Free Essay

Learning from a Small Nation

In: Other Topics

Submitted By kiv7
Words 883
Pages 4
A small community has taught me a lot
It has been almost one week since I came home after a week in the Falklands, but I am still to properly adjust to both the temperature and to the Guyana situation. For starters, I knew that the Falklands were coming out of their winter, being so far south of the equator.
I know that Australia is so far south that it is known as the land down under. The Falklands are farther south than Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. This was hard to believe until I got out a map and looked at it.
Getting there was not easy. I am in South America and the Falklands are a few hundred miles off the coast of South America. But to get there I had to go to Miami then come back down to Santiago, Chile, then to Punta Arenas at the tip of Chile and next door to Argentina before flying to a place I have come to like—East Falklands.
It was extremely windy, more wind every day than I had ever imagined. The wind was so strong that one had to brace against it. Last week I looked at some of the things such as the end result of the conflict thirty years ago and the various monuments, but there was so much more.
I did say that there is oil to be brought to the surface in a few years. Well 3,000 people must decide what they are going to do with the extra money. They don’t have to worry about thieves. The people are still talking about the bicycle that was believed stolen. And that had happened some five or six months before I got there.
They found the bike and the people believe that the owner simply went for a good drink and could not remember where he had left his bike. The governor, Nigel Haywood, said that no one loses his car keys. They people simply leave the keys in the vehicle. Like me, he said that the issue is to cope with a multi-million-dollar economy.
The Falklanders are not British colonists and as for being Argentines, they are so far removed from South American culture that any Spanish-speaking South American would be at odds to believe that he is not in England or some other country that has an accent not too dissimilar from the British.
Wildlife abound. I saw colonies of penguins for the first time. During the visit to Gypsy Cove where there are the Magellanic Penguins called the Jackass penguins because they do sound like braying donkeys, there were two young men who wanted to get very close. Then I saw a middle-aged woman running. She was my bus driver but she also worked as a tourist guide. She got him away from the penguins.
I also saw sea lions for the first time. As cool as anybody’s business they sat on a ramp minding their own business even as the boat approached as close as possible. I heard that they allow people to go close to them, but they bite.
Yet it was the crime situation that left me amazed. I could not see a prison, so I asked whether there was one and indeed there was. It had four inmates, one of whom was doing fourteen years for child molestation. The other three were also sex offenders, but they were doing smaller sentences.
The location of the prison? Below the police station. If one did not ask, one would not have known. These prisoners would be allowed out to clear the police cars. I saw no police patrols, but I did meet the police commissioner who was recruited from England.
In a very small society one would see strange things. About one hour after meeting the governor I was to meet him again—jogging. He said that he was training for the marathon. I went to what they call a pub quiz. This is a once monthly event. Twelve dollars per team. The night I was there ten teams entered. The Caribbean team placed eighth. The money went to the three top teams to buy beer or to pay for whatever meal they had that night. The police commissioner was there as ordinary as you please. His team placed second.
For a community with about 2,500 people there are many pubs and each do brisk business serving food and alcohol. I visited a few.
There is no prostitution. I asked about that and the police commissioner said that it never factored into the equation. Indeed if people want to solicit some fun they know how to do it, but certainly in the community where everybody knows everybody, one would not try in the town. There is just too much space outside the town.
Everyone is comfortably wealthy. There is too much money to go around. No unemployment, no need for sick leave and certainly, no need to sit around an office all day.
There is a lot to be learnt on management. In Guyana, where corruption is rampant, people like me find it strange to go to a country where no one is interested in stealing. And the Falklanders cannot understand people stealing public money.

