Introduction
History
A. History of MIM’s Corporation
B. History of MIM’s Place of Community Cooperative-Indiana
C. History of Pearl House
Purposes
D. Purpose of MIM’s Corporation
E. Purpose of MIM’s Place of Community Cooperative-Indiana
F. Purpose of Pearl House

Introduction

The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement began with the application of cooperative principles to business organization.

(Birchall, 1988; Cooper and Rodman, 1992; and Heskin and Leavitt, 1995).
Affordable housing cooperatives are contrary to the traditional welfare mentality prevalent in so much of subsidized rental housing because with co-ops, residents not only take responsibility for their actions, but they experience the direct consequences of these actions on the cost and quality of their housing
(Miceli, Sazama, and Sirmans, 1994 and 1998).

History of MIM’s Corporation
MIM’s Corporation began as a dream of creating an umbrella of support to guide the work of creating affordable housing cooperatives, worker owned cooperative businesses, live/work community centers and an Extended Family Solutions Network (EFSN) of social support for MEED people and their families. March 21, 2007 MIM’s Corporation received its official Indiana non-profit status.

History of MIM’s Place of Community Cooperative-Indiana
MIM’s Place of Community Cooperative-Indiana began as a dream as a way to keep the MIM’s Corporation, its’ cooperative – like housing, and its affiliates of Indiana connected within the state of Indiana. It now has Pearl House of Peace, the prototype affordable housing (cooperative). Cooperative businesses are in the planning stages.

History of Pearl House of Peace Affordable Housing Cooperative for MEED people and their families
Pearl House of Peace Affordable Housing (Cooperative) for MEED people and their families began as a dream and opened its doors May 2006. Pearl House of Peace is a prototype quasi-communal housing facility. It is a hospitality / cooperative – like environment which also includes MIM’s Empowerment Academy which is in its early infancy of development. We have had over 150 members reside with us, some for brief visits, and others who have chosen to make Pearl House their home.

Purpose of MIM’s Corporation
Mission: Our mission is to provide a comprehensive framework of options and solutions, within the MIM's Model of Empowerment and through simultaneous grassroots outreach and collaborative community efforts, which will supply the necessary support system for MEED people and their families to achieve their dreams and goals.
Goals: Our goals are to provide refuge, respite and diversion conducive to exploring multi-dimensional solutions to multi-dimensional challenges, and to empower self-determined, self or interdependent sustainable livelihoods and peaceful, positive and productive lifestyles at the local, national and global level in the least restricted environment.
Objectives: Our objectives are to establish a national network of 24 hour – 365 days per year co-ed, income sharing, live/work community centers, co-ed, affordable housing cooperatives, an Extended Family Solutions Network (EFSN) and an educational process to teach and train cooperative housing and worker owned cooperative business principals, development, implementation and operations.

* In plain language – MIM’s Corporation is the "mother" non-profit umbrella to guide and teach us how to empower ourselves to attain our dreams and goals; and to aide all of our cooperative efforts to build short-term lives together for some, and long-term lives together for others.

Purpose of MIM’s Place of Community Cooperative-Indiana
Non-profit Social Sector of Personal Empowerment: According to the Center for Non-profit Management in an article by Alison Buttenheim, Social Enterprise Meets Venture Philanthropy: A Powerful Combination "… part of a growing movement called social enterprise: creating nonprofit businesses to provide economic empowerment and expanded opportunity for disadvantaged individuals, including the homeless, veterans, low-income high school students, and drug abusers. Along with several other nonprofit enterprises, they hope to soon join the "portfolio" of organizations comprising the Los Angeles Social Enterprise Fund."
*In plain language - MIM’s Place of Community Cooperative-Indiana is the non-profit division of MIM’s Corporation, which provides the opportunity to be part of an affordable housing cooperative that includes social support of the formal EFSN, a combination of individuals, organizations (profit and non-profit) which through our combined cooperative efforts empower us to create sustainable lives and businesses, both personal and cooperative - Example: Members of Pearl House and our first cooperative businesses are in the planning stage now are an art focused retail shop, a 24 hour café with stage and a spiritual retreat.

Purpose of Pearl House of Peace Affordable Housing Cooperative for MEED people and their families
The affordable housing cooperative is the residential entry point of those MEED people and their families who are challenged and either can not or chooses to not meet their physiological (Immediate Physical Needs of food, clothing and shelter) needs independently and choose to form healthy interdependent, sustainable lifestyles and/or livelihoods with other members of our community who are likeminded.

I. Description
II. Purpose
III. Who is it for?
IV. Material Covered

I. Description
MIM’s Empowerment Academy is in its’ early infancy of development. It is an emerging and evolving educational program which offers optional learning styles such as classes, reading paper manuals or on-line through our website www.InTheKnow-SPRMPublishing.com. In the future, we will be adding audio and video as options of learning. Our housing program, including Pearl House of Peace, is part of what we envision as the beginning of our experiential learning environments of cooperative and creative peaceful practices.

II. Purpose
The purpose is to offer this experiential learning option as a possible alternative solution of empowering people to self-determine their own lives in the least restricted environment.

III. Who is it for?
MIM’s Empowerment Academy is for those who are Shared Household Members of our community and the community at large willing and able to take the time to learn and / or re-educate themselves in regard to serving and being served cooperatively, creatively peaceful and with much tolerance.

IV. Material Covered
Material covered, but not limited to, are Guiding Principals, which include Gandhi’s 7 Steps to Global Change by Guy de Mallac and the two Golden Commandments of Jesus Christ. Other material covered is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, MIM’s Model of Empowerment, Human Rights and Cooperative Principals of the International Cooperative Alliance that is part of the larger global sustainability and peace movements. Also, it includes information on affordable housing cooperatives, worker-owned cooperative businesses, live-work community centers, conflict resolution and decision making processes, the Eco-friendly Movement including, but not limited to re-cycling and diverse, inclusive peacemaking spirituality.

I. Future of Mercy International Ministry’s Corporation
II. Dream Building
III. What’s your dream?
IV. Why will you stay?

I. Future of Mercy International Ministry’s Corporation
1. Corporate
A. To establish a national network of social support which is easily accessible and user-friendly for MEED people and their families
Ex: Pearl House of Peace
B. To empower people and their families with knowledge and resources in the least restrictive environment to
self-determine their lives
Ex: MIM’s Empowerment Academy and Pearl House
C. To empower people to live peaceful, positive, productive lives that are conducive to being the highest contribution possible
Ex: Weekly Accountability Check
D. To promote freedom of expression, "freedom of the mind / thought" and create more awareness of and re-educate the public to address stigma, discrimination and other social issues affecting MEED people and their families
Ex: Art Program–Fire Rising Band/Hippie Gyp Productions
2. Cooperative
A. To establish a national and global network of affordable housing coops and live/work community centers for MEED people and their families;.
Example: The prototype / the 1st / the seed - Pearl House is the 1st half of beginning the establishment of this cooperative network
The live/work prototype community center is in the planning stage. It is part of the 2nd half.
B. To establish worker-owned cooperative and personal businesses such as: our coop café, coop retail shop and coop spiritual retreat in the community center
1) Empower us with a support system which will aide us to take personal responsibility to economically support our selves independently or interdependently without government subsidies or handouts
2) Empower us to become an economic contribution to others and empower others to do the same
C. To be living examples of the power of cooperative efforts
D. To be living examples of co-existence, tolerance and peacemaking activities
3. Personal
A. Membership within MIM’s Corporation
Take this time to empower yourself with knowledge and experience to add to your own base of knowledge and experience to use as building blocks for your future.
B. It can be whatever you choose it to be.
II. Dream Building
1. What if money was no object? And, we each had $10,000,000 sitting in the bank to do anything we wanted?
2. What if everyone would encourage and help each other to attain each other’s dreams?
3. What if we knew we would not fail?
III. What’s your dream?
1. What do you want to do?
2. What do you want to become?
3. Where do you want to go?
4. How do you want to live?
5. What represents the "good life" to you?
6. Why do you want what you want?
IV. Why will you stay?
1. To fulfill personal needs and desires
2. To create a shared vision / dream
A. Common needs right now
B. Common desires for the future
C. We each bring something to the table
D. What do we each bring to the table to create a shared vision?

Abraham Maslow's idea is that basic needs are the same for all human beings. He found out that although different cultures satisfy these needs differently, the needs themselves remain the same. What are those needs; and how do those needs motivate people to act in the ways that they do?
Identifying needs in others and our selves can be hard for a variety of reasons. First, while only five basic needs have been defined, they result in an endless variety of activities. The expression of these needs are influenced both by a persons present surroundings and by past experiences and to make it even more interesting it is different for each individual. To complicate matters further, basic needs are often more unconscious than conscience. Needs cannot always be matched to behavior, but observing the choices that someone makes will often indicate which needs are operating. Their needs will often compete for attention and become mixed up with each other.

