explains how important collaboration is in the classroom. Students enjoy working in groups or as a class in order to come to certain conclusions (p. 624). Working with their peers will especially help those students who need an extra push to succeed. Students gain motivatio n by working with other students that can push them to do better. An intentional teacher knows that all students are motivated. He or she also knows that this motivation is not the same level for each student.The intentional teacher strives to keep high the drive of the already motivated student, and also strives to bring out the motivation of the student that needs coaxing in order to succeed. They do this by having lesson plans that help students make sense of the material, which allows the student to take pride in their own accomplishments. A teacher is directly responsible for the motivation of his or her students, and will in many ways shape the way those students approach tasks throughout the rest of their lives.

Friday, August 16, 2019

The African-American Odyssey Essay

The emancipation of the African slave who was now disconnected from their traditions and way of life after nearly 300 years, is seemingly a great gush from the dam to the ebbs and flows of the struggle. The end of slavery as we know it, presented a ball of mixed emotions among the nation; North and SOUTH. Some slaves were grossly ecstatic to be free. For example, when a slave girl named Caddy, from Goodman, Mississippi found she was free, went to her mistress, flipped up her dress and told her â€Å"Kiss my ass! † On the contrary, some slaves were apprehensive of being free. For example, one elderly slave woman reportedly said, â€Å"I ain’ no free nigger! I is got a marster and mistiss! Dee right dar in de great house. Ef you don’ believe me, you go dar an’ see. † Though most slaves were detached from their families, many managed to regroup and find their love ones after their emancipation and constructed close knit families. Land was an viable means of survival in the minds of newly freedmen and the government was eager to deem lands to the ex-slaves . On January 16, 1865, General William T. Sherman told the freedmen that they will receive the land they were in search of. They were granted the head of each family would receive â€Å"possessory title† to forty acres of land. Sherman also gave the use of Army mules, thus giving rise to the slogan, â€Å"Forty acres and a mule. † Similarly in 1862 the Union military set aside land in Port Royal, South Carolina, which became known as the Port Royal experiment. The freedmen bureau was created to aid newly freed slaves in the transition from bondage to freedom in 1865. After Lincoln’s assassination the succession of his Vice president, Andrew Johnson, to the presidency meant that the white owners of the lands, that were given to the freedmen, would be returned. Sharecropping became a sort of ebb in the river of the African-American progression as far as freedom was concerned. Presented as labor contracts by white land owners, the institution of slavery was extended under a cloud of debt. In which, the black family, oft times became debtors due to the lack of honesty on the account of their white lender. Aside from family, among African-Americans, the â€Å"black church† became the most important institution. â€Å"Not only did it fill deep spiritual and inspirational needs, it offered enriching music, provided charity and compassion to those in need, developed community and political leaders, and was free of white supervision. † With the end of slavery, blacks who then had to attend services with white parishioners who treated them as second class Christians, could now organize and attend their own churches. The advent of the black church definitely brought about a flow in the river of struggle for African-Americans. Education was another â€Å"flow† in the river of struggle and a critical means of survival amongst people of color. It coincided alongside freedom. All who were versed in education of all sorts were summoned to teach the freedmen and their children. Teachers from all walks showed. Classes were held in churches, old slave markets, stables, taverns, homes, and former slave cabins. Funding came from various religious and political organizations and the Freedmen’s Bureau. Although white teachers helped a bit, black teachers were praised throughout the negro community because, as Rev. Richard H. Cain said â€Å", We must take into our own hands the education of our race†¦ Honest, dignified whites may teach ever so well, but it has not the effect to exalt the black man’s opinion of his own race, because they have always been in the habit of seeing white men in honored positions, and respected. † Most colleges and universities for blacks taught elementary and secondary level curriculum. The introduction of the historically black colleges and universities was formed from the idea of a higher education for people of color. In the midst of the newfound freedom, religious organization, and education of Negroes which was an obvious â€Å"flow†, a reoccurring â€Å"ebb† presented itself in the form of violence. Justice for the black man was never considered in those times. Thousands of innocent African-Americans were heinously murdered without a single conviction of a white perpetrator whom committed the acts. Atop the murders, black towns, businesses, churches, and schools were destroyed at the hands of the angry white southerners. The Failure of Reconstruction For the first time ever in history, a