Thursday, December 12, 2019

Position Paper #4

Liberty Henderson

MM-4123

Wild Card




Economy in Peru

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For my final position paper, I wanted to focus on a country's economy. Before I tell you about what country and its economy you have to know what economy is. Well economy is in a simple term the careful use of money, resources, and means of production. Basically how many goods and services you have and how much money you can spend on such goods and services. Economy is very important because it makes up the resources that are needed for the country to thrive. The country I chose is Peru. Let me tell to some background on Peru before I analyze their economy.

Peru's population is over 29 million. The capital city of Peru is Lima. Today, Lima is the only city in Peru with more than one million inhabitants. Spanish, Quechua, and Aymara are the official languages in Peru (https://www.gviusa.com/blog/18-interesting-facts-about-peru/). The Peruvian economy is upper middle income economy. In Latin America, Peru's economy is rated the 7th largest. In the past, The Peruvian economy is historically based on the countries geographical conditions; the different climate zones facilitate widespread agriculture, the Andes rich in natural resources allow mining and the Pacific Ocean with its fishful waters makes commercial fishing possible. So Peru's economy stem from their country's geographical background. It was built from mining and agriculture.

Most successful economies derived from agriculture investment.The name Peru is derived from a Quechua Indian word implying land of abundance, a reference to the economic wealth produced by the rich and highly organized Inca civilization that ruled the region for centuries. The country’s vast mineral, agricultural, and marine resources long have served as the economic foundation of the country, and, by the late 20th century, tourism had also become a major element of Peru’s economic development ( https://www.britannica.com/place/Peru). Peru's economy today reflects like centuries ago its varied geography; the different climate zones facilitate widespread agriculture, the Andes rich in natural resources allow mining and the Pacific Ocean with its fishful waters makes commercial fishing possible.

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Economic growth continues mainly to be driven by exports of minerals (mainly gold, copper, zinc), textiles, chemicals, agricultural products (garden produce and fruits), fish-meal, services and by energy projects making the country's economy vulnerable to fluctuations in world market prices. But liberalization of the goods and labor markets, opening up trade through multiple recent international trade agreements, direct foreign investments and the maximization of the revenues resulting from its rich natural resources paid off with increasing markets, a growth in domestic consumption and the development of the country's financial sector (https://www.limaeasy.com/peru-info/peruvian-economy).

Peru was one of the fastest growing economies in 2012. As a result of a good economic management, Peru still remains one of the Latin American countries with the lowest inflation rate. The low inflation rates in the past years enabled the country to generate perfect conditions to promote foreign investment and economic growth as well as developing for Peru non traditional sectors like the financial sector. This achievement also had a positive effect on the living standards of the population, especially the poor. Peru's economy also surged up because of low poverty rates. Between 2014 and 2018, GDP growth slowed to an annual average rate of 3.2%, mainly owing to lower international commodity prices, including copper, the leading Peruvian export commodity. This led to a temporary reduction of private investment, less fiscal income and a slowdown of consumption (https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/peru/overview0). Overall, the future of Peru's economy will increase tremendously. With their investment with modern technology, Peru's economy will flourish.


The economy should gain traction in 2020, following a lackluster performance in 2019, boosted by stronger external and domestic metrics. Improving consumer confidence and modest price pressures should underpin household spending, while stronger infrastructure spending is expected to sustain investment activity. Political uncertainty poses downside risks, however. FocusEconomics panelists see GDP expanding 3.2% in 2020, which is unchanged from last month’s forecast, and 3.5% in 2021 (https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/peru).In the first semester of 2019, inflation (annualized) remained at 2.3%, within the Central Bank’s target range (1%-3%). This figure is compatible with the recent trend and represents the normalization of the inflation rate following a period of volatility during the past two years due to climate factors that affected the food supply. In the medium term, growth is expected to remain above 3% annually, sustained by strong domestic demand and a gradual increase in exports. These growth projections are vulnerable to external shocks such as a decline in commodity prices or changes in international financial conditions ( https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/peru/overview). Peru's economy has grown a lot from the past. Their constant influx of incorporating their origins of mining and natural resources have kept their economy afloat. They have their setbacks from the past with unemployment rates causing disturbance but they are well on their way to ever-growing economy.



