Frida Kahlo, Mexican Surrealist and Folk Art Painter

Frida Kahlo (July 6, 1907–July 13, 1954), one of the few women painters that many can name, was known for  her surrealistic paintings, including many emotionally intense self-portraits. Stricken with polio as a child and injured badly in an accident when she was 18, she struggled with pain and disability all her life. Her paintings reflect a modernist take on folk art and integrate her experience of suffering. Kahlo was married to artist Diego Rivera. Fast Facts: Frida Kahlo Known For:  Mexican surrealist and folk art painterAlso Known As:  Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon, Frieda Kahlo, Frida Rivera, Mrs. Diego Rivera.Born: July 6, 1907 in Mexico CityParents: Matilde Calderà ³n, Guillermo KahloDied: July 13, 1954 in Mexico CityEducation: National Preparatory School in Mexico City, entered 1922, studied medicine and medical illustrationFamous Paintings: The Two Fridas (1939), Self Portrait with Cropped Hair (1940), Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940)Awards and Honors: National Prize of Arts and Sciences (conferred by the Mexican Ministry of Public Education, 1946)Spouse: Diego Rivera (m. Aug. 21, 1929–1939, remarried 1940–1957)Children: NoneNotable Quote: I paint my own reality. The only thing I know is that I paint because I need to, and I paint whatever passes through my head without any other consideration. Early Life Kahlo was born in a suburb of Mexico City on July 6, 1907. She later claimed 1910 as her year of birth because 1910 was the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. She was close to her father but not so close to her often-depressed mother. She was struck with polio when she was about 6 years old and while the illness was mild, it did cause her right leg to be withered—which led to the twisting of her spine and pelvis. She entered the National Preparatory School in 1922 to study medicine and medical illustration, adopting a native style of dress. The Trolley Accident In 1925, Kahlo was nearly fatally injured when a trolley collided with the bus on which she was riding. She broke her back, pelvis, collarbone, and two ribs, her right foot was crushed, and her right leg was broken in 11 places. A handrail of the bus impaled her in the abdomen. She had surgeries throughout her life to try to correct the disabling effects of the accident. Diego Rivera and Marriage During the convalescence from her accident, she began to paint. Self-taught, in 1928 Kahlo sought out Mexican painter Diego Rivera, more than 20 years her senior, whom shed met when she was in preparatory school. She asked him to comment on her work, which relied on bright colors and Mexican folk images. She joined the Young Communist League, which Rivera headed. In 1929, Kahlo married Rivera in a civil ceremony despite her mothers protests. The couple moved to San Francisco for a year in 1930. It was his third marriage and he had many affairs, including with Kahlos sister Cristina. Kahlo, in turn, had her own affairs, with both men and women. One of her brief affairs was with American painter Georgia OKeeffe. She changed the spelling of her first name from Frieda, the German spelling, to Frida, the Mexican spelling, in the 1930s as a protest against fascism. In 1932, Kahlo and Rivera lived in Michigan, where Kahlo miscarried a pregnancy. She immortalized her experience in a painting titled, Henry Ford Hospital. From 1937–1939, Leon Trotsky lived with the couple. Kahlo had an affair with the Communist revolutionary. She was often in pain from her disabilities and emotionally distraught from the marriage, and probably addicted to painkillers for a long time. Kahlo and Rivera divorced in 1939, but then Rivera convinced her to remarry the next year. Kahlo made that marriage contingent on remaining sexually separate  and on her financial self-support. Art Success Kahlos first solo show was in New York City, in 1938, after Rivera and Kahlo had moved back to Mexico. She had another show in 1943, also in New York. Kahlo produced many paintings in the 1930s and 1940s, but it was not until 1953 that she finally had a one-woman show in Mexico. Her long struggle with her disabilities, however, had left her by this point an invalid, and she entered the exhibit on a stretcher and rested on a bed to receive visitors. Her right leg was amputated at the knee when it became gangrenous. Death Kahlo died in Mexico City in 1954. Officially, she died of a pulmonary embolism, but some believe she deliberately overdosed on painkillers, welcoming an end to her suffering. Even in death, Kahlo was dramatic; when her body was being put into the crematorium, the heat caused her body to suddenly sit up. Legacy Kahlos work began to come to prominence in the 1970s. Much of her work is at the Museo Frida Kahlo (the Frida Kahlo Museum), also called the Blue House for its cobalt blue walls, which opened in 1958 in her former Mexico City residence. She is considered a forerunner to feminist art. Indeed, Kahlos life was depicted in the 2002 biopic, Frida, starring Salma Hayek as the title character. The film received a 75 percent critics score and an 85 percent audience score on the movie review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. It also received six Academy Award nominations (winning for Best Makeup and Best Original Score), including Hayeks nomination in the Best Actress category for her dramatic portrayal of the long-departed artist. Sources â€Å"17 Frida Kahlo Quotes to Inspire You to Turn Pain Into Beauty.†Ã‚  Goalcast, 19 Dec. 2018.Anderson, Kelli, and Shovova. â€Å"Art History: The Stories and Symbolism Behind 5 of Frida Kahlos Most Well-Known.â€Å"Major Achievements.†Ã‚  Frida Kahlo.â€Å"MUSEO FRIDA KAHLO.†Ã‚  Frida Kahlo Museum.Paintings.†Ã‚  My Modern Met, 23 Aug. 2018.â€Å"Frida Kahlo and Her Paintings.†Ã‚  Henri Matisse.â€Å"Frida (2002).†Ã‚  Rotten Tomatoes.

Teaching Literacy Strategies For Developing Literacy

Literacy instruction should provide students with a variety of opportunities to read, write, listen, and speak. Getting to know my students is extremely important to me because I believe students’ interests need to be considered when developing literacy lessons. It also helps when choosing books to read aloud to the class and when choosing books for the class library. I believe in scaffolding my lessons and using the different strategies that we learned about in class. I will use many of the strategies that I learned about in class from my peers. The strategy that is chosen depends on what students need to learn. For example, if we are studying characters’ motivation and characteristics, I would choose the Open Mind Portrait. If we are studying a nonfiction book about bugs, I might choose to introduce a KWL chart. I believe that literacy instruction does not have to remain in its own world. Literacy instruction can occur across all content areas. Teaching students literacy strategies when studying science for example can help students in both science and literature. Students can benefit from learning how to read text features in their science textbook to help them learn in a meaningful way. I believe that instructing students with resources that they are already have is more effective then teaching them with a worksheet or lecturing about t he topic only. Writing can also be implemented in all subject areas. The skills students learn during the writing block can beShow MoreRelatedStrategies For Teaching Writing As A Group1634 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout week eight which was looking at strategies for teaching writing as a group, we presented a well-rounded daily task to the discussion board, awaiting students in our learning group to respond. It s these responses that will guide this section of the folio and my own personal reflection regarding my role in the group. From day one of our posts students has responded well. 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China and Latin America free essay sample