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Test

...developing nations is an important stimulus for economic growth in those countries, which bodes well for the future of countries such as China, Mexico, and Brazil. AACSB: Analytic Bloom's: Remember Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 01-03 Topic: The Changing Demographics of the Global Economy 107. (p. 21) For which of the following countries did the share of the total stock decline between 1980 and 2008? A. Japan B. The United States C. France D. China The share of the total stock accounted for by U.S. firms declined from about 38 percent in 1980 to 19.5 percent in 2008, while the other countries posted increases. AACSB: Analytic Bloom's: Remember Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 01-03 Topic: The Changing Demographics of the Global Economy 108. (p. 22) General Electric has productive activities in a number of countries. As a result, it would be appropriate to refer to General Electric as a _____ corporation. A. regional B. pan-American C. universal D. multinational A multinational enterprise (MNE) is any business that has productive activities in two or more countries. AACSB: Analytic Bloom's: Remember Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 01-03 Topic: The Changing Demographics of the Global Economy 109. (p. 22) Since the 1960s, there have been two notable trends in the demographics of the multinational enterprise. These two trends have been: A. the rise of medium-sized enterprises and the decline of small multinationals...

Words: 1825 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Cooperative Method of Teaching Maths

...COOPERATIVE LEARNING TO FACILITATE THE EDUCATION OF LIBERIA’S YOUTH IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM INTRODUCTION With the ending of the war in Liberia, the transitional period of an interim government, and the election of a new leader to carry the country into the new millennium, a new chapter has begun in the continuing history of the Liberian people. One would hope that the process of nation building is in full swing and all endeavors are underway to bring Liberia back to a state of normalcy, out of the darkness of despair and hopelessness that had engulfed the country for the past fifteen years. One of the most important focus of this building process should be the youth of the nation. A sound investment in the future of Liberia must incorporate a renewed interest in the education of the young people who will be the future leaders of the new Liberia. The investment strategy in the education of the Liberian youth must be approached with deep thought and concern. The traumatic psychological effects of a fifteen year war and unrest must be recognized when dealing with the minds of the young people of Liberia. Any thoughts of enlightenment and education must be evaluated wisely to ensure a smooth transition from the state of despair to one of hope and aspirations. A new educational system must be devised and new teaching methods prescribed to invigorate the youth of Liberia into believing in themselves as the only hope for the new Liberia. The single-mindedness of the task of nation building...

Words: 1122 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

International Business

...Globalization refers to the shift toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy. TRUE AACSB: Analytic BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 1-1 Topic: What Is Globalization? 2. (p. 7) Tastes and preferences of consumers in different nations are beginning to converge on some global norm. TRUE AACSB: Analytic BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 1-1 Topic: What Is Globalization? 3. (p. 7) A company has to be a major multinational corporation to facilitate, and benefit from, the globalization of markets. FALSE AACSB: Analytic BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Medium Learning Objective: 1-1 Topic: What Is Globalization? 4. (p. 7) In Germany, 98 percent of small and midsize companies have exposure to international markets. TRUE AACSB: Analytic BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 1-1 Topic: What Is Globalization? 5. (p. 8) Currently, the most global of markets are for industrial goods and materials that serve a universal need the world over. TRUE AACSB: Analytic BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 1-1 Topic: What Is Globalization? 6. (p. 8) As firms follow each other around the world, greater diversity replaces uniformity. FALSE AACSB: Analytic BT: Knowledge Difficulty: Easy Learning Objective: 1-1 Topic: What Is Globalization? 7. (p. 10) Substantial impediments such as barriers to foreign direct investment make it difficult for...

Words: 7962 - Pages: 32

Premium Essay

Computer Based Learning

...Computer Based Learning & Shaw University IS535 –Managerial Applications of Information Technology Abstract On September 22, 2011 I set out to explore the effects of full scale Computer Based Learning within Shaw University. My agenda was clear, my outcome was predictable. On October 15, 2011 I concluded my research. Little did I know, Computer Based Learning would become more than just a technological tool used by the Shaw U. It would become the way of the future and most likely the life blood of the university. Table of Contents Definition 2 Background of Company 3-4 Current Business Issues 5-6 Proposed Solution 7 Recommendations 8 References 9 Definition Many people hear the term computer based learning and assume that it’s a method of college students taking classes at home. Fortunately for those of us that use it, and industry vendors that provide computer based learning, it’s not quite that simple. Computer based learning, sometimes abbreviated to CBL, refers to the use of computers as a key component of the educational environment. The term more broadly refers to a structured environment in which computers are used for teaching purposes. CBL originally derived from computer based training, known as CBT. Computer based learning first emerged in the 1980s. During the 1990s a group of schools were identified as computer based learning institutions. These schools used constructivist and cognitive learning plans. The two environments...

