This dissatisfaction with communism as practiced Soviet style was now being openly criticized, even in the Russian Republic, the so-called "homeland of communism." Extreme vocal critiques came first from the outlying republics and the ethnic minorities, many of who had been living in a tradition of autocracy for centuries. Gorbachev's message of change and openness, despite the appeal in the West, stripped the Soviet Union of structure, and right-wing conservative communists tried to topple his regime in August of 1991. This caused Soviet Russians, fed up with communism, to openly protest; a few months later the party. Chapter: 9 Socioeconmics

The European Union

Citation: Chanona, A. (2003). "A Comparative Perspective Between the European Union

And NAFTA." Miami European Union Center -- University of Miami.

URL: http://www6.miami.edu/EUCenter/chanonafinal.pdf

Tags: Political innovation, political/social upheaval, modernism in Europe

Summation: -- Since World War II, many European scholars and politicians realized that not only was war between them a proven economic and political disaster (e.g. over the past several centuries), a lack of exploration into economic and cultural areas of commonality kept individuals from realizing their true potential. Looking at the areas reasonably then, the movement to regionalize and allow a single currency unlocks travel restrictions, and open up trade between the 500 million European citizens seemed the only reasonable action

Chapter: 9 Socioeconmics

NAFTA

Citation: Griswold, D. (2002). "NAFTA at 10: An Economic and Foreign Policy Success."

Center for Trade Policy Studies.

URL:: http://www6.miami.edu/EUCenter/chanonafinal.pdf

Tags: Political innovation, modern trade agreements, modern economics

Summation: NAFTA is the most significant attempt at regional economic integration. An agreement between the United States and Canada to enter into a free trade agreement took place January 1, 1989 with the goal of eliminating all tariffs between the two countries by 1998. In 1991, talks included Mexico to establish free trade amongst all three countries. By late 1993, the government of all three countries had ratified the agreement. Since 1994, NAFTA has positively impacted trade and economic issues in Mexico, Canada, and the United States; with other Central and Latin American countries receiving peripheral benefits and inquiring about full membership. The agricultural industries in particular have shown positive benefit, with exports in each country increasing -- and in Mexico to its highest levels ever. Since NAFTA, Mexico is Canada's sixth-largest export destination and moved Mexico into the top 10 world exporters.

Chapter: 10 Agricultural Mechanization

The European Union

Citation: Agricultural Mechanization. (2006). Oklahoma Historical Society.

URL: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/A/AG005.html

Tags: modern farming, agricultural innovation, agricultural inventions

Summation: -- Pre-20th century farming was labor intensive, food spoiled, and much of the land remained unusable for agriculture. With the innovation of mechanization, irrigation, advances in fertilization and crop control, farmers could now produce larger and larger yields with fewer people. This allowed farming to become a larger business and more and more exports to be placed on the open market.

Chapter: 10 Agricultural

Air Conditioning and Refrigeration

Citation: Ross, D. (2005). Air Condition and Refrigeration.

URL: http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3867

Tags: refrigeration, farming, food production, modern food production, storage

Summation: -- Refrigeration allowed products to be shipped to further destinations and remain fresh. This encouraged trade and also opened up new markets for agricultural goods. Taking air-conditioning into the offices allowed for buildings to be taller and house more people. Working was far more comfortable, but also had a major impact on architectural design and building materials. The systems-related design profession also recognizes that it must respond to environmental and "green" building concerns. These include, but are not limited to, energy conservation as an end in itself, indoor air quality, sustainable design considerations, and new technology that will better address the global environment of both the present and the future.

Chapter: 10 Agricultural

Household Appliances

Citation: Schmitt, R. (2005). Household Appliances.

URL: http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3781

Tags: Political innovation, political/social upheaval, modernism in Europe

Summation: The high tech of household appliances is a lot more than "under-the-hood" electronics. New and improved materials enable designs of convenience and efficiency. High performance plastics, especially, allow us to build style as well as functionality into our appliances. Household appliance engineers have just as rich an array of "high technologies" to feed their inventive minds as any other engineers. Innovation continues: cooking food to perfection up to eight times faster than with conventional ovens, using light. Washers and dryers that "talk" to each other, letting the dryer know what's coming, improving clothes care and saving time. Foods may be kept fresher, dishes more complicated. Yet, in contrast with this improvement, due to modern societal issues, people eat out even more.

Chapter: 11 Knowledge

Health Technologies

Citation: Greatbatch, W. (2005). Health Technologies.

URL: http://www.greatachievements.org/?id=3839

Tags: modern...

These have changed the quality of life in millions, increased longevity worldwide, and completely revamped worldwide demographic trends for the 21st century; including what may be possible with continued innovation. Of particular note are heart diseases and cancer; both of which had an almost 100% mortality rate in 1940, and a success rate in cure of up to 15-20% in 2005.
Chapter: 11 Knowledge

Nanotechnology

Citation: Sobolev, K. And Guiterez, M. (October 2005).

URL: http://www.cognoscibletechnologies.com/en/files/How-Nanotechnology-Can-Change-the-concrete-world-I.pdf

Tags: computers, nano technology, minituraization, mini-computers

Summation: Many conclude that nanotechnology will be the next industrial revolution. One idea postulates that Nanotechnology will have a big impact on environment. It can help to clean the air from pollution and nuclear residues through nano-sized particles of carbon atoms. Nanotechnology's ability to recycle water to any source for any use can save huge amount of water and allow the use of presently unusable water resources. The harnessing of photosynthesis, the mechanism by which plants derive their energy, is hoping to become a reality as researchers continue to search for alternative sources of energy. The idea is to create artificial systems that exploit the basic chemistry of photosynthesis in order to produce hydrogen, or other fuels, for both engines and electricity. Hydrogen burns cleanly, yielding just water and energy. There is also the additional benefit that artificial photosynthesis could mop up any excess carbon dioxide left over from the present era of fossil fuel consumption. Just one of the long-term goal is to make fuel from sunlight, a field known artificial photosynthesis. The larger question revolves around whether a system can be designed to take captured solar energy and create molecules that can be utilized as fuels.

Chapter: 11 Knowledge

Artificial Intelligence

Citation: Greenmeire, L. (2008). Machine Self-Awareness. Scientific American.

URL: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=interactive-12-events

Tags: Ai, artificial intelligence, robotics, innovations in robotics, computer memory

Summation: Many of today's machines are designed to perform a specific task and function. Modern manufacturing has advanced because of robotics, and certainly this has dramatically changed the way the world works. Now, we move into a different future, one in which computers can self-replicate, teach themselves and adapt to different conditions. In fact, the more complex they become, the more we will need them to repair and maintain themselves. Of course, there remains fear that once they reach a position of sentience, they will have no further need for human kind. However, long generational space exploration, or exploration into hostile environments for humans can easily be accomplished by robots, contributing to the betterment of humankind.

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