group of black men had concurrently became politicians. They were joined by the carpetbaggers of the north and the scalawags of the south in the Republican constituency. â€Å"Of the 1,000 men elected as delegates to the ten state conventions, 265 were black. † Collectively, they drafted new, striking constitutions that, unlike the previous constitutions, allowed all men to vote; even the ex-Confederates. Although, the Republicans displayed compassion upon their dealings with their opponents, the unruly Southern ego rose once more against the ratification of the new constitutions. In due course, the majority did manage to ratify and in each state, black men were elected to offices. As time progressed, nearly 1,500 black men were in office around the throughout the south. Among those were the likes of Blanche K. Bruce, Hiram R. Revels, Joseph Rainey, Jonathan J. Wright, Francis L. Cardozo, Robert Smalls, and Ferdinand Havis. This was a â€Å"flow† that led to inevitable â€Å"ebb† in the river of fight for African-Americans. That ebb presented itself in the form of the gradual failure of reconstruction. Issues such as education, social welfare, civil rights, land, and businesses plagued the Republican frame of thought daily. The black leaders’ efforts to facilitate education throughout the black and poor white communities failed overall. Lack of funds is the greatest blame for the inconsistency. At the time, there were no segregation laws, but whites refused to let their children go to school with blacks. Though a valid effort amongst African-Americans was given toward civil rights, they did not receive the respect that every other law abiding citizen received. For example, they were not accommodated at hotels and on public transportation, nor were they served as paying customers at various businesses. The blacks who worked for the white landowners were being cheated daily as if they were still in captivity. White employers would either fire the worker before the harvest or make up outlandish fees and debts. Some just didn’t pay at all! Black leaders grew tired of the robbery and made laws to eliminate such happenings. The distribution of land amongst landless, yeomen, farmers didn’t happen in any other state but South Carolina. Over fourteen thousand black families and a few white families, received land. Black businesses, unfortunately, did not and could not flourish due to the lack of funds during the expanding of the railroad. Other businesses made handsome amounts of profit but the African-American business owners could not cash in. Black politicians laid the foundation for public assistance, education, criminal justice reform but, could not do anything that directly dealt with â€Å"their people. † Reason being, was that they were the minority in the Republican party and in fact, were not allowed to ratify their own agenda. Besides, they couldn’t agree on most things because they came from different walks of life. Bickering throughout the Republican party sparked a â€Å"high turnover in political leadership and the loss of that very economic security? This made for inexperienced leadership and added to Republican woes. † Opposition came to the party in various ways; Such as, the conservative Democrats who continued to heckle blacks who in any way participated in the political process and the Ku Klux Klan. The Klan, was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee in 1866, by ex-confederate soldiers who were â€Å"hell-bent† on eradicating and/ or terrorizing anyone who didn’t submit to â€Å"southern culture. † They used any means necessary to remove blacks from politics. The Enforcement Act of 1870 was passed to prohibit Klansmen from wearing their regalia in public and protected the civil rights of black citizens. The following year the Ku Klux Klan Act was passed and it made the interference of a persons’ right to vote, hold office, jury duty and equal protection a federal offense. The fifteenth amendment was passed in 1869, and later ratified in 1870. It clearly expressed â€Å"the right to vote† to all citizens but failed to address the literacy tests, property possession rule, or the poll tax that continued to plague voters. Radical Republicans and northern whites alike grew exhausted with the dependency of blacks, (as they saw it) and looked upon them as unfit to be involved in the political system. They thought that reconstruction had been a mistake. The Freedmen’s Bank was founded in 1865 and done well until the white board of directors foolishly invested in Washington, D. C. real estate. The Panic of 1873 brought about a significant loss in unsecured railroad loans. As a result, the bank closed in 1874. The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was an act of good intentions, yet it was ruled unconstitutional by U. S. Supreme Court Justice Joseph Bradley who, â€Å"wrote that the Fourteenth Amendment protected black people from discrimination by states but not by private businesses. † The end of Reconstruction was as brutal and contentious as the beginning. Blacks refused to vote in response to the terrorism inflicted upon them by the southern Democrats. The withdrawal of the federal troops that were to protect the rights of colored people left the black citizens with no means of defense and they therefore had to bow down to the numerous massacres that were to occur. The compromise of 1877, in which, Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Haynes, ran for the presidency, brought about more violence towards blacks and grew worse as time passed.

