Puerto Rico Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Puerto Rico - Essay Example Its original inhabitants were Aboriginal people. Christopher Columbus discovered it. It was a Spanish colony who transformed its culture and physical landscape. European knowledge, customs and traditions including Roman Catholicism, Spanish language, agriculture, stone constructions and the printing presses. In the present day, its people are American citizens and the region has a local constitution. They elect their own governor although they lack voting members in Congress and is a subject of the plenary jurisdiction of the United States under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950 (Luis, 2009). Its economy is a high-income economy and the most competitive in the Latin America. This economy is mainly driven by the manufacturing and service industries. The manufacturing industry comprises of pharmaceuticals, textiles, petrochemicals and electronics while the service industry is of finance, insurance, real estate and tourism. The Unites States controls its foreign affairs exerting trading restrictions especially in its shipping industry. It is also a small island lacking natural resources and depends mostly on imports (Duany, 2003). Puerto Rico experienced recession from 2006 to 2011 and again in 2013. However, it has managed to maintain a relatively low inflation in the past decade at the same time maintaining a purchase power higher than 80% of the world. It is unable to become a self-sufficient and self-sustainable economy since it has a public debt equal to 68% of its gross domestic product (Sanchez, 2009). It is, therefore, poorer than other American states, even Mississippi, with 41% of its population below the poverty line. Puerto Rico does participate in globalization through activities such as consumerism of society, attracting industries, computers and through its tourism program. On the other hand, globalization has greatly affected Puerto Rico’s natural environment. The future of the country is greatly jeopardized by the

Speech analyses essay Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Speech analyses essay - Research Paper Example Most of the people who participated in the Challenge and donations are from Boston. That is why it is more effective to deliver the speech at Boston in front of a ‘familiar’ audience which makes Nancy comfortable. Attention getter- The attention getter Nancy uses the question â€Å"How many of you took the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge?† This seems obvious and rhetorical, presumably a majority of the people in the audience had participated in the Challenge. As you can see from the reaction of the audience, they barely react to Nancy’s question. Nancy uses a non- verbal cue (by clamping) in order to ‘warm up’ the audience before she begins her speech. Revelation of topic- The revelation of topic is the flashback family story that Nancy gives her audience. A flashback to the summer of 2011, Nancy carefully narrates and reveals a powerful family story leading to Pete’s diagnosis and inspiration behind her family taking the initiative to create awareness about ALS. Statement of Credibility- The statement of credibility is ‘the mom who started the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge’. Since Nancy is Pete’s mom and she is heavily involved in the fund raising and ALS awareness initiative, she is credible enough to give the speech. Nancy Frates and her entire extended family are taking great lengths to create awareness about ALS and get philanthropist like Bill Gates on board. Since Nancy was at the forefront of this initiative, definitely makes her credible. Statement of central idea- The central idea in the introduction of Nancy Frates speech is that very little progress has been done to get a treatment for ALS. The idea behind ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is to help raise funds that can be used to conduct research and clinical trials of drugs that can cure or treat ALS. Nancy’s family and ALS managed to raise enough funds that will help ALSTDI in Cambridge Massachusetts to come with an ALS trial drug in 2 months.