Understanding World Happenings in Africa Essay Example for Free

Understanding World Happenings in Africa Essay When Paul Theroux visited Africa during the 1960s, many African countries were forming their own governments after doing away with colonial rule (An Interview, 2007). Paul taught English to children in Uganda and Malawi during that time. But when he returned to Africa almost forty years later, he was shocked as well as disappointed to see that his good old school library, which used to be the core of one of the finest schools in East Africa, had no light bulbs and all of its book shelves had been emptied by plunderers (Theroux, 2003). Doing away with colonial rule was not so good for the African countries after all. Rather, according to Paul, African countries after the colonial rule â€Å"have fared badly, because of poor leadership, lack of resources, the colonial hangover, the subversion of foreign institutions. † Moreover, corruption is rampant, and the African governments rely on the poverty of their peoples to get foreign aid. Someone besides the African people seems to be using the foreign aid, however, seeing as the African people remain poor and needy. What is more, countless African people whom Paul encountered during his second trip to Africa, reported that they would like to move out of Africa altogether (An Interview). Paul describes poverty as such a big problem in Africa that he almost lost his life because of it. In northern Kenya and on the road known as Marsabit, some â€Å"shifta† or wandering bandits shot at the travel writer. They do not want your life, bwana. They want your shoes, Paul explained in his book, Dark Star Safari: Overland From Cairo to Cape Town (Theroux). Did Paul imagine at the time that he would perhaps have been safe if the land of Africa was still under colonial rule? The law and order situation in the Western world – the colonialists and the imperialists of yesteryears – are definitely seen as safer places on our planet, despite the fact that UNDERSTANDING WORLD HAPPENINGS IN AFRICA Page # 2 they have their own share of violence to handle. And yet, the law and order situation in other parts of the world cannot be compared to what is happening in the Western world. In the non-Western world, a lot of countries have remained poor and needy even after doing away with the colonial rule. As a matter of fact, the colonialists were pushed out of many nations in hordes close to mid-twentieth century. What did the countries that pushed out the colonialists achieve in the name of freedom? – Perhaps only the belief that they are basically separate from others. In actuality, the so-called ‘freedom’ and ‘independence’ gained by the African countries, the subcontinent, and other non-Western regions of the world has not be true freedom and independence from heartbreaking problems such as beggary, sickness, and illiteracy (Theroux). While the Western world grew richer through the Internet and globalization, starting from the latter half of the twentieth century, various non-Western regions of the world remained poor and needy without good use of the Internet and globalization. Even Japan and China continued to believe in economic nationalism without feeling the need to make immense profits through globalization. Paul experienced the difference between the Western world and the non-Western world during his second trip to Africa especially through the word, â€Å"safari. † According to the writer, â€Å"safari† is a Swahili world which essentially means ‘incommunicado’ or being completely out of touch. So, if anybody (like Paul) wants to spend time in a place where there are not many (if any) Internet cafes or means to access mobile phones; he or she must be visiting Africa to get away from it all (Theroux). Technology has not made its way into African countries in a big way. Without technology, the African nations have undoubtedly stayed behind UNDERSTANDING WORLD HAPPENINGS IN AFRICA Page # 3 the Western world in terms of their economies and living standards. They have not been able to encounter progress along with the Western nations that are technologically advanced. Thus, the African countries – like many other technologically backward nations in the non-Western world – have failed to develop. These countries are dependent on the Western world for aid. What is more, although the majority of people of such nations have undeveloped minds because of lack of education, the countries as a whole have shown great arrogance in terms of shunning colonial rule and its likes. In Hong Kong, the British government stayed in power almost until the end of the twentieth century. Today, Hong Kong is very advanced. But Africa and the subcontinent are not advanced at all, the reason being that they pushed out the colonialists before the latter could work wonders for the nations they had probably come to occupy for a good reason. America, too, had pushed out colonialists before the African and Asian countries followed. However, America was backed by another Western power at the time of its independence. Hence, its history cannot be compared to the history of the non-Western world. The fact, therefore, remains: Our world has been divided even after the world wars, and would not easily allow developed countries to take over underdeveloped ones in order to solve the problems of the latter. When and if the developed countries do take over, they must encounter hatred and distrust, which eventually pushes them away and out of the undeveloped nations for good. References 1. â€Å"An Interview with Paul Theroux. † (2007). Book Browse. Retrieved from http://www. bookbrowse. com/author_interviews/full/index. cfm? author_number=886. (11 April 2007). 2. Theroux, Paul. (2003). Dark Star Safari: Overland From Cairo to Cape Town. Boston: Houghton Miffin, 2003.

