Sub-Saharan Africa Essay Example for Free

Sub-Saharan Africa Essay A â€Å"little more than a hundred years ago much of Africa was a vast unknown† (Gestrin xix). It is different and has many untapped natural resources such as cobalt, gold, chrome, platinum, and uranium. The most significant turning point in Africa’s history is the G8 plan. The G8 plan, Leaders of the Group of Eight, signed an agreement with African leaders to support development. Economic growth there is credited to 80 percent of poverty reduction. Each Sub-Saharan Africa country has its own native language; however, there are usually other secondary languages. â€Å"Lingua franca† is a language that is systematically used to communicate with those not speaking the native language. Sub-Saharan Africa is comprised of forty-eight countries with a population of more than 500 million (Gestrin xx). The population has been doubling every twenty-four years; â€Å"more than half of the population in most sub-Saharan countries is under the age of fifteen† (Gestrin 57). So, one can say that sub-Saharan Africa is very â€Å"developed† in that way. The region of Sahel stretches â€Å"from Mauritamia and Senegal in the west across Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, northern Nigeria, and Chad in the east† (Gestrin 185). Cultural differences among the Muslims and Christians cause political divisions and military conflicts. There has also been a long history of drought, famine, and depopulation. Thus, people are involved in farming and food processing to ease the situation. The same cultural differences existed in Nigeria. As a result, the country was governed as two separate ones. In 1997, Nigeria was named â€Å"the most corrupt country to do business in† since many Nigerians were known as con artists and hustlers (Gestrin 178). Ethnic turmoil in Rwanda resulted from conflicts from the Hutu and the Tutsi peoples. The Hutus were cultivators and comprised 85 percent of the population; the Tutsis were herders and were the remaining 14 percent. Both groups are Catholic, spoke the same language, and shared customs. Both the German and Belgian colonialists allowed the Tutsis to rule over the Hutus; the Hutus resented them because of their wealth (Gestrin 15). Apartheid began in 1948 in South Africa as a means of political separation. People were classified into four racial groups: black, white, coloured (mixed races), and Indian or Asian. Resistance to apartheid began in 1974 when Portugal withdrew forces from Mozambique and, Angola. Anti-apartheid movements were happening in the United States and Europe; the countries began boycotts against South Africa. An election was held on April 27, 1994. As a result, Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s president on May 10, 1994. As of January 15, 2009, there are 11 million refugees in Africa; Congo, Somalia, and Sudan are the worst cases. Many of these refugees are driven from their homes due to ethnic conflicts and civil war (2). In 2007, 75 percent of all AIDS deaths occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa. Unprotected anal sex between men is the biggest reason for the majority of AIDS cases. In addition, condom use is rare among heterosexual couples. About 90 percent of couples say that they do not use condoms. Sharing infected drug needles also spreads the disease (3). Sex work is also common. Unfortunately, â€Å"health services in many countries are swamped by the need to care for increasing numbers of infected and sick people† (Gestrin 69). Only the affluent can afford the medications. Works Cited Gestrin, Phyllis and Yale Richmond. Into Africa: Intercultural Insights. Yarmouth: Intercultural Press, Inc. , 1998. Peacekeeping: Eleven Million African Refugees (2009). Retrieved June 23, 2009 from http://www. strategypage. com. Sub-Saharan Africa: 2008 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic. Retrieved June 15 2009 from http://www. inaids. org.

I Am a Humanist :: Personal Narrative Essays

I Am a Humanist One Sunday afternoon, under the warm, unrelenting gaze of the sun, a revelation interrupted my usual observations of the psychological flux seemingly inherent in all family relationships. Since the fact which I had noticed seemed relevant to the conversation, I saw no harm in prodding out the truth by a simple statement, "My sister is one too." Of course I meant it partially in jest, since she had made no such rebellious declarations. A few inconsequential discussions had made me consider stating her liberalism valid, and I took only a small step further by calling her an equal. Some would call such a leap flattering, but my mother thought the statement horrendous. "You may hold your own beliefs, but she's just a little girl! How could you?" The exact wording, time, and place are not important -- the tone of intolerance and look that made me want to proclaim,"Yes, I'm cold-hearted" are what have stayed with me. Such a response was justified by society -- and, as I have been repeatedly informed, extremely calm by almost any comparison. I was not referring to political alignment, but something far more serious and controversial. The group I had unjustly compared her to was the outcast of society's philosophy; I had called her a cold-hearted atheist. There are many good reasons for such anti religious intolerance in a social structure worried about the individual. How can godless ones be comforted -- in life and death? My mom, with good reason, was worried about my sister's soul; on Earth she would face a lifetime not knowing about a universal and unconditional love and her status in the afterlife was too scary to contemplate. Such a view was undoubtedly skewed by parental concern which concentrated on the child and not the world at large. Society, regardless of rigidity, is built upon moral rules that distinguish participants from simple feuding creatures. Most problems arise from the fact that the citizens of these advanced moral institutions find breaking the rules to be beneficial -- and are sometimes unable to resist the temptation. It is rather judicially expedient to proclaim God's judgment in all sentences and refer crimes to the afterlife. Both solutions require a believing population.

