Abstract It is the contention of this paper that the standardized SATs, intended as a tool to help predict a student's collegiate potential, fail to meet this objective. Instead, the exams often misrepresent or portray a potential student in a negative light because of the cultural bias of the test. The paper asserts that this is especially true for the African-American and Latino American population. Experts in the fields of education and social sciences are quoted, and data is presented that supports the author's contention. Other problems that are considered intrinsic to the SAT are also covered in this paper.
From the Paper "Today's educational system supports tests such as the SAT?s, which are often biased against minority students. The SAT's were developed by the Educational Testing Service as a means to predict successful collegiate performance. However, the tests in actuality seldom accurately predict the potential for a student's success. The SAT's have statistically in fact, been shown to have little value in predicting a student's future performance. They also negatively impact admissions representative's perceptions of a student's potential for academic success. The SAT's have also been shown to negatively impact minority groups, specifically African Americans, Hispanics and even low-income white students. The tests more accurately are a predictor of socioeconomic influences than a student's potential, and unwittingly favor middle and upper class students, who often have the opportunity to prepare and memorize for such tests, placing them at a disadvantage over their peers."
Abstract This is the life story of Che Guevara, a legendary guerrilla fighter and revolutionary leader who represented third world countries. He served under Fidel Castro's government in Mexico, and planned to form a major guerilla army to revolutionize Bolivia. This essay marks his impact on the world as a fighter against higher power.
From the Paper "Che Guevara was a Latin American Guerrilla leader and revolutionary theorist who became a hero to the new left radicals. He was convinced that the violent overthrow of the government was the only remedy for the backwardness of third world countries. He joined the revolutionists under Fidel Castro in Mexico and when Fidel came to power he served as prime minister. He then went to revolt in Bolivia. There he was captured and shot near Vallegrand."
Abstract This paper takes an in-depth look at the intense passion that the ancient Mayan civilization had for sporting activities. The author discusses how the ballgames of the times had many different levels of meaning, ranging from entertainment to ritual, as tributes to the gods. The paper details the rules and regulations of such ancient games as Poc-a-tok and Ollama, and how Mayans saw sports as public reenactments of warfare.
From the Paper:
"Through this ballgame one can learn a lot about Mayan culture. The never-ending love and devotion that they held for the Gods of their people is apparent in the fact that they organized these ballgames to please them. They played until they collapsed from exhaustion, in some instances, so that they could be sacrificed if they won. The Mayans were a people of respect and warfare. This is evident in the way that after each raid that they planned only with the specific alignment of the sun and the planets they always held the game at the Victor's homeland, there was no straying from the tradition. They placed value in worship of their gods and honor to those brave players who opted to die for the game and in turn for their Gods."
Abstract This paper carefully details the events that led up to the Manifest Destiny as well as the events proceeding it. It states facts by chronological order and commentary on the events of that time. It explains how that period in the United States was a period of Westward Expansion, when the United States expanded and gained independence from Great Britain.
From the Paper "On July 4, 1776, thirteen British colonies on the east coast of North America announced their independence from Great Britain. Those colonies included Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island. Vermont joined the rebellion in 1777."
Abstract Christina Garcia's "Dreaming in Cuban" follows three generations of women in a Cuban-American family, and looks at the effects of the Cuban diaspora in America. This paper examines how the novel relates to how families are divided over the revolution.
From the Paper "A patchwork of incident, memory, letters, dreams and visions provides glimpses of a Cuban family at home and in exile in the '70's and '80's, but Garcia's debut suffers from its fragmented style. From disparate times, places, and (mostly female) points-of- view, Garcia reveals the circumstances and inner lives of various members of the del Pino family."
Tags: Cuba Castro, diaspora matriarchial garcia christina female communist del pino novel literature
Abstract This paper looks at the effect of NAFTA on the United States in the decade since NAFTA became law and the eight years since it actually went into effect, an effect that cannot be understood in isolation but that must be understood within the context of globalization and transnationalism, looking at some of the most serious consequences of a world with borders made so permeable by alliances and corporations especially in terms of human rights and the environment.
