The origin of the third world plight Essay Example for Free

The origin of the third world plight Essay Thesis The Third world countries have continued to witness some of the most challenging times in their quest for real development that would catapult their economies to march those ones of the first worlds. However these countries have been bedeviled by major obstacles of bad governance, corruption, and exploitation by the first world countries. Of great concern has been the contribution of major world bodies that have continued to impoverish these economies in the name of supporting them. The World Bank stands out as one of the culprits. Introduction Many times is when some people do not understand what is meant by the term ‘third world plight’. This in terms means, they are those countries that still are developing. The third world countries are greatly in substantial indebt ness according to statistics. More than 50% of the people living in third world countries are living below the poverty line: this is below a dollar a day. It is reckoning, how this is happening, but the World Bank has attributed all this. In 1986 –1987, the World Bank’s president Barber Conable said that the World Bank had been a great success, yet it only oppresses the governments in the third world countries. In 1962, Robert McNamara who was the bank’s president led it to achieve higher loans levels and by the time he was resigning in 1981, the levels had increased from $883 million to over $12 billion. (James Bovard) McNamara and the World Bank supported Nyerere’s dictatorial regime and the bank gave more aid to Tanzania hence the cause of the current misery of the Tanzanian people. This kind of act by the World Bank was wanting, as it only devastated the third world countries. In late 1970’s, the World Bank also financed the Vietnamese’s government thus encouraging their brutal policies that brought about a lot of deaths of the boat people in the south sea. The bank was to finance an irrigation project that was risky, as it would be subjected to rebellion among the farmers. Farmers who resisted the project ended up being drowned in the sea. (James Bovard) The World Bank lent $600million to the Indonesian government to forcibly remove people from Java Island and resettle them in the barren islands. It was due to this transmigration, that violence erupted in Indonesia, leading to the deaths of thousands of people. Despite this fact, the bank termed this as the â€Å"largest voluntary migration.† This was clarion of the banks hypocrisy as it violated human’s rights. The bank provided capital to the Ethiopian Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. (James Bovard)   In 1984 – 1985, Ethiopia was struck by famine and this forced the government to forcibly deport people in northern Ethiopia to the south. It is believed that more deaths occurred as would have been caused by the famine. The government introduced the villagilization program but many people still rebelled against it and were killed. Despite of all this happenings, the bank still continued to lend money, as it was not concerned with the citizens but seemed to provide more help to the bureaucrats and politicians. (James Bovard) The World bank is highly to blame on the poverty in the third world countries as it uses to pressure to this countries to lend more money than which is borrowed. The audit of Madagascar Morondava Irrigation and Rural Development Project is a good example, where by the new government was pressured by the bank to accept the project so as to be submitted to the executive directors. It is evident that the World Bank gave wrong advice to the third world countries and it’s clearly brought in Western Africa in the project of promoting cocoa and coffee. This simply failed because the bank had encouraged the farmers to grow cash crops in unsuitable soils. (Barbara G 18) The world bank in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s aim, was to lend money in order to boost food production in Africa and other developing countries but this did not happen as almost 20% of the food production had fallen because much of the bank’s investments went to big irrigation schemes and state farms thus wastage of money. It is due to the bank’s poor investments that dragged down the entire economies of the third world countries. (Peter T. Bauer 21) In 1980, the world began Structural Adjustment Loans programs that encouraged policy reforms. Most of these loans were mainly going to the governments of the third world countries in repaying their debts to the bank or the international momentary fund. In 1984, a statement from a world bank’s official was bizarre, as he said, â€Å"if china is to maintain a reasonable growth rate and manageable debt service payments, it will need to obtain the necessary additional foreigner capital at an average interest rate below the market rate.† This implied that even investments in the third world countries would not be greater than the banks interest hence putting third world countries into deeper poverty’(Peter T. Bauer 23)    Problems faced by the third world countries Malnutrition- a good example is in Kenya whereby a bank report found severe malnutrition widespread among the beneficiaries. Barbara Gunnell concluded ‘the real loser is the Kenyan government, or future generations of Kenyans who will go on paying the World Bank interest on the loan.’ This was due to the fact that the bank had invested $20 million in Bura irrigation but when the then president Daniel Moi toured Bura he found ‘eroded irrigation canals, abandoned plots, poor crops, tumbledown and unsanitary housing, zebra grazing on irrigated land and on air of decay’(Peter T. Bauer 23) Diseases -a lot of diseases have become wide spread in these third world countries and they include; The AIDS pandemic, malaria, cholera among others. Poor infrastructure- poor insfrastructure has become a major threat to these countries as many accidents occur though roads that are constructed well but the cost of maintenance is quite high hence they become dilapidated. (Peter T. Bauer 24) Desertification- an example is in Botswana whereby two livestock projects that were to promote cattle rising resulted to overgrazing. The bank further introduced a third livestock project despite the fact that it led to overgrazing. (Peter T. Bauer 26) Displacement- the bank is spending about half a billion dollars in the largest westwards-flowing river in India to dam it. This was proved that it would end up displacing thousands of people and destroying a lot of land but the World Bank went ahead with its plan. Insecurity- the third world countries have been faced with high rate of insecurity as foreign direct investments have been directed to other regions hence of no benefits to these countries as high crime rates still continues. (Peter T. Bauer 33) Poverty – many people in the third world countries are living below the poverty line due to the indebt ness that they have to their donors, international momentary fund and the World Bank. (Peter T. Bauer 34) Conclusion It is evident that though the World Bank has helped these countries, it is majorly to blame for dragging their economies. For all countries in the world to be at par, it only would be best to cancel of, the debt of the so-called third world countries. The bank ought to encourage reductions in lending capital to enable these countries economies to grow. It could also not lend capital that will be of bad use, as this only benefits politicians of these countries and continues to deteriorate their economies. Works Cited Barbara Gunnell, The Great Bura Irrigation Scheme Disaster, African Business (April  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1986): 18. James Bovard: The World Bank vs. the World Poor: Policy Analysis: Retrieved on 13th May 2008 from http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa092.html Peter T. Bauer: Equality. The Third World. And Economic Delusion: Cambridge, Harvard  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press, 1981 p. 21.

Thin layer chromatography (TLC)

Thin layer chromatography (TLC) It stands for Thin Layer Chromatography. Its a simple technique used by chemists in separation of Mixtures in addition to supporting the identification of the separated compounds by comparing the Retention Factor of the separated compound with that of a known compound. The TLC plate on which the Thin Layer Chromatography is performed is usually a sheet of glass, aluminum or plastic. Its has a coat of adsorbent material ( known as stationary phase ) such as silica gel, alumina or cellulose. First step is application of the sample to the plate, then in a capillary action- the chemist draws the solvent up the plate. Separation occurs due to the different ascendance rates of analytes on the plate. Advantages of TLC over other types of chromatography Paper Chromatography TLC is faster than paper chromatography. Its more sensitive to many substances. Its preparation is usually sharper. It requires smaller quantity of sample. Potential application of different types of reagents without causing damage to the plate. Column chromatography TLC has smaller apparatus It has more speed Previous points leads to cheaper over all procedure It provides easier measurement of the Retention Factor. The above advantages makes it more suitable for analytical purposes rather than separation purposes. Preparation of TLC plate To prepare the TLC plate, first we must mix a small quantity of an inert substance such as calcium sulfate with adsorbent substance like Silica gel and water. The second step is spreading this mixture on sheet of unreactive substance such as glass or plastic. The third step is activation of the plate that results from the previous procedures by heating it in an oven at 110oC for nearly half an hour. The adsorbent layers thickness depends on the purpose of TLC as in case of analytical purposes, it ranges from 0.1 to 0.25 mm. In case of preparative TLC it ranges from 0.5 to 2.0 mm. Technique A small amount of the samples solution is poured on the plate to cover about one centimeter high from the base. Then the plate is soaked in a convenient solvent like Hexane and put in a container thats well sealed. Using capillary action, the solvent goes up the plate to meet the samples mixture which it helps to move up the