Words: 1972 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

My Work

...Institutions of higher learning across the nation are responding to political, economic, social and technological pressures to be more responsive to students' needs and more concerned about how well students are prepared to assume future societal roles. Faculty are already feeling the pressure to lecture less, to make learning environments more interactive, to integrate technology into the learning experience, and to use collaborative learning strategies when appropriate. Some of the more prominent strategies are outlined below. For more information about the use of these and other pedagogical approaches, contact the Program in Support of Teaching and Learning. Lecture. For many years, the lecture method was the most widely used instructional strategy in college classrooms. Nearly 80% of all U.S. college classrooms in the late 1970s reported using some form of the lecture method to teach students (Cashin, 1990). Although the usefulness of other teaching strategies is being widely examined today, the lecture still remains an important way to communicate information. Used in conjunction with active learning teaching strategies, the traditional lecture can be an effective way to achieve instructional goals. The advantages of the lecture approach are that it provides a way to communicate a large amount of information to many listeners, maximizes instructor control and is non-threatening to students. The disadvantages are that lecturing minimizes feedback from students, assumes an unrealistic...

Words: 1390 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Slavery

...cocoa is made from highly prized top-quality cocoa beans that are grown in the farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, a small nation on the Western side of Africa. The farmers of these poor nations are notorious, however for sometimes relying on slaves to harvest their beans. The slave are boys between 12 and 16 , sometimes as young as 9-- who are kidnapped from villages in surrounding nations and sold to cocoa farmers, who use whippings, beatings, and starvation to force the boys to do the hot, difficult work of clearing the fields, harvesting the beans and drying them in the sun. The boys work from sunrise to sunset and are locked in windowless rooms where they sleep in bare wooden planks. Far from home, unsure of their location, unable to speak the language, isolated in rural areas and threatened with harsh beatings if they try to get away, the boys rarely attempt to escape their nightmare situation. Those who do try are severely beaten as an example to others and then locked in solitary confinement for a prolonged period of time. Every year an unknown number of boys die or are killed on the cocoa farms of the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The plight of the enslaved children was publized widely around the world, by True Vision, a British television company , through videos and documentaries in Britain and the United States. News reports from the United Nations Children's Fund and other form of Human Rights Reports provided figures of as much as 15,000 children from neighboring...

Words: 1988 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Cultural Enclaves In Oklahoma

...region, historically, as well as in the present day. One of the most highly concentrated native enclaves in Oklahoma is the proliferation of members of the Cherokee Nation in the northeastern corner of the state, including Adair County. According to the 2010 Census, Adair County’s population is 43.3% Native American, and almost the largest single portion of the Cherokee Nation lives in Adair and the neighboring counties, such as the Cherokee, Delaware, Muskogee, and Wagoner Counties, as well as nine more. There are smaller portions of other Native American tribes and nations living in the...

Words: 739 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Behht

...principal of the Research Center for Theoretical Physics in Bohol are being recognized for their innovative way of teaching science in the Philippines. "Their purposeful commitment to both science and nation, ensuring innovative, low-cost, and effective basic education even under Philippine conditions of great scarcity and daunting poverty showing how commitment, competence, and collaborative leadership can truly transform individual lives and galvanize community action." The Bernidos – who came from privileged backgrounds – both earned their doctorate degrees in physics from the State University of New York. In the 1980’s, they headed the National Institute of Physics at the University of the Philippines and were university awardees for teaching and research excellence. They stood at the top of their profession and were well respected in the world community of physicists. In 1999, the Bernidos surprised many of their colleagues by moving to the poor, remote municipality of Jagna, in Bohol province, to run an old, struggling high school owned by Christopher’s mother. Christopher said it was not just filial duty that led both of them to devote themselves to the Central Visayan Institute Foundation (CVIF), as the school’s president and principal, respectively. The CVIF was a small school of about 500 mostly poor students. They could have simply closed down the school but they saw as a challenging opportunity. They both realized that the school was a microcosm of the problems...