From the Paper "Transnationalism has changed the shape of our world. This is true even though most of us have only a vague idea about what transnationalism is, and even those who believe that they know what the word means in fact disagree over the definition of the term that is more or less a synonym for "globalization". Globalization, or transnationalism, in general refers to the current flows of capital, people, information and images and culture across national borders. Such flows of money, products and ideas across the previously far more impermeable national borders of the world has been brought about in large measure through two important and related processes: The first of these is the establishment of such international trading agreements as NAFTA, or the North American Free Trade Agreement (a pact that was in many political and economic ways prompted by the founding of the larger and more economically powerful European Union). The second major reason for the increase of economic globalization has been the substantial increase in companies that do business on a global scale. These companies have been substantially helped by such agreements as NAFTA, which is hardly surprising since large corporations provided significant pressure to have such alliances brought about (www.latimes.com)"
Abstract This paper is a discussion, and analysis of the fiscal crisis currently facing Argentina. The author details some of the causes of the current crisis, including defaulting on the debt, the devaluation of the country's peso and political corruption. The affects of the crisis on the region's stability, Argentina's trade relationships with Europe and the United States are also discussed. The turmoil within the country itself is discussed in detail, and the author also offers some creative solutions to the crisis.
From the Paper "Despite criticism from some nations like Spain, who is heavily affected by Argentina's crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has so far refused to give any more aid to the country. However, many people blame the IMF for loaning "massive" amounts to Argentina earlier in their crisis, along with conditions requiring the country to tighten its fiscal policies. Now, Argentina is unable to repay these outstanding loans. Some of the over 130 million in debt was defaulted on in December, and "Critics say the IMF-imposed reforms have failed to work because they don't take into account the local situation. They argue that the insistence on debt repayment is what's brought Argentina to the brink of collapse" (Editors)"
Abstract This paper looks at the underlying trends of each population growth factor separately, particularly the immigration factor. It includes several graphs and in-depth data of the population in the United States as a whole as well as divided into sectors. It gives an historical overview of the Hispanic immigration from its origin until the present day. Finally, it concludes that the Hispanic population will continue to grow rapidly into the largest minority group due to their immigration and birth rate.
From the Paper "Researchers in demographics have persistently foretold that the rapidly growing Hispanic population would inevitably develop into the leading minority group in the United States. Updated data released from the 2000 census reveal that this belief is fast approaching actualisation. The data indicates that America's Hispanic population grew by 58% during the 1990s, putting Hispanics practically equal with African Americans as the country's biggest minority group. Most demographers predicted that the Hispanic population would equal or exceed African Americans by 2005. But that may occur sooner than initially anticipated. (Travierso, Maria. 2001, 1) How has this approaching dominance among minorities occurred and what does this mean to the U.S. population at large?"
Tags: Hispanic, United, States, census, 2000, population, minority, demographics
Abstract Globalization in general refers to the ways in which capital, people, information and images and culture now flow back and forth across national borders with a greater ease and greater rapidity than they had before. This paper examines what the implications of such exchanges are and what are some of the most serious consequences of a world with such permeable borders, especially in terms of human rights and the environment.
From the Paper "NAFTA has helped to produce a world in which workers are now linked across national borders through the globalization of production. In other words, NAFTA has allowed jobs that once belonged Americans to be sent to other countries ? which has detrimental short-term effects on Americans as well as detrimental long-term effects on the workers of all the countries involved. And to short-term and long-term harm to the environment that we all share. All people find themselves increasing connected in this world. The clothes someone wears might well have been sewn in a country thousands of miles away of fiber grown in a third country."
Abstract This paper begins with a summary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The basic plot and the main characters detailed in the book are then identified and the decision-making process is analyzed. A background of the author and origins of the book are provided. A critical analysis of the book follows.
From the Paper "Thirteen Days: A Memoir of the Cuban Missile Crisis published in 1969, is Robert Kennedy's account of the major symbol (the Cuban missile crisis) of cold war confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In the year 1962, after the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the USSR increased its support of Fidel Castro's Cuban regime. In the summer of the same year, Nikita Khrushchev, who was heading the Soviet Union, secretly decided to install ballistic missiles in Cuba. In October, the U.S. reconnaissance flights revealed the clandestine construction of missile launching sites,
["U-2 had just finished a photographic mission" (Kennedy: 1971, 19)]
Which led to President Kennedy publicly denouncing the Soviet actions. He imposed a naval blockade on Cuba and declared that any missile launched from Cuba would warrant a full-scale retaliatory attack by the United States against the Soviet Union. On October 24, Russian ships carrying missiles to Cuba turned back. On October 28 Khrushchev agreed to withdraw the missiles and dismantle the missile sites. Consequently, the United States ended its blockade on November 20, and by the end of the year the missiles and bombers were altogether removed from Cuba."