Works Cited

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Position Paper #3

Liberty Henderson

MM - 4123




Depictions of Women and Minorities In Iran

All over the world, women and minorities are faced with scrutiny or humiliation. Whether it's because of their skin color, their religion or overall them just being a woman. Women in some countries are treated as second-class citizens. In some countries, women suffer the most cruel discrimination. One country in particular comes to mind. The country that has it out for women and minorities is Iran. Iran just about has so many restrictions and policies for women. 
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Women's rights in Iran are not all fair. Their rights are so controlled that women in Iran can't even attend men's sports in stadiums. Even though women are allowed to play sports, they can't attend to watch the men's sports.  Iran does allow women to play sports, like football and volleyball. But none of these women are allowed to do something as simple as watch men play volleyball, even if their brothers, sons, or husbands are playing. In fact, Ghoncheh Ghavami, 25, a dual Iranian-British national, was arrested when she tried to attend a volleyball game in Tehran. Police are often posted around stadiums, in part to keep women out (Women's Rights). In most recent case, A young Iranian woman set herself on fire after disguising herself as a man and sneaking into the stadium. The reason for setting herself on fire is because of her jail sentence. The police say she was out of order because she was not wearing a hijab. Just recently a month after the incident, the Iranian government made moves to lift the ban on women attending men's sports. 
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Another restriction on women in Iran is how heavily covered they have to be from head to toe. In Iran, women have to wear loose fitting clothing fully clothed and hijabs all the time. If women are caught without a hijab, they will face serious jail time and consequences. Women' lives in Iran are heavily controlled by men. There is no type of gender equality in Iran. To see women as equal to men in Iran is not considered respectful to the Iranian community. They believed men should be rulers of everyone and everything. So far women portrayal in media in Iran is censored. Such as magazines and advertisements, women are seen with hijabs and clothing from top to bottom. 

Women are placed on intense scrutiny on how they are exposed on social media. Women's involvement in politics is very limited. Any accusations about the government or any type of political activism could result in death or serious imprisonment charges for women. Iranian authorities continue to harass interrogate, detain, and imprison women’s rights activists, sometimes accusing them of national-security crimes like espionage and collaboration with foreign powers to overthrow the regime. In 2018, the regime detained at least 55 individuals for their advocacy for women’s rights. The regime arrested an additional 39 women for removing their head-scarves to protest legally mandated head-covering. The activists have faced charges that include “inciting prostitution and corruption.” One of the activists, Shaparak Shajarizadeh, was sentenced to two years in prison and an 18-year suspended sentence after a prolonged detention in which she was reportedly tortured and beaten and put in solitary confinement. Shajarizadeh, who fled Iran after her sentencing, claims she was told that she would serve her entire 20-year sentence if she engaged in further activism (Women's Political Rights In Iran). 

Life is a struggle everyday in Iran as a woman. Iranian women whole life categorized by men. They decided how the women should dress, act, and live. Women in Iran don't have a voice in their country. They deal with being respected everyday as a woman and a human being in their community. Other groups like women that faced discrimination or scrutiny are minorities groups in Iran. Just like the women in Iran, the minorities in Iran are heavily persecuted. Also like the women, the minorities must follow the teachings of Muslim faith and the Quran. While these groups cannot follow this religion, they are ignored by the Iranian community and forgotten. 

Minority groups included but not limited to are Ahwazis, Kurds, Turks, Balochis, Turkmen, Qashqais, Caspeans, and the Lor tribes—collectively account for around 50 percent of the population. Persian is the official language of Iran. With these groups being non-Persians, they are denied anything and everything that is applied to Persians. They are not taught education in their own language or are denied employment of jobs. Anything that is available to Persians is not granted to the non-Persian ethnic groups. Overall, the treatment of women and minorities in Iran is hugely disturbing. The amount of discrimination of women and minorities is very saddening. Iran needs to better job of taking care of women and minorities. Life is very difficult for a minority or a woman in Iran. These two groups are very courageous to stay in a country like Iran. No one should have to go through what these two groups face. 