Words: 524 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Spencer

...Chapter 01 Taking Risks and Making Profits within the Dynamic Business Environment TEST PLANNING TABLE FOR CHAPTER 1 |Learning Goal | | | | | |LL:1 |LL:2 |LL:3 | | |Knows Basic Terms and Facts |Understands Concepts and |Applies Principles | | | |Principles | | |Describe the relationship between profit |1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, |25,26,27,28,29,30,31, |34,35,36,37,38,39, | |and risk and show how businesses and |11,12,13,14,15,16,17 |32,33, |40,41,42,43, | |nonprofit organizations can raise the |18,19,20,21,22,23,24, |188,189,190,191,192,193,194,19|198,199,200,201, | |standard of living for all. |176,177,178,179,180,181,182,1|5,196,197 |202,203,204, | | |83,184,185,186,187 | |221, 326, 330 | |Compare and contrast being an entrepreneur|44,45,46,47,48,49,50,51,52,53|57,58,59, |60,61,62, | |and working for others. ...

Words: 47334 - Pages: 190

Premium Essay

Leadership

...“A  Learning  Bridge  for  Aboriginal  Adults” (ALBAA) Final Report Phase I – Aboriginal Transitions Research Fund May 29, 2009 Submitted to: Learning Programs Branch Ministry of Advanced Education 2nd Floor – 835 Humboldt Street PO Box 9882 Stn Prov Govt Victoria BC V8W 9T6 Submitted by: Faculty of Student Development Thompson Rivers University 900 McGill Road Box 3010 Kamloops BC V2C 5N3 Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................ 5 Review of Literature ................................................................................................................................... 6 Institutional Factors............................................................................................................................. 7 Cultural Factors ................................................................................................................................. 11 Power and Control Factors ................................................................................................................ 15 Financial and Geographic Factors ..................................................................................................... 16 Limitations of the Current Literature ...

Words: 22176 - Pages: 89

Free Essay

Identity

...Difficulties of an Indian Village Boy My name is Sudhakar and I was born in “Maira” a small village in the southern part of India. Maira has a population of 2500 and is an amalgamation of cultures, religions, races and dialects as does my nation India. We speak 415 languages across the nation. Out of 415 languages, my mother tongue is Konkani and the education system language is “Kannada” in the state where I born and bought up. Even though with difficulties of native language education system, financial and family issues, I achieved better education and good job with the dedication and hard work. I grown up in my father’s family, we were 53 members in the family staying in six bedroom house. We ate, played, shared memories together, and while growing up my mother was a role model for me. She was illiterate but she was very decent and dedicated her life to her children’s success. I completed my primary education, where Kannada was the primary language and social studies, mathematics, and science subjects were in the same language. In the primary education, English language starts only after fifth grade as a third language subject. Once I joined college and all subjects were in English and it was very difficult to understand. During my college studies my sister became ill and hospitalized for couple of years and we faced financial problems. Despite of all these difficulties, I completed my three-year college Diploma in Mechanical Engineering education at the age of 18. After...