Gender, Authority and Dissent in English Mystical Writers Essay

The Book of Margery Kempe certainly provoked an intense amount of controversy, not least in the present but in her own time as well; a debate that centred on her position as a mystic. This position entailed having true knowledge of God, to work towards a union with him where they would essentially become one. Margery Kempe, at the very least views herself to be one of God’s vessels through which He can allow her to experience spiritual visions and feelings. It is in her book that Kempe conveys through words what she considered to be the most significant of these experiences, in order that those who read them would derive ‘great comfort and solace’. It is Kempe’s ‘individual and brilliant adaptation of what was originally a discipline for cloistered elites’1 that draws attention to her. Yet it is this individual voice, the style she uses, and her firm relationship with the market world that questions her experiences of higher contemplation. Certainly Kempe does not conform to the solitary life of a conventional mystic, much like Richard Rolle’s statement of ‘running off’ into the woods, and at one point she is even â€Å"sorrowful and grieving† because she has no company. Yet she uses many of her interactions with others to confirm her position as a mystic. She visits the revered mystic Julian of Norwich to seek advice as to whether her visions were genuine or not (Chapter 18), and receives confirmation from Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury. Essentially what it has been suggested that Kempe experiences is a higher level of contemplation – positive mysticism. This was the search for God through human imagery, which ‘insists on the physical as a legitimate means of access to the spiritual’.2 Certainly one of the standard patterns in mystical experience were the feelings of love between the mystic and God which is often described as fire, hence Rolle’s ‘Incendium Amoris’. Kempe notes that there was an ‘unquenchable fire of love which burnt full sore in her soul’, and that Christ had set her soul ‘all on fire with love’. Thus the intensity of her visions can not be brought into question as ‘she certainly shares with [the tradition] a mystical sense of God at work in human experiences’.3 These human experiences included her own body, as she suffers illness and indulgences in self-mutilation, wearing a haircloth, fasting and even biting her hand so violently that she has to be tied down. However, the visions that Kempe experiences, as mystics viewed them as gifts, are not a product of studious praying and meditating. In most ways what she conveys is an imitation of what many female European mystics experienced, like Bridget of Sweden and Dorothy of Montou or Catherine of Siena. She seeks justification for her mystical standing by linking herself closely to others and, though illiterate receives much of her inspiration from such mystical texts as ‘Incendium Amoris’, ‘Stimulus Amoris’, and Walter Hilton’s ‘Scale of Perfection’. However, as Glasscoe has pointed out, her spiritual experiences were not an easy thing for Kempe to meditate on. Whereas Hilton focused on inner spiritual growth, Kempe can only explain her transcende nce through what was familiar to her – the body.4 She even says that ‘sometimes, what she understood physically was to be understood spiritually’. Thus, whereas her visions may at many points seem extreme and even distasteful it does not necessarily mean that she was experiencing anything less than what is considered mystical. What also inspires Kempe, whilst also bringing into question her status as a mystic is the fact that she was a woman who was firmly placed in the world. David Aers describes her as an independent businesswoman, who before her initial vision was active in the market economy, investing money, organising public work and employing men.5 Mysticism was overwhelmingly contemplative, and there was not much spoke about the ‘active life’, with the exception of Walter Hilton’s positive description of the ‘mixed life’. However instead of accepting that she is â€Å"too busy with worldly occupations that must be attended to’6, like Hilton proposed, Kempe integrates the economic world into her mysticism. Shelia Delany proposed that in her work ‘one is constantly aware of the cash nexus’. 7 This is true in the sense that Kempe even strikes a deal with Jesus, in the sense that he becomes the mediator between Kempe’s social responsibilities as a wife and her desire to lead the spiritual life. Through Christ’s help she can lead the chaste life by buying off her husband, hence paying off all his debts (Chapter 11. p.60). Atkinson, commented that what Kempe creates is a ‘God, who controlled the economy of salvation, [and] functioned as a great banker of a merchant prince†.8 Also Kempe’s drive for ‘more’ is also indicative of her market drive values, in the same sense that she sees that by giving charity to her fellow Christians she will receive in heaven ‘double reward’. This unusual market driven line of thought is not the only factor that distinguishes her from her predecessors. Her style of writing is different and her visions are certainly unique. She actively takes part in many of the experiences, using