Lesson Plan title - Duck and Cover: The Cold War
General description -The class will examine the duck and cover concept and the media issues and it brings up via work on their learning cube.
Rationale - Since this lesson will be done during the first week that the class is covering the cold war there can not be too much collective knowledge on the cold war era. The duck and cover concept can help students understand exactly what the cold war was about and how far the war went. It puts them into students of the cold war era's shoes and makes them realize that this is not just something from the past, even when the duck and cover concept is silly. The premise behind the cold war and what made the duck and cover concept to begin with is still a valid issue.
Objectives - The students should be able to understand and demonstrate what the United States was like, socially, in the beginning of the cold war. Students should be able to strengthen their message analysis skills by exploring duck and cover. They should have a moderate understanding of the cold war and an in depth understanding of the way media, specifically the duck and cover cartoon, had an effect on the arms race and society.
ISTE NETS•T standard "2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information
resources to support research and learning"
Procedure
Opening:
The class will open with a short ten minute video courtesy of YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0K_LZDXp0I) of the Duck and Cover video that used to be shown in schools to instruct young people on what to do during the case of nuclear emergency. I’ll hand out a packet of pictures from the video and children actually ducking and covering (for their help/example). I’ll then hand out the activity cubes (green – on/above grade level and blue – below grade level).
Main activity:
At this point I will explain what the cube is and what I expect from everyone. I’ll explain how the there will be time today (the day the cube gets handed out) and tomorrow, but the rest needed to be finished up by Friday, that’s when they need to be handed in, for homework.
The Green cube:
Side1 – Describe in two to three paragraphs how “Duck and Cover” was used during the cold war era citing at least two scholarly sources.
Side 2 – Do you think that the Duck and Cover video and concept was effective, why or why not?
Side 3 – Find two or three friends with the same color cube and write a script for duck and cover or another institutionalized practice (i.e. fire drill, tornado drill, etc.) then record it either digitally or on a dvd. Make sure that everyone has an equal share of this work.
Side 4 – Explain what duck and cover is used for and how it is done, cite the text book and the video at least once each (two to three paragraphs).
Side 5 – In the even of nuclear warfare, will duck and cover work?
Side 6 – Go to http://www.nd.edu/~nsl/Lectures/phys20061/index.htm and choose a chapter, read it/look at the slides, and write a one page (hand written or double spaced, size 12 font) response.
The Blue cube:
Side1 – Describe in two to three paragraphs how “Duck and Cover” was used during the cold war era.
Side 2 – Write a journal entry of what a child going through the duck and cover learning process would think about the concept and their day to day lives.
Side 3 – After looking at the pictures in the hand out and watching the video, draw or create 5-10 pictures showing what duck and cover or another institutionalized practice (i.e. fire drill, tornado drill, etc.) would look like (imagine an instructions packet through pictures). Number the order of the pictures in the top right hand corner and staple it on the left hand top corner. Computers and real pictures may be used to create the pictures.
Side 4 – Explain what duck and cover is used for and how it is done, cite the video at least once (two to three paragraphs).
Side 5 – In the even of nuclear warfare, will duck and cover work?
Side 6 – Go to http://www.nd.edu/~nsl/Lectures/phys20061/index.htm and read the chapter/slides 13 on
“The Nature of the Blast” and write a one page (hand written or double spaced, size 12 font) response.
Closing:
Five minutes prior to the end of the class I will remind the students that they can use the wiki to talk to me or classmates if they need help or have questions on their cubes.
Assessment (How would you assess this assignment?)
I will know if they understood the key concepts of this lesson if the results of their cubes are answered fully and the project reflects creativity and thoughtfulness. A student that is lacking in either area will not do as well as those that are not.
Extensions - Students can apply this toward other institutionalized drills and practices like the fire drill etc. and they can explore that outside of the cube assignment.
Resources
http://www.nd.edu/~nsl/Lectures/phys20061/index.htm and the cube, the video duck and cover video from YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0K_LZDXp0I), the handout sheet with the pictures on it, and anything else that an individual might need.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Plato's Conception of the Appropriately Ordered Soul and Society
February 2008
Plato’s Conception of the Appropriately Ordered Soul and Society
The Republic, by Plato is a result of the struggle that Plato had after Athens executed Socrates (Plato’s mentor). Plato believed that Socrates was the most just man he knew and that a just state does not execute just men. He sets out to define justice and critique Athens and the path that the demos and state are on. Plato’s conception of the appropriately ordered soul and thus an appropriately ordered political society is one that is justly ordered by his standards. Given this definition Democracy is fundamentally unjust because it is ruled by any and all men or unequal stature.
Plato clearly divides both the state and the soul into three different categories the “Rulers (legislative and deliberative), Auxiliaries (executive), and Craftsmen (productive)” (Plato, 102). Plato describes the soul of the individual as gold, silver, or bronze using a fable, “like an Eastern tale,” that would be told to the demos. A god would have “mixed gold in” the ruling class, the auxiliaries would have “put silver in” them, and finally “iron and brass in the farmers and craftsmen” (Plato, 106-107).
This fable allows the distinction between different peoples and the justification of their distinctly different places in society. Having a gold soul did not make a person a ruler initially, but it only meant that they had the potential to be a ruler. They would only become a ruler after having to prove themselves worthy by withstanding “every test in childhood, youth, and manhood” (Plato, 105).
Plato said that a gold soul is ruled by wisdom which is why their soul is thought of in the order of reason, spirit, and then appetite. This is one reason why they would be able to make the rules and legislation. They would be philosophers and be able to see “the Good” and then make legislation based on it because they can go into the worlds of the being and becoming (Plato, 215). A silver soul is ruled by courage thus they are spirit, reason, and then appetite. Thus they are the ones that make sure that the legislation that the gold souls make is kept and put into practice. They are also the ones that go into war, if that time should come. Finally, the bronze souls are not ruled by a higher virtue like wisdom or courage so they are thought of having souls comprising of appetite, spirit, and then reason. This is why they make up the majority of the demos and are the ones that produce everything that the society needs to survive.
The idea of appetite is divided into two types, the “irrational appetite” or “unnatural appetite” and the “rational” appetite (Plato, 137, 284). Where rational appetite is that appetite where there is some reason still involved and irrational appetite is that which is “associated with pleasure in the replenishment of certain wants” (Plato, 137). Plato uses bread as an example to clarify this. A man needs bread therefore eating enough “to keep in health and good condition may be called necessary” but to over indulge is irrational (Plato, 284).