plate and dissolves as well. Differences between rates of the compounds in the mixture are because each compound has different affinity to the adsorbent layer (stationary phase) from the other compounds and also each compound has different solubility in the mixture. If the solvent is changed, the compounds can be separated (using Retention Factors value). Applications of TLC in the Pharmaceutical field Thin-layer chromatography technique is used for separation of amino acids that are the main components of antibiotics, enzymes and hormones. TLC-UV spectrometry was used to determine salidroside in 8 Rhodiola species ( Rhodiola is a herb that has been used for long time for treatment of cold and flu symptoms in addition to relieving mental and physical stresses. In China, its recently considered as promising anti-aging drug in addition to having causative agent for improvement of athletic performance and enhancing memory). The combination of advanced chromatographic resolution of 2D-TLC with simple bioautography is used in discovering new natural products that are active against important fungal pathogens of plants. Thin-layer chromatography in addition to HPLC are used for the identification of Pogostemoni herba which is a crude drug and a Kampo medicines-component. TLC-colourimetric was used to estimate free and combined emodine, physcione and chrysophanol in Indian Rhubarb and it turned out to contain (0.07%)of free emodin of (0.08%) of C-glycosidic emodin, (0.30%) of O-glycosidic emodin, (0.40%) of free physcione, (0.18%) of O-glycosidic physcione, (0.17 %) of C-glycosidic physcione, (0.15%) of free chrysophanol, (0.06%) of O-glycosidic chrysophanol and (0.21%) of C-glycosidic chrysophanol. TLC-UV Densitometric method is used in Misai Kucing Capsules for Simultaneous Quantification of Sinensetin and Tetramethoxyflavone. TLC is used for determination of different compounds in analgesic tablets. TLC-densitometric procedure is used for determination of the contents of Plumbagin which is a naphthoquinone that acts as antimalarial , antimalarial , anticancer, cardiotonic and antifertilityaction. Quantitative Thin-Layer Chromatography is used for the determination of Propranolol in human plasma. Determination of Steroidal Alkaloid Glycosides using Thin-Layer chromatography Immunostaining. TLC is used to determine Phenytoin in pharmaceutical preparations and identify its Hydroxylated Urinary Metabolites. Isolation of antioxidants from Perilla frutescens var. acuta fruit is carried out using TLC. TLC- densitometric method is used to analyse artemisinin in the planlets of Artemisia annua L. TLC is used to detect as well as identify opiates in urine in addition to reveilind adultration in heroin. TLC-Densitometry is used in the Quantitative Analysis of Curcumin, Demethoxycurcumin and Bisdemethoxycurcumin in the Crude Curcuminoid Extract from Curcuma longa.

Motivation Theories in Project Management

Motivation Theories in Project Management In this assignment I will present my views about some motivation theories and how they can be applied or not applied when running in a project mode Introduction About Societe Generale Albania Banking sector continues to be one of the most important economic sectors and one of the most rapid growing businesses in Albania in the last 10 year (Bank of Albania, 2010, www.bankofalbania.org). Societe Generale Albania, previously named Banka Popullore, started its activity on 1st of Mars 2004. In 18th of April 2007, Societe Generale Group acquired 75.01% of the shares of this bank. The bank has its head office in Tirana and is present allover Albania with 41 operation branches. At the end of 2009, the bank had 379 employees, both Albanian and French nationality (Annual Report 2009, 2010, www.societegenerale.al). About the case study Being on the most important economic sectors has created enough space for operation of 17 Banks in a relatively small market like Albania. With such a high competition it is very important that banks stay always in line with economic developments and react fast toward customer needs for new products or adaptation. Our bank is quite small and there are frequently high pressures for sharing resources in order to complete in time and with budget different operational or business initiatives. These needs has made mandatory for bank management to apply a matrix organizational design in our organization. Such organizational structure are quite complex when it comes to management and control of staff performance, as they bring the employee in front of two managers, the department manager and the project manager. Now days project management is becoming a key component of the success for eveyr organization in any sector and such the motivation of employees working in projects is of a great interest for both the project manager, as the main beneficiary, and the organization. There a lot of researches and studies for motivation in standard organizational structure, but the topic is considered as less explored when it comes to project management (Dwivedula and Bredillet, 2009). Theories of motivations Motivation is the driving force within individuals that compels them physiologically