speech, as Carol Coulson has suggested to inject herself into the holy narrative,9 even at one point acting as the handmaiden to God, and as a replacement to the biblical figure – Mary Magdalene. Her first vision is also very personal, and in some ways domesticated. Jesus is said to have appeared ‘in the likeness of a man†¦clad in a mantle of purple silk, sitting upon her bedside’. The Incarnation is taken to the extreme, where her visions sometimes sit outside the historical moments of the Bible and become part of her own world. Despite distancing herself by calling herself the ‘creature’ throughout the text many have accused her work of being self-absorbed – ‘I have told you before that you are a singular lover of God, and therefore you shall have a singular love in heaven, a singular reward and a singular honour’. Certainly her relations with God are very personal, and in many ways conveyed in sexual terms, as when Christ says to her ‘Daughter, you greatly desire to see me, and you may boldly, when you are in bed, take me to you as your wedded husband’. However, again this ‘great pomp and pride’, is said to emerge from her experience as a female within an urban class which fostered within her a strong sense of class identity and self-value.10 A self-value that she never really agrees to give up, thus because she refuses to traditionally quieten the self, Kempe does not sit comfortably as a mystic. Similarly she never really abandons her desire for worldly goods. She even admits in the first chapters that after her initial vision she refused to give up her worldly leisure’s, and still took delight in earthly things. This earthiness continues throughout the book. At one point she explains that she was embarrassed ‘because she was not dressed as she would have liked to have been for lack of money, and wishing to go about unrecognised until she could arrange a loan she held a handkerchief in front of her face’. This embarrassment does not hold well with the lower stage of mysticism in which the visionary is to dispel themselves of all earthly matters so that their soul is open to heaven. Her mysticism is driven to accumulate. She refuses to ‘be content with the goods that God has sent her’, whilst ‘ever [desiring] more and more’. From God she can attain spiritual status, whilst through her (father’s) social position she maintains earthly standing, thus she is caught between two (masculine) worlds. As David Aers has noted the market world never really receives rebuke in her mystical world, in fact it remains a natural part of it.11 Yet to see her as the victim of a capitalist society is, as Glasscoe maintains, to ignore her avowed purpose.12 Yet it is hard to ignore the element of hysteria in her work. She certainly experiences the traditional mystical dilemma that her visions will never be truly conveyed to those who stand outside it, that ‘herself could never tell the grace that she felt, it was so heavenly, so high above her reason and her bodily wits†¦that she might never express it within her world like she felt it in her soul’. However her Gift of Tears, in which she cries ‘abundantly and violently’, break quite brutally this silence of contemplation. It may be however that her loud screams and cries convey her devotion and justify her higher state. Certainly tradition showed that mystics ‘thought of themselves as vehicles for suffering and their broken voices and lacerated bodies reflected the stress under which they laboured’.13 Her crying brought attention to her being, even in her own time when crowds flocked to see her, becoming somewhat of a spectacle. These tears are almost a sign of her fertility in her contemplative life, and also justified in the Bible – Psalm cxxvi, 5-6 says that ‘they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Her tears therefore, although extreme and lead many throughout her work to rebuke her, are essentially a sign of grace demonstrating that the Incarnation for Kempe was an ever-present reality.14 Ursula Peters suggested that female mystics, through mysticism â€Å"turned inward and [discovered] ways to describe their own experiences†.15 In fact the role Kempe plays as a woman is very important to her whole mystical experience, and in some ways may even bring it into question. In her experiences with God she plays the wife, the mother, the sister and the daughter. When her husbands exclaims that she is ‘no good wife’ it again demonstrates that Kempe struggled between two worlds, that of the spiritual and that of her family commitments. St Bernard once proclaimed that natural human feeling doesn’t have to be suppressed but channelled into God, and in some ways this is exactly what Kempe achieves. By using the idea that she is a holy vessel she is able to assert herself as a woman in the highly competitive world quite drastically. She refuses to abandon her personality and quite forcefully, hence her adamant desire to be chaste, asserts who she is. The Church even attempted to denounce her as a Lollard, which shows that she was a threatening (female) voice and the only way to quieten her was to denounce her as a heretic. Rather than being a mystical treatise, The Book of Margery Kempe is a narrative account, almost a story, or even an autobiography