 Works Cited







Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Position Paper #2

Liberty Henderson
MM - 4123
10/17/19
                                       
                                                         Costa Rica Digital Media
  There are many reasons to why there is a need for digital access. It could be to stay in tune with the world and to be updated on the latest technologies and to keep up with the world we live in. Digital access showcases the latest trends to tech, news, and social media. Digital access is very important to the world and helps on how we can connect whether it's with our family, friends, and distant relatives. 
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  Costa Rica is believed to be the most social media friendly country in Latin America. Costa Rica use of social media is very much alike the United States. Costa Rica laws on social media are very open. Costa Rica's government really respect their natives when it comes to social media.They give privacy, the right to freedom of speech, and non-discrimination. According to the LatinobarĂ³metro Corporation, a non-profit public survey company located in Providencia, Chile, Costa Rica has the highest percentage of Facebook and WhatsApp users in Latin America. The study found that 77% of the population uses Facebook, while 83% uses WhatsApp. This percentage was much higher than in countries with larger populations. Costa Rica’s population is roughly 5 million inhabitants while larger nations such as Mexico and Brazil have over 100 million and 200 million inhabitants, respectively. Only around 58% of Mexico and Brazil’s population use Facebook. To put that in perspective, only 68% of Americans have Facebook, according to a recent study done by the Pew Research Center in 2018. (Social Media in CR

  Costa Rica digital access also includes their technology and their mobile devices. Costa Rica's cell service makes up most of the country. Costa Rica's main phone carriers are Kolbi which is a state-owned phone company, Movistar, Claro, and TuYo these of which are all privately-owned phone companies. These phone services offer 3G and 4G coverage. International phone calls from Costa Rica are the cheapest route when you direct-dialed using a phone card. 


  Most of Costa Rica's technology  is owned by many corporations. Costa Rica has really made a name itself with technology in United States and other countries. Costa Rica’s technology exports are high and hundreds of technology companies have set up offices in the country. In fact, 29 of the Fortune 100 companies have operations in Costa Rica, including Amazon, Intel, Dole, P&G, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, and many more. (https://www.launchwaymedia.com/blog/technology-trends-in-costa-rica). Costa Rica is very notable for their entrepreneuring skills and attracting investors, For these reasons, businesses across a variety of technological sectors, including manufacturing, microchips, life sciences, software, and fintech, are flourishing in Costa Rica (Costa Rica Innovative Moves to Technology). One of Costa Rica exquisite moves in digital access is introducing 5G technology.


  This move will do better to help create digital community for opportunities and benefits for the citizens and businesses of Costa Rica. One of the benefits of implementing 5G mobile technologies is its high speed for downloading digital files, from documents to movies and new services such as virtual reality and the “Internet of Things” (IoT). Also the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications, Edwin Estrada explains: “This technology will help all sectors of the economy to enter the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

  It will also provide sufficient robustness to create and strengthen smart cities, the Internet of things, the applications that are needed and that technology is made more available to all citizens.” He also affirms “As Costa Rica sets up the network; it will give greater possibilities for the country to become more competitive, achieving more opportunities for development and thus improving the living conditions in our nation.” It is important to highlight that for the implementation of this technology, the government must work homogeneously to involve all its ministries and also all the financial sectors of the country, both public and private, to consolidate the “smart cities” project. “The fourth industrial revolution involves the automation of various processes and systems, also, it would be an essential factor for the generation of research and knowledge, seeking solutions for certain problems, using the platform characteristics of the new network,” said Vice Minister Estrada. (Costa Rica 5G Technology) Costa Rica is really rising more as a country with their innovative technological devices. With this new wave of technology, Costa Rica's technology offers new ideas and pushes for foreigners and investors looking to start new operations and create new opportunities for Costa Rica. Not only will this new technology will help Costa Rica thrive, it provides services to other countries as well.

  Costa Rica is dedicated to their technological projects with increasing its investment for modern infrastructure. Most of Costa Rica technology come from different corporations. Costa Rica's government only deals with private-owned corporations for technology. Overall, Costa Rica's digital access is attainable to every and all their citizens. 

  
    
                                                            Works Cited

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Position Paper #1

Liberty Henderson

MM - 4123 International Mass Media

Position Paper 1

                                        News and Information in Bahamas

   Have you ever thought what life would be like without news? How our lives would exist without news. I think we couldn't even fathom the thought of not having news. News is important for a number of reasons within a society. Mainly to inform the public about events that are around them and may affect them. Often news is for entertainment purposes too; to provide a distraction of information about other places people are unable to get to or have little influence over. News can make people feel connected too.


