Dupont Case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dupont Case Study - Research Paper Example The prospect of a company-wide decline in revenues was made even more palpable with the lead decline in revenues in a business segment involved in the production and sale of titanium dioxide. That initial prudence paid off somewhat, as the case notes, with ready plans for laying off 6500 employees when the scenario of revenues tanking by 20 percent became reality, even as the need to further trim the workforce by 2,000 employees more also became clear. Moreover, it also became clear that staff needed to take time off without pay, in order to realize cost savings of one billion dollars. Meanwhile, as the new CEO, there was the seen need to preserve the R&D budget at 1.4 billion dollars (Reuters; Case Facts). The case also notes that the company has fared poorly compared to competition in terms of returns on stock investments over the past 25 years, ranking in the last third, and the overriding concern is to come up with an appropriate strategy to change this dismal state of affairs. T here are several options, one being either to continue with the current focus on chemistry and chemicals, another being diversifying focus from a few grand plans to many smaller bets and plans and then later on focusing on those plans and bets that â€Å"pop† so to speak. From an operational point of view, strategic options include putting emphasis on either people, the development of products, or the state of the company's finances and financial standing. Finally, as discussed above, the strategic direction dilemma involves either going on with focusing on one chief goal and one strategy for the whole firm, or diversifying the focus, so to speak, and substituting many different goals for different aspects of the organization in place of that one laser-focused goal, as is currently the case (Case Facts; Reuters; Google; Lewis; DuPont). II. Strategic Options As discussed above, the strategic options include retaining the company's focus on chemicals and on its current lines of businesses, or diversifying and splitting the bets so to speak, directionally and in terms of investments and focus, expanding the focus areas and being in a sense opportunistic and on the watch for new revenue streams and sources of revenue growth and profits. There is not much sense it seems in staying the course. First, compared to competition, the company has not fared well in terms of returns over the past 25 years. Moreover, the financial crisis has just made it clearer that staying where they are would not get them out of the steep revenue drop hole that they found themselves in. In other words, keeping the focus on chemicals and the current lines of business would mean jeopardizing the very existence of the firm. The crisis brought to the surface the need for change. Diversification into many other areas seemed a wiser course of action. On the other hand, this does not come without risks. There needed to be prioritization in terms of research and development focus. Moreover , the compromised revenue position of the firm meant that they could not possibly go

Evaluation of Soil Management Strategies in Two Named Farming Systems Essay Example for Free

Evaluation of Soil Management Strategies in Two Named Farming Systems Essay Evaluation of the soil management strategies in the India The more time goes past, the more man starts realising how the management and the way we threat soils is important to insure its preservation and conservation. Nowadays, around 9. 4 million hectares of soil, which represent the 0. 5% of the land present on our planet, is irreparably damaged and has no longer any biological function. In other words, it can no longer be used in any useful way to provide food or other elements to the earth’s tenants. There are though, two factors that influence soil degradation; the human factor and the natural one. The most impactful one is the human one, as we tend to create disequilibrium in the rate at which soil forms and at which it is eroded or degraded. This is due to the fact that farmers work the soil too frequently or misunderstand and mismanage their lands. On the other hand, erosion and degradation, which embody the natural factors, are part of nature’s cycle and over time, they do not create imbalances. In poorer countries, farmers use subsistence farming and they are in a way constricted to do so, as they not only lack of economical resources to buy machinery and conditioners, but also because the quality of the soil often doesn’t give them the opportunity to be able to work the land more intensively. In the regions of West Bengal located in the northwest of India to take an example, the density of the population is so high that farmers only can use their little land holding to produce enough in order to feed themselves and their families. This way of managing the soil is called subsistence farming and is also used in the entire southeast of India, where the soil is so degraded that the population has no other choice but to use this agricultural strategy named sedentary farming. It involves farming always at the same place, living there and getting crops relying uniquely on labour and not on any capital investments. In India we can find a very large division, varying from economical to socio-political, and even agricultural. Up in the Northwest of India, within the hills of Jaipur in Rajasthan, intensive commercial farmers are predominant as the country represents the fourth biggest agricultural power of the world. The practices and components involved in intensive farming are harmful to the soil because farmers take advantage of the resources that are available and often abuse their terrain in such way that it harms it, leading to an increase of the rate at which the land is deteriorated. But not all methods are harmful to Nature; the method used in the forests of north India by the poorer citizens has a much better environmental