as many have stated it to be, in which she attempts to adopt the contemplative ideal of piety.16 In fact it is more than mysticism, it is the experiences of a woman trying to find her voice in a masculine social world, and the only way that she can achieve this is through having spiritual authority. Certainly her devotion can not be questioned, and she can’t even predict herself when the intensity of Christ’s Passion will overwhelm her, be it ‘sometime in the church, sometime in the street, sometime in the chamber, sometime in the field’. Yet her extreme metaphors and use of language certainly bring into doubt her status as a mystic. As Susan Dickman has suggested prayers and visions certainly occupy the text, yet they are embedded in a larger structure17, namely how she was ‘painfully drawn and steered, [her pilgrimage acting as a metaphor for her mystical journey] to enter the way of perfection’. Certainly ‘painfully’ is an apt description, leading many to criticise her as a charlatan, a ‘terrible hysteric’ and even one who was possessed by the devil. Yet this account is from a very independent and highly spirited woman, who although struggled with her identity and sought the higher state to explore that larger structure of herself through God, was deeply devoted to her faith. In the end her piety was very ordinary, it is her style of conveyance however, the lack of the abstract vocabulary of Julian of Norwich, Rolle and the Cloud author18 that brings her status as a mystic int o controversy. Bibliography Aers, David., Community Gender and Individual Identity in English Writing, 1360-1430 (London, 1988) Bancroft, A., The Luminous Vision: Six Medieval Mystics and their Teachings (London, 1982). Evans, Ruth and Johnson, Lesley (eds.)., Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature: The Wife of Bath and All Her Sect (London, 1994) Klapisch-Zuber, C (ed.)., Silences of the Middle-Ages (London 1992),447 Glasscoe, Marion (ed.)., The Medieval Mystical Tradition (Exeter, 1980) http://www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.htm http://www.ccel.org/h/hilton/ladder/ladder-PART_I.html http://www.sterling.holycross.edu/departments/visarts/projects/kempe/index.html Knowles, D., The English Mystical Tradition London (London, 1961) Meale, Carol. M., (ed.)., Women and Literature in Britain 1150-1500 (Cambridge, 1993) 1 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),160 2 J.Long., ‘Mysticism and hysteria: the histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O’, in Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature, ed. R.Evans et al. (London, 1994),100 3 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993),268. 4 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 268. 5 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity – English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988), 112. 6 http://www.ccel.org/h/hilton/ladder/ladder-PART_I.html 7 J.Long., ‘Mysticism and hysteria: the histories of Margery Kempe and Anna O’, in Feminist Readings in Middle English Literature, ed. R.Evans et al. (London, 1994), 87-111 8 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity – English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988), 106 9 http://www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.html 10 D. Aers, Community, Gender and Individual Identity – English Writing 1360-1430 (London, 1988),115. 11 Ibid. 12 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 275. 13 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),446 14 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 276. 15 C. Klapisch-Zuber, Silences of the Middle Ages (London 1992),447 16 http://www.anamchara.com/mystics/kempe.htm 17 S. Dickman., ‘Margery Kempe and The English Devotional Tradition’, in The Medieval Mystical Tradition, ed. M. Glasscoe (Exeter, 1980), 156-172 18 M. Glasscoe, English Medieval Mystics: Games of Faith (London, 1993), 272.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Why Nations Fail – A Book Review

Why Nations Fall by James A. Robinson and Darn Guacamole a book review INTRODUCTION Why Nations Fall Is a non-fiction book by James A. Robinson and Darn Guacamole which Is based on the views and Insights from the economic history of each country to be able to answer why nations grow differently, why others succeed while others fall. The stones are linked with a common narrative theme, the adolescently between Inclusive and extractive institutions. The book claims that nations with Inclusive institutions are more successful than those with extractive institutions in the longOther people who have not bumped into this kind of books will most likely foreshadow this work as not so entertaining since most of it, well actually every chapter of this book deals with nothing but politics and economics, but as you go through every chapter of the book, you will find it to be a total opposite to what you expected. It is interesting in a way that you get the chance to know the economic status of e ach country and its reason why it grows differently: others succeed and others fail. As a group, we say yes. We did enjoy the book though we started reading it very late already.Through this, we were able to understand more why economies grow in