and psychologically to pursue one or more goals to fulfill their needs or expectations, (Lam and Tang, 2003, p. 61). Why do managers need motivation? If we agree that an output of motivation is control, than we may say that a manager needs motivation to make people do the things he wants and stop doing the things There are currently a lot of theories to explain the nature of motivation and help mangers on addressing it according to their needs. These theories do not conflict between them, which means the manager can use any of them or even combine them. In my assignments I will be focused in 2 theories; The hierarchy of needs as the most first one and most well known by all kind of managers and The dual-structure theory since it was developed based on a research on engineers and accounts, which is about the same environment and employee nature as in my bank. The Hierarchy of Needs This is one of the most well know need theories of motivation and was developed by Abraham Maslow in 1940. According to this theory the needs are organized in 5 main groups of needs that stay together in the form of a pyramid (Maslow, 1943): Physiological Needs; they stay in the bottom of the pyramid and include the basic needs of every human been such as: the need for food, drink, education, medical care, etc. Every organization can provide these needs by providing good working condition and a salary to their employees. Security Needs; includes the need for feeling safe and secure, having a secure job, having a home and a future. The organization can satisfy these needs by offering job continuity, health and retirement plans. Belongingness Needs; includes the needs of humans to love and be loved, to be accepted by others, to take and give friendship. Most of this needs get satisfied by the family ties, but this is not enough since we spend a considerable time of our life in our works. Managers and direct supervisors can play a significant role to satisfy these needs by encouraging the work in group, enhance their communication with employees and provided basis for social interaction between employees. Esteem Needs; the needs of this group in be divided into two major needs, the need for self respect and the need for being respected by others. The organizations and managers can satisfy this by job title, awards, recognition of merits, benefits etc. Self-Actualization Needs; is the highest level of the hierarchy and includes the need we have to be the one we want to be in order to be self fulfilled. If all the other levels of the hierarchy are fully satisfied, it does not remain a lot for the managers to do to satisfy this need, all they need to take care off is make sure the individual has a challenging job and that other needs in lower level become deficient. According to the theory the needs of each level should be satisfied before going to the next level until we reach the self-actualization needs, however if during our road to the top of hierarchy, a lower level of need become deficient again the individual returns to that level (Moorhead and Griffin, 1995). Despite the fact that the theory is well recognized among many organization and managers due to the intuitive logic and easy understanding, the theory is not fully validated either by Maslow or any other research, in contrary many deficiencies have been identified (Wahba and Bridwell, 1976) It is important to mention that the most basic needs are provided by the top management of an organization and more we go up in the hierarchy of needs more we go down in the level of management responsible to satisfy these needs and turn them in motivator for improving job performance. The Dual-Structure Theory The theory was developed by Herzberg on late 1950s based on a research with a couple of hundred engineers and accounts (Herzberg, 1968). The finding of this research proved that different set of factors were connected with different feelings about work. The motivation of an employee goes in a two step process, first satisfying the employee (eliminate any factor which may bring dissatisfaction) by hygiene factors and second go with motivation factors. The motivation factors would result at the end with satisfied and motivated employees who can have a long term and positive job performance. The combination of these factors can set employee in four situations (Herzberg, 1987): Satisfied and motivated employee. The target situation for having the best performance. Satisfied but not motivated. The manager should find the way to apply motivation factors and change the status; otherwise the de-motivated employee will bring low productivity and bad quality. Not satisfied but motivated. The company should change its policies and rules and try to change the situation. An employee is not expected to stay to long in this status. Not satisfied and not motivated. The worst situation, both company and managers have a lot to do. These employees will bring to the business apart from the low productivity and bad quality a lot of complains, strikes, no communication. The hygiene factors, when they exist are in placed by the company strategy and/or governments rules and they are not directly related