Abstract This paper explores anthropologist Elisabeth Burgos-Debray description of the Guatemalan women, Rigoberta Menchu , who describes her Indian peasant life to the author. The paper exhibits the relationship between life and the larger political struggles taking place across Guatemala and Latin America as a whole. It also describes the Civil war in this country and the persecution of Rigoberta Menchu 's family by the national security forces.
From the Paper "The Indians constitute the majority in Guatemala, which differentiates their situation from that of most countries in Latin America where the Indians are a minority without even the most elementary rights. Still, a white minority has the power in Guatemala, and it seems likely that the fact that the majority Indians are divided into 22 different ethnic groups may have contributed to their largely powerless position in their society. Rigoberta wishes to change this situation, and this one woman is not fighting for a mythical Indian past but is instead seeking to play a part in the shaping of contemporary history (Burgos-Debray, 1983), xiii). The world into which this woman was born is a world where the people live in a subsistence economy, working the land for others and moving from place to place as they follow the work through the seasons. This is also a world at war, with Guatemala in the grips of a civil war for more than 30 years. This war affected Rigoberta directly as her father, mother, and younger brother were tortured and killed by the Guatemalan security forces that have been persecuting the peasantry."
From the Paper "Judith Adler Hellman's Mexican Lives is composed of information in narrative form gathered from interviews with fifteen Mexicans which give the reader a fascinating and often moving portrait of life and work in contemporary Mexico. Hellman allows her subjects to speak for themselves, although her commentary and conclusions are rich not only with compassion and insight, but also with her talent as a clear and straightforward writer of powerful but accessible prose. Her skillful interviewing technique gives her subjects the confidence to express themselves candidly and to do so with clarity and purpose.
Most significant is that each of the interviews gives the reader a portrait not only of a human being, his or her work and life, what matters to him or her, and how he or she is trying to.."
From the Paper " The Mesoamerican Ball Game
Introduction
The Mesoamerican ball game was played for recreational, sociopolitical, and religious reasons. The ball game held a central, primary part in the lives of Mesoamerican people. It was played across a wide geographic area by many different peoples. The ball courts began emerging in the Maya lowlands, at the end of the Middle Formative period (Ashmore 496). There is much, about the ball game, which is only theorized or speculated. The archeological evidence concerning the ball game is limited to the location and design of the ball courts, a few pieces of artifacts found in refuse piles, the contents of caches (when they have been recorded), art work depicting the game in progress, and ethnographic accounts. From these sources of.."
Examines the origins, evolution & demise of this civilization. Discusses their cultural achievements, politics, social structure, economics and religion. Looks at how it was influenced by the Spanish conquest and diseases.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 6 sources, 1999, $ 79.95
From the Paper "The Mayan
This paper will discuss the origin of Mayan society, and how the Mayan civilization grew. The text will analyze how the Mayan society eventually fell apart as well as some of the factors which led to the eventual collapse of this civilization.
The rise and fall of the Mayan civilizations is divided into seven major time periods. The first period is when the earliest Mayan Chiefdoms were formed, in approximately 1500 B.C. This period, called the Early and Preclassic period, extended until 400 B.C. After this came the Late Preclassic period in which the earliest statutes were found carved by Mayans in the southern Maya area. During the Late Preclassic era, the earliest monuments with Long Count dates were erected and the beautiful city of Tikal was founded by a royal Mayan leader (Yax Moch Xoc) (Sharer, xi)."
Examines the symbiotic relationship between the sport and the nation. Provides an overview of Brazil and soccer, soccer clubs, World Cup, socioeconomics and symbolic power.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 5 sources, 1999, $ 71.95
Abstract To understand the sport of soccer is, in effect, to understand Brazil. In a nation that is facing economic disaster and an IMF bailout, the only emotional event that has affected the 165 million people of Brazil was losing the World Soccer Cup this year, an event tantamount to major disaster. In a wrap up story, the Associated Press quoted several South American newspapers that captured the mood:
From the Paper "THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF SOCCER IN BRAZIL
To understand the sport of soccer is, in effect, to understand Brazil. In a nation that is facing economic disaster and an IMF bailout, the only emotional event that has affected the 165 million people of Brazil was losing the World Soccer Cup this year, an event tantamount to major disaster. In a wrap up story, the Associated Press quoted several South American newspapers that captured the mood:
"Brazil left all its talent, ability and creativity in the locker room," wrote Jose Trajano of the sports daily Afinal. In Argentina, Brazil's loss was banner headline news. "Brazil Weeps" and "Rio is an ocean of tears," said the Buenos Aires daily Cronica. Former Peruvian soccer great Teofilo Cubillas, in a column in the ..."