This plays into why the gold souls should be the rulers. The gold souls have the capacity to see “the Good” and to navigate their way from “the Good” to the different forms of “the Good” into legislation which would begin to encompass what “the Good,” in its essential form, is (Plato, 220). Plato believes that for a state to be Just “philosophers [should] become kings” or kings should be “inspired with a genuine desire for wisdom,” in other words, kings should become philosophers (Plato, 178). Plato uses the example of the navigator to show his friends how a philosopher is not useless but the most useful and skilled of the bunch if put in his appropriate position in the state.
Plato has the master of a ship be a “deficient” seaman and all of the crew, save one, are pleading with the master saying that they are “skilled navigator[s],” but in reality none of them know how to and will merely bring the ship into disaster (Plato, 195). The problem is that every time a crew member receives the master’s permission to take the helm “they kill them or throw them overboard” (Plato, 195). The one crew member that does not even tempt his fate with trying to convince the master that he knows how to navigate, because he knows it would be in vain, is the philosopher that can read the stars and navigate properly. This shows how a philosopher can navigate the ship (demos) in the correct way only if the rest of the crew is in their proper place. If everyone else is trying to lead but does not know how to, then the ship (state) will come into peril. Thus, it is only proper for those few philosophers to come to their proper place and lead.
One can see that Plato believes that every person’s soul is suited to a specific duty which would make them happiest and most useful to society. Plato describes the soul and society to have been built on four qualities which create a perfect and Just society. Three of them, “wisdom, courage, and temperance” were discussed already and “the one left over… justice” would be the one that “makes it possible for the [other] three” to come to term (Plato, 127).
Justice, in part, is a function of the allocation of duties. Plato even goes so far as to say that “…everyone ought to perform the one function in the community for which his nature best suited him. Well, I believe that that principle, or some form of it, is justice (Plato, 127).” Since justice is defined as such one can say that the way in which Plato has set up his just society by using gold, silver, and bronze souls as the Ruler, Auxiliaries, and the Craftsmen, respectively, creates “justice as a quality that may exist in a whole community as well as in an individual” (Plato, 55). Since “justice in the state meant that each of the three orders in it was doing its own proper work” one can say that a just person is one that fulfills “his proper function, only if the several parts of our nature fulfill theirs” (Plato, 139-140).
It may be obvious at this point that democracy is anything but what the Just state and soul, according to Plato, would look like. Democracy has the features of “an agreeable form of anarchy,” but before getting to this agreeable anarchical state, three forms of government come before it (Plato, 282). The first is Plato’s state, then timocracy which is based on virtues (when the silver souls come to power and rule), then this would lead to oligarchy which is based on necessary appetites, and finally “…when the poor win [the civil war], the result is democracy” which is based on “unnecessary pleasures and appetites” (Plato, 282, 284).
Plato believes that the demos live a life that is ultimately not of “the Good” because their souls are not ordered and that they are ruled by whatever whim they possess at the moment. The democratic man values all of his wants and needs equally and does whatever “suit[s] his pleasure” to attempt to govern “his soul until it is satisfied” (Plato, 282, 286). The tragedy is that since these are unnatural appetites they are “appetites which cannot be got rid of” (Plato, 284). If you can not get rid of them, then one can never satisfy them or the soul which is governed by them.
This plays true to the way the democratic state is run as well. Plato asserts that “knowledge, right principles, true thoughts, are not at their posts; and the place lies open to the assault of false and presumptuous notions” (Plato, 285). He also claims that the demos has an “indifference to the sort of life a man has led before he enters politics” and that “democracy tramples” “all those fine principles we laid down in founding our commonwealth” (Plato, 283). The democratic state is one in which because everyone and everything is considered equal the navigator can not take to the helm.
Democracy then leads to the worst of all forms of government, despotism. This form of government is the polar opposite of what the just state is, just as the despotic man is the polar opposite of what the just man is. Plato spends a bit of time on this to emphasize why a just man is better. Plato makes his case clear that the appropriate way to order a state and a soul is to make sure that it is just by allocating every person their own duties and social status.
The Freecycle Network
November 2008
The Freecycle NetworkTM
The Freecycle Network™ has a very interesting beginning and a rich history to go along with it. It is a grass roots organization and as such had, as what any grass roots organization has, a humble beginning (Home). The founder of The Freecycle Network™ is a man named Deron Beal (History & Background Information). He was working with a nonprofit organization, RISE, that allows recycling to occur in downtown Tucson, Arizona and also facilitates employment for people in transition stages of life (History & Background Information). Mr. Beal sent out an e-mail to a few other non-profits in Tucson as well as some personal friends introducing the idea (History & Background Information).
The people that took an interest began to call around to other non-profits or friends to see if they could use items instead of throwing them away (History & Background Information). No one wanted to see items that still had life in them to rot in a dump when someone could use it (History & Background Information). Mr. Beal then realized that he could set up an e-mail group instead of calling around to everyone to make everyone’s life easier (History & Background Information). The system allowed anyone participating in it to give away the things they no longer wanted or needed and receive the things they did (History & Background Information). The only cost to them was the time of getting the materials and joining the list-serve (History & Background Information).
The premise of this organization was to give and get things, without any strings attached, and to keep things out of the landfills (History & Background and J. Consiglio, personal communication, November 06, 2008). This type of networking allowed the local communities to become closer to each other while promoting sustainable and environmentally friendly practices (History & Background). In fact, the actual mission statement is: “Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community” (Mission Statement). What this means, is that the original goal of this organization was to grow into a multinational organization that allowed many local communities to utilize The Freecycle Network™ to give and take away other peoples trash. There is an authorless saying that “what is one person’s trash is another person’s treasure” and this organization took that saying to heart and ran with it.
The Freecycle Network™ allows members to join a local group via Yahoo Groups, then once approved by an admin, the group members are allowed to post if something is “wanted”, have something, have a “curbside alert”, and can delete the post once it is no longer relevant (B. Palacios, personal interview, November 02, 2008). I was also made aware that each local group has slightly different rules about the posts and how they are to be done (J. Consiglio, personal communication, November 06, 2008).
The organization allows people to give and receive things ranging from ordinary household things like beds or boxes, to random or bizarre things. Jan Consiglio, from Port Orange, Florida told me about how her sister, who lives in North Carolina, once got a pot-bellied pig from someone and another time received a pregnant cat (J. Consiglio, personal communication, November 06, 2008).
Currently, The Freecycle Network™ is a nonprofit organization that is incorporated in Arizona (History & Background). The network’s nonprofit status was approved in November 2006 by the IRS after initial application in July of 2004 (History & Background). The network celebrated its fourth anniversary as a viable network for people to access and use on May 1, 2007 (Media Release: May Day: A Fertile Freecycle Network™ Turns Four Today!). On this date, the media release reported that the network was gaining 20,000 new members each week (Media Release: May Day: A Fertile Freecycle Network™ Turns Four Today!). In 2008, a new press release came out saying that there were 40, 000 new members joining The Freecycle Network™ each week (Media Release: The Freecycle Network™ - Largest Environmental Web Community in the World!)
