Abstract This paper is a critical evaluation of three statements that can be reduced to one (the thesis). Sexism and racism are not accidental phenomena, but exist for the purpose of obtaining cheap labor.
Abstract This paper examines Errol Morris's film "Fast, Cheap & Out of Control", a documentary that takes four disparate individuals and features them and their unique jobs as part of an effort to suggest a number of ideas about America, about the future and about the value of personal obsession. The four men are Dave Hoover, a wild animal trainer; George Mendonca, a topiary gardener, Ray Mendez, a mole-rat specialist and Rodney Brooks, a robotics scientist. It discusses how the film has a non-linear narrative structure, intercutting interviews with the four men and developing an ongoing dialogue between the men and the unseen interviewer and how in a way that emphasizes what binds the four men together, while their jobs would seem to be such as to keep them apart in their different realms. It analyzes how the four men have their version of the truth and how they pursue it doggedly. It looks at how placing the four of them together as Morris does suggests that we each have our version of the truth as expressed in our own lives and our own choices, and just as these four obsessive men are brought to the fore to tell their stories.
From the Paper "The film is not static as might be expected from a work that is largely made up of responses by the four men. Their enthusiasm is itself infectious, but more than this, Morris gives movement to the work through his use of editing and music. The music in particular gives the film a lyrical tenor that suggests that it is a meditation by the filmmaker on the ideas being presented, and the filmmaker is shaping those ideas through the editing process. The four men are presented as essentially heroic, not in the sense of performing great feats, but in the sense of continuing with their particular obsession in the face of ridicule, potential failure, and other obstacles."
Abstract Errol Morris's film Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control (1997) is a documentary that takes four disparate individuals and features them and their unique jobs as part of an effort to suggest a number of ideas about America, about the future, and about the value of personal obsession. The four men are Dave Hoover, a Wild Animal Trainer; George Mendonca, a Topiary Gardener; Ray Mendez, a Mole Rat Specialist; and Rodney Brooks, a Robotics Scientist. The film has a non-linear narrative structure, intercutting interviews with the four men and developing an ongoing dialogue between the men and the unseen interviewer in a way that emphasizes what binds the four men together.
From the Paper "Errol Morris's film Fast, Cheap, & Out of Control (1997) is a documentary that takes four disparate individuals and features them and their unique jobs as part of an effort to suggest a number of ideas about America, about the future, and about the value of personal obsession. The four men are Dave Hoover, a Wild Animal Trainer; George Mendonca, a Topiary Gardener; Ray Mendez, a Mole Rat Specialist; and Rodney Brooks, a Robotics Scientist. The film has a non-linear narrative structure, intercutting interviews with the four men and developing an ongoing dialogue between the men and the unseen interviewer in a way that emphasizes what binds the four men together, while their jobs would seem to be such as to keep them apart in their different realms. In this way, Morris suggests much about what binds us all together in this world."
Abstract This paper explains how Jamaica's tourist industry after 1960 reproduced colonial forms of oppression in an industry controlled by colonial elite investors and beneficiaries that capitalize on cheap labor supplies; explanation of results of mass tourism as pursued by various Third World countries, and in Jamaica's example; note higher basic costs, low industrial or other development, cultural decay; reinforcement of colonial/postcolonial elites in a dual economy and dual society of much poverty. Itwaru, Fanon, CLR James, plus other refs.
From the Paper "Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494, named earlier by the Arawak Indians, 'Xaymaca' or the 'land of wood and water'. The Spanish introduced slaves from Africa after 1513, as labourers in a new sugarcane industry. In 1655, Jamaica became a British colony, continuing on till its independence in 1962. Just before independence, economic development began that centered on cultivating tourism, in keeping with other emerging colonies of the British Commonwealth Caribbean. This paper shows that tourism involves a carrying on of colonial phenomenon in independent Jamaica, including the class gaps of a colonial society. The moneyed classes were those to invest directly..."