Chinas awakening, one of the most important events of this century, has been the result of a sustained process of economic reforms and it has had global and regional implications. Countries and continents need to be prepared for the influence China will exert now that it has the resources to expand and the need to look for new ways to supply its domestic market with goods, and its growing economy with raw materials and other industrial inputs. At the same time that China wants to develop rapidly and requires more suppliers, Latin America is rich in raw materials and other goods, and is always looking for more export markets. Given these complementary factors, the Chinese economic presence in Latin America is increasing rapidly. At the international level China has grown more than any other country, both economically and politically, over the last three decades. As a result, China is becoming much more closely linked to Asian economic cooperation schemes, as well as to other global organizations. This started when China joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 1980 as an economic strategy intended to fortify the domestic reforms. Later, in 1986, China joined the Asian Development Bank to consolidate this strategy at the regional level. The most important accomplishment, though, was gaining membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. Joining the WTO was a key step in China’s parallel processes of opening to international markets and, reforming its domestic economic system. Membership in the WTO was an engine and a pillar of its economic reform and China’s invitation to join the G-7 in September of 2004 was recognition of its role as a global economic power that had become fully integrated with the world economy. Domestically, China’s growth rate of approximately 9% per year, the sustained percentage for more than thirty years, has resulted in significant changes in the social structure and economic organization of the country. Some of the most significant changes in China have come from the industrialization process and from the growth of the service sector, as a percentage of the whole Chinese economy. These two developments have increased the standards of living and the purchasing power of the Chinese people, given the Chinese population, changes in its domestic economy impact the world directly. These domestic policy changes have also transformed the way China interacts with the world. The Chinese economy has become much more integrated into the world economy. China’s share in world merchandise imports increased from 6. 9% in 2008 to 7. 9% in 2009, making China the second largest world importer. On the other hand, imports are also a significant aspect in Chinese integration with the world. As Pascal Lamy expressed: â€Å"What many people do not always realize, because they are very much focused on how much China exports, is how much China imports. Chinas imports have grown at an average of 20 percent a year for the past ten years; it is an enormous change. This growth impacts Latin America in a direct way since it has led to the rise of its commodity prices. This increase in international prices has resulted in better economic conditions for the producer countries including those in Latin America. The increasing economic presence of China in Latin America leads to some other questions beyond the realm of commercial relations. Traditionally, the United States has had a preponderant presence in Latin American, exercising significant influence in the region’s economic and political developments. The arrival of China as a competitor in Latin America has increased speculation about how this presence will affect Latin American economic development and U. S. foreign policy towards its southern neighbors. In this context, fear of the increasing presence of China in the region may lead to global tensions as well as some shifts in American foreign policy towards Latin America. Consequences for Latin American countries may vary depending on how prepared they are to support a Chinese presence through their specific policies for foreign investments. However, even with the increase of Chinese economic presence, both political and economic influence from the United States will be more important to the region for historical and geographical reasons. On the other hand, the economic presence of a global power like China would pose a threat on developing countries as it could challenge their infrastructure and competitiveness, worsening their social and economic conditions. The new relationship between China and Latin America might generate new tensions between the U. S and Latin America. U. S Foreign Policy may change and develop new tools as it works to maintain its relevance in the continent. Foreign policy tools based on â€Å"soft power,† such as diplomatic solutions and trade cooperation are the most likely to show results. The majority of these policies would probably be positive for Latin America, and countries would benefit from the diversification of trade and investments. The relationship between China and Latin America has grown stronger over the last decade. The amount of resources available in Latin American countries, and China’s increasing demand for them is making both economies more dependent on each other. In this context, the focus of this paper is to analyze the growing relationship between China and Latin America as emerging economies, trading partners, and global players in the world economy, as well as the political and diplomatic implications of this relationship both regionally and globally. More specifically, this paper will focus on how this closer relationship between China and Latin America is affecting the United States’ role in the region. While in the past Latin America has often been supportive of U. S. goals in the region and in the world, the growing Chinese presence may raise some questions as to whether the United States will have to the country change its approach to Latin America in order to engage the region in a more productive relationship. There was a wide set of sources available to develop this paper. Much has been said about China? s growth and the consequences for developing countries. International organizations, governmental as well as nongovernmental organizations, and experts have written reports on this subject that are available for consultation. Also there are different indicators and perspectives of what is advantageous or not for developing countries, which poses a challenge for this paper, since effects may be seen as both positive and negative. There is no net effect from an indicator; for example the use of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a measure for economic growth is not accurate and has to be combined with the Gini coefficient to offer a better understanding. This paper will attempt to solve this challenge by viewing the research indicators as a part of a bigger analysis, and proving its accuracy by addressing some other arguments. Since it is such a broad subject, the first step was to research throughout the internet for general ideas, international organizations, experts, books, data bases, papers, blogs and news. The most reliable sources were the main organizations in the international system. The Council of the Americas focuses on creating a better understanding between leaders in Latin America to develop solutions to the main challenges the continent faces today. The Inter-American Dialogue has issued important documents about the subject and runs one of the main programs on Sino-Latin American Relations based on the objective of involving academics, policy makers, and private sector leaders from the United States, China, and Latin America on the evolving themes. Another major source when looking at data was the World Bank Database for investigation on specific indicators for growth and economic presence. Research also included books on China’s relationship with Latin America, looking at different perspectives and diverging opinions. One of those books was written by Professor Evan Ellis, China in Latin America: the Whats and the Wherefores. His research was valuable and gave useful insights on the impact that the Chinese economic presence has on the region. There was also a compilation of essays done by the Inter-American Development Bank and  The Institute for the Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (INTAL),  this compilation is called  China y America Latina – Nuevos enfoques sobre cooperacion y desarrollo ? Una segunda Ruta de Seda. Other important academic resource was China engages Latin America: tracing the trajectory by Adrian H. Hearn, which offers some historical views about the relationship between China and Latin America along with the consequences this brings to the world. Other sources were interviews with experts and members of different organizations. Evan Ellis, the professor mentioned above,  teaches national security studies at the Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies, with a research focus on Latin America’s relationship with external actors, including China, Russia, and Iran. Another perspective that was important for this research was Margaret Myers, who  is the director of the  China and Latin America  program at Inter-American Dialogue and has experienced this relationship first-hand when she served as an analyst for the United States on this issue. However, to develop an analysis of the impact China might have on Latin America, the opinion of an expert on Latin America seemed relevant to get some insights about what the region perceives of Chinese economic presence. Adam Stubits, an expert on Latin America at the Wilson Center for International Scholars had some important information to share about what he believes Latin America needs to do in order to benefit from China’s trade and investment. All the information gathered from the sources listed above presented different positions and perspectives towards the impact China may have on the continent and how this may change American foreign policy. To formulate a response to this research project question, it was necessary to cover different aspects of the international system and the reaction Latin America may have to the Chinese economic presence. Interviewing an academic who has studied this aspect and a public official about how he sees the impact demonstrated how difficult it is to balance private and public interests in Latin America while engaging in the international relations. Chapter 1: China’s historical presence in Latin America Since the re-emergence of China during the last decades of the twentieth century, the world has seen a major transformation in international relations, as China became the second largest economy in the world, shifting the global balance of power. In 1980, China’s total GDP was only 14% of Latin America and the Caribbean GDP, but by 2007 it had increased to 93%. Reacting to these changes some other regions have seen some consequences. Latin America has seen some regional changes; after 1980 the region experienced a period of economic slowdown, while China experienced the beginning of its rapid economic growth. Given these economic indicators, and the fact that China shifted from trading within its region to engage in other parts of the world, Latin America has been receiving and giving attention and resources to this specific relationship. Since 1970 most of the countries in Latin America have recognized the government of mainland China and established both political and economic relations. However, addressing the economic consequences of the Chinese rapid growth is more complicated and may be seen both as a positive and negative influence for the developing economies. Because of the People’s Republic of China’s rivalry with the United States from 1949 until the early late 1960s and early 1970s, most Latin American countries, which were close allies of the United States during this phase of the Cold War, had limited or no relations with Beijing. Indeed, most Latin American countries actually recognized the Republic of China in Taiwan as the sole representative of the Chinese people until the early 1970s, when the PRC moved to intensify its diplomatic contacts with the world and claimed its seat in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. After China moved to implement major economic reforms in the late 1970s, following the dead of Mao Zedong in 1976, and the Chinese economy began to grow rapidly, China’s commercial relations with Latin America (and other regions of the world) grew as China looked for both more sources of raw materials and industrial inputs for its rapid process of industrialization and for more export markets for its growing manufacturing sector. After the 1980s Chinese-Latin American relations boomed and a period of mutual benefits began. The following graph shows the evolution of trade between China and Latin America, in which it is possible to perceive the growing relationship between the regions. Source: The China Analyst. The regional focus: China – Latin America. http://www. thebeijingaxis. com/tca/editions/the-china-analyst-oct-2012/144 In the graph, the most visible period of growth is during the 2000s, as the economic growth became the most important aspect of the relationship and the priority of the regions. The catalyst for this was in 1996 when the Chinese prime minister stressed four different objectives for economic cooperation: 1. Encourage cooperation between companies 2. Enhance commercial links, based on the regional compatibility 3. Focus relations on joint ventures as a way to exploit and take advantage of natural resources 4. Increase scientific cooperation, as this concept is important in economic cooperation The successful implementation of these four different objectives allowed trade between China and Latin America to increase from less than 3 billion dollars in 1989 to 12 billion in 2000 and 118 billion in 2009. However, trade has always been based on economic interdependence; China sees the richness of Latin America’s natural resources and Latin America sees the potential to expand its markets in China. Therefore, relations have not taken another path and it is unlikely China will take the relationship to any new level in the near future. The relationship may develop to topics such as cooperation in defense and development, one evident issue in which the relationship is not going is environment, as China does not involve itself in domestic policies. The main Latin American countries where Chinese economic presence has grown the most are Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Colombia, and Venezuela. These countries share some common characteristics. They are the most dynamic economies in the region in terms of GDP and they have natural resources to sustain economic development. These characteristics are also the reason they are political powers in the region and share similar economic principles with China. Proof of this strong relationship is that China is now the biggest trade partner for Brazil, the second biggest export market for Chile, and Peru’s second biggest trade partner, and the three countries have experienced economic growth during the last few years. On the contrary, countries that do not export commodities, such as Mexico and the Central American republics, have not been touched as much by the growing Chinese economic presence in Latin America. Conversely, these countries have not experienced rapid rates of economic growth recently and face now significant challenges to develop further their domestic industries. The following graph shows in billions of dollars the historical development of exports and imports between China and Latin America from 2008 to 2010. The trend to push upwards is unmistakable, correlated to the growth of both regions as part of an increasingly multipolar world. It is clear that 2008 was a year that both exports and imports peaked. This change may be attributed to the international financial crisis, as the link to China as a trade partner made Latin American economies less vulnerable to the crisis. In the same year, both China and Latin America benefited most from each other; the trend from this year began to shift and exports and imports decreased. The influence China exerts over trade in Latin America and extends three ways: as an exporter of manufactured goods to almost every country of the region, as an importer of producer goods from South American countries, and as a strong competitor in exports markets. The best example of this relationship is Brazil, as the country received 3. 