Mexican American War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mexican American War - Essay Example D. Eisenhower, Frederick Merk, and David M. Pletcher in three important works on the Mexican American war. These works are, respectively: So Far From God: The U.S. War With Mexico, Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History, and The Diplomacy of Annexation. The paper begins by discussing each author's thesis, arguments and evidence provided to support the thesis one at a time. It then discusses the works in a comparative fashion. While this author agrees most strongly with Merk's argument that U.S. expansionism-Manifest Destiny was not some unique strategy that was only pursued by Americans, there are merits to the arguments presented in the two other works. The paper ends with a conclusion summarizing the major points covered. John S. D. Eisenhower's book, So Far From God: The U.S. War With Mexico is a narrative history of the Mexican American war. Eisenhower has a distinctly "top down" militaristic, traditional historgraphy approach. It is one that emphasizes the VIPs of the war such as presidents and generals - essentially a "great men" view of history. The book is peppered with military details such as battle actions and tactics. One of Eisenhower's contentions is that the great military man, Santa Anna y Perez de Lebron (Santa Anna), who fought for Mexican independence from Spain was just an indiscreet popular figure. Eisenhower argues that these indiscretions in his pleasures and private life of Santa Anna's effectively barred him from belonging to the elite of Mexican society.2 However, Eisenhower doesn't discuss the possibility of a person being able to be both a populist and a member of this elite at the same time. Eisenhower used primarily books as his sources, though some of the books contain collections of primary resources such as letters and official government documents of the day.3 He also used newspapers and periodicals, though again, the majority of these are not primary or contemporary sources4. This is perhaps a reflection of his preference for traditional, "great men" history, in respecting the opinions of other already published historic works. First hand anecdotes are frequently used when Eisenhower discusses the details of events from the battlefields. There are maps included both assist the reader in following and understanding the text, as well as serve to emphasize the author's "headquarter's history" approach.5 The full title of the book So Far From God: The U.S. War With Mexico 1846-1848 suggests that the book is from the U.S. Side of the war. Substantial sections are written based on earlier writing by North American historians. The breath of research is limited to English sources and, with the exception of three sources, all of non-Mexican origin.6 One of the 'non-Mexican sources is of Fanny Caldern de la Barca's memoirs and de la Barca was born in Scotland7. Eisenhower attempts to be unbiased towards Mexico and Mexicans. This is especially evident in his references to Mexican soldiers who, he concludes, had to fight an unbalanced war just to maintain their national pride. Eisenhower frequently draws attention to their courage as well, especially in reference to the poor, rough leadership they were under. It is rare that a work is completely unbiased, however, and that is the case for So Far From God. Eisenhower's biasis is revealed through the language he uses to refer

GE study case Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GE study case - Coursework Example Consequently, this has resulted in a high product differentiation for GE, which gives it competitive advantage over other competing firms in the industry. Most organization do not take full advantage of what the internet and radio stations has to offer in terms of reaching more customers. In the beginning, Welch was against the idea of digitization, but once he found out the advantages that came with it he fully accepted the prospect and used it to its fullest potential. In addition, digitization has helped in widespread discovery of new opportunities not only in terms of improving internal knowledge but also in relation to customer satisfaction. GE is one of the best performing companies in the 21st century. This can be attributed by the high level of performance among the employees. The employees constantly undergo training in order to ensure that they explore their skills to the fullest and give their best to the organization. In addition, the employees were free to speak their mind on the running of the organization and any improvements if necessary and if it would see them perform better. The staff in GE is highly diversified which helps in ensuring that everyone brings something new to the table. The diversity is in terms of not only culture but also age. In addition, communication is the key to success for many organization, the staff at GE are free to express any concern they may have and any areas, which the management can improve on in order to improve their performance. This is beneficial in ensuring low employee turnover, which in the end is beneficial for the organization. The overall organization structure of GE is based on a formal organizational structure, which incorporates the hierarchical system. At the very top of the structure are the shareholders, the Corporate Executive Office and the Board of Directors. In the middle, we find the Chairman and the CEO who play the role of an intermediary between