Physiological Needs
Biologically when we feel hungry, part of the brain starts the hunger process. Then it stops the hunger process. However, someone who "feels" hungry and eats to satisfy that hunger may actually need love or security for example. We often eat for reasons that are unrelated to restoring an internal hunger balance.
People eat to reduce stress, promote social interaction, as in going out with friends. Some people use food to make artistic, aesthetic, or moral statements. For example, some people are vegetarians because they believe it is wrong to eat other animals. Cultural and ethnic backgrounds can have a very powerful influence on "when" and "what" to eat. Are you hesitant about eating pork or beef? You probably are if you are an orthodox Jew or are from let us say India.
The decision to eat is also strongly influenced by what are termed "food clues". Some people will eat certain foods because of their healing properties. For example, eating certain foods can increase certain hormone levels and thus affect health. Some foods can create stress (alcohol for instance) and because of the stress level, the body is caused to accelerate stress steroids that lowers our level of a hormone called DHEA. Low levels of DHEA are linked to higher risks of incidences of coronary heart disease, breast cancer, and osteoporosis. In this case, for example, you might want to encourage someone to eat or consume food or drink that reduces stress on the body and even to participate in Alcoholics Anonymous or Transcendental Meditation classes or simply to reduce stress by doing art or music.
Other factors such as an eating disorder, Anorexia Nervosa for example, is an eating disorder where a person literally starves himself or herself to death. The opposite of this is an eating disorder known as Bulimia Nervosa, where people binge or consume a large amount of food and then vomit to purge themselves. Our cultural, sociological, religious influences all effect how we see ourselves and have a direct effect on who we are. If you top this off with the powerful influences that advertising has on what we eat, how and where we eat, you can see that meeting Maslow’s basic need of food can be a challenge.
How much food, what type of food can have not only physiological and psychological factors such as health and self-esteem, but it can be a deciding factor as to that persons belonging as well. The goal here is not to make you experts in all of these fields, but rather to provide you with ways to deal with these and other issues that you will encounter in life with people in general and in positions within our work beginning with Guiding Anchor. However, the first step on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is to satisfy the basic physiological needs of air, water, food, shelter, sleep, sex, and survival.
One thing to keep in mind is that concerning resources such as food, clothing and other types of resources is that, we are working towards everyone having equal opportunity to have equal access to all of these resources in our environment. This type of arrangement is called an Egalitarian Society. This is what we are working towards understanding in its fullness and beginning to implement within our operation. Now egalitarian does not mean that all people within such a society are the same. There will always be differences among individuals in age, sex, and in such abilities or traits as perception, creativity, physical prowess, attractiveness, intelligence, etc. There are of course, differences in status arising out of differences in ability. Even in an egalitarian society, differential prestige exists, but although some persons may be better at one thing or another, there is still equal access to status positions for people of the same ability.
Any differences in prestige that do exist are not related to economic differences. Egalitarian groups depend on sharing, which ensures equal access to economic resources despite differences in acquired prestige. For instance, in some egalitarian communities, some members achieve status through hunting. Nevertheless, even before the hunt begins, how the animal will be divided and distributed among its members of the group has already been decided according to custom. The culture works to separate the status achieved through being a great hunter from actual passion of the wealth. In this case, the wealth would be the slain animal.

Safety Needs
People also want to feel safe from harm. Civilized and modern technology has all but eliminated the fear of untamed nature. The fear of being assaulted or the threat, however, or having an automobile accident can be as potent to our sense of safety as the fear of wild animals used to be. In most adults, the safety needs are expressed by the desire to be stable and secure. To prefer the familiar and the known to the unfamiliar and the unknown reflects the basic need for safety. Organizing owns life around a philosophical or religious system reflects the need to view the world from a stable, secure base.
In the business world, these needs can be seen in relation to job security and retirement benefits. The physical and economic safety advantages of these are obvious, especially as we grow older. However, they do not tell the whole story. Economic reasons aside, often most people cringe at the possibility of losing our jobs. At such times, we feel vulnerable, afraid, and unsure of whom we are. The type of career we choose may reflect our need for security. Such careers might be teaching, accounting, or civil service. Are you thinking of working for a large stable company whose growth and future is predictable? Is your choice in the changing fields of aerospace or electronics, or is it in a more stable area, such as food processing or the fire department? Do you find in job descriptions that you look for security phrases such as tenure, retirement programs, seniority, promotion from within, and steady growth? If you find that these factors fit your outlook on a career, then your need for security is very strong.
Even more subtle, more sophisticated threats to our security exist. Think of the billions of words that are invested in discussing air pollution, cancer from smoking, and seat belts. Also, think about the millions of dollars spent on appealing to people’s basic need for security in the ads for life insurance and car insurance programs, baby furniture, burglar alarms, and savings programs. Market research people in the pharmaceutical field sometimes classify physicians in two categories. One is the "Innovator". He is the doctor who is the first to try a new drug, a new surgical procedure, or buy a new piece of equipment. The second is the "Conservative". He will not try something new until it has been around for five years and it has been proved very thoroughly. He will tell you that he doesn’t want to subject himself or his patients to unnecessary risks. Because in this day when lawsuits are common, he doesn’t want to chance a malpractice charge or hurt his practice and prestige by resorting to what he may consider radical.
Another reflection of people’s need to feel safe is their preference for the familiar rather than the unknown. The tendency to have some religion or world philosophy that organized the universe and the men in it into some sort of satisfactory coherent, meaningful whole is also an example of "safety-seeking", according to Maslow.

Belonging Needs
Once people have satisfied their physiological and safety needs, they feel the need for acceptance, affection, and the feeling of belonging. This need expresses itself in a desire to be loved by someone and to have someone to love. It is important to remember that a person needs to give as well as to receive affection. Supervisors can see the strength of the social need by observing cliques during coffee breaks or groups leaving work together. This need can be satisfied by providing employees with social activities, such as an annual picnic, bowling teams, chess clubs, investment meetings, or company committees. The social need may more aptly be called the "belonging need".
Recent studies show that teamwork and team spirit are often more important than individual achievement, but many leaders and administrators underestimate their importance. Alvin Zander, Social Psychologist, noted that all decisions about goals represent a compromise between a group’s need for achievement and its fear of failure. A strong desire for group success means that the individual within the group will feel satisfied if the group accomplishes its goal and will feel embarrassed if it does not. The desire for group success is not a permanent trait in individuals, but one that develops in certain situations.
The following are factors in a group’s ability to succeed:
1. A sense of unity
2. Increased responsibility for the success of one’s group
3. Working conditions
4. The continual success or failure of a group
Research shows that managers often set unrealistic goals for their workers. This approach may contribute to failure, because groups will tend to develop their own aspirations that they believe they can achieve. Further studies show that, if there is a conflict between the groups and individual goals, the group goals will usually prevail.
By contrast, complete physical or psychological isolation is one of the greatest and most feared punishments known to humans. Many people have been able to survive long periods of ordinary imprisonment without drastic deterioration of personality, but few can endure the agony of solitary confinement without profound personality changes. Isolation in milder or more subtle forms occurs in many ways on the job. For some workers it may be demoralizing. Others may be motivated to change their behavior to regain a sense of belonging.

Esteem Needs
People who value themselves have highly developed feelings of confidence, worth, strength, capability, and adequacy. They feel that they are useful and important in the world. Lack of self-esteem produces feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, weakness, and helplessness. Feelings of self-dislike lead to discouragement and a sense of failure. Maslow classifies the need for self-esteem into two categories: (1) the desire for a sense of internal worth and (2) the desire for prestige or reputation that can only be granted by other people. Perhaps one of the reasons that many supervisors work harder than their employees is that work has special significance for them- it confers self-esteem. A worker also needs esteem, but may have more difficulty getting it. For example, the more routine a job, the lower its status may seem to be. Replacements are easily found for highly routine jobs.

Self- Realization / Actualization and Transcendence
When a person has satisfied their physiological needs, safety, love/belonging and has positive self-esteem, this is when self-realization and self-actualization can be attained. Most people then begin to realize who they are, what they want out of life and begin the process of self-actualizing – actually being and doing what they want in life, and not just following the crowd. They begin the process of becoming who they really want to be and not just a duplicate of someone else. Authenticity begins to emerge. A person has the ability to bounce back from most any situation once they realize who they are and what they want. Then, a person is in a position to help others work through the same process. This is called transcendence for the person and transcending to the point of helping others.

 
This is a mandatory class!  You must attend in person before you are eligible to be a resident Member.