different ways and what factors causes it to prosper or fail. BOOK REVIEW The thesis made by James A. Robinson and Darn Guacamole is about the nation's failure to prosperity. The book answers the big question that has been pondered by many economists for a long time now – Why some societies prosper and others don't? For Darn Guacamole and James A. Robinson, it is the institutions that determine the fate of nations. Both authors claim that a country succeeds when political and economic institutions are â€Å"inclusive†.Inclusive institutions are institutions in which many people are involved in the governing process hence exploitation is either depreciated or absent. According to them, nations fail when institutions are â€Å"e xtractive†. Extractive institutions are those protecting the political and economic power of only small elites that take income from other people. Both authors are qualified to write about the subject because they are both widely respected scholars. Darn Guacamole is a professor of Economics and has been awarded for his great contribution to economic knowledge while James A.Robinson is political scientist and an economist who is conducting a research in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, etc. The authors spent fifteen years researching the reasons why nations and empires rise or fall. They put forth a thesis that explains Africa and Latin America failed to build sustaining governments and economic systems that distribute wealth and power throughout their populace; and why Russia and North Korea have failed to deliver an economy and government that provides opportunity for their populations to thrive.Even before reading the book, it is already obvious of what the b ook is all about. From he title itself, Why Nations Fail, readers would expect that the content is about nation's economic system. The authors draw the complex political and economic systems and their connection to the failure of nations. The book is composed of many examples from human history to support the claim and to show how inclusive institutions enhance the nation's economy better than extractive institutions. It is well written, a powerful narration that explains history's failed civilizations.It will also give the reader insights about today's global economy. But as you go deeper, some of the writings are difficult to understand. Some key points are not easy to comprehend since there are some terms in Economics that ordinary people are not familiar with, like inclusive and extractive society. Those terms were written and were given historical examples, but, the definition was not clearly explained in the book. The authors were able to come up with conclusions and hypothesi s. But, an evidence of the theories they presented are not stated.The authors were not able to present statistics-based evidence to support their theories and claims. The books limitations are that the authors did not include the roles of other factors such as geographic actors, scientific factors etc. Instead, they focused solely on institutions as an explanation. What I dislike about the author's writing style is that in every chapter, thoughts and conclusions are repeated, thus, making the whole write up, unrecognized and redundant. They failed to present proper examples to some terms which are unfamiliar to the readers.Despite of the books downsides, the authors were still able to direct our concentration and attention to poverty, economic system, politics, etc. Overall, the book is brilliant and engaging. The authors wrote the hypothesis clearly and succeeded in making a great sense of history and imparting their views on the factors that affect the rise and fall of nations. CH APTER 1 : so Close and yet so Different James A. Robinson and Darn Guacamole began the first chapter of the book with the comparison of Nonages, Arizona and Nonages, Senora.These two basically come from the same geographical location, the same city but there is quite a big difference between the economies of the two. The authors in this book try to question why Arizona and Senora could be in the same location yet they are so different from each other? one city is prosperous while the other one is not. The authors made an argument in this chapter that Arizona is prosperous because of their policies? Arizona has greatly improved their means of livelihood and they have developed schools, infrastructure, transportation and education.In other words, what caused Arizona and Senoras economy to be different with each other are the policies imposed in their area? Arizona, in the border of the United States, has the rule of law while Senora has an absence of even the basic services in Mexico. The United States utilizes inclusive policies while Mexico has been using extracting policies. CHAPTER 2: Tones that Don't work In this chapter, Robinson and Guacamole tries to discuss the common theories as to why nations fail that still exists today.Here, they dismiss the said theories and claim that the real reason behind the fail of nations is the type of institutions present in the society? whether instructive or extractive. Other people claim that the reason why nation fail is because of its geographical location. Other countries have more resources than