to the performance and ability of anybody. In opposite with them, the employee can get the motivation factors only by his involvement and his work. (McCrimmon, 2008). The theory has been analyzed more than any other theory in the field of organizational behavior (Pinder, 1998) and the results are quite contradictory. Studies and researchers which use the same method support the theory, other ones criticize it for the research population used, which is limited only to accountants and engineers, for not taking into account the individual differences, since a motivation factor can depend individual age and/or organizational model (House and Wigdor, 1967). Herzbergs theory states that money does not motivate employees but only satisfies them (Herzberg, 1968), due to this statement the theory is widely discussed and analyzed in studies and researches about the rewarding and motivation (Beel, 2007).The rewords supporters are totally against it and they say it does not have evidences to prove that money is not a motivation. Another aspect of critics is the fact that the theory does not take in consideration the circumstances, what does motivate an employee today, not necessary satisfy and motivate another one tomorrow (Robbins, 2005). Visual presentation of the dual structure theory (http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_theory_herzberg.asp, Nov 2010) Motivation in Project management PRINCE2 manual defines a project as: a management environment that is created for the purpose of delivering one or more business products according to a specified business case. Another definition is: a temporary organisation that is needed to produce a unique and pre-define outcome or result at a pre-specified time using pre-determined resources. Being a temporary organization and with specific targets, the project organization is a more complex structure than a normal organization unit and different rules and practices are applied in every aspect of organizational behavior, including motivation. In 2008, our bank started a project for migration of existing core banking system into a new and modern one as part of the group strategy for mutualization of IT services. The project team was composed by more than twenty employees coming from different departments and sectors, covering many different positions such as; translators, business analysts, IT developers, organization and even a public relationship specialist. We knew since the beginning that such a challenging and multidimensional project could not succeed without a motivated team. Why do we need motivated staff? Is motivation the only factor for having a good performance? Conclusion Projects by definition are a temporary organization, this automatically excludes some motivation techniques which become irrelevant due to the time required to give their effects. What should we do? Should we leave motivation only to be applied in standard organizational structure?

A Life Foolishly Lived :: Personal Narrative Essays

A Life Foolishly Lived I've never quite understood the whole racism thing. I grew up in suburbia, but in the part of town considered the black neighborhood. When I was younger black kids were no different from everyone else, and I was happy that way. It wasn't until middle school and my encounters with Joey that I became aware of a difference. I was young and impressionable, and totally bought into what anyone who would consider me "cool" was saying. Joey was a 30-something-year-old quadriplegic man who lived near me. I was considered a nerd and felt desperate for guidance of some sort. Joey became my mentor. Before the accident that left him in a wheelchair, he was a rocker, and I spent hours by his side listening to his stories. "I tell you, Owen, I had it all. And the girls loved me," he would tell me, while I emptied the bag of urine strapped to his leg. Even though he never graduated from high school, had no job, would get drunk and stoned all the time, and lived with his parents, I wanted to be just like the person he used to be. He'd had girlfriends and lived the rock-and-roll lifestyle, but that ended when he was pushed off a porch and snapped his neck. He attempted to continue his old life through kids in the neighborhood. Joey would tell us how he used to make pipe bombs, so naturally we had to make a bomb and blow up a chunk of the street. But we didn't have the know-how or the supplies to make a pipe bomb, so a gallon of gasoline would have to do the trick. Sadly, we picked a bad place and set a man's lawn on fire. The police and firemen were on my street that night, putting out seven-foot high flames and asking questions. Even though nobody knew exactly who blew off the gas bomb, most had an idea. I'm sure people in that neighborhood could think only of Wheelchair Joey and his gang of misled youth. Joey listened to heavy metal and sported Charles Manson and Confederate flag t-shirts. Before I knew it, I was doing the same. He convinced me to wear the flag shirt in school the day we watched "Roots" for Black History Month. We laughed when I told him about the reactions I got, and then he congratulated me with a beer and some vodka mixed with juice.