International Organizations Essay -- Foreign Relations

According to Pease (2012), an international organization are conceived as formal institutions whose members are states and these are divided into two sub-groups called intergovernmental organizations (IGO) and non-governmental organizations (NGO). An IGO consists of states that voluntarily join, contribute financially, and assist in the decision making process. All of their members’ resolves, structures, and administrative protocols are clearly outlined in the treaty or charter. An example of an IGO is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). First, all IGOs comes from an established government which can be further categorized by rules of membership which qualifies NATO because it is an alliance of about 30 members from North America and Europe. Secondly, IGOs can have limited participation in membership or restricted membership which qualifies NATO because this is a security agreement and it limits its involvement by confining it to an amalgamation of specific gove rnmental, geographical, and martial considerations. Thirdly, IGOs are categorized by their purpose meaning the member can be multi or general purpose organization and they can take on any global issue (Pease, 2012). This qualifies NATO because over the years the organization has participated in several international war related issues such as the Korean War and the Cold War. Most recently, NATO, for the first time in history had to engage Article 5 of the treaty after the 9/11 attacks in New York City and the no-fly zone in the country of Libya. The other kind of International Organization (IO) is the NGO which are primarily non-profit private organizations that engage in a variety of international activities (Pease, 2012 p. 4). They are able to particip... ...n order for the regime itself to be modified or separate altogether, the philosophies and standards that are the common bond between stakeholders will be modified. There are three main arguments concerning the discussion over the amount of power regimes have in the international system. The neo-realist argument is the first one where regimes are not merely considered as inadequate, but sometimes deceptive. This perspective is regarded as conventional structural. Keohane and Stein support the second argument, which states that regimes have certain worth, but only under particular conditions. Finally, the Grotian argument perceives regimes as an essential, secondary phenomenon feature of human nature. The connection of international and domestic stakeholders, through benefits, influence, standards, societies, and knowledge lead to the likely development of regimes.

Alum Synthesis

Alum Synthesis: The Chemical Process of Recycling Aluminum Introduction By recycling aluminum cans, the costs and energy savings are dramatically more resourceful and efficient than producing aluminum from what it is naturally found in, bauxite ore. The process of recycling aluminum to produce potassium aluminum sulfate, a common alum, will be done through a serious of chemical reactions. Through this reaction, percent yield will be determined. Materials and Methods The mass of a 250 mL beaker is measured, and . 9 to 1. 2 grams of aluminum can pieces are added to the beaker. The mass of the beaker and aluminum pieces is recorded.These two masses are then used to determine the initial mass of aluminum being reacted in this experiment. 50 mL of 1. 4 M KOH is then added to the beaker and placed upon a hot plate under a fume hood to fumigate any escaping gases during the reaction, which should take no longer than 30 minutes. The heat from the hot plate speeds the reaction, and the reacti on mixture must be kept no lower than 25 mL by adding distilled water. An aspirator is assembled by using a suction flask, clamp, ring stand, rubber tubing, funnel, and filter paper to filter the reaction mixture once the first reaction is complete. Feature Article –  Free-Radical BrominationThe filter paper is then wetted, the vacuum source is turned on, and the mixture is poured through the filter, using 5 mL of distilled water to rinse the beaker. The filter will catch all the dark filtrate from the aluminum can pieces, and the suction flask will contain a clear (transparent) solution. The solution is then transferred to a clean 250 mL beaker, and the suction flask is rinsed with 10 mL distilled water to insure all the remaining solution is transferred to the clean beaker. The beaker is placed in an ice bath to cool the solution, filling the beaker three fourths full with ice and cold water. 0 mL of 6. 0 M sulfuric acid is measured and slowly added to the mixture, using a stirring rod to mix. Heat the mixture on a hot plate if any solids begin to develop in the mixture. Using a 1 L plastic beaker, prepare another ice bath and place the beaker containing the reaction mixture in the ice bath. Once in the ice bath, the alum crystals forming in the mixture will begin to precipitate. To help the process of crystal formation, use the stir rod to scrape the sides of the beaker and form an alum seed crystal. Reassemble a clean vacuum filter, and filter the crystals onto the filter paper.Get as much of the precipitated crystals out of the beaker and then rinse the beaker twice with 10 mL of 50% ethanol solution to transfer all the crystals to the beaker. Once the alum crystals have dried, measure the mass of a clean 250 mL beaker and then measure the mass of the beaker containing the alum crystals. Results and Discussion The first reaction to begin the alum synthesis process is when aluminum and potassium hydroxide are combined and water and heat are added during the reaction. The result is an ion called â€Å"aluminate† with an excess of hydrogen gas.This type of reaction is a redox (reduction-oxidation) reaction, where the aluminum metal is oxidized to aluminum with an oxidation number of +3 an d the hydrogen in potassium hydroxide or in water is reduced from an oxidation number of +1 to zero in hydrogen gas. The balanced chemical equation for this reaction is: 2Als+ 2KOHaq+ 6H2Oliq>2KAlOH4aq+ 3 H2g During this reaction, the colorless mixture potassium hydroxide and aluminum pieces turned a dark, ashy gray as heat was applied and the aluminum can pieces dissolved. The heat sped the reaction, and within thirty minutes all the aluminum pieces were dissolved, leaving behind aluminate.In the second reaction, the filtered aluminate solution is mixed with sulfuric acid once the solution has cooled. After stirring for several minutes, crystals began to form. The crystalizing liquid started thickening and appeared to be white. The product of this reaction is aluminum hydroxide, potassium sulfate, and water. The fully balanced chemical equation is: 2 KAl(OH)4(aq) + H2SO4(aq) >2Al(OH)3(s) + 2 H2O(liq) + K2SO4(aq) This equation represents a metathesis (precipitation) reaction where a ll the elements and groups recombine and a precipitate, aluminum hydroxide, is formed.As more sulfuric was added, the precipitate began to dissolve, thus causing the third reaction. The solution contains aluminum, potassium, and sulfate ions now. The balanced chemical equation is: 2 Al(OH)3(s) + 3 H2SO4(aq) >Al2(SO4)3(aq) + 6 H2O(liq) This type of reaction is a metathesis (acid-base) reaction where, once again, the elements and groups recombine themselves. The product of this reaction is aluminum sulfate and water. The solution continued to cool and crystals began to form. The last reaction resulted in a hydrated potassium aluminum sulfate, and crystals of this compound formed slowly. Seed crystals† developed and more alum deposited causing the crystals to expand. The balanced chemical reaction is: Al2(SO4)3(aq) + K2SO4(aq) + 24 H2O(liq) >2 KAl(SO4)2†¢12 H2O(s) This would be considered a combination reaction because the three reactants combined to form one product, hydrat ed potassium aluminum sulfate. The overall balanced chemical reaction for this experiment is: 2Al(s)+2KOHaq+4H2SO4(aq)+22H2O(liq) >2 KAl(SO4)2†¢12H2O(s) + 3 H2(g) At the start of the experiment, 1. 01 grams of aluminum can pieces were used. After forgoing several reactions, 4. 19 grams of alum were recovered.Theoretically, 17. 76 grams of alum should have been recovered. This gives a percent yield of 24. 0%. Human error was definitely the main factor as to why the percent yield is not anywhere close to 100%. My lab partner and I did have a misunderstanding with one of the steps in the instructions; instead of placing the beaker in an ice bath during reaction three, we thought the directions said to put ice directly into the reaction mixture. This may have caused some error in the cooling process of the mixture, and may have not enabled all the crystals to form properly.We may have also not waited long enough for all the crystals to form. Also, some of the crystals may have gott en lost while being transferred from the beaker, to the aspirator, and then to another beaker to be measured. These factors are reasonable as to why the actual yield of alum that resulted in the experiment were not accurate with the theoretical yield of alum. Conclusion Through a series of reactions, it is understood that aluminum can be chemically reacted to result in the synthesis of alum. The success of the experiment proves the reasoning of the process of recycling aluminum.