This amazing growth in only one years time means several things. First, it means that the people that are already involved with the network are happy with it and are spreading information about it via word of mouth. Second, it means that people are researching what kinds of things the network does and what the ramifications are of those things. Thirdly, it means that there are more active members today than there has been and that number is increasing exponentially. As a group that began with thirty members in a grass-roots way, the network has become the “largest environmental we community in the world” and as such, can make an enormous difference in the environment and if it wanted to, sustainable education and efforts (Media Release: The Freecycle Network™ - Largest Environmental Web Community in the World!).
The Freecycle Network™, as previously mentioned, has become a multinational organization. The concept has spread from Tucson, Arizona through the United States to include all fifty states and some territories, like Guam (Regions of the United States). In each of these states and territories there are local groups, just like the one in my hometown of Port Orange, Florida. These local groups allow individuals to connect with other individuals from the same area via The Freecycle Network™ in order to communicate what they need, have, want, or have taken (J. Consiglio, personal communication, November 06, 2008). The network is flexible enough to allow members to join multiple local groups through a process of being accepted from an admin of that particular local group (J. Consiglio, personal communication, November 06, 2008). In the United States many have come together and spread the news of The Freecycle NetworkTM to others in other countries.
The word of mouth had become so grand that The Freecycle NetworkTM has now spread from the United States and its territories even further. The concept has spread to over eighty-five countries across the globe (Media Release: The Freecycle Network™ - Largest Environmental Web Community in the World!). These countries range from Andorra to Venezuela (Freecycle is active in these countries) and count for hundreds of local groups working in conjunction with more than 5.7 million people (History & Background). The collaboration of this network is unprecedented and the connections that people are making are only rivaled by social software networks on the internet. The network itself, in some forms, is a social software network. It is a social network in the sense that people are talking freely and interacting on it. Then sometimes they meet in person to either give or receive things. Some people become close friends because of this network (J. Consiglio, personal communication, November 6, 2008).
This network has spread like wildfire. In such a short amount of time because there is no other network out there like it. The only thing that I have found, while doing research and through life, that tries to promote giving away things that you no longer want or need to others that want or need them is Goodwill (About Goodwill). The concept of Goodwill, however, is not to keep trash out of the landfills and to connect the community but it is to “do the right thing” and to give what you no longer want and need to the less fortunate because they can buy it at low prices. Another institution that is about giving and getting is the Salvation Army. This network is similar to Goodwill in that people give things to them and they give them to thrift stores and to people for relief from disasters (The Salvation Army – Family Store). Both Goodwill and the Salvation Army have good intentions but they do not allow the same kind of connections that The Freecycle NetworkTM does, nor do they promote keeping things out of landfills and providing a means of doing so.
The Freecycle NetworkTM does have its issues. One problem with it is that sometimes people will want something but never go pick them up (L. Spears, personal communication, November 6, 2008). Part of the problem is that The Freecycle NetoworkTM only allows someone to come and pick up the item they want. There is no delivery service and many people, since it is in their local community, do not send things in the mail. One of the reasons for these things is that the price of gas and running a car is so high now (L. Spears, personal communication, November 6, 2008). This, I am sure, is an issue not only here in the local communities in Florida but elsewhere across the globe as well. People often do not have the capacity to bring larger things home with them because they can not find the means to do so. If people were to volunteer to be delivery people, then this might alleviate some of this problem (L. Spears, personal communication, November 6, 2008).
The international network would have this issue as well. In truth, the international community may have a harder time than the people in the United States have. The reason is that the people in the United States could find the means, if we had to. Often times finding the means to get or give things is not possible for people in other countries. People in these countries may use internet cafés to connect with The Freecycle NetworkTM (B. Palacios, personal communication, November 7, 2008). In that way, they may not have the means in their own home to connect to the internet and thus the network when they please. This could inhibit them in many ways. They could not receive essential updates that would tell them if someone else had gotten what they had wanted. It is also the case that not being able to have internet in the home would probably mean that their means of transportation is limited as well. Public transportation, especially in the Global South, is very limited and technologically challenged and where it does exist does not meet the needs of the larger public. In this way, the network would run into complications but the core concepts could still be put into practice.
The network has made huge successes in many areas of the globe. The network by having so many active members alone means that it is working. People in all places where the network exist are helping themselves, their communities, and the earth. People get around the minor hindrances of their individual or local situations to come together and give and receive to keep things out of the landfills. Keeping so much out of landfills is another success offered by the netwrok. The people in this network are keeping more than 500 tons of trash out of landfills a day by utilizing The Freecycle Network™ (History & Background). This “trash” is then put into better use by someone that either wants it or needs it. Trash is not truly trash until it is thrown away and this network and the people involved in it are demonstrating that everyday.
Often there will be someone that has a garage sale and puts whatever did not sell onto the network for someone to take off their hands (J. Consiglio, personal communications, November 6, 2008). This kind of behavior put into practice by the millions of people that have joined the network has certainly allowed The Freecycle NetworkTM to accomplish its goal of keeping the landfills freer of useful trash. The community has also felt more connected because they can see each other and help each other out (B. Palacios, interview, November 2, 2008). The community benefits not only from the ecological accomplishments that The Freecycle NetworkTM helps facilitate, but it also brings a sense of community to the community in need.
In lower income communities The Freecycle NetworkTM could benefit them greatly. Being part of the network does not mean that you have to give and receive all of the time you can do one or the other or one the majority of the time and the other only part of it. Often,
in lower income communities, people are lacking essentials and can not find them. This could provide a means for many of them to find clothes, bedding, appliances, and other essentials. This kind of networking between people has an array of applications that could help an array of people.
In larger cities people can feel very disjunctive from their neighbors and community. Since the network allows people to connect first through the web, then through real life, and then through a common goal, people feel better about their living situations (B. Palacios, personal communication, November 7, 2008). This can be seen in cities such as New York, Chicago, Los Angels, London, Paris, and the list goes on. People in these cities can see their neighbors but the connections they feel to them are slight sometimes because there is so much diversity in the city and no common ground for them to bond on. The Freecycle NetworkTM allows for that common ground to occur. Obviously, this is not the case for everyone but on an individual basis.
The Freecycle NetworkTM has indeed accomplished many of the things that it wanted to work towards in its mission statement. The network has not only accomplished what it set out to do in the town of Tucson, Arizona but elsewhere as well. It has been as successful in the local places throughout the world as it has in Tucson, Arizona. It is obvious then that the few flaws that the network has inherently in it are workable and that many people do work around them both in the local and international sense.
