| Papers [225-240] of 8556 :: [Page 15 of 535] | | Go to page : <— 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 —> | |
|
|
Water Safety in Mega Cities, 2008. This paper looks at the issue of unsafe water supplies in the mega cities of the developing world. 984 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 6 sources, MLA, AU$ 43.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract In this article the writer notes that in the early 21st century, the mega cities of the developing world are facing an unprecedented series of environmental pressures. These are all ultimately due to the rapidly accelerating growth and development of such urban areas, whose immense populations and industries are negatively impacting local and regional environments on a significant scale. The writer argues that, while the poor of these cities face many challenges as a result of development - from poor nutrition to poor sanitation, air pollution and housing crises, the unsafe water supplies of these cities is the most urgent problem that they face.
From the Paper "Scholars studying the issue of safe water supplies in the mega cities of the developing world agree that the nature of this development problem is shaped by its context. In this regard, there are two primary factors that we must consider. First, the development of the mega cities of the developing world is radically different than the development of mega cities in the developed world as in the latter case development was gradual, while in the former it is accelerated. Thus, while cities such as New York had a century to develop water systems to cope with growth, the cities of the developing world have had only a generation. Consider, for example, the fact that the population of Mexico City in 1950 was 3.1 million, and a generation later, in 1980, was 13.4 million. The second primary factor is that while in the developed world mega cities their economies grew in close parallel to the growth of the cities' populations, in the developing world this connection is far more uncertain."
| |
|
The Collapse of the Soviet Union, 2008. An analysis of the factors contributing to the collapse of the Soviet Union and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev's efforts to stem the collapse. 2,141 words (approx. 8.6 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 84.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract This paper analyzes the main causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union, focusing on the role of the United States in its collapse. The paper looks at the final phase of collapse in the 1980s when Leonid Brezhnev died and the other factors that impacted the collapse at that time. The paper also discusses the efforts of Gorbachev to try to stem the collapse of the Soviet Union and how his efforts failed.
From the Paper "Gorbachev realized that perestroika was bold and risky and that only time would determine its ultimate success or failure. Like Lenin, Gorbachev believed that, "sometimes you have to retreat, and then advance." But he ran out of time, in part because the new openness in the Soviet press under glasnost revealed to the Soviet people for the first time that conditions across the entire Soviet Union were shockingly bad.
"Ever since the days of Lenin, the average Soviet citizen knew that economic conditions were bad in their own village, city, or region, but the communist-controlled media prevented them from knowing that conditions were just as bad everywhere else if not even worse. Glasnost confirmed this harsh reality beyond any doubt, and created a political environment across the Soviet Union in which people were not going to tolerate communism much longer."
| |
|
The Politics of Psychoanalysis, 2008. An analysis of the authoritarian perspective of psychoanalysis and its role in the political economy of our time. 2,801 words (approx. 11.2 pages), 8 sources, MLA, AU$ 104.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract This paper critiques psychoanalysis with particular emphasis on its role in the political economy of our time. It argues that psychoanalysis fosters an authoritarian perspective between the analyst and the subject/patient who is defined as a non-agent. This paper suggests that this denial of agency within psychoanalysis has direct analogies to the denial of agency in our socio-political structures.
From the Paper "This view has clear and present analogies for technology and the practice of cyborgology in our modern world. Consider, for example, who controls the Internet. Is it the state, or the people? No, it is the large corporations who not only own, but administer and define the Internet. The Japanese have been allowed into the Euro-American club of technology, while the Chinese have been granted permission to build the technology and the Indians to program and serve as offshore support systems for the technology. Nonetheless, the club remains almost exclusively Euro-American, as does the Internet itself."
| |
|
ESI and Climate Change, 2008. This paper discusses the World Economic Forum's environmental sustainability index (ESI) model as a response to climate change. 2,105 words (approx. 8.4 pages), 15 sources, MLA, AU$ 83.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract In this article the writer explains that the environmental sustainability index or ESI is a valuable tool that allows markets and countries to determine where they need to commit additional resources in order to affect positive change and where they are being successful at reducing climate changing activities. The writer notes that Canada has enacted extensive environmental legislation before and, because of its inclusion in the ESI rankings as a regular high-scoring participant, holds this legislation up as a model for other countries to follow. The writer concludes that perhaps one of the greatest uses of the ESI is as a measure or predictor for democratic effectiveness or reform in developing countries because where one sits on the ESI and the given ranking can be used to make certain assumptions about economic status, economic growth, and political reform or need thereof as they relate to direct and indirect impacts on climate change.
