Human Develop Index

Every year since 1990, human development index has been published by the Human Development Report Office. This index measures three important factors of human development. These factors include life expectancy, literacy rates, and purchasing power parity. It does not however include important factors such as gender, income, political freedoms, or human rights. This index is very helpful in tracking the progress oh human development along with the relationship between income and well-being.
The HDI was created to reflect those simple three factors of human development. Measurement issues and methods of collecting data have led to some problems in the past but are being worked out. For this reason there are is still many gaps in the data collected for even basics areas of human development. For a country to be included in their measurements, data needs to be available for a reliable source for all the factors that contribute into the index calculations. For many counties data is missing for at least one and if not more of the factors that determines the human development rate.
The HDI index than classifies the countries into high human development, medium development, and low development. There are very distinct patters of HDI across the world. Due to this statics, most of the high human development is associated with more developed countries. Countries from Europe and the United States are placed under the high human development column. Also the majority of least developed countries are placed in the low human development range.
Most of Sub-Saharan Africa is classified as low human development. I think that the main reason for this is due the statics of being the country with the highest rate of AIDs. AIDs are consuming the lives of many of its citizens leading to a low life expectancy rate.
Another factor is that most of Sub-Saharan Africa is very poor and cannot afford school. Many of the families are blessed with lots of children. The parents can't afford to send all of them to school and the children are need for labor for their family farms. Due to these large families wealth is sparse to feed that many mouths. This leads to a low PPP, which is also one of the factors determining the human development rate.
Many of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is very more and in need of help. The citizens are great suffering from AIDs and need to be educated. This is a controversial issue that we need to be aware of and try our best to help. We are blessed with a high human development and it is our responsibility to share with those who are less fortunate and in need of our help.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

"Kindred headlands called The Three Sisters look to sea near Smerwick on the Dingle Peninsula"

http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/pod-irish-landscapes/irish-headlands_pod_image.html

Pictures are worth a thousands words and is sometimes the best way to learn about the region. Such great beauty is so hard to put into words and describe to other people. There is so many locations around the world that is breath-taking and can leave you speechless and the only way that the description can provide justice for such great beauty is through a picture.

Not only do pictures tell us such great detail around the world but allows the photographer to express the land or region in his or her own way. Pictures allow the photographer to capture images in new ways. The new ways in which pictures are captured could teach us about the region because it was veiwed at a new angle. These new angles can help us discover something we had never seen before or never thought about in life.

Another reason why the pictures are so important is because it allows the viewer to feel like they were there even if they will never be able to see that object or travel to that region. I would love to travel here to Ireland someday but may never get the chance. I picked this picture because it is part of the country I would love to see and visit. This picture brings a peaceful feeling to me and a sense of serenity. This picture allows me to feel like I was there and learn about the region and its beautiful landscape. These pictures also bring color to our lives and allow emotions, such as peace and serenity, to be reminded and present in our daily lives.

As discussed previously, angles of the pictures are very important too. These new angles not only show new features of the region but is an angle that few are likely to see. I think that overview pictures are very meaningful because even if you have seen this place thousands of times, looking through it through a new lenses you learn and discover so much more. These are angles in which few are likely to see and therefore with one picture many are able to express this view.

Pictures allow many to learn about the world and discover new places even if they never get the opportunity to travel. Through the use of pictures we are able to learn and relate to people and societies of the wold.

