Teaching Standards in Californian System of Studying and the Advanced Placement History Course

Teaching standards are one of the bases for the normal functioning of the college system and the efficiency of the tasks, as well as the orderliness of the curriculum.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Teaching Standards in Californian System of Studying and the Advanced Placement History Course specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Hence, the standards established for certain grades must take into account an umber of factors, such as the abilities of the students at the given age, the previous history of the curriculums, the knowledge obtained, the material that has been embraced and the gaps that have been left unfilled, etc. Moreover, at certain points, the curriculums of the two systems are supposed to intertwine, since the material studied in the 10th grade within the sphere of California Standards and the Advanced Placement History Course are supposed to correlate and have the points of contact as the courses that actually teach the same subject. Despite the obvious efficacy of the Californian system of studying and the Advanced Placement History Course, there are obvious discrepancies in the educational systems, which means that the issue has to be considered thoroughly. The analysis of the two systems shows that each of them displays certain peculiarities that cross at the points concerning the skills that the systems are supposed to train in the students, yet have considerable differences in the way the given skills are taught. One of the first issues that one will immediately spot is the recurrent themes that both the Californian curriculum and the Advanced Placement History Course have. While the Californian curriculum themes â€Å"are intended to provide foundational knowledge for future college-level course work† (California tenth grade’s standards, 2008, p. 5), in the Advanced Placement History Course, the themes are obviously supposed to develop the wide spectrum of kn owledge on a certain issue and mostly concern specialized topics: â€Å"Content Standard: World History, Culture, and Geography Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States† (College Board, 2011). It is essential to emphasize that each of the given topics is rather vast, but at the same time vague. In contrast to the Advanced Placement History Course, the Californian standards are much more precise and to the point: â€Å"Content Standard: World History, Culture, and Geography Students analyze the effects of the Industrial Revolution in England, France, Germany, Japan, and the United States† (College Board 2011).Advertising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In terms of the student skills that the given systems train, one should mention that each of the courses presupposes the development of the abilities to analyz e and offer solutions for certain problems. College Board (2011) insists that the students should be able to reason, compare and analyze (p. 7), and California tenth grade’s standards (2008) confirm that: â€Å"CA.9-12.HS Content Standard: Historical and Social Sciences Analysis Skills.† As for the coverage of the topic s offered, one must admit that the California tenth grade’s standards deals with the given issue in a far more efficient way, offering a plethora of problems to discuss and splitting the curriculum into numerous points, while the College Board (2011) prefers not to go into details. However, the curriculums of the two grades help the students develop comparatively similar skills. Taking a closer look at the curriculum of the Californian educational system, one must mark that the latter presupposes the development of such skills as the ability to analyze and approach a certain issue from multiple viewpoints. According to the College Board (2011), t he students who attend the given courses must obtain the knowledge concerning such spheres as â€Å"interaction between humans and environment† (p. 17), â€Å"development and interaction of cultures† (p. 18), â€Å"State-building, expansion and conflict† (p. 18), â€Å"Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems† (p. 19) and â€Å"Development and transformation of social structures† (p. 20). It seems that with the help of merging the two systems, a more efficient way of coping with the academic material can be found. Comprising the detailed outline of the California tenth grade’s standards and the comprehensibility of the College Board system might finally result in an all-embracing program that will spur the efficiency of the students. Hence, it can be deduced that in the Californian system of teaching the subjects and the one of the Advanced Placement History Course, certain parallels can be traced. Nevertheless, one must admi t hat the system of teaching in the Californian and the Advanced Placement History Course teaching styles both leave much to be desired and offers a vast area for improvements.