Outline:
The World Economic Forum
The ESI
Factors Within the ESI
A Working Model
Conclusion
From the Paper "Strict adherence to this readily verifiable and repeatable methodology ensures that the figures can be taken at face value without the burden of compiling an independent data set. The rationale for inclusion in the ESI study as discussed above is based on three selected criteria: country size, variable coverage, and indicator coverage. Additionally, when greater cross-referencing is needed to substantiate data or outcomes, predetermined denominators are utilized to facilitate comparisons."
"The leading indicators that are measured in the ESI are separated into five components which together contain twenty-one measured indicators that each relate in some fashion to Parker and Blodgett's lens paradigm."
| |
|
The Sociology of Aging, 2008. This paper discusses how an aging America creates economic, labor market, health and demographic trends that have serious long-term implications. 2,083 words (approx. 8.3 pages), 8 sources, APA, AU$ 81.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract This paper reviews the steady aging of the American population (certainly among the native-born) and looks at what this means for the social and economic future of the United States. In particular, the paper looks at the various economic, labor market, health and demographic trends gripping America and at how they are all coming together at a significant point in U.S. history. More than that, the paper argues that the United States faces possible economic contraction, run-away social costs, social fragmentation, and a general decline in vigor and/or productivity unless it finds a way to implement policy changes that will nudge the nation towards a brighter future.
Outline:
Abstract
References
From the Paper "Other economic trends can be easily associated with an aging population. For one thing, it is axiomatic that older investors tend to be much more interested in investments that offer long-term security and reliable returns. Conversely, younger investors who have many more years in the workforce ahead of them - and who have the time necessary to "rebound" from a bad investment - may be more willing to put their money into high-risk, high-reward ventures. Suffice it to say, part of the vitality of the American economy resides in the willingness of people to "take a chance" and finance a fledgling company that has an uncertain future. As the population grows older, however, the interest in participating in venture capitalism and/or engaging in entrepreneurial activities diminishes in relative terms; as a result, a major component of America's economic success is greatly constrained."
| |
|
Riba and Marx's Exploitation, 2008. The paper examines the Islamic concept of riba and Marx's famous premise about the working class' exploitation by capitalist elites. 2,349 words (approx. 9.4 pages), 6 sources, MLA, AU$ 90.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract The paper explores the similarity between the idea of riba in Islamic law and Marx's belief that the working class is exploited by capitalist elites. The paper examines how Islamic banks inspired by Islamic law and theology differ substantively and procedurally from western banks. The paper looks at the merits of Islamic law and Marxism vis-a-vis their shared concern for less-fortunate individuals. The paper concludes that both schools of thought are exceptional at articulating the needs of poor and struggling persons, but that the Islamic school of thought appears to be the more prudent and practical.
From the Paper "To begin with, experts who study the Koran are generally agreed that the abolition of riba (interest) is an essential injunction of Islam. Specifically, Islamic orthodoxy holds that riba is the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy; it is, in short, an undue charge and an instance of income re-distribution, with those who need the money least siphoning it away from those who need it most. Proceeding onward, the Islamic revulsion towards interest or riba appears to lead to another innovation of Islamic economic practice: the adoption of profit-sharing in lieu of interest-bearing transactions."
| |
|
Machiavelli, Hobbes and the Good Society, 2008. This paper analyzes the ideal society in Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" and Thomas Hobbes' "The Leviathan". 1,010 words (approx. 4.0 pages), 3 sources, MLA, AU$ 44.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract The paper discusses Hobbes' ideas of leadership as the means to a good society by manipulating or instilling fear and Machiavelli's emphasis on how a ruler should appeal to human nature in creating order. The paper explains how both theorists believed that the natural state of affairs without leadership was bound to be chaos. The paper discusses how Hobbes saw political violence as a clear sign of a social order falling back into the natural state of chaos, just as Machiavelli perceived this violence as a sign of a ruler having failed to do what was required to preserve and protect a social order.
