*Geography*
Australia is the sixth largest country in the world. It lies in the Southern Hemisphere between 11° and 44° south latitude and 113° and 154° east longitude. The entire area of land is about the same size as the continental United States, or about one and a half times the size of Europe. The mainland of Australia has an area of 2,967,909 square miles. The country is divided into six states: Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, and Western Australia.
The geological activity that created the country’s mountains, plains, and rivers ceased millions of years ago. Earthquakes are very rare and the last volcanic eruption occurred more than 5,000 years ago. The highest mountain in Australia, Mount Kosciusko, is only 7,310 feet above sea level.
*Climate*
Australia experiences a wide variety of climates. In the north, the continent’s immense interior gives way to hot, wet monsoonal tropical regions. The southeast coast, where most of Australia’s population lives, is cooler and drier. The southwest is very hot and dry in the summer, but milder and wetter in the winter. The climate is very similar to the Mediterranean countries of Europe, or to California. Summer temperatures in Australia can soar over 104°, but the costal regions are cooler due to offshore breezes. Because of the heat and lack of rain, bushfires rage through the tinder-dry landscape, destroying half a million acres of forest and grassland every year.
The hot temperatures of the inland coupled with the lack of rain mean that 70% of Australia receives less than 20 inches of rain a year, making it the world’s driest continent. Farming is difficult in these areas, but not impossible, thanks to artesian water and the construction of many irrigation schemes.
*People*
The first inhabitants were people belonging to the Australoid group, who probably originated from Southeast Asia. These people traveled to the Australian continent about 40,000 years ago. A short while later, Aborigines landed in canoes and rafts on the north coast of Australia and then moved southward across the rest of the continent. Aborigines were nomads living in family clans, each with its own territory where it could camp, hunt, and fish. The Aborigines brought two useful items from their original homela...
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...sp; The exchange rate of a US dollar to an Australian dollar is as follows: 1 US dollar = 1.94 Australian dollars.
*Economy*
Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP at the level of the four dominant West European economies. Rich in nature resources, Australia is a major exporter of agricultural products, minerals, metals, and fossil fuels. Commodities account for 57% of the value of total exports, so that a downturn in world commodity prices can have a big impact on the economy. The government is pushing for increases exports of manufactured goods, but competition in international markets continues to be severe. While Australia has suffered from the low growth and high unemployment characterizing the OECD countries in the early 1990s and during the recent financial problems in East Asia, the economy had expanded at a solid 4% annual growth pace in the last five years. Growth in 2002 will depend on key international commodity prices, the extent of recovery in nearby Asian economies, and the strength of US and European markets.
Australia is currently the driest continent in the world and has a vast history of fire to prove it. Bushfires in the Adelaide Hills were first described and recorded in 1827, and have occurred at frequent intervals since that time. Fire weather can reach extremes in places such as Rudall River National Park in NW Western Australia. Temperatures are often above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), dew points can drop to —37 degrees Celsius, and the winds, uninhibited by trees, can reach speeds of 50-60 km/h (31-37 mph) at any given time in the year. The fuels there may appear to be completely dead, and gaps between plants may be a meter or more (Gill, 1995). In 1966 a massive fire at Brooyar, Queensland had flame heights of 20-25 meters (65-82 feet). In addition to being devastating, the fires are also very unpredictable. A bushfire in the Baulkham Hills in January of 1975 completely destroyed property and some homes, while leaving others untouched. Serious fires occur in the Dandenog Ranges at frequent intervals, and housing there has always been a difficult problem with fire control [3]. Fire has also been used for centuries as an important tool for land management (O’Neill, 1993).
Australia is a very unique place, along with our multiculturalism there is also a strong heritage surrounding us. At first thought of Australian heritage we think about such landmarks as Uluru, The Sydney harbour bridge and The Sydney opera house, The Great Barrier reef and other internationally recognised places. But our heritage goes much deeper than that; it is far more than outstanding icons. Along with these icons there are also unsung places like the old cattle stations, Aboriginal missions, migrant hostels, War memorials, our unique wetlands and the towns and cities we have built. Adding all of these things together, helps to tell the story of who we are and how we have shaped this land in the unique identity it has today.
Discussion Ancient Aboriginals were the first people to set foot on the Australian continent, over 40,000 years or more before colonization (Eckermann, 2010). They survived by hunting and gathering their food, worshipping the land to protect its resources, and ensuring their survival. The aboriginal community has adapted to the environment, building a strong framework of social, cultural, and spiritual beliefs (Eckermann, 2010). Colonisation of Australia began in 1788, when Englishman Captain Cook claimed the land as an empty, uninhabited, continent giving it the classification Terra Nullius and leaving it open to colonization. Eckermann (2010), stated that the English failed to recognise the aboriginal tribes as civilized, co-inhibiters of the land, feeling they had no right to a claim.
"Australia." Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. .
