ISO 14644 FOR AN IAP CLEAN ROOM CLASS 8 IN RESPECT OF 0.5 UM PARTICLES Essay

ISO 14644 FOR AN IAP CLEAN ROOM CLASS 8 IN RESPECT OF 0.5 UM PARTICLES - Essay Example Several items must be taken into consideration when approaching the use of a cleanroom. First, air is an extremely important item to take a close look at. The air that is coming into a cleanroom must be filtered in order to get rid of dust, while at the same time, the air inside the cleanroom must be recirculated through high efficiency particulate air (also known as HEPA) and/or through the use of an ultra low penetration air (ULPA) filter in order to get rid of contaminants that can be created internally. Furthermore, in order to control any other possible contaminants that may enter, those working in the cleanroom must leave through airlocks (which sometimes also forces an air shower), along with protective clothing. Within the cleanroom, the equipment has been made to create minimal air contamination. These include the use of specialized mops and buckets. The furniture that can be found within the cleanroom also gathers a very minimal amount of particles and is easy to clean. How ever, cleanrooms are not sterile, as much of the attention here is focused on airborne particles. These levels can often be tested through the use of a particle counter (Particle Measuring Systems, 2009). In order to avoid a disruptive air leak, many cleanrooms contain items that keep them at positive pressure. This means that if there are any leaks, the air will leak out of the chamber instead of bringing in any air that might not have been filtered. To further control air, some cleanroom systems will keep humidity to very low levels. This is done often to make sure that there are no electrostatic, or ESD problems. These EST controls are also referred to as ionizers (Clearn Room Forum, n.d.). Cleanrooms are generally given their status based on the number and size of particles allowed per the volume of air. Numbers that are typically larger, like "class 100," are usually referred to by FED-STD-209E, and denote particle number at a size of 0.5um or larger, depending on the cubic foot of air. Smaller numbers refer to ISP 14644-1 standards, and these focus on the decimal logarithm of the number of particles 0.1um or larger permitted per cubic metre of air (Clean Room Certification Standards, 2009). Thus, a class 8 cleanroom has at most 108 = 100,000 particles per m.Cleanrooms in both categories of FS209E and ISO 14644-1 both have log-log relationships that take place concernint particle size and particle concentration. Therefore, a "zero" count in particle concentration is not existent. Because 1 m equals about 35 ft, both standards are mostly equal when measuring 0.5 m particles, although the testing standards differ. Ordinary room air is approximately class 1,000,000 or I SO 9 (Federal Standards, 2009).

Personal Experience Essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Personal Experience Essays - Essay Example I have always considered luck to be a luxury among few people who either have lost hope or prefer receiving free things. During the family vacation in Africa, I had a chance of visiting Maasai Mara national park in Kenya. At first I was reluctant to make the trip; however, after my parents convinced me that it will be a memorable experience, I decided to give it a try. Previously, I preferred visiting playgrounds, friends and making a good use of my bicycle; however, I gave up this opportunity for the memorable experience. Our journey to Kenya was interesting considering that we had many stopovers. It was not my first time to board a plane; however, I felt new and encouraged to work hard and reach the highest level of education. Arguably, this would allow me exploit-varied fields of development while also quenching my thirst for adventure. Consecutively, the opportunity allowed me to have an aerial view of different towns ranging from Amsterdam to Nairobi. Upon our arrival in the city, we received tour guides at the airport, which had earlier been booked by my parents. The first day involved having a taste of the variety foods prepared by the many cultures. The opportunity gave me a first-hand experience to taste what felt like food and others that that I found limited interest in having a bite. Nevertheless, my parents were receptive to the diverse cultures hence an encouragement. Day two was the day to remember that confirmed my worst fears while at the same time changing my view of the entire world. This was a day to take a view of the beautiful wildlife and nature, which has been admired by many people. It was a day to have a personal encounter the lion, Giraffes, baboons, monkeys, and other exciting sceneries only common to many in pictures and national geographic programs. Contrary to other days, I was happy; however, the excitement was laced with