   News is important as a social gathering space too, hence newspapers either online or physical place an emphasis on news. Where there are a lot of people gathered there is opportunity to advertise. This advertising sometimes can cause a conflict of interest in the way news is reported (http://clearlyexplained.com/news/importance-of-news.html).

   News helps us keep up with the world around us. It informs our view of the world and based on the information distributed to us, we take in account on what we are seeing or reading and make decisions on how we recognize the world to be. News is distributed just about everywhere. News can be found on television, movies, newspapers, magazines, radio, and books. All of these would be useless if we didn't have news. Whether you realize or not, news affects us in many ways. 
News affects what we wear such as wearing something warm or cold because of the weather forecast. On how we perform our work ethics or jobs like know about new job opportunities or if a job is at its end. News is vital to our lives. Freedom of speech and press also ties into news and information. Bahamas is a great example of a country that allows openly freedom of speech and press. With this country being a democracy, its civil liberties and political rights are actively free.

Bahamas' democracy holds no boundaries on any of their freedom of press. To look further on discussing news and information in the Bahamas, I will examine one of Bahamas' top newspapers. The newspaper I chose to analyze is The Freeport News. The Freeport News is the first Grand Bahamas newspaper. It is based in Freeport, Bahamas. It was first established in 1961. The Freeport News ranges anywhere from local news, local business, sports, personal opinion, health, crime, and religion. For the population to be over 400,000, they get as much  news coverage as they can. It is enough to absorb what it is going on in the Bahamas.

   The Freeport News publishes in a format where there are no restrictions on what they post. The Freeport News have total access to their stories. Their news is clearly expressed freely. With the Bahamas being so freely with their press, they have an influx of news articles to where so many news articles get pushed the bottom of the page. The Freeport News publishes headlines first and foremost at the top page. They get the most news coverage. Typically, the latest covers what is going in the country. As far as now, the latest was about East Grand Bahamas oil spill caused by the massive Hurricane Dorian. Also what the Bahamas community is doing to recover from it. It about the community working together to raise funding, and what protocols to take for natural disasters. Even though there is not endless counts of news stories they preferably range from 4-10, their news articles that start from the top are relatively short. As u scroll down to the final news stories, there are longer in comparison. Considerably one page to be exact. 

   The Freeport News breaks up local news, business, sports, health and religion into 6 different columns. As you click on each column, various stories arises. All columns feature something of a picture or image that develops within each news story. The stories on the Freeport News run for every 2 weeks or every week if a new story has developed. The business column showcases the local business thriving with their stellar projects or organization to help the community in some way. It really shows how the Bahamas' businesses work together as a whole to inspire, motivate, empower the community. It ranges from helping youth, setting seminars for women's empowerment, and cleaning up the earth. The opinion column is really based on public opinion. It focuses on the political side of the Bahamas.

   Whether it is the local governor doing a press conference about a board of directors having union issues or a prime minister talking about a building of a resort in the works. The health column is pretty self-explanatory. It is there to get the community to stay active and being healthy. The Freeport News doesn't largely express the sports section but still credits that market in some way on the website. The Freeport News last column that is published is religion.  Religion in Bahamas just as their freedom of the press is practiced freely. The Freeport News religion column offers gatherings, events, and festivals to celebrate their beliefs. As the Freeport News goes, they are next to none restrictions on their freedom of press. It is a small comparison next to the countries that do. It helps in a way on why people say the Bahamians are one of the most friendly and hospitable people.

   The Freeport News doesn't have any untold or undiscovered stories lurking outside their news websites. Since they are pretty much a free government, there is no need to hide stories from the immediate public. The Bahamas classified their news to anywhere and everywhere for everyone to share. Overall, news in Bahamas is freely to report, express, and analyze. They place no restrictions so their news can be widely expressed in a way to supply the media. Even though they are a relatively small country, their news still reaches across the globe and give enough coverage to understand what goes on in the Bahamas. 


                                      









                                                                    Works Cited

http://clearlyexplained.com/news/importance-of-news.html

http://thefreeportnews.com/