scholarly journals Differences That Matter: Canada, the United States and Environmental Policymaking

AmeriQuests ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leslie R. Alm ◽  
Ross E. Burkhart

Does the way Canada, as a nation state, approach international environmental policymaking make a difference with respect to solving environmental problems in the Americas? We argue that it does, and it is a difference that matters. Canadian efforts toward multilateralism and toward inclusiveness serve as a counter balance to the growing unilateralism and ever present exceptionalism of the United States, currently the most powerful country in the world, and Canada’s southern neighbor and regional partner in developing environmental policy that affects the northern Americas directly and all of the Americas indirectly. Our argument is made first generally, and then specifically using involvement and reaction to the goals set out by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), where, along with Mexico, Canada and the United States play leading roles. The basic contention of this paper is that the vision for and goals of the CEC are much more aligned with the way Canada perceives the way international environmental policymaking should be governed, and that by fostering that vision, Canada counters the tendency of the present-day United States administration to go at it alone, and thereby provides a linkage to other countries in the Americas to position themselves for participation in regional environmental policymaking.

2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Shears ◽  
Emily Fekete

The 2012 Olympic Games was an event watched on television by billions of viewers worldwide. In the United States, approximately 40 million people viewed a tape-delayed opening ceremony of the games on the NBC network. With such a high viewership, NBC was in a position of power to influence and educate their audience on the various countries across the globe who participated in the Olympic Games and opening ceremony. Drawing on Gregory's notion of a ‘geographic imagination’, we suggest NBC editors put their version of the world on display to the American audience, thus influencing the way in which American viewers may understand the world. In this paper, we have constructed a map to provide a visual representation of NBC's geographic imagination. We find this map, based on total screen time the countries received during the ‘Parade of Nations’ segment of the opening ceremony, to suggest a unique geographic imagination worthy of further study because of its potential wide influence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 121-146
Author(s):  
Charmaine G. Misalucha

Abstract There is a need to reformulate the way in which we view international relations. Rather than simply a play at an obscure theater with the same characters reprising their respective roles based on an old script, international relations need to be seen as a play at the world stage whose script is always being reviewed, revised, rewritten, and renegotiated by characters who are actively searching for ways to be accommodated. In this way, the characters and the roles they play are provisional: they become who or what they are because of actions they take, and not necessarily because they are fated to be revered or condemned. To achieve the fluid nature of this script, one must pay attention to language games. These games allow for the participation of both sides of the equation – the Philippines and the United States – in the creation of the structure and direction of their relationship.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asma Afsaruddin

These words of John Lewis represent a scathing criticism of the contemporary failures of the United States, the oldest and possibly most vibrant democratic nation-state in the world. The words also express a deep disappointment that the principles of equality and justice enshrined in the US constitution have been honored more in the breach when they pertain to African-Americans, many of whose ancestors arrived on these shores long before those of their Euro-American compatriots.


2018 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
João Inácio Moreira Bezerra ◽  
Rejane Pergher

High failure rates in the Differential and Integral Calculus courses and the subsequent dropout caused by them are a reason for concern in many universities around the world, both in developing countries such as Brazil and developed ones such as the United States of America. So, it is not surprising that there is lots of interest in researching about this context, and possible ways of action. This is the focus of this article, to study about the origins of this situation, analyzing the causes of the students’ difficulties and presenting Collaborative Learning as an effective way to change this situation. The article is based on data from several universities that have shown interest in this method. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of this practice, both in academic and psychological performance of the students, thus showing the need for a greater incentive of this technique, as well as an intense study of the way it should be done.


Author(s):  
Allan A. Boesak

Since the meeting of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches in Accra, Ghana (2004), and the adoption of the Accra Declaration, a debate has been raging in the churches about globalisation, socio-economic justice, ecological responsibility, political and cultural domination and globalised war. Central to this debate is the concept of empire and the way the United States is increasingly becoming its embodiment. Is the United States a global empire? This article argues that the United States has indeed become the expression of a modern empire and that this reality has considerable consequences, not just for global economics and politics but for theological refl ection as well.


Author(s):  
Gaspar Pedro González

After years of listening to Maya migrants in the United states and listening to migrants forced back to Guatemala, the novella’s author Gaspar Pedro González created the story of Palas and Malkal, man and wife. The story begins with a discussion of the causes behind migration, and then proceeds to Palas while he arranges his trip with the coyote, makes his goodbyes to his family and community, makes the overland passage through Mexico, and when finally in the United States finds some hopes and plans unobtainable. Palas, and his family left behind in Guatemala, will encounter challenges to their cultural traditions, their personal and community identities, their values and the way they see the world and life, and their personal, family and community relations. The original Spanish version was published in Maya America in Volume 2 Number 2 (2020).


Author(s):  
Stephanie Fox

This article addresses the phenomenon of ‘national epistemologies’ that areunderstood as particular ways to think about the world, both enabled and restrictedby national(ist) ideologies as cultural thesis about distinct commonality andtogetherness. With regard to methodology, the article describes on a general levelhow these ‘national epistemologies’ can be identified and particularly how theirdevelopment as nationally idiosyncratic ways of conceptualizing and conductingresearch can be explained, taking the academic field of education as an example. Theexistence of such distinct national research thought styles can be detected, at leastin the West: in the United States, in France, in England and in Germany. Thereby,imperial aspirations of these nationally connoted and configured phenomena cometo the fore, indicating their efforts of spreading from epistemologically strongernation(-state)s into weaker ones in the way of ‘travelling ideas’. Starting from thethought style represented by German Idealism, two major reasons or purposes forthese travels can be distinguished: One ‘by invitation’ and one ‘as occupation’, asrepresented by the case of Austria.Key words: Austria; education research; national epistemologies; nationalism;travelling ideas.


Author(s):  
Sharon Mazer

Professional wrestling is one of the most popular performance practices in the United States and around the world, drawing millions of spectators to live events and televised broadcasts. The displays of violence, simulated and actual, may be the obvious appeal, but that is just the beginning. Fans debate performance choices with as much energy as they argue about their favorite wrestlers. The ongoing scenarios and presentations of manly and not so-manly characters—from the flamboyantly feminine to the hypermasculine—simultaneously celebrate and critique, parody and affirm, the American dream and the masculine ideal. Sharon Mazer looks at the world of professional wrestling from a fan’s-eye-view high in the stands and from ringside in the wrestlers’ gym. She investigates how performances are constructed and sold to spectators, both on a local level and in the “big leagues” of the WWF/E. She shares a close-up view of a group of wrestlers as they work out, get their faces pushed to the mat as part of their initiation into the fraternity of the ring, and dream of stardom. In later chapters, Mazer explores professional wrestling’s carnivalesque presentation of masculinities ranging from the cute to the brute, as well as the way in which the performances of women wrestlers often enter into the realm of pornographic. Finally, she explores the question of the “real” and the “fake” as the fans themselves confront it. First published in 1998, this new edition of Professional Wrestling: Sport and Spectacle both preserves the original’s snapshot of the wrestling scene of the 1980s and 1990s and features an up-to-date perspective on the current state of play.


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