In light of the network’s history, mission statement, and broader context there are a few things that they could still do to accomplish these goals more adequately. While The Freecycle Network™ has become a worldwide gifting movement that does reduce waste and eases the burdens on the landfills in the world, the thing that the network is lacking on most, is how it promotes saving resources. Many things are built to be finite and then thrown away. Keeping things in use longer than one person wants them does not solve the problem of keeping them out of the landfill or saving the resources. In reality, all that the network does is prolong the period between ownership and the landfill. I am not saying that the network is not helping keep people aware of sustainable practices or that the network is failing in its mission. I am saying, however, that the network needs to find a way to truly recycle the things that people are giving and getting so that when the times comes that the product has no “life” (defined as usable/viable time) left in it, it is not thrown away.
What I would suggest is that there be regional offices for these local groups to communicate at. At these regional offices there could be a place where when a member is ready to throw something away because either no one wants it or it has no “life” left in it, they can bring it to the regional office instead of the landfill. At these places there could be either volunteers or hired help to separate and truly recycle what they can from these unwanted items. This would keep all of these things out of the landfills and not just prolong the digestion period. For example, when a shirt is too worn and tattered to be wanted or used as a shirt they could bring it to the center and someone cold make something else out of the fabric or they could break down the shirt to reuse the fibers.
I would suggest trying this in a few regional locations first where the local networks are strong and very active. If these few regions succeeded in the new addition to the network then it should be expanded to other regions and eventually, as the network did itself, overseas to many nation-states. This would close the loop of the network and make the network not only a place where they communicated and helped out each other and the earth, but also a place where sustainability is showcased.
After researching this intricate network of people and the way that The Freecycle Network™ helps those people, I think that people can make a huge difference towards the goal of sustainability. The Freecycle NetworkTM’s concept is one that, because so many people have utilized it, has made an environmental impact on keeping things out of the landfills and out of the linear cycle that most products go into.
I talked to a few people that are part of The Freecycle Network™ in various cities (other than those cited) and everyone seems to think that by participating in this they are not only helping themselves and their community, but they are helping out the earth. This, to me, really opened my eyes on how much one individual can do if they can get many to jump on board. Imagine that Mr. Beal decided that his idea was silly and never e-mailed his friends. The ramifications of one person’s, Mr. Beal, decision to share has been tremendous.
Sustainability, as I have discovered, does not come from one thing but it comes from the collective action of the masses. The Freecycle Network™ is only one of those things that help inch the world and its population toward sustainable living. I want to get involved with this program and help out myself, my communities, and the earth. Something simple like participating in this, using florescent light-bulbs, and being aware of consumption are all things that I, as an American, can do easily with little extra cost. I feel that this network has opened my eyes to a whole interconnected world that wants to contribute in the only ways that they know how.
In conclusion, the sustainable efforts that The Freecycle Network™ endorses have helped me to want to become a more active and environmentally aware citizen, not only of the United States but of the world that we all have to inhabit. We are reaching, some would argue we have reached, a point that we are no longer just citizens of nation-states but we are global citizens. The ramifications of our dirty life-styles may not affect us but they do affect someone, even if they are half way around the world. Since we live in a finite world the things that we do and use often can not be replenished and as such we must all be aware of that. The most important struggle that the future holds for my generation will not be economics alone, or tolerance alone, but it will be the fight to keep our planet alive and endorse sustainable living to everyone, including large and small corporations.
Work Cited
Consiglio, Jan. Personal communication (e-mail). 06 November 2008.
“Freecycle is active in these countries.” The Freecycle Network™. Tucson, Arizona. 07 November 2008 < http://www.freecycle.org/group/?noautodetect=1>.
“About Goodwill.” Goodwill Industries International Inc. 2005. 10 November 2008 < http://www.goodwill.org/page/guest/about>.
“History & Background Information.” The Freecycle Network™. Tucson, Arizona. 06 November 2008 <http://www.freecycle.org/about/background>.
“Home.” The Freecycle Network™. Tucson, Arizona. 05 November 2008 <www.freecycle.org>.
“Mission Statement.” The Freecycle Network™. Tucson, Arizona. 06 November 2008 <http://www.freecycle.org/about/missionstatement>.
“Media Release: May Day: A Fertile Freecycle Network™ Turns Four Today!” The Freecycle Network™. 01 May 2007. Tucson, Arizona. 07 November 2008 < http://www.freecycle.org/pressreleases/ 07-05-01_The_Freecyle_Network_media_release.pdf>.
“Media Release: The Freecycle Network™ - Largest Environmental Web Community in the World!” The Freecycle Network™. 09 September 2008. Tucson, Arizona. 07 November 2008 < http://www.freecycle.org/pressreleases/ 08-09-09_Freecycle_press_release.pdf>.
Palacios, Bronwen. Personal communication (e-mail). 07 November 2008.
Palacios, Bronwen. Personal Interview. 02 November 2008.
“Regions of the United States.” The Freecycle Network™. Tucson, Arizona. 07 November 2008 < http://www.freecycle.org/group/US/?noautodetect=1>.
Spears, Linda. Personal communication (e-mail). 06 November 2008.
“The Salvation Army – Family Stores.” The Salvation Army. 10 November 2008 < http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/www_usn_2.nsf/ vw-text-dynamic-arrays/E3610FB5DDD550A1802573250030E32A?openDocument>.
Opinion Paper - The Budget Crisis: Cutting the Fat
The Budget Crisis: Cutting the Fat
Today, we all know that the economy is not what it used to be. The vast majority of us feel the economic strife and cut back when and where we have to in order to sustain our families and lifestyles. The problem is that there is another part of the population: the one that does not feel the economic crunch of today’s society either at all or to a minimal extent. Why is this? The reason is that they are either in the top 10% of the American societal wealth or that they are the ones making budget cuts everywhere but where it hurts them.
One example can be found in the Miami Herald by Fred Grimm. He writes about how some of the legislators use using the budget’s cushion for personal luxuries like Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The article reported one senator, Mike Haridopolos, spent $12,495 in restaurant bills. He did not pay for these visits out of his own pocket, however, he paid for them from the Committee for Florida’s Fiscal Future. Another example that the article shows is how Representative Kendrick Meek racked up $16,207 in his 44 visits to the steak house all of which were funded by his campaign fund expenditure report.
The budget does not have enough money for education but it seems to have enough of a cushion for extra expenditures like the ones above. Here in the sunshine state, along with most of the country, we have problems with our budget and more cuts are expected to be coming. The state budget has a significant portion of it already going to education and therefore the legislatures look at it as something to cut. One article suggested that we raise taxes to fund the failing education system. The problem is that the legislation did not want to raise taxes. The other problem is that the budget seemed to not want to give.