4 billion from China in 2004 from exports. Brazil is one of the unique countries in the world that has such a big availability of natural resources, and because of the growth of its economy it is now participating in international trade with manufacturers, competing against China. Nevertheless, Chinese investment is not driven by the need to obtain revenue or to expand companies through a bigger market. Investment is made by domestic needs to supply its market. Since China is such a big market and sustains rapid rates of growth; it is looking for supplies to sustain that growth. Almost 92% of Chinese investments have been in the extraction of natural resources, mainly in the fossil fuels industry. The other 8% has been focused on the domestic markets, predominantly on the infrastructure domestic problems, and manufactures. The table above shows how Chinese investment is distributed in mining in Latin America. As stated before the countries that lead this relationship are the ones that China sees as able to sustain Chinese growth rates. This demand for natural resources has propelled China into third place among Latin American investors, directing over $15 billion (about 9% of total Foreign Direct Investment) to the region in 2010 (ECLAC 2011). The most important deals China has made in Latin America are aimed at obtaining oil from Brazil and Venezuela (China has promised to provide more than $32 billion to the Chavez government, which will pay off its debt in oil), as well as soy, wheat, and natural gas from Argentina. â€Å"Official data shows that Venezuela now sends about 460,000 barrels a day (about 20% of its oil exports) to China. In Ecuador, the Chinese oil company PetroChina has lent $1 billion to state company PetroEcuador in exchange for oil deliveries. The China Development Bank also agreed to lend $1 billion to Ecuador’s government, to be repaid through oil exports. † Latin America is seeing some of the biggest changes in international relations as the world is no longer bipolar. The region now must engage in different relationships with countries, such as China, that do not share necessarily the same principles but that have become important in the international arena. This engagement in relationships is not a choice for Latin American countries, as globalization and international interdependence happens by capital flows and trade, and many times economies cannot protect themselves from trends in markets. This phenomenon has lead to the division of Latin America into two groups: some countries benefit from China (Brazil, Peru, Chile), but others are vulnerable to Chinese policies but cannot use domestic policies to protect their markets. (Mexico and the Central American republics) It is possible to conclude that economic indicators for both China and Latin America have improved as trade has deepened, but it is not possible to conclude that China has experienced growth rates because of trade. Instead, China has been through a process that involved domestic reforms that took years to give results. However, Latin America has seen economic growth because of strategic interest from other regions. In this case, it is possible to say that if Chinese growth slows down Latin America would see economic conditions crash as an important partner shrinks. It then follows that Latin America should continue to diversify its trade partners and maintain solid and strong trade relations with other countries beyond China, the United States, Japan, and Europe. Chapter 2: Consequences of Chinese economic presence for Latin America To analyze the consequences for Latin American countries, the situation for Chinese investments in the region is important to examine. The most important characteristic of the Latin American investment and trade sectors is that there is no coordination and coherence between the policies, both domestic and regional. In countries where there is an institutionalized bureaucracy, such as Chile and Peru, China plays by the rules in the trade and investment sectors, ensuring long term benefits for the domestic economy. On the contrary, in Ecuador and Venezuela immediate benefits from trade with China do not help the economy in the long-term. According to Evan Ellis, professor at the National Defense University, Latin America needs to implement two major improvements in order to ensure profits from the Chinese presence. The first, he said is â€Å"institutionalized bureaucracies,† or a rule of law that protects national interests with a clear strategy for negotiating trade conditions with China. The other need for Latin America is a strong industrial policy, one that guarantees â€Å"the weight of the state† and defends domestic manufacturers against external threats. Negotiating with China under these two conditions, trade and investment would become a push and pull situation that is good for Latin American markets. China’s economic presence and, more specifically, investment has encouraged the development of some theories about how it affects a domestic economy in Latin America, and what the consequences are for national industries. The important aspect of the theories is to determine where investment is bringing benefits to the country’s economy as a whole, and if the negative effects are less than the positive consequences. Chinese investment in Latin America has many different dimensions and can be analyzed from opposing angles. The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the overall effect of Chinese investment in Latin America. Chinese investment is not as significant as it appears on paper. According to the Seventh Annual Global Development Conference, â€Å"the role of bilateral foreign direct investment flows is not nearly as significant as that of trade in relations between China and Latin America. Although it has been reported that almost half of Chinese overseas investment in 2004 went to Latin America, this included investment in Caribbean tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands† The main relationships are for trade and do not specifically refer to Chinese resources being productive in the region. Positive aspects of the trade relationship show rapid growth rates in the region and increases in economic indicators. Negative effects may include the threat of only receiving resources to extractive industries and increasing dependence on just one economy. In the specific relation between the regions of study, positive aspects appear to gain more attention from the public. However, it is important to acknowledge that negative aspects are present and pose a challenge to the local economies in Latin America. The most important positive aspects of Chinese engagement in Latin America are the political closeness between the regions. Proof of these growing diplomatic connections are the official visits of high ranking officers, most importantly Hu Jintao’s visit to Latin America in 2004. Many Latin American presidents have also been to China to strengthen political links. Another positive factor in the relationship between China and Latin America is the increasing demand China has for raw materials to sustain its growth. For Latin America, being able to engage in such a relationship may derive in a surplus in total trade as China consumes most of the production, bringing welfare to a country’s economy. Latin America is a great supplier of raw materials to China; the total exports from the region between 2000 and 2009 grew more than 1,200% from $10 billion to $130 billion based on the United Nations statistics. Trade surplus serves as incentive to deepen relationships with China, to act as a supplier of goods in order to obtain benefits in the short term. As it is evident in the following graph, both exports and imports have increased for Latin America, leading to a positive trade balance that benefits the region. It is expected that this trade balance will continue with this trend as China keeps its exports and Latin America develops some new products to engage China as a more productive partner. Source: Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), on the basis of official information from the countries. On the other hand, it is also important to consider the negative aspects of the trade relationship between the regions. Some of the negative effects include the fact that: China has been not only seen as a competitor in goods markets for those countries which have specialized in exports of labor-intensive manufactures in which China is highly competitive, but also as a competitor of foreign direct investment as a result of the massive inflows to China since the early 1990s. This has given rise to concern that FDI is being diverted from Latin America to China. According to Paul Rathbone, if Chinese investment is not important enough for Latin America to treat it with caution it might end up damaging economic development. There is also concern about the composition of trade between China and Latin America, as most of the exchange is based on natural resources and China exports manufactured goods with a high added value. Exporting natural resources makes Latin America vulnerable to patterns in international prices and even weather. China has been trying to convince the world about the mutual benefits of the trade relationship. But as the former Brazilian president stated: â€Å"Chinas not the south. China is China, with its own set of interests. † To sum up the positive and negative aspects, it is possible to say consequences depend on specific factors in different countries and their conditions before Chinese investment came. However, while it is possible to conclude that Chinese economic presence in Latin America has been mainly beneficial for economic indicators in the short term, there is still doubt about how the impact will be seen in the long run. Excluding some of the countries that base their economies in exports, Latin America so far has seen mostly benefits and negative consequences have been less than the potential benefits from trade and investment. The future regulations that would ensure Latin America benefits from Chinese investment will rely on how trade and investment keep influencing the region. However the most important domestic tool to ensure benefits would be tariffs on international trade, though even with these kinds of measures the imbalance might continue and may end up harming the region. Moreover, even with the implementation of a tariff, given the Chinese prices, in order to obtain benefits from this tool the percentage over the original price has to be very high. One conclusion is that the only way to ensure mutual benefits is to negotiate conditions for strategic products. Latin America could try tariffs on international trade coming from China, this tool could benefit domestic industries as Chinese products will have a higher price and domestic products could compete in the domestic market. However, in the case of China prices are much too low for domestic policies to work correctly. If domestic policies over trade do not benefit countries because of the special characteristics of Chinese trade, Latin American countries have no other solution than to establish a strong regulation and negotiations that work to protect domestic economy. This is the case of Chile and Peru, given their negotiations with China; they are getting benefits out of trade. Right now, most Chinese investment in Latin America is based on obtaining resources in the short term and not planning ahead, therefore trade is not protecting key industries in Latin American countries. As Chinese exports arrive, they become more competitive in the local markets and domestic products cannot compete with Chinese prices, as they are based more on quantity than in quality. In the investment sector, Latin America is not enforcing regulations for Chinese investment, for example in mining and other economic sectors. So Chinese resources that get to the country’s economy just benefit from its conditions, for example, natural resources, but do not leave retribution to the domestic economies in the long term. The lack of a coherent policy brings beneficial conditions in the short term but may potentially harm domestic markets in the long run. Many believe Latin American governments should ensure benefits from trade and investment by relying on domestic policies. As Tom Hennigan, a journalist, expressed: We should learn from our mistakes, so protecting individual industries cannot be the answer. The government should facilitate business and foster institutions that help attract investments and trade. At the macro level, the role of the government is a very simple textbook recipe: when things are good you save for when things are bad. In the Latin American case, neither of these tools is being used to ensure benefits; on the contrary governments are treating