The G-20 and International Economic Cooperation: Background and Implications for Congress

[Excerpt] This report analyzes why countries coordinate economic policies and the historical origins of the G-20; how the G-20 operates; major highlights from previous G-20 summits, plus an overview of the agenda for the next G-20 summit; and debates about the effectiveness of the G-20 as a forum for economic cooperation and coordination

Sovereign Debt in Advanced Economies: Overview and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] Sovereign debt, also called public debt or government debt, refers to debt incurred by governments. Since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, public debt in advanced economies has increased substantially. A number of factors related to the financial crisis have fueled the increase, including fiscal stimulus packages, the nationalization of private-sector debt, and lower tax revenue. Even if economic growth reverses some of these trends, such as by boosting tax receipts and reducing spending on government programs, aging populations in advanced economies are expected to strain government debt levels in coming years. High levels of debt in advanced economies are a new global concern. High public debt levels have become unsustainable in three Eurozone countries: Greece, Ireland, and Portugal. These countries turned to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other European governments for financial assistance in order to avoid defaulting on their loans. Japan’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard and Poor’s (S&P) in January 2011 over concerns about debt levels, and its rating was put on a negative outlook in April 2011. In August 2011, S&P downgraded long-term U.S. government debt from AAA (the highest possible rating) to AA+. To date, many advanced-economy governments have embarked on fiscal austerity programs (such as cutting spending or increasing taxes) to address historically high levels of debt. This policy response has been criticized by some economists as possibly undermining a weak recovery from the global financial crisis. Others argue that the austerity plans do not go far enough, and that more reforms are necessary to bring debt levels, especially with aging populations in many countries

A Wave-centric View of Special Relativity

An approach to special relativity is outlined which emphasizes the wave and field mechanisms which physically produce the relativistic effects, with the goal of making them seem more natural to students by connecting more explicitly with prior studies of waves and oscillators

Current Debates over Exchange Rates: Overview and Issues for Congress

[Excerpt] This report provides information on current debates over exchange rates in the global economy. It offers an overview of how exchange rates work; analyzes specific disagreements and debates; and examines existing frameworks for potentially addressing currency disputes. It also lays out some policy options available to Congress, should Members want to take action on exchange rate issues

[Review of] Jon Michael Spencer. Sacred Symphony: The Chanted Sermon of the Black Preacher

In his latest book to date, Sacred Symphony; The Chanted Sermon of the Black Preacher, Spencer states in the introduction that there are seven musical elements that make up the chanted sermon and these include melody, rhythm, call and response, harmony, counterpoint, form, and improvisation. He not only states that these musical components appear in the chanted sermons, but he illustrates how they are manifested in the sermon event through sermons and/or testimonies of white male and female observers, ex-slaves, ministers, and scholars of black preaching

The Persistence of Ethnicity in African American Popular Music: A Theology of Rap Music

The racial oppression of black people in many ways has fueled and shaped black musical forms in America. One example is the blues which originated in the rural South among poor, nonliterate, agrarian African Americans.[1] In the North the music became more formalized, and singers such as Gertrude Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Mamie Smith, Ida Cox, and Sarah Martin became known as the queens of the classic blues. Another musical genre is jazz, which was largely based on the twelve-bar blues harmonic structure and phrasing. It was more polished than the earlier New Orleans jazz at the turn of the century, and its major influences came from New York City, Chicago, and Kansas City. Finally, on the religious front, gospel music was in its early stages of development around the time early blues was evolving. Influenced by blues and jazz, gospel was revolutionary (and controversial) in its combination of drums and fast, rocking rhythms

[Review of] Allen L. Woll and Randall M. Miller. Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television: Historical Essays and Bibliography

Allen Woll and Randall Miller in Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television have compiled in one volume the writings about the images of ethnic and racial groups in American television and film. Woll and Miller state in their Introduction that the purpose of their book was to attempt to unite the work (the nature and importance of mass media stereotypes and their effects on society) from a wide variety of disciplines, languages and fields of study in order to expand the vistas of scholarly research in this area. Ethnic and Racial Images is divided into twelve chapters, with each considering specific ethnic or racial groups: (in alphabetical order) Afro-Americans, Arabs, Asians, East Europeans and Russians, Germans, Hispanic Americans, Irish, Italians, Jews, and Native Americans. The first chapter is a general overview of the subject of racial and ethnic images and the final chapter is a kind of miscellaneous section entitled Others which includes Africans, Armenians, Dutch, East Indians, Greeks, Hawaiians, Louisiana Cajuns, Norwegians, Swedes, and Turks

Notes on Insect Injection, Anesthetization, and Bleeding.

(excerpt) In recent years there has been a burgeoning interest in insect cytogenetics, sometimes involving in vivo cultures of haematocytes for chromosomal analysis. Mitotic poisons, such as colchicine (Tyrkus, 1971), are commonly injected to produce metaphase plates. Likewise, injection of toxins is now common-place in applied insect research. However, surprisingly little general information on injection is available in the literature. The dictates of morphology determine the gross procedure to be used. The kind of needle and syringe, the amount of fluid to be administered, and the necessity of optical aids are a function of the size of the insect recipient. Once these decisions are made, other considerations must still be weighed, including comparative exoskeletal toughness and the insect\u27s stage of development, which are important in determining possible areas for needle penetration