Chess Out-side the Box is a tool to create peaceful, small, committed and trusted accountability groups. It is a tool to help identify challenges, develop strategic critical thinking skills and develop solutions. When this transpires, then a person has the potential to take the skills and solutions into the real world and apply them. By taking Chess Out-side the Box of mainstream thinking of the win-lose scenario, we can transcend the goal of the game of war and violence. By focusing on the rotation of competition, from a one-on-one win or lose to a collaborative and cognitive solution finding challenge, we have the potential to create for ourselves a peaceful and non violent life. We have the potential to create fulfilling, self-sustaining lives through interdependent thought and behavior. And this friend has the potential of creating far reaching waves of peace both at the local, national and global level.
Chess is called the king of games and the game of kings. In a world where most people are chess pieces on someone else’s game board, good move-bad move, trade- off and sacrifice affects every commitment, decision, purchase and choice that we make, whether we realize it or not. So, it can be reasoned, that teaching kids the lessons of chess early, or adults even later in life, and applying the learned strategy skills of chess to real time creative problem solving, can make us all better players in the game we call life. The better you know yourself, the potential is better for you to read your opponent. Manipulating resources over a level playing field, sizing up your opponent’s position, making sure certain resources are in place before other moves can be made are among the many reasons why chess is called the game of life and consider it an essential life skill. It has now been made part of the life skills curriculum in parts of the country. For more information, refer to www.olympicchessdc.org.
We can trace the origins of chess at least back to sixth century India. According to Wikipedia, an online, free encyclopedia, "The earliest precursor of modern chess is a game called Chaturanga, which flourished in India by the 6th century, and is the earliest known game to have two essential features found in all later chess variations — different pieces having different powers (which was not the case with Checkers and Go), and victory depended on the fate of one piece, the king of modern chess.
Other game pieces, often known as "chess pieces," uncovered in archaeological findings are considered as coming from other, distantly related, board games, which may even have boards of 100 squares or more. As early as the late 19th century, an idea originating mainly from the works of Captain Hiram Cox and Duncan Forbes indicated that a four handed game was the original form of chaturanga. Other scholars have concluded that a two handed version probably existed before the four handed one and evolved later into many other versions, including the four handed version of chaturanga. In Sanskrit, "Chaturanga" literally means "having four limbs (or parts)" and in epic poetry often means army. The name itself comes from a battle formation mentioned in the Indian epic Mahabharata. Chaturanga was a battle simulation game which faithfully rendered Indian military strategy of the time. Initial gambling and dice aspects of the game — facing condemnation from both the Hindu and Muslim cultures — were removed as the game progressed and branched into newer games. AshtÄ�pada, the uncheckered 8×8 board — sometimes with special markers — served as the main board for playing Chaturanga. Other Indian boards included the 10×10 Dasapada and the 9×9 Saturankam. The Arab scholar Abu al-Hasan 'AlÄ« al-Mas'Å«dÄ« detailed the use of chess as a tool for military strategy, mathematics, gambling and even its vague association with astronomy in India and elsewhere. Mas'Å«dÄ« notes that ivory in India was chiefly used for the production of chess and backgammon pieces, and asserts that the game was introduced to Persia from India, along with the book Kelileh va Demneh, during the reign of emperor Nushirwan. A notable evolution of chaturanga was Shatranj (or chatrang), a popular two-player variant which resembled chaturanga and could be won either by eliminating all of an opponent's pieces (except the king) or by capturing the king itself. The initial positions of the pawns and horses did not change, but there were some regional and temporal alterations for the other pieces" . Others would argue that it dates back to the Temple of Solomon.
And, today www.chessintheschools.org is a five million dollar a year endowment; and mentoring is arguably a multi-billion dollar industry. It seems others believe the game of chess has much potential. But, for whatever reason, few have blended chess and mentoring to create an education model that teaches strategy collaboration and group dynamics. Those who do will put themselves in a position to set the pace for this growing market place of alternative education.
The following are some elements of this form of chess mentoring. Usually there are two chess players at the board. We know two heads are better than one for solving challenges. Then logic tells us, four heads are better than two. So, we have four at the board. We develop the ability to rotate competitive, collaborative, and cognitive processes. This has the potential to create an educational standardized tool second to none. Chess experts tell us every game played perfectly is a draw. And for every move, physics tells us there is an equal and opposite counter move. Just because people don’t take the time to see the better move doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.

Each piece on the chessboard represents people in your life. The King is you. The Queen could be a significant other. But, it is someone who maneuvers well in life and has resources. The Rooks are people who are grounded, usually linear thinkers, considered powerful, at least to some degree and usually are property owners or control them. They have resources. The Knights are people who protect you. They have your back, so to speak and usually are multi-dimensional thinkers who may be considered strange, outside the box kind of people. The Bishops represent the spiritual guides in your life. And, Pons are people or ideas that are helpful, can help you win the game we call life. But, they can also be sacrificed for the greater good, if necessary.
At the board game, four people each identify their needs, wants and dreams. Each also identifies their challenges. By each asking questions, helping each other identify the "players" on their own life’s chess board and collaboratively sharing their resources of knowledge, skills, personal network of people, time and any other resourceful thing of value, each has the opportunity to contribute to one anothers "kingdom".

So, in real life and at our chessboard, by combining the competitive, collaborative, and cognitive processes, at the end of the day, no one is really any better than anyone else. But, few have been resourceful enough to prove it or perceive chess in this way. The learning involved and solutions discovered could trump the matter of who wins or loses. It doesn’t really matter whom wins or loses, because we all walk away with much more than we started with. Welcome to this exciting adventure.

This is a mandatory class! You must attend in person before you are eligible to be a Resident Member.