impact than the industrial one used by richer farmers. As equally common, this method is called shifting farming which consists in burning a piece of land so that the ashes fertilise the soil. Then the famer grows its crops for around 2 to 5 years, until the soil’s fertility starts to decrease so he moves to another place repeating the same process. After a break more or less long 10 years, the farmer can go back to the first place as the terrain supposedly had time to regain its fertility and he can so for cultivate his crops again. In fact, the material and gears used, plus the methods are much different one from another. Within the subsistence one, natural fertilizers will be more likely to be used while on the intensive one, chemicals and heavy machinery often take the lead. These different strategies used to manage the soil comprise advantages and disadvantages, to both the farmers and the land. The sustainable farming strategy is on the short term less beneficial to the farmer as it will limit his production. But this technique won’t make any harm to the soil because the method used is less intensive, and natural fertilisers such as animal rejections and organic wastes replace chemicals and fertilizers used in the intensive method. But as stated above, India is the fourth largest agricultural force on this planet and that’s when the management of the soil starts becoming problematic in accordance to its sustainability and the preservation of its quality. The choice of a farmer to opt for a specific technique rather than another relies on the income on a short period of time. Even though in India this choice mainly depends on the financial resources available, the farmers using subsistence farming will be able to use their land for a much longer period of time than those who use intensive farming. It’s also in the farmer’s benefit to use its field in a sustainable way; for environmental ssues as well as for its personal profit as on the longer term, a farmer who farms on its land in a sustainable way will be able to get an equal amount of crops over a larger period of time. To conclude, if we keep abusing the soil as they still do in certain parts of the world, by 2050 we will severely lack of available healthy soil to satisfy our needs as a result of the population’s growth rate. And even though the governments and citizens didn’t realise that before severe issues and frightening statistical data came out from the topic. We know how to prevent soil erosion from natural factors by simply planting grass or other clumping vegetation; building shelter belts and hedgerows are other examples. We can also improve the methods of cultivation, using the techniques of terracing and contour ploughing. But to prevent the abusing human activity like deforestation, I believe that the only answer is the willing and devotion of individuals of using proper pesticides and fertilizers.

Education And The World Citizen :: essays research papers

Education seems to be becoming more and more of a controversial subject not only among government, but also with school boards, teachers, parents, and even the students. Some of this controversy is attributed to the normal routine things such as starting times, funding for clubs and sports, and more recently the rise of violence in the schools, as well as outcries from the church for the return of religion in the schools. However, people of today’s society are even more confused by the recent additions of new subjects not only the college curriculum but also in the curriculum of grade schoolers as well. These additions include the study of non-western cultures, the study of women and ethnic minorities in the U.S., and finally the study of human sexuality. In addition, people are wondering what exactly education has to do with being a â€Å"world citizen†? Is the life experience enough to become a â€Å"world citizen†? According to Nussbaum, a world citizen can be understood in two ways, the first being the strict of the two is â€Å"the ideal of citizen whose primary loyalty is to human beings the world over, and whose nationality†¦are considered distinctly secondary† (1). An example that one could use to paint a picture of this type of world citizen could be Ghandi or Mother Teresa who both put others, no matter their race or gender, above themselves. The second way is much more relaxed and states that â€Å"however we order our varied loyalties, we should still be sure that we recognize the worth of human life wherever it occurs and see ourselves as bound by common human abilities and problems to people who lie at a great distance from us† (2). An example that fits this description could be Princess Di or the Reverend Jesse Jackson. But, how exactly does one become this so-called world citizen? In The Old Education and the Think-Academy, Nussbaum gives us three of the numerous steps needed in order to become a â€Å"good citizen†. Nussbaum tells us that there are three essential ingredients for becoming a world citizen, the first being the critical examination of ones self, which is simply examining your life, where you have been and where you are going. The second of these is to see oneself as not just a citizen but as a group. Nussbaum is simply telling us that to often we get so wrapped up in our labels that we tend to forget that we are all human beings, and that we are all connected to one another. Education And The World Citizen :: essays research papers Education seems to be becoming more and more of a controversial subject not only among government, but also with school boards, teachers, parents, and even the students. Some of this controversy is attributed to the normal routine things such as starting times, funding for clubs and sports, and more recently the rise of violence in the schools, as well as outcries from the church for the return of religion in the schools. However, people of today’s society are even more confused by the recent additions of new subjects not only the college