Solution on how engineering text books could be made affordable to Essay - 1

Solution on how engineering text books could be made affordable to mechanical engineering students - Essay Example Amadallo D.1 argues that, "I could have performed much better than I am doing now if all or at least a good fraction of the text books I've always needed were made available. My grades are affected negatively by the fact that I do not have most of the recommended books". Asked to explain why this is so, the student claims that though the texts are available in the stores, the price tag on each is disappointing! The cry of this student reflects that of the many students taking the course in the many higher institutions of learning all over the world. There is need to find a solution to this "price tag" problem, so that we can be certain that the future mechanical engineers are trained appropriately as per the demands of their dynamic field. Publishers of the mechanical engineering books on the other hand do not see any unjustifiable reasons for the high costs of the products; the books have higher production costs anyway, even in terms of quality production as compared to the other fields! The scope or range of material that a particular book customary includes and the contents, referring to the subjects or topics usually covered in any engineering book directly implies higher costs (D. W. King and C Tenopir.1999). The publishers claim that the blame should be laid on the stringent authorship restrictions, the policy imposing the limitations on who is eligible to submit any material for publication, which renders the field duly uncompetitive. The expensive acquisition of the many international publications that enjoy well deserved reputation, regional disparities that might exist, for example, addressing a methodological topic having little relevance elsewhere and high editing costs are also to blame. Students on the o ther hand do no agree with the claims laid by the publishers. They blame the publishers of taking advantage of the belief that the course is generally expensive citing the current price of a new algebra textbook approaching $110 with the publishers bringing out a new edition every three to four years just to prevent students from selling their used books (digg, 2006). The quality of the text contents should never be compromised and the validity of the authors should even be exposed to more stringent rules to protect the authenticity of any publications made. The students argue that techniques should be devised to make the unaffordable texts available to the students who need them, and this basically involves a modulation of the publishing costs. This can, for example be achieved by introducing mergers where senior engineering students and any willing departmental lecturers and scholars with a motivation to engage in the business of publishing are involved in editing, marketing or in sales and in any other aspect related to publishing operations, as a cost sharing initiative between the publishers of mechanical engineering text books and mechanical engineering students. To facilitate the provision of high quality and latest text books to the students at reasonable costs, it has been proposed that the books recommended for each course in the entrusted curriculum should be adopted as textbooks by all the universities (Revised Curriculum of Mechanical Engineering, 2003). The need for technical speciality is another major reason that contributes to the high cost of

The political and economic foreign policy developments of the United Essay

The political and economic foreign policy developments of the United States in the 19th century - Essay Example Domestically, the expansionist idea sought the annexation of land far beyond the US territory. This move was not only geared to acquire land for agricultural use, but also to exert political dominance. The lands acquired were given to yeoman farmers and slave plantation owners in order to further the agricultural sector. The manifest destiny was based on the notion that American settlers were destined to expand their territory over the continent; with proponents arguing that it was a divine call to expand from the sea to sea. Although there were no clearly defined principles to guide the idea, it received enormous support from the democrats who used it to justify various decisive actions. Through the notion of manifest destiny, the United States was driven by the temptation of world power and political supremacy, which sought to consolidate the position it held.3 As a result, territorial expansion into foreign areas was seen as moral obligation in an effort to spread American democra cy the world over. Initially, the quest for land collided with the Mexican authorities over Texas, California, and other western territories. As such, two wars were fought in the 19th century that were both in favour of land expansion and they include the Mexican war and the Spanish-American war. During the Mexican war, the US authorised several military operations to the test Mexican hold and control over these lands. The US prevailed in the war, which saw the annexation of Texas while California and New Mexico were ceded to the US territory.4 Historians have always regarded the conflict as the pure aggression by the United States. The Spanish-American war was viewed as the US intervention to secure Cuban independence...This paper is the best example of analysis of the real reasons behind sharp shift in political and economic foreign policy of the United States. In a bid to protect its interest, during the conflict between Britain and France, U.S. reviewed its isolationism policy t o adopt a more radical expansionist policy Domestically, the expansionist idea sought the annexation of land beyond the US territory. This move was geared to acquire land for agricultural use, and also to exert political dominance. Through the notion of manifest destiny, the U.S. was driven by the temptation of world power and political supremacy. Territorial expansion into foreign areas was seen as moral obligation in an effort to spread American democracy. Initially, the quest for land collided with the Mexico over Texas, California, and other western territories. As such, two wars were fought in the 19th century, both in favour of land expansion. The US authorised military operations to test Mexican hold over the lands. The US prevailed in the war, annexed Texas while California and New Mexico were ceded to the US territory. The Spanish-American war was viewed as the US intervention to secure Cuban independence from Spain, an example of the US actions to protect its economic interest, this follows losses incurred by shipping firms following conflict between the Spain and Cuban revolters. The US economic policy of industrial capitalism is illustrated to have well defined connections to its foreign affairs policies. This is demonstrated by US open door policy, which is based on belief that the US exports are vital to the growth of its economy. The origin of propaganda and its growing role in fueling war sentiments in Spanish-American conflict is under review.