1. Defined
A. By UN Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development
"Meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"
B. According to Sustainability of Community ICTs and its Future
By Michael Gurstein, New Jersey Institute of Technology
"Little will have been accomplished towards our larger task of enabling and empowering communities with information and communications technologies (ICTs). However, defining what is meant by sustainability is in itself a task, one that is of key significance for the long-term success of our collective work.
Sustainability as a concept is conventionally associated with environmental and ecological issues and refers, according to the Wikipedia, to the means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society and its members are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals indefinitely. However a casual search via Google shows some 85,000 references to ICT and sustainability" excluding environment".
2. Applications
A. International
Thematic issues According to UN Dept. of Economic and Social Affairs
1) Advancement of women
Women in Power and Decision Making
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to take part in the Government of his/her country.
The empowerment and autonomy of women and the improvement of women's social, economic and political status is essential for the achievement of both transparent and accountable government and administration and sustainable development in all areas of life.
2) Countries in special situations
The United Nations Division for Social Policy and Development (UNDSPD) is part of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). It seeks to strengthen international cooperation for social development with particular attention to poverty eradication, employment generation and social integration, especially with due regard to issues relating to older persons, persons with disabilities, family, youth, persons in situations of conflict and indigenous peoples, and other vulnerable or marginalized groups (or persons) due to their economic, social (religious), or cultural backgrounds.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and is the first human rights convention to be open for signature by regional integration organizations.
The Convention marks a "paradigm shift" in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities. It takes to a new height the movement from viewing persons with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection towards viewing persons with disabilities as "subjects" with rights, who are capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society.
The Convention was negotiated during eight sessions of an Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly from 2002 to 2006, making it the fastest negotiated human rights treaty.
Disability and a new international economic order
The transfer of resources and technology from developed to developing countries as envisaged within the framework of the new international economic order, as well as other provisions for strengthening the economies of developing nations, would, if implemented, be of benefit to the people of these countries, including the disabled. Improvement of economic conditions in the developing countries, particularly their rural areas, would provide new employment opportunities for disabled persons and needed resources to support measures for prevention, re- habilitation and the equalization of opportunities.
United Nations - enable
Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities
World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons
A major outcome of the International Year of Disabled Persons was the formulation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons, adopted by the General Assembly on 3 December 1982, by its resolution 37/521.
The World Programme of Action (WPA) is a global strategy to enhance disability prevention, rehabilitation and equalization of opportunities, which pertains to full participation of persons with disabilities in social life and national development. The WPA also emphasizes the need to approach disability from a human rights perspective.
3) Governance and institution-building
According to the United Nations Public Administrations Network "The end of the cold war; spreading democratization; a shift in balance among the state, the market and civil society; globalization; and changing social mores — among other factors — are altering the environment in which governments are operating. The explosion of new information and communication technologies is also allowing for a rapid, global diffusion of ideas and practices, enabling the public to demand higher standards of ethics, transparency and accountability in the public sector".
4) Human rights
Human rights can only be achieved through an informed and continued demand by people for their protection. Human rights education promotes values, beliefs and attitudes that encourage all individuals to uphold their own rights and those of others. It develops an understanding of everyone's common responsibility to make human rights a reality in each community.
Human rights education constitutes an essential contribution to the long-term prevention of human rights abuses and represents an important investment in the endeavour to achieve a just society in which all human rights of all persons are valued and respected.
The High Commissioner is the coordinator of United Nations education and public information programmes in the field of human rights
5) International trade
Located within the United Nations Environment Programme's Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, the Economics and Trade Branch (UNEP-ETB) seeks to conserve the environment, reduce poverty, and promote sustainable development by enhancing the capacity of governments, businesses, and civil society to integrate environmental considerations into economic, trade, and financial policies and practices in accordance with the partnership and integrated policy-making approaches of sustainable development.
In pursuing its mission, UNEP-ETB focuses on four complementary programme areas: 1. Promoting integrated policy design and implementation emphasizing sound environmental management, sustainable trade promotion, and poverty reduction; 2. Strengthening environmental management and implementation of multilateral environmental agreements through economic instruments and subsidy reform; 3. Promoting mutually supportive trade and environment policies; 4. Enhancing the role of the financial sector in sustainable development.
6) Macroeconomics and finance
A world of development experience
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP's network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals. Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of:
* Democratic Governance * Poverty Reduction
* Crisis Prevention and Recovery * Environment and Energy
* HIV/AIDS
UNDP helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women. UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.
7) Population
Basic Social Services for All (BSSA) was produced under the auspices of the ACC Task Force on Basic Social Services for All (TFBSSA) as one of the follow-up activities of the recent United Nations global conferences and summits, particularly: the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) (Cairo, 1994), the World Summit for Social Development (WSSD) (Copenhagen, 1995), the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) (Beijing, 1995) and the Second World Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) (Istanbul, 1996).
The Wall Chart on Basic Social Services for All presents the currently available national statistics in six key areas identified by the Task Force. The Chart delineates where countries are presently and summarizes below the key relevant goals agreed upon at the United Nations conferences. The six key areas are:
1. population, with special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning services
2. primary health car
3. Nutrition
4. basic education
5. drinking water and sanitation
6. shelter
8) Science, technology, and productive sectors
A FAIR GLOBALIZATION: CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization
Currently, globalization is a divisive subject. It verges on a dialogue of the deaf, both nationally and internationally. Yet the future of our countries, and the destiny of our globe, demands that we all rethink globalization. This report is timely. The debate is changing. Old convictions and ideologies have been tested by experience, and changed by example. People are open to a fresh start. Now is the time for leadership, to move from sterile debate to positive action.
We believe the dominant perspective on globalization must shift more from a narrow preoccupation with markets to a broader preoccupation with people. Globalization must be brought from the high pedestal of corporate board rooms and cabinet meetings to meet the needs of people in the communities in which they live. The social dimension of globalization is about jobs, health and education – but it goes far beyond these. It is the dimension of globalization which people experience in their daily life and work: the totality of their
aspirations for democratic participation and material prosperity. A better globalization is the key to a better and secure life for people everywhere in the 21st century.
A vision for change
Public debate on globalization is at an impasse. Opinion is frozen in the ideological certainties of entrenched positions and fragmented in a variety of special interests. The will for consensus is weak. Key international negotiations are deadlocked and international development commitments go largely unfulfilled. The report before you offers no miraculous or simple solutions, for there are none. But it is an attempt to help break the current impasse by focusing on the concerns and aspirations of people and on the ways to better harness the potential of globalization itself. Ours is a critical but positive message for changing the current path of globalization. We believe the benefits of globalization can be extended to more people and better shared between and within countries, with many more voices having an influence on its course.
The resources and the means are at hand. Our proposals are ambitious but feasible. We are certain that a better world is possible.
We seek a process of globalization with a strong social dimension based on universally shared values, and respect for human rights and individual dignity; one that is fair, inclusive, democratically governed and provides opportunities and tangible benefits for all countries and people.
To this end we call for:
A focus on people. The cornerstone of a fairer globalization lies in meeting the
demands of all people for: respect for their rights, cultural identity and autonomy; decent work; and the empowerment of the local communities they live in. Gender equality is essential.
A democratic and effective State. The State must have the capability to manage integration into the global economy, and provide social and economic opportunity and security.
Sustainable development. The quest for a fair globalization must be underpinned by the interdependent and mutually reinforcing pillars of economic development, social development and environmental protection at the local, national, regional and global levels.
Productive and equitable markets. This requires sound institutions to promote
opportunity and enterprise in a well-functioning market economy.
Fair rules. The rules of the global economy must offer equitable opportunity and access for all countries and recognize the diversity in national capacities and developmental needs.
Globalization with solidarity. There is a shared responsibility to assist countries and people excluded from or disadvantaged by globalization. Globalization must help to overcome inequality both within and between countries and contribute to the elimination of poverty.
Greater accountability to people. Public and private actors at all levels with power to influence the outcomes of globalization must be democratically accountable for the policies they pursue and the actions they take. They must deliver on their commitments and use their power with respect for others.
Deeper partnerships. Many actors are engaged in the realization of global social and economic goals – international organizations, governments and parliaments, business, labour, civil society and many others. Dialogue and partnership among them is an essential democratic instrument to create a better world.
An effective United Nations. A stronger and more efficient multilateral system is the key instrument to create a democratic, legitimate and coherent framework for globalization.
Globalization and its impact
Globalization has set in motion a process of far-reaching change that is affecting everyone. New technology, supported by more open policies, has created a world more interconnected than ever before. This spans not only growing interdependence in economic relations – trade, investment, finance and the organization of production globally – but also social and political interaction among organizations and individuals across the world.
The potential for good is immense. The growing interconnectivity among people across the world is nurturing the realization that we are all part of a global community.
But we also see how far short we still are from realizing this potential. The current process of globalization is generating unbalanced outcomes, both between and within countries. Wealth is being created, but too many countries and people are not sharing in its benefits. They also have little or no voice in shaping the process.
Meanwhile the revolution in global communications heightens awareness of these disparities.
A strategy for change
These global imbalances are morally unacceptable and politically unsustainable. What is required to change this is not the realization of a Utopian blueprint in one swoop. Rather it is a series of coordinated changes across a broad front, ranging from reform of parts of the global economic system to strengthening governance at the local level. All this should and can be achieved in the context of open economies and open societies. Though interests diverge, we believe that there is increasing convergence of opinion throughout the world on the need for a fair and inclusive process of globalization.
The governance of globalization
We judge that the problems we have identified are not due to globalization as such but to deficiencies in its governance. Global markets have grown rapidly without the parallel development of economic and social institutions necessary for their smooth and equitable functioning. At the same time, there is concern about the unfairness of key global rules on trade and finance and their asymmetric effects on rich and poor countries. An additional concern is the failure of current international policies to respond adequately to the challenges posed by globalization. There is a serious democratic deficit at the heart of the system. Most developing countries still have very limited influence in global negotiations on rules and in determining the policies of key financial and economic institutions. Similarly, workers and the poor have little or no voice in this governance process.
Beginning at home
There is thus a wide range of issues to be addressed at the global level. But this alone will not suffice. Global governance is not a lofty, disembodied sphere. It is merely the apex of a web of governance that stretches from the local level upwards. The behaviour of nation States as global actors is the essential determinant of the quality of global governance. Their degree of commitment to multilateralism, universal values and common goals, the extent of their sensitivity to the cross-border impact of their policies, and the weight they attach to global solidarity are all vital determinants of the quality of global governance. At the same time, how they manage their internal affairs influences the extent to which people will benefit from globalization and be protected from its negative effects.
In this important sense the response to globalization can be said to begin at home. This reflects the simple but crucial fact that people live locally within nations. We therefore anchor our analysis at the national level. We do not, of course, presume to make specific recommendations for all the greatly diverse countries of the world. Rather, we set out the broad goals and principles that can guide policy to deal more effectively with the social dimension of globalization, fully recognizing that their implementation must respond to the needs and specific conditions of each country. From this perspective it is clear that national governance needs to be improved in all countries, albeit more radically in some than in others.
There is wide international agreement on the essentials which we must all urgently strive for:
- Good political governance based on a democratic political system, respect for human rights, the rule of law and social equity.
- An effective State that ensures high and stable economic growth, provides public goods and social protection, raises the capabilities of people through universal access to education and other social services, and promotes gender equity.
- A vibrant civil society, empowered by freedom of association and expression, that reflects and voices the full diversity of views and interests. Organizations representing public interests, the poor and other disadvantaged groups are also essential for ensuring participatory and socially just governance.
- Strong representative organizations of workers and employers are essential for fruitful social dialogue.
The highest priority must be given to policies to meet the central aspiration of
women and men for decent work; to raise the productivity of the informal economy and to integrate it into the economic mainstream; and to enhance the competitiveness of enterprises and economies. Policy must focus squarely on meeting peoples’ needs where they live and work.
It is thus essential to nurture local communities through the devolution of power and resources and through strengthening local economic capabilities, cultural identity, and respecting the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. Nation States should also strengthen regional and sub-regional cooperation as a major instrument for development and for a stronger voice in the governance of globalization. They should reinforce the social dimension of regional integration.
Reform at the global level
Global rules and policies on trade and finance must allow more space for policy
autonomy in developing countries. Fair rules for trade and capital flows need to be complemented by fair rules for the cross-border movement of people. A minimum level of social protection for individuals and families needs to be accepted and undisputed as part of the socio-economic ‘floor’ of the global economy, including adjustment assistance to displaced workers.
A critical requirement for better global governance is that all organizations, including UN agencies, should become more accountable to the public at large for the policies they pursue.
The contributions of business, organized labour, civil society organizations (CSOs), and of knowledge and advocacy networks to the social dimension of globalization should be strengthened. Responsible media can play a central role in facilitating a movement towards a fairer and more inclusive globalization.
Mobilizing action for change
Our proposals call for a wider and more democratic participation of people and countries in the making of policies that affect them. And they also require those with the capacity and power to decide – governments, parliaments, business, labour, civil society and international organizations – to assume their common responsibility to promote a free, equitable and productive global community.
9) Social development
Social Perspective on Development Branch
Division for Social Development and Policy
Department of economics and Social Affairs
Cooperatives in Social Development
The United Nations system values the important role of cooperatives in social and economic development. The World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen in 1995, and the General Assembly resolution 51/58 [E] [A] [C] [F] [R] [S] adopted in 1996, recognized the importance of cooperatives in the people-centred approach to development.
The Summit agreed to "utilize and develop fully the potential and contribution of cooperatives for the attainment of social development goals, in particular the eradication of poverty, the generation of full and productive employment, and the enhancement of social integration."(Commitment 9h)
Cooperatives and poverty reduction. Cooperatives, as self-help organizations, contribute to the eradication of poverty through the economic and social progress of their members and employees and by stimulating the economies and enhancing the social fabric of the communities in which they operate.
Cooperatives and employment generation. Cooperatives help to create, improve and protect the income and employment opportunities of their members by pooling the limited individual resources of members to create business enterprises that enable them to participate in production, profit-sharing, cost-saving or risk-taking activities.
Cooperatives and social integration. Cooperatives promote social integration and cohesion in the face of inequalities in social capabilities by empowering and giving voice to the poor as well as marginalized groups and by promoting the organization of federations and alliances.
In addition, cooperatives play an important role in an increasingly integrated
global economy as well as in fostering peacebuilding among peoples,
communities and nations.
Cooperatives and globalization. Cooperatives work towards fair globalization - one that is fundamentally inclusive, sustainable and people-centered – by creating business entities that promote solidarity among peoples, greater accountability, deeper partnerships and fairer rules and standards that offers equitable opportunities for all.
Cooperatives and post crisis/conflict, reconstruction and reintegration in disaster areas. Cooperatives through their economic model, which stresses self-help and mutual aid, promote local economic and social development. Cooperatives also help facilitate social and political reconciliation, and provide access to financial services and spur employment, as exemplified in their valuable role in rehabilitating survivors of the East Asian Tsunami.
10) Statistics
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Environment for Development
About UNEP: The Organization
Mission:
To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
The Environment Under Review
The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) project is the implementation of UNEP’s mandate to keep the global environment under review.
It provides information for decision-making, supports early warning and builds capacity at the global and sub-global levels. GEO is also a communication process that aims at raising awareness on environmental issues and providing options for action.
Environmental Education and Training
Environmental Education and Training (EET) promotes attitudes and value systems that influence environmentally ethical behaviour by developing understanding, skills and values that will enable people participate as active and informed citizens in the development of an ecologically sustainable and socially just society
Environmental Education is fundamental to the achievement of the goal of sustainable development. Education, awareness raising and training are essential to UNEP fulfilling its mandate of Inspiring, Informing and Enabling nations and peoples to achieve sustainable development.
CHANGE OF GUARD AT UNEP
Nairobi, 15 June 2006 --The new head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) took up office with a call to all nations to put the environment at the heart of economic policies.
Achim Steiner, the 45 year-old former Director General of IUCN-the World Conservation Union, said:" For too long economics and environment have seemed like players on rival teams. There have been a lot of nasty challenges and far too many own goals. We need to make these two sides of the development coin team players, players on the same side". "We then have a chance to achieve the fundamental shift of values and reach a new understanding of what really makes the world go round.
Until recently the goods and services provided by nature have been paid only lip service by traditional economic accounting. Thus the land, the air, the biodiversity and the world’s waters have been frequently treated as free and limitless," he added. Mr Steiner said a whole stream of reports over the past year or so, including the UNEP supported Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, were underlining the "enormous wealth of nature’s services". "They also underline that far too many are becoming limited as a result of abuse, poor management and over-exploitation," he added. Mr Steiner said one of his main challenges over his coming first term as UNEP Executive Director was to end this "antagonism between economic and environmental policy". He said he would be focusing on how markets and economic incentives and international treaties and agreements can be made to work in a way which is "pro environment, pro poor and thus pro sustainable development".
UNDESD
United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development
"Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)" is a concept that goes far beyond environmental education. ESD is the educational process of achieving human development ("the three pillars of human development" proposed by UNDP:
economic growth, social development, and environmental protection) in an inclusive, equitable and secure manner. It thus includes education for poverty alleviation, human rights, gender equality, cultural diversity, international understanding, peace and many more. UNESCO proposed that the vision of education for sustainable development is a world where everyone has the opportunity to benefit from quality education and learn the values, behavior and lifestyles required for a sustainable future and for positive societal transformation
***Since the Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, there has been increasing recognition of the critical role of education in promoting sustainable consumption and production patterns in order to change attitudes and behavior of people as individuals, including as producers and consumers, and as citizens.***
11) Sustainable development, human settlements and energy
Clean Consumption and Production - a growing movement
Towards a global framework for action on sustainable
consumption and production
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
The Marrakech Process - a global process to support the elaboration of a 10-Year Framework of Programs (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production, as called for by the WSSD Johannesburg Plan of Action.
Goals:
- assist countries in their efforts to green their economies
- help corporations develop greener business models
- encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.
Purpose - to elaborate a draft 10-year Framework of Programmes (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) which will then be negotiated by countries at the 19th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development in 2011.
Transitioning to more sustainable patterns of consumption and production is at the heart of sustainable development, and international co-operation is essential to effect that transition.
7 Task Forces
The Marrakech Task Forces are voluntary initiatives led by governments, which - in co-operation with various other partners from the North and the South - commit themselves to carrying out a set of concrete activities at a national or regional level that promote a shift to SCP patterns.
The Task Forces are supporting the implementation of SCP projects such as:
Cooperation with Africa
Education for Sustainable Consumption
Sustainable Buildings & Construction
Sustainable Lifestyle
Sustainable Products
Sustainable Public Procurement
Sustainable Tourism
Issues - SCP, Industrial Development & Energy
Due to the combination of population growth and economic growth, global energy demand could double by 2050 if the existing technologies and consumption patterns persist.