Importance of Risk Management in Banking

Importance of Risk Management in Banking The fall of Lehman Brothers and Bean Stearns triggered the financial crisis from 2007 to 2008. In the case of Lehman Brothers, which was one of the largest investment banks with old history in United States, illustrated the importance of appropriate internal risk management with control. Self-interview threat occurred and was leading to the bankruptcy. In the event of lacking enough bank reserve for withdrawal, Bank of East Asia (BEA) chose to enter mass of capital and welcome the public to take freely from the account balance. It would like to increase the stakeholder confidence and is finally success and solve the problem. It is obvious that risk management plays an important role in the financial institutions. Risk management is the management of identification, assessment and prioritization of risks to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the internal control system and reduce the impact of unexpected events. (ISO 31000, 2009) Without proper risk management, banks are diffi cult to operate with financial difficulties and survive during the financial crisis. An effective risk management also improves Corporate Governance procedures that help to increase investor confidence, transparency and accountability that helps institutions operate efficiently. If any error or missing occurs in the process of risk management, it causes a failure of corporate governance and may result in operating difficulty. In United Kingdom (UK), the Financial Services Authority (FSA) provides framework of risk management (Arrow), risk assessment framework and financial risk outlook (FRO) for financial institutions to understand the major risks. In addition, Turnbull provides a guidance of good internal control with implication of UK corporate governance code that focuses on the quality and extent of risk management disclosures in an organization and thus reduces the impacts. Combined Code (1998) requires the board of director (BoD) to maintain a good internal control system that includes risk management that safeguarding the tangible and intangible asset and ensure the effectiveness of system. In United States (US), the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) 2002 requires that both management and auditor to maintain a sound internal control system. Section 302 requires management to certify the periodic financial reports and disclose significant internal control deficiencies and section 404 requires management to provide assessment of the internal control and auditors to provide opinion on that assessment. And the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) set accounting rules that corporations need to follow, i.e. they need to prepare, present and report the financial statements. In Hong Kong, the international banking regulation Basel III is applicable to banks. And HKMA regulates the economic stability in banking industry. Many large banks, like the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), also implement the SOX act, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) corporate governance rules and USA PATRIOT act of the other countries in the Hong Kong. Internal control plays an important role in enterprise risk management (COSO, 2004 Pagano, 2001) Woods (2008) states the relationship between an effective and efficiently internal control linking with enterprise risk management (ERM). It also claims that management-based internal control includes conflicts of interest for internal auditors, is extremely risky for the financial institution. Harker and Stvros (1998) shows the efficiency of risk management significantly affect financial performance of financial institutions. Without effective risk management, auditing of financial statement and expense of audit may be affected and cause unreliable reports. In the financial crisis from 2007 to 2009, many corporations include banks liquated due to a weak internal control system without an effective risk management. Therefore, a good risk management programme is important to the firm in the Hong Kong banking industry. Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) is one of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s largest financial institutions and thus its risk management will be identified, analyzed and compared with its competitors. Banking regulations and frameworks will be reviewed and key elements of risk management will be identified and compared. The debates will be reviewed and the strength and weakness of internal control of HSBC will be identified. In addition, recommendations for future improvement in effective risk management will be drawn. Aim and objectives of study The aims of the study are to illustrate the importance of maintaining a good risk management programme in the Hong Kong banks and to draw recommendations for the improvement of weaken risk management. To achieve this aim, the objectives have been established: To review banking regulations and framework (Basel III) apply to Hong Kong banking industry To compare and examine the risk management of internal control systems in HSBC and its competitors To review different comments given by its stakeholders during financial crisis (2008) and era To identify the strengths and weakness of an HSBCà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s risk management To provide conclusions and recommendations for future improvement in effective risk management in financial institutions 1.3 Proposed Chapter Headings: Introduction Importance of Risk management Background The aim and objectives of the study Structure of the dissertation Literature Review Introduction of risk management Kinds of bank risks Credit risk Liquidity riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  funding risk Interest rate risk Mismatch risk Market liquidityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  market price risk Market risk Foreign exchange risk Regulations framework Benefit of risk management Weaknesses of risk management Causes of business failure Stress Testing Example of banks: Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC), Bank of China (BOC) Government and authority intervention Conclusion An effective internal audit function of an successful case in Hong Kong The weakness of internal control system cause influence and failure of business performance Research Methods Statistical analysis of annual reports of different corporations to compare their differences with internal control systems Data findings Profile of respondents Data analysis Conclusion Recommendation Research direction Recommendations and Conclusions Summary of the actual findings Recommendations for an effective internal control system and risk management Limitations of Corporate Governance Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction of risk management The uncertainty environment leads to financial services products have become more complex and also increase the accountability of regulation. (Collier, 2009) Doyle (2007) shows that there are common material weaknesses in the risk management of complex and rapidly growing. Krishnan (2005) states limited scope of research leads to insufficient disclosure of internal control. Internal control plays an important role in enterprise risk management (COSO, 2004 Pagano, 2001) It includes 4 stages: risk identification, quantitative or qualitative assessment of risks, risk prioritization and response planning. Role of risk management Collier (2009) ALARM 2.2 Kinds of bank risks COSO (2004) defines enterprise risk management as a process applied with strategies to identify and manage potential risks and thus providing reasonable assurance of achieving corporate objectives. Basel I (1999) states banks should use measurement techniques based on robust data. Eccles et al (2001) reviews the US GAAP and SEC and illustrates 4 major risks: market risk, credit risk, operational risk and accounting risk. Then, Fell Devine (2003) demonstrate operational risk should be separated as liquidity risk, insurance risk and group risk. Further, De Wit (2007) recognizes that risks also include legal risk, concentration risk and reputation risk in financial institutions. There is legal risk of possibility of court cases. If they are well-known of providing good service about criminal, more companies would like to create financial relationship them that concentration risk arises. Also, negative publicity, which is uncontrollable and unpredictable, often lead to reputation risk in money laundering case. Collier (2009) states there are many ways of classification of risks. Recently, Besis (2010) states there are 7 major types of risks in banks: credit risk; liquidity risk (funding risk); interest rate risk; mismatch risk; market liquidity (market price risk ) and foreign exchange risk. 2.2.1 Credit risk Credit risk, which is risk of financial loss that creditors fail to execute their obligation of payment, is the main risk in banking industry that potential loss due to counterparty fail to execute payment obligation. (Besis, 2010) Collier (2009) mentioned that credit risk increases the impact of default as it can be transferred to third parties by using securitization. 2.2.2 Liquidity riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  funding risk 2.2.3 Interest rate risk 2.2.4 Mismatch risk 2.2.5 Market liquidityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬  market price risk 2.2.6 Market risk 2.2.7 Foreign exchange risk 2.3 Role of governing bodies in risk management and control International Federation of Accountants Committee (IFAC) concludes the role of governing bodies in risk management and control in public sector. (International Federation of Accountants, 2001, cited in Collier, 2009, p.37) They should ensure to establish an effective risk management in the framework of control. Also, ensuring effective internal audit function includes in that framework. Moreover, they should ensure a framework of internal control is well established with practice and the statement of effectiveness is included in the annual report. Lastly, they should form an audit committee that involves non-executive independent members to provide independent review of the framework of control and external audit process. 2.3 Regulations framework 2.3.1 Basel Basel III is a set of international banking regulations developed by the Basel Committee on banking supervision. It revises Basel I and II that requires a higher level of capital. Basel II, which improves the weakness of Basel I, considers regulatory capital with risks. (Glantz Mun, 2008) Basel II provides three approaches for calculation of risk. A standardized approach is commonly used that requires banks to use standard risk assessment to calculate the risk weightings. Next, internal ratings-based (IRB) foundation approach that is based on internal assessment in probability of default from counterparty (PD), quantified estimates of exposure at default (EAD) and loss given default (LGD) can be applicable. And the third approach is called IRB advanced approach, which is based on own internal assessment in PD, EAD and LGD. 2.3.2 Benefit of risk management Weaknesses of risk management Causes of business failure Fight (2004) states that many industry surveys analysed 5 top causes of business failure. First of all, it states cyclical decline in demand is at the top of the five causes. Recession is not the main factor of failure but the element that helps to show the weakness of risk management in firms. It mentions some examples of weakness, such as poor competitive position, problem in internal control of quality and financial and weak capital and liquidity ratios. With these weaknesses, firms lost competitive advantages and cannot fulfill customer needs and also lead to decline in demand. Next, poor top management is followed. Thirdly, lacking of centralized financial control Fourthly, bad acquisition or inadequate integration strategy. The fifth is inappropriate product or market strategy Except the cyclical decline in demand, the other four causes are related to management. It is showed that management of firms plays an important role of survival in economic downturns. Regarding to the case of Lehman Brothers, the creditor fail to execute their obligation of payment that the demand of mortgage or loan was dropped. 2.5 Stress Test 2.6 Example of banks 2.6.1 Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) is a world-wide diversified banking group that involves in different business and activities since 2005. It takes conventional strategy in its entities in different areas, such as Europe, Hong Kong, Rest of Asia Pacific, Middle East, North America and Latin America. HSBC Holdings plc (2009) mentions that there are many factors vary the risks in HSBC, such as environment change. vary the degrees, measurement, evaluation of its risk management. mentions there are 4 main types of risks: credit risk, counterparty credit risk, market risk and operational risk in its business. Its credit risks arise from failure of receiving payment by customers or counterparties in its business, such as direct lending, trade finance, leasing business, guarantees, derivatives and debt securities. It applies 3 approaches in Basel international banking regulations to calculate the counterparty credit risk and determine exposure values. The three approaches are standardized, mark-to-market and internal model method (IMM). HSBC adopt the standardized approach and mainly adopt the IRB advanced approach to eliminate the credit risk. In addition, counterparty credit risk is risk of economic loss that counterparty may default in transactions arises from offer-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and securities financing transactions. HSBC uses the mark-to-market and IMM approaches to reduce the counterparty credit risk. Market risk is the risk of lower income or portfolio value with market risk factors, including foreign exchange rates and commodity prices, interest rates, credit spreads and equity prices. To get rid of it, HSBC applied standard rules of financial services authority (FSA) and value at risk (VAR) models. Lastly, operational risk is a risk of potential loss by imperfect internal processes and systems or external events. Actually, it also includes technological and legal risks. HSBC employed the standardized approach to determine its operational risk in group. To control risks in the IT area, 3 ways is implemented. First, it uses risk bases project management (RBPM) and a global HSBC tool that is called clarity tool to control the software development life cycle and ensure the consistency and efficiency of management. Second, a disaster recovery plan (DRP) is implemented. For example, it is used to recover system in the case of disasters to ensure the continuity of system. Third, it maintains a secure and reliable governance structure to control and response to the technological risk in different departments. For instance, senior management committees are responsible for managing the risk. The committees consist of HTS Steering Committee, Risk Management Committee (RMC), Operational Risk and Internal Control Committee (ORICC). In the way of managing legal risk, HSBC concerns with contractual, litigation, legislative or regulatory, reputation and non-contractual rights. In addition, it established policies and procedures, estimates potential losses from the judicial or administrative resolutions, disclose the relevant information. Moreover, it established policies and procedures for the identification, measurement of legal risk to eliminate or reduce the possible loss due to the non-performance of the norms and avoid adverse resolutions. 2.6.2 Bank of China (BOC) Bank of China applied the stress testing. 2.7 Government and authority intervention Woods et al (2009) states without perfect credit risk management, the survival of numerous financial institutions in the financial crisis relies on financial support or taking-over by government. In United States, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch collapsed because of no financial support to continue the business. On the contrary, United Kingdom mortgage providers, Northern Rock and Bradford and Bingley, survive in financial crisis as had been taken over by government. In addition, Derbyshire Building Society and the Cheshire Building Society faced substantial problems and then survived as it had been taken over by the Nationwide, a large mortgage lender with a stronger capital base. Starting from summer 2007, accumulating losses on sub-prime mortgage triggered financial tsunami in the global financial system. The paper analyzes that banks and mortgage providers using special purpose entities (SPE), collateralized mortgage obligations (CMOs) or collateralised debt oblig ations (CDOs) and illiquidity as the problems Financial Services Authority (FSA) provides operating framework (Arrow II), risk assessment framework and regulations for financial institutions. 2.8 Conclusion Chapter 3à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ Research method The research is mainly based on quantitative research by obtaining statistical data, such as complaints or commercial crimes, and related to annual reports and financial statement. Reports from Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will be a part of source to analyze the data as it is easily assessed and convenient in obtaining data. In addition, the risk management system of 10-15 limited companies will be examined and compared. It helps to define the strength and weakness between different risk management systems under sudden events. It supplements questionnaires collection and theoretical research. Questionnaires collection is also used as an instrument in obtaining useful information. To obtain relevant information from stakeholders, questionnaires about satisfaction of financial institutions will be collected and some samples will be further conducted by face-to-face survey. And theoretical research is taken place on reviewing information of theories and practices about an effective internal control system with suitable risk management from academic journals and textbooks. 3.2Limitation: It is difficult to assess information because the internal information is not related to the operation that source is limited and limited samples are not be sufficient to conclude subject to risk management. In other words, recommendations are not be sufficient for the whole banking industry. In addition, the online questionnaires do not have a large number of respondents as the respondent rate is limited due to many reasons. For example, some people do not interest in filling questionnaire and some people feel trouble to complete the questionnaire. Chapter 4 Profile of the respondents A survey was conducted in late 2010, from October to November. Online questionnaires were collected from 30 respondents to understand their confidence level of banks in Hong Kong whether it is influenced by the occurrence of financial crisis and also obtain recommendations of risk management in Hong Kong banks for improvement. There are 25 questions in a questionnaire (see appendix) and it is formed as 3 parts: Personal Details; Before Financial Crisis (2007 -2008); After Financial Crisis (2007 -2008). The first 5 questions are about à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“personal detailsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. For question 6 to 8, questions are part of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“before financial crisisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. And questions 9 to 25 are focused on à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“after financial crisisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? that shows present. The major findings drew from the questionnaires are concluded as below. Personal Details Question 1: What is your gender? Female Male Total 16 14 30 In the online questionnaires, there were 30 respondents that slightly more than half of them are Female while slightly less than half of them are male. Question 2: What is the range of your age? From the questionnaires, it was found that the respondents are mainly youngsters which are most (26 in 30 respondents) in the range of 18 to 29 years old. And there are a small number of respondents (2 in 30 respondents) in the range 30 to 39 years old and (2 in 30 respondents) the range of 40 to 49 years old. Question 3: What is your education level? According to results of questionnaires, no respondents are educated under primary level. Three fifths of respondents achieve the degree education whereas the minority of them, 2 in 30 respondents, reach the master or above education level. And the other two sixths of respondents completed secondary to diploma education. Question 4: What is the range of your monthly salary? It is showed that half of the respondents have monthly income less than $5000 while one fifth of them have over $5000 but lower than $10000 and the other one fifth have monthly income between $10000 and $19999. The minority of respondents got income more than $20000 each month that one respondent got more than $20000 but less than $30000 and two respondents got more than $30000. Question 5: What is your role in bank? The respondents are mainly customers in banks that there are over 90% of them, 28 in 30 respondents, as the role of customers and less than 10%, 2 in 30 respondents, of them as the role of employees in bank. Before Financial Crisis(2007-2008) Question 6: Before financial crisis (2007 2008), what was the percentage of your salary you spend on saving in a bank each month? Before financial crisis (2007 2008), almost two fifth (37%) of respondents expressed that they had habit of saving. Only a few of them spent their salaries mostly on saving while a minority spent much more on saving every month. And one in six respondents spent almost half of salary on saving. In the meanwhile, three fifths of them spent fewer while a few respondents spent slightly fewer or none on saving. Question 7: Before financial crisis (2007-2008), did you invest in stock of Hong Kong banks, such as HSBC? Over 70% of respondents, 73%, said that they had habit of investment in Hong Kong stock before financial crisis (2007-2008) while slightly less than 30%, 27%, had not invested. Question 8: Before financial crisis (2007-2008), what was the percentage of your salary you spend on investment each month? Before financial crisis (2007-2008), most of respondents had habit of investment. Three fifths of respondents had spent much more and majority or all of salary on investments each month. For example, less than half of them, 43%, had spent the majority and almost all of salary (80% 100%) on investment while one sixth had spent 60% to nearly 80% of salary. And a small number of them, 10%, had spent almost half of salary (40% 59.99%) on investment while nearly one quarter (23%) of them had spent fewer (25% 39.99) on investment. But, few respondents, 7%, said that they had not invested or spent slightly fewer on investment. Question 9: Did you have habit of checking your balance in your current accounts /investment accounts in banks? And how often did you check your balance each month? Before financial crisis (2007-2008), none of the respondents never check their current account or investment account balance. One in three respondents showed that they seldom (1 to 7 times per month) checked their balance in accounts while half of them often checked their accounts over once a week and nearly once per two days (8-15 times per month). And one in five respondents usually checked their accounts (16-30 times per month). After Financial Crisis (Present) Question 10: Do you own any current accounts for saving in banks? How many banks do you own current account? All respondents have current accounts for saving in banks in Hong Kong. One-fifth of respondents reported that they only owned current account in one bank while almost most of them, 77%, said that they owned current accounts in from two to four banks. In addition, only one respondent responded that hold current accounts in more than five banks. Question 11: What is the percentage of your salary you spend in saving each month? It is showed that most of the respondents have habit of saving. Almost a quarter of them, 23%, spend much more on saving while about two fifths of them, 41%, spent majority or almost all on it. Also, no respondents spend almost half of salary (40%-59.99%) while a minority of them reported they spent fewer and nearly a quarter of them reported they spent slightly fewer and almost none on saving. Question 12: Do you invest in stock Hong Kong banks, such as HSBC? After financial crisis (2007-2008), three fifths of respondents said that they had habit of investment in stock of Hong Kong banks while two fifths did not invest. Question 13: Do you own any investment accounts in banks? How many banks do you own current account? Most of the respondents own investment accounts in Hong Kong banks. For illustrate, more than half of respondents, 73%, only own investment accounts in a bank while 1 in 10 respondents own an investment account in two to four banks. And one-sixth of them, 17%, do not own any investment account and. However, no respondent hold investment accounts in more than five banks. Question 14: What is the percentage of your salary you spend on investment each month? More than half of respondents reported that they spent their salaries less on investment. One third of them spent slightly few and almost none of their salary on investment while one fifth spent fewer as well as the other one fifth almost spent half of it on investment. On the other hand, a small number of them, 10%, responded that they spent much more while 1 in 6 respondents spent most and almost all on investment. Question 15: Do you have habit of checking your balance in your current accounts/ investment accounts in banks? And how often do you check your balance each month? After financial crisis, none of the respondents never check their current account balance. Nearly three fifths of respondents,57%, reported that they seldom (1 to 7 times per month) checked their balance in account while one fifth of them often checked their accounts over once a week and nearly once per two days (8-15 times per month). In addition, about a quarter of them checked their accounts frequently (16-30 times per month). Question 16: After financial crisis (2007-2008), what do you pay attention to the bank before investment in it? (Answers can be chosen more than one.) The table shows the issues about bank whether respondents pay attention to before investment or not. After financial crisis (2007-2008), the respondents mainly pay attention to the news about the bank and also the banking industry before investment. Nearly three quarters of them, 73%, pay attention to the news about the bank and banking industry to concern about their investment. In addition, one-fifth of them pay attention to the risk management of the bank to concern whether risks are minimized and properly controlled. And the other one fifth also pay attention to relevant court cases while three in ten respondents focus on the changes in its share price. However, only a minority pay attention to the big issues, such as big loss or financial difficulties. Question 17: What element(s) do you think it is important in risk management? The table illustrates that importance of elements in risk management respondents revealed. Regarding to questionnaires, almost two fifths of the respondents thought identification of risk was important in risk management while about two thirds of them did not. About assessment of risks, nearly third fifths (57%) of them agreed it was an important element while more than two fifths of them (43%) disagreed. In addition one third of respondents expressed that internal control is an important element in risk management. However, only a minority of respondents, 4%, totally agreed that identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks and the internal control are important in risk management. Question 18: Do you trust the risk management of bank can ensure steadily operation with lower risks to prevent bankruptcy? Two thirds of respondents reflected they trusted the risk management of bank that can ensure it operating steadily with lower risks and prevent bankruptcy while one third said that they did not trust it. Question 19: What is the level you rely on the risk management of bank? After financial crisis (2007-2008), a small number (10%) of respondents reflected that they extremely relied on the risk management of bank while one fifth said that they more relied on it. Half of them remained neutral whereas a minority less relied and a few respondent never rely on the risk management of the bank. Question 20: After financial crisis (2007-2008), have your confidence in bank been cracked? About two fifths of respondents, 37%, thought their confidence in bank had not be cracked after financial crisis (2007- 2008). Nevertheless, half of them reflected their confidence were partly impaired while a minority (13%) revealed that their confidence were mostly damaged. Question 21: What is (are) the issue(s) that impair your confidence in the bank and make you think that it has weak risk management? The chart illustrates the issues whether it can impair their confidence of respondents and affect their investment decision in the bank. According to the responds, a majority of respondents, 90%, thought occurring liquidity problem and big loss can impair their confidence in the bank. And 70% of them expressed that weaken defense of risks and without experience of facing financial crisis can lead to bank have a weak risk management and also impair their confidence. Besides, slightly more than a quarter of them, 27%, considered human resources problem was one of the elements of weak risk management. For example, improper authorization and delegation policies lead to conflict of interest exists in the bank. Moreover, nearly one-fifth thought operating without following regulation, such as Basel framework, is more likely to maintain weak risk management. Finally, only a few of them, 7%, responded that involving in court case impair their confidence in bank and they might think it had we ak risk management Question 22: Do you read the annual report of bank to understand its risk management before investment? The above chart shows that one third of respondents responded that they saw annual report of the bank before investment to understand its risk management. However, two thirds of them expressed that they did not. Question 23: Do you think these banks have good risk management? In five Hong Kong banks, respondents expressed which banks they think have good risk management. As a result, most of them commented HSBC had a good risk management while only one third thought Bank of China had a good risk management. Also, half of them expressed that Hangseng Bank had good risk management while the other half disagreed that. Concerning to standard chartered bank, only one fifth thought its risk management was good. Moreover, slightly less than twenty percent of them reflected that Citibank had good risk management. Question 24: What rank do you give for the risk management of HSBC? (Please rank from 1to 5: 1 is weakest; 5 is best) Rank of HSBC Number of respondents