Should College Athletes Be Paid? Essay -- NCAA, student athlete, sport

Today there are over 450,000 college athletes and the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) faces a difficult decision on whether or not college athletes should be paid. Many people believe that they should and many believe they should not. There are several benefits that college’s athletes receive for being a student athlete. Why should they receive even more benefits than their scholarship and numerous perks? Today, most college athletes receive a scholarship to pay for a portion or sometimes all of one’s college tuition. So, what does a scholarship cover? According to an article written by Tyson Hartnett, â€Å"A $25,000 scholarship covers the basics, university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and textbooks.† But most scholarships given to college athletes are not full rides. According to US News, in 2010, the average scholarship given to a college athlete was worth $10,400. Even with this amount, many college athletes are not granted a scholarship and have to pay for college themselves. Yes, college athletes with scholarship money are still in need of money to have in their pockets: they need personal money for gas, food, clothing, and other things that a college student may need. Paying these athletes may lessen the stress they have dealing with a job during the off-season. Unlike a student going to college with an academic scholarship, a college athlete on an athletic scholarship does not have the time for a job with workouts, classes, practice, and study time that is required. But if you compare a student athlete to just a regular student, the athlete still receives many benefits. Several of the Division I college athletes are always being looked at by their respective professional leagues. There are not re... ...ig-money-in-college-sports-disappears.(accessed December 10, 2013). Montopoli, Brian. Kevin Ware Injury Could Put Scholarship at Risk. April 1, 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-ware-injury-could-put-scholarship-at-risk/.(accessed December 7, 2013). Brynelson, Troy. For All the Money College Sports Teams Bring In, Should Student Athletes Be Paid. October 28, 2013. http://dailyemerald.com/2013/10/28/for-all-the-money-college-sports-teams-bring-in-should-student-athletes-be-paid/.(accessed December 7, 2013). Rosenfeld, Evan, and Scarlett McCourt. Opposing Views: Should NCAA Athletes Be Paid? September 17, 2013. www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2013/09/opposing-views-should-ncaa-athletes-be-paid-091813. (accessed December 7, 2013). Jacobson, Robert. Sports in America: Recreation, Business, Education, and Controversy. Wylie, TX: Information Plus, 2006.

21St Century Agriculture

Todays agricultural community is embracing many new technologies. Innovative researchers have developed new ways to increase yields ranging from the global positioning of satellites to strip till. Strip till is a process of tilling small strips of soil while leaving the strip in between each row untilled to remain rich in organic matter. The benefits of strip till versus conventional till make it a practical way of increasing farm efficiency. Strip till first began in as a way for large farms to cover more acreage more efficiently in order to save time fuel and labor. The process begins a full growing season in advance with another crop. Once this crop is harvested, the stalks and other debris are mowed to the ground leaving the ground covered in organic matter; this crop is termed the cover crop. Once all equipment preparations are made the next growing season is started. A pass is made through the field with a minimum tillage implement. This implement plows up twelve-inch wide strips and then conditions them. Then the crop is planted and herbicide is applied. Throughout the growing season the crop is sprayed using a specialized hood sprayer, which protects the crop from the herbicide, to control weeds. This is a vast difference in conventional methods, which utilizes several passes to plow and condition the soil while also using herbicides. Environmentalists would have one believe that herbicide applications are detrimental to our ecosystems. However, with proper handling, our ecosystems are better protected from hazardous runoff when strip till practices are utilized. Conventional methods spray herbicide directly onto the ground where they can be washed away by rain or irrigation. Strip till methods spray herbicides onto the organic matter left behind from the cover crop where it can be absorbed into the plant. The method of spraying directly onto the desired area is called banding. The environmental concerns make strip till a more sound way of controlling unwanted organisms. Erosion and soil compaction are other environmental concerns which strip till alleviates. Wind erosion is made less possible because the ground is left with debris and root masses which holds water and do not allow the water to wash away soil particles. Soil compaction is also less of a problem because less passes with large tractors are needed to produce a crop. The greatest benefit to the farmer is cost reduction. Less fuel and less labor being required per acre generate more profit. In an era when commodity prices are at an all time low, generating a profit is of utmost importance. Through less equipment cost and maintenance, strip till allows farmers to produce a crop with less capital investments. The popularity of strip till practices grow each year as farmers find ways of incorporating it into their specific operations needs. Conventional till has been used for many centuries but this practice only stirs up a dust in that weed seed are plowed a way into a dormant stage only to be plowed up to germinate. Utilization of new agricultural technologies, such as strip till, allows producers to go into the 21st century with tools that will enable them to provide agricultural products to sustain the world.

