Latin America: A Legacy of Oppression Essay -- essays research papers

Latin America: A Legacy of Oppression When the Europeans first arrived in Latin America, they didn’t realize the immensity of their actions. As history has proven, the Europeans have imposed many things on the Latin American territory have had a long, devastating effect on the indigenous people. In the centuries after 1492, Europeans would control much of South America and impose a foreign culture upon the already established civilizations that existed before their arrival. These imposed ideas left the continent weak and resulted in the loss of culture, the dependence on European countries, and a long standing ethnic tension between natives and settlers which is evident even to this day. The indigenous people of South America, which included the Aztec, Olmec, and the Maya cultures of Central America and the Inca of South America, had developed complex civilizations, which made use of calendars, mathematics, writing, astronomy, the arts, and architecture. Unfortunately for them, the Europeans cared little about the culture they would be obliterating, and cared more about their own ulterior motives. Before the influence of the Europeans, the different tribes scattered throughout Latin America would be viewed by â€Å"western† standards as somewhat barbaric. The European friars were horrified by native practices and felt obligated to â€Å"eliminate† them. (Gibson 72) An extremely Christianized view of the natives was formed which viewed them as ignorant pagans. Some accounts reported that, â€Å"The natives were so savage and stupid as to be beyond belief. For the say, these early tribes were bestial, and that many ate human flesh; others taking their mothers and daughters for their wives, besides committing other great sins, having much intercourse with the devil, who they served and held in high esteem†(Hanson 29). This extremely biased thinking was common in the era of colonization among settled Europeans and sparked a crusade of Christianity on the aboriginal tribes to â€Å"westernize† their civilizations. The Europeans felt free to do this because they â€Å"found no native tradition worth preserving and where the Indian element was absorbed almost imperceptibly into the alien† (Salas 42). The European powers hid under a veil of Christianity to gain support for the underlying atrocities they were committing to the people of Latin America. The European government’s main goal ... ...s, 1966 Hanson, Earl Parker. South from the Spanish Main, Delacorte Press, 1967 "Latin America." Encarta. CD-ROM. Seattle: Microsoft, 2001. Leon, Juana Ponce de. Our Word is Our Weapon, Seven Stories Press, 2001 Liss, Peggy K. and Liss, Sheldon B. Man, State, and Society in Latin America, Praeger Publishers, 1972 Lyon, Patricia J. Native South Americans: Ethnology of the Least Known Continent, Little, Brown and Company, 1974 McDonald, Ronald H. and Ruhl, J. Mark. Party Politics and Elections in Latin America, Westview Press, 1989 â€Å"The Peace of Latin America.† National Geographic October 1905: 479-480 Picon-Salas, Mariano. A Cultural History of Spanish America, University of California Press, 1963 Radin, Paul. Indians of South America, Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1942 Ribeiro, Claudio de Oliveira. â€Å"Has Liberation Theology Died?† The Ecumenical Review Jul. 1999: 304 Toplin, Robert Brent. Slavery and Race Relations in Latin America, Greenwood Press, 1940 Veliz, Claudio. The Centralist Tradition of Latin America, Princeton University Press, 1980

