The Canadian democratic deficit
Thesis - 6 pages - Political science
The last five federal elections in Canada have seen an average of voter turnout in the 60% range: a clear drop from the usual 70% seen throughout electoral history . The issue, largely ignored by Prime Minister Jean Chretien until the rise of Paul Martin, has raised the question of the existence...
The History of Abolition: A Global Interplay of Events
Essay - 7 pages - International relations
Historical phenomena such as the abolition of slavery cannot be explained by isolating them from the larger global context that created the conditions for their existence. In his chapter titled Whose Abolition? Popular Pressure and the Ending of the British Slave Trade, Seymor Drescher states:...
Conflict in West Africa: The cases of Sierra Leone and Liberia
Essay - 8 pages - International relations
Overview After the Cold War the majority of wars in Africa were "societal" while conflict between states was considerably rare. The inter-state wars were further prolonged and worsened by foreign support. Military assistance on part of Western and Socialist countries is one of the common outside...
Berger and Luckmann propose 3 steps in the social construction of reality
Thesis - 3 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann discuss the social construction of reality in their work, The Social Construction of Reality, published in 1966. Reality, as defined by Berger and Luckmann, is a combination of norms (socially acceptable ways of acting and thinking) and institutionalized objects...
Analyzing Corruption's Cost on Development: Mexico
Essay - 3 pages - Political science
Political corruption trickles down the entire social and economic skeleton of Mexico, or formally, The United Mexican States. The system of corruption is undoubtedly to blame for the state's lack of development- but to what extent? Starting with the state's most authoritative leaders and policy...
Sudan: A Sociological Study
Case study - 6 pages - Social, moral & civic education
The largest country in Africa, the Republic of Sudan has been the victim of famines, unstable military rule, coup d'etats, violation of human rights issues, and one of the most violent civil wars in the continent. Spanning an area of 2,503,890 sq km with a population of 37, 090, 000 in 2002....
Globalization and its effect on Western Civilization
Essay - 3 pages - International relations
Western Civilization has been shaped by the many people and events that have witnessed its transformation from the dawn of the early modern period in 1500 up to the present day. The present word view has been formed by many events including the Renaissance, the Industrial Revolution, and the...
Challenging Underachievement in Boys: A Critical Review of Unreliable and Misinterpreted Data Collection Methods
Tutorials/exercises - 8 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Raising the achievement level of male pupils, especially disadvantaged males, has been a concern of the UK educational system from several years. Many studies have been conducted using various methods and data sources. The following paper is a critical review of "Challenging Underachievement in...
Networked multiplayer games as a valid means of social interaction
Essay - 2 pages - Social, moral & civic education
The question I will endeavour to address is whether network multiplayer capable computer games offer a valid means of social interaction. To satisfactorily address this question, several terms must be defined as they are used in the context of this document. The first issue which must be...
The Political Journey of Fela Kuti
Essay - 3 pages - Political science
Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a famous Nigerian musician. He was a founder of Afrobeat music which involves the fusion of jazz and elements of West African music. Fela was also an important political figure on the music scene. His music is a prime example of using media to distribute his messages...
Our Generation: Mean or Dazed?: peer pressure and how we respond to it
Essay - 4 pages - Social, moral & civic education
A vast multitude of movies have been made in an attempt to realistically recreate many generations on screen. Almost every generation has had a movie made to express the thoughts of the people within it. After searching several movies, I watched two in order to see which best represents our...
The Blessed Mother of God: The Virgin Mary's Significance in the Christian World
Thesis - 3 pages - Social, moral & civic education
The Virgin Mary is a significant figure in the Christian religion, with her significance remaining nearly identical throughout the different sects of Christianity. From her Immaculate Conception to her Assumption into Heaven, the mother of God holds many significant values and beliefs to all...
Rodman's representation of music
Thesis - 3 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Being a UMass student in today's day and age is far different from those who had come before. One of my most apparent and vivid memories of being a freshman four years ago was my discovery of the (now infamous), i2hub. Being an avid record collector (both vinyl and cd form), I at first felt...
The World Bank
Tutorials/exercises - 2 pages - Political science
It is truly shocking the controversy that is stirred by the World Bank. What is even more shocking is how truly complex the group's operations actually are. With novels being published written strictly about “The Case Against the World Bank” (Danaher), it is probably imperative to a...
Societal Evolution: The Industrial Revolution
Tutorials/exercises - 4 pages - Economy general
As a complex network of intricate biological systems, the human body is indeed quite an intriguing aspect of nature. The origin of this elaborate design is an area of hot debate; however, as of late, increasing support has been given to biological-evolutionary theory. According to this theory, it...