American Popular Culture In Australia Essay

The 1950s and 1960s were times of unprecedented change, and Australian society was influenced greatly by American popular culture, through various mediums, such as: music, film, television and fashion. This especially affected teenagers. It will be explained how Australian society was impacted by American popular culture, and also why American popular culture had such an affect. Australian developed its own responses to these influences, and the extent of this will also be explored. The 1950s meant the emergence of the teenager; it also brought peace and prosperity to many. And during the fifties there were far more American films released in Australia, and they became more popular than many Australian films. Films were of great influence to the youth of the 1960s, films such as The Wild One and Rebel Without A Cause showed a new type of teenager, one who was not only different, but was rebellious. This new view of what a teenager could be gave birth to the idea of â€Å"bodgies† and â€Å"widgies† which is what many teenagers became known as during the fifties. These â€Å"bodgies† and â€Å"widgies† were greatly influenced by the culture of rock-‘n’-roll music. The term â€Å"Rock-‘n’-Roll† was invented in the mid 1950s for a new and exciting music. This type of music was to become popular beyond belief, it not only began to dominate the tastes of America’s youth, and it soon became the popular music of choice for youths throughout Australia, too. Popular artists such as Elvis Presley and Bill Haley and the comets were among the top entertainers influencing Australia’s impressionistic youth. The lifestyle trends of Australia were also, to a great extent, impacted by the trends of America. During the 1950s the lifestyle of a typical American was very different to that of a person during the forties. The lifestyle was more laidback, mainly due to the end of the war; people believed that they were entering a new age, where anything was possible. Australia followed Americas lead, and many of their lifestyles changed with the Americans. By the late 1950s, television was the most important form of mass entertainment and culture; it had become an important part of many people’s lives. Through television Australia saw the American life, and then modelled (to a certain  extent), parts of their lives on what they saw of the American lifestyle. During the 1960s, Australian society remained hugely affected by American popular culture. And although the culture of the youth was no where near as strong or powerful as it was in America, Australia was, to a great extent influenced by what was happening in America at the time. What happened in America was almost always mirrored by Australian teens (although to a smaller extent). Fashion-wise, the sixties saw the flowering of the Hippie Movement. All of a sudden the tight black pants, bright socks and hair grease of the fifties were gone, and in came the mini-skirt, velvet pants and paisley shirts. As American teenagers began to grow their hair longer and longer, it seemed Australian teenagers opted to follow this new trend. Films took on a new genre; the films of the sixties began to portray the story much more realistically. Blockbusters such as Easy Rider were on the scene. In the film industry in the sixties Britain tended to lead, but America adjusted, and Australian society continued to follow. Of course, there is one aspect of the sixties, which will remain in everybody’s mind forever: Psychedelia. A style like no other. It was a period like no other, a world of hallucinogenic drugs, swirling shaped and luminous colours. It was LSD, which provided the mental and visual stimulus behind psychedelia. Psychedelic patterns and colours quickly found their way in to mass-produced fabrics and clothes. Psychedelia also influenced the music industry significantly, with great bands such as the Beatles producing songs such as Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds with thinly disguised references to drugs. The Beatles were hugely popular in Australia as well, and it was the Beatles tour of Australia in 1964, which proved just how much this American pop group influenced these Australian citizens. During the tour parents and police were ignored, and Australian teenagers were lapping it up, the overseas excitement was finally there for then to fully be a part of. But the psychedelic styles of the sixties were so strong and unsympathetic to  other styles that it was inevitable that Psychedelia departed as quickly as it arrived. The fifties and sixties were completely different in so many ways; the times had changed a lot in the transition of decades. The types of music, for one, were in great contrast. By the sixties the rock-‘n’-roll and pelvic thrusting of the fifties had transformed into the pop, rock and folk music of the likes of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Teenagers changed