Abstract This paper explains that the first distinction between legal and illegal immigrants is that illegal immigrants are not subject to any law that allows them to work according to the conditions imposed by a certain country; whereas, legal immigrants follow the direct and clear provisions of the laws. The author points out that, although both types of immigrants are considered to be cheap labor, the illegal immigrants particularly suffer from this discriminatory attitude. The paper stresses that, while there are restrictions posed on illegal immigrants, for legal immigrants there is the obvious need of trying to improve their lives to help them have a better standard of living and for the American government to benefit from their work.
From the Paper "Legal and illegal immigrants continue to be an area in which the American legislature as well as the public opinion in general continues to invest from all points of view. However, their approaches are rather different in the sense that while there are restrictions posed on illegal immigrants, for legal immigrants there is the obvious need of trying to improve their lives in order to help them have a better standard of living and the American government to benefit from their work."
Tags: legitimacy, public opinion, cheap labor, enforcement, tax payer
Abstract Maquiladoras are essentially offshore assembly plants that emerged along the United States-Mexican border in the 1960s. This paper examines how maquiladoras offer cheap labor to produce/assemble goods and how, since NAFTA, have expanded beyond border towns and have moved south into the heart of Mexico. It looks at how although maquiladoras do provide thousands of jobs throughout Mexico, upon closer inspection, they are often operated by tyrannical bosses under sweatshop conditions and are a nesting ground for cheap labor. It argues that for Mexicans, NAFTA is not an agreement based upon free trade but rather an exploitative tool used to extract cheap labor for foreign products.
From the Paper "While the profits of the maquiladora sector exploded after the passage of NAFTA, the wages and labor conditions of those working in the assembly plants have gotten worse. According to Mexican labor laws, the maximum hours a person can work a week is forty eight hours, the first nine hours of overtime is to be paid at double-time rates with anything exceeding nine hours overtime to be paid at three times the pay rate. (3). In spite of this, maquiladora workers report that "they were often not paid anything extra for overtime even if they worked from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. In some maquiladoras, workers do veladas- all-nighters- once or twice a week. "
Abstract In this article, the writer argues in favor of a gasoline tax increase in order to keep billions of dollars of U.S. oil money out of the pockets of tyrannical, Islamic extremist oil-exporting countries. The writer notes that that the world will soon be battling it out for the last reserves of cheap oil, not necessarily on the battlefield but more likely on the economic/political front. Further, the writer argues that the installation of a new gasoline tax would force US automakers to innovate toward renewable fuels and stop depending on cheap oil from less-than-friendly regimes and would provide the United States with the luxury to withdraw from the competition for cheap oil and thus begin the march toward true energy independence.
Outline:
Audience
The Gasoline Tax: A New Beginning for America
Annotated Bibliography
From the Paper "Another compelling reason to increase the gasoline tax has much to do with weaning the US from its oil addiction as soon as possible, due to the growing worldwide demand for gasoline and oil products. As reported in a press release by ConocoPhillips, the consumption of oil is growing around the world, especially in rapidly-developing countries like China and India. One example of this trend is that global demand grew by 3.2 % in 2004, i.e. some 100 million gallons a day, and was expected to climb in 2005. Furthermore, the US demand has decreased as compared to the demand in developing nations, yet gasoline consumption reached a record high in August of 2005. Thus, the United States still consumes more gasoline than any other country in the world."
Abstract During the Civil War, railroads, which previously satisfied the demand for cheap industrial and agricultural movement, became increasingly helpful in mass transportation of troops and goods. The paper shows how railroads shaped the outcome of the Civil War and subsequently decided the fate of the nation by unifying the states after the war.
