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Orchards During War: Braceros in the Northwest
Get PDFThe American government introduced the bracero program during World War Two which allowed for Mexican laborers to enter the country to fulfill the nations labor demands. Their employment was on a temporary basis as they were usually signed to one-year contracts and sent all over the country. The Mexican and American governments were tasked at looking after these workers well being while ensuring that they fulfilled the demands that the United States government needed. In places like the American Southwest, braceros had little labor issues with their employers while in the American Northwest, labor stoppages and strikes were constant. The bracero workers of the Northwest generally received less oversight from the Mexican government and therefore the workers took matters into their own hands to ensure that they were being treated fairly. It was the neglect of the American and Mexican governments that drove braceros in the Northwest to organize
The Effects of Chavez\u27s Populism on Today\u27s Venezuela
No full textThis research analyzes the current economic crisis in Venezuela and its impact on human rights. The majority of Venezuelan citizens have been negatively impacted by hyperinflation, deteriorating healthcare systems, and government corruption. Mass emigration of Venezuelans to neighboring countries has placed great stress on the region as a whole, and the international community has yet to recognize Venezuela’s plight as an official refugee crisis. Drawing upon recent news articles, this research intends to understand how the economic system left in place by former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez began to crumble after current Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro was elected. It utilizes diverse news sources to analyze the causes of Venezuela’s sunken economy in order to provide insight towards plausible solutions. Exploring various options for alleviating economic hardship at the individual and nation-state levels, this paper aims to reflect on ways in which government corruption and consolidation of power within the Venezuelan political system could be eradicated. I have briefly analyzed the efficacy of methods such as economic sanctions, external military intervention, humanitarian aid, and collective action in alleviating Venezuela’s problems. As evidenced by this research, there is not one concrete, unambiguous answer to the problem at hand. Implications remain in each of the aforementioned methods of alleviating suffering in Venezuela. Stronger economic sanctions will further worsen Venezuela before it betters it, external military intervention will solidify fears of imperialism, and collective action by the international community has proven to be disorganized. This paper draws parallels to many of the sources cited within it, in that humanitarian aid is of dire need until long-term actions are taken to reform Venezuela’s economy
Taking a Knee to Take a Stand: An Analysis of The Bhagavad Gita\u27s Application to the Take a Knee Movement
Get PDFDespite there being significant advancements with respect to issues related to racial inequality in America in the past century, minority oppression continues to exist today (e.g. police brutality). To raise awareness of these issues, football and basketball players around the country have been kneeling to the national anthem. In response, President Trump and countless others have lashed back, saying “A football game...is no place to protest,” and that “Numerous players, from different teams, wanted to show their ‘outrage’ at something that most of them are unable to define.” This essay views the virtuousness of the Take a Knee movement, but through an Eastern perspective. The Bhagavad Gita, a poem in which Arjuna, the general of the Panadav army, struggles with the morality of fighting and killing his cousins in war. In response to Arjuna’s crisis, Krishna, Arjuna’s charioteer and the king of another kingdom, discourses to Krishna the ideas of dharma, yoga and samkhya, and the three gunas. These same principles can be applied to the justification and righteousness of the Take a Knee Movement. Because the athletes dissociate their actions from the reward of those actions, work towards equalizing society, while still continuing to fulfill their roles as athletes, the Take a Knee Movement exemplifies righteousness and should continue to raise awareness to some of the greatest problems in America today
Loss of Balance: Destructive Legal Mechanisms Within USA Gymnastics Policy and their Contributions to a Toxic and Abusive Environment
No full textSince the 1980’s, USA Gymnastics has emerged as a producer of Olympic champions, international success, and athletic excellence. However, with that growing dominance came a network of sexual abuse perpetuated among individuals at all levels of the organization. This paper seeks to examine the way in which USA Gymnastics allowed such abuse to continue and thrive by creating a system in which athletes were discriminated against in their inability to come forward without fear of retribution. I analyzed the rules and legal mechanisms in place within the organization and how they might prevent athletes and/or their coaches from wishing to come forward. I also sought out instances in which these rules were put into practice or warped for the benefit of abusers and enablers. Ultimately, my research showed that the hierarchy of the organization and the rules it enforced were structured in a way that any athlete wishing to report abuse had to risk being ostracized or not taken seriously. In addition, there were many discreet elements embedded in the culture of the organization, and the sport as a whole, that contributed to a toxic atmosphere that was wholly not conducive to safety and fairness in the practice of reporting abuse
Integrating Non-Friction-Based Braking Technology into Locomotives to Improve Train Efficiency, Durability, and Safety