Biography of Julius Caesar Essay -- Julius Caesar Roman Empire Essays

Biography of Julius Caesar A baby was born on July 12 or 13 of 100 BC in Rome. Little did the proud parents of this baby know that he would rule most of the known world. This baby was born to the name of Gaius, his personal name, Julius was the name of his family's clan and the name of his family was Caesar meaning hairy. Caesar was such an amazing man that many people couldn't believe that he was born the same way as them. Over time stories have arisen about Caesar's birth. One story says that Caesar was pulled from an incision in his mother's stomach. This is where the medical term of Cesarean section came from, from Caesar's birth. Not everyone paid that much attention to the birth of Caesar, it was overshadowed by exploits of his Uncle Gaius Marius. Marius was a politician, he was a "new man" or a plebeian politician. He married into the aristocratic Caesar family so he would have a name to back up his words. Marius did not receive a first-class education or a lot of other advantages some politicians had. Marius was elected consul in 108 BC, once in office he proved himself as a brilliant general. He persuaded the senate to send him to Africa and replace the general in the war there. He took over for General Metellus. Soon he ended the war that had been dragging on for many years. When he returned to Rome Marius found another chance for fame. Nomadic German tribes had invaded the north of Italy and winning a couple battles over Roman armies. Marius took the spotlight away from this little bundle of joy named Caesar.No matter what he wanted he was propelled into politics. Many of his relatives were senators or held other important political offices. He listened to many political discussions between his family which had substantial influences on him. He was trained to be a politician by his tutor Antonius Gnipho. He studied Greek and Latin literature, philosophy, and most important, rhetoric or the art of persuasive argument. At the age of twelve he was brought to the senate house to watch speeches and debates.As a kid he wrote numerous poems and plays. Augustus believed that these writings might tarnish his reputation, when he became emperor he burned all of Caesar works. Caesar was a very handsome boy and for that matter man too. He dressed in a style all his own. He was not very strong as boy. All male children were expected to be goo... ...ors over the edge. Caesar wanted to lead armies again in new and glorious conquests. He made plans to leave Rome for two years and lead an army. He was to leave on March 19. This meant the assassination had to take place soon, Cassius had to make final plans. Caesar knew something was wrong he had spies everywhere and a soothsayer openly said that he would be killed. He refused to take precautions and even dismissed his bodyguard. This whole time he refused to be crowned king. Caesar was scheduled to attend a meeting on the Ides, or fifteenth, of March, that was the day the conspirators would attack. On March fourteenth Caesar's wife had terrible dreams of her husband's death. In the morning his wife pleaded with him not to go. Caesar postponed the session. One of the conspirators named Decimus Brutus came to Caesar's house and persuaded him to come to the session. He gave in and came to the session. His wife's try to save him failed. When Caesar entered the Senate a group formed around him and stabbed him to death. He was stabbed 23 times then fell on a statue of Pompey. So Caesar died. Caesar had a great life and then was stabbed because people were jealous of him.

The United States Are Microcosms Of Society Education Essay

IntroductionClassrooms across the United States are microcosms of society. The faces in schoolrooms today reflect the altering demographics of the communities in which the schools are located. Today, schools are informants to the rapid alterations in pupil demographics, in peculiar, the growing of Latino pupils in schoolrooms throughout the United States ( KewalRamani, Gilbertson, Fox, & A ; Provasnik, 2007 ) . With rapid alterations in demographics, come challenges and issues, in add-on to other challenges which schools are seeking to run into. Educators face many challenges in public schools today. District leaders, campus leaders, and instructors must happen ways to turn to such issues as ( 1 ) planning and presenting standards-based direction, ( 2 ) meeting the demands of federal and province answerability systems, ( 3 ) making more with less resources, ( 4 ) determination, hiring, and maintaining extremely qualified instructors, ( 5 ) keeping safe and drug-free acquisition environments, ( 6 ) guaranting all high school alumnuss are college or calling ready, ( 7 ) cut downing the dropout rates, ( 8 ) designing, implementing, and measuring particular plans for fighting scholars and academically advanced scholars, ( 9 ) supplying a consistent sequence of classs at the secondary degree, ( 10 ) integrating federal, province, or local mandated enterprises, ( 11 ) set uping working partnerships with households and communities, and ( 12 ) happening ways to turn to other sociopolitical and sociocultural factors impacting their s chools ( Conchas, 2009 ; McNutly, 2009 ; Nelson, Palonsky, & A ; McCarthy, 2007 ) . Educators must happen ways to plan, implement, and measure direction and plans for the culturally diverse and linguistic communication minority pupils, who now sit in their schoolrooms, every bit good ( Gay, 2000 ) . This peculiar challenge has plagued public schools for decennaries ( Editorial Projects in Educational Research Center, EPERC, 2008 ; National Education Association, NEA, 2007 ) . From its origin, public instruction has been considered a agencies to accomplish societal, political, and economic benefits. Horace Mann referred to public instruction as the â€Å" great equaliser † ( Alexander & A ; Alexander, ) . He and others like him viewed public instruction as a manner for pupils and households to accomplish the aforesaid benefits. But, one must step back and reflect on the history of public instruction in this state. For whom were the first public schools designed? Who were the kids? Which sociocultural groups did they stand for? What were the purposes of the public schools who did educate pupils who did non stand for the mainstream cultural group? As persons peruse the pupil accomplishment informations, graduation informations, dropout informations, keeping informations, suspension and ejection informations, school to prison informations, disproportional representation of cultural and cultural groups in particular plan informations, college keeping ra tes, and such, there are obvious racial and cultural disparities and spreads which result in socioeconomic spreads, employment spreads, political spreads, wellness spreads, and others ( ____ ) . From the information, one may reason that the â€Å" great equaliser † has non delivered on its promise. However, schools are designed to acquire the consequences they get. McNutly ( 2009 ) stated that schools have behaved their manner into their current state of affairs and schools can act their manner out of it. There are schools run intoing the educational and non-educational demands of all pupils, including culturally and linguistically diverse pupil groups. Such schools are non merely effectual but, culturally antiphonal ( Gay, 2000 ) . I posit that genuinely effectual schools are culturally antiphonal schools. The schools are designed to run into the educational demands of the pupils in their schoolrooms. The leading and instructors demonstrate a strong belief that all pupils in their charge can be successful. These pedagogues collaboratively work with each other, pupils, and households. I, besides posit that the work of theses culturally antiphonal and effectual schools can be replicated. Becoming an effectual and culturally antiphonal school involves a alteration procedure that has an impact on every stakeholder at every degree in the system ( Hall and Hord, 2006 ) . To better understand the place I take, I present a reappraisal of the literature. I will portion the conceptual model which guides my survey. As I conducted the reappraisal of the literature, I did so with the aid of four steering inquiries adapted from the work by McCarthy ( _ ) . McCarthy provinces that if pedagogues can reply four inquiries as the y plan and present direction, Why, What, How and What if, all acquisition manners in schoolrooms will be addressed. I borrowed from McCarthy ‘s work to develop four inquiries to assist me carry on a comprehensive survey of effectual and culturally antiphonal schools, in peculiar, those schools now faced with educating one of largest and fastest turning cultural groups in the United States and their classrooms-the Latino pupil population ( KewalRamani, et. Al, 2007 ) . The four guiding inquiries were: ( 1 ) Why is at that place a demand for effectual and culturally antiphonal schools, ( 2 ) What are the features of effectual and culturally antiphonal schools, ( 3 ) How do schools go effectual and culturally antiphonal? , and ( 4 ) What are effectual and culturally antiphonal instructional patterns? . The purpose of the literature reappraisal is to reply the four guiding inquiries. In add-on, the reappraisal includes a limited survey of three back uping theories and constructs found in the literature on racially and ethnically diverse pupils in schools. The three back uping theories are: ( a ) critical race theory, ( B ) cultural reproduction theory, and ( degree Celsius ) the shortage theoretical account. A reappraisal of the current context and tendencies about racially and ethnically diverse pupils groups in schools will follow. A reappraisal of tendencies and the current context will supply a background to the racial and cultural disparities in schools today. The undermentioned background information will include: ( a ) the current population informations tendencies, ( B ) current disparities of educational results along cultural and lingual diverseness lines, ( degree Celsius ) an account of the grounding thought by which information is filtered, effectual and culturally anti phonal schools.Theoretical and Conceptual ModelPublic schools have been fighting with the issue of racial and cultural disparities in educational results such as pupil public presentation, graduation rates, dropout rates, suspension and ejection rates, disproportional representation of cultural groups in particular plans, and such for some clip ( NEA, 2007 ) . Scholars ( Payne, ) have attempted to explicate the disparities along socioeconomic lines. While the deficiency of resources does hold an impact on pupil accomplishment, race affairs. Gosa and Alexander ( 2008 ) found disparities between White pupils and Afro-american pupils from flush households, therefore reenforcing race does matter. Students come to school with different lived experiences, cognition, accomplishments, perceptual experiences, and demands ( Tyler, Uqdah, Dillihunt, Besatty-Hazelbaker, Conner, Gadson. . . & A ; Stevens, 2008 ) . Students come from different environments and enter school with racial disparities that exist sing school preparedness, over which schools have small to no control ( Parret & A ; Barr, 2009 ) . However, racial disparities continue and widen over clip in schools. Several bookmans posit that it is the schools ‘ constructions, policies, processs, patterns, engrained positions, beliefs, and values that reinforce and advance racial disparities in educational results ( Artiles & A ; Bal, 2009 ; Gosa & A ; Alexander, 2007, Jay 2003, Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995 ) . Cultural clangs between school and place, trial prejudice, system prejudice, negative and positive stereotyped positions, poorness, linguistic communication differences, deficiency of relational trust, and other sociocultural, sociohistorical, and sociopolitical factors play a critical function in the current racial and cultural disparities in educational results in our public schools ( Skiba, 2009 ; Salend & A ; Garrick-Duhaney, 2005 ) . Mickelson ( 2003 ) stated that educational systems were responsible for the turning racial disparities in educational results and that the disparities widen with each twelvemonth, cultural minority pupils attended school. Scholars have tried to explicate the bing racial and cultural disparities in educational results utilizing assorted theoretical and conceptual models, such as the Critical Race Theory, Cultural Reproduction Theory, and the Deficit Model.Critical Race TheoryCritical Race Theory as a tool. An person ‘s cultural individuality is a fluid and dynamic societal concept influenced by lived experiences, internal picks, and outside agents ‘ perceptual experiences of that individuality ( Fergus, 2009 ; Lee, 2008 ) . Race and racism have shaped the history of the United States and its traditional societal establishments ( Yosso, 2005 ) . Racism, nevertheless elusive, continues to impact societal establishments, i.e. , schools ( Yosso ) . McNutly ( 2009 ) stated that is was non so much an issue of race as it was an issue of engagement. Gosa and Alexander reported that race mattered in schools ( 2008 ) . School contexts form pupils ‘ societal and academic individualities and outlooks ( Borrero, Yeh, Cruz, & A ; Suda, 2012 ) . Persons in the place of societal power define who belongs and who does non, who represents the standardised norm and who does non, and who is in and who is non ( Artiles & A ; Bal, 2008 ) . School is yet another topographic point where pupils. . . face labels such as ‘gifted, ‘ holding ‘special demands, ‘ and being ‘at-risk, ‘ when in fact, it is the establishment itself that holds the power to implement such labels ( Bucholtz & A ; Hall, 2004 ; Fine, 1992 ) . These imposed classs further separate pupils into grouping of ‘normal ‘ and ‘other. ‘ Borrero, et al. , p. 5. Critical Race Theory ( CRT ) theorizes race ( Ladson-Billings and Tate, 1995 ) . CRT was foremost introduced as analytic tool in the justness system ; CRT bookmans used it as tool to place and analyse procedures in the judicial system ( Ladson-Billings & A ; Tate, 1995 ; Tate, 1997 ) . CRT was introduced by Ladson-Billings and Tate as tool to place and analyse unfairnesss or equity traps ( Linton ) in schools ‘ policies, processs, patterns, and processes that keep cultural groups of pupils from take parting and constructing societal capital, political capital, and economic capital. Scholars can utilize a CRT lens to place the what, why, and how ( Yosso, 2005 ) and who, when analyzing the â€Å" political orientation of racism † ( Yosso, p. 74 ) . It is through the CRT theoretical and analytical lens, that allow CRT bookmans to analyze, speculate, and dispute the ways racism influences schools and other societal establishments ( Yosso ; Su, 2007 ) . The subjects of CRT. CRT is framed by six subjects ( Su, 2007 ) . The current subjects are ( 1 ) race is a societal concept which is historically embedded in United States society ; ( 2 ) racism is common and profoundly engrained in United States society and is accepted as normal ; ( 3 ) color-blind equality reform serves to turn to dangerous signifiers of racism to persons but, non structural unfairnesss ; ( 4 ) United States society was built on the impression of belongings rights and Whiteness and White privilege are belongings rights protected by the authorities ; ( 5 ) those in the place of power, White persons, are in favour of antiracism structural or policy reform every bit long as it benefits White privilege and non favor is lost ( involvement convergence ) ; and ( 6 ) the voice of those most wedged by racism and unfairnesss serves an of import intent in turn toing structural and policy unfairnesss, as they portion their experiential cognition ( Su ) . Race and racism has been portion of the history of the United States and its traditional societal insitutions.Cultural Reproduction TheoryDeficit ModelThe Why of Effective and Culturally Responsive SchoolsThe What of Effective and Culturally Responsive SchoolsThe How of Effective and Culturally Responsive SchoolsWhat are Culturally Responsive and Effective Instructional PracticesDecision