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Teaching Standards in Californian System of Studying and the Advanced Placement History Course specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More With the help of a rational approach towards the issues that cause the greatest problems in the studying process, one is likely to come up with the most efficient solutions. Moreover, the positive elements of the California Standards and the Advanced Placement World History Course teaching system should be marked as well. It is obvious that with the help of the recurrent issues in the topics and the subjects in the California Standards and the Advanced Placement World History Course, students are likely to digest and remember the material netter. Once introducing the efficient amen dments to the existing system, one is likely to create a perfect environment for fruitful studying. Reference List California tenth grade’s standards (2008). Teaching History Board. Web. College Board (2011). AP world history. Sacramento, CA: The College Board. Web. This essay on Teaching Standards in Californian System of Studying and the Advanced Placement History Course was written and submitted by user Rodolfo G. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

A Significant Method of Mediating Conflicts among Multiple Parties

A Significant Method of Mediating Conflicts among Multiple Parties A Significant Method of Mediating Conflicts among Multiple Parties Abstract Since time immemorial, disputes occurred among different parties from various settings. People apply several method of resolving their disputes or conflicts. The disputes may appear either formal or informal. However, the method of conflict resolution selected in any kind of conflict resolution process largely affects how fast or slow a solution is obtained. Hence, in most conflict resolution processes, most individuals opt for mediation as a means of reaching a reasonable agreement. Thus, mediation refers to a process of resolving or intervening between two or more conflicting parties. In addition, it involves a third neutral party who takes no sides and only works with the facts presented by the conflicting parties to come to an acceptable conclusion. The aim of mediation includes bringing peace and understanding between the conflicting parties. Moreover, whatever agreement occurs at the end of the mediation process should suit the interests of either parties in one way or another. At least, each party should feel well accommodated by the final decision (Dyer, 2000). There exist different types of mediation that occur in the event of a certain conflict. The type of mediation selected by any mediator should occur relevant to the problem at hand. This tends to ease the entire process. One method of conflict resolution includes the facilitative mediation. In this type of mediation, resolutions come mainly from the disputing individuals rather than the mediator. In most cases, the mediator occurred as an uninformed party. This happened to avoid his or her indulgence in deciding a possible solution for the parties. In ancient times, this appeared as the sole method of resolving conflicts and there existed no attorneys. In this process, the mediator interrogates the parties at length. He or she ensures that the full interests of each individual are placed on the table. In addition, the mediation occurs in the presence of all the conflicting parties. Furthermore, the mediator possesses no hand in giving outcomes or judgments during the whole process. Another method of mediation includes the evaluative mediation In this type of mediation, settlement of disputes occurs in the presence of a judge or an attorney. The parties meet with the attorneys at different times in the whole process. Here, the role of the mediator who includes the attorney involves giving both informal and formal results of the conflict. In addition, he or she possesses an upper hand in deciding for the parties on the best way of coming to a lucrative conclusion. Moreover, the mediation occurs based on the legal rights of each individual. This method of mediation pays less attention to the interests or desires of the conflicting parties. It only works on legal grounds, different from the facilitative method where the interests of each party get aired out. In addition, in evaluative mediation, the parties meet with the attorney on separate occasions. The attorney involved in any mediation gets chosen with the help of the judge (Hope, 2009). Another type of mediation includes the transformative mediation. This occurs as the most current type of mediation among the three. It possesses some similar features with the facilitative mediation. In the transformative mediation process, the mediator works on empowering and transforming the individuals in question. Moreover, he or she ensures that the parties understand one anothers interests and well-being in the whole process. Before a conclusion occurs, the mediator ensures that a high level of understanding exists amongst the parties. Furthermore, different from the evaluative mediation, the parties involved in the conflict meet in a joint meeting with the mediator. This allows each party to air out their interests and problems in the presence of all the other members. The mediator also gets the opportunity of working with them in a better way. All the above-mentioned methods of mediating in conflicts possess different advantages and disadvantages. In transformative and facilitative methods of mediation, the benefit occurs that the conflicting individuals are empowered. Each party end up feeling accommodated in the whole processes. However, this method may take a longer duration in the process of reaching a lucrative