curriculum but also in the curriculum of grade schoolers as well. These additions include the study of non-western cultures, the study of women and ethnic minorities in the U.S., and finally the study of human sexuality. In addition, people are wondering what exactly education has to do with being a â€Å"world citizen†? Is the life experience enough to become a â€Å"world citizen†? According to Nussbaum, a world citizen can be understood in two ways, the first being the strict of the two is â€Å"the ideal of citizen whose primary loyalty is to human beings the world over, and whose nationality†¦are considered distinctly secondary† (1). An example that one could use to paint a picture of this type of world citizen could be Ghandi or Mother Teresa who both put others, no matter their race or gender, above themselves. The second way is much more relaxed and states that â€Å"however we order our varied loyalties, we should still be sure that we recognize the worth of human life wherever it occurs and see ourselves as bound by common human abilities and problems to people who lie at a great distance from us† (2). An example that fits this description could be Princess Di or the Reverend Jesse Jackson. But, how exactly does one become this so-called world citizen? In The Old Education and the Think-Academy, Nussbaum gives us three of the numerous steps needed in order to become a â€Å"good citizen†. Nussbaum tells us that there are three essential ingredients for becoming a world citizen, the first being the critical examination of ones self, which is simply examining your life, where you have been and where you are going. The second of these is to see oneself as not just a citizen but as a group. Nussbaum is simply telling us that to often we get so wrapped up in our labels that we tend to forget that we are all human beings, and that we are all connected to one another.

Cultural difference between US & China

The relative differences in the American and Chinese business background may well predict how transaction costs will be evaluated. On the part of the Chinese business criterion, it seems that the contrasting attitude of their business scheme may define a larger cost in trade investments for the American counterparts. The promising good trade partnership between American companies doing business with its Chinese segments may bring huge monetary concerns on the part of the former.The most significant attribute in the Chinese business core is the fact that their business structure is purely based on experience. This is very much evident since most of the companies are family-based businesses. As a result, there is no exact business trend that will make the companies adhere to the normal business plan as compared to the companies in the United States. This fact contributes largely to the aspect of limiting the flow of investment within a specific domain of the family owned business.One d isadvantage when it comes to costs is that an American company may not be able to induce its influence on the transaction if they are to deal with the Chinese based companies. The structured and well organized scheme employed by American companies may not be useful at all since the transaction will purely be based on the way the Chinese handle its business. The unpredictability of the financial aspect might take its toll in the American company’s investments. These will likely to happen even if the labor and commodity cost in china is very cheap.Also, there is not even a comparison of the Chinese and U. S. factory labor costs because reliable statistics from the Asian giant don't exist (News Analysis). This is a somewhat big drawback if the American company needs to assess the appropriate wage that it should set aside from its capital. Another big concern that will predict a very large cost discrepancy would be in the aspect of formal agreement. The Chinese tend to use fewer contracts when involving other sources of investment.This is very contrasting to the attitude of American companies where everything is settled on paper even before the activity proceeds. The Chinese companies tend to rely on trusted partnerships and loyalty of their background workforce for their own survival in the trade world. This could equate to a very high cost for the American company especially if the agreement will not be implemented according to the drafted plan. It is very possible that one segment of the production line will experience problems in business processing.Such scenario will eventually take effect on both the Chinese and American company in partnership. However, the larger cost will be incurred on the American company’s account. This is so because of the large dependency in a specified business plan. Moreover, there will be a waste in monetary values together with the production time frame just to take full recovery of the lost trade opportunity. This i s the most discouraging factor when it comes to unspecified productivity dilemmas.The global economy is starting to implement a rather large opportunity for all markets. Apparently, because of this global merchandising capacity of various countries, it would be very much accepted that the efficiency and survival of a certain business lies directly on the trading partners where it seems to be compatible with. On the case of the American and Chinese business relationship, it should first consider how the financial cost of partnership will eventually influence each other’s trading posts.A complete analysis of the cost attributes should be taken into consideration. Apparently, the behavior of Chinese business is very difficult to understand (Chen, 1999-2007). References: Chen, Ming-Jer. 1999-2007. Inside Chinese Business. QuickMBA. Retrieved May 8, 2007 from http://www. quickmba. com/mgmt/intl/china/. News Analysis. 2004. Just How Cheap Is Chinese Labor?. Businessweek. Retrieved May 8, 2007 form http://www. businessweek. com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2004/nf2004122_6762_db039. htm.