Paper Outline:
I. Introduction
II. Intended usage for the railroads during construction
A. Industrial revolution and the beginnings of the railroads
B. Northern reasons for building the railroad: race between companies to connect most cities
C. Southern reasons for building the railroad: movement of cotton D. Rising demand for cheap, mass movement of troops and goods III. How railroads aided the war effort
A. Helped divide country into different economical groups by geographical placement
B. Physical attack: ram into enemy positions, trains, etc.
C. Movement of troops to battle sites
D. Communication service when telegraph lines were cut
IV. Aftermath of railroad involvement in the war
A. Railroad contributions to the science of war- mass transportation B. Abolish slavery- constitutional amendment, states united
C. Preservation of the Union- Physically bound union together
D. Deterred foreign countries from attacking the US
V. Conclusion
From the Paper "After filling the demand for efficient land travel in the different sections of the US, the railroads hit their peak usage and importance during the Civil War. Before and during the war, railroads drew the economic lines of the war. By 1861, America had grown apart both politically and economically (Industrial). The South used rails for movement of cotton, while the North concentrated on industrial advances. The railroads helped the different businesses excel, furthering sectionalism by dividing the country into its profiting businesses. The railroads divided the nation into regions of political unity and economic ties (Ward 134). The Southern people were leaning more towards democratic ideals, while the North believed in more republican politics. The South was angry because they believed that the North was oppressing them. The South did not like the importation and exportation taxes of the North because they benefited little from the money. The South also believed that the Northern states were unconstitutionally treating the South by taking away the states? rights to have slavery."
Abstract The paper shows that with the advent of globalization, the nations of Western Europe, as well as Australia, have been affected by this new trend. With globalization, many industries, once specifically associated with certain geographic locales have now seen their workforces move overseas. The lure of cheap labor, cheap raw materials, low overhead and few regulations has encouraged textile manufacturers, fashion designers and other manufacturers to fill their orders in places like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Costa Rica. The paper shows that Calvin Klein, like other producers of designer jeans, must compete in the global marketplace in order to survive. And like other nations, Australia must also survive in today's economic world. Calvin Klein can compete on the world stage and so can the Australian companies that generate the revenue that makes it possible for Australians to buy such things as designer jeans. The paper questions, however, whether the Australian worker can compete on that same world stage. The paper also questions whether globalization will eventually reduce all workers to the level of those of the Third World, or will Australian and Western industry in general, simply move into the avenues opened up by technology.
From the Paper "Australia serves as a magnet for many upwardly-mobile Asians who flock to Australia for a modern Western education. She has also attracted large numbers of Hong Kong Chinese as a result of fears surrounding Hong Kong's incorporation into the People's Republic of China. In fact, many Hong Kong businessmen send their families to live in Australia while they jet around the world to attend to their corporate interests. Such human connections also serve as the building blocks of a strong business partnership. In the apparel industry in particular, as Australia relaxes its import restrictions, more and more clothing comes from various Asian nations. Though the inexpensiveness of the finished product is not an automatic guarantee of its acceptance by the consumer, a recent study showed that Australians are surprisingly indifferent to the country of origin of their clothing."
A look at James Howard Kunstler's book, "The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century".
Abstract The paper discusses James Howard Kunstler's belief that because the world will run out of cheap oil in the foreseeable future, wars will be inevitable. The paper looks at his terribly gloomy predictions of social chaos and planetary catastrophe. The paper points out, however, that Kunstler does offer some compelling scientific facts about the upcoming end of cheap oil and of global warming issues that pose serious danger to the welfare of people and wildlife.
From the Paper "Kunstler's critics accuse him of being an alarmist, and he certainly is one; that's his whole point, that the alarm needs to be sounded, and since nobody else is doing it, he may as well grab the microphone. He is basically saying, brace yourselves citizens, our society will fall, each component of it, one by one, like dominos, and there is little that we can do about it. He rails over and over about the "prodigious, unparalleled misallocation of resources" that is today's city suburbs. Without cheap oil, the suburb dynamic "simply won't work," and cannot be replaced because it is "unreformable and does not lend itself to being retrofitted... [and] as the suburbs disintegrate, we will be lucky if we can reconstitute our existing traditional towns and cities brick by brick and street by street.""