agreement. Moreover, since the decisions come entirely from the parties, some of these decisions may appear bias. Thus, the process may not lead to a general solution to the problem. On the other hand, evaluative mediation helps the parties in getting either a solution or an answer to their problem. In addition, this process involves legal procedures where the legal rights of each party get considered at every point of the process. One disadvantage of this method includes the fact that the mediator makes all the decisions in the whole mediation process and this may lead to a false or incorrect solution to the problem. In a case, where multiple parties conflict happens as in the case of a jointly owned firm, the best method of mediation would be the evaluative way. In this case, an attorney or judge in separate meetings would hear the conflicting parties. The reason why this method occurs as the best one includes the fact that it involves legal procedures. In addition to that, since this case appears immensely complicated and sensitive, a central neutral party is required to oversee the way forward to attaining a solution. An attorney chosen by the judge for this particular case would suggest informal and formal recommendations concerning the outcome of the case (Spence Brogan, 2007). A conflict refers to a state of misunderstanding between two or more parties In conflicts, most people apply measures that suit their individual interests in the process of finding a solution. Therefore, it occurs fundamental to choose a lucrative method of solving the problem. Mediation occurs as the best way to find a solution for two or more conflicting parties. The type of mediation procedures may appear either formal or informal based on the nature of the case. In other cases, as the one mentioned in this essay, both formal and informal procedures may appear. The reason why the evaluative method of resolving this case occurs crucial includes the fact that the solution does not arise from either parties. In this case, each part requires a hearing of their individual interests. In addition, all the parties faced immense losses with the collapse of the firm. Thus, giving an open room for individual opinions would only drug the case. Hence, cause delays in reaching a solution. This method involves legal processes since the jury is involved in each process. Once the problems encounter a hearing and evaluation by the judge, an appropriate attorney is selected to handle the entire mediation process. He or she either works entirely on finding solutions or answers to the problem. Moreover, this method evades bias since the process puts into consideration the legal rights of each individual. This method appears as an effective way of solving the companys problem since it takes the shortest time possible to reach a conclusion. Each member together with their individual attorney meets the mediator in separate meetings. In case of a contradiction, the mediators bring all the members together to weigh out options, still putting into consideration their legal rights. The method of mediation that gets chosen in any case should suit the problem at hand. The duration taken to reach a conclusion entirely depends on the method of mediation used. Another factor that may largely affect the mediation process includes the effectiveness of the mediator. At times, an uninformed mediator may not possess the ability to help the parties in reaching a conclusion. Moreover, this may lead to a prolonged process of mediation. Thus, most people aspiring to mediate in conflicts should pursue the necessary training in order to sharpen their knowledge in this field (Berger, 2006). Another reason as to why training appears as a fundamental factor for mediators includes the fact that a mediation process involves strong feelings. As such, a mediator may require the rightful skill on how to handle these feelings in the process of mediation. In addition, further training in the same field occurs crucial since there is no limit to the kinds of conflicts that a mediator may need to deal with at any given time. In conclusion, mediation refers to a process of intervening between two or more conflicting parties in order to reach a lucrative solution. In mediation, a third neutral party occurs to help in finding a peaceful conclusion to the problem. There exist three main types of mediation used in conflict resolution. Each type of mediation applies the particular types conflicts. The three main types of mediation include evaluative mediation, transformative mediation and facilitative mediation. Transformative and evaluative kinds of mediation possess similar characteristics in that both of them involve the conflicting parties in reaching a conclusion. The evaluative method of mediation involves legal actions where the conflicting parties employ an attorney each to help in finding a solution. In addition, the mediator in this case considers the legal rights of each individual and helps them achieve either solutions or answers to their problems (Hope, 2009). For the case that occurred in the essay, where a conflict occurred among multiple owners of a firm, the best method of mediation would be the evaluative method. This method occurs crucial due to the sensitivity of the case, thus, legal procedures should be implemented in order to avoid cases of bias or prolonged cases.