McGraw-Hill Financial Performance

It is reported that there was an 8.6% increase in the earnings per share to $2.40 for the year 2006 that due to the increase in the revenue by 4.2% amounting to $6.3 billion.   Another successful year for the McGraw-Hill, but before that, let’s take a look on the past few years where the evaluation on this research must focus. The net income of the McGraw-Hill for the year 2003 is $687.7 million.   During 2004, the net income had reached to an amount of $755.8 million, a 9.9% increase from the previous year.   In addition to this, the company’s revenue increased by 7.4% amounting to $5.3 billion. In accordance with the Emerging Issues Task Force Issue 00-10, â€Å"Accounting for Shipping and Handling Fees Costs†, the corporation had made reclassification of the revenues resulting to an increase in the revenue of $62.5 million and $62.5 million during the year 2004 and 2003 respectively. There is an increased of 14.3% in the McGraw-Hill revenue during 2005 which had reached about $6 billion.   Together with it is the increase in the net income of 11.7% reaching to an amount of $844.3 million and also an increase in the earnings per share of 12.8%.   The company had also returned an amount greater than $924 million to the shareholders prior to the increase of 14.4% compared to as before of 4.9%. Pearson PLC Financial Performance In the year 2003, changes in the company’s portfolios had made revenue to increase by  £89 million and  £24 million on the profit.   However, due to the movements of currency, there is  £181 million reduction on the revenues and  £27 million on the profits. During the year 2004, the revenues of the Pearson PLC had decreased by  £302 million and  £51 million on the profits due to the currency movements that happened that time.   However, the changes in the portfolio had made an increase of  £41 million on the revenues but still the profit dropped down by  £8 million. However, the movements of the currency in 2005 had made a positive effect on the Pearson PLC.   Regarding the continuing business basis, there is an increase in the sails by  £46 million and the profit had also increased by  £12 million.   In addition to this, the portfolio changes also made the sales to increase by  £29 million and profits by  £9 million. Also during the year 2005, the fastest growth of sales happened in comparison on the past five years of the corporation.   The sales increased by 9%.   There is also a 22% increase in the profit amounting to  £509 million and with the margins going up to 12.4%.   There is also an increase of more than 33% in the operating cash flow of Pearson and more than 50% on the free cash flow, reaching to an amount of  £431 million. These results to the most cash generated in Pearson that ever happened before.   The biggest contributor on these success is the –education- having sale of up to 12% generating an amount of  £2.66 billion and making the profit to go up by 22% to the amount of  £348 million. McGraw-Hill Stock Performance A 10% increase was approved by the Board of Directors of the McGraw-Hill Companies on the Corporation’s common stock regular quarterly cash dividend.   It was the 32nd of the consecutive increase in the annual dividend of the Corporation’s common stock. In 2004, an amount of $630 million was returned by the McGraw-Hill Companies to their shareholder.   There was a 50% increase on the dividend payments compared to the previous year (2003).   There is a new annualized rate amounting to $1.32 per share brought by the Corporation’s increase by 3 cents to 33 cents per share in the regularly quarterly dividend on the common stock.   There was a history of continued increase in the McGraw-Hill dividends for 32 consecutive years.   Also, during this year, the acquisition of the 5 million shares of its repurchase range happened on the Corporation. There was an increase of a 10.3% average on the McGraw-Hill Companies annualized total return over the past 5 years. In 2005, the expanded stock repurchase program continued for 45 million shares which is far greater than the outlook of the Corporation on 2004 of between three to five million shares.   In addition to this, it has been a 33 consecutive years of an increase in the dividend.   Since 1974, a 10.3% had been the average compound annual growth rate. Pearson Stock Performance The shareholders had approved the amount of 17 pence per ordinary share as a final dividend in 2005 and the he total dividend had reached the amount of 27 pence (adding the already paid interim dividend).   There is an increase from the previous year dividend from 25.4 pence (2004). In 2004, an adjustment of up to 5% amounting to 30 pence (57.6 cents) per share occurred and also there was an increase on the dividends by 5%. In 2003, a dividend per share amounts to 24.2 pence or 43.3 cents.   The price of the share at this year is  £5.72 and  £6.25 on the following year (2004) and on 2005, the share price is  £6.52. Stock Performance Analysis In 2004, the stock performance of the McGraw-Hill dramatically increased from 17.8% of return putting it on its peak having a record giving a 32.9% in return to the shareholders.   However, it has not been good during the year 2005 due to the currency movement thus dropping down to 14.4%.   However, it was a disaster for Pearson PLC’s stock to be performing to the down low having its percent of return down to its lowest return of 1.5%.   The stock performance trend from 2003 until 2005 has been continuously going down.   Currency movement and the changed company portfolio didn’t make a resistance for the company at these times. Long-Term Commitment Until 2005, McGraw-Hill Companies had succeeded and made the constant average return on investments through dividends of 10.3% for 33 consecutive years since 1974.   By simply looking at these numbers, the possibility of McGraw-Hill to a long-term commitment would bring up more success to the Corporation. Pearson had been facing trouble in their past years before 2003.   Those years have been tough for the Corporation.   But their claim is they had made three of their companies, namely education, business information and consumer publishing to becoming world leaders. These happenings made them to think of two things; making their operations efficient and selling of better products and services compared to their competitors.   This strategy made them sold more than  £250 million worth of products and services through combining of two or more parts of Pearson, both working together.   The results of this had reduced costs, increased revenues, assets, and working capitals that will continue planning on a long-term commitment. McGraw-Hill. (2007). The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.: Financial Statement.  Ã‚   Retrieved March 10, 2007, from http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt.aspx?Symbol=MHP&lstStatement=Balance&stmtView=Ann PLC, P. (2007). Financial Statement.  Ã‚   Retrieved March 10, 2007, from http://finance.google.com/finance?fstype=ci&cid=664805      

State The Research Problems. The Preamble Of The U.S....