Are women more religious than men Essay

According to Miller and Hoffmann there is a belief that women are more likely to express greater interest in religion, have a stronger personal commitment and attend church more often. In my own experiences of church my mother my sister and I attend church regularly whilst my brother and father hardly ever attend church giving some evidence in support of Miller and Hoffmann’s view. Furthermore having had a debate with a number of people in my sixth form on attendance levels at religious organisations and religiosity levels of males and females, I found that females viewed religion as more important than males. I became even more interested when a fellow student commented that she thought that males aren’t as religious as females because by identifying with another male in terms love and superiority is an uncomfortable and foreign concept for them. Some argue that Males also believe attending church is a feminine activity. It should be clear that I am focusing on Christianity for the purposes of my coursework. My research will be conducted through using detailed interviews of male attitudes to attending church and the concept of God. I will ask males in my church and from my sixth form the questions will aim to answer whether they think women are more religious, whether it is hard to be comfortable to be loved by another man; whether they believe church is a feminine activity and finally whether father figures affect whether young boys attend church.

Foam Definition in Chemistry

Foam Definition in Chemistry A foam is a substance made by trapping air or gas bubbles inside a solid or liquid. Typically, the volume of gas is much larger than that of the liquid or solid, with thin films separating gas pockets. Another definition of foam is a bubbly liquid, particularly if the bubbles, or froth, are undesirable. Foam can impede the flow of a liquid and block gas exchange with air. Anti-foaming agents may be added to a liquid to help prevent bubbles from forming. The term foam may also refer to other phenomena that resemble foams, such as foam rubber and quantum foam. How Foam Forms Three requirements must be met in order for foam to form. Mechanical work is needed to increase the surface area. This can occur by agitation, dispersing a large volume of gas into a liquid, or injecting a gas into a liquid. The second requirement is that surfactants or surface active components must be present to decrease surface tension. Finally, the foam must form more quickly than it breaks down. Foams may be open-cell or closed-cell in nature. Pores connect the gas regions in open-cell foams, while closed-cell foams have enclosed cells. The cells are usually disordered in their arrangement, with varying bubble sizes. The cells present minimal surface area, forming honeycomb shapes or tessellations. Foams are stabilized by the Marangoni effect and by van der Waals forces. The Marangoni effect is a mass transfer along the interface between fluids due to surface tension gradient. In foams, the effect acts to restore lamellae (a network of interconnected films). Van der Waals forces form electric double layers when dipolar surfactants are present. Foams are destabilized as gas bubbles rise through them. Also, gravity pulls liquid downward in a liquid-gas foam. Osmotic pressure drains lamellae because of concentration differences throughout the structure. Laplace pressure and disjoining pressure also act to destabilize foams. Examples of Foam Examples of foams formed by gases in liquids include whipped cream, fire retardant foam, and soap bubbles. Rising bread dough may be considered a semisolid foam. Solid foams include dry wood, polystyrene foam, memory foam, and mat foam (as for camping and yoga mats). Its also possible to make a foam using metal. Foam Uses Bubbles and bath foam are fun uses of foam, but it has many practical uses, too. Fire retardant foam is used to extinguish fires.Solid foams may be used to engineer strong yet light materials.Solid foams are excellent thermal insulators.Solid foams are used to make flotation devices.Because solid foams are light and compressible, they make an excellent stuffing and packing material.A closed-cell foam called a syntactic foam consists of hollow particles in a matrix. This type of foam is used to make shape memory resins. Syntactic foams are also used in space and deep-sea exploration.Self-skin or integral skin foam consists of a dense skin with a lower density core. This type of foam is used to make shoe soles, mattresses, and baby seats.