Nothing Like the Sun (1964) by Anthony Burgess

Nothing Like the Sun (1964) by Anthony Burgess Anthony Burgess’s Nothing Like the Sun (1964) is a highly fascinating, albeit fictional, re-telling of Shakespeare’s love life. In 234 pages, Burgess manages to introduce his reader to a young Shakespeare developing into manhood and clumsily fumbling his way through his first sexual escapade with a woman, through Shakespeare’s long, famed (and contested) romance with Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton and, ultimately, to Shakespeare’s final days, the establishment of The Globe theater, and Shakespeare’s romance with â€Å"The Dark Lady.†    Burgess has a command for language.  It is difficult not to be impressed and a little awed by his skill as a story-teller and an imagist.  While, in typical fashion, he does tend to break-off at points of leisurely prose into something more Gertrude Steine-like (stream of consciousness, for example), for the most part he keeps this novel in finely tuned form. This will be nothing new for readers of his best known work, A Clockwork Orange (1962). There is an exceptional arc to this story, which carries the reader from Shakespeare’s boyhood, to his death, with common characters interacting regularly and to an end result.  Even the minor characters, such as Wriothesley’s secretary, are well-established and easily identifiable, once they have been described.   Readers might also appreciate the references to other historical figures of the time and how they affected Shakespeare’s life and works. Christopher Marlowe, Lord Burghley, Sir Walter Raleigh, Queen Elizabeth I, and â€Å"The University Wits† (Robert Greene, John Lyly, Thomas Nashe and George Peele) all appear in or are referenced throughout the novel. Their works (as well as works of the Classicists – Ovid, Virgil; and the early dramatists – Seneca, etc) are clearly defined in relation to their impact on Shakespeare’s own designs and interpretations.  This is highly informative and simultaneously entertaining. Many will enjoy being reminded of how these playwrights competed and worked together, of how Shakespeare was inspired, and by whom, and of how politics and the time period played an important role in the successes and failures of the players (Greene, for instance, died sickly and shamed; Marlowe hunted down as an atheist; Ben Jonson’s imprisoned for treasonous writing, and Nashe having escaped from England for the same).   That being said, Burgess takes much creative, though well-researched, license with Shakespeare’s life and the details of his relationship with various people.  For instance, while many scholars believe â€Å"The Rival Poet† of â€Å"The Fair Youth† sonnets to be either Chapman or Marlowe due to circumstances of fame, stature, and wealth (ego, essentially), Burgess breaks from the traditional interpretation of â€Å"The Rival Poet† to explore the possibility that Chapman was, in fact, a rival for Henry Wriothesley’s attention and affection and,  for this reason, Shakespeare became jealous and critical of Chapman.   Similarly, the ultimately under-established relationships between Shakespeare and Wriothesley, Shakespeare and â€Å"The Dark Lady† (or Lucy, in this novel), and Shakespeare and his wife, are all largely fictional.  While the novel’s general details, including historical happenings, political and religious tensions, and rivalries between the poets and the players are all well envisioned, readers must be careful not to mistake these details for fact.   The story is well written and enjoyable. It is also a fascinating glimpse at history of this particularly time period.   Burgess reminds the reader of many of the fears and prejudices of the time, and seems to be more critical of Elizabeth I than Shakespeare himself was.  It is easy to appreciate Burgess’s cleverness and subtlety, but also his openness and candor in terms of sexuality and taboo relationships.   Ultimately, Burgess wants to open the reader’s mind to the possibilities of what could have happened but is not often explored. We might compare Nothing Like the Sun to others in the â€Å"creative nonfiction† genre, such as Irving Stone’s Lust for Life (1934). When we do, we must concede the latter to be more honest to the facts as we know them, whereas the former is a bit more adventurous in scope.  Overall, Nothing Like the Sun is a highly informative, enjoyable read offering an interesting and valid perspective on Shakespeare’s life and times.

