Regional Development and Policy - Explain the changing role of the state in regional development policy.
Regional Development and Policy (GEO209) Assessed Project 5. Explain the changing role of the state in regional development policy. The role of the state has evolved over time as has economic thought and practice surrounding the issues of regional development and policy have changed. The state has for filled roles as protector, arbitrator, facilitator, and investor, to name just a few of the many roles. The states intervention in regional policy is always going to fluctuate in response to conditions such as: changing governments, global economic conditions, inflationary pressures, dominant economic thought. An assessment need to be made to see whether this intervention has a positive or negative effect on the UK and what can be learned by the UK's experience of state intervention in regional policy. This changing role of the state is not purely based on changing ideologies; external events also have an impact, i.e. Globalisation. As Johnston mentions over the 20th century there has been "...a major spatial reordering if the world economy." (JOHNSTON, 1977, 133) Which is bound to influence the boundaries within in which the state operates. Regional policies have become an enduring feature of the UK's political geography (MOHAN, 1999), spatial policies have become commonplace. To explore the changing nature of the state, a definition of the State needs to be established.
NEPAD has been proclaimed a "new dawn for Africa, since, for the first time in history of Africa, her leaders have collectively taken responsibility for the continent's development.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY NEPAD has been proclaimed a "new dawn for Africa, since, for the first time in history of Africa, her leaders have collectively taken responsibility for the continent's development. The dream of good governance, sustainable development, eradication of poverty and emancipation of women in a continent such as ours is indeed a brave one. Given the problems facing the continent and the difficulty in achieving the goals, it is no surprise that there is much skepticism. Observers have been asking, what is so different about NEPAD? Why should NEPAD succeed where other endeavors failed? The commitment of African leaders has also been questioned. Commentators argue that many African leaders do not seem to care about their own people, let alone those from other countries. We consider these questions and take into account South Africa's role. The European Union (EU), has successfully combined the talents of the European countries and has emerged as the largest economic union in the world, can we emulate this feat? We examine NEPADs strategy and analyse its goals and underlying principles. We consider the issues that affect Africa and look at how NEPAD is addressing these issues and what current best practice has been considered in drawing up its strategy. We look at South African role in NEPAD and analyse our own government's policies and actions. Are we leading
'Explain the concept of sustainable urban development and with the aid of appropriate examples, consider whether it is an attainable goal or an unattainable ideal.
Laura Kelly BA (Hons) Geography Reg: 199938141 Professor Pacione Applied Urban Geography 'Explain the concept of sustainable urban development and with the aid of appropriate examples, consider whether it is an attainable goal or an unattainable ideal.' The proportion of the world's population classified as urban dwellers, in both the 1st and the 3rd world, is currently at an unprecedented level. According to United Nations Population Division (2000; 128) within 5 years, half of the world's population will live in cities, and by 2030 the urban population will reach 4.9 billion (60% of the world's population). As the WCED puts it; 'this is the century of the urban revolution' (1987; 235). Although cities occupy just 2% of the world's land surface, they manage to consume over 75% of the world's resources (Pacione, 2001). Every city requires inputs and outputs and flows of goods, services, people, communication and information, news, water, air, food, raw materials, etc, usually from out-with the city itself, in order for it to develop. Such a level of urban growth and metabolism is obviously very difficult to sustain. During the course of this essay, I will explore the concept of 'sustainable urban development' as a response to this contemporary urban challenge faced by today's world, for tomorrow's world. I will outline the difficulties in defining the concept and
Foreign Aid
Johnson (2000) defines aid as flows of resources aimed at encouraging economic development or alleviating short-term crisis. The phrase suggests a gesture of goodwill from rich countries to poor countries to help achieve the mentioned goals however the assistance mostly comes with strings attached. (Hoy, 1998). Aid is apparent in a number of different forms. Specifically, project aid is assistance provided for the creation of a specific outcome, for example the construction of a hospital. Program aid is a more general form, and through loans with certain policies imposed by the donor, attempts to achieve certain economic conditions in the recipient country. Another type of aid is technical assistance; this provides equipment and/or experts for a specific outcome. A team of UN engineers sent to a developing country to set up a water supply is an example of this. Humanitarian aid is usually provided in response to emergencies, where food and other essentials to life are made available. Finally there is military aid, supplied in order to strengthen the military establishments of developing countries. (Hoy, 1998). The reasons for providing these different types of aid are varied but it is suggested that 'foreign aid is driven purely by humanitarian reasons.' I will discus whether or not this is the case with reference to various donors and implementers. The concept of foreign aid
CAMBIO CLIMATICO
* INTRODUCCIÓN Se le llama cambio climático a cualquier tipo de alteración en el clima promedio que se presenta en una región a partir de las características de esa zona climática y del nivel de variabilidad de ellas. El cambio climático ha sido un tema que desde hace varias décadas ha formado parte de las investigaciones del medio científico. El cambio climático, es parte de la naturaleza misma del planeta, "la tierra tiende a experimentar dichos cambios en los patrones climáticos cada cien mil años, con los ciclos de avance y retroceso glaciar. Esto se da junto con otros períodos menores de enfriamiento cada veinte mil a cuarenta mil años."1 A pesar de este cambio de tipo natural, las acciones del hombre han tenido la capacidad de afectar al clima; en los últimos 150-200 años algunas actividades humanas han tenido influencia en la tasa de cambio del sistema climático. Las actividades humanas intensificaron la utilización de combustibles fósiles en la industrialización, el transporte, la minería ,la deforestación, entre otros; el uso estos combustibles fósiles han hecho que se acumulen niveles de bióxido de carbono "que no se habían registrado en la tierra desde hace 200,000 años."2 . También han aumentado en la atmósfera cantidades notables de gases como: el dióxido de carbono (CO2), el metano (CH4), el óxido nitroso (N2O) y los
international immigration
Owing to declining fertility rate, Singapore government recognise that her people will not maintain nor increase her population by themselves. Singapore needs to therefore attract more immigrants into the country. In her outreach efforts to talented immigrants that come from diverse backgrounds, the Singapore government has tailored programmes to meeting the immigrants' specific needs and helping them to be aware of the different aspects of Singaporean's way of life. For instances, the government leverages on existing programmes by the People's Association and foreign support groups' associations like American Association Singapore to reach out to the new residents (DPM Wong KS, Aug 2006), Singapore Deputy Prime Minister (DPM), Mr Wong Kan Seng, also Minister in charge of Population issues, quoted Singapore government surveys to show that while most Singaporeans agree that foreign talents have and can contribute to her continued success, many of them tend to still view immigrants with some distrust and discomfort. He attributed such misgivings to the cultural differences and the concern about foreigners competing for local jobs. Sherif & Sherif (1969) suggested in his realistic group conflict theory that when two groups are in competition for scarce resources, the potential success of one group threatens the well-being of the other, resulting in negative outgroup attitudes.