1) Advancement of women
NOW – National Organization for Women
Indiana NOW
P.O. Box 2264, Indianapolis, IN 46206
E-mail: indiananow@comcast.net
Home Page: http://indiananow.home.comcast.net
About NOW
The National Organization for Women is the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States. NOW has over 600,000 contributing members and 450 chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since our founding in 1966, NOW's goal has been "to take action" to bring about equality for all women. Both the actions NOW takes and its position on the issues are principled, uncompromising and often ahead of their time. NOW is a leader, not a follower, of public opinion.
2) Countries in (special situations)
NOD - National Organization on Disability
910 Sixteenth Street, N.W., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 293-5960 Fax: (202) 293-7999
TTY: (202) 293-5968 Email: ability@nod.org
It's ability, not disability, that counts. The mission of the National Organization on Disability (NOD) is to expand the participation and contribution of America’s 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life.
The National Organization on Disability, (NOD) works in partnership with businesses, government, national philanthropies and local organizations to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in American society. We accomplish this through the creation of some of the nation’s most innovative and progressive programs that promote employment opportunities, raise awareness and marshal resources for people with disabilities.
Nearly one-fifth of all Americans—more than 54 million men, women and children— have a physical, sensory or intellectual disability. Despite the numerous examples of people with disabilities who are valued workers, civic leaders, and business owners, National Organization on Disability (NOD’s)/Harris surveys have documented wide gaps in the overall participation levels of people with disabilities when compared to the general population. NOD works to close these gaps through focused programs that provide opportunities for employment, promote inclusive emergency preparedness planning, raise disability awareness, encourage physical accessibility, and advance attitudinal acceptance.
3) Governance and institution-building
International Foundation for Electoral Systems(IEFS)
IFES maintain programs in over 30 countries staffed by more than 300 dedicated and committed people invested in the future of a democratic world.
If you have questions or are interested in IFES programs, contact them at:
General Inquiries: info.communications@ifes.org
Media Inquiries: media@ifes.org
Careers: careers@ifes.org
United States: usa.programs@ifes.org
Good governance prevails when government officials manage public institutions in an efficient, transparent manner that is responsive to citizens’ concerns. It also requires that citizens work collaboratively with officials in the pursuit of common social, political, economic and cultural goals.
IFES helps to improve the transparency and efficiency of government institutions by building the management capacity, independence and professionalism of public officials in order to enable them to better serve their constituents.
We achieve this goal by:
(1) fostering dialogue among government agencies, political parties and civil society organizations;
(2) designing programs to increase public participation in the decision-making process;
(3) offering government institutions research-based public policy guidelines; and
(4) promoting responsive, transparent and accountable governance at the national, regional and local levels.
Civil Society
Constructive engagement between citizens and their government is an essential ingredient of representative democracy: citizens must articulate their concerns and government officials must listen to them. To be healthy, such a representative democracy also needs
1) to be populated by citizens who know their rights and responsibilities and
2) to include all citizens’ voices.
Rule of Law & Anti-Corruption Work
Every citizen of every country deserves the opportunity to live under the Rule of Law, and every country has an obligation to enforce the law fairly and effectively.
The global experience and guiding philosophy of IFES supports the view that an independent judiciary, an independent media, and an informed and engaged civil society are crucial to achieving the Rule of Law.
IFES' Rule of Law programs include
multidisciplinary initiatives designed to promote more demand for reform as well as best practices in a number of inter-related areas, including judicial independence, judicial enforcement, transparency, accountability, open government, access to information, whistle blowing, coalition building and human rights.
While priorities and strategies vary from country to country, there are certain crosscutting principles that guide all of IFES' Rule of Law initiatives. These include comprehensive functional and formal assessments, strategic program design, coalition building, public-private partnerships, civil society monitoring and engagement, and public and civic education. IFES’ unique approach to programming in this sector incorporates local, national, regional, and global strategies and programs.
In addition, IFES offers a practical"how-to" Rule of Law Toolkit and a participatory methodology that promotes international norms, consensus, lessons learned, and strategic, holistic programming.
4) Human rights
The United States protects the human rights of its citizens, as well as being a party to certain human rights treaties.
The [www.law.cornell.edu/constitution Constitution of the United States] guarantees basic freedoms, such as equal protection under the laws, to all United States citizens (Amendment XIV). Additionally, the United States has passed legislation further protecting the human rights of its citizens. A good example is civil rights legislation (Title 42, Chapter 21 of the U.S. Code). The United States is also bound by treaty obligations. It has ratified the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, is a member of the United Nations, and has signed and/or ratified other human rights agreements. A list of major human rights instruments that the United States has signed or ratified can be found here. The United States thus has domestic and international obligations to protect human rights.
Cornwell University Law Library
Box 223623, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-2623
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
U.S. Code collection / U.S. CIVIL RIGHTS
Their version is generated from the most recent official version made available by the US House of Representatives, according to Cornwell University.. See the website for the full listing of your civil rights.