Get PDFWhile frictional braking is an intuitive method by which to slow vehicles, it is also a costly braking method due to the fact that frictional brakes wear down due to frequent use and high quantities of friction. On trains, this problem is worse because of their constant use and because heavier objects require stronger braking forces. The objective is to improve locomotive performance by developing a braking system that utilizes non-frictional braking technology to cut these costs and yield safer, more durable brakes. This project is directed towards dieselelectric3 locomotives with air brakes, as engineers can design blended braking systems that integrate non-frictional braking into these braking systems. The candidate solutions include regenerative, rheostatic, and hydrodynamic braking, two of which use magnetic fields, and the third of which uses fluid drag forces. Regenerative braking is the proposed solution due to its ability to harness and use electricity during braking. Project success would contribute to railway company success by reducing expenses spent on air brakes; it would also contribute to locomotive manufacturer success because the product will likely become a popular technology. Finally, it would benefit the environment by reducing the external energy required by the railway network. Keywords: Locomotive, braking, non-frictional, regenerative, rheostatic, hydrodynamic, diesel-electri
Education, Self-Importance, and the Propensity for Political Participation
Get PDFPast research has largely centered on the link between education and political participation. Although an array of evidence has suggested that there is a positive—if not causal—relationship between the two, some suggest that the relationship is spurious or mediated by other factors. Using data from the General Social Survey (2004-2014), the present study intends to revisit the phenomenon while controlling for self-importance in order to resolve the previous conflicting findings. The bivariate cross-tabulation indicates that educational attainment is a significant determinant of political participation. The trivariate cross-tabulation, furthermore, uncovers that self-importance confounds the relationship between education and political participation, such that the impact of education on political participation is stronger among those who feel less important. To be sure, the higher a person’s educational attainment is, the more likely they are to participate in political processes; and, moreover, this is particularly true of those who have depressed understandings of their importance in the world. These findings suggest that those with low levels of self-importance—likely traditionally marginalized, stereotyped, or stigmatized groups—are least represented by government officials and mandates. This, in turn, creates an American governance that fails to adequately serve and represent the desires and needs of all its people. The study calls on further research to explore the impact of other related variables on the relationship between education and political participation, and to create more appropriate and comprehensive measures of political participation and self-importance
Impact of Compulsory Sexuality on LGB and Asexual Media Consumers
Get PDFThis paper seeks to explore the effects of media portrayals of heterosexuality on the romantic and sexual development of adolescent lesbian, gay, bisexual, (LGB) and asexual (ace) consumers. The media, specifically network programming, is a powerful tool of socialization which has been dominated by images of heterosexual love since its inception. As a result LGB and ace consumers have been systemically erased from the majority of the United States’ mediated social narratives. Non-straight viewers have therefore been precluded from receiving the social guidance and affirmation allotted to heterosexual consumers whose sexual and romantic behaviors are endorsed by the images portrayed onscreen. The underrepresentation of LGB and ace people is reflected in other major socializing institutions including the home, church, and academic institutions where heterosexuality is taken for granted as the only acceptable form of sexual or romantic behavior, and non-straight people are consequently erased. Furthermore, tracing the gradual increase in portrayals of love and sex in the media over time and the ubiquitous nature of sexuality throughout society, this paper will explore the nuances inherent in the effects of compulsory heterosexuality on LGB people and the effects of compulsory sexuality on asexual people. Ultimately, by understanding television and story-telling as society’s primary means of self-regulation and expression, this paper will interrogate the implications of predominantly heterosexual narratives on the minds and sexual development of young LGB and asexual consumers
“It’s a Battle for Information”: Mau Mau as the Boogeyman of Decolonization
No full textThis paper sought to place a collection of newsreels from Pathé News about the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya into the historical narrative of the revolt. The current understanding of the Mau Mau has not included a comprehensive discussion of the coverage of the group and the way that news of the revolt shaped the history that follows it. What was observed throughout the reels was an increasingly hostile propaganda campaign against the Mau Mau. This stronger rhetoric coincided with greater atrocities committed by the British as the war dragged on. The main findings of the paper were that the Mau Mau became a kind of “boogeyman” for the British about the dangers of decolonization, as well as the way that the news about the revolt served to paint the revolt in explicitly racist terms. The Mau Mau play an important role in the history of Kenya, and collections like that of Pathé News help to illuminate the narrative that the British developed for the independence struggle