Descartes vs Locke Essay

Socrates once said, â€Å"As for me, all I know is that I know nothing. † Several philosophers contradicted Socrates’ outlook and believed that true knowledge was in fact attainable. This epistemological view however had several stances to it, as philosophers held different beliefs in regards to the derivation of true knowledge. Rationalists believed that the mind was the source of true knowledge, while in Empiricism, true knowledge derived from the senses. Rene Descartes, a rationalist, and John Locke, an empiricist, were prime examples of epistemologists who were seen to differentiate greatly within each of their philosophies. However, although Descartes and Locke’s ideas did contrast in that sense, they both shared common concepts that helped mould the basis of their ideas. Descartes and Locke both agreed that there were things in life that exist that we can be certain of. For Descartes, human experiences did not provide sufficient proof of existence. He indicated that through his Dream Conjecture and his Evil-Demon Theory (Paquette 205). Descartes stated that we cannot be certain if reality is a dream or not, thus questioning our existence (Paquette 205). In his Evil-Demon Theory, Descartes claimed that for all he knew, an evil demon could be putting thoughts into his head, making him think that reality was true when it was in fact false (Paquette 205). Ultimately, all this thinking resulted in Descartes coming to the conclusion that the one thing we could be sure of existing is the mind (Newman 2010). This can be seen through his most famous quote, â€Å"I think therefore I am (Kaplan 2008). † Descartes claimed that since he was able to doubt and think using his mind, his mind must exist (Paquette 205). Similarly, Locke was also sure of existence. He believed that every object was made up of primary qualities as well as secondary qualities (Paquette 212). Secondary qualities rely on how a person senses the object subjectively, and is experienced differently depending on the individual (Paquette 212). Examples of secondary qualities include colour, taste, and sound (Paquette 212). Primary qualities, however, are objective and include aspects such as an object’s height and weight (Paquette 212). Through this, Locke claimed that the existence of objects can be made certain due to the primary qualities it possesses (Paquette 212). Similar to Descartes, Locke believed in a sense of existence. However, in his view, the facts from the primary qualities proved the object exists because the object exists within itself (Paquette 212). Descartes and Locke also believed in some sense of the external world. Descartes claimed that there is in fact an external world, however it does not exist outside people’s minds (Paquette 206). Since Descartes was a rationalist, he believed that the only method to acquire true knowledge was solely through the mind (Moore 2002). Through the process of doubting existence, Descartes realized that the mind exists (Paquette 205). He went further into thought and concluded that since he, an imperfect person, has knowledge of perfection, something perfect has to exist to have put that knowledge in his mind. From there he claimed the existence of God (Newman 2010). Descartes then stated that a perfect god would not deceive his people, indicating that the material world exists (Newman 2010). Therefore through this thinking process, Descartes came to the conclusion that the real world is of the mind, and the external world is everything else that falls into the material world made by god (Newman 2010). Like Descartes, Locke also believed in an external world. As an empiricist, Locke relied heavily on the senses to provide true knowledge (Moore 2002). He shared Aristotle’s belief that the mind is a blank slate, also known as tabula rasa, at birth (Paquette 211). Our sense experiences thereafter provide us with knowledge to fill in those slates (Paquette 211). In Locke’s â€Å"Representative Theory of Perception,† also known as Epistemological Dualism, he stated that material objects exist and are separate entities from human beings (Paquette 227). However, he also believed that objects exist in the mind as psychological entities (Paquette 227). Locke concluded that people can taste, smell, touch, and see the external world which, in turn, becomes impressions in our minds (Paquette 227). Descartes and Locke are thus seen to be similar in the sense that they both believed in an external world. Descartes and Locke both had a process for understanding knowledge as well. As a rationalist, Descartes believed in innate ideas; that all humans were born with some knowledge (Paquette 206). This differentiates from the empirical view that the mind is a blank slate at birth (Paquette 211). Descartes also used intuition and deduction to establish truth (Kaplan 2008). He believed that intuition is direct knowledge which can be known without ever sensing or experiencing it (Paquette 206). Deduction however, is where you start with a premise, or a statement you believe to be true, and then determine more truths based on that origin (Paquette 206). As shown, Descartes focused on the thinker and the thinking process when determining true knowledge (Paquette 206). Rather than a thinking process, Locke believed that understanding knowledge came from a process based on our senses (Paquette 211). He believed that when the external world triggers any of our five senses, those experiences turn into sensations (Paquette 211). Those sensations then turn into impressions in our mind, thus adding knowledge onto the slate in our mind which was once blank (Paquette 211). He claimed that our mind reflects on the impressions we received from our sensations (Paquette 211). Locke then stated that those reflections turn into an idea which can be either simple, or made up of a bundle of simple ideas called complex ideas (Paquette 211). Like Descartes, Locke is seen to use a process for finding knowledge as well. There are many aspects to Rene Descartes and John Locke’s philosophies that are clearly distinct from one another. However, it is essentially incorrect to claim that rationalist Descartes and empiricist Locke bear no similarities. The two epistemologists are seen to share a similar base within each of their philosophical ideas. Through the many differences between Descartes and Locke, their basic concepts of existence, the external world, and the process for obtaining knowledge are quite similar to each other. This connexion illustrates that although the ideologies people possess on life vary to a great extent, there can always be some sense of a common ground that brings us all together. Works Cited Kaplan, R. Philosophy – In our time. BBC – Homepage. BBC News. , 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Newman, L. Descartes’ epistemology.

6 Steps For Building Your Author Mailing List

6 Steps For Building Your Author Mailing List 6 Steps for Building your Author Mailing List through Giveaways One of the main questions that torment debuting authors is: how do I build an audience for my first book before I release it? Most authors are aware that they should start building their author mailing list months in advance, they just don’t know how.  Of course, that’s easier said than done, especially if you haven’t published anything yet. But it’s not impossible to do, even while you’re writing your first book.Someone who has had some success in this area is Derek Murphy. Derek has been a longtime friend of Reedsy, and been in the business of publishing for quite a few years now (check out his cool site creativindie.com). He’s a great book designer and has helped a lot of authors with their marketing efforts. Recently, Derek decided to write his first fiction book (a YA novel). But before that, he wanted to build an audience for it. In an exclusive interview with us, he explains how he was able to build an author mailing list of 10,000 r eaders, from scratch, in less than a week.â€Å"One of the easiest ways to get a lot of sign ups quickly is to offer free giveaways. It’s much easier than trying to build great content that people share. I’ve been doing that for a long time and it takes work. Even if it’s really good you aren’t going to get that many shares or follows or likes. A contest is really pretty powerful.† – Derek MurphyYou can watch the full interview here, or read the post below where we condensed the information into a nice step-by-step guide (because that’s what we do!). Share the interview: Here's how to build an author mailing list of 10,000 readers, from scratch, in less than a week. 1. Set up your author mailing list and create an automated email sequenceYour first task is to set yourself up on Mailchimp. Once you have created your account, a signup form will show up. You can customise this form, share it on your author website, or any social media platforms you have. Start small, signing up friends and family and create an automated email sequence for every new subscriber who signs up.Maintain a single list of all your subscribers and segment it according to particular interest groups. This is so you can tailor your newsletters  according to the prizes you have to offer. Create a warm automated email sequence that encourages readers to interact with you. 2. Decide on the â€Å"giveaway† Facebook Ads for Authors (with Mark Dawson) Read post Target influential people in your genre. This is Derek’s tactic: â€Å"I made an email list of maybe 500 book bloggers in my genre and all the ‘BookTubers’ who talk about and review YA books on YouTube†¦ those are influencers, who have the traffic and platforms already, so I email all them about the contest†.Facebook targeted advertising is another approach to consider. Drive up subscribers to your author mailing list by targeted advertising to groups, pages or people. Find genre-specific pages to post your ads on so they are shown to people who are likely to enjoy  the  giveaway.â€Å"The nice thing about giveaways is that other people share for you. I will do targeted Facebook advertising to reach maybe a 1,000 people, and those people will share really hard†¦ they will promote the giveaway to all their friends...it’s not exactly going viral but you get quite a bit of traffic† – Derek MurphyThere are other platforms you can promote your giveaway on such as StumbleUpon’s Paid Discovery, Reddit’s advertising platform and promoted posts on Twitter.  Also consider collaborating with other authors or people who are also giving away prizes. If you do a shared competition promoting both of your products, you are pooling the contacts you both have, doubling the potential for subscribers. "The nice thing about giveaways is that other people share for you." – @Creativindie 5. Convert giveaway subscribers into a loyal fanbaseThere is some criticism of building an author mailing list through giveaways. After all, there is no guarantee that subscribers will be interested in your work simply because you are offering free prizes. So how do you create a loyal fanbase from this?â€Å"Most authors are probably not using the mailing list right. They are probably giving away free stuff and then trying to sell their book right away†¦ That’s not going to work. First you must educate them about who you are: they are signing up for free stuff, they don’t know that I’m an author yet. There are ways to slowly introduce them to that idea, and it’s not by selling them my book.† – Derek MurphyContinue with smaller campaigns, particularly using Gleam or Rafflecopter that link to your author blog and websites which subscribers can read if they want to. This process needs to happen gradually as an indirect way to introduce your list to the fact you are an author.â€Å"I won’t try to sell my books to this list† says Derek. â€Å"I’m mainly using it for free downloads and book reviews. If I can give away a thousand copies of my book and I give them a reason to go download it and review it I can probably get a couple hundred reviews in the first couple days of my launch†. Reviews are essential for the successful marketing of a book. "You need to be getting thousands of downloads to get hundreds of reviews". You cannot achieve this if you start charging for your book too early as a first-time author. Your giveaway subscribers won't be receptive to the 'hard sell'. Build a relationship with them first. 6. Keep in touch with your fanbase regularlySend out a monthly newsletter to your author mailing list, such as ‘My top 10 books for December 2015’ so contestants keep opening your emails. Give a brief review of each one and an Amazon link where they can buy the book. This will also provide you with cash flow through the Amazon affiliate program.Eventually, contact your list telling them there are no more giveaways. This will be a way of finding out where your true fanbase lies. Even if the majority of people unsubscribe to your emails, the aim would be to have 1,000-2,000 people who are genuinely interested in your work who will be willing to buy your books in the future. Eventually, clean up  your list by telling your subscribers there are no more giveaways. ConclusionThere’s one thing we haven’t mentioned yet: costs. Giving stuff away is not free, all the more if you’re promoting the giveaway through advertising. Derek’s campaign cost him around $600-700 (full breakdown here).This sounds like a lot. However, it is not uncommon for authors to spend this amount on marketing with no clearly defined results over a much longer time period. The difference with this approach is after the initial costs, you can instantly reconnect with your subscribers for free in the future. As we say in the interview, â€Å"you build your own personal Bookbub list†.What are  your strategies for growing your author mailing list? Have you ever tried giveaways? Let us know about your experiences, or ask Derek any question, in the comments below!