Title 42 The Public Health and Welfare
***Pay close attention and be informed. These are issues that affect us everyday. For questions and/or concerns regarding your rights, inform yourself and participate in our democratic system!
5) International trade
Foreign Affairs – Council on Foreign Relations
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20020101faessay6561/david-dollar-aart.../spreading-the-wealth.html
January/February 2002
Spreading the Wealth by David Dollar and Aart Kraay
Summary: Antiglobalization activists are convinced that economic integration has been widening the gap between rich and poor. The best evidence, however, proves them wrong. Thanks to higher growth driven by greater openness to trade and investment, global inequality has narrowed and global poverty has been reduced.
David Dollar and Aart Kraay are economists at the World Bank's Development Research Group. The views expressed here are their own.
July/August 2002
A RISING TIDE
One of the main claims of the antiglobalization movement is that globalization is widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots. It benefits the rich and does little for the poor, perhaps even making their lot harder. As union leader Jay Mazur put it in these pages, "globalization has dramatically increased inequality between and within nations" ("Labor's New Internationalism," January/February 2000).
The problem with this new conventional wisdom is that the best evidence available shows the exact opposite to be true. So far, the current wave of globalization, which started around 1980, has actually promoted economic equality and reduced poverty.
Global economic integration has complex effects on income, culture, society, and the environment. But in the debate over globalization's merits, its impact on poverty is particularly important. If international trade and investment primarily benefit the rich, many people will feel that restricting trade to protect jobs, culture, or the environment is worth the costs. But if restricting trade imposes further hardship on poor people in the developing world, many of the same people will think otherwise.
Three facts bear on this question. First, a long-term global trend toward greater inequality prevailed for at least 200 years; it peaked around 1975. But since then, it has stabilized and possibly even reversed. The chief reason for the change has been the accelerated growth of two large and initially poor countries: China and India.
Second, a strong correlation links increased participation in international trade and investment on the one hand and faster growth on the other. The developing world can be divided into a "globalizing" group of countries that have seen rapid increases in trade and foreign investment over the last two decades -- well above the rates for rich countries -- and a "nonglobalizing" group that trades even less of its income today than it did 20 years ago. The aggregate annual per capita growth rate of the globalizing group accelerated steadily from one percent in the 1960s to five percent in the 1990s. During that latter decade, in contrast, rich countries grew at two percent and nonglobalizers at only one percent. Economists are cautious about drawing conclusions concerning causality, but they largely agree that openness to foreign trade and investment (along with complementary reforms) explains the faster growth of the globalizers.
Third, and contrary to popular perception, globalization has not resulted in higher inequality within economies. Inequality has indeed gone up in some countries (such as China) and down in others (such as the Philippines).
But those changes are not systematically linked to globalization measures such as trade and investment flows, tariff rates, and the presence of capital controls. Instead, shifts in inequality stem more from domestic education, taxes, and social policies. In general, higher growth rates in globalizing developing countries have translated into higher incomes for the poor. Even with its increased inequality, for example, China has seen the most spectacular reduction of poverty in world history -- which was supported by opening its economy ...
Macroeconomics and finance
The Economist's Dictionary of Economics defines Macroeconomics as
"The study of whole economic systems aggregating over the functioning of individual economic units. It is primarily concerned with variables which follow systematic and predictable paths of behaviour and can be analysed independently of the decisions of the many agents who determine their level. More specifically, it is a study of national economies and the determination of national income."
Household income in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Household income is a measure of current private income commonly used by the United States government and private institutions. To measure the income of a household, the pre-tax money receipts of all residents over the age of 15 over a single year are combined. Most of these receipts are in the form of wages and salaries (before withholding and other taxes), but many other forms of income, such as unemployment insurance, disability, child support, etc., are included as well. The residents of the household do not have to be related to the householder for their earnings to be considered part of the household's income. As households tend to share a common economic fate, the use of household income remains among the most widely accepted measures of income. However, the size of a household, which is commonly not considered, creates significant distortions which offset gains or decreases in household income and makes direct comparisons between quintiles impossible.
5) Population
Key Areas
1. Population - special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning services
2. Primary health care
3. Nutrition
4. Basic Education
5. Drinking water and sanitation
6. Shelter
Population & Reproductive Health
Compton Foundation, Inc.
http://www.comptonfoundation.org/index.html
Rationale
In its Population & Reproductive Health grantmaking, the Foundation links population stabilization with peace and environment issues, and as such with broader social development and environmental goals.
The Foundation believes that:
* on a global level, support for family planning services ultimately helps achieve a healthier planet, by reducing the contribution of population growth to environmental deterioration and violent conflict; * on a personal level, support for reproductive health empowers women and contributes to improved health and quality of life for women, men, and children.
Goals
1. Achieving a healthy planet
Increase public and private funding for international family planning
Geographic focus: Grants are made primarily to organizations based in the United States that focus on international family planning
2. Ensuring and improving access to family planning and reproductive health services within the United States
Grants are made for policy-relevant research, training, advocacy, and public education projects. Considers proposals that strengthen and expand the capacity of service delivery systems, including sexuality education.
Geographic focus: The primary focus is U.S. national reproductive health policy.
Strategies
Strategies to achieve Population & Reproductive Health goals and objectives are consistent with the Foundation's overall approach of fostering positive and viable models of change. We generally place priority on projects with the greatest potential to: (1) improve public policies; and (2) strengthen service delivery systems that affect access to family planning.
The Foundation is particularly interested in projects that:
* broaden and strengthen constituencies that support population and reproductive health; * increase access for marginalized populations; * develop more comprehensive, culturally appropriate, and values-based messages/language; * connect population and reproductive health issues to environmental, health, labor and other social justice movements. population, with special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning services
Primary Health Care
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
http://www.hrsa.gov/linktohrsa.htm
HRSA is the nation's access agency – improving health and saving lives by making sure the right services are available in the right places at the right time.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
Vision
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) envisions optimal health for all, supported by a health care system that assures access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality care.
Mission
HRSA provides national leadership, program resources and services needed to improve access to culturally competent, quality health care.
Goals
As the Nation’s access agency, HRSA focuses on uninsured, underserved, and special needs populations in its goals and program activities:
GOAL 1: Improve Access to Health Care.
GOAL 2: Improve Health Outcomes.
GOAL 3: Improve the Quality of Health Care.
GOAL 4: Eliminate Health Disparities.
GOAL 5: Improve the Public Health and Health Care Systems.
GOAL 6: Enhance the Ability of the Health Care System to Respond to Public Health Emergencies.
GOAL 7: Achieve Excellence in Management Practices.
Health Centers-America’s Primary Care Safety Net:
Reflections on Success 2002-2007
Whom do Health Centers Serve?
Health centers serve an increasingly diverse population from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of health needs.
People of all ages. 36 percent of patients in 2007 were children (age 19 and younger); about 7 percent were 65 or older.
Nutrition
UNC Carolina Population Center
http://www.cpc.unc.edu/
Carolina Population Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB# 8120, University Square
123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 USA
Phone: (919) 966-2157 / Fax: (919) 966-6638
Office Locations:
University Square East, floors 2-5
University Square West, floors 2-3
211-B West Cameron Avenue
206 West Franklin Street
What is the Nutrition Transition?
Two historic processes of change occur simultaneous to or precede the nutrition transition.
One is the demographic transition: the shift from a pattern of high fertility and high mortality to one of low fertility and low mortality (typical of modern industrialized countries).
Even more directly relevant is the epidemiologic transition, first described by Omran1: the shift from a pattern of high prevalence of infectious diseases associated with malnutrition, and periodic famine and poor environmental sanitation, to a pattern of high prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases associated with urban-industrial life styles.
A third pattern of delayed degenerative diseases has been more recently formulated (e.g., Olshansky and Ault2). Accompanying this progression is a major shift in age-specific mortality patterns and a consequent increase in life expectancy. Interpretations of the demographic and epidemiologic transition share a focus with the nutrition transition on the ways in which populations move from one pattern to the next.
Similarly, large shifts have occurred in dietary and physical activity and inactivity patterns. These changes are reflected in nutritional outcomes, such as changes in average stature and body composition.
***Modern societies seem to be converging on a pattern of diet high in saturated fat, sugar, and refined foods and low in fiber - often termed the "Western diet." Many see this dietary pattern to be associated with high levels of chronic and degenerative diseases and with reduced disability-free time.***
Human diet and activity patterns and nutritional status have undergone a sequence of major shifts,
Five broad nutrition patterns.
They are not restricted to particular periods of human history. For convenience, the patterns are outlined as historical developments
Pattern 1: Collecting Food
Characterizes hunter-gatherer populations, is high in carbohydrates and fiber and low in fat, especially saturated fat.
Pattern 2: Famine
Much less varied and subject to larger variations and periods of acute scarcity of food. These dietary changes are hypothesized to be associated with nutritional stress and a reduction in stature (estimated by some at about 4 inches. During the later phases of this pattern, social stratification intensifies, and dietary variation increases according to gender and social status
Pattern 3: Receding Famine
The consumption of fruits, vegetables, and animal protein increases, and starchy staples become less important in the diet. Many earlier civilizations made great progress in reducing chronic hunger and famines, but only in the last third of the last millennium have these changes become widespread, leading to marked shifts in diet. However, famines continued well into the eighteenth century in portions of Europe and remain common in some regions of the world. Activity patterns start to shift and inactivity and leisure becomes a part of the lives of more people.
Pattern 4: Nutrition-related Noncommunicable Disease(NR-NCD)
A diet high in total fat, cholesterol, sugar, and other refined carbohydrates and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids and fiber, and often accompanied by an increasingly sedentary life, is characteristic of most high-income societies (and increasing portions of the population in low-income societies), resulting in increased prevalence of obesity and contributing to the degenerative diseases that characterize Omran's final epidemiologic stage.
Pattern 5: Behavioral Change
A new dietary pattern appears to be emerging as a result of changes in diet, evidently associated with the desire to prevent or delay degenerative diseases and prolong health. Whether these changes, instituted in some countries by consumers and in others also prodded by government policy, will constitute a large-scale transition in dietary structure and body composition remains to be seen.
If such a new dietary pattern takes hold, it may be very important in enhancing "successful aging", that is, postponing infirmity and increasing the disability free life expectancy.
***Our focus is on patterns 3 to 5, in particular on the rapid shift in much of the world's low and moderate income countries from the stage of receding famine to NR-NCD. ***
Basic Education
Education in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the elementary and high school levels (often known inside and outside the United States as the primary and secondary levels). At these levels, school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts.
School districts are usually separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments. The country has a reading literacy rate at 98% of the population over age 15, while ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding compared to other developed countries.
There are no mandatory public pre-kindergarten or crèche programs in the United States. The federal government funds the Head Start preschool program for children of low-income families, but most families are on their own with regard to finding a preschool or childcare.
In the large cities, there are sometimes upper-class preschools catering to the children of the wealthy. Because some upper-class families see these schools as the first step toward the Ivy League, there are even counselors who specialize in assisting parents and their toddlers through the preschool admissions process.
Elementary and Secondary education in the United States
Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range for which school attendance is required varies from state to state.
Most children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six years old) and finish secondary education with twelfth grade (usually eighteen years old). In some cases, pupils may be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some states allow students to leave school between 14-17 with parental permission, before finishing high school; other states require students to stay in school until age 18.
Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution. According to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools. Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, largely because they are "free" (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from 175 to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break period for about two and half months from June through August. This break is much longer than in many other nations. Originally, "summer vacation," as it is colloquially called, allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer. However, this is now relatively unnecessary and remains largely by tradition; it also has immense popular support.
Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children are educated in this manner.
Junior high school is any school intermediate between elementary school and senior high school. At this time, students are given more independence as choosing their own classes. Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student’s official transcript. Future employers or colleges may want to see steady improvement in grades and a good attendance record on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encouraged to take much more responsibility for their education
Drinking Water and Sanitation
Water supply and sanitation in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Water supply and sanitation in the United States is provided by towns and cities, public utilities that span several jurisdictions and rural cooperatives. About 15 million Americans are served by their own wells. Public water supply and sanitation systems are regulated by state-level regulatory commissions and the EPA. Water consumption in the U.S. is the highest in the world and water tariffs (rates) are the lowest in developed world.
Impact of Climate Change
Increased frequency and intensity of rainfall is one of the effects of climate change that is already apparent in streamflow records in the U.S. from the last decades. According to a 2008 report by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies on implications of climate change for urban water utilities, the expectation is that more severe storms will produce more severe flooding which will result in additional water pollution from a large variety of sources.
Chief among these are wastewater treatment, storage, and conveyance systems.
Shelter
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560678/Housing_(shelter).html
Introduction
Housing (shelter), permanent shelter for human habitation. Because shelter is necessary to everyone, the problem of providing adequate housing has long been a concern, not only of individuals but of governments as well. Thus, the history of housing is inseparable from the social, economic, and political development of humankind. Science, technology, and productive sectors
History
From the beginning of civilization, attention has been paid to the form, placement, and provision of human habitation.
By the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution, people were moving to cities in unprecedented numbers. Workers lived in sheds, railroad yards, and factory cellars, typically without sanitation facilities and water supply.
In the postindustrial society of the 20th century, housing in developing nations and poor parts of developed countries continues to be of insufficient quality and does not meet the demand of some parts of the population. Vacant, abandoned central-city housing exists alongside structures that are usable but overcrowded and buildings that are structurally reclaimable but are functionally obsolete.
Problems in the existing housing programs began to emerge in the 1970s.
Assistance began to take the form of block grants; the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, authorized by the Housing Act of 1976, was the most significant example. The CDBG program, an effort to allow flexibility in local housing problems, was a more broad-based and encompassing housing subsidy. It provided "blocks" of money for coordinated urban revitalization. The allocation of block grants was a primary redevelopment approach in the 1980s, although the funding for CDBG and similar programs had been significantly reduced.
Future Trends
Housing is a critical component in the social and economic fabric of all nations.
No country is yet satisfied that adequate housing has been delivered to the various economic groups that make up its populace. Thus, most nations, in one form or another, continue to claim a housing problem.