resources from Chinese interaction with no responsibility. Since the relationship between China and Latin America is at its best position ever it is easy to project what may happen in the future, however, projections are made on assumpt ions about economic conditions and may vary. Trade indicators have improved during the last 10 years and it is expected that due to the increase of Chinese demand, this trend will continue. For example â€Å"it is expected that, by 2010, 60% or China’s petroleum and 30% of its natural gas, will come from imports†. Politically, changes and expectations will continue and it is expected that as the relationship in trade continues, politics will develop too. Official Chinese foreign policy expresses this view as during the last visit of China’s Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, to Latin America, when he proposed to duplicate trade exchanges and started negotiations for a possible free trade agreement with MERCOSUR. These promises have started to become true and engagement in the political sector has been active. These friendly talks between countries makes counties believe relationships will only develop as time passes. For the future, Latin America has to formulate a plan in order to state what it is going to be its policy for China and for flows coming from China. If that policy is not implemented, that might lead to the weakening of Chinese flows or will make conditions for Latin America worst in the long term. China, on the other hand, has to develop a plan in order to help exports diversify, because to base an entire economy on one set of goods is not healthy. Projections for the future of China and Latin America might also be negative, as the region just exports raw materials that might put a strain in the domestic markets and generate what is called Dutch disease or the curse of natural resources, so diversification is an essential part of the expectations of the relationship between China and Latin America. If diversification does not become an essential part of the relationship, it is possible that in some years the benefits for Latin America start diminishing as the domestic markets are not productive in any other area, if his happens and there is a crash in the international economy that might put a strain in Chinese imports from Latin America, and the region will be in a bad shape to overcome a reduction in exports. The overall economic relationship between China and Latin America has been positive even though it is still rather brief; trade and investment have flourished as the two regions have developed. The relationship has been described as mutually beneficial, as China gets raw materials and Latin America benefits from Chinese imports. Governments have implemented some policies in order to maximize benefits for domestic economies, however efforts to get the most out of Chinese growth have been focused on the short term, but in the long term there is still uncertainty about what might happen. 2. 0 Chapter 3: United States historical presence in Latin America On the other side of the relationship, the United States has the main influence in Latin America and has developed the most important alliances and trade exchanges. However, if it has some of the most important allies in the region, there is also a sentiment of rejection to the United States because of the foreign policy the country implemented towards Latin America in the Cold War. This feeling of resentment has grown over time and this has been expressed through elections, since right now, more governments that do not approve the American policies are being democratically elected. For example: Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Evo Morales in Bolivia, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina, Dilma Roussef in Brazil, Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Rafael Correa in Ecuador. Over the last 60 years the United States foreign policy for Latin America has been based on the Monroe Doctrine, ensuring the American power in the region, but these principles have changed over time and the doctrine has become outdated as Latin America looks to other areas of the world for a fresh relationship. Despite the changing dynamic, the Monroe Doctrine has not evolved to deal with different problems in the region, and Latin America remains the most important ally in the Western hemisphere. From 1996 to 2006, total U. S. merchandise trade with Latin America grew by 139%, compared to 96% for Asia and 95% for the European Union. In 2006, the United States exported $223 billion worth of goods to Latin American consumers (compared with $55 billion to China). Latin America is the United States’ most important external source of oil, accounting for nearly 30% of imports (compared with 20% from the Middle East). These numbers express the importance Latin America still plays for the United States, but these priorities have changed as new problems arise in other regions; for example, the Middle East has concentrated the public’s attention even if it is not a strategic trade partner. American foreign policy towards Latin America started being important for the region at the same time the world became a bipolar system, during the Cold War, to prevent the expansion of communism, the United States helped overthrow democratically elected governments in Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile, among others. However the United States’ attempt to overthrow the government in Cuba in 1959 failed. That became the most difficult time for the United States in the Latin American region, as the Soviet Union allied with Cuba to install missiles on the island . Though containment ultimately worked and the world was saved from a nuclear disaster, Cuba today still remains a communist country suffering sanctions from the Unites States. With the ending of the Cold War, the implementation of the Washington Consensus shaped the relationship between United States and Latin America; this new policy from the International Monetary Fund imposed a series of neoliberal reforms in Latin America. However, since Latin America never consented to the policies, implementation did not work and led to a regional financial crisis that worsened the economic and social conditions in the countries. Though the United States played a large role in shaping the Washington Consensus, it was not solely responsible for its formulation; nevertheless, regional governments in Latin America saw it as an influence from the Unites States that failed to work. The most recent American policy for Latin America is based on free trade and regional cooperation. The United States has signed treaties with Latin American three countries (Colombia, Peru, Chile), and in other countries has proposed to negotiate treaties and cooperate with developing new policies that are mutually beneficial. Another important aspect of the relationship is the bilateral investment treaties the United States has signed with eight countries in the region; these treaties ensure equal treatment to investment, protection from expropriation, and investment security. The American foreign policy has worked from a country to country basis since regional frameworks in Latin America tend not to work because of the differences between ideologies in the governments. Over time American policy towards Latin America has changed according to the specific issue and the international climate for a specific discussion. During the two world wars, United States shifted all its efforts to win the war and looked for allies in Latin America, but ensuring a peaceful region through trade and cooperation. However after the Cold War, international conditions made the world bipolar and The United States again developed a completely different foreign policy for the world, protecting its own benefits. A country’s ability to outline its foreign policy is one of the most important characteristics that shape sovereignty; it gives a country the ability to respond to an external situation or threat. For the United States these changes in foreign policy have been made with the objective to protect its national interest, to ensure national security and economic growth. During the Cold War the United States changed its foreign policy towards Latin America because of an external threat by another country; policies shifted to protect American interest and prevent communism to expand. The most relevant intervention happened in Chile during 1970s with the actions taken to overthrow the government. But the policy change that happened during the Cold War it is unlikely to ever happen again as there is not such a strong ideological difference that could make the United States completely shifted its foreign policy toward Latin America. It may look for new approaches in the relationship with some countries, for example, Margaret Myers believes the United States should be looking for trade partners more than aid recipients. Since the United States has always been the main political influence in Latin America, the economic tie between the regions is also great. In 2009, total merchandise trade between the United States and Latin America reached $524 billion and more than 40% of the region’s exports flowed to the United States, making the United States the region’s single largest export destination – as well as the largest source of foreign direct investment – and the Western Hemisphere, including Canada, absorbs 42% of U. S. exports. Since the United States became a global power during the 1950s, its ideologies started expanding to the countries that geographically shared the same continent. As Latin America has been considered the â€Å"backyard† for the United States, when it was important to maintain international order the United States has imposed its views whether by cooperation or using military means. With the economic links being the most important for the two regions, the United States has increased political ties with Latin America in order to protect its investments in Latin America there has been opposition to this policy because of the difference in ideologies between the United States and some governments in Latin America. However, even if this policy has been unpopular domestically in some parts of Latin America, as long as a regime is friendly to the United States, there have been no consequences in the international community. This dynamic is changing right now as Latin America is not as ideologically divided as it has been in the past and most of the governments have aligned views with the relationship that is needed with the United States. In addition, other important players, like China, enter the region giving the United States more reason to look for allies for engaging in Latin America. Right now, there is some concern about the future of the relationship, as the United States is trying to solve internal problems in order to project a more solid foreign policy for Latin America. In this transition, trade and investment might be affected and Latin America may start shifting its attention. So there is still need for Latin America to develop a strong foreign policy that keeps the region in track both to accomplish its internal goals, and still remain loyal to the American objectives. 3. 0 Chapter 4: Changes in United States foreign policy to Latin America Foreign policy has the characteristic of being variable and to change according to the current situation. United States need to address the situation coming from the Chinese presence in Latin America; in this moment there is no consensus about what this means for the American foreign policy. As expressed by the Subcommittee for the Western Hemisphere, â€Å"In US policy circles there appears to be a tension between those who adhere to the theory of benign expansion of Chinese activity in the Americas, who think it is confined to seeking out trade and investment opportunities, and those who believe that China is using Latin America to challenge United States supremacy in the Western Hemisphere and to build a third world coalition of nations with interests that may well be inimical to American interests and values. According to Margaret Myers, director of the China and Latin American at the Inter-American Dialogue, China’s trade and investment in the region will only go to the point the United States is comfortable with. China does not want to intrude into a region that has been in the American circle of influence, and create a conflict with the most important country in the world. If these trends continue to hold, Myers suggested, the United States has no concern with the relationship between China and Latin America. However, the United States need to focus on what the international system is showing in the moment, as an important player in the international arena. Since there is no correct answer to the dilemma American foreign policy has in Latin America, both sides need to be covered with a policy wide enough to engage in trade and investment and also counters Chinese presence in the Western hemisphere. The United States has not changed its foreign policy for Latin America, even if the region has been through some mayor changes, however if the American supremacy in the region wants to remain strong, there is the need to shift the approach to the region. Lately, the main approach to the region has been to state that Latin America has the right to engage in a relationship with any country, and to develop its regional policies without any interference from the United States, Washington recognized Latin America is no longer theirs to claim, therefore Chinese interference in the region has not been an issue for the American foreign policy but the public opinion in the United States is that the relationship between China and Latin America will end up harming Latin American economy. On the other hand, United States has no effective argument against China being in Latin America, because the American relationship in the region was the same some decades ago. The main consequence that the United States perceives in the relation between China and Latin America is that Latin American countries are less willing to follow the American path to development as they find alternative solutions to achieve their objectives. For example, Argentina and Ecuador keep receiving loans and aid from China even after they defaulted on their international obligations, this is an indirect effect on the American foreign policy as they try to ensure all countries are given the same treatment from the international system. Consequently, United States losses the ability to steer the world in a way that works best for its interests, as new ways to get resources and achieve objectives is accessible. This