I think that the ways that the school boards and the legislation are dealing with the budget crisis are not in anyone’s best interest except for their own. I understand that the legislation has things to deal with, such as the No Child Left Behind act, which ties their hands even further from helping education in all areas. I also know that there is no easy solution and unless we modify much of what we, as the public, expect from education and “the system” the budget crisis is one that will not go away. We need to trim the fat of our expenses from the budget. If we are going to cut teacher’s salaries, educational funding, the arts, extra curricular activities, counseling, and even closing some school then I think that we need to look at our budget and what makes a school a place for the adolescent to grow into the citizen we expect them to be in today’s society.
Where the legislature is cutting the fat currently does not make a school an educational facility but it makes schools a glorified baby sitting service. Teachers have a hard enough time trying to teach their students when they are under pressure to get “high test scores” and often this is where the No Child Left Behind Act comes into play by pushing out the under achievers and classifying students that normally should not have a label on them. I feel that the education system in our country, if it continues as it has been, will not produce exemplary citizens that can represent our country but rather it will divide our country and divide the people of educated status and non educated status. I believe that our country can not afford that kind of social clash. When the world politics are getting sticky and internal strife rage there is always a catastrophe of some kind lurking.
I feel that we need to stop allowing our representatives to spend our tax money and donations like sand in an hourglass. We need to hold them accountable and use that money to fund what we give it to them for, to better our society and foster our children. Imagine that every senator and representative spends an average of $10,000 at things like restaurants or other unimportant events. That would mean 100 senators so $1,000,000 saved. The 111th Congress had 435members and then that would amount to $4,350,000. While adding these numbers does not amount to the billions that is currently needed in funding for education it is a healthy start. If we also trim the fat other places as well, such as in inflated salaries, we may just find the money to save our children and the future of our country.
What we have to realize today is that we are sacrificing our children’s future for our present. If a student goes to school that has 30+ students in it (even though the class size average is 20…because there are some very small classes on campus), doesn’t get a break from “pure” academia, is expected to excel in this condition, is not provided for emotionally or physically (cuts in physical education, music, art, counseling, and extra and co-curricular activities), has a shortened day and only goes four days a week, and the classroom environment is lacking in quality equipment, then can we expect them to do well and more importantly learn? I strongly feel that the answer is no. This is happening to schools in school districts around the country, not just in lower income communities. It affects our past, present, and future. It is shocking to me to see how the education system have grown and developed in the past 100 years only to come almost full circle because of money. We can change it, if we cut the right fat.
My Teaching Philosophy
Teaching Philosophy
In my opinion one of the most important things about teaching, speaking, or writing is knowing who your audience is. As an educator I realize that I am teaching students. Not all students are the same and as such I feel that an educator should try to learn about who each of their students are in order to spark interest in whatever subject they are teaching. Students who are not motivated or do not find a subject interesting or relevant to them does not do as well as one that does. Educators should be able to find that spark and try to stimulate learning in all of their students, it is their job. It is my job as an educator to let students learn in every capacity.
School is no longer a place solely for academics. Students should be learning a multitude of things. These should include but are not limited to what they are good at, what their interests are, and ideas about who they are as individuals. Learning mathematics, science, and history, while essential, need to play into something much larger: the role that the student will have as a citizen of the world. Allowing our students the opportunity to grow and learn without hesitation in a safe environment is the best gift that we, as educators, can give them. The saying "to teach is to touch lives" is true when what you're teaching are life lessons in addition to the curriculum. The curriculum will allow these students to make informed decisions and live their lives out to their fullest potential and that is what I, as an educator, strive for. I strive to teach the entire person. My students will learn the curriculum and how it affects their lives but they will come out with something more too. These things are important because forcing students to learn rote facts and historical narratives are fine but they often do not allow the student to entertain the ideas of the world.
Our world is changing at an unprecedented pace and we, as educators, need to keep up with it. Remember, that the students that we have in our classrooms today are not going to be in the work-force and in the "real world" tomorrow. We are teaching our students using the technical and bias hindrances of today for their future tomorrow. We need to educate the person of today so that they can thrive tomorrow. If they know just the facts and how to think about them in one dimension they may be left behind in our quick paced society.
Once we realize this, we can begin to understand how essential it is that a love of learning be instilled in our students. We need to connect our classroom to the outside world and make our students realize that they can transfer their "boring school work" into amazing things out of the classroom. If we do this our students will not only excel in the classroom environment but they will also excel as a citizen in their communities. For example, a history teacher can have their students connect current events to historical rhetoric and allow then have their students create predictions and things to circumvent "unfavorable" circumstances that could happen. The students could then take it to their local government and get policy enacted. Our students are young but they have the ability to change the world around them and they need to be aware that they can make a difference in the world. They are not helpless. This attitude will especially help those students with bad family backgrounds.
Keeping in touch is essential to the facilitation of learning. If an educator allows the students, parents and/or guardians, and themselves to freely interact the student is more likely to feel that they can succeed or feel motivation in a variety of ways. Keeping parents and/or guardians informed about what is coming up, what the student is doing, and not always leaving a message about negative things but positive things can influence the way that they see their child and how involved they are with their child. Imagine how far telling a parent that their child is a wonderful addition to the classroom can go, especially in a "broken" home. Technology is one way that keeping in touch becomes simple. E-mail and a class website allow parents and students alike to engage in discussion and see what is going on in the class.
Teachers, students, and parents/guardians can see if learning is effective by numerical grades but more important than those glimpses into a particular time is the way that the student talks and entertains that knowledge base. Seeing students bring up school related subjects on their own is an indication that they are not only learning but they are interested. Also, having students engage in dialogue outside of the classroom or in the classroom shows just how much is being learned. (Dialogue defined as a discussion between two or more people so that they can understand or appreciate how they view a given subject matter.) This could also be see through projects or papers. For me, while summative assessments are essential, formative assessments are much more useful. Each student will excel at a particular one of these depending on their learning style and the way they express information the best. For this reason, in my classroom, we have a multitude of assessment bases so everyone has a chance to show what they have learned.
Technology is advancing and as such introducing our students to the technology of today is essential to the education of the future citizen. Teaching students how to use technology effectively is important because having the internet with all its information is useless if you do not know how to navigate it. We have to teach our students to ask the right questions so that they can find and search for what they need quickly and efficiently. Technology can also help students to pursue collective in or outside of the classroom. For example, using a class wiki to allow dialogue and collaboration could easily lead to not only wonderful ideas but putting them into action because they have networked with each other utilizing each individual's skills and gifts.
Since I feel so strongly about these things, I would like to work in a student centered school. I would like to have each of my students feel like they are an integral part of my classroom and an integral part of the school. Ideally, I would like to make the school a home away from home for my students and any students that I encounter.