Words: 481 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Analysis 1

...LIBERTY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY ANALYSIS PAPER 2 DSMN 630 SMALL GROUP MINISTRY BY ELLIOT SANCHEZ NOVEMBER 8, 2013 Arnold has a novel idea of reproduction of oneself through small groups. The making of disciples should be the basis of small groups. The main theme of these chapters would be Matthew 28:16-20 “Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (NIV). The main method of making a disciple is not only to learn from someone but more importantly to see someone live it out. Jesus was the perfect example of this. Jesus taught His disciples with the love of His Father in everything He did. He showed his followers by living out what He spoke of. Much of what Arnold was stating in his writing was very similar to what Cominsky was writing about. One area I enjoyed about Arnold writings is found in the early church. I enjoyed the authors teaching on the early church and how they learned from each other multiplying by example. It is interesting to see the people of the early church spend all their time together. Acts 2:42-47 states...

Words: 1387 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Developing Nations and Technology

...Developing Nations as a Resource for International Business Thanks to the versatility of technology and the increased demand for skilled workers the populace in developing nations has become a valuable and cultivatable resource for international business. In fact, there are very few aspects of their lives which have no interaction with developed nation technology and businesses. These people are potentially a very valuable asset for the international business community, as they represent not only a vast, mostly untapped, consumer group but also a source of plentiful, cheap labor. From their earliest moments the international community has begun integrating into their world to educate, train and eventually employ them to create the goods and services the developed nation’s desire. If that wasn’t comprehensive enough, these developing nations are also seen as a research and development (R&D) location where products are launched in order to be tested and refined for sale at a later date in more developed countries globally. International businesses are investing time and funds in nearly every aspect of these nations’ ongoing development, in part, to further their own aim and increase their profitability. Before they are even born one of a multiple of international businesses may have already touched their life through supplementary healthcare, or health screening fort their pregnant mother. Among these many outreach programs for healthcare in developing nations you will find...

Words: 1775 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Mgmt 470 Test Bank 1-4

... FALSE Over the past three decades a fundamental shift has been occurring in the world economy. We have been moving away from a world in which national economies were relatively self-contained entities. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-01 Understand what is meant by the term globalization. Topic: Introduction 2. By offering the same basic product worldwide, firms help to create a global market. TRUE Consumer products such as Citigroup credit cards, Coca-Cola soft drinks, video games, McDonald’s hamburgers, Starbucks coffee, and IKEA furniture are frequently held up as prototypical examples of this trend. The firms that produce these products are more than just benefactors of this trend; they are also facilitators of it. By offering the same basic product worldwide, they help to create a global market. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-01 Understand what is meant by the term globalization. Topic: What Is Globalization? 3. A company has to be the size of a multinational giant to facilitate, and benefit from, the globalization of markets. FALSE A company does not have to be the size of multinational giants to facilitate, and benefit from, the globalization of markets. AACSB: Analytic Blooms: Remember Difficulty: 1 Easy Learning Objective: 01-01 Understand what is meant by the term globalization. Topic: What Is Globalization? 4. As a result of...

Words: 87342 - Pages: 350

Premium Essay

Socio

...Culture and Socialization Learning to be Human Understanding Cause & Effect •  Correlation - the existence of a regular relationship between two sets of occurrences or variables. •  Causation - a relationship in which one event or situation brings about the other. •  Correlation does not imply causation. But a causal relationship must mean that two variables are correlated. Sociological Imagination •  The more we understand what is happening in the world, the more frustrated we often become, for our knowledge leads to feelings of powerlessness. We feel that we are living in a world in which the citizen has become a mere spectator or a forced actor, and that our personal experience is politically useless and our political will a minor illusion (Mills 1959) Macro argument. Chapter 3 Culture & Society The Concepts of Culture  Culture - The values the members of a given group hold, the norms they follow, and the material goods they create.  Values - abstract ideals. For example, monogamy is a prominent value in most Western societies.  Norms - definite principles or rules people are expected to observe  Society - a system of relationships that connects individuals who share the same culture. The Concepts of Culture  Culture and society are closely related. Cultural variations among humans are linked to different types of society.  No culture could exist without a society; equally, no society could exist without culture. The Concepts of Culture  Ethnocentrism – judging...

Words: 1615 - Pages: 7