Compulsory Purchase and Compensation Literature review

Compulsory Purchase and Compensation - Literature review Example There were statutory warnings and objections that were received during this period. In a 10-year period, there was lower than 25% of confirmed CPOs who went to public inquiry (Shaw, 2011). There were many local projects that have got promotions in the last five years. But the compulsory purchase was routed through different channels. The best examples for this were two: one was the Borders and Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine land acquisition, which was for a major railways project. And the other one was the authorization of the Edinburgh trams through private legislation (Shaw, 2011). This was put in force by the Scottish Parliament instead of a CPO (DETR, 2000). In the current scenario, there are some glaring examples which show the decline of CPO usage. First of all, the number of current compulsory purchase is limited. Second, the local authorities have limited rights for decision making and also acquiring the land. The compulsory purchase deployment will probably be increased in the future also (Shaw, 2011). What’s more, the general expertise of the local authorities requires getting a boost so that they can work effectively and efficiently (DETR, 2000). There is separate procedure legislation for crofting that is put into the Act in Scotland (Rowan & Farquharson, 2009) The various bodies are said to assess the claims for compensation which are related to the matters of crofts (Cuthbertson, 2007). When the acquisition is done through an agreement, then the adjudication is done through the Land Court of Scotland while if the claims arise from any of the compulsory purchases, then they are done through the Land Tribunal for Scotland (Barclay, 2010). If someone is seeking for an agricultural or any business property, then the authority is required to pay special attention to the issues that are related to business and farming. When someone is looking to acquire any

Inflation in the United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Inflation in the United States - Research Paper Example The case with the nation of the United States is not in any case different. Recent report from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in less than a month ago that the price index for all items has increased by 1.4 percent over the first twelve months (USDL, 2012). This could be an indication that inflation rates have increased in the United States. However, as the following chat indicates the increase in inflation has not increased in a rate that would affect the economy. The CFI-U chat above shows only a very slight upward shift on the consumer price index during the period suggested by the report. This period is subsequently followed by a period of lower CFI-U as indicated by the chat. The lowering of CFI-U indicated by the chat show that inflation rate in the United States has been decreasing since July this year. Moreover, the raise in CFI-U is very slight thus indicating that the increase in inflation during that period was insignificant. The current consumer price index is lower than the one that was reported five years ago. This indicates a significant decline in the inflation rates in this country. Inflation in a country is mainly caused by economic activities and the volatility of the economy. One reason why United States has been able to reduce inflation is that it has been able to reduce the volatility of its economy. Another reason is that it has been able to increase the economic activities undertaken on its economy. All this has been done through adapting an effective monetary and fiscal policy. Fiscal and monetary policies have been identified as the most essential tools of solving economic problems. In solving economic problems, the two policies help to reduce the inflation rates in an economy. Moreover, they help to sustain low inflation rates in an economy despite the external factors that might try to increase the inflation rates. According to Yang & Traum (2010), the fiscal policy adapted by the United States focuses on adjusting government spending and tax rate. Increase in government spending has several effects to this country’s citizens. Among these effec ts is the increase in the commitment of the government in the provision of essential services. This raises the standards of living of individuals in this country thus resulting to economic growth. Lowering tax on the other had stimulates economic activities in a nation. United States has been maintaining a low tax rates in its economy thus raising the aggregate demand and expenditure in its economy. The raised aggregate demand and expenditure stimulates the economic activities thus resulting to economic growth. The economic growth has been enabling this nation to lower its inflation rates and sustaining the low levels of inflation. United States has been maintaining low interest rates on its economy. This is mainly aimed at reducing the supply of money. As a result, it could be categorized as a contradictory monetary policy (Dwivedi, 2010). The policy plays a very significant role in raising the price of this country’s currency. This assists in reducing the inflations rates i n the economy of the United States. However, in an attempt to overcome unexpected increases in inflation, the monetary authority in this country is forced to introduce expansionary monetary policy in the economy. Expansionary monetary policy is one that focuses on increasing the supply of