Outline:
Introduction
Machiavelli on the Ruler
The Good Society
Conclusion
From the Paper "Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) knew turbulent times. Machiavelli experienced the 1498 French invasion of Florence and the flight of the Medici family, and Hobbes's views owed to the very violent English Civil War, his The Leviathan's ideas said to have been achieved by the War's time in the human personality as motivated by fear. This influenced his ideas of leadership as the means to a good society by manipulating or instilling fear. Machiavelli shared an emphasis on how a ruler should appeal to human nature in creating order. The natural state of affairs without leadership was bound to be chaos."
| |
|
Reduction of Gun Violence in Toronto, 2008. This paper discusses social action versus stricter gun laws towards the reduction of gun violence in Toronto. 2,345 words (approx. 9.4 pages), 10 sources, MLA, AU$ 90.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that gun violence in Toronto seems to have grown as a matter of public concern in recent years in response to a number of highly publicized incidents of gun violence. One of the most commonly proposed solutions to this problem is stricter gun laws. However, the writer points out that many have argued that stricter gun laws in isolation could not remedy this problem. This essay examines this issue with reference to the source of the weapons, systemic racism and class and social factors that contribute to Toronto's gun problem. The thesis is argued that stricter gun control laws/policies will not reduce gun violence in Toronto unless the above three factors are also addressed. Beginning with a description of the nature of the problem itself, this paper shows how there needs to be a multi-pronged effort at federal, provincial and municipal levels to address the underlying root causes that fuel gun violence in Toronto.
Outline:
Introduction
Gun Violence in Toronto - The Myth and the Reality
The Sources of Guns in Toronto
Gun Violence and Systemic Racism in Toronto
Social and Class Support
Conclusion
From the Paper "In dealing with the question of gun violence in Toronto it is first necessary to define the parameters of the problem. To do this we must attempt to distinguish between the myths and the reality of gun violence in Toronto.
"The current concern with gun violence in Toronto stems from 2005 when 58 people were slain by firearms in Toronto, out of a total of 84 murders in the city that year. The concern with the violent use of firearms stems not only from the perception - as these numbers would suggest - that guns are increasingly used in acts of violence in Toronto, but that the profile of gun violence has also changed. The media designated the summer of 2005 as Toronto's "Summer of the Gun" and the year concluded with a Boxing Day gun fight between rival gangs near the crowded Yonge and Dundas intersection that killed 19 year old female bystander, and injured six others."
| |
|
Responses to Global Warming, 2008. This paper discusses the role of science, knowledge and risk in environmental problems such as global warming. 2,677 words (approx. 10.7 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 100.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that the planet is currently facing the challenge and danger of global warming. The writer maintains that science and technology have brought us to this crisis, in that industrialization has led to global warming. It seems highly likely that we will have to rely on these very same things, i.e. science and technology, to rescue us from the peril we are in due to global warming. Within the ambit of scientific responses to global warming, two basic kinds of response exist: mitigation of global warming, or adaptation to the effects of global warming. This paper examines the research to determine which approach seems more appropriate and useful for saving ourselves from global warming. It recommends that we look to adaptation using science and technology, as mitigation has clearly failed.
Outline:
Abstract
Essay
From the Paper "Examples include sequestering carbon in trees. This would involve planting a vast number of trees, because trees take in carbon dioxide. They incorporate in into their leaves, roots and stems via photosynthesis. Due to the long life of trees, this would mean that the carbon had been sequestered away from the environment for about 100 years. Another approach is carbon management, in which carbon dioxide emitted during the burning of carbon fuels is caught and then sequestered away from the atmosphere. The question of course is where to store it. One suggestion is to sequester it in the ocean. The problem with this solution is that we do not know what the long-term effects on the ocean would be. In addition, the technologies to capture carbon dioxide emissions are still in the very early stages. Fertilizing the ocean with iron is an innovative idea propounded by an oceanographer in 1987."
| |
|
The Proper Balance of Power in Democracies, 2008. This paper discusses the balance of power as it relates to the judiciary in Canada. 2,414 words (approx. 9.7 pages), 8 sources, MLA, AU$ 91.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract Some political observers argue that the balance of power between the legislature and the judiciary resides with the judiciary in Canada - a troubling assertion for those who feel unelected officials should not hold that kind of sway over the political process. In the view of this writer, such an argument is undoubtedly correct. With that uppermost in mind, this article looks at why it may be said that Canadian judges wield sweeping powers. From there, the paper turns to examine the arguments raised by at least one prominent Canadian academic who feels strongly that judges should use the considerable powers of their position to promote the creation of a Canada more in keeping with the notions of equality and inclusiveness that Canada allegedly stands for. The writer concludes by looking at how justices now see themselves in Canada, how the Charter entrenchment of certain rights has expanded their legislative role and what implications their prominent place in the democratic process offers for interest groups and citizens' groups. The writer maintains that the proper balance of power in a democracy should be one in which judges interpret the law rather than make it via prescriptive measures, but laments whether this will ever happen in Canada.