Abstract This paper uses the case discussed in Jonathon Harr's book "A Civil Action" to explain the system of Anglo/American tort law--the workings and limitations of the system and the intended goals as opposed to real life actualities. It follows case facts and describes the outcome, while explaining all the ensuing legal factors. Also included is an account of the historical divergence of civil obligations and tort law.
From the paper:
"Harr's book relates the story of a type of case that is all too sadly familiar: A large corporation (in this case actually two large corporations) contaminate the environment because it is cheaper dump solvents than to dispose of them legally. The reason that corporations are supposed to be restrained from such cheap but illegal dumping is the threat of either criminal charges being made or of civil litigation. In other words, corporations are supposed to behave themselves because if they don?t then they will get sued. But the important catch to this argument, as this book shows, is that corporations do not in fact have a great deal to fear from civil litigation. All too often, the person who wins civil litigation is the person (or corporation) who can continue to pay for a lawyer longer than the other side. The results of civil litigation have less to do with right and wrong than with whose pockets were the deepest to begin with."
Abstract This paper examines the debate over oil drilling in Alaska. It suggests that it is not necessary even given current and possibly future gas shortages in America. It gives various reasons to the adverse affect of using Alaskan oil reserves including the Exxon Valdez incident, the development of supplementary energy sources, and environmental issues.
From the paper:
"As gas prices have risen over the past year, the term "crisis" has been tossed around a great deal, suggesting a number of different possibilities. Among these: Americans may soon run out of gas, Americans may soon be paying five or ten dollars per gallon, and the American will stall utterly if there is not enough cheap gas available. In fact, of course, none of these speculations is true. What is true, and what will be discussed in this paper, is that these higher gas prices are indeed a wake-up call to Americans that something must be done to change our expectations about where our energy will be coming from in the next century."
Tags: environment, energy, Exxon-Valdez, fuel, oil, fuel, prices, energy
Abstract The following paper argues that having immigrants in America is very helpful in some ways. The author gives an example that since they are willing to accept cheap wages, money can be put towards a greater cause. This essay argues that third world immigrants do not take away America's cultural unity, rather they contribute to the notion that America is in fact a free country.
From the Paper "Immigrants are just like Americans in that they always want to move away from crime. The rate of violent crime against individuals in Britain has increased a frightening 1,200 percent in the last 33 years (between 1960 and 1993), and the number of robberies by 2,700 percent. The overall crime rate has risen by 680 percent; (Illiteracy and Crime Web Site).
"So, most immigrants want to be free to what they want and not to be afraid to get killed by speaking their minds. They have even formed a group called The Third World Center.
Abstract This paper discusses the passing of specific laws in the colonies of the New World where the first plan was to provide cheap labor in the form of indentured servants and local natives instead of slaves. The author discusses how it was this shift to indentured servitude which gave rise to slavery for the Negroes in the New World.
From the Paper "However, the British did not begin with a conscious plan to colonize the New World, establish plantations and garner great wealth by enslaving Africans. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, British and other European societies were suspicious of people of other races and believed themselves superior to other races. This facilitated the domination of New World lands, which were all populated by indigenous people of darker and presumed inferior races. Nevertheless, the enslavement of darker-skinned people such as Africans wasn"t a formal plan at first, at least partly because they did not welcome being in proximity with people of other races. By the time the American Revolutionary war had begun, the American colonists owned more slaves than any other European colony, and English traders transported more slaves to market than any other country. (Bernhard , 1999)?
Abstract This paper examines the phenomenon of child labor. Statistics are provided which highlight this problem. The writer details a history of this practice, looking at its causes and consequences. Literature which deals with child labor is presented - namely Charles Dickens in his many novels. Finally the paper examines this problem today and what can be done to reverse this trend.
From the Paper "In the late 1700's and early 1800's, power-driven machines replaced hand labor for the making of most manufactured items. Factories were springing up everywhere, first in England and then in the United States. The owners of these factories found a new source of labor to run their machines ? children. Operating the power-driven machines did not require adult strength, and children could be hired more cheaply than adults and by the mid-1800's, child labor was a major problem."
