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Given the opportunity to repeat the research process, I would have liked to have investigated a wider range of linguistic comparisons rather than sticking to the few I had. Although the ones used did explore the comparisons in-depth, I strongly feel that there were several, more intriguing similarities that I could have commented upon as well. With regards to methodology, I feel that my process was quite thorough and that I spent the majority of my Extended Essay process reading : research papers, academic journals, other works, etc. Their strategies were extremely effective, as they not only proved to be a source of learning for content but for structure and form. They allowed me to form my own opinions, while ensuring my thoughts were, indeed, valid. Ultimately, despite the divergence from my original topic at the beginning of this process, I feel that my final copy was formed through my research and investigation progressively, rather than in sudden moments. Ultimately, the entire process has been a joy, and the opportunity to dissect a subject of my interest was beyond enjoyable.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RTqwi1jhhHeRRrpms-xcbKEwcvNFTeDN/view?usp=sharing

Bibliography:

UWCSEA’s perhaps most popular Global Concern is known as Blue Dragon. Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation NGO focuses on providing street children with education, nutrition, health care, counseling, physical and creative activities, rescue, legal advocacy and a safe shelter. Their work is led by a team of social workers, psychologists, teachers, and lawyers. Blue Dragon GC works to raise awareness of Blue Dragon’s success stories. They read monthly newsletters and communicate regularly with the NGO. The GC group run community building sports events and collaborate with Blue Dragon children on photography projects, which are exhibited at the College and beyond.

If we take Sachs’ criteria into consideration, there is a well-balanced mix of stewardship, social inclusion, and self-actualization. As the GC is mainly student run, there is a lot of self-actualization that takes place, where every single member has the chance to fulfill one’s talents and potentialities. There is a great deal of stewardship within this GC, as they personally visit the clients, and care for something, such as their organization or property. This is demonstrated through the clear concern and management that the GC’s provide at each session towards the street children. In terms of social inclusion, I believe it occurs more ‘naturally’ than something the GC is forcefully doing. It occurs when people from UWC actually meet the street children, and this social inclusion occurs. 

To conclude, the GC’s are doing a very stable job at having a well-balanced mix of stewardship, social inclusion, and self-actualization; and their actions will, surely, provide for the future.

Personally, I chose this book due to the fact that I have previously read ‘Of Mice and Men’, by the same author, John Steinbeck, and, I found it as many other readers surely found it, absolutely stunning in terms of its description and story. Furthermore, I enjoy reading about the American Midwest in the late ’30’s, it has a nostalgic feel to it whenever Steinbeck describes long country roads, the dusty fields, and the blaring sun. To my great surprise, it was written in a similar style as ‘Of Mice and Men’.

I thought the book would be a close, and personal account of a man’s journey west, as a ‘lone wolf’ in the treacherous Midwest. I thought it would be written in the first person, as a narrative. Now that I’ve finished reading it, I understand Steinbeck’s concepts and the greater meaning of the book, the suffering of tenant farmers, the meaning of ‘man’, and a personal connection to nature and land owned by someone.

Personally, I would definitely choose to read another novel by Steinbeck, perhaps, ‘Travels with Charley’, as it describes a road trip across the United States in the 60’s.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grapes-Wrath-Penguin-Modern-Classics-ebook/dp/B002RI9X8S

To conclude, I personally recommend this book to any reader that is interested about the American Midwest, and the historical importance of this time period.

https://drive.google.com/a/gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg/uc?id=0B5BQE_x7EvuaODJVZnh5WlJESnc&export=download

Romania could be a very good example of how there is a need for improvement in terms of all aspects of Jeffrey Sachs’ normative perspective on the fundamentals of a good society. Primarily, what struck me the most about the short part of the video, was the importance of the people containing their trust in the government, and I truly believe this is an aspect that Romania seriously works against. Ever since the end of communism, which already created distrust between the people and the government, there was and still is a lot of corruption within the government, corruption which does not go unnoticed. (2/10)

In terms of social inclusion, Romania also faces numerous difficulties. Social inclusion dictates that all members of that given society are well integrated, in spite of their nationality, creed, or religion. In Romania, the Roma people, which occupy a good 12% of the National population, still face segregation and racism. If we were to scale the good life, and each aspect ranked from 1 to 10, we could rank social inclusion in Romania quite badly, at a 5, due to the many racial problems, and general problems within societal ‘togetherness’. It gained a 5, however, as we do have a certain level tolerance within the countries, where other can live quite peacefully together.

Furthermore, in terms of environmental stewardship, Romania does not have tremendous issues with its management of its environment, at first sight. However, it contains large problems with water and air pollution, ‘Air pollution and water pollution caused by industry are serious environmental problems in Romania. The country’s factories, chemical plants, and electric power plants depend heavily on burning fossil fuels, a process that emits high levels of carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide – a key component of acid rain. The industrial centers of Copa Mic, in central Romania, and Giurgiu, in the south, have severe air pollution problems. Bucharest, the capital, also has serious air pollution. Much of the nation’s industrial runoff ends up in the Danube river system, making water unsafe for drinking and threatening the diverse ecosystems of the Danube delta.’  If we were to scale the good life, and each aspect ranked from 1 to 10, we could rank environmental stewardship in Romania, relative to other countries, at a 2.

The spread of wealth in Romania is quite detrimental. The Gini coefficient is a measure of the variation in incomes within a country. Romania scored a 27.4, out of 100. This dictates how serious and damaging the economic imbalance is to this country. Thus, it is fair to score Romania’s spread of wealth as a 2/10.

To conclude, adding up all the rankings, Romania scored a, 11/40. Although this means our country is in a bad state, there is room for improvement. The ‘good life’, cannot be expressed or exemplified with Romania, however, this country can be used as an example on how to ‘better’ social wellbeing everywhere.