..........::The International Economic Summit (HTHI Edition)
The International Economic Summit was, as the name depicts, all about economics. Each group of about four people were assigned a country, and we were to learn about the country's standard of living through analyzing statistics such as GDP. We also learned a great deal about trade and how economy works, as well as why trade can benefit a country. After that, we prepare for the trade summit in which we make trade with other countries in order to improve our own standards of living. Some goals I had set for myself in the beginning of the project that I had accomplished now were to learn the language of economics and follow along with the news, and also to learn why standards of living are the way they are.
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To reflect upon this project... I shall start with what the most interesting things I learned were. I found it really interesting learning about economics in general for I thought it would be incredibly boring. It interested me to learn that economics was the study of how people make choices rather than just the monetary system, and that, as one of the books on economy said, money is essentially fake and more like a figment of the imagination. This proves certainly true because now we don't even use tangible money, but somehow it still has value even if it is just virtual. Learning about what equity and efficiency are really helped me understand more about the world's economic systems. I actually felt proud when I was watching the news and the Occupy Wall Street movement on TV and I actually understood what it meant when the people were holding up signs that said "We are the 99%". It has certainly helped me to understand the differences in a socialist, communist, and market economies opposed to before in which I only knew the terms and not what they stood for. I think I learned that it's somewhat hard for me to work in the group, especially when nobody listens to the teacher and depend entirely on me. I learned that I am capable of being a good leader and I am quite dependable, but I've known for the longest time that I do not like taking on the role of the leader. That's why when I was sort of forced to be the "leader" figure in this project, it put me under an amount of stress because my teammates would always ask me what to do and they seemed to listen to me more than they listened to the actual teacher. I think I can only work well in a group if I can depend on my teammates too, instead of them only depending on me. During the summit everyone was working hard and I could have depended on them to do a lot of the work, but the thing is that they didn't know how to properly trade [they were recording stuff wrong] so it made us less efficient. Also, under all the pressure and the chaos of the summit, we were stolen from. I don't think I work well under pressure at all.
_ EXCERPT FROM PAPER: Part of the 1st Paragraph
"As a developed country, Italy’s standard of living is among the top; according to the HDI, Italy places 24th worldwide. Compared to the United States, which ranks 4th, Italy is not doing as well as it possibly could. There are various ways to measure a country’s standard of living. Gross Domestic Product, abbreviated as GDP, is one of the most commonly use indicators to measure how much a country makes. This contributes to standard of living because the amount of money a country makes is very important to their economy. Italy’s GDP per capita is $30,500, which means they produce an average of 30,500 United States dollars annually. This number is obviously very good. Compared to the world, they rank 43rd (The World Factbook). It isn’t as much as what the United States makes, which is $47,200, but it is a very high number. This measure tells us that Italy’s revenue and economy is good." |
The file to the left is the full standard of living paper I wrote for the IES. Below it is an excerpt from the first paragraph, and here is an explanation to the excerpt.
In this excerpt, I basically explain the very basic element of the standard of living, the gross domestic product, or GDP. To understand the standard of living in a country, you have to get down to the very basics before you start to analyze other statistics such as the HDI, or how education and life expectancy contribute to the standard of living. I compare Italy to the United States to give readers a good idea of where my country places in the world and just how well they are doing. This shows that I understand the concept of standard of living because it shows how I know that the GDP is a major part in economy.
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Lost Little Bird: Photo Essay
A bird sits perched on a white bench near the Hotel Del Coranado. It looks rather lost, for the bench or this place could not possibly be part of this creature’s natural habitat or environment. The sad fact is that we are either taking animals away from their natural habitat or we are destroying places that they would call home. Obviously, there are many organizations made to prevent animal cruelty or to preserve an animal’s natural habitat. These cruelties, however, are still happening today. It may not seem like a very big deal: The bird looks completely content with its surroundings. Although, that is practically like putting a person on the other side of the planet where they don’t know how to survive. Using instincts, animals can surely adapt and live in our areas, but then animals will become reliant on human scraps as food, and could potentially die from the risk of eating a piece of plastic that was carelessly thrown aside. As a person who really loves animals, I don’t think it’s entirely right to just build over a place that may have life thriving in it, even though it is inevitable. I personally own a pet, and I find that this is okay because it is providing an animal with a home, in which I live. Zoos are fine as well because, although in captivity, the animals are provided shelter and food. Zoos are also a huge tourist attraction so people spend their money to see animal’s exhibit natural behavior. Environment affects the economy because, if thought on a bigger scale, it affects the standard of living in the way that an environment and its beings are where we live. According to statistics from the CIA World Fact book, countries with higher standards of living normally have higher investment rates. Animals are a huge part of the environment, for they are part of a big cycle of life to nourish the world around us, so they would also be affecting the place in which we live. This relates to me because I do own pets and though it is taking them out of their natural habitats, they at least have a place they can call a home.