Rousseau v. Burke: Political, Social, and Economic Transformations
April 2008
Rousseau v Burke: Political, Social, and Economic Transformations
Jean Jacques Rousseau and Edmund Burke did not agree on most, if any, political ideas. They both articulate their positions to their fullest abilities. They both see the French and American revolutions come to pass, even if their consequences were not seen. They come from different backgrounds and as such had a different initial view point of the world. Rousseau advocated radical political, social, and economic transformations of societies when it is believed that newer intuitions can do the respective job better; however, Burke argues that this is never desirable.
Rousseau was a man of many trades and is often called the founding father of the French Revolution. He believed in uprooting old traditions and institutions for newer and better ones. Rousseau went through many personal changes in his life that affected his political theory. For instance, he was raised Catholic, became a protestant, and then dies anti-religious. His writings reflect his confusion on the Christian way of life.
Burke often wrote in response to Rousseau’s radical writings. He was a Christian and believed that throwing off old traditions and institutions was essentially destroying society. He was a complex man. He supported the American Revolution (it was valid) and condemned the French Revolution (it was illegitimate). At one point Burke even goes so far as to address Rousseau personally in his writing calling him things such as a “founder of the philosophy of vanity” (Burke 512). He goes on to critique Rousseau and his vain philosophy, predicting that it would bring about, Napoleon type of a person (O’Neill).
Human nature for Rousseau and Burke are very different. The way they view human nature is the building block for the way that they view the world that they lived in. Rousseau believed that people in the State of Nature (before civil society) were naturally good and individualistic (Rousseau 60). That people did not interact with each other much and as such do not have a set of morals or a sense of virtue. They instead have a self concern in which they take care of themselves and if they see one of their own species in peril they help them out as well, to preserve the species, called “amour de soi” (Rousseau 73). People, however, have the desire to better their situation which leads to “amour proper” (Rousseau 79). “Amor proper” comes about when people begin to rely on each other because they divide labor etc (Rousseau 79). This creates the self love and the judging/valuing of oneself to only those around you and what they have, not as an individual, but as a member of society, which encourages “zero-sum gains” (O’Neill). This collection of accidents in time is how Rousseau views history. He believes that because all of these things are accidents that they can be rectified and erased completely without any consequence.
Burke calls this “intellectual vanity” and completely disagrees with Rousseau (O’Neill). He believes that human nature is innately evil. He does not believe that there is a movement from “amour de soi” to “amour proper” (Rousseau 73 and 79). He also thinks that history should be honored because it is a collection of small incremental changes in society that have answered the problems of society. Burke believes that history is the greatest inheritance that a generation can receive (Burke 428). If one were to try to dramatically and quickly change the institutions and writings of the past then the future would be chaotic.
These basic assumptions lead to what Rousseau and Burke believed a social contract truly was. For Rousseau, the first time a person enclosed land and called it their own was the founder of civil society (Rousseau 84). With this society came the social contract. The rich were the first to encourage it in order to secure what they had obtained in the State of Nature (Rousseau 98). The poorer people would go along with it to ensure that when (not if, for they did not think that way) they were rich they would have the proper protection as well (O’Neill).
Rousseau also states that so long as there is a social contract that universal suffrage is necessary. He believes that everyone needs a voice in order to make the general will work. If any person forfeits their voice then they are a slave to the others that have and are not free (Rousseau 192). There is also something called “particular will” (Rousseau 194). This is an individual want/need that can be voiced, but the general will is the voice of the collective and what they believe is best for society, not necessarily the individual. In this way a collection of “particular wills” and the “general will” can differ and only the “general will” should prevail (Rousseau 203). Rousseau believes that the individual has no rights and that all men should have a relatively equal property base.
Burke, on the other hand, believed that a social contract is one that the people of a given society have with their past. If one were to destroy historical inheritance then they would effectively destroy civilization (O’Neill). Burke believes that there should be inequality in property because he believed in a “true natural aristocracy” and that nobility and religion play large roles in society (Burke 495). He says that the lower the socio-economic classes looked up to and loved the nobles (Burke 447-448). They wanted to be like them and wanted to have the luxuries that they had. Burke also believed that only some people should participate in politics, unless, their history wanted universal suffrage. He thought that only those that could have time to give to it could participate, which would eliminate all of the lower working classes. He also thought it was absurd to think that all people had the mental capacities to participate in politics and it, like any other science, needed adequate attention and “requires experience” in the field in order to participate in it (Burke 443).
While the nobles provided the beauty of the civilization, religion provided the fear. It was the fear of God that kept the citizenry in check. This is because Burke ties government to God by saying that God granted the government the fundamental authority to rule and supporting an official state church (Burke 437 and 453). He also believes that this is a way to keep society from drastic changes because it would be questioning the government and thus God, himself. Instead, it keeps society changing slowly through incremental changes.
Rousseau thinks that religion, especially Christianity, is a horrible institution because it does not help the state. He believes that the state should use religion to its advantage or that it should be gotten rid of all together (Rousseau 305). He thinks that the legislature should put words in God’s mouth to fundamentally alter society and to provide some legitimacy for their actions (O’Neill). This is, I believe, a reflection of Rousseau’s personal journey through religion.
As one can see Rousseau and Burke have very different views on if a society’s political, social, and economic institutions should radically change and why and why not. Rousseau obviously believes that society’s political, social, and economic institutions can and should be radically changed if the institutions from the past are no longer desired. Burke, however, believes that prescription and prejudice of the past should not be altered except incrementally because it is what creates civilization.
I feel that Burke creates a better argument. I feel that Rousseau misunderstands many things and it is reflected in his theory. For example, the way he views Christendom is a distorted version of it. Nor does he go into detail about how people are supposed to put aside particular wills (even though it is what made them come out of the State of Nature) and only voice the general will. Also, in his State of Nature people are individualistic and have no family (Rousseau 65). So, where does the child mature into the adult? An infant can not take care of itself. This is evident even in the wild where even the most hostile of mammals nourish their young or they eat them.
I feel that Burke does not have as many loop holes in his theory and that his ideas of the person and history are valid and have good documentation. The only thing that I can think of that I really had a problem with was that the lower the class the more the people loved the nobles. Where in France the lower classes captured Marie Antoinette and her husband and beheaded them. This is not love or admiration but quite the opposite. Thus, one can say that both Rousseau and Burke had their theoretical problems but in my opinion Burke did a better job of asserting his case.