Animal Testing and Rgihts Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Animal Testing and Rgihts - Research Paper Example In fact, vivisection of small animals like frogs, rabbits and mice is not confined to sophisticated laboratories alone, but are also a part of school and college curriculum. Animals are also used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries to test drugs and cosmetics before market release. According to AWA reports, the U.S government estimated that the number of laboratory animals used in 2010 alone was about 1,136,567. â€Å"Precise figures for the number of rats, mice, birds and fish do not exist, but it is estimated that approximately 25 million of these animals are used every year† (animal Reports Animal Usage by Fiscal year, 1-2). Vivisection is not just using of animals for scientific purposes alone; it also involves the inhumane treatment meted out to them. They are kept in cages in dark laboratories, fed poorly and stored for experimentation alone. The lab animals are subjected to toxic testing, allergen testing etc which involves cruel treatment for the sake of test ing alone and justify them on the grounds that Human feeling s and animals feeling have a difference (Ryder). While many researchers and vivisection enthusiasts may argue that animal testing is beneficial to humans, I shall discus as to why this should be stopped and alternatives adopted. Scientifically Unreliable Scientists and researchers who use animals for their research work often claim that the results procured and derived from these animal-test based experimentation is for the benefit of the human race. But in reality this is untrue and the results may be totally unreliable because the anatomy of humans and animals is drastically different and each species responds differently to a particular substance, this is the reason why thousands of drugs and cosmetics that pass the lab-animal test have often been withdrawn from the markets, solely because they were harmful to humans. Chemical testing is highly unreliable and this can be understood with a small fact that arsenic which i s highly carcinogenic in humans rarely causes cancer in lab animals like mouse and rats. There is no evidence to prove that mice, rabbits and humans would react all the same to a certain chemical. Experimentation on animals is impractical and reveals negligible information about the human body and its response (Mur, 29). Furthermore, it is well known that the sensation of fear alters the biochemical processes of a living body and lab animals are in state of constant fear which may affect the results too. Hence, the results are not valid. ETHICALLY WRONG It is purely unethical to take advantage of speechless and helpless creatures and use them in the laboratories, inflicting intentional pain and fear among them in the name of human benefit. Science itself has proven that animals too like humans, are sentient. They can feel emotions like pain, fear, hunger, thirst etc, yet we deny animals their rights. Rifkin in his article reported about a study conducted in the Purdue University, U. S. where it was observed that’s pigs crave affection and attention and were depressed if denied so. The study strengthened the fact that animals did resemble humans in some form. The theory of Evolution states that Homo sapiens are linked to all other living creatures through evolution, yet somehow humans have taken the liberty to judge other living things and determine their value in Nature. There is nothing to determine whether inherent value of humans is higher than that of other living

Navigation Incident NO.2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Navigation Incident NO.2 - Essay Example This factor can be noticed after knowing about the collision of Argyle Express and ro-ro passenger Cargo ferry Plymouth Venturer on 31st April 2004 at 10:22. The collision was there because of reduced visibility; however, there was less damage as both the vessels were turning away from each other at the impact moment. The vessel type of Argyle Express was Passenger/ ro-ro cargo ferry, twin hull while Plymouth Venturer was Passenger/ ro-ro cargo ferry and both the vessels had experiences of daily travelling. LOA of Plymouth Venturer was 150m, gross tonnage was 16010, service speed was 23 knots while the engine power was 1992 KW, 2 x diesels. LOA of Argyle Express was 80m, gross tonnage was 4246, service speed was 40 knots while the engine power was 22000 KW, 4 x diesels. Discussion Argyle Express and ro-ro passenger Cargo ferry Plymouth Venturer had adopted proper watchful strategies as both had master, mate and rating lookout on the bridge. Two radars were also there to report about any incoming vessel but their distance was only six miles. According to the rule 7b, â€Å"Proper use shall be made of radar equipment if fitted and operational, including long-range scanning to obtain early warning of risk of collision and radar plotting or equivalent systematic observation of detected objects† (COLREG 1972). ... According to the rule 19b given in COLREG (1972), â€Å"Every vessel shall proceed at a safe speed adapted to the prevailing circumstances and conditions of restricted visibility. A power-driven vessel shall have her engines ready for immediate manoeuvre.