is seen in environmental or intellectual property legislation as China has no requirements in these issues harming the world’s development, but benefiting in the short term the Latin American countries. Still, the United State has no tool to prevent this relationship to boom between China and Latin America since there is freedom to participate in a commercial relation between free markets. The former administration has attempted to involve in a relation with Latin America that looks forward and that shifts the perception Latin American governments and trade groups have towards American trade conditions. To change this perception the U. S has to stimulate Latin American countries to see the benefits of trading with them, the broader spectrum of goods being exported to the United States and the higher value added in this product ensures Latin American countries better economic conditions in the future. There is also a strong regulation in intellectual property that protects trade and investment in the United States. In trade terms, Latin Americas purchase of goods from China might displace the purchases that came from the United States, but despite the direct competition, many American companies produce their goods in China, making them more competitive to sell them to Latin America. On the investment aspect of the relationship, the fact that China keeps Latin American resources reduces the amount of goods that are available for the United States, making them overtime more expensive. But with the predominant position the United States have on the region, the extent of the damage is almost nonexistent. According to Adam Stubits, Latin America Program Associate at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. American foreign policy will only allow Chinese presence in Latin America as far as it feels it does not conflict with its interest. But the moment the country does not feel comfortable or needs Latin America for its domestic objectives, it will put Latin America in a position where the region will have to choose between China or the United States. Right now, there is no conflict in the region and it does not pose a threat to the American foreign policy so it is not in the American interest to interfere. For Latin America the perception the region gets from trade with China, is a liberation from American policies, the regions believes they can engage with others and not being dependent on China. But, according to Margaret Myers, director of the China – Latin America program at the Inter-American Dialogue, the reality is that Latin America is still not as important for China or for the United States. But, relatively United States has a much more relevant role in the region, and if pushed it could stop flows to Latin America deteriorating economic conditions. It is Latin America, that has the responsibility to shape their trade and political policies. When this happens, the Unites States and China could also adapt their interest to a more coherent policy. For now, all the American foreign policy is interested is in watching the relationship closely and focusing its attention in the domestic issues. Chapter 4: Study case – Brazil Brazilian relationship has developed with China during the last two decades given the changes in the international system, the main role China plays and Brazil’s wish to become an important player in the world. In this context, ideologies do not shape the relationship and policies start being shaped based on each country’s needs, as the Brazilian minister of foreign affairs expressed it â€Å"We based our relationship in the international principles, mutual respect to sovereignty and non-intervention in domestic issues of the other country. This are the bases of our friendship† One of the main pillars of the connection between China and Brazil is the â€Å"mutually beneficial† aspect in any of the projects they engage into. China bases its argument on the need of the countries to export and Brazil in the Chinese search for resources, arguing this dependence both countries understands the strategic consequences of their approach and believe that for the other country it is necessary to be in a good economic and politic shape in order not to disturb the growth of the other. However, with China’s rapid growth instead of a south-south relationship it has become an asymmetrical trade relationship in which Brazil now needs to identify its strategic industries to protect them from China’s exports. However, relationship is contradictory as the sectors with interest in China’s exports aim for a more profound engagement, but the industries feel affected by Chinese competition want protection from their government, this ambiguity reflects the challenges for the policy makers in shaping a mutually beneficial policy. Most of the foreign policy is then based on the less bad scenario, and the policies that affect a smaller share of the population. In the table below, it is evident that the most important spects of the engagement are trade and foreign investment, since aid and migration are not an issue. In the complementary effects are the positive consequences of having a good association with China, this are the benefits for the Brazilian export sector, that benefits from an increase in commodities prices. However, on the competitive effects are the negative consequences, in this aspect are the opinions of the industry sector in Brazil that argue for a more equal treatment in order to ensure economic growth and avoid relying in exports of natural resources. Source: Jenkins, Rhys (2012) â€Å"China and Brazil: Economic Impacts of a Growing Relationship†, in: Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, 41, 1, 21- 47. Published by: German Institute of Global and Area Studies. Trade is the most important characteristic between China and Brazil, it is the factor that has made both countries emerge as an international player, given this particular set of events both countries deepened economic cooperation and the share of trade has grown spectacularly from 2% in 1990s to over 15% in 2010. While exports have grown, there is still some concern about the composition of exports since natural resources account for the biggest part this growth, and there is not much value added in these products, on the other side of this relationship is China with a completely different trade pattern as Brazil imports from China technology based products and manufactured goods. One of the greatest examples to understand the relationship between China and Latin America, is Embraer. The Brazilian planes manufacturer engaged in China to supply the Chinese market based on a negotiation that was successful for both parties, after the company supplied the Chinese market, the Chinese producers were copying the manufacture in their own industry. When the Chinese perfected the industry, the Chinese government tried to expel Embraer from their domestic market, to give way to the domestic industry. The Brazilian government worked with all the diplomatic and international solutions to ensure Embraer kept the share in the markets, and finally the Chinese allowed the company planes to China. This example shows that if a country works to maintain its position, the Chinese will give in and work with the rules, benefits come from a strong and coherent policy. The investment aspect of the relationship is recent as before 2010 even if China was the fifth largest source. Brazil and the complete South American region did not benefit from this. But from 2010 conditions have changed for the region and Chinese penetration in investment has grown increasing the presence and the influence for the region. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean reports confirmed Chinese foreign direct investment in Brazil of over 9. 5 billion dollars in 2010. Most of these figures have been in mergers and acquisitions, and the biggest one was the acquisition of 40% of the shares of Repsol YPF by Sinopec that accounted for 7. 1 billon dollars. Of the total of investment only 6% were in greenfield investment. On the other side Brazil’s investment in China is less than 1% of the total foreign direct investment to China, and the main player in this relationship has been the aircraft manufacturer, Embaer. Analyzing the conditions of the trade and investment relation between China and Brazil there is a surplus in the Brazilian trade balance with China, this lead to large surpluses in the Brazilian economy benefiting the domestic conditions. â€Å"It seems that the effect of China on Brazil’s trade balance, taking into account both the direct impacts of bilateral trade flows and the main indirect impacts, is currently positive. This, however, depends on the continued high level of Chinese demand for commodities that Brazil exports, which is the main factor behind both the direct and indirect positive effects. Perhaps more significant in terms of the longer-term growth prospects for Brazil is the impact that China is having on the structure of the Brazilian economy. Several studies of the impact of China on Latin America have expressed concerns that the growth of China is contributing to deindustrialization in the region with potentially deleterious effects on technological development and long-term growth† Brazilian foreign policy has traditionally been based on the principles of multilateralism, peaceful dispute settlement, and nonintervention in the affairs of other countries, as any other foreign policy in a developed country, to ensure that foreign policy is implemented the government issued three main objectives: (1) reinforcing relations with traditional partners such as its South American neighbors, the United States, and Europe; (2) iversifying relations by forging stronger economic and political ties with other nations of the developing world; and (3) supporting multilateralism by pushing for the democratization of global governance. Based on this three main objectives Brazil has had a good relationship with the United States, lately the Obama Administration’s National Security Strategy states that the United States â€Å"welcome[s] Brazil’s leadership and seek[s] to move beyond dated North-South divisions to pursue progress on bilateral, hemispheric, and global issues. But given the leadership Brazil plays in the region there have been some disputes both in the political and economic ground; Brazil opposes the Unites States tariff on Brazilian ethanol. On the political aspect the bigger dispute began after Brazil and Turkey discussed a nuclear swap agreement with Iran in May 2010, the United States began a new round of sanctions as the country regarded the agreement as insufficient. Though relationship have been good with the United States, Brazilian relationships with China have also been diverse and based on this growth and diversification, United States now has both opportunities and challenges in Brazil, as the region sees China as the new partner in trade and cooperation, the United States is looking for a common ground with Brazil, in order to maintain the friendly relationship and the influence in the region. But the American policy for Brazil has not changed, more than recognizing Brazil as a regional power, there has not been many changes, with this recognition all that was different began in the nature of the talks, as right now there is some interest in gaining access to the Brazilian resources and using Brail as a platform to keep influencing Latin America. This American approach to China’s engagement in the region might work for now, as The Unites States remain the biggest trade partner for the region, but as Brazil grows and develops this trend might change shifting the current trade destinations and origins. And with Brazil looking more and more to China, a new American policy needs to be developed, one based on cooperation and peace keeping in the region, if the Unites States fail to do this, Brazil might see a region that will follow its steps in the engagement towards China. After analyzing how has the Brazilian economy done so far with the relationship to China and to the Unites States, the main conclusion for this relationship is that Brazil needs to form and implement a foreign policy for its trade partners, one that ensures Brazilian growth. With China this policy has to be based on exports diversification to avoid a growth sustained on how China is doing. And on the American side of the Brazilian foreign policy there has to be an understanding based on a non-intervention principle and cooperation for Latin America, a triangulation for cooperation and development. If this is implemented correctly Brazil will benefit from Chinese exports and imports but at the same time it will maintain its regional and international power, with the help of the Unites States, which will work towards this goal in order to maintain influence in the region. . 0 Conclusion Though China has been a great presence in Latin America, the relationship has been based on the non-intervention principle so it has been mainly centered on trade issues with the Latin American countries. So development and other cooperation for other aspects have been limited. However, this aspect of the relationship does not undermine the trade and investment aspect, as i t has been great on the region, and has had both positive and negative sides to it. On the negative aspect, the competition China represent for manufactured goods coming from Latin America. And on the positive side, China has become the destination for Latin American exports. To sum up the consequences for Latin America, it has been mainly beneficial as Latin America has seen a rapid economic growth from exports, and the negative aspects are less than the positive effects. But, to keep this mutually beneficial relation going the right way, a series of reforms have to be implemented so trade can expand to other sectors of commerce, and trade does not end up harming development in Latin America. However, in this present time, to approve legislation concerning limitations for trade in Latin America is not politically viable as resources are being available for countries and any regulation would endanger those flows of income. However, another important part of the relationship between China and Latin America is the link between Latin America and the United States, since it has been the main influence in the region both politically and economically, therefore to see its position somehow threatened may lead to some action towards the western hemisphere. This change in U.  S foreign policy will transform the way the world sees Latin America, as it becomes a region that is integrated with the international system and central for the global markets.