From the Paper "Other academics, while appearing to share Dr. Greene's view that justices should play a key role in the shaping and formulation of Canadian law, nonetheless bristle at any suggestion that Canada's judiciary has been assertive in resisting the non-democratic or authoritarian impulses of Parliament - at least in some notable cases that have sweeping implications for all Canadians. For instance, L.E. Weinrib writes in 1994 that Canada's Supreme Court justices caved in to the legislature (and possibly to public pressure, as well) when they decided to reject Sue Rodriguez's request that she be allowed to die via assisted suicide. Of especial importance - at least to Ms. Weinrib - the majority of the Supreme Court read Section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as enshrining the sanctity of human life and not as an expression of an individual's right to be an autonomous decision-maker in a free society."
| |
|
Homeless in Toronto, 2008. This paper discusses the problem of homelessness in Toronto focusing on the years 1987-2005. 1,507 words (approx. 6.0 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 61.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that homelessness in Toronto is an ever-growing problem facing the city. The materialization of this problem has not been caused by one single action or event. Rather, it has been growing due to several factors facing homeless individuals, as well as the society and the government. This paper discusses the extent of the problem of homelessness in Toronto, the problems that the homeless people are facing today as well as the factors that have led to a rise in homelessness, including the cutbacks in social programmers and policy by the government. Finally, the writer discusses what needs to be done in order to deal with this problem.
From the Paper "Homeless people also face many barriers to accessing the healthcare system, sometimes simply because they do not have a permanent address or because their health card has been stolen. Furthermore, there are prevailing false beliefs and stereotypes about the homeless, particularly since historically homelessness has been linked to vagrancy. Many still believe that homelessness in the result of an inadequacy or failure of an individual rather than the responsibility of the society. Many studies have pointed to the fact that the increase in the number of homeless citizens significantly burdens many other services: health, legal, employment etc."
| |
|
Presidential Leadership Qualities, 2008. A personal view of the leadership qualities necessary for a future President of the United States. 702 words (approx. 2.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 31.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract The writer describes the leadership qualities he would ideally like to see in a candidate for the Presidency of the United States that include integrity, responsibility and a commitment to set a visionary and inspiring example the American people can admire and emulate. The writer argues that America is in desperate need of a charismatic transformational leader who will tell them the truth, inspire them and set an example of responsible governing in order to restore trust in the White House. The writer claims that this trust has been shattered by the current president and needs to be restored.
From the Paper "The last seven years have been an endless spectacle of deceit and corruption. Because of relentless presidential abuses of power since 2001, a public consensus has formed in the United States and the world beyond that leading Bush Administration officials, including the president himself, are scheming liars, brazen hypocrites, and have nothing but contempt for the principles of democracy and the rule of law. They have acknowledged no limit to their power, reject every fact that does not coincide with their delusional worldview, and spend most of their time trying to cover up the abuses of power and obstructions of justice they have perpetrated for seven years."
| |
|
The Global Debt Crisis, 2008. This paper discusses the the origins of the global debt crisis and its role in Nigeria. 2,490 words (approx. 10.0 pages), 7 sources, MLA, AU$ 94.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract This paper argues that the global debt crisis represents a means by which the developed world reasserts its former colonial control over the newly-independent nations of the developing world. The author points out that, by loaning these countries money, often to serve the interests of corrupt local elites, debt accumulates to the point that these countries are barely able to meet their interest charges on the debt. The paper relates that Nigeria represents an example of what political scientists term a "rentier state". The author contends that, in Nigeria, an oil-rich country in Africa, its debt represents a means by which the natural resources and wealth of the developing world can be brought under the effective control of the developed world. The paper concludes that debt can be seen as an instrument of neo-colonial domination and control that continues into the 21st century.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
The Collapse of Colonialism and the Creation of the "Third World"
Developing World Debt Becomes Critical
The Debt Crisis in Nigeria: Internal and External Factors
Conclusion
From the Paper "However, in all of these nations there existed the understandable desire to develop as quickly as possible. One of the easiest means to achieve this end was to borrow from lenders in the developed world to fund development schemes. The nations of what was termed the "Third World" borrowed heavily in the post-independence era, and when the nations of the developed world slowed down their economies in the 1980s to combat inflation this severely damaged the economies of Third World nations that depended upon commodity exports for foreign exchange. Without this revenue, they were often unable to meet their debt payments."
| |
|
Healthcare Insurance, 2008. An analysis of the problem of the large uninsured population in the United States healthcare system. 1,107 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 2 sources, MLA, AU$ 48.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract This paper discusses the unresolved issue of healthcare insurance in the United States. It analyzes whether and how to insure those who have no insurance now and the effects of the large uninsured population on the rest of the population. It describes past debates on the issue and the recommendations that were made then. The paper concludes that anything short of full coverage leaves a portion of the population outside the system and yet burdens the system in the long run.