How is or isn't Los Angeles a global city What role does Essay

How is or isn't Los Angeles a global city What role does globalization, as discussed by Short, play in Valle & Torres' disc - Essay Example In short, globalization has affected all sectors of LA, including its industry, society and education. Currently Los Angeles is claimed to be the most globalized city in the world. where it lacks in actual numerical population, it makes up for it through its largest non-native population shares. This is the key to the huge impacts that take place globally. Hollywood and everything in between it got hit by globalization. The former historiographer Kevin Starr claims that all sectors in LA impact globally as well. Mike Davis claims that it is the branched income statistical distribution which is the main outcome of globalization. The moving industry picture is a significant aspect of the L.A. economy, which has captured a noticeable part of global control. However, John R. does not consider this as an important fact to declare Los Angeles a global city position, and according to him Northern California has more prominent multimedia graphics impacts. He believes the foreign investment i n L.A. has more attention towards low paid, unskilled labor, and is highly focused on the poor state of L.A schools. Globalization has become a turning point for the educational sector in the LA. So much is the impact that now the educational systems in the LA are utilizing new and cutting edge technology in teaching practices. It has utilized the services of both public and private parties, a system called the active social educations. These initiatives are in fact becoming an inspiration for educational systems of the emerging countries, and how educational systems can be improved in spite of the staleness of the system. In this way, globalization is serving as a new initiative for reforms of the various social, industrial and educational sectors in LA. Many authors believe LA fits the picture of a global city for all its attractions, business and tourism facilities. No doubt, Los Angeles is a globalized city, having all necessary ingredients of being one of the great cities of it s region. Rodolfo analyzes the position of the three biggest metropolises in the United States to explore what consequence the global economy has had on them. He states that each city, apart from being the largest in the region, each was formulated during a different but significant historic economic construction. New York was therefore known as the "mercantile city," Chicago was an "industrial city," and Los Angeles was known as a "post-industrial city". He then analyzes a number of facts highlighting the height of prominence in the frame of global economy. On the broader context, he considered population and pointed at ethnic diversity, air freight, shipping and foreign trade, the height of control exercised by corporate headquarters, the part of producer and corporate services and the presence of transnational investments as contributory to the process of globalization (John 23). He analyzes that all three cities presented a global significance. Having all fundamentals of enough assiduity of global occasions to equally specify as a global city, he guessed that globalization has fostered or highlighted racial bias and discrimination. His findings highlight the importance of various historical events in making globalization a final process of development of a city. He analyzes that both Chicago and Los Angeles are acutely separated spatially along interracial lines, New

The Nature of Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Nature of Innovation - Essay Example The regulations on the issuance of patent rights, government procurement, research, and development, established innovation as a continuous organized activity of business rather than a random foray into intermittent flashes of creativity. Today, it is more than an industrial undertaking; it is, rather, a priority in national, and international, economic development. Probably the first cogent definition of innovation is that advanced by Schumpeter (1938, pp. 63-66) as falling into one of five forms, namely: (1) product innovation, or new products from the viewpoint of consumers; (2) process innovation, involving either new methods of production or new ways of managing the distribution and flow of commodities; (3) new markets opened up; (4) new sources of raw materials or intermediate goods; and (5) new organisation of an industry’s competitive structure. According to Schumpeter, these five forms all involve the transformation process attendant to innovation because they lead to â€Å"creative destruction† - that is, old forms are destroyed and new ones emerge to take their place. Other authors tend to categorize differently although generally along the same lines; for instance, the more recent study of Frame and White (2004) classifies innovation into four categories: new products, new services, new processes, and new organizational forms. Of special interest in this discussion is that interface between technological and financial innovation, and how the product of this fusion is used in the advancement of economic activity. While the term technological innovation has been so commonly understood as to be almost a redundancy, the concept of â€Å"financial innovation† is still unfamiliar to many and nebulous to many more. The term’s import could be deduced from the primary function of finance, which is the facilitation of the â€Å"allocation and deployment of economic resources in an uncertain environment†.

Critical Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical Book Review - Essay Example CIDA has recently discarded its main advantages, such as gender equality, health issues, importance of development aid etc. Though one can argue that every organization is connected with its self-interest, we can surely claim that further discussion is related to the international aid policies, political and economic contexts. The first chapter "Canada among Donors: How Does Canadian aid Compare?" by Hunter McGill deals with relations of Canada in terms of international society on the matters of help, undertakings and goals. There are two different international processes, which are used for evaluation of international relations in Canada with respect to international policies, non-aid policies and programs. Unfortunately, Canadian government is not interested in foreign help and support and shows underperformance at the international level. This claim is produced by the author of the chapter, but it is interesting for the readers to find out whether it is true or not. On the basis of two basic criteria, such as the Peer Review process of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Assistance Committee (OECD/DAC) and the Commitment to Development Index annual rankings of the Center for Global Development (CGD) evaluation of international aid in the development of Canada is discussed further on in this chapter. Other donor states evaluate national situation in Canada and in accordance with their data they donate help (McGill). The CGDs Commitment to Development Index was established as part of an effort to rate how the public policies of twenty-two nations, all currently members of the DAC, affect the prospects and progress of developing countries. Basing on these two basic indices, it is possible to evaluate a certain degree of international aid donated to Canada. At the same time, Canada plays a role of an important international donor and it is possible to measure international help donated by the country. Canada has been