Imperialism Definition and Historical Perspective

Imperialism Definition and Historical Perspective Imperialism, sometimes called empire building, is the policy of a nation to forcefully impose its rule or authority over other nations. Typically involving the unprovoked use of military force, imperialism has historically been viewed as morally unacceptable. As a result, accusations of imperialism- whether factual or not- are often used in propaganda denouncing a nation’s foreign policy. Key Takeaways Imperialism is the expansion of a nation’s authority over other nations through the acquisition of land or the imposition of economic and political domination.The Age of Imperialism is typified by the colonization of the Americas between the 15th and 19th centuries, as well as the expansion of the United States, Japan, and the European powers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.Throughout history, many indigenous societies and cultures have been destroyed by imperialistic expansion. While the colonization of the Americas between the 15th and 19th centuries differed in nature from the expansion of the United States, Japan, and the European powers during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both periods are examples of imperialism. Imperialism has evolved since the struggles between prehistoric clans for scarce food and resources, but it has retained its bloody roots. Throughout history, many cultures suffered under the domination of their imperialist conquerors, with many indigenous societies being unintentionally or deliberately destroyed. Imperialism Definition and Theory A broader definition of imperialism is the extension or expansion- usually by the use of military force- of a nation’s authority or rule over territories not currently under its control. This is accomplished through the direct acquisition of land or economic and political domination. Certainly, empires do not undertake the expenses and dangers of imperialistic expansion without what their leaders consider ample justification. Throughout recorded history, imperialism has been justified or at least rationalized under one or more of five general theories. Conservative Economic Theory The better-developed nation sees imperialism as a way to maintain its already successful economy and stable social order. By securing new captive markets for its exported goods, the dominant nation is able to maintain its employment rate, and redirect any social disputes of its urban populations into its colonial territories. Historically, this rationale embodied an assumption of ideological and racial superiority within the dominant nation. Liberal Economic Theory Growing wealth and capitalism in the dominant nation results in the production of more goods than its population can consume. Its leaders see imperialist expansion as a way to reduce its expenses while increasing its profits by balancing production and consumption. Rather than imperialism, the wealthier nation sometimes chooses to solve its under-consumption problem internally through liberal legislative means, such as wage control. Marxist-Leninist Economic Theory Socialist leaders like Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin rejected liberal legislative strategies dealing with under-consumption because they would inevitably take money away from the dominant state’s middle class. They believed such strategies would result in a world divided into wealthy and poor countries. Lenin used this theory to explain the imperialistic aspirations that led to World War I. Political Theory Imperialism is no more than an inevitable result of the wealthy nations attempt to maintain their positions in the world’s balance of power. The theory holds that the actual purpose of imperialism is to minimize the nation’s military and political vulnerability. The Warrior Class Theory Imperialism actually serves no real economic or political purpose. Instead, it is a pointless manifestation of the age-old behavior of nations whose political processes have become dominated by a â€Å"warrior† class. Originally created to satisfy an actual need for national defense, the warrior class eventually manufactures crises that can only be dealt with through imperialism in order to perpetuate its existence. The Rhodes Colossus: Caricature of Cecil John Rhodes. Edward Linley Sambourne / Public Domain Imperialism vs. Colonialism   While imperialism and colonialism both result in the political and economic domination of one nation over others, there are subtle but important differences between the two terms. In essence, colonialism is the physical practice of global expansion, while imperialism is the idea that drives the practice. In a basic cause-and-effect relationship, imperialism can be thought of as the cause, and colonialism as the effect. In its most familiar form, colonialism involves the relocation of people to the new territory to live as permanent settlers. Once established, the settlers maintain their loyalty and allegiance to their mother country while working to harness the new territory’s resources for the economic benefit of that country. In contrast, imperialism is simply the imposition of political and economic control over the conquered nation or nations, often through the use of military forces. For example, the British colonization of America during the 16th and 17th centuries evolved into imperialism when King George III stationed British troops in the colonies to enforce ever more restrictive economic and political regulations imposed on the colonists. Objections to Britain’s growingly imperialistic actions would result in the American Revolution.  