"Is Australia's low birth rate a matter of concern?"
Name - Emma Kitney Student ID - 3025222 Tutorial Time - Friday 10am Word Count - 1744 Topic - "Is Australia's low birth rate a matter of concern?" Australia, similar to most other developed countries today, has a low birth rate. This in turn has implications for the future of the nation in terms of economics, government policy and social structure. The purpose of this essay is to present some of the issues associated with low birth rates and how Australia will be affected in the future. It argues the point that the current fertility levels should not be considered a crisis, nor a huge concern as long as the economy and government policies are managed appropriately to cater for the future needs of Australian society. What will cause the low birth rates to be of greater concern is if the rates slip even further and project Australia into a state of population decline, as this has many serious implications and is also extremely difficult to reverse. The current Total Fertility Rate (TFR) for Australia is approximately 1.7 births per woman.(Khoo, 2003: p41) When compared to other developed countries, this rate is relatively low. Low fertility has implications for a population in areas such as sustainability, population demographic and the economy. This paper looks at some of these issues and how they could potentially affect Australian society at the current low
Film Analysis on 8 Mile
November 3, 2009 GEOG 351 Film Review of 8 Mile Curtis Hanson's urban drama 8 Mile, reveals the story of an ambitious white rap artist desperate to make a better life for himself. The main character, Jimmy Smith Jr., more commonly known to his friends as Rabbit, features real-life entertainer, Eminem, a multi-platinum recording artist. The film is semi-autobiographical, based on events in Eminem's life prior to his fame. 8 Mile follows Jimmy's struggle to be recognized for his lyrical talent while dealing with a troubled home life and surviving in a lower socio-economic environment. 8 Mile is a film that demonstrates processes of race, class, and segregation. The story takes place in Detroit, Michigan, a city rapidly falling victim to economic devastation and de-industrialization. Detroit is often seen as a prime example of what de-industrialization can do to an area and its people. The global auto crisis was the primary cause of factory closings and mass layoffs, transforming Detroit into the poorest major city in the United Sates. There is now a high level of poverty, and noticeable racial segregation. Detroit has numerous neighborhoods suffering from urban decay, consisting of vacant properties that are prairie lands. The effects of de-industrialization are illustrated in the film when Jimmy takes the bus to work at New Detroit Stamping. Rundown buildings,
With reference to empirical examples, explore the everyday activities of different groups of migrant workers in (re)producing processes of globalisation
With reference to empirical examples, explore the everyday activities of different groups of migrant workers in (re)producing processes of 'globalisation'. Globalisation is most commonly known as the process that combines international practices, falling into various strands consisting of "politics, economics and culture as well as mediated communications" as stated by Marsella and Ring (in Kofman and Youngs, 2003: 3). There are many definitions of globalization that are widely recognized in our present day, the most common, which I will be referring to in this essay, being that of greater economic integration by the increased unity of our world, also known as 'Economic Globalisation'. Harrison (2007:35) refers to Economic Globalisation as "increases in trade, foreign investment, and migration" and according to the Global Education Program, within the past few years, the improvement of technologies and 'reduction of barriers' has meant that the level of exchange between people and countries in terms of 'goods, services, knowledge and cultures' is ever increasing at speedy rates. As migration falls into a factor of economic globalization, in this essay, I plan to explore how migration influences globalization and the impact it is having on the migrants themselves, also taking into account the social dimension of globalization in terms of how it affects the migrant's
"A HERITAGE OF SMALLNESS".
Review to the essay "A HERITAGE OF SMALLNESS" By Nick Joaquin The Philippine population increases much faster than our economy. Our country indeed has been as slow as snail when it comes to the aspect of development. It takes a lot of years, even decades for us to be able to take a leap towards one step of modernization. Other countries like for example our neighbor, Singapore, which has been colonized by other more powerful country had been able to get up and make them selves more productive. But throughout the years, the Philippines had remained stagnant with their status in the world. Instead o becoming more globally competitive, we tend to just always sit down and relax and just accept the fact that our development is deteriorating. In Nick Joaquin's essay, "A Heritage of Smallness", he emphasized how the Filipino people can be so much contented with all that is small, all that is little and all that is just enough. A child who was born from a poor family would most likely be poor for the rest of his life. It would be a common scenario that they, too, will adopt the way of living of their parents. Instead of finding a way for them to have money, they will be contented and just continue blaming whoever they want to blame. "What most astonishes foreigners on the Philippines is that this is a country, perhaps the only one in the world, where people buy and sell one stick