Quasars Essays - Quasar, Radio Astronomy, Physical Cosmology

Quasars Stephen Ferruzza Astronomy project #3 Quasars Theories of how quasars are created is based on the idea that the universe is expanding. Amoung astronomers, the popular consensus is that the earth is in an expanding univerise and the laws of physics will hold true beyond our planet. Some astronomers belive that at the beginning of the universe was a time when many galixies would be visible to the naked eye because the universe was more condesed than it is at the present day. In the centers of many galixes would be radiant objects that looked like stars but seemed brighter than all the stars in its galixiy. Astronomers call these objects quasars andbelive their presence to be more plentoful during the eairly formation of the universe. The quasars seen today are billions of light years away indicating that they have already come and gone and they no longer exist. A massive collision is a probable process in which quasars form. It is possible that the diminishing number of quasars in the univerise is due to the fact the universe is expanding and that fewer collision are taking place. The hubble telescope revaled that amung galixies with quasars in them, three quarters appear to be colliding with or swallowing other galixies. Astronomy Essays

The Storm, The Yellow Wallpape essays

The Storm, The Yellow Wallpape essays The Storm, The Yellow Wallpaper, Young Goodman Brown Because writing is inherently romantic in nature, throughout the history of literature, we see many authors insights into the enigmatic and often ambiguous subject of love and relationships. Three short stories penned by three separate American writers deal with such matter: Charlotte Perkins Gillman in "The Yellow Wallpaper", Kate Chopin in "The Storm", and Nathaniel Hawthorne in "Young Goodman Brown." Though the relationships presented in each of these stories are unique in their own persuasion, the same underlying theme runs true in all. At first glance all of these relationships may appear healthy in their existence; however, further introspection uncovers specific maladies which I believe elicit much of the discord which arises within each of these writings. All of the husbands in the aforementioned short stories evoke, though some more subtly than others, varying degrees of conflict. Gillmans "The Yellow Wallpaper" is a story pertaining to, and narrated by, a women suffering from depression after the recent birth of a child. Although the name of the women in the story is never revealed, many believe this is short story is an excerpt from the authors life. Much of the setting of the story takes place in an aging mansion recently inhabited by the narrator and John, the narrators husband. Due to her affliction and under strict instruction of her husband John, who is also a physician, the narrator is sentenced to bed rest in one of the upper rooms of the house. The walls of the room in which the narrator is forced to occupy, are enveloped with decrepit yellow wallpaper displaying an irksome pattern which, coupled with the ennui of doing nothing, works in a maleficent manner on the mental sanctity of the narrator. The narrators ailment could easily be rectified if she were allowed to busy herself. However, Johns view as a doctor denies any t...