Lifting the Ban on Cuba

After reading this article and learning more about the embargo and travel ban on Cuban that is currently in place, I think that the right thing to do is to continue to take steps to eliminate this ban. I think that the ban should be lifted for many reasons, which would lead to several positive outcomes.
It is hard to imagine how the people feel with this ban on Cuban, until we put ourselves in their shoes. We, here in America, take our everyday freedoms for granted and forget that we are privileged to have such an honor. I think that everyone should not have the government controlling every aspect of his or her life. I think that the people of Cuba should be able to worship as they please, voice their opinions, and be able to travel the world. Not everyone likes to be controlled and kept in such harsh situations.
Another reason I think the ban should be lifted, is for the safety of the citizens living in Cuba. The blog also commented that in the 21st century alone more than 100 million people killed by communist governments. I don’t think that should have to fear their life because their government controls their life.
Another positive outcome of the ban being lifted, would be the fact that citizens from other countries would be able to travel to Cuba. I think this is an important factor for geography. I think that sharing knowledge about this land would be hard if someone wasn’t able to experience it first hand. This would also cause a limited amount of information about the land and people for schools and educations. I think that we should learn as much as we can about other cultures and it can help to influence and shape our culture as well. It would also be a positive outcome for people to travel to this part of the land so that they can bring help to the citizens living in Cuba and learning about the country and its geography first hand.
Also I would think that tourism to Cuba would be a positive contributor to their economy. This would not only allow the people to interact with the world’s citizens around them but also provide jobs. Part of globalization is to be able to communicate and economic reorganization. Without being able to interact with the people here in Cuba, how can we communicate without understanding the people? The economy here in Cuba does indeed need reorganization which can help lead to globalization. Also we need to be able to understand Cuba’s environment, which can help people in other countries recognize the great aspects Cuba has to offer.

A New Constitution in Bolivia

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090207/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_bolivia_constitution;_ylt=AgbKmkz2mENJC2csu_hlmMC3IxIF

I found this article to be very interesting and I thought it not only related to out topic about Latin America, but also was an important global issue that we should know about. Global issues are very important in society today even though fewer and fewer have time to be informed of global issues with their busy every day lives.
This article informed the public that a new constitution is taking effect in Bolivia. This constitution was first approved in Bolivia by popular vote but promised more power for the poor, recognizes communal justice, grants regional autonomy, and declares coca a plant of their heritage.
In the last class period, we talked about new world and old world plants. Bolivia in this article stated that its new constitution would declare coca as their plant of heritage. This helped to enforce our discussion about new world and old world global products.
Another important detail that this article informs the public on is the fact that this constitution will help to end centuries of oppression. Our textbook talked about the oppression from migration and how slaves were use in the past for the production of many crops. This will help end oppression in future generations.
There are still many mixed feelings over this new constitution and will lead to more global issues in the future, which will be important to research in global issues.

Sharing Smiles Around the World.

Posted with this bog is a map showing the world’s population of dentists. Dental is becoming more and more important in some societies today, while other countries put dental as least priority. In the United States not only do citizens pay for annually dental cleaning, but also go through braces. Smiles are very important and make the world a brighter place, this is all due to the help of local dentists.

Another reason why I chose this map is due to the fact that my parents own an orthodontics society. Every summer I get to help them manage and organize all the orthodontists meeting. Whenever we travel to all these meetings I sometimes like to listen in on their lectures. Here the orthodontists show slides filled with pictures of citizens from other countries who cannot afford dental history and all the major problems that it causes. Not only do they tell of missionary trips that some orthodontist participate in to provided dental services to low income countries but they also share knowledge and continue education about the new technology advances in the dental field today.

After listening to these presentations, I realize that we, especially in the United States, take for granted how important dental is. As you can tell by the map that United States, China, and Brazil does stress the importance of dental. Also I learned from this map that North America has twice as many dentists per person than any other country.

Our teeth are a big part of our daily lives, which includes being able to eat and smile. Without teeth this would make eating a harder part of your daily life. It is also a big factor that influences our health. There are many countries that citizens can die because they do not have the opportunity to see a dentist. According to the map countries such as Africa have very few dentists and this could also affect its population. In many African territories there were less than one dentist for every 100,000 citizens living there.

We take for granted in every day lives how important dental services are in life. I know many Americans have a strong dental fear and refuse to go to the dentists but overall the map shows that citizens, even though they are scared, take advantage of the dental services provided. Even if you are scared of going to the dentist we should be thankful for the opportunity to have such a great resource offered to us.