Turner (1997) continuously emphasizes the connection

American nation was developing in unique conditions, peculiar in both cultural and geographical sense: ‘The existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward, explain American development’ (Turner).European nations were developing within a limited territory; expansion of a nation occurred through conquering other peoples and subjecting them to the nation’s rule. On the contrary, American institutions and society were themselves evolving to meet constantly changing conditions: the ‘expansion westward with its new opportunities, its continuous touch with the simplicity of primitive society, furnish the forces dominating American character’ (Turner).American institutions were therefore facing the pressure to expand in order to meet demands of people migrating westwards (Lind). This phenomenon continued and intensified as long as Americans were finding new homes in the west.Frontier is characteriz ed as the line of fast and enduring Americanization. The philosophy of early American development implies changing ‘primitive economic and political conditions of the frontier into the complexity of city life’ (Turner).However, Slotkin (97) notes that the frontier provided Americans with opportunity to illustrate their fast adaptability to changing lifestyle and environment. This is illustrated by the willingness to face the challenges that were being faced in the new lands out west, where human settlement had never been in such huge scale.Therefore, the central conflict of the frontier era is between nature and culture, between savagery and civilization. This conflict is also central to the classical frontier romance ‘Last of the Mohicans’ by James Fenimore Cooper. This paper will separately explore the dynamic of ‘Americanization’ of male and female characters.Male characters will be analyzed along the continuum from the character stuck in th e European values and way of seeing the world (Gamut) through a character that is ready to accept and to learn from the frontier experience (Major Heyward) to the character that feels comfortable with the hybrid identity (Hawkeye). As concerns female character, Cora and Alice will be analyzed as an opposition of a new mixed American identity and classic European whiteness.

Sales Contract Sample

Today, a majority of business people prefer to sign a formal contract before buying or selling goods to secure their purchase. This way, both parties agree to buy or sell, accordingly, specific items under certain conditions outlined in the written form. Sales contract sample is the document with exact requirements in writing signed by both seller and buyer. Agreements of sale vary for the sake of reflecting the value of both parties under particular circumstances. Nonetheless, sales contract sample will become a competent guide as well as a starting point to support the creation of the perfect contract. Valuable contracts cover all important points relevant to current business interactions. Sale agreements, which were designed for determining procedures and price, play a significant role in trade due to the legal background of transactions between the purchaser and seller of specific items, at the exact time of their investment. Sales Contract Between: BlackWhite Corp. whose central registered office is at 123 Central Street, New York, United States and registration number is 98765432, represented by Mr. A.A. Smith, Sales Manager, And: LBT Corp. whose main registered office is at 321 Green Street, Chicago, United States and registration number is 132465798, represented by Mrs. A. M. House, Sales Manager. Both parties accept sales and purchase interest under this contract and assure to agree in the following way: 1. Applicability LBT Corp. may continually place orders with BlackWhite Corp. for furniture products. Each order will be administered by identified terms and conditions in the agreement for sale. This deal excludes each and every oral understanding besides cooperatively agreed on the paper and signed by both authorized representatives. Also, Seller keeps the right to decline the order submitted by the customer. 2. Shipping LBT Corp. shall purchase goods offered by BlackWhite Corp. and take responsibility for additional shipping expenses. Accordingly, the Seller Corp. should deliver goods to 123 Central Street, New York, United States. BlackWhite Corp. should deliver the product to the transport agency in twenty-four hours after the contract signing. 3. Inspection The Buyer Corp. should accept or reject the products after inspection due to the right to inspect a set of goods on their arrival at Buyers facility. In case of non-conformance, the Buyer Corp. should notify another party and give the opportunity to make some corrections to the Seller Corp. 4. Packaging The Seller Corp. is responsible for proper wrapping and packaging of the items concerning specific characteristics along with transport conditions. 5. Payment Price In consonance with the Sales Contract, payment should be made in US dollars. The price of the commodity should be accurate and in US currency. In case of failed or late payments, Seller Corp. has the right to withhold shipments or change delinquency charge interest, and also modify the status of the order for default. 6. Changes Seller Corp. holds the right to make some changes as well as improvements or enhancements to the products under the chosen order. 7. Transfer of Title The title along with the risk of loss passes to the Buyer Corp. after transportation of the merchandise to the port of shipment. Buyer, Mrs. A. M. House, Sales Manager Signature_______ Seller, Mr. A. A. Smith, Sales Manager Signature_______ 10 January 2017