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Age of Imperialism The Age of Imperialism spanned between the years 1500 and 1914. During the early 15th to the late 17th centuries, European powers such as England, Spain, France, Portugal, and Holland acquired vast colonial empires. During this period of â€Å"Old Imperialism† the European nations explored the New World seeking trade routes to the Far East and- often violently- establishing settlements in North and South America as well as in Southeast Asia. It was during this period that some of imperialism’s worst human atrocities took place. During the Spanish Conquistadors’ conquest of Central and South America in the 16th century, an estimated eight million indigenous people died in the era of imperialism’s first large-scale act of genocide.   Imperial Powers in 1898. Wikimedia Commons Based on their belief in the conservative economic theory of â€Å"Glory, God, and Gold,† the trade-motivated imperialists of the period saw colonialism purely as a source of wealth and a vehicle for religious missionary efforts. The early British Empire established its most profitable colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and India. Despite suffering a setback in the loss of its American colonies in 1776, Britain more than recovered by gaining colonies in India, Australia, and Latin America. By the end of the age of Old Imperialism in the 1840s, Great Britain had become the dominant colonial power with territorial holdings in India, South Africa, and Australia. At the same time, France controlled the Louisiana territory in North America and French New Guinea. Holland had colonized the East Indies, and Spain had colonized Central and South America. Due largely to its mighty navy’s dominance of the seas, Britain also readily accepted its role as keeper of world peace, later described as Pax Britannica or â€Å"British Peace.†Ã‚  Ã‚   The Age of New Imperialism While the European empires established footholds on the coasts of Africa and China, their influence over local leaders was limited. Not until the â€Å"Age of New Imperialism† that started in the 1870s did the European states establish their vast empires mainly in Africa, but also in Asia and the Middle East. New Imperialism and its effects on China. Henri Meyer - Bibliothà ¨que nationale de France Driven by their need to deal with the over-production- under-consumption economic consequences of the Industrial Revolution, the European nations pursued an aggressive plan of empire building.  Instead of merely setting up overseas trading settlements as they had during the 16th and 17th centuries, the new imperialists controlled the local colonial governments to their own benefit. The rapid advances in industrial production, technology, and transportation during the â€Å"Second Industrial Revolution† between 1870 and 1914 further boosted the economies of the European powers and thus their need for overseas expansion. As typified by the political theory of imperialism, the new imperialists employed policies that stressed their perceived superiority over â€Å"backward† nations. Combining the establishment of economic influence and political annexation with overwhelming military force, the European countries- highlighted by the juggernaut British Empire- proceeded to dominate most of Africa and Asia. By 1914, along with its successes in the so-called â€Å"Scramble for Africa,† the British Empire controlled the largest number of colonies worldwide, leading to the popular phrase, â€Å"The sun never sets on the British Empire.† U.S. Annexation of Hawaii One of the best recognized, if controversial, examples of American imperialism came with its 1898 annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii as a territory. Through most of the 1800s, the U.S. government worried that Hawaii, a key mid-Pacific whaling and trade port, fertile ground for American protestant missions, and most of all, a rich new source of sugar from sugar cane production, would fall under the control of European empires. Indeed, during the 1930s both Britain and France forced Hawaii to accept exclusionary trade treaties with them. In 1842, U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster reached an agreement with Hawaiian agents in Washington to oppose the annexation of Hawaii by any other nation. In 1849, a treaty of friendship served as the basis of official long-term relations between the United States and Hawaii. By 1850, sugar accounted for 75% of Hawaii’s wealth. As Hawaii’s economy became increasingly dependent on the United States, a trade reciprocity treaty signed in 1875 further linked the two countries. In 1887, American growers and businessmen forced King KalÄ kaua to sign a new constitution stripping him of power and suspending the rights of many native Hawaiians. In 1893, King KalÄ kaua’s successor, Queen Lili’uokalani introduced a new constitution that restored her power and Hawaiian rights. Fearing that Lili’uokalani would impose devastating tariffs on American-produced sugar, American cane growers led by Samuel Dole plotted to depose her and seek the annexation of the islands by the United States. On January 17, 1893, sailors from the USS Boston, dispatched by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison, surrounded the Ê »Iolani Palace in Honolulu and removed Queen Lili’uokalani. U.S. Minister John Stevens was recognized as the islands’ de facto government, with Samuel Dole as president of the Provisional Government of Hawaii. In 1894, Dole sent a delegation to Washington officially seeking annexation. However, President Grover Cleveland opposed the idea and threatened to restore Queen Lili’uokalani as monarch. In response, Dole declared Hawaii an independent republic. In a rush of nationalism from the Spanish-American War, the United States, at the urging of President William McKinley, annexed Hawaii in 1898. At the same time, the native Hawaiian language was entirely banned from schools and government. In 1900, Hawaii became a U.S. territory, with Dole as its first governor. Demanding the same rights and representation of U.S. citizens in the then-48 states, native Hawaiians and non-white Hawaiian residents began to push for statehood. Nearly 60 years later, Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959. In 1987, the U.S. Congress restored Hawaiian as the state’s official language, and in 1993, President Bill Clinton signed a bill apologizing for the U.S. role in the 1893 overthrow of Queen Lili’uokalani.   