others. But, based on the authors, this does not explain the Nonages- Senora economic conflict since these two countries come from the same area. The second theory which was pointed out to be the cause why economy of different countries grows differently is because of the citizens who work hard for their country.But still, it was argued by the authors that this does not explain the situation between Nonages since its resident s have basically the same historical background and culture. The last theory is the one that seems is the most widely accepted today. This theory clearly states that our leaders are too ignorant to choose what policies to impose and implement. Quoted on George Rowel's line on him being skeptical at Joseph Stalin, â€Å"The power in the wrong hands can lead to a cause gone wrong. † CHAPTER 3: The Making of Prosperity and Poverty success or failure of nations.They used the Korean Peninsula as an example. It was said that after the World War II, the Korean Peninsula has been divided into two: the northern and the southern Korea. South Korea, which was backed by United States, eventually adopted inclusive policies that include property rights of the people while the North Korea, backed by Russia, implemented the extractive policies wherein citizens have no rights while only the elites own the lands. The Korean Peninsula is an example where two identical countries can quickly beco me so different because one allowed the empowerment of its people.CHAPTER 4: Small Differences and Critical Junctures This chapter talks about the consequences that a nation may face Just with the small critical Junctures and differences. It either can lead a nation to prosper or to fail. The example of the authors for the small differences that affected the institutional development is the Eastern and Western Europe. In the West, workers were free of feudal dues, fines, etc. In the East, they were also connected in such an economy, but he demand for the agricultural goods came from the West. It was not an inclusive market.The authors have cited many historical vignettes that support their claim on the critical Junctures that can affect the type of institution of an economy? inclusive and extractive institutions. The best example for us is England's adoption of inclusive institutions during the time of the bubonic plague. This critical Juncture led to the industrial revolution causi ng some nations to prosper and some to fail. CHAPTER 5: I've Seen the Future and It Works In this chapter, the authors imply that extractive institutions merely rely on growth cause they need something to extract.They both claim that this growth of the extractive institutions is unjustifiable or unsustainable. One of the examples cited by the authors to illustrate this unsuitability is the Soviet Union. For decades, the Soviet Union has been experiencing great economic growth till the time came when it halted. This led to the country fall in 1991. According to the authors, the extractive institutions had many flaws? only few selected gain benefits while the greater percent of the population suffers from poverty. In this chapter, the book describes how Venice was very inclusive with its economic and political policies.Venice at one point before was a very prosperous nation. The inclusive policies helped make Venice the most prosperous nation at his time. But, Venire's innovations not only gave positive effects but also negative. These innovations weakened the political and economic institutions that were established. To secure their political and economic interest, Venice made extractive policies. These policies turned Venice backward while other nations moved forward. CHAPTER 7: The -running point It was the year 1688 that served as a difficult time in history for the people.The political institutions gradually abandoned power to its people which eventually led to the Industrial Revolution, an important event in history wherein there were new changes in the quality of life. There were major improvements in transportation, metallurgy and steam power, mechanization of textile production and the development of factories to produce these manufactured textiles. There was a reorganization of economic institutions that sided with the innovators and entrepreneurs. CHAPTER 8: Not on our Turf The Industrial Revolution that took place was not warmly welcomed by many nati ons.Many nations were rejecting it while England was unsure of its acceptance of the Industrial Revolution. Two nations, Russia and China was dependent on the belief that it is technology that would weaken the elites. China and Russia were doing the total opposite as they were contracting inwards while the other nations were expanding their territory already. The authors claimed that if only China and Russia could've embraced inclusive institutions and accepted technology, America would have been a different place. CHAPTER 9: Reversing Development Colonialism has caused much effect to different nations.The authors made the spice wars of the Mollusks as an example to this. The authors stated that â€Å"though these nations seem remote to us today, the Mollusks was still then a central to the world trade. † But Mollusks seem remote today since its inhabitants stop producing spices as a