What is the AMERICAN DREAM? I concluded the matter of dreaming about life’s basics wants that are exclusive to North America. The American Dream is the following: Go to college, get a good job, and finally get your own family. If we think about it, the American Dream is indeed a UNIVERSAL DREAM. The concept of the American Dream is created by this value system. The American Dream is intended to be a way of life attainable to all Americans. Whatever maybe the case, the act of trying to escape reality and the result such an act brings, is evident throughout the three novels Jews without money, by Michael Gold, Street Corner Society by William Whyte, and Passing, by Nella Larsen. All three of these books confront the myth of the American Dream. The American Dream can either be a reality or a nightmare depending upon the cultural prejudices and availability of freedom. Individuals who are united through some common bond, which may be religion social status of color, create a group or class of people. While individuals are subject to racial prejudices, which often makes up upward mobility not possible. Without equal opportunities to move upwards within society, the American Dream is not attainable. But it is possible in cases where people are willing to sacrifice their heritage culture etc. Nella Larsen, show us through this novel, that if people want, they can achieve the American Dream, but they would have to ‘pay a price for it.’ This is especially true of Clare Kendry. Her passing is motivated by her desire to improve the conditions of her socioeconomic life. She is successful in achieving her American Dream, but in the end she does face the consequences of her actions. She manages to rise from being a poor girl to settling down in a well household. Using her white skin color and blond hair as commodities, she escapes the reality of her true character. She gained wealth and respect in the community through marrying an affluent successful white man. But the truth is that she paid the price of ‘passing’ because she couldn’t express who she was and her true identity in the fear of being ‘caught’ and then left aside abandoned from the ‘whites’ and the ‘black’ communities. In her case, her decision to ‘pass’ was self-initiated. Clare was afraid to face everyone, especially her husband, with her blackness.
There are many causes of drought. The first element is about the water cycle. The moving clouds and moisture over the atmosphere cannot make a place receive the normal amount of rainfall during a period of time. ( Lincoln, 2014). It means there is not have enough moisture to create precipitation. If residents who live near a river, most of their water comes from this river. And their drought might because of the less precipitation at upstream. (ibid). As a result of the drought there will be a shortage of water in the region. The most important climatic phenomenon that causes drought is Southern Oscillation. “Southern Oscillation is a primary air pressure change which is a seesawing of atmospheric pressure between an area just to the north of Australia and the central Pacific Ocean.” (Study Guide 23). It is also linked to El Nino and La Nina. “El Nino is a complex interaction between air and sea in tropical Pacific. “(Robert, 2013). El Nino means little boy in Spanish and also means unusually high atmospheric pressure and sinking air through Northern Australian w...
Sydney is situated in zone of the subtropical oceanic climate which characterized by moderately hot summers and moderately warm winter. This climate conditions very favorable for people, animals and plants habitation. How we can see in the table "Mean Daily Temperatures", temperature does not fall below zero. It is congenially for agriculture, especially sowing corn. More than half of the arable land is occupied by wheat. In addition, people grow citrus, pineapples, mangoes and sugarcane.
Australia is home to the great barrier reef which is the world's largest coral reef system, and home to the kangaroo. Australia is the driest continent in the world. The outback is the part of Australia that few live in because it’s a vast desert (“Australia”). The great dividing range is a long chain of mountains that runs along the Pacific Coast of Australia (“Australia”). Australia is the driest inhabitable country in the world (“Australia”). The great barrier reef of Australia is the largest in the world (“Australia”). Australia is already a dry country and if the temperature rises anymore due to climate change than Australia could suffer from more severe forest fires and be doomed.
While the idea of free college is often seen as beneficial only to the wealthy, college should be free for everyone because going to college could once again be seen as a choice instead of a financial problem for many households, people could also better understand others that come from different backgrounds, and there are more
known for decades: it pays to invest in Canada. There is a government commitment to attract foreign direct investment. Canada's government provides a competitive, welcoming climate for international business. It is committed to fiscal responsibility, deficit reduction and job creation.
Australia’s government laws are responsible for the protection of the Australia’s Indigenous heritage places. All states and territories have laws that protect various types of Indigenous heritage.
Clearly, the merits of having free higher education outweigh the drawbacks in immeasurable ways, benefiting the individual learners, states, and the nation at large. Having education in higher education free to all would ensure that every citizen get an equal opportunity in life regardless of their social status, it would allow people to concentrate on nation-building rather than loan payment after school, it would make the nation skill-sufficient and all citizens be more productive. Most importantly, education is a basic right that everyone deserves and money should not be a hindrance, thus, education should be free for all.
Due its size, different parts of Australia are prone to bushfires at certain times as a result of widely varied fire seasons. This is due to the different weather patterns.
As more people began to access the Internet through smart phones and tablets rather than laptops and computers, it is not a surprise that they would also want to transform the American education system by bringing tablets into classrooms. In fact, a few schools around the country have already replaced textbooks with tablets and have seen improvements in students’ standardized test scores. Using tablets instead of textbooks is not only convenient and helpful, but it can also reduce the amount of paper wastes in school. However, it is not a good idea to completely transform textbooks with tablets with the current technology, for it can not only be damaging to the environment and costly to set up, but also might not be effective in improving K-12 education in the long run.
South Africa is a nation with a wonderful and varied culture. This country has been called “The Rainbow Nation”, a name that reflects the diversity of such amazing place. The different ethnic and cultural groups of the South Africa do, however, appreciate their own beliefs and customs. Many of these traditions, besides African culture, are influenced by European and Western heritage. The complex and diverse population of the country has made a strong impact to the various cultures. There are forty-five million people; about thirty million are black, five million white, three million coloured and one million Indians. The black population has a large number of rural people living in poverty. It is among these inhabitants that cultural customs are preserve the most.