† and according to rule 6 and 6i in COLREG (1972), â€Å"Every vessel shall at all times proceed at a safe speed so that she can take proper and effective action to avoid collision and be stopped within a distance appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions. In determining a safe speed the following factors shall be among those taken into account: (a) By all vessels: (i) the state of visibility†. Therefore, both the vessels surpassed the speed limit without paying any heed to the poor visibility conditions and without considering the rules designed for such conditions. Both the vessels were aware of each other’s entering and departure from supervising VTS communications; however, there was no commu nication between the two vessels due to which, there was a collision. Both were knowledgeable about the movement of other vessel but no one felt the need to communicate with other. After gaining knowledge about Argyle Express movement from bridge team and approaching collision conditions, Plymouth Venturer changed its course only 7 degrees to starboard. This much alteration of path was not sufficient as stated in rule 8b, â€Å"Any alteration of course and/or speed to avoid collision shall, if the circumstances of the case admit, be large enough to be readily apparent to another vessel observing visually or by radar; a succession of small alterations of course and/or speed should

Walter Benjamin’s account of social class and photography Essay Example for Free

Walter Benjamin’s account of social class and photography Essay Walter Bendix Schonflies Benjamin was born in July 15, 1892 in Berlin, German. He was many things rolled in one: sociologist, essayist, philosopher, translator, literary critic. Occasionally, he was associated with critical theory school of Frankfurt, as he wrote extensively on cultural and sociological thoughts and contributed greatly to the Western Marxism and aesthetic theory. He translated Marcel Proust and Charles Baudelaire, the coiner of ‘Modernism’. He himself came up with the term’ auratic perception’ in the aesthetic field in which civilization was to recover myth appreciation (Mali 1999, p. 170). Benjamin came from in a rich business family. His parents were Emil Benjamin, a banker and later a trader in antiques, and Pauline Schonflies, his sibling being Georg and Dora. He later married Dora S. Pollak who bore him a son called Stefan Rafael. He killed himself through an overdose of morphine in Portbou; a French-Spanish border town in 1940. He was escaping from Nazis, who had invaded France. The discussion below will concentrate on Benjamin account of social class and history of photography. Social class Being one of romantic/socialist Jewish-German writers, Walter Benjamin developed a radical anti-protestant and anti-capitalism argument, which was chiefly instigated through the works of Max Weber (Lowy, 2010). In his attempt to describe the system of capitalism, Walter Benjamin proclaims that capitalism was a form of an evil and cruel religion. To him there exists a connection between work ethic of Protestant: hard work, ploughing back of profit to business and frugal life, all of which are the characteristics of bourgeois, and capitalism. Winning more and more money, accumulating wealth and in the process of doing so, one should let go of all pleasures of life are the basic tenets of capitalism. To capitalists, a person is conditioned to continue acquiring wealth not for the sake of gratifying his needs and wants, rather as organized way of living. To Benjamin, bourgeois pay little attention or no attention at all, to the struggle of proletariats. Capitalism begs that the human happiness and life’s need are something meaningless and irrational which according to Benjamin; it is a complete reversal of the common order of life. Capitalism brought about the order of people living for their work instead of working for their life. He borrows the phrase ‘Capitalism as religion’ from Ernst Bloch and Max Weber’s work and Benjamin continue to show the religious aspects of capitalism, and