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Draft answers - OxfordX: OXBSG01x From Poverty to Prosperity: Understanding Economic Development

1. What is the name of the country you selected? Argentina 2. Is the country a centralised and/or inclusive state? Describe the country’s context to justify your answer. Use the concepts to explain how the country has progressed to where it is today (e.g. six steps to a centralised state, pressure through protests for inclusivity…etc). [200-300 words] After a period of 300 years of Spanish rule, the 1810 revolution in Argentina forged the birth of a new nation. Some periods of anarchism followed in the following years, with a divided territory and many disputes among different political leaders. However, the most powerful armies imposed the economy of scale, until a period of national reconciliation was achieved. There were huge gaps in economic development between the capital city and the rest of the provinces, but a spirit of common unity permeated the whole territory. The great controversy was about the tax system of the port of Buenos Aires. At the beginning,...

A review of "The Boomerang Clue" (Why didn’t they ask Evans?)

The Boomerang Clue (Why didn’t they ask Evans?) by Agatha Christie A personal view by Jose Atencio Bobby Jones was a twenty-eight-year-old man who lived in Marchbolt, a small seaside town on the coast of Wales. He was the fourth son of the Vicar of that town, and he lived with his father and the housemaid, Mrs. Roberts. On one day, he was playing golf near a cliff with his friend, Dr. Thomas, when he suddenly noticed that a man was lying on the rocks, near the sea; apparently he had fallen down from the upper side of the coast. Dr. Thomas ran away for help, and Booby descended to see the man. After some minutes, the man of the accident died, but before passing away he pronounced these words: “Why didn’t they ask Evans?” Bobby realized that the man had died, and he could see the picture of a woman in the dead man’s pocket. He watched the photo and then he put it in the same place. While he was waiting for help, a strange man arrived and introduced himself as Roger Bassington-ffren...

A personal view on Ben Carson’s story. Film "Gifted Hands"

A personal view on Ben Carson’s story. By Jose Atencio “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that” . The previous quote belongs to Dr. Martin Luther King, an outstanding personality who became famous in the ‘60s. He took direct action for peace and tolerance among American people, between colored and white people, during a time of hate, during a time of racism, during a time of violence. And what he did was to share his dream with all his brothers, using the most powerful weapons: words and speeches; and using the most effective ammunitions: tolerance and peace; and taking advantage of the greatest resources: love and faith. During the times of Dr. King, there were also other outstanding colored men who made history in other fields, such as medicine, and using the same weapons, the same ammunitions, the same resources. I will tell you the story of Dr. Ben Carson. Benjamin Solomon "Ben" Carson lived in ...

Cuentito escrito por un niño llamado José, en 1991 ó 1992...

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Cuando tenía diez u once años, envié un cuento al Suplemento Tintero del Diario Los Andes. Pasó un tiempo, y lo publicaron. Fue un placer para mí, ya que se animaran a publicarlo, y que alguien hiciera un dibujo basándose en el cuentito. Fue muy lindo. Agradezco a mi prima Magali que conservó el diario durante muchos años. Gracias prima!!!

Qualifications for an economist, by John M. Keynes

"The study of economics does not seem to require any specialized gifts of an unusually high order. Is it not, intellectually regarded, a very easy subject compared with the higher branches of philosophy or pure science? An easy subject, at which very few excel! The paradox finds its explanation, perhaps, in that the master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must be a mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher -in some degree. He must underestand symbols and speak in words. He must  contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and desinterested in a simultaneous mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, vet sometimes as near the earth as politician." John Maynard Keynes, cited by Robert L...

Apasionada

Apasionada Te fuiste joven, soñadora y apasionada, desde niña a mujer, de la noche al alba, no abrazaste tu vida con tibieza ni frialdad hasta el momento efímero dotaste de eternidad. Fuiste sin saber, artífice de mi tiempo, siempre me retemplaste, dándome aliento. Estuviste conmigo cuando floreció la fe, y en momentos oscuros en los que   fallé. Tal vez mi tiempo me hará comprender, tu afán y tu sueño de querer reverdecer aquel amor no correspondido, el de viejo ayer, que mucho esperaste sentada en el andén. Hay algo de seguro, y que puedo afirmar, que estuviste en mi vida y que volverás, en cada llamado que haga a la eternidad, cuando dé un rezo, cuando abrace la piedad. Al invadirme la duda, al dudar si estás, traerás tus palabras, dejaré mi soledad, revivirás tu voz, con su tono humilde, y volverás a decirme: "Que su Ángel lo cuide". Estarás con mi viejo, y con las abuelas, con quienes se anticiparon en la huella; y polemiz...

En Sintonía con la Eternidad

De nuevo ocurrió, y de manera similar a otras. El viaje en colectivo desde San Juan a Mendoza fue escenario de esa sensación ya conocida. Otra vez, al abrir mis ojos, el sueño se desvanece en medio de imágenes que destellan en mi mente. Fugazmente viajo al pasado, veo nuevamente esos ojos tristes, ese rostro de niño en espera de atención, ese rostro de hombre viejo arrepentido, en espera de misericordia. Siento esos mismos aromas, ese mismo zigzagueo en mi vientre, un estremecimiento que me acobarda. Miro a mi alrededor, vuelvo al presente; me pregunto si es verdad, o si es sólo un sueño. Tristemente constato que es cierto, que efectivamente es parte de mi historia. Y añoro el pasado, quiero volver el tiempo atrás, cambiar aquello que estuvo a mi mano, que pude haber transformado. Tengo el poder, inconscientemente, de volver atrás en el tiempo, de trasladarme con mis sentidos a aquellos instantes. Pero al parecer, no puedo intervenir en los acontecimientos. Así se dieron, y estoy obli...