Social Class in Great Expectations - 932 Words

In Great Expectations, Pip changed his social class immensely. Pip did not understand how a poor family could be happy. Pip thought that social class was everything in life. He also thought that money was very important. In reality, it turns out that money and social rank do not matter in life. What really matters is being connected and having relationships with family and friends. Pip finds that out the hard way. In Great Expectations, Pip is exposed to many different social classes, he acts very differently, he finds out how lonely he becomes, and how family and friends mean everything in life. Early in life, Pip grew up in a poor and kind of lower class family. As a young child, Pip did not understand how poor people could be so†¦show more content†¦Pip â€Å"†¦gave me the bread and meat without looking at me, as insolently as if I were a dog in disgrace. I was so humiliated, hurt, spurned, offended, angry, sorry†¦,† (Dickens 64). Pip is disconcerted and depressed when Estella does that to him in the beginning of the novel. Pip basically does the same thing to Joe. â€Å"Not with pleasure, though I was bound to him by so many ties; no; with considerable disturbance, some mortification, and a keen sense of incongruity. If I could have kept him away by paying money, I certainly would have paid money,† (Dickens 229). Joe is disrespected and he is mortified by the way Pip treats him. Pip becomes very forlorn while he is in London. Once he is in London, he does not have many friends like he did before. This really changes the way he thinks in life. Money changes people and it certainly has a consequence on Pip as it is shown in the novel. Social class does not really shape Pip into a reputable young man. That is so because he thinks that he is too good for Joe and Biddy. Not the entire London trip is appalling. Pip learns some really good skills in London. He learns how to be a gentleman and he learns correct table manners.  "It is considered that you must be better educated, in accordance with your altered position, and that you will be alive to the importance and necessity of at once entering on that advantage,† (Dickens 186). London, Mr. Jaggers, and all of theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Social Class in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens893 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Dickens, author of Great Expectations, provides a perfect example of the hope of class mobility. The novel portrays very diverse and varied social classes which spread from a diligent, hardworking peasant (Joe) to a good-natured middle class man (Mr. Wemmick) to a rich, beautiful young girl (Estella). Pip, in particular, elevates in the social pyramid from a common boy to a gentleman with great expectations. 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