Forced Labor and Free Enterprise on Sugar Plantations Created a Feudal and Capitalism Society

Forced Labor and Free Enterprise on Sugar Plantations Created a Feudal and Capitalism Society Feudalism, a political and economic system that was practiced in Europe between the eighth and fifteenth century, was based on a relationship between the lords and their vassals. The vassals were protected and maintained by their lords through granting of fiefs (maintenance fee paid in return for services) and served under their lords in war.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Forced Labor and Free Enterprise on Sugar Plantations Created a Feudal and Capitalism Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Capitalism refers to private ownership system of all the physical non-human inputs of production such as factories, machines, and all the tools used in the production of wealth are operated for profit. Such an economic system owns all the means of production as well as the means of distribution. In America and Europe, there was a great demand of slaves to provide forced labor that was useful in the large plantation farms t hat were owned by the lords. These demands led to the acquiring of stronger slaves from the African continent who could withstand the harsh weather conditions and work for longer hours on the plantations. Slave came from different tribes and origins and the owners of the plantations used many ways to control their slaves. One of the ways was to choose one member of each tribe, feed, treat them well, and give them fewer responsibilities. In turn, the leaders chosen ensured that the slave members of their tribes behaved well worked even harder and had a chance to earn some income. Moreover, slavery individuals swore allegiance to their social superiors who protected their interests. This resulted into a system of labor known as plantation complex. The rise in market economics and the spread of agricultural labor slave resulted in more productivity from the plantations and acquiring of wealth. The plantation complex also enabled the owners to have overall control over the slaves and their labor, which resulted in the accumulation of wealth from sugar plantations. The plantation owners used such vast wealth to buy their political and economic power and change the economic system to their advantage. The plantation complex had its master or planter who owned the land, the slaves, and the products produced. Such masters eventually controlled the means of production and distribution of products such as the factories and machines that aided production. Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They sold their products to and had shares in large companies such as the East Indian Company that promoted its sugar. Moreover, the lords prevented peasants from obtaining surplus amounts of produce above their subsistent needs, as this was required to replenish the soil and improve its fertility. The merchants accumulated wealth and they were viewed as capitalists who controlle d all the means of production to their own advantage (McNally, 1988). Exploitation of Caribbean Islands The exploitation of the Caribbean islands was carried out by the western powers. It involved the extirpation (total extermination) of native population through war, disease, and maltreatment. Those who were not killed were assimilated genetically by their conquerors, resulting into a westernized and modernized Caribbean because of the introduction of advanced forms of large-scale capitalistic agricultural practices (Mintz, 2007). The American countries exhibited capitalism due to slave trade. The labor demand and the increased economic forces because of increased productivity called for more labor preferred from the slaves from African origin who were stronger and resistant to the harsh conditions in the agricultural plantations of the merchants. In the West Africa, the British colonialism led to rise in the prosperity of peasant producer groups that retained freehold ownership of their land. This resulted into greater economic growth that made them enter into the world great currency trades because of the colonial powers’ national policies that favored them. In the Australian society, the European colonial powers were conquerors; they created new western transplants because of a modern way of administration and development. Moreover, the Spaniards conquered large populations of the highland agriculturalists through decapitating of political structures of the villages and imposing their policies to other members.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Forced Labor and Free Enterprise on Sugar Plantations Created a Feudal and Capitalism Society specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Skilled and domestic slaves In the plantations, there were the field hands who were slaves who would work long hours on plantation farms, they had no skills and they usually worked under an overseer. In addition, the y received harsh treatment from the overseer whose main interest was to maximize the harvest. Domestic slaves worked on the master’s homes (preparing meals, prepare for guests, tend the house, looking after the masters’ children) and they were considered part of the extended family. Skilled and domestic slaves were in constant contact with their masters, resulting into development of mutual bond between them and the families of their masters. The bond between them and the children made their masters to provide them with better treatment and enjoyed the high status accorded to them by their masters, unlike the others on the plantation who were harshly and brutally treated by overseers who monitored the work for the owners. Such overseers needed to impress their masters in terms of thorough work done on plantations by the slaves; hence, the overseers had to ensure that decent work was done on the plantations at any cost. Slaves who had skills such as crafting, woodwor k, art, and so on were treated differently because they would use such skills for the benefit of their masters in terms of maintaining the properties of the masters. Articles made by skilled slaves were used as decoration in their masters’ houses, and this motivated their masters to treat them with utmost fairness and hence they enjoyed the higher social status (Scully and Paton, 2005). Social classes in plantation slave society Five social classes existed in the slave society. The first class is the large plantation owners who were the elite group that had vast wealth and great influence to the government on matters such as taxes; they owned most of the slaves. The second class involved the small slaveholders, who did not have quite a substantial number of slaves, and due to their economic limitation, they could easily be found dwelling in farmhouses, as well as working alongside the slaves. Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third class comprised of the independent white farmers who had a significant influence due to their enormous number. The forth class consisted of free blacks who were a product of a white and black parent and they were free because of the idealism of revolutionary days. They were treated harshly and never had a choice of occupation. The fifth class consisted of the black slaves, which was the lowest class treated poorly by their masters who owned them, they were oppressed and subjected to hard labor. They were owned by both the plantation owners, small slaveholders, and the independent white farmers. Interdependence The large plantation owners depended on their black slaves who provided labor on their plantation farms. The slaves spent more hours working on the farms; planting, harvesting and transporting the produce to ensure that the produce met the owners’ expectations in terms of profits gained from the sale. The owners also had relationships with the women slaves wh o acted as their mistresses. Moreover, the black slaves depended on their masters for food (daily rations), clothing (and shoes provided after a predefined time) and shelter. Those who worked for the plantation owners were treated fairly by their masters and obtained tips and favors for good work done. Indeed, the slaves provided market for the small slaveholders farm produce (Conlin, 2008). References Conlin, J. R. (2008). The American Past: A Survey of American History. OH: Cengage Learning. McNally, D. (1988). Political economy and the rise of capitalism: a reinterpretation. London: University of California Press. Mintz, W, S. (2007). Caribbean transformations. New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. Scully, P. and Paton, D. (2005). Gender and slave emancipation in the Atlantic world. NY: Duke University Press.

Advice From an Energy-Efficient Architect

Advice From an Energy-Efficient Architect The most energy-efficient houses function like living things. They are designed to capitalize on the local environment and to respond to the climate. Australian architect and Pritzker Prize-Winner Glenn Murcutt is known for designing earth-friendly homes that imitate nature. Even if you live far from Australia, you can apply Glenn Murcutts ideas to your own home-building project. 1. Use Simple Materials Forget the polished marble, imported tropical wood, and costly brass and pewter. A Glenn Murcutt home is unpretentious, comfortable, and economical. He uses inexpensive materials that are readily available in his native Australian landscape. Notice, for example, Murcutts Marie Short House. The roof is corrugated metal, the window louvers are enameled steel, and the walls are timber from a nearby sawmill.   How does using local materials save energy? Think of the energy used beyond your own home- what fossil fuels were burned to get supplies to your work site? how much air was polluted to create cement or vinyl? 2. Touch the Earth Lightly Glenn Murcutt is fond of quoting the Aboriginal proverb touch the earth lightly because it expresses his concern for nature. Building in the Murcutt way means taking special measures to safeguard the surrounding landscape.   Nestled in an arid Australian forest, the Ball-Eastaway House in Glenorie, Sydney NSW, Australia hovers above the earth on steel stilts. The main structure of the building is supported by steel columns and steel I-beams. By raising the house above the earth, with no need for deep excavation, Murcutt protected the dry soil and surrounding trees.   The curved roof prevents dry leaves from settling on top. An exterior fire extinguishing system provides emergency protection from forest blazes that are so prevalent in Australia. Constructed between 1980 and 1983, the Ball-Eastaway house was built as an artists retreat. The architect thoughtfully placed the windows and meditation decks to create a sense of seclusion while still providing scenic views of the Australian landscape. The occupants become part of the landscape. 3. Follow the Sun Prized for their energy efficiency, Glenn Murcutts houses capitalize on natural light. Their shapes are unusually long and low, and they often feature verandas, skylights, adjustable louvers, and movable screens. Horizontal linearity is an enormous dimension of this country, and I want my buildings to feel part of that, Murcutt has said. Notice the linear form and expansive windows of Murcutts Magney House. Stretching across a barren, wind-swept site overlooking the ocean, the home is designed to capture the sun. 4. Listen to the Wind Even in the hot, tropical climate of Australias Northern Territory, houses by Glenn Murcutt do not need air conditioning. Ingenious systems for ventilation assure that cooling breezes circulate through open rooms. At the same time, these houses are insulated from the heat and protected from strong cyclone winds. Murcutts Marika-Alderton House is often compared to a plant because the slatted walls open and close like petals and leaves. When we get hot, we perspire, says Murcutt. Buildings should do similar things. 5. Build to the Environment Every landscape creates different needs. Unless you live in Australia, you are not likely to build a house that duplicates a Glenn Murcutt design. You can, however, adapt his concepts to any climate or topography. The best way to learn about Glenn Murcutt is to read his own words. In the slim paperback Touch This Earth Lightly Murcutt discusses his life and describes how he developed his philosophies. In the words of Murcutt: Our building regulations are supposed to prevent the worst; they in fact fail to stop the worst, and at best frustrate the best- they certainly sponsor mediocrity. I’m trying to produce what I call minimal buildings, but buildings that respond to their environment.† In 2012 Great Britains Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) rigorously used sustainability principles similar to Murcutts to develop Olympic Park, now called Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. See how this urban revitalization happened in How to Reclaim the Land - 12 Green Ideas. In light of climate change, why cant our institutions mandate energy efficiency in our buildings? In Glenn Murcutts Own Words: Life is not about maximizing everything, its about giving something back - like light, space, form, serenity, joy.- Glenn Murcutt Touch This Earth Lightly: Glenn Murcutt in His Own Words ​​Source: Biography by Edward Lifson, Director of Communications, The Pritzker Architecture Prize (PDF) [accessed August 27, 2016]

Xenografts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Xenografts - Essay Example Infants born with this condition usually have a lifespan of two weeks or less. Doctor Bailey and his team found out that a baboon’s heart is very similar in physiology to the human heart thus deciding that they might be able to successfully implant the baboon’s heart in Baby Fae, giving her another chance at life. Anencephaly is the condition when a neonate is born without a large part of the brain and skull. It is a neural tube defect which affects the tissue that grows in the brain and the vertebra. This defects starts very early in pregnancy when the upper part of the neurtral tube does not close. The causes of exactly this occurs have not yet been scientifically proved but research has shown that it is influenced by toxins in the environment the mother lives and poor nutrition including lack of folic acid which is essential for the development of the embryo. (Adam Medical Encylopedia) Anencephalic babies are born unconscious and they usually die within the first few days of life. Since the brain is not developed it is not capable of doing anything except keep the lungs and the heart working. For the last couple of decades, there is a shortage of organs like livers, hearts and kidney in the United States so doctors have started using anencephalic babies for their organs before they are officially pronounced dead. (Kolata, New York Times) The debate remains that whether it is morally right to use such babies for organs to save other lives and or should they be given medical care and kept barely alive. The term organ donor is misleading in this case because none of these babies are actually given a chance to live while donating their spare organs by free will and nor do they write it in their wills. Organ donor are actually people who donate a kidney because they have two, or let their loved ones know to donate their

Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom Essay

Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties in the Regular Classroom - Essay Example It has been known that these learning difficulties in some children are due to neurological deficiencies in students. Some attribute the problem to possible hereditary or genetic factors. However, recent studies show that learning disabilities can also be caused by ineffective and inefficient learning strategies used by these students when dealing with regular classroom tasks. This, in turn, makes them more frustrated and prone to errors. But these students with learning difficulties can be taught different efficient and effective learning techniques for them to gain more parity with other normal students (Westwood, 2003, p. 10). Many parents or guardians of these children with learning disability believe that their children will be better off in a school or institution that specifically caters to these so-called special students. That is possible because the faculty and staff of these special schools are trained for special education and know how to handle these types of children. Also, the curriculums in these schools are particularly designed for children with special needs. However, the lack of social interaction with normal kids in these schools may make it a little difficult for them to cope with the challenges of the "real world" as they grow, though there are some who became successful in their own right. Including learning disabled children in a regular classroom setting is a common practice now. Children with learning difficulties are allowed to interact and mingle with normal kids so as not to make them feel different or outcast because of their disability. This inclusion movement, though, makes it difficult for teachers who are used to just teaching normal kids to handle these students with special needs. As Schultz (2003) stated, "many - despite their excellent track records - find themselves ill-prepared or inadequately supported to meet the special needs of students who require specialized instruction." However, with continuous learning of different teaching approaches and seeking advice from professionals and experts in special education, a so-called "hybrid teacher" (Schultz, 2003) can be achieved. This is a kind of instructor who knows how to deal with both normal and learning disabled students in one classroom, and be successful in it. There are different kinds of approaches to teaching children with learning difficulties. It can be student-centered, process-centered or direct approach. These styles can be combined to achieve best results. But after some analysis were made in the outcomes of these approaches, the following features, when combined, are identified to create the most effective teaching approach for children with learning difficulties: carefully controlling and sequencing the curriculum content to be studied; providing abundant opportunities for practice and application of newly acquired knowledge and skills; ensuring high levels of participation and responding by the children []; using interactive group teaching; modeling by the teacher of effective ways of completing school tasks; teaching children how best to attempt new learning tasks []; making appropriate use of technology []; providing supplementary assistance (e.g. homework; parental tutoring, etc.) []. Abundant guided practice; the

Cath Kidston Marketing Strategy for the U.S Hispanic Market Essay

Cath Kidston Marketing Strategy for the U.S Hispanic Market - Essay Example The feel of the products sold by the store carried a classic British feel because of which, the store soon became a success (Kidston, 1999). The brand grew into a  £75 million entity over two decades. Te brand of Cath Kidston has a wide assortment of products which belong to different categories but all the items which are used in home furnishing, homeware, and fashion accessories. Cath Kidston is distinctively known for its subtle floral designs. The brand has presence in about six countries physically and has online presence in the market of the United States (Kidston, 1999; CathKidston.com, 2012). Cath Kidston plans to mark its presence physically in the United States especially in the market of U.S Hispanics. The market environment of Cath Kidston is highly competitive as there are many competing brands which impose a threat to Cath Kidston. Each brand is distinctively positioned in the market, carrying its own unique brand image and competitive advantage. Major competitors are Bath and Body works, The Body Shop and other fashion brands in different categories which give Cath Kidston indirect and direct competition. The Hispanic market tend to be highly brand loyal and are more receptive to Cath Kidston’s brand image of being in the up market as Valle, (2005) mentions in his book:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hispanic marketing & public relations: Understanding and targeting America's largest minority† (Kidston, 1999; Valle, 2005). Cath Kidston does not have exclusive presence in the market of Unites States which is already cluttered with established brands therefore it will have to position itself very accurately in accordance with the market’s specifications (CathKidston.com, 2012). 2. Marketing Objectives Cath Kidston will need a clear vision and a line of process which it will follow while developing this strategy. The marketing objectives will clarify a path which Cath Kidston will have to follow in order to successfully market the brand in the Hisp anic market of United States. These

Leadership and Change in Construction Industry Coursework

Leadership and Change in Construction Industry - Coursework Example Some of these challenges are sector-specific. In the housebuilding sector, there is a shortage of housing, and this is unlikely to ease in the short term, unless planning regulations are relaxed and a substantial affordable-housing programme makes an impact: high house prices exclude many prospective first-time buyers from the housing market. The infrastructure subsectors have experienced a decline in work, much of which is due to delayed programmes in, for example, transport. The industrial construction sector has experienced a growth in warehouse construction work, but the factory sector is likely to remain subdued as the UK loses manufacturing jobs to cheaper manufacturing centres overseas. Commercial construction work benefits from major Private Finance Initiative (PFI) programmes in education and health, although some of these have been delayed. Output from office construction is particularly important in the commercial sector, while work in the retail subsector faces increasing planning restrictions. In the building materials subsector, there are challenges relating to rising energy costs and environmental issues, such as sustainable material sources, disposal of waste and recycling. New materials are being investigated to accommodate improved environmental features; for example, reducing heat loss and simplifying construction methods (UK Construction Industry Market Review, 2006). These major developments in the UK's construction industry highlight importance of the human resource issues to be faced by the managers within this sector of economy. Attracting skilled labour and career oriented employees (especially considering the growing share of part-time and causal job in the sector), retaining such employees in order to build bench strength required for succession planning, providing advanced training are only the most evident tasks to be fulfilled by the companies within the construction industry in the long-term perspective. Therefore, strong and effective leadership is a critical aspect of human resources related activities required to manage the recent challenges. Leadership in the modern highly dynamic and turbulent marketplace is not restricted to simply getting the employees to do what the leader wants and requires them to do. The key task of a modern leader in the construction industry is to bring out the very best of the employees' potential and help them focus their energies to reach a common set of goals. Therefore, some authors believe

413 week 13 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

413 week 13 - Assignment Example Physicians cum entrepreneurs have identified a business opportunity where they can â€Å"make a kill.† Nonetheless, whereas the profits from diagnostic imaging services are lucrative, the health care services are jeopardized. Using the analogy of the Tragedy of the Commons, Archie and Alexander (2010) offer the probable eventuality of the healthcare system if nothing is done to contain the entrepreneurial trend among the physicians. In their effort to maximize their profits, they gradually drive the cost of accessing medical care high. This is already evidenced in the rising expenditure on both Medicare and Medicaid associated with imaging services. Similarly, overutilization of the diagnostic imaging services may provide temporary reprieve but the long term implications are most likely to drive healthcare into the doldrums. This is because more professionals, including those with little knowledge on diagnostic procedures, may choose to invest on the imaging services so as to increase their income. This is bound to cause decline in the quality of medical care. In conclusion, entrepreneurial trend occasioned by diagnostic imaging services should be discouraged at all costs using appropriate technologies. The trend not only hurts the quality of medical care, but is bound to frustrate the code of ethics in healthcare. Because of this, this issue is most likely to be an issue in future discussions within the Healthcare Information Management

Branding, Pricing and Distribution Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Branding, Pricing and Distribution - Assignment Example Therefore, to gain their trust the company shall reveal information about their product, and the vision of the company about their customers will entice them to learn more about the company and their products (Okonkwo, 2007). Competitive Pricing In developed countries such as United Kingdom, the competition is very high because many companies are trying to satisfy their customers with discounted prices. Therefore, the company has to make their pricing according to the market price and similar to competitors pricing (Okonkwo, 2007). Global Strategy Brand Architecture and Differentiation It is very important for the company to differentiate its product with competitors and create uniqueness in their product which shall entice customers in repeat purchases. The clarity of the brand message and values are of great importance to the company to avoid confusion in the mind of consumers (Gelder, 2005). Focus on Consumers The company’s strategy should be aligned with the needs of consu mers because after all because consumers are at the heart of everything a company does. In order to achieve long term success UW shall develop products that are globally accepted by consumers of different country. The trends of clothing is different for consumers living in United Arab Emirates and different for European consumers (Gelder, 2005). Strategic Partnerships The company shall build strategic partnership with retailers and suppliers to make their products available and easily reached to customers. Co-branding strategies shall also be practiced by making strategic alliance with competitors to offer unique products for kids less than 3 years of age (Gelder, 2005). Optimum Pricing Strategy Penetration Pricing UW clothing shall set special introductory offer while penetrating the market of United Arab Emirates to gain market share. The particular pricing strategy is focused upon setting the price lower initially than intended price established in the market. It will encourage c ustomers to shift to a new product and to make them realize about new competition in the market and to increase sales volume. However, once the desired target is achieved by the company then the prices shall be increased and maintained with the market price. It shall be very damaging for the competitors to cope up with the lower price set by UW clothing which will exploit their market position (Aaker, 2004). According to the long term goals of the company, it shall increase its product line by offering products category which will be priced lower than the market. Therefore, a particular brand extension will be focused upon serving different market segment which has lower spending power under a different brand name. This will provide an opportunity to target each customer base with an intention to increase company’s revenues and to exploit the market of UAE (Aaker, 2004). Pricing Strategy Supports Branding Strategy As initially the pricing strategy will be focused upon offerin g lower priced products than the established market price, the strategy will support its global branding strategy. The idea is to differentiate its product with respect to competitors by offering a price which makes significant impression in the minds of consumers and will attract

413 week 13 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

413 week 13 - Assignment Example Physicians cum entrepreneurs have identified a business opportunity where they can â€Å"make a kill.† Nonetheless, whereas the profits from diagnostic imaging services are lucrative, the health care services are jeopardized. Using the analogy of the Tragedy of the Commons, Archie and Alexander (2010) offer the probable eventuality of the healthcare system if nothing is done to contain the entrepreneurial trend among the physicians. In their effort to maximize their profits, they gradually drive the cost of accessing medical care high. This is already evidenced in the rising expenditure on both Medicare and Medicaid associated with imaging services. Similarly, overutilization of the diagnostic imaging services may provide temporary reprieve but the long term implications are most likely to drive healthcare into the doldrums. This is because more professionals, including those with little knowledge on diagnostic procedures, may choose to invest on the imaging services so as to increase their income. This is bound to cause decline in the quality of medical care. In conclusion, entrepreneurial trend occasioned by diagnostic imaging services should be discouraged at all costs using appropriate technologies. The trend not only hurts the quality of medical care, but is bound to frustrate the code of ethics in healthcare. Because of this, this issue is most likely to be an issue in future discussions within the Healthcare Information Management