State the Research Problems The preamble of the U.S. Declaration of Independence states, ?We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?. I would like to offer the suggestion that if there were a survey of U.S. 5th grade students as it relates to career goals and the question of ?what would you like to be when you grow up the answers would be surely answered with a confident fanaticism, a teacher, a fireman, a doctor and a lawyer. There will certainly be similarly confident responses that include The President of the United States. I would further like to suggest that none†¦show more content†¦The influences of these issues at times are hard to measure empirically and are often taken to be understood. For example, Marist High School in DeKalb County Georgia is a school known for academics and athletics. The curriculum is a strong ?College P rep? curriculum where not only their top 10 percent achieve but the average graduate excels as well. The athletic department is exceptional and has state titles to their credit. The faculty is a strong success driven and student focused group not only driven by state mandates but student achievement and self-aggrandizement They reside in the ?money? belt of DeKalb County, North DeKalb. Many real estate markers read, ? from the High $400s?. That is the high $400,000 s. The sports booster club and PTSA are progressive and have healthy accounts. Most of the students represent the surrounding neighborhood, however, there are a few students who are ?bused? in from other areas of DeKalb. A few of the ?bused? students have done well. One, an athlete attended Marist High School after attending another county school, not only excelled in athletics but also academics, while a student. He currently is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and doing well in life. Overal l, these factors influence the development of a focused and terse curriculum and when honestly assessed and adjusted can positively influence graduation rate, student involvement and increase schoolShow MoreRelatedThe United States Healthcare System1562 Words   |  7 Pages  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The United States healthcare system is one the largest and most complex systems in the world†(Artem Cheprasov, study.com). Healthcare is one of the most important items to provide for an entire nation, yet the US does not have free healthcare. Why you may ask? Well, there has been a long debate to whether the USA should provide free healthcare for all its citizens; however, there hasn’t been a big change to healthcare being provided for everyone. On both sides of argument, there have been logicalRead MoreModel Research Paper2085 Words   |  9 PagesModel Research Paper ENG302B: American Literature | Unit 4 | Lesson 1: What is a Research Paper? Model Research Paper The Constitution: A Model of Collaborative Effort By Jeffrey Twinning Who wrote the Constitution? Was it Thomas Jefferson? No, Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence, but he did not attend the Constitutional Convention in 1787 because he was in France serving as the American minister to that country. Was it George Washington? No, he was president ofRead MoreDating From 17th Century, The Freedom Of The Seas Concept2355 Words   |  10 Pagespurpose being to include mineral resources, to provide the means to enforce pollution controls and grant protection to Marine Ecosystem and came up for The League of Nations’ Conference in 1930 at The Hague but got through no agreements. Later, in 1945 U.S. President Harry S. Truman extended control to all the natural resources of its continental shelf based on the customary international law principle of a nation s right to protect its natural resources. Coming to the Asia-Pacific region, the strategicalRead MoreOfficials With The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration3138 Words   |  13 PagesOfficials with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration say that the number of indoor marijuana plants in California has quadrupled in the last three years. Many of these plants have occurred in middle-class and upper-class suburbs. Buyers have bought homes here because the financing of these homes are cheap. They have been remodeled to build farms which are built indoors. These indoor pot operation uses sophisticated irrigation, ventilation and lighting. This structure can contain 1,800 plantsRead MoreUniversal Health Care And Healthcare2560 Words   |  11 Pagessystem that may cover different programs such as government run hospital, health organizations, and programs targeted that provides health care. Many developed countries such as Canada and United Kingdom have embraced universal health care with United States being the only exception that has not embraced universal health care to its citizens. One of the reasons is that universal health care will ensured that all Americans citizens to have the right to health care and will decrease health care costs byRead MoreOne Child Policy3929 Words   |  16 PagesAlso exempt from this law are foreigners living in China. This policy was introduced in 1978 and initially applied to first-born children in the year of 1979. It was created by the Chinese government to alleviate social, economic, and environmental problems in China, and authorities claim that the policy has prevented between 250 and 300 million births from its implementation until 2000, The policy is controversial both within and outside China because of the manner in which the policy has been implementedRead MoreWorld Peace8312 Words   |  34 Pagestechnology that utilizes reusable fuel sources may be one way to achieve world peace.[citation needed] Various political ideologies World peace is sometimes claimed to be the inevitable result of a certain political  ideology. According to former  U.S. President  George W. Bush: The march of  democracy  will lead to world peace.[5]  Leon Trotsky, a  Marxist  theorist, assumed that the  world revolution  would lead to a communist world peace.[6] Democratic peace theory Proponents of the controversial  democraticRead MoreInformation and Communication Technology as Bedrock of the Nation13285 Words   |  54 Pagescommunications technology (ICT), space exploration and biotechnology. Three major technologies will dominate, at least, the first half of this century. These are:(i) (ii) (iii) Information and Communications Technology; Biotechnology; and Bio-resources Research and Development. This policy recognizes the tremendous challenges and opportunities offered Nigerians by these three. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is the bedrock for national survival and development in a rapidly changing globalRead MoreCommercial Liens - a Potent Weapon Essay32374 Words   |  130 Pages†¢ Bonding of Government Officials Chapter 3 †¢ Basic Concepts of Liens †¢ Lien - Definition †¢ Different Types of Liens †¢ Comparisons †¢ Liens vs. Levies Chapter 4 †¢ Procedure and Implementation †¢ Research †¢ Notice and Demand †¢ Notice of Default †¢ Commercial Lien †¢ Lawsuits and Criminal Complaints Chapter 5 †¢ Mistakes and Pitfalls to Avoid †¢ Defective Legal Form and Procedure †¢ Hanson-type or NebulousRead MoreNational Security Outline Essay40741 Words   |  163 Pages-National Security - Possible Definitions (Difficult to define) -Safety from foreign coercion or intimidation -UN Charter Article 2(4) - prohibition against â€Å"the threat or use of force against the political independence or territorial integrity of any state† Analytical Tasks: How Americans Think About National Security -Identifying Values: What is at Stake? (What are we trying to protect) -Territory -Traditional views of national security center around defending territory -Protecting homeland