response to the colonials. In this chapter, the authors perceived a British penal colony, a f amily without rights and a civil case that leads us to the country that we know today as Australia. This is the time that British convicts were sentenced to death.These convicts were not given the same rights given to other citizens of Britain. This was unheard of at the time and slowly sent Australia and Britain down to different paths of history. CHAPTER 11 & 12: The Virtuous Circle/ These vacuous Circle In this chapter, the book talks about the violent cycles in history. The authors talk in great deal on how vehement the circles are based upon the rule of law. These circles form in a society where no group can control the other and has a lot to lose if they weaken the rule of law. These circles in turn lead to extractive institutions.The authors have shown a lot of examples of violent cycles. One example is demonstrated in the weakening of the audacity systems in Argentina, Venezuela and Cambodia. These countries fall into endless loops of bad decisions by its people more times t han not they are changed. CHAPTER 13: Why Nations Fail Nations fail today because of conspiracy and bad policy. The authors explain in their interview that the United States has to be diligent to stop conspiracy between big businesses and politics. Large companies have money and power that can weaken political processes.Examples to this are the hindrances to competition. Some countries that have inclusive institutions use political power to change overspent to more extractive institutions. The authors perceived how Argentina and Venezuela weaken their courts and political institutions by giving the president's the freedom to do what they please. CHAPTER 14: Breaking the Mold The authors perceived the challenges that an exclusive nation may/is facing today. The authors say that there are two realistic paths that a nation can take toward more inclusive institutions.One path is an approach where the government gradually changes policy to be more inclusive because of societal pressures. The other is the path of resistance that usually leads to revolt or civil war. The authors believe that it's hard to eliminate poverty while increasing prosperity. They say that the countries that are poor have a high tendency to be extractive institutions and until those institutions change nothing can really be done to fix the problem. People believe that nation building could be a solution but as the authors point out it doesn't fix the underlying issues.CONCLUSION: Why Nations Fail is a very interesting book. From the title itself, it tackles about how a country develops and grows, or the other way around. It doesn't Just focus on the current problems and issues of the society but also goes back to the past and the robbers which are left unsolved for how many decades or even centuries. Economists and politicians would totally be interested to read this book because this is mostly made up of politics and economic-related topics or global economics and politics.In their thesis, t hey have mentioned about different kinds of institutions that failed the country economic system, inclusive and extractive societies. â€Å"Why Nations Fail† is a very important topic since we can see that there are several countries in the world who are experiencing poverty or breakdown of economic system, with role of government or the people themselves as the reasons. The book can be boring to some readers but it was interesting enough to make us finish the book.It can be boring to some because the book is political and economical. It tackles issues of the society that caused the rise or fall of nations. Some readers are not fond of reading this kind of book. But, for those people interested in the economy of nations, then this is a really good read. The authors' thesis was great because it has good citations and examples; however, same thoughts are repeated in each chapter and the book don't have a concrete back up The scholarly work, Why Nations Fail, is a slow-read book .The work contains deep details that must be understood in every chapter for you to be able to connect the whole flow of the thesis. The bright side of the book is the illustrations shown and the tables provided. Data are properly organized or listed in the table and, maps and other figures are well-drawn. Also, there are historical examples given that would add the understandings of the readers. The book is very useful and a substantive book which gives well-explained points on why nations succeed or fail. This book is recommended to anyone who wants to understand how the world works.However, his book is not recommended for those readers who are used to fast-paced narration and cannot tolerate a slow read, this must not be recommended because of the organization of the thesis' points, some of the topics and examples are repeated making it a slow read book. But for those who are in to politics and economics, this book is highly recommended because it contains many interesting histor ical examples and provocative ideas. The main strength of this book is the summary: it is packed, from beginning to end, with historical scenes that are both knowledgeable and fascinating. The book never fails us to think.