Acuna Manual Binder Essay Example for Free

Acuna Manual Binder Essay Occupied American is a text book, and consequently is a survey of the history of the Chicana/o people in in the United States, which includes mostly people of Mexican origin in the United States. However, I often use the problematic term Latino when referring to the family of Latin Americans in the United States. Statistics are so co-mingled by academicians that it is often difficult to separate the disparate groups. With this said, Latin Americans share a history of colonialism – being occupied by Spain and various other European nations after 1492 when the occupation of the Americas began. Mexico has had the longest contact with the Euro-American nation called the United States, sharing a near 2000 mile border with the U. S. The occupation of Mexico began in 1519 a hundred years before the British landed on Plymouth Rock (1620). This survey history begins in Pre-Columbian times with the history of the Native Americans with whose history Mexicans are stamped genetically and culturally. After 500 years of occupation, ninety percent of Mexicans carry Indian DNA – contrast this to Euro-Americans, of whom fewer than one percent have Indian blood The World Fact Book, Mexico, https://www.cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mx. html. The Mexican cuisine also pays homage to the Indian past as do many place names. The textbook uses timelines to make sense of what happened and why it happened. I tell my students that to be effective they have to learn how to organize. One of the problems with many of us is that our parents never taught us to organize; the first step should have been to learn how to organize our highboy – clothes are not randomly thrown into a drawer. The timeline is our highboy, it will help us make sense out of time and put together a story. This is why I tell students to learn how to use story boards to fill in the timeline. You can pull up a number of good sites for story boards (e. g. , http://www. storyboardthat. com/). It is the same technique that is used in writing a movie script. The storyboard lets you know where you were and where you are going. Chapters in books serve the same function. Footnotes verify the veracity of the story as well as build the story. Your critical thinking skills help you interpret it. This mini book includes eleven modules to complement the chapters in the book. It is a guide that can easily be converted into an online class. Whereas the book chapters provide a macro story, the modules provide added materials. I have included internet articles with visuals as well as YouTube presentations and events. These are designed to further support those of you who are taking the class online. It also provides support to instructors and reduces the need for expensive readers. Word of caution: the sites often change link addresses so if one goes down, email us and we will correct it. The entire purpose of this manual is for you to better understand history. As mentioned, each module corresponds to a chapter or chapters in Occupied America. They are divided into Assigned Readings in Chapter(s), an Introduction, Internet articles, You Tube Lectures, and suggested discussion questions. The appendices have recommended websites, suggested programs in the American Experience/PBS, Music of the 1960s, and a list of four year institutions that have Bachelor of Arts programs in Chicana/o Studies. I also include a tour of a Chicana/o Research Site. I begin this endeavor with a short tour of the Arizona State University Chicana/o Collection. I plan to add other sites on a monthly basis. We must remember that history is a study of documents – that is what footnotes are all about. My Facebook account is under https://www. facebook. com/rudy. acuna. 9406 Mini Course Module I IDENTITY Required: Text: Rodolfo F. Acuna, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (New York: Pearson, 2014). Reader: Rodolfo F. Acuna, ed. , Guadalupe Compean ed. , Voices of the U. S. Latino Experience [Three Volumes] (Santa Barbara: ABC CLIO Books, 2008). Do not buy the book (too expensive); access the E-Book through your university library. I. Definitions Identity: a) Rodolfo F. Acuna, â€Å"The Word Chicana/o†. Words have meanings, meanings that are supposed to be linked to reality. In creating a historical narrative, the meanings should be clear and best describe the reality of the times. Meanings can be obscured for political purposes; we often call this doublespeak: we say one thing and mean another. The Chicana/o Public Scholar argues that the word Chicana/o best describes the area of studies called Chicana/o Studies, and it expresses the idealism that we as a community should be striving for. The Mexican American generation proactively fought for our civil rights, demanding equality under the law as Americans. The Chicano Movement demanded equality as human beings and asserted the right to call themselves what they pleased. It was under the Chicano watch that entitlements were dramatically broadened and larger numbers of peo ple of Mexican origin entered colleges and universities. They demanded their rights and did not see education as a privilege. Just calling yourself a Chicano or any other word is not enough. You can call yourself a Christian but that does not necessarily make you a good person. â€Å"Words have meanings, meanings are supposed to be linked to reality. † The word Chicano in Spanish is gender neutral. But, many Chicana/o scholars felt that words should be transformative. Sexism was a problem that was tearing the movement apart. Chicano Studies became Chicana/o Studies to denote the equality of the sexes and underscore that gender discrimination damages our humanity as much as racism does. The redefinition of the word led to an examination of homophobia. Thus, the meaning of the word Chicana/o expanded reality. The 1970s and 1980s saw large numbers of Mexican and Latin American immigrants. We failed to link the meaning of the word Chicana/o to the reality of the immigrant population that now rivaled the second generation in numbers. The Mexican American and Chicano Generations had widened the entitlements of all immigrants. However, many of these immigrants held on to old definitions, such as equating the word Chicano to chicanery or low class. Many continued to link their struggle for equality to their home countries rather than linking it to their new reality. At the same time, the arrival of millions of Mexicans and Latin Americans dramatically expanded the â€Å"Latino market. † Government agencies and commercial enterprises looked upon the Mexican American and Latino as commodities and linked these new definitions to illusions. To broaden the discourse, we are including articles by the martyred Ruben Salazar, Frank del Olmo, and Cheech Marin. Ruben Salazar, â€Å"Who Is a Chicano? And What Is It the Chicanos Want? ,† Los Angeles Times, Feb 6, 1970; pg. B7 http://forchicanachicanostudies. wikispaces. com/file/view/Ruben%20Salazar. pdf/61339512/ Ruben%20Salazar. pdf Frank del Olmo, â€Å"Latinos by Any Other Name Are Latinos,† Los Angeles Times, May 1, 1981; ) pg. D11 http://forchicanachicanostudies. wikispaces. com/file/view/Frank%20del%20Olmo. pdf/61343630/ Frank%20del%20Olmo. pdf Cheech Marin, â€Å"What is a Chicano: Who the hell knows? † May 3, 2012 http://cheechmarin. com/2012/05/03/what-is-a-chicano/ Cheech: To me, you have to declare yourself a Chicano in order to be a Chicano. That makes a Chicano a Mexican-American with a defiant political attitude that centers on his or her right to self-definition. I’m a Chicano because I say I am. But no Chicano will agree with me because one of the characteristics of being Chicano is you don’t agree with anybody, or anything. And certainly not another Chicano. We are the only tribe that has all chiefs and no Indians. But don’t ever insult a Chicano about being a Chicano because then all the other Chicanos will be on you with a vengeance. They will even fight each to be first in line to support you. It’s not a category that appears on any U. S. Census survey. You can check White, AfricanAmerican, Native-American, Asian, Pacific Islander and even Hispanic (which Chicanos hate). But there is no little box you can check that says Chicano. However, you can get a Ph. D. in Chicano Studies from Harvard and a multitude of other universities. You can cash retirement checks from those same prestigious universities after having taught Chicano Studies for 20 years, but there still no official recognition from the government. No wonder Chicanos are confused. So where did the word Chicano come from? Again, no two Chicanos can agree, so here is my definition what I think. In true Chicano fashion, this should be the official version. The word â€Å"Chicano† was originally a derisive term from Mexicans to other Mexicans living in the United States. The concept was that those Mexicans living in the U. S. were no longer truly Mexicanos because they had given up their country by living in Houston, Los Angeles, â€Å"Guada La Habra,† or some other city. They were now something else and something less. Little satellite Mexicans living in a foreign country. They were something small. They were chicos. They were now Chicanos. If you lived near the U. S. -Mexican border, the term was more or less an insult, but always some kind of insult. In the early days, the connotation of calling someone a Chicano was that they were poor, illiterate, destitute people living in tin shacks along the border. As soon as they could get a car loan and could move farther away from the border, the term became less of an insult over the years. But the resentment still lingered. Some ask â€Å"Why can’t you people just all be Hispanic? † Same reason that all white people can’t just be called English. Just because you speak English or Spanish does not mean that you are one group. Hispanic is a census term that some dildo in a government office made up to include all Spanish-speaking brown people. It is especially annoying to Chicanos because it is a catch-all term that includes the Spanish conqueror. By definition, it favors European cultural invasion, not indigenous roots. It also includes all Latino groups, which brings us together because Hispanic annoys all Latino groups. Why? Because they’re Latino and it’s part of their nature. (Aren’t you glad you asked? ) So what is a â€Å"Latino? † (It’s like opening Pandora’s box, huh? ) â€Å"Latino† is refers to all Spanishspeaking people in the â€Å"New World† – South Americans, Central Americans, Mexicans, and Brazilians (even though they speak Portuguese). All those groups and their descendants living in the United States want to be called Latinos to recognize their Indian roots. Mexicans call it having the â€Å"Nopal† in their face, that prickly pear cactus with big flat leaves that Mexicans eat, revere, and think they look like. When you go to Mexico and walk down the street in Mexico City, it’s like walking through a Nopal cactus garden. Nopal is everywhere. For Latinos who don’t want to be so â€Å"Nopalese,† there’s always â€Å"Mexican-American. † Or the dreaded â€Å"Hispanic† that should only be used when faced with complete befuddlement from the person asking what you are. Because I am the only official version of what being Chicano is, I say Mexican-American is the politically correct middle ground between Hispanic and Chicano. Like in the song I wrote to be sung by a Chicano trying to be P. C. â€Å"Mexican-Americans; don’t like to just get into gang fights; they like flowers and music; and white girls named Debbie too. † All those names made it confusing for me growing up. I lived in an all-black neighborhood, followed by an all-white one, and other kids in the always called me Mexican in both neighborhoods. It never bothered me until one day I thought to myself â€Å"Hey, wait a minute, I’m not Mexican. † I’ve never even been to Mexico and I don’t speak Spanish. Sure, I eat Mexican food at family gatherings where all of the adults speak Spanish, but I eat Cheerios and pizza and hamburgers more. No, I’m definitely not a â€Å"Mexican. † Maybe I was â€Å"Mexican-ish,† just like some people were â€Å"Jew-ish. † These thoughts all ran through my mind when I chased down an alley by five young AfricanAmerican kids. â€Å"Yo, Messican! † they called out in their patois. I stopped in my tracks and spun around. â€Å"I’m not a Mexican! † I shouted defiantly. They stopped too, then stared at me. The leader spoke, â€Å"Fool! What you talking ‘bout? You Mexican as a taco. Look at you. † â€Å"No,†, I said. â€Å"To be a Mexican, you have to be from Mexico. You’re African-American. Are you from Africa? † â€Å"N–. You crazy. I’m from South-Central, just like you. † â€Å"That’s exactly what I’m talking about! † I said. â€Å"Did anybody knock on your door and ask you did you want to be African-American? † â€Å"Hell no! The social workers don’t even knock on our door, they too scared,† he said, cracking everyone up. â€Å"Then why you letting people call you whatever they want? What do you want to be called? † I asked. He looked at the others, thought about it for a few seconds and then said proudly, â€Å"I’m a Blood. † â€Å"Ooo-kay,† I said making it up as I went along. â€Å"Then you’re a Blood-American. † That seemed to go over well. They all nodded. â€Å"Yeah, we Blood-American. † â€Å"Well, then go out and be the best Blood-Americans that you can be. Peace, brothers, I got to blow. † I walked away and so did they. Self-identification saved the day. Yet, I still was dissatisfied with what I wanted to call myself. When I got home, there was a party going on. A bunch of relatives had come over for dinner and everybody was sitting around gabbing and drinking beer. My Uncle Rudy was in the middle of a story: â€Å"So, I took the car into the dealer and he said, ‘Yeah, the repairs gonna run you about $250. ’ Two-fifty? Estas loco? Hell, just give me a pair of pliers and some tin foil. I’ll fix it – I’m a Chicano mechanic. Two-fifty, mis nalgas. † And that was the defining epiphany. A Chicano was someone who could do anything. A Chicano was someone who wasn’t going to get ripped off. He was Uncle Rudy. He was industrious, inventive, and he wants another beer. So I got my Uncle Rudy another beer because, on that day, he showed me that I was a Chicano. Hispanic my ass, I’ve been a Chicano ever since. Cheech Marin, Originally published in the Huffington Post. This is the first article in a three-part series on â€Å"What is a Chicano† by actor, director, and art advocate Cheech Marin. II. The Study of Chicana/o Rodolfo F. Acuna, â€Å"Chicana/o Studies: What are they? ,† October 2010 It has been forty years since the first Chicano Studies programs were initiated on campuses throughout the United States. This accomplishment is a tribute to the tenacity of less than a couple of hundred students who were concerned about the failure of the schools to educate Mexican American students, pointing to the horrendous dropout rate in the public schools. Since then few scholars of any race have examined this historic phenomenon, treating CHS just like any other product of the sixties, forgetting how and why they came about. In many cases it has become the preoccupation of many Chicana/o faculty members to prove their legitimacy. It is not uncommon for them to claim this legitimacy by arguing that Chicana/o studies is a content field distinguishing CHS programs from service departments and pedagogical fields such as education. Every wave of scholars for the past forty years has ignored important epistemological questions. Because of this, we have to suffer through a rash of conferences rehashing movement events without dealing with the genesis of individual programs or the nature of CHS. Instead of probing how and why CHS came about, we theorize what it is and avoid an epistemological understanding. Few scholars have attempted to answer why the development of CHS has been so uneven. They have not dealt with basic questions such as the historical differences within southwest states themselves. For instance, Texas and California are often as different as the disparate Central American nationalities. Population and modes of production in these states differ; even within the states, there are the distinctions (e. g. , northern and southern California, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, and San Antonio). Under