Population
Key Areas
1. Population - special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning services
2. Primary health care
3. Nutrition
4. Basic Education
5. Drinking water and sanitation
6. Shelter
Population & Reproductive Health
Compton Foundation, Inc.
http://www.comptonfoundation.org/index.html
Rationale
In its Population & Reproductive Health grantmaking, the Foundation links population stabilization with peace and environment issues, and as such with broader social development and environmental goals.
The Foundation believes that:
* on a global level, support for family planning services ultimately helps achieve a healthier planet, by reducing the contribution of population growth to environmental deterioration and violent conflict; * on a personal level, support for reproductive health empowers women and contributes to improved health and quality of life for women, men, and children.
Goals
1. Achieving a healthy planet
Increase public and private funding for international family planning
Geographic focus: Grants are made primarily to organizations based in the United States that focus on international family planning
2. Ensuring and improving access to family planning and reproductive health services within the United States
Grants are made for policy-relevant research, training, advocacy, and public education projects. Considers proposals that strengthen and expand the capacity of service delivery systems, including sexuality education.
Geographic focus: The primary focus is U.S. national reproductive health policy.
Strategies
Strategies to achieve Population & Reproductive Health goals and objectives are consistent with the Foundation's overall approach of fostering positive and viable models of change. We generally place priority on projects with the greatest potential to: (1) improve public policies; and (2) strengthen service delivery systems that affect access to family planning.
The Foundation is particularly interested in projects that:
* broaden and strengthen constituencies that support population and reproductive health
* increase access for marginalized populations
* develop more comprehensive, culturally appropriate, and values-based messages/language
* connect population and reproductive health issues to environmental, health, labor and other social justice movements. population, with special emphasis on reproductive health and family planning services
Primary Health Care
U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
http://www.hrsa.gov/linktohrsa.htm
HRSA is the nation's access agency – improving health and saving lives by making sure the right services are available in the right places at the right time.
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable.
Vision
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) envisions optimal health for all, supported by a health care system that assures access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality care.
Mission
HRSA provides national leadership, program resources and services needed to improve access to culturally competent, quality health care.
Goals
As the Nation’s access agency, HRSA focuses on uninsured, underserved, and special needs populations in its goals and program activities:
GOAL 1: Improve Access to Health Care.
GOAL 2: Improve Health Outcomes.
GOAL 3: Improve the Quality of Health Care.
GOAL 4: Eliminate Health Disparities.
GOAL 5: Improve the Public Health and Health Care Systems.
GOAL 6: Enhance the Ability of the Health Care System to Respond to Public Health Emergencies.
GOAL 7: Achieve Excellence in Management Practices.
Health Centers-America’s Primary Care Safety Net:
Reflections on Success 2002-2007
Whom do Health Centers Serve?
Health centers serve an increasingly diverse population from a variety of backgrounds and with a wide range of health needs.
People of all ages. 36 percent of patients in 2007 were children (age 19 and younger); about 7 percent were 65 or older.
Nutrition
UNC Carolina Population Center
http://www.cpc.unc.edu/
Carolina Population Center
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
CB# 8120, University Square
123 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 USA
Phone: (919) 966-2157 / Fax: (919) 966-6638
Office Locations:
University Square East, floors 2-5
University Square West, floors 2-3
211-B West Cameron Avenue
206 West Franklin Street
What is the Nutrition Transition?
Two historic processes of change occur simultaneous to or precede the nutrition transition.
One is the demographic transition: the shift from a pattern of high fertility and high mortality to one of low fertility and low mortality (typical of modern industrialized countries).
Even more directly relevant is the epidemiologic transition, first described by Omran1: the shift from a pattern of high prevalence of infectious diseases associated with malnutrition, and periodic famine and poor environmental sanitation, to a pattern of high prevalence of chronic and degenerative diseases associated with urban-industrial life styles.
A third pattern of delayed degenerative diseases has been more recently formulated (e.g., Olshansky and Ault2). Accompanying this progression is a major shift in age-specific mortality patterns and a consequent increase in life expectancy. Interpretations of the demographic and epidemiologic transition share a focus with the nutrition transition on the ways in which populations move from one pattern to the next.
Similarly, large shifts have occurred in dietary and physical activity and inactivity patterns. These changes are reflected in nutritional outcomes, such as changes in average stature and body composition.
***Modern societies seem to be converging on a pattern of diet high in saturated fat, sugar, and refined foods and low in fiber - often termed the "Western diet." Many see this dietary pattern to be associated with high levels of chronic and degenerative diseases and with reduced disability-free time.***
Human diet and activity patterns and nutritional status have undergone a sequence of major shifts,
Five broad nutrition patterns.
They are not restricted to particular periods of human history. For convenience, the patterns are outlined as historical developments
Pattern 1: Collecting Food
Characterizes hunter-gatherer populations, is high in carbohydrates and fiber and low in fat, especially saturated fat.
Pattern 2: Famine
Much less varied and subject to larger variations and periods of acute scarcity of food. These dietary changes are hypothesized to be associated with nutritional stress and a reduction in stature (estimated by some at about 4 inches. During the later phases of this pattern, social stratification intensifies, and dietary variation increases according to gender and social status
Pattern 3: Receding Famine
The consumption of fruits, vegetables, and animal protein increases, and starchy staples become less important in the diet. Many earlier civilizations made great progress in reducing chronic hunger and famines, but only in the last third of the last millennium have these changes become widespread, leading to marked shifts in diet. However, famines continued well into the eighteenth century in portions of Europe and remain common in some regions of the world. Activity patterns start to shift and inactivity and leisure becomes a part of the lives of more people.
Pattern 4: Nutrition-related Noncommunicable Disease(NR-NCD)
A diet high in total fat, cholesterol, sugar, and other refined carbohydrates and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids and fiber, and often accompanied by an increasingly sedentary life, is characteristic of most high-income societies (and increasing portions of the population in low-income societies), resulting in increased prevalence of obesity and contributing to the degenerative diseases that characterize Omran's final epidemiologic stage.
Pattern 5: Behavioral Change
A new dietary pattern appears to be emerging as a result of changes in diet, evidently associated with the desire to prevent or delay degenerative diseases and prolong health. Whether these changes, instituted in some countries by consumers and in others also prodded by government policy, will constitute a large-scale transition in dietary structure and body composition remains to be seen.
If such a new dietary pattern takes hold, it may be very important in enhancing "successful aging", that is, postponing infirmity and increasing the disability free life expectancy.
***Our focus is on patterns 3 to 5, in particular on the rapid shift in much of the world's low and moderate income countries from the stage of receding famine to NR-NCD. ***
Basic Education
Education in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the elementary and high school levels (often known inside and outside the United States as the primary and secondary levels). At these levels, school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts.
School districts are usually separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments. The country has a reading literacy rate at 98% of the population over age 15, while ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding compared to other developed countries.
There are no mandatory public pre-kindergarten or crèche programs in the United States. The federal government funds the Head Start preschool program for children of low-income families, but most families are on their own with regard to finding a preschool or childcare.
In the large cities, there are sometimes upper-class preschools catering to the children of the wealthy. Because some upper-class families see these schools as the first step toward the Ivy League, there are even counselors who specialize in assisting parents and their toddlers through the preschool admissions process.
Elementary and Secondary education in the United States
Schooling is compulsory for all children in the United States, but the age range for which school attendance is required varies from state to state.
Most children begin elementary education with kindergarten (usually five to six years old) and finish secondary education with twelfth grade (usually eighteen years old). In some cases, pupils may be promoted beyond the next regular grade. Some states allow students to leave school between 14-17 with parental permission, before finishing high school; other states require students to stay in school until age 18.
Most parents send their children to either a public or private institution. According to government data, one-tenth of students are enrolled in private schools. Approximately 85% of students enter the public schools, largely because they are "free" (tax burdens by school districts vary from area to area). Most students attend school for around six hours per day, and usually anywhere from 175 to 185 days per year. Most schools have a summer break period for about two and half months from June through August. This break is much longer than in many other nations. Originally, "summer vacation," as it is colloquially called, allowed students to participate in the harvest period during the summer. However, this is now relatively unnecessary and remains largely by tradition; it also has immense popular support.
Parents may also choose to educate their own children at home; 1.7% of children are educated in this manner.
Junior high school is any school intermediate between elementary school and senior high school. At this time, students are given more independence as choosing their own classes. Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student’s official transcript. Future employers or colleges may want to see steady improvement in grades and a good attendance record on the official transcript. Therefore, students are encouraged to take much more responsibility for their education
Drinking Water and Sanitation
Water supply and sanitation in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Water supply and sanitation in the United States is provided by towns and cities, public utilities that span several jurisdictions and rural cooperatives. About 15 million Americans are served by their own wells. Public water supply and sanitation systems are regulated by state-level regulatory commissions and the EPA. Water consumption in the U.S. is the highest in the world and water tariffs (rates) are the lowest in developed world.
Impact of Climate Change
Increased frequency and intensity of rainfall is one of the effects of climate change that is already apparent in streamflow records in the U.S. from the last decades. According to a 2008 report by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies on implications of climate change for urban water utilities, the expectation is that more severe storms will produce more severe flooding which will result in additional water pollution from a large variety of sources.
Chief among these are wastewater treatment, storage, and conveyance systems.
Shelter
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560678/Housing_(shelter).html
Introduction
Housing (shelter), permanent shelter for human habitation. Because shelter is necessary to everyone, the problem of providing adequate housing has long been a concern, not only of individuals but of governments as well. Thus, the history of housing is inseparable from the social, economic, and political development of humankind. Science, technology, and productive sectors
History
From the beginning of civilization, attention has been paid to the form, placement, and provision of human habitation.
By the 19th century, with the Industrial Revolution, people were moving to cities in unprecedented numbers. Workers lived in sheds, railroad yards, and factory cellars, typically without sanitation facilities and water supply.
In the postindustrial society of the 20th century, housing in developing nations and poor parts of developed countries continues to be of insufficient quality and does not meet the demand of some parts of the population. Vacant, abandoned central-city housing exists alongside structures that are usable but overcrowded and buildings that are structurally reclaimable but are functionally obsolete.
Problems in the existing housing programs began to emerge in the 1970s.
Assistance began to take the form of block grants; the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, authorized by the Housing Act of 1976, was the most significant example. The CDBG program, an effort to allow flexibility in local housing problems, was a more broad-based and encompassing housing subsidy. It provided "blocks" of money for coordinated urban revitalization. The allocation of block grants was a primary redevelopment approach in the 1980s, although the funding for CDBG and similar programs had been significantly reduced.
Future Trends
Housing is a critical component in the social and economic fabric of all nations.
No country is yet satisfied that adequate housing has been delivered to the various economic groups that make up its populace. Thus, most nations, in one form or another, continue to claim a housing problem.