International Influences on Democratic Transition Case Studies: Portugal and Chile
April 2008
International Influences on Democratic Transitions
Case Studies: Portugal and Chile
Any state in the world could democratize given the right circumstances; however, it is important to understand that these circumstances are not necessarily universal (Tilly 2000, 1). This study will try to examine how one of those circumstances, international influence, has affected the processes of democratic transitions in the global arena. This will be done by performing a most-similar systems analysis of Chile Portugal Portugal Chile
The cases of Portugal Chile
Another factor that would have a significant influence on the democratic transition would be the military. In both of these countries the military played substantial role in the transition to democracy, but in both cases they initially helped rather than hindered the transition (Casper and Taylor 1996, 7). This eliminates the question of the military being a determining factor because they both were military run coup d’états. Other things such as life expectancies (Portugal→77.87 and Chile→76.96), or the time that democratic constitutions were adopted and effective (Portugal→1976 and Chile→1980-81) are similar as well (Central Intelligence Agency 2007). Both of these countries eventually become electoral democracies with ratings of a one in both the political rights category and the civil liberties category in the Freedom House survey (Freedom House 2007). This is the best rating (most democratic) that the Freedom House survey offers. The processes in which Portugal Chile
The most obvious difference between Portugal Chile Portugal Southern Europe and Chile South America . However, this is desired in these case studies because it is the difference in geostrategic positions that one can examine what kind of international factors are the most influential. These and other factors will be discussed in more detail in the case studies.
One of the first and most important things that one needs to understand in these case studies is the difference between liberalization and democratization. Liberalization is “the toleration of democracy” whereas democratization “requires open contestation over the right to win control of the government” (Linz and Stephan 1996, 3). This ultimately means that an authoritarian (or communist) state can liberalize and tolerate some of the principles of democracy but not undergo a democratic transition. This is essential because in both Portugal Chile
In today’s world, there have been an unprecedented number of successful democratic transitions and, as such, one should understand what a democratic transition is precisely. Transitions are regime changes within a state, and successful regime changes depend on many influences. Transitions can be a long and gradual process, as exemplified by Portugal Chile
Most scholars agree that the democratic transition ends at the establishment of a democratic constitution and the installation of a democratic regime; however, this regime change does not mark the end of the democratization process (Casper and Taylor 1996, 3 and 9-10). In all reality, there are many transitions that begin that never become consolidated or revert back to their old regime (Linz and Stephan 1996, 4). Other times, transitions occur that are successful in a change of regime, but they do not become democracies. Instead they become another form of government (Casper and Taylor 1996, 2). It is sad to say that this has been the global trend in the past because it is very hard to form a true democracy or even a regime that has the principles of democracy (Linz and Stephan 1996, xiii).
It is critical to be clear about whether a democratic transition has been successfully completed because if it is not clear then the population could mistake a true democratic transition for perhaps an electoral authoritarian regime. This could result in the citizenry questioning the motives and legitimacy of the new democratic leaders (Linz and Stephan 1996, 207). If a leader declares a democratic transition successful when it is not, then either there is a misunderstanding, they are willing to accept the undemocratic terms which they find themselves in, or they want to keep the undemocratic things around, as one finds in Chile
Democratic transitions usually require that the population take an active roll in pushing out the old regime and demand (or helping to reinforce) the legitimacy of the new democratic regime (Casper and Taylor 1996, 9). One way to identify this is in the role that the military plays. The less democratic a state is, the more power the military and not the civilians have (Pereira and Zaverucha 2005). Even elites play an important role as to whether the democratic transition will take hold and eventually become a consolidated democracy. Elite driven transitions are likely to be successful but they are also likely to have some remnants (often enclaves) of the leaving authoritarian regime. By contrast, mass-driven transitions are a bit harder to complete, but they are likely to have very few, if any, enclaves of the leaving authoritarian regime (Casper and Taylor 1996, 5 and 10).
These remnants can be found in electoral authoritarian regimes and some temporary governments that are meant to be in place for a very short time, as was the case in Chile Chile
Since elections are such a key part of any democracy it is important to analyze all influences, both domestic and abroad. Domestic influences are often much easier to see and evaluate at face value than those in the international arena. The international arena complicates the situation by doing things such as encouraging the people to demand democracy, sending in covert operations and government agencies to aid in organization, providing funds to certain political hopefuls and not to others, and much more (Casper and Taylor 1996, 8). International actors could force out an authoritarian leader, but it has been proven, through history, that letting the domestic actors do it their own way provides a basis of ownership and legitimacy of a democratic regime and eventually a successful transition (Casper and Taylor 1996, 5 and 8).
The fact is that the state itself and the citizenry of that state are not the only ones that are affected by a regime change, especially a democratic transition. International relationships are modified or even changed completely because of the regime change. For the newly democratic state, economic international relationships and special interests abroad are affected. As such, it is very important to analyze how international players will protect their interests, and thus, the democratic transition (Segal 1991, 35).
In many of the early literatures on democratic transitions, international influences were omitted or underestimated because they were ignorant of how external forces interacted in given transitions because of secrecy (Wiarda 2001, 496). At the international level, transitions to democracy are important because democratic peace theory links democracies to being peaceful to one another in all realms of communication and trade (Kugler and Feng 1999, 139). There are two distinct ways having international influence, leverage and linkage. Leverage is essentially the way that a state uses its size and scope (economically and militarily) to influence others which in turn raises the stakes of repressions, fraud, or other domestic abuses (Levitsky and Way 2006, 201). There are five types of linkages (ties to western ideas and institutions) that any given state can have to another across the border and they are economic, geopolitical, social, communication, and transnational civil society association (Levitsky and Way 2006, 201-202). Neither one of these when used as a single influence are effective in pushing a state to choose democracy over another ideology (Levitsky and Way 2006, 201). Linkage can cause international and domestic politics to become so intertwined that it is difficult to have authoritarian regimes, as can be seen in the case of Portugal
In Portugal Portugal
Another way which they influenced Portuguese transition was by working through the Catholic Church, which was also pushing for democratic reform (Opello 1991, 91). At this time, the US US Portugal Portugal
Another significant influence on Portugal was that its geostrategic location was on the very Western edge of Europe and that it already had membership in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was a predominantly set up as a collective security against communists like the Soviet Union (USSR) (Opello 1991, 87). These were the bounds by which domestic actors had to act and try to manipulate. Since Portugal Southern Europe it had to work out its own way of transition by a trial and error process (Linz and Stephan 1996, 117).
This process was long, but because Portugal Portugal Portugal
The EC provided such incentive in the economic, legal, cultural, and supportive role in Portugal Portugal Portugal
The regime in Portugal Western Europe ’s oldest dictatorship, by Oliveira Salazar, was over thrown on 25 April 1974 , by a group called the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) which was comprised of mostly junior military officers (Linz and Stephan 1996, 118 and Opello 1991, 84). The “revolution of the carnations,” as it came to be known, occurred unexpectedly when the masses came out, despite urgings by the MFA not to, and put carnations into the barrels of military guard’s rifles (Linz and Stephan 1996, 118 and Magone 1997, 21).