From the Paper "Insuring everyone may not solve these problems if the insurance plan itself includes requirements for more paperwork, showing that full insurance in and of itself is not the sole answer to the health care problem. However, it is a vital start and gives the public what it sorely needs, that being a better health care system and better health as well. So long as there is a huge uninsured population, health care costs cannot be contained because the insured population is absorbing the costs of the uninsured, whether they know it or not. It is true that a full insurance program for everyone would spread the costs as well, but it could do so in a more efficient and controlled manner and would thus provide better information to those seeking to reduce health car costs across the board."
| |
|
Development in Maritime Canada, 2008. This paper looks at the relative backwardness of development in maritime Canada. 3,360 words (approx. 13.4 pages), 1 source, MLA, AU$ 119.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that the question of the backwardness of economic development in Canada's maritime region has been the subject of considerable debate among scholars and researchers. This debate has produced many possible causes for this problem, among which academics from a range of disciplines argue heatedly for this or that primary cause. This essay argues the thesis that there is no single causal explanation for the relative backwardness of maritime economic development. Instead, the writer maintains that as is seen with particular reference to the manufacturing sector, the reasons for the comparative underdevelopment of the Canadian maritime lies in the convergence of a number of factors: dependency and staple economy; the lack of local financing and control; and geography and railway freight rates.
Outline:
Introduction
The Issues in the Debate
Dependency Theory and the Staple Economy
Maritime Industries and the National Policy
The Railway and the Decline of Maritime Manufacturers
Conclusion
From the Paper "The advantage of this perspective is that it situates the problem of maritime underdevelopment within a larger historical continuum that addresses the region's economic performance and relationships not only after Confederation but before it as well. In addition, it should be noted that this approach incorporated elements of the dependency theory model with aspects of the staple theory.
"However, it should be noted that dependency theory possesses clear problems, primary among which is the fact of how empirical data seems to contradict the view inherent in dependency theory that the economic development of one area can only be achieved through the economic exploitation of another. The maritime underdevelopment problem is more complex, however, in that the data appears to contradict the simplistic application of this template.."
| |
|
E-Government and Strategic Human Resources, 2008. This paper describes e-government or e-governance and its relationship to the management of strategic human resources in the twenty-first century. 1,430 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 4 sources, APA, AU$ 59.95 »
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract This paper states that it is essential that human resources fund and train personnel and staff to exploit the latest Internet technology to the fullest extent possible because e-governance is becoming one of the major public-sector phenomena of the twenty-first century. The author points out that today's centralized governments are in retreat, as members of the public are savvier and temporal demands are more acute. The paper relates that the utilization of e-governance must be a priority of governments and of strategic human resources that seek to protect the state from appearing inflexible, unresponsive or even anachronistic. The author emphasizes that the ability of the state to "spin" its own message to suit its own needs is greatly enhanced by e-government. The paper asserts that e-governance affords people the opportunity to engage in online transactions that are much faster than traditional "bricks-and-mortar" transactions. In addition to the sources used by the paper, the paper also includes an annotated bibliography of five more sources.
From the Paper "In a matter related to much of what has been stated above, e-governance allows governments to distribute their message to the masses in a fashion that far exceeds - for speed and convenience, certainly - the manner in which it can be transmitted via other media. Specifically, interactive government web sites can be accessed by members of the public at any time and almost anywhere - as long as an internet hook-up is in place. Because of this, citizens wishing to voice their displeasure (or support) of a government measure do not have endure the tedium of calling into a government ministry or the uncertainty that always seems to accompany penning a letter to government officials and then wondering if it ever arrived. As well, for individuals who are removed from their television sets or who do not have ready access to the local newspaper, an interactive internet site can be a fast way of learning more about something that may very well impact their lives or the lives of others they care about. Finally, because a government web site is not medi
|
|
|