the sway of the elitism of the academy, many CHS scholars claim that CHS is a content field. They claim that they are just as rigorous as the other disciplines. It is common in academe for the hard sciences to occupy the top of the pyramid, followed by the social sciences, the humanities, and the arts with education occupying the lowest step—research rules, not teaching. In academe, rarely are teaching methods discussed. Methods more often refer to research methods. Within this logic quantitative techniques trump qualitative evidence. Similarly, research institutions trump teaching colleges with the state rewarding researchers more generously. The teaching load at research and teaching institutions is distinguished by the actual time devoted to teaching. Professors at research institutions teach lighter loads, get more sabbatical time, and get more grants to fund research. This pecking order has influenced the development of the disparate programs. For instance, it has only been until recently that the Chicana/o studies department at California State University at Northridge has been able to attract Chicanas or Chicanos with doctorates from tier one institutions. I have spoken to Chicanas/os who professed their commitment to the revolution who said they had not gotten a PhD to work the same hours as a high school teacher. This attitude was common to Chicanas/os across the board, regardless of gender or whether they were Marxists, feminists, or nationalists, and it profoundly affected the development of what is today called Chicana/o studies. In considering outcome, it would have been important to define and debate teaching methods. My first proposition is that there is a difference between Chicana/o studies programs that are defined by a curriculum rather than an individual course in the traditional disciplines. For instance, Chicana/o history is not Chicana/o studies, it is a field within the discipline of history where common historical methods are used to research, study, and teach that corpus of knowledge of Mexican American people. In the same vein, Chicana/o literature does not study, research, or teach CHS but it is a field within the discipline of literature. My second proposition is that Chicana/o studies are not defined by content, but rather they are bound together by a pedagogy that defines their purpose. It is the foundation used to motivate and teach Latina/o students. The content is an important motivational tool to inspire students to learn and to correct the negative self-images that have come about through the process of colonialism. This is not unique to Mexican Americans. The national question raged in Europe during the latter part of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Hence, content fields studying CHS should have developed within the context of a pedagogy, which should have given it a sense of purpose. Other than perhaps at California State Northridge, the focus has been on the development of content fields. Little integration has taken place. There has been an artificial pursuit of finding a common research methodology which is almost impossible. It is not enough to say that a multidiscipline approach is part of its course of study. A more natural linking is pedagogy. In struggling toward an identity for Chicana/o studies, I have tried to convey this particular vision to colleagues. However, they often ignore me and I am certain that they write it off as cada loco con su tema (every madman to his own opinion). I did not find much of an audience until I came into contact with La Raza Studies program at the Tucson Unified School District. Today Chicana/o studies is under attack by conservatives and neo-Nazis who say that it is unpatriotic because it teaches about Mexicans and emphasizes teaching methodology using the principles of Paulo Freire, John Dewey, and Edwin Fenton— rejecting the model that students should be warehoused. This flies in the face of the goal of educating students. The Tucson outcome has been more than encouraging. Currently, Latino and African American males have the lowest third grade reading test scores in the nation. The Latino high school dropout rate nationwide hovers around 56 percent, higher if the dropout from middle school to high school is included. Only about 24 percent of graduating Latinos go on to college, mostly to community colleges. Tucson’s Unified School Districts Ethnic Studies and Mexican American Studies programs has reversed these trends. The dropout rate in this program is 2. 5 percent. Students in the program significantly outperform their peers on the states standardized AIMS tests and 66 percent of these students go on to college. This semester the program is offering 43 sections and serves 1500 students in six TUSD high schools, with similar programs at the middle and elementary school levels. â€Å"The classes are designed to be culturally relevant – to help the students see themselves in the curriculum and make them see why education is important for them. If they see themselves in the educational literature, they find more reasons to read and write, to research and draw conclusions. † Central to La Raza Studies is the use of critical theory which essentially means that they use the Socratic Method, a powerful, teaching tactic for fostering critical thinking. It focuses on giving students questions, not answers. It has been used in the better law schools to prepare American law students for Socratic questioning. Apparently, critical thinking threatens many white Americans who do not want Mexicans questioning their version of the truth. In the late 1960s, California Superintendent of Schools Max Rafferty called a reform movement advocating a similar inquiry method of teaching social science subversive because it taught students to question. Logically, Americans should be elated that Mexicans are learning and are motivated to go to college. So why are they trying to eliminate it? The truth be told, they don’t want Mexicans to succeed. They want them to live up to the stereotype and to be subservient. They don’t want competition for higher paying jobs; they don’t want to endanger their poorly paid reserve labor pool. People in La Raza Studies are serious about their pedagogy. This past July they held the 12th Annual Institute for Transformative Education in partnership with the University Of Arizona School Of Education. The institutes feature educators from across the United States. http://www. tusd. k12. az. us/contents/depart/mexicanam/index. asp . The presenters and the participants are multiracial, (e.g. , scholars such as Pedro A. Noguera, Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Urban Education New York University, and Angela Valenzuela, University of Texas Austin). Their focus is to improve teaching effectiveness. For the past forty years, every reform measure that involves better teaching has been shot down by the American electorate—bilingual education, affirmative action, racial integration, smaller class sizes, etc. Even though programs such as La Raza Studies prove that programs work when they are properly thought out and supported, a pretext is almost always found to eliminate them. Americans want to continue the same old blame game. In the 1920s they blamed Mexican culture and sought to Americanize Mexican American youth. In the sixties they blamed the parents, the Mexican family. Today they are blaming the teachers. The bottom line is that the United States has effectively saved trillions of dollars in capital by draining professionals trained from other countries; at the same time, it outsources well-paying technical jobs and production to poor countries. The United States does not need an educated workforce. It goes back to â€Å"why educate Mexicans, who’s going to pick our crops? † Rather than educating Latinos, the solution is to not educate them, but to build more prisons. Keep them south of the border, and if we need them, rent them, like we do U-hauls. III. They speak†¦. What is a Chicano? http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=v8npwn61ZXk I Am Joaquin part one of two: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=U6M6qOG2O-o Read the following articles on identity Finding Identity Within the Chicano Movement http://voices. yahoo. com/finding-identity-within-chicano-movement-6695464. html Chicano Identity in Literature http://www. enotes. com/chicano-identity-literature-93-salem/chicano-identity-literature Dr. David Sanchez [Moderator], â€Å"The Word Latino excludes the Native American,† Mexican American University (December 9, 2005) http://www. mexicanamericanuniversity. com/forum/view. php? site=mexicanamericanunive rsitycombn=mexicanamericanuniversitycom_mauforum2key=1126577705 What does the author say about identity? Do you agree, why or why not? IV. Where Latinos Live A map of America’s Hispanic population, county by county. By Nick McClellan|Posted Monday, July 9, 2012, at 6:36 AM ET http://www. slate. com/articles/news_and_politics/map_of_the_week/2012/07/map_of_america_s _hispanic_population_county_by_county. html Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, â€Å"Characteristics of the 60 Largest Metropolitan Areas by Hispanic Population,† Pew Hispanic Center, September 19, 2012 http://www. pewhispanic. org/2012/09/19/characteristics-of-the-60-largest-metropolitan-areas-byhispanic-population/ Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn, â€Å"Unauthorized Immigrants: 11. 1 Million in 2011,† Pew Hispanic Center, December 6, 2012, http://www. pewhispanic. org/2012/12/06/unauthorized-immigrants-11-1-million-in- 2011/ Jeffrey Passel and D’Vera Cohn, â€Å"How Many Hispanics? Comparing Census Counts and Census Estimates,† Pew Hispanic Center, March 15, 2011 http://www. pewhispanic. org/2011/03/15/how-many-hispanics-comparing-census-counts-andcensus-estimates/ Jeffrey Passel, D’Vera Cohn and Mark Hugo Lopez, â€Å"Hispanics Account for More than Half of Nations Growth in Past Decade:Census 2010: 50 Million Latinos,† Pew Hispanic Center,† March 24, 2011 http://www. pewhispanic. org/2011/03/24/hispanics-account-for-more-than-half-of-nationsgrowth-in-past-decade/ Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, â€Å"The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties,† Pew Hispanic Center, July 12, 2012 http://www. pewhispanic. org/2012/06/27/the-10-largest-hispanic-origin-groups-characteristicsrankings-top-counties/ Seth Motel and Eileen Patten, â€Å"Statistical Profile, Hispanics of Mexican Origin in the United States, 2010,† Pew Hispanic Center,† June 27, 2012 http://www. pewhispanic. org/2012/06/27/hispanics-of-mexican-origin-in-the-united-states-2010/ V. Art and the Chicana/o How do the arts express identity? See: Art and Ethnic Politics, http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=ejymct6ipMQfeature=related Exploration with Painter Malaquias Montoya, http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=3zRxSnDVKVgNR=1 http://www. youtube. com /watch? v=NGuD8wD2Bl8feature=relmfu Latino art Latino artist videos and articles at Latinopia. com http://latinopia. com/category/latino-art/ JUDY BACA – IN HER OWN WORDS http://latinopia. com/latino-art/judy-baca/ HARRY GAMBOA, JR. – IN HIS OWN WORDS http://latinopia. com/category/latino-history/latinopia-event/VI. Epistemology Students always ask why scholars differ in their interpretations of history. The answer is that they often arrive at different conclusions from how they derived their knowledge. For example, the debate over creation: A person basing his or her knowledge on faith may reach a different conclusion than one basing it on science. A recent article in the Smithsonian Magazine demonstrates this. In Simon Baatz, â€Å"Leopold and Loebs Criminal Minds,† Smithsonian magazine, August 2008, http://www. smithsonianmag. com/history-archaeology/criminalminds. html the author retells the story of the famous Leopold and Loeb trial where two teenage friends killed a 10 year old boy because they wanted to commit the perfect crime. The following from the Baatz article cited above; the whole article can be obtained by clicking on to the Smithsonian link above. How do you think this piece pertains to the class? The question of who was to blame for the Mexican Texas and Mexican American Wars involves different interpretations. A majority of Americans and a host of American historians blame Mexico. Because I have taken the opposite view some historians have attacked me. But what it comes down to is Faith versus the documents. See http://www. tamu. edu/ccbn/dewitt/dewitt. htm for a host of primary documents dealing with both. The question in the Smithsonian article would be how and why did the psychiatrist differ? The answer sheds light on the Mexican American War. Mini Course Module II Mexico Pre-1821 Required: Text: Rodolfo F. Acuna, Occupied America: A History of Chicanos (New York: Pearson, 2014), Chapters 1 and 2. Reader: Rodolfo F. Acuna, ed. , Guadalupe Compean ed. , Voices of the U. S. Latino Experience [Three Volumes] (Santa Barbara: ABC CLIO Books, 2008). Do not buy the book (too expensive); access the E-Book through your university library. I. The hybridization of Mexico â€Å"The site of advanced Amerindian civilizations including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec Mexico was conquered and colonized by Spain in the early 16th century. Administered as the Viceroyalty of New Spain for three centuries, it achieved its independence early in the 19th century. The global financial crisis beginning in late 2008 caused a massive economic downturn the following year, although growth returned quickly in 2010. Ongoing economic and social concerns include low real wages, underemployment for a large segment of the population, inequitable income distribution, and few advancement opportunities for the largely Amerindian population in the impoverished southern states. The elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate Vicente FOX of the National Action Party (PAN) defeated the party in government, the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe CALDERON. National elections, including the presidential election, are scheduled for 1 July 2012. Since 2007, Mexicos powerful drug-trafficking organizations have engaged in bloody feuding, resulting in tens of thousands of drug-related homicides. † CIA Factbook Modern Day Mexico †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Ethnic groups: mestizo (Amerindian-Spanish) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 30%, white 9%, other 1% Languages: Spanish only 92. 7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5. 7%, indigenous only 0. 8%, unspecified 0. 8%. Note: indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005). Religions: Roman Catholic 76. 5%, Protestant 5. 2% (Pentecostal 1. 4%, other 3. 8%), Jehovahs Witnesses 1. 1%, other 0. 3%, unspecified 13. 8%, none 3. 1% (2000 census) Population: 114,975,406 (July 2012 est. ) country comparison to the world: 11 Source: CIA Factbook https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/mx. html The United States In contrast the United States is †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Ethnic groups: white 79. 96%, black 12. 85%, Asian 4. 43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0. 97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0. 18%, two or more races 1. 61% (July 2007 estimate) note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean persons of Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin including those of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Spanish, and Central or South American origin living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc. ); about 15. 1% of the total US population is Hispanic Languages: English 82. 1%, Spanish 10. 7%, other Indo-European 3. 8%, Asian and Pacific island 2. 7%, other 0. 7% (2000 census) Note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii Religions: Protestant 51. 3%, Roman Catholic 23. 9%, Mormon 1. 7%, other Christian 1. 6%, Jewish 1. 7%, Buddhist 0. 7%, Muslim 0. 6%, other or unspecified 2. 5%, unaffiliated 12. 1%, none 4% (2007 est. ) Population: 313,847,465 (July 2012 est. ) country comparison to the world. 3 Source: CIA The World Fact Book, https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us. html Why do they say Mexico is a hybrid nation and not the United States? II. Mesoamerica.