How to Boost Engagement with Micro-Influencers the Right Way

How to Boost Engagement with Micro-Influencers the Right Way Every brand strives to drive engagement because without engagement, there may be no conversions. This makes your engagement rates an important metric for determining your brand’s performance. But if you’re having some trouble engaging your target audience, you could get micro-influencers involved. That’s because micro-influencers tend to generate high engagement rates, and may even be more engaging  than top influencers. In this post, you’re going to learn all about these micro-influencers, and how you can work with them to drive engagement. Download Your Free Micro-influencer Outreach Templates Successful marketing with micro-influencers requires smart preparartion and outreach. Use these three free templates to simplify the process: 10 free influencer email outreach templates: Save time writing while keeping your outreach personalized and effective. Micro-influencer marketing checklist: Make sure you dont miss any steps in your process. Micro-influencer outreach tracking template: Keep track of who youve contacted and monitor your success rate. How to Boost Engagement with Micro-Influencers the Right WayWhat are Micro-Influencers? As their name suggests, micro-influencers are individuals who are influential, but not on a macro level. Their influence is often concentrated within a specific niche – be it beauty, fitness, tech, fashion, or lifestyle. The common definition of micro-influencers is influencers with a smaller number of followers than regular influencers. But there is no exact definition of what that number is. Mavrck  considers individuals with somewhere between 500 and 5,000 followers as micro-influencers. And CNBC  reports that micro-influencers are those influencers who have fewer than 10,000 followers. But according to TapInfluence, micro-influencers have anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 followers. Despite these variations, what remains true is that micro-influencers have the ability to engage an audience. Micro-influencers have the ability to engage an audience.In fact, a Takumi  study found that engagement rate decreases as following size increases. People with 1,000 followers or fewer have an engagement rate of 9.7%. And the engagement rate of people with 1,000-4,000 followers is about 4.5%. And as the following size increases to 100,000 and over, the engagement rate drops to 1.7%. These findings are consistent with the findings in a Markerly  study. This study found that people with 1,000 followers or fewer have an average like rate of 8%, while those with 10 million followers or more generate only have about a 1.6% like rate. As for comment rate, those with 1,000 followers or fewer drive 13 times more comments than people with 10 million or more followers. How to Find Micro-Influencers in Your Industry or Niche As mentioned earlier, micro-influencers often have influence in a specific niche. So the right choice of relevant keywords could help you discover potential micro-influencers to work with. On Instagram, you can choose a relevant keyword, and use it as a hashtag to discover relevant posts made by potential micro-influencers. For example, let’s say you want to promote a line of skincare products made using all-natural ingredients. The right keywords here would be something like â€Å"organic skincare,† â€Å"organic beauty,† â€Å"organic makeup,† etc. Let’s try searching for the hashtag #organicskincare. You’ll get results of top posts that use the hashtag, as shown in the following screenshot. Then  click on each of the posts, and check out the users who have posted the photos or videos. You just need to look at the number of followers they have to see if they have less than 100,000 followers (based on the TapInfluence definition of micro-influencers). Also check if they usually post content related to what you’re selling. Let’s click on one of the posts in the search results above. As you can see in the screenshot below, the post was from a user named The Beauty Bloss. If the post has any other relevant hashtags like in the following post, make a note of them to find more micro-influencers. If you check out this user’s profile, you can see that she has around 21,900 followers, qualifying her as a micro-influencer. And her posts are all related to makeup and beauty, which is perfect for the product you’re promoting. So you can consider reaching out to this influencer. As for searches on Facebook and Twitter, manual search using a relevant keyword isn’t going to cut it. The search results will prioritize the top influencers and celebrities relevant to the keyword, making it difficult and time-consuming to identify micro-influencers. So your best bet is to use tools like: BuzzSumo Insightpool Little Bird To search for micro-influencers on these platforms, you can pick several relevant keywords. Your search will bring up results of influential figures related to those topics. For example, BuzzSumo in the screenshot below, shows a list of influencers and bloggers related to beauty and skincare. You can make a selection based on their following size, page authority, etc. Recommended Reading: How Will Outreach Marketing Make Your Blog More Successful? How to Convince a Micro-Influencer to Work with You Micro-influencer outreach is no different from regular influencer outreach. But in the case of micro-influencers, it’s likely that they will be more receptive of your outreach efforts. Here’s what you need to do to convince a micro-influencer to work with you: Begin with small interactions.  Before you start sending out emails and messages to micro-influencers, it’s better to start off with small interactions. The idea is to get them to notice you, and remember your name. Try sharing their content, commenting on their posts, or asking them relevant questions on social media. You can also try commenting on their latest blog posts. Develop a suitable compensation model.  Make sure you’re offering micro-influencers what they deserve in exchange for a promotion. Some micro-influencers may be more than happy to promote the free products you’ve sent them without any extra charge. But you shouldn’t take that for granted.Try to develop a compensation model depending on what’s most beneficial for your business. Maybe you could pay them a percentage of, or a fixed sum for every conversion. Or you could pay them for engagements and click-throughs. Some brands even pay micro-influencers a fixed sum for every post. Send them an email. Once you’ve established an initial connection through social media or the influencer’s blog, you can begin your email outreach. Your email should get straight to the point, and talk about why you wish to work with the influencer. For example, maybe their values align with yours, or you find their content intriguing. The email should also contain details like what you’re offering in return for the promotion. In other words, it should provide micro-influencers with a compelling reason why they should work with you. To make your influencer outreach easier and more effective, there are a few tools you can use: Hunter  can help you discover the email addresses of influencers. BuzzStream  can help you keep track of and manage your conversations with the influencers. Pitchbox  can help you create personalized outreach emails as well as automate your follow-ups. Recommended Reading: How to Write a Pitch Email That Will Get Your Guest Post Accepted How to Boost Engagement With Micro-Influencers Based on the Markerly and Takumi studies mentioned earlier, you already know that micro-influencers can generate a lot of engagement. You can harness their ability to engage to boost your own engagement rates. And here are some tips to help you out: #1: Honest Reviews Micro-influencers don’t beat around the bush when interacting with their followers. They get straight to the point, and are honest when expressing their opinions about something. As a result of this honesty, people trust their opinion about a product or a service. In fact, Experticity  found that 82% of consumers would follow a micro-influencer’s recommendation. You can take advantage of this established trust by getting micro-influencers to share honest reviews about your product or service. Depending on which influencers you choose to work with, you can either have them write a blog post reviewing the product, or create a review video. Or you can even get them to create a social media post reviewing the product. Regardless of the medium, the review needs to be honest. Reviews from micro-influencers need to be honest.In order to get an honest review from a micro-influencer you need to: Choose micro-influencers who often create review content, and who aren’t afraid to mention the negatives. Be very clear when communicating your expectations in your outreach email. Propose to send them free samples or exclusive previews of your product. And stress on the fact that they shouldn’t feel obligated to give a beaming review. Make sure you mention that all you expect in return for the free products is their honest opinion from an expert like them. Here’s an example of an honest review of 100% PURE serum by beauty influencer Adri (@sortofobsessed). As you can see in the caption, she talks about how she loves the feel of the product on her skin but she doesn’t like the texture. She also talks about some of the issues she faces when using the product. #2: Giveaways Giveaway campaigns are an excellent way to engage an audience. This is likely because of the possibility of them winning something. And to leverage your engagement efforts, you can get a micro-influencer to host the campaign. Here’s what you need to do to work with micro-influencers for a giveaway campaign: Determine the prize of the contest.  It should be something that would appeal to the influencer’s followers while helping promote your brand. The prize should help compel the target audience to take action. Come up with the rules for participation.  Maybe you can require them to like the influencer’s post, follow them and your brand, and tag their friends in the comments. Or maybe they simply have to submit an online form through a link promoted in the influencer’s blog. Pitch the giveaway concept to a micro-influencer in your email.  The email should highlight what’s in it for the influencer in addition to the compensation. For instance, you could talk about how this could help them boost engagement among their followers or even grow their following. Recommended Reading: How to Get More Followers on Social Media With 30 Awesome Tips You can talk to them about the rules for participation after they’ve agreed to work with you. And make sure you let them know about any important information you want them to highlight in the post promoting the contest. Based on how the influencer responds, you may have to negotiate the compensation. Food blogger Jessica, of Savory Experiments,  hosted a contest sponsored by the Mussel Industry Council of Prince Edward Island. All participants had to do was to choose their favorite recipes created using Prince Edward Island mussels. The recipes were created by various micro-influential food bloggers including Jessica. And by voting, participants got a chance to win a free trip to the island. This contest involved a giveaway of an experience as opposed to an actual product, but it’s still an effective engagement tactic nonetheless. Jessica also mentioned at the beginning of the post that she was compensated to write the post, but all opinions expressed were her own. Recommended Reading: How to Improve Your Instagram Engagement With 15 Tips How to Improve Your Pinterest Engagement With These 15 Tactics 12 Effective Ways to Expand Your Facebook Engagement #3: Tutorials and How-Tos The previously-cited Experticity study also found that people considered micro-influencers to be better than everyday consumers at explaining how products work, or how they can be used. It is for this reason that you should consider getting micro-influencers to create tutorial content around your product. If it’s a product that doesn’t require much explaining, they could still offer creative tips and ideas on what consumers can do with it. For this tactic to be more effective here’s what you need to do: Look for micro-influencers who often create tutorial content – videos, blog posts, or social media posts. You’ll basically need to check out the various pieces of content created by influencers you’ve shortlisted for your campaign. Analyze their tutorial content and determine if the quality lives up to your expectations. In other words, see if the content is both intriguing and educational. And try to look at the comments, shares, and/or likes in the content to understand how well their tutorials engage the audience. Reach out to them by email and pitch your idea. Like before, your email should highlight the benefits of working with your brand and what’s in it for the influencer. You could offer them exclusive access to the product along with a competitive compensation. Makeup and beauty influencer Tamira Jarrel  created a sponsored video for True Botanicals. In the video, she talked about some of the various products that worked for her. And she explained how to use them and what works for what. She even provided her fans with a unique discount code so they can purchase the products for less. #4: Original and Authentic Sponsored Content Every now and then you may have come across influencer content in which they promote a product. But unlike their regular content, this one seems uninteresting and maybe even too promotional. This is hardly going to do anything for brand engagement. Usually, this kind of bland and overly-promotional content happens because the brand is trying to control everything about the production. You chose micro-influencers because they can engage their audience with original and creative content. If you want your brand sponsored content too to engage the same audience, you need to provide them with something equally interesting. This means you need to trust the content creation in the hands of the influencer. Encourage them to come up with something original that blends in with their usual content. Encourage micro-influencers to come up with original content that blends with their usual content.A survey conducted by Crowdtap  found that creative freedom is highly valuable to influencers. In fact, 58% of those surveyed said that their favorite projects were those in which the brand gives them creative freedom. And 77% said that they’d be willing to work with a brand more than once if said brand provides them with creative freedom. 77% of influencers are more likely to work with brands more than once if they have creative freedom.These findings suggest that being too restrictive with your content guidelines could negatively impact your relationship with the influencer as well. So, here’s what you need to do if you plan on letting the influencer be in control of content creation: Provide them with basic guidelines such as the kind of vibe you want to give out, the important points you need them to cover, etc. This will ensure that the influencer content delivers exactly what you need. Make sure the micro-influencer understands your goals from the campaign and trust them to deliver. You need to communicate your expectations without trying to control the content creation. Be transparent about what you don’t want so the influencer knows what to exclude in the content. For instance, maybe you don’t want the content to have swear words in case you want to share it on your site. When communicating these guidelines and expectations, make sure you do so in a respectable manner. Remember the saying â€Å"it’s not what you say; it’s how you say it†. You don’t want to come off as rude or bossy when communicating with the influencer. Instead, talk to them as friends and let them know that you trust them to create something new and intriguing.