a lot over the two decades a lot, too. The tight pant, leather jacket bodgies, with their greased hair, and the widgies, with their rope petticoats and flared dresses, were replaced by the teenagers of the Psychedelic era. These teenagers preferred the swirled shapes and bright colours, with their newly found mini-skirts, and for the guys it was paisley shirts. Although the two decades were different in themselves, there is still a parallel running between the two. Both were times of change, with popular culture culminated for the newly recognised youth, each decade had their own brand of pop music, and their own brand of teenagers. However, the teenagers of the sixties, despite the overuse of drugs, remained a lot more politically minded, by holding many war protests, for example. The fifties played home to a time where the brand teenager was first recognised, and the sixties were a carry on from this, an expansion where teenagers gained more and more out of life and the world. We have seen how Australian society was influenced by American popular culture in the fifties, now the question is why. There were many factors that contributed to this sudden change in ideals. One of the main factors involved was the end of WWII, WWII had brought America to Australia, it became one of Australia’s major trading partners, and our major investor. Economically and culturally we identified with America. Also, following the war communications around the world had been significantly improved, thus giving Australia greater opportunities to be connected with America, and therefore see and â€Å"copy† (in a way), just what they were doing. Another  factor of significant importance is the impact that television had on society overall. With the intervention of television Australian’s had a clear and self-evident view of America, as many of the programs shown on Australian television were in fact American. With more and more people seeing these programs the excitement grew and the popular culture of American society grew in Australia. Through the passage of time Australian culture absorbs these aspects of American culture and they become linked with our identity. The reasons for why Australia was impacted so greatly in the sixties can be traced back through the fifties. As the fifties went on America seemed to continue to dominate more and more. And by the time it reached the sixties there was an abundance of America programming on Australian television and radio, which influenced many young, impressionably minds. Another main factor was that Australia’s economy had substantially increased by the sixties, due significantly to such Government programs as the Assisted Immigration Scheme. With more money to spend, many Australian youths put their money to items, which then enforced pop culture, such as CDs and popular fashions of the time. But it all came down to the fact that America sells its culture and products to the world and teenagers in the western world are vulnerable to advertising. And perhaps the most important factor in all this was the Vietnam War. Many soldiers spent their R&R time in Australia. This impacted greatly upon the youth of Australia because many servicemen brought with them their own music and style which influenced the society that they brought it to. Of course, Australia didn’t just sit back and watch the excitement unfold, Australian society had their own responses to the latest trends. The culture, of course, in Australia was no where near as strong as that in America at the time. But still, in many ways Australia decided to copy the popular trends of the time, but in many other ways they had their own. Young Australians formed their own gangs, made up of â€Å"bodgies† who wore tight black pants and greased their hair and their female counterparts â€Å"widgies† who wore rope petticoats and flared dresses, throughout the fifties these groups became increasingly violent. These groups were in response to such  American hits as Rebel Without A Cause and The Wild One. The way that media targeted teenagers and advertising gave them a larger opportunity to get involved with the latest popular trends. Because teenagers got more money they had the means to respond to this advertising in the sixties. They had the means to be a part of Psychedelia (to a small extent). We can see from all this that the fifties were a big turning point for Australian society. This was the time were American had first been brought to Australia, until the 1950s Australia had not had as much contact with America. But through means of television and improved communications American popular culture influenced Australian society a great amount, in music, film, lifestyle and fashion. This same thing worked through the sixties, Australian society remaining significantly impacted upon by American popular culture, and we can see that still today we are affected to a certain extent, by American Popular culture.