The Decline of Classic Imperialism While generally profitable, imperialism, combined with nationalism, began to have negative consequences for the European empires, their colonies, and the world. By 1914, an increasing number of conflicts between the competing nations would erupt into World War I. By the 1940s, former World War I participants Germany and Japan, regaining their imperialistic power, sought to create empires across Europe and Asia, respectively. Driven by their desires to expand their nations’ spheres of world influence, Hitler in Germany and Emperor Hirohito of Japan would join forces to launch World War II. The tremendous human and economic costs of World War II greatly weakened the old empire-building nations, effectively ending the age of classic, trade-driven imperialism. Throughout the ensuing delicate peace and Cold War, decolonization proliferated. India along with several former colonial territories in Africa gained their independence from Britain. While a scaled-back version of British imperialism continued with its involvement in the Iranian coup d’à ©tat of 1953 and in Egypt during the 1956 Suez Crisis, it was the United States and the former Soviet Union that emerged from World War II as the world’s dominant superpowers. However, the ensuing Cold War from 1947 to 1991 would take a massive toll on the Soviet Union. With its economy drained, its military might a thing of the past, and its communist political structure fractured, the Soviet Union officially dissolved to emerge as the Russian Federation on December 26, 1991. As part of the dissolution agreement, the several colonial or â€Å"satellite† states of the Soviet empire were granted their independence. With the breakup of the Soviet Union, the United States emerged as the dominant global power and source of modern imperialism. Examples of Modern Imperialism No longer focused strictly on securing new trading opportunities, modern imperialism involves the expansion of corporate presence and the spreading of the dominant nation’s political ideology in a process sometimes pejoratively called â€Å"nation-building† or specifically in the case of the United States, â€Å"Americanization.† Uncle Sam Placing Spain on Notice in 1898.   Independence Seaport Museum / Public Domain As proven by the domino theory of the Cold War, powerful nations, like the United States, often attempt to block other nations from adopting political ideologies counter to their own. As a result, the United States’ failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion attempt to overthrow the communist regime of Fidel Castro in Cuba, President Ronald Regan’s Reagan Doctrine intended to stop the spread of communism, and the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War are often cited as examples of modern imperialism. Aside from the United States, other prosperous nations have employed modern- and occasionally traditional- imperialism in attempts to expand their influence. Using a combination of hyper-aggressive foreign policy and limited military intervention, countries like Saudi Arabia and China have sought to spread their global influence. In addition, smaller nations like Iran and North Korea have been aggressively building their military capabilities- including nuclear weapons- in hopes of gaining an economic and strategic advantage.   While the United States’ true colonial holdings have declined since the era of traditional imperialism, it still exerts a strong and growing economic and political influence on parts of the world. The U.S. currently retains five permanently populated traditional territories or commonwealths: Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. All five territories elect a non-voting member to the U.S. House of Representatives. Residents of American Samoa are considered U.S. nationals, while residents of the other four territories are U.S. citizens. They are allowed to vote in primary elections for president, but they cannot vote in the general presidential election. Historically, most former U.S. territories, such as Hawaii and Alaska, eventually attained statehood. Other territories, such as the Philippines, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, held mainly for strategic purposes during World War II, eventually became independent countries.   Sources and Further Reference Ferraro, Vincent. Theories of Imperialism. Resources for the Study of International Relations and Foreign Policy. Mount Holyoke College.Gallaher, Carolyn, et al. (2009). Key Concepts in Political Geography. London: SAGE. ISBN 978-1-4129-4672-8.The Soviet Union and Europe after 1945. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.Annexation of Hawaii, 1898. U.S. Department of State.Stephenson, Carolyn. Nation Building Beyond Intractability: Knowledge Base. January 2005.How the World Was Won: The Americanization of Everywhere. Book Review. The Guardian.U.S. Territories. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.