7) Science, technology, and productive sectors
Manufacturing and Technology News
October 3, 2003 Volume 10, No. 18
http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/03/1003/art1.html
President's Science Council Says Future Health Of Technology Sector Is In Jeopardy; Decline Of Manufacturing Could Impact Innovation 'Ecosystem'
The Presidential Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has finished the first phase of a study that finds the health of the U.S. high tech industry is in rapid decline. With manufacturing leaving the country, the United States runs the risk of losing the strength of its innovation infrastructure of design, research and development and the creation of new products and industries, warns the PCAST Subcommittee on Information Technology Manufacturing and Competitiveness.
8) Social development
Center for Global Justice
http://www.globaljusticecenter.org/indexing.htm
A cooperative model of social development:
Using the workplace for social and individual growth
Dana Silverman
MSW student at Monmouth University, International and Community Development
Principles & Illustrations
This August 2004, at the Workshop on AlterGlobalizations in San Miguel de Allende, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, we were talking about topics on alternatives to capitalistic accumulation as well as issues surrounding social and distributive injustice. This paper explores the concepts that can serve as a stepping-stone for grassroots community economic development. With it, I intend to bridge the gap between profit and non-for-profit cultures.
This paper plants ideas in our heads, from which to build cooperative social enterprises. It should be a bridge not just of economic opportunity to those who are marginalized, but a conduit to the social services that foster sustained opportunity. After a grassroots, strengths based need assessment is done, those who are marginalized can capitalize on the gaps that are revealed.
Due to the ambiguity in the word cooperative, I will use the term community enterprise interchangeably with cooperative. Community enterprises revitalize communities through progressive personal and systemic collaboration. It is one alternative to the secluded individual enterprise or the large-scale, absentee-owner corporation propagated by the trickle down theory economic growth model. (Midgley, 1997)
It should use both its internal, participatory structure as well as external resources for true micro (intra & interpersonal) and macro (systemic) change. The basis in which I propose the cooperative businesses as a community/social enterprise for