Elections were held on schedule (25 April 1974 ), but some of the some of the more radical sectors advised people to leave their ballots blank or to vote because the elections were not important (Linz and Stephan 1996, 121 and Magone 1997, 24). Many people did come out and there was a relatively free and fair election. People had chosen their parliament; however, democratic transition was still uncertain.
This nonhierarchical military coup created a problem in the form of creation of interim governments where democratic consolidation seemed like a bleak possibility (Linz and Stephan 1996, 116). They used a non-democratic way of creating the constitution (Linz and Stephan 1996, 119). The constitution created in 1976, had some very undemocratic things incorporated in it, such as allowing the Council of Revolution, which consisted mostly unelected military men, to pass and judge the constitutionality of laws (Linz and Stephan 1996, 123). The government was unable to subdue the social movements occurring the domestic environment split into a fascist and an anti-fascist sector and since the radical faction of the MFA was gaining strength it made a democratic transition seem more unclear despite incentives abroad (Magone 1997, 22).
A transition was only clear when the Portuguese constitution was ratified on 2 July 1976 ; however, a democratic transition did not become clear until parliament was able to put the military run aspects of government under civilian control, which occurred in 1982 (, (Magone 1997, 26 and Casper and Taylor 1996, 13). Therefore, Portugal 12 August 1982 , when it simultaneously completed its consolidation as well (Linz 1 January 1989 proved that Portugal
The transition in Chile Chile
The military staged a coup d’état in which a governmental junta comprised of four leaders of the armed forces, were to take control (Sanchez 2003, 74). The junta abolished Chile Chile Chile Chile
Pinochet had been able to create a large, loyal, support group through threats and incentives, which is why in Chile Portugal
In 1980, a new constitution was approved, by undemocratic means, but it allowed the beginnings for democratic governance (Heiss and Navia 2007, 166 and Sanchez 2003, 67). While the opposition rejected this constitution they were able to use it against Pinochet as an opportunity, during the constitutionally demanded plebiscite elections, to coalesce and defeat Pinochet once and for all (Heiss and Navia 2007, 166). Pinochet held elections in 1989, mostly because he felt that he would win and prove his legitimacy (Casper and Taylor 1996, 8).
This constitution had flawed voting procedures and Pinochet after winning could boast that he would be the “elected” President; however, much to his dismay he lost because the opposition organized to unite 17 different political parties into one coalition against him (Linz and Stephan 1996, 206 and Casper and Taylor 1996, 8). Pinochet only received 44% of the vote (Linz and Stephan 1996, 206). In addition, the people of Chile
In the domestic sector, what occurred was a battle between two different ideologies where democracy barely succeeded (Sanchez 2003, 72). Once Pinochet realized that he would not be President again, he quickly took it upon himself to implement restrictions (such as supermajorities) that would slow and make democratic transition difficult because he knew that controlling the pace of a transition was essential(Wilde 1999, 480 and Heiss and Navia 2007, 170). This meant that Chile
All of these things were done very close to when Pinochet was to leave office which practically blind-sided the opposition because they had agreed to rule under the 1980 constitution and to eliminate the authoritarian enclaves by the amendment process (Linz and Stephan 1996, 206). Pinochet resigned as the commander of the army in 1998 when he took up his life position of senator (Wilde 1999, 474). There are those that believe that because Pinochet was still an active presence in the political arena the democratic transition did not cease and this researcher is one of them (Sanchez 2003, 79).
Pinochet was arrested in London Spain Chile Chile Chile Davis
Through all of this it is obvious that Chile Portugal Portugal Chile Portugal Chile
Besides these similarities the transition between Portugal Chile Portugal Chile Chile
These case studies emphasize the importance that international influences have on democratic transitions, especially when they are looked at from a geopolitical perspective. They show how transnational organizations, such as the EC, have a major impact on creating a smooth democratic transition by facilitating incentives in both the economic and social arenas. This researcher believes that international influences are very important to look at because a transition without enough of a push on the international level will fail to have a democratic transition. This varies from early ideas that international influences were irrelevant and that only the domestic sector should be examined. As these case studies show, both the international and domestic arena should be evaluated with equal consideration.
References
Central Intelligence Agency. 2007. The 2008 World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html
Davis, Madeleine. 2006. “Externalized Justice and Democratization: Lessons form the Pinochet Case.” Political Studies, 54: 245-266.
Freedom House. 2007. Freedom in the World 2008: selected data from Freedom House’s Annual global survey of political rights and civil liberties. http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fiw08launch/FIW08Tables.pdf
Heiss, Claudia, and Patricio Navia. 2007. “You Win Some, You Lose Some: Constitutional Reforms in Chile
Kugler, Jacek, and Yi Feng. 1999. “Explaining and Modeling Democratic Transitions.” The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 43: 139-146.
Levitsky, Steven, and Lucan A. Way Bouldeer , CO
Magone, José M. 1997. European Portugal New York , NY St. Martin ’s Press, Inc.
O’Donnell, Guillermo, and Philippe C. Schmitter. 1986. Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Tentative Conclusions about Uncertain Democracies. Baltimore , MD Hopkins University
Opello, Walter C. Jr. 1985. Portugal’s Political Development: A Comparative Approach. Boulder , CO
Opello, Walter C. Jr. 1991. “Portugal Southern Europe , ed. Geoffrey Pridham. New York St. Martin ’s Press.
Pereira, Anthony W., and Jorge Zaverucha. 2005. “The Neglected Stepchild: Military Justice and Democratic Transition in Chile
Sanchez, Omar. 2003. “Beyond Pacted Transitions in Spain Chile
Segal, Gerald. 1991. “International Relations and Democratic Transition.” In Encouraging Democracy: The International Context of Regime Transition in Southern Europe , ed. Geoffrey Pridham. New York St. Martin ’s Press.
Schedler, Andreas. 2006. “The Logic of Electoral Authoritarianism.” In Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition, ed. Andreas Schedler. Bouldeer: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Tilly, Charles. 2000. “Processes and Mechanisms for Democracy.” Sociological Theory, 18: 1-16.
Whitehead, Laurence. 1991. “Democracy by Convergence and Southern Europe : a Comparative Politics Perspective.” In Encouraging Democracy: The International Context of Regime Transition in Southern Europe , ed. Geoffrey Pridham. New York St. Martin ’s Press.
Wiarda, Howard J. 2001. “Southern Europe , Eastern Europe , and Comparative Politics: ‘Transitology’ and The Need for New Theory.” East European Politics & Societies, 15: 485-501.
Wilde, Alexander. 1999. “Irruptions of Memory: Expressive Politics in Chile
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