World Debt : A problem that has been a matter of global worry
Tutorials/exercises - 4 pages - Economy general
A problem that has been a matter of global worry for the last decade is the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank's strangle hold on the growth and economic development of developing countries. The IMF and World Bank are supported by developed countries and continue to be supported by...
Will Debt Relief Address the Needs of Highly Indebted Countries?
Tutorials/exercises - 3 pages - Economy general
A question that has plagued economists, social scientists and political scientists for the last several years is solution to the staggering debt in underdeveloped countries. Depending on their background they will argue the need for greater institutions, the removal of corrupt governments, or...
Zen Buddhism and Western Culture: How its practices affect its culture and are mirrored in many Western ideas
Essay - 4 pages - Social, moral & civic education
There has always been a fascination with the contrast between Eastern and Western philosophies, culture and ideas. And nowhere is this fact more prominent than in religion and religious practices. More specifically, the Asian religion of Buddhism, though seeing its tenets blossom through...
The Many Faces of Michel Foucault: An Analysis of the Evolution of his Conception of Identity Formation in the Modern World Through his Life and Works
Essay - 20 pages - Social, moral & civic education
Throughout the course of his career as a historian, author, philosopher, and artist, Michel Foucault often shifted directions in his work, reinventing himself in the process and offering little explanation for his decisions to do so. Shortly after the publication of Madness and Civilization in...
Education System in Need of Reform in the USA
Essay - 6 pages - Social, moral & civic education
New York City epitomizes superiority. Being one of the most renowned cities in the world, it is placed upon a pedestal. People travel here from across the globe for the cuisine, nightlife, and immense culture just to name a few. Another main attribute of the Big Apple is its vast diversity and...
How healthy is the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003?
Essay - 4 pages - Ecology & environment
Facing increasing concerns about protecting the environment, the government has enacted the Healthy Forests Restoration Act in 2003 to help control wildfires. However, there has been some speculation that "thinning" forests is actually a ruse for timber companies to cut down more trees. In...
Thoughts and Understanding on the Decline of Voter Participation
Tutorials/exercises - 3 pages - Political science
It is a common knowledge that the most general type of political behavior is voting. Voting fundamentally represent the idea of Government being enacted by the people for the people. This is the time when a regular John Doe has a power to decide on whom, he thinks is the best to represent him and...
How does the "English School" of international relations differ from American approaches?
Essay - 3 pages - International relations
According to Stephen Hawking in A Brief History of Time, "a theory is a good theory if it satisfies two requirements: It must accurately describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model which contains only a few arbitrary elements, and it must make definite predictions about the...
The case of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon
Tutorials/exercises - 6 pages - International relations
Refugee situations across the world have been characterized by three different outcomes: return to the country of origin, assimilation in the host country or resettlement into a third country. All of the above have proven unrealistic options for the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. This less than...
The nature of the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict: Distinguishing Myth from Reality
Tutorials/exercises - 4 pages - International relations
Historical narratives are often times fragile and subject to “mythification”. Especially vulnerable are the ones in which interests between two groups collide, violent disputes are common and the nature of the conflict is highly complex and distinctively unique. In those cases various...
Politics of Global Warming
Tutorials/exercises - 3 pages - Political science
In the modernized lifestyles we live today, the consequences of this lifestyle seems to have finally caught up with us. Since 1994, the world's mean temperature has risen almost 1 degree Fahrenheit, and it is only increasing. This is believed to have been caused by excess gas and smoke emissions...
Global Governance and Economic Development
Case study - 11 pages - Economy general
According to common perception among economists, the idea of institutional economics started with Ronald Coarse's article, “The Nature of the Firm” (1937) where the concepts of transaction costs and economic analysis were first introduced (Coarse, 1998, p. 71). Since then, the field...
What is the Type Identity Theory of Physicalism?
Thesis - 4 pages - Social, moral & civic education
The type identity theory of physicalism is the idea, as outlined by David Lewis (Journal of Philosophy, 63, pp 17-25), that “every experience is identical with some physical state.” Experiences and states in this sense are to be taken as universals, and not as particulars, which is...
Ideal and Not Ideal Leaders
Essay - 2 pages - Political science
An ideal leader is an intellect, an analyzer, an interpreter. He will not bend to the demand of the public solely for their approval of him, nor will he drift down the path of corruption. An ideal leader has strong character, a crafty personality and an admirable demeanor. He is patient,...
Terrorism: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Essay - 4 pages - Political science
Terrorism by definition is the systematic use of violence, terror and intimidation to achieve an end. However, this definition has translated into a horrid way of life that has inflicted pain, death and mourning to individuals all over the world. Largely influential countries such as the United...