it is not controlled by religion, but capitalism is in itself a religious phenomena, for it has taken the world like a bush fire, no one is save from it’s tentacles. His arguments goes on to highlight how at the Reformation time, Christianity opposed capitalism establishment, but how later Christianity let itself into capitalism (Weber 2002, p. 17). One of characteristic of capitalism as a religion is just like a cult; capitalism does not have a specific theology or dogma but utilitarianism-which wins the day. Such capitalism utilitarian practices: speculations, capital investment, manipulation of stock-exchange, financial operations, buying and selling goods and services; all these aspects take the shape of a religious cult. In capitalism, there is no requirement of a theology, a creed or a doctrine acceptance, rather action counts, which by extension, through social dynamics, take cult practices form. In capitalism, just like in religion, there exist adoration objects which come in form of money. People adore saints in ordinary religions, just as they adore money in capitalism. Benjamin does not stop at that, but goes all the way in comparing paper-notes with ‘Hell’s door architecture’ manifesting seriousness as capitalism’s Holy Spirit. According to him, the world’s religion state is despair, under capitalism. The other characteristic of capitalism, just like the permanence nature of a cult, capitalism is conducted year in year out. Capitalism permeates all the life conduct setting on vocation calling of systematic, restless and continuous work. Most if not all of Catholic holidays have been suppressed by Puritan capitalists who see them as some type of idleness. Capitalist religion permanently deploy ‘sacred pomp’ every day of Finance or Stock-Exchange, adorers following with extreme tension and anguish, the fall or rise of the value of shares. Capitalist practices know not of stoppage, it take over the control of a person, twenty fours hours a day, seven days a week and three hundred sixty five days a year.

Cuban Economics Essay -- Essays Papers

Introduction Modern Cuba is a country born of struggle. The revolutionary movement that formed the modern day government has remained in power for more than forty years. Indeed, the Cuban government is perhaps one of the most stable governments in the region. This fact is made even more evident by the recent fall of democracy in Haiti. However, the past ten years has seen a marked change in Cuban economic policy. Ostracized from the international community and faced with an embargo imposed by the United States, Cuba has turned to various sources of economic reform in order to survive in a global market. Background (1959 – 1991) During the early period after the revolution, Cuba’s primary economic base was based upon one agricultural resource: sugar (Packenham, pg. 137). Without a diversified agricultural or industrial base, Cuba was forced to become dependent on the only superpower that shared its political ideology, the Soviet Union. Indeed, Cuban trade with the Soviet Union reached a level of 69 percent in 1978, a level equivalent to the amount of trade conducted with the United States prior to the revolution (Packenham, pg. 139). As Cuba entered the 1980’s, it was plagued with the same problems that had plagued it since its inception: dependence on one agricultural produce and on one major trading partner. In the estimate of Carmelo Mesa-Lago, most of the Cuban growth from 1960-1984 came as a result of the $40 billion in Soviet aid (â€Å"Cuban Economy†, pg. 187). Leading up to the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Cuban economy was in a terrible condition. In 1986, the economic growth in planned prices was only 1.4 percent compared to a planned rate of 3 percent. Labor productivity fell 1.6 per... ...orida Press (1994). Packenham, Robert A., â€Å"Cuba and the USSR since 1959: What Kind of Dependency†, pgs. 135-165 in Louis Horowitz ed., Cuban Communism (7th ed.), Transaction Publishers (1989). Perez-Lopez, Jorge F., Cuba’s Second Economy: From Behind the Scenes to Center Stage, Transaction Publishers (1995). Theriot, Lawrence H., â€Å"Cuba Faces the Economic Realities of the 1980’s†, pgs. 257-276 in Louis Horowitz ed., Cuban Communism (7th ed.), Transaction Publishers (1989). Watson, Hilbourne A., â€Å"The Techno-Paradigm Shift, Globalization, and Western Hemisphere Integration Trends and Tendencies: Mapping Issues in the Economic and Social Evolution of the Caribbean†, pgs. 59-88 in Joseph S. Tulchin, Andres Serbin, and Rafael Hernandez eds., Cuba and the Caribbean: Regional Issues and Trends in the Post-Cold War Era, Scholarly Resources (1997).