Informational Industry Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informational Industry Report - Assignment Example Today, globalization has created an aviation industry market where there are an increasing number of airlines, both in the international and domestic that form alliances and invest in each other to form global networks e.g. American Airlines. As the aviation market expands, the more job opportunities are created for individuals who are interested in pursuing employment in Aviation Administration. Air transportation is a key industry that provides major contribution to economic, political, and social progress. The demand for its services, such as transport is driven by needs and desire to attain a specific objective. For instance, air transport can develop economic opportunities to a specific region such as tourism. Demand for airline transport is also motivated by the needs of goods and services offered by the region. Outlook of the industry, the International Transport Association (IATA) asserts, has showed an improved profitability in its economic performance. Accordingly, the collective global net profits of airlines are expected to reach $25.0 billion in 2015. Drivers of Forecast are oil prices, jet fuel prices, economic growth, passenger trends and cargo trends. Jet fuel prices. The benefit of lower fuel prices are not immediately felt because of the forward fuel buying practices of the industry; however costs savings will be realized as soon as time lag is settled. IATA estimated that 26% of industry costs are jet fuel prices. Given that improving fuel efficiency is a priority for airlines, IATA says fuel efficiency has improved by 1.8% in 2014 and more improvements are expected in 2015. Accordingly, fuel efficiency improvements could be done by reducing the 5% of wasted fuel due to air space and airport inefficiencies. Passenger trends. A growth in passenger traffic of 7.0% is expected in 2015, a percentage that is above 5.5% growth of the past two decades. Total passenger numbers are expected to grow by 3.5 billion and expected airline

The definition of culture in different and distinctive ways Essay

The definition of culture in different and distinctive ways - Essay Example To a great extent, culture defines the manner in which people behave and react to different and emerging issues in the society. Cultural behaviours varies from one individual and community to another depending on the existing rules and regulations as well as the manner in which community members value their beliefs. Cultural believes are as well the main parameter that is used to define gender roles and responsibilities. Despite being influenced by the existing rules and regulation in a society, culture content is also defined and determined by geographical background, main occupation in the society, social practices, religious believes, the manner in which a society socialises its children as well as the size and the demographic shape of a society (Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohayv & Sanders, 2011, p. 287). Dimensionalizing Cultures The manner in which some of the basic concepts that defines culture is described in Dimensionalizing Cultures aspects have demonstration the actual and real stat e of affairs in modern society. After studying the concept Dimensionalizing Cultures in classroom setting, I concur with the founders of the concept that, culture is the main pillars in social existence. Both conventional and modern societies are to a great extent shaped and defined by the existing cultural believes and values. Although other emerging factors such as civilisation and technological development have significantly transformed modern culture, traditional believes and practices have a considerable role in defining the manner in which people in modern society behave in political, social, and economic context. Scholars who participated in designing and defining Dimensionalizing Cultures as well ought to be recommended and acknowledged for effectively linking this concept with modern development and transformation. According to founders of the concept, Dimensionalizing Cultures, cultural believes and practices are consistently affected by emerging social and economic develo pment. Moreover, based on the available statistics, there are considerable behavioural differences between people who live in economically developed society and those who live in less developed society. For instance, in conventional social settings, women were restricted from engaging in any economic and social activities. They were supposed to stay at home and perform domestic activities and chores. However, modern civilization has significantly transformed the way in which women are valued and treated in the society. Women in modern society are actively involved in modern economic development. In addition, women in a good number of modern societies have assumed leadership and management position in the society. This therefore means that,

Rules of high performance Essay Example for Free

Rules of high performance Essay This week our text discusses the definition of organizational behavior and in particular its applied focus, and our lecture focuses on high performance organizations (HPOs). Right at the intersection of those would be the â€Å"Ten Golden Rules of High Performance† listed below. What do you think should be added to the list? Is there anything on the list that you disagree with? Please support your opinion with evidence from our readings and also from your own work and life experience. Please also remember to respond to your classmates’ posts to stimulate further discussion. Ten Golden Rules of High Performance Organizational Dynamics The future of every organization is built around continuous development and improvement as most people are already aware however there are some who forget that one of the most valuable assets in a company are the people that are involved in every day operations. This includes every person no matter what position they might hold within the company whether its the president or service personnel. Each individual brings forward unique skill sets and abilities that can impact the development and direction of a company. Their individual development and well being are important considerations in any change in organizational dynamics. Many people still believe that businesses operate in an employers market though I would tend to disagree with that assessment, but not in the view that most people might have on the state of hiring even in tight markets. I tend to side with individuals like Laura Butler, Vice President of Talent Acquisition for TeleTech. While it is true that it has been more difficult than ever before for unemployed individuals employers are also scrambling to find qualified personnel and even after finding those candidates hanging on to qualified personnel is a difficult task. If you are an employee you are concerned with your individual perspective and effects change have on your personal stability, which is an important consideration in future change initiatives as companies work to maintain a competitive edge in shrinking markets. In order to ensure that a company can sustain itself now and in the future it must be prepared to invest in its workforce. That includes continuing education and employee retention as well as a big picture view of future operations. I personally like to pull a page from Googles philosophy on operation and continued  development as listed below. 1. Hire by Committee Make sure your new recruits talk to their future colleagues I believe that this is an important part of continued organizational development. Ensuring that new hires and existing members of your team and workforce can work well together will ensure that the projects they work on can be performed efficiently and quickly. It is important to remember that the moral and performance of your workforce hinges on the way in which team members communicate and interact. This includes 2. Cater to their every need Make sure it is, not hard, for them to perform Making sure that your employees have the tools and resources they need to perform jobs also ensures that they meet your expectations. If you fail to manage resources effectively operations can quickly grind to a halt and your employees morale will quickly slip as they fail to meet not only your expectations of performance but their own. Building an environment that fosters individual growth can bring forward a variety of unexpected opportunities in the continued growth of an organization and a workforce. 3. Pack them in put people to work close to one another This is certainly a debatable concept but the general idea is that having individuals within reach of each other ensures more effective communication. While it is true that electronic communication systems like email and instant messaging systems can help to unify a large and expansive workforce there is no real substitute for person to person interactions. Electronic messaging systems do not accurately convey the emotional context nor the associated body language the accompanies it. These components of communication can provide an individual with important insights into the true direction and meaning of the information being presented. 4. Make coordination easy use technology to keep people talking together This ties back into packing people together, large organizations need to effectively communicate important information among themselves. This includes email communication, shared calendaring systems, CRM, ERP and highly functional intranet systems that are both internally and externally accessible. Having on-demand access to this information on the go allows your workforce to be  better prepared for change and unexpected shifts in project development. 5. Eat your own dog food make use of company products This is another important one, make sure that the products you sell and produce are also available and in use by your workforce. This is an effective method of quality control, no one wants to purchase or use products of poor quality and your workforce is the same. If you make your products easily accessible to them they will ensure that the products they purchase and actively use or of a quality that meets or exceeds their own expectations. 6. Encourage creativity allow freedom to come up with new ideas Environments that stifle innovation and creativity often lose their ability to maintain a competitive edge in todays rapidly changing business environment. Organizations that allow their employees to provide feedback on processes and bring forward new ideas often achieve higher performance standards, higher workforce productivity, and again often find new and unexpected opportunities emerge for the company. Creativity extends into many areas of development including product development, process modification, and more. 7. Strive for consensus remember many are better than the few Strive to move forward as a group rather than individually, ensuring that everyone from the bottom up is on the same page with what we want to achieve is important. Making changes on your own without the input or approval of those who would implement those changes often result in failure. Almost 80% of all change initiatives fail because the people who were meant to implement those changes did not understand, support, or see a reason to implement the change. 8. Dont be evil live tolerance and respect This is one of the tougher aspects of normal operation, this extends into ethical behavior as well as how your business interacts with the community it is in. Its important to remember that a business is much like living and breathing person and the impact it can have on local as well as regional communities can reach quite far. How your company represents itself also reflects how your workforce represents itself, no one really wants to be part of something no one likes even if there are great incentives. 9. Data  drive decisions do analysis and stay on track This comes back to using electronic systems effectively, while in most cases I tend to focus more in qualitative information it is important to track performance quantitatively so that changes in performance can be reported effectively. There are many easy to use systems that will allow you to follow workforce readiness, project performance, financial performance and a range of other pieces of information that can contribute to making informed decisions both in the present as well as for the future. Whether its decision trees, spreadsheets, or custom DBM systems they all have a role to play into the development of a feature rich intranet and ERP system. 10. Communicate effectively hold many stay-in-touch meetings One of the most important things you can do in attempting to implement change or in managing continued development is to ensure that everyone is heard, whether its lowest man on the totem pole or the president of the company. Meetings both physical and virtual allow individuals to provide feedback on the assessments you make as well as provide direction for future developments. There many different ways to communicate today, far more than there were in history, including teleconferencing, video chat, email, instant messaging, social media, and more.