A Bookish Kind of Town

A Bookish Kind of Town Anytime someone mentions my hometown of Baltimore, (or Bawlmer, as some say), you probably think of The Wire or John Waters films. But if youre of the literary persuasion, you also think of H. L. Mencken, Edgar Allan Poe, Dashiell Hammett, and Adrienne Rich. And if youve spent any amount of time in Baltimore, you know that Poe is a bit of an obsession around there. An unknown fan used to leave some cognac and three roses on his grave once a year, and the citys football team is named after Poes famous poem. And yet, Poe wasnt even born in Baltimore; he just died there. Mencken, on the other hand, was a Bawlmorean through-and-through. Hes even been called the Sage of Baltimore, and the house in which he lived is a National Historic Landmark. Menckens birthday (September 12) has just passed, but I wonder how many people actually know who he was or even care. Hey, as a Baltimore native, I didnt even know much about him until I went to college. But hes always been floating around my periphery, inserting himself into my life through such favorite authors as Theodore Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis, and Anita Loos. Menckens influence on American literature during the first few decades of the 20th century through his essays, articles, and criticism was enormous. And yet, his outspokenness on controversial topics like the Scopes trial and Americas involvement in Europe during the two world wars made him a household name. However, its not that Baltimore celebrates Mencken Day, or that Dreiser and Mencken bickered like an old married couple, that greatly piqued my interest in the man. No, its the fact that my grandfather knew him. Like Mencken, my grandfather was born in September in Baltimore, but beyond that, they had little in common. Thirty-five years younger than Mencken, my grandfather was the son of Russian immigrants who owned a grocery store. After living in Pennsylvania and New York during the 1930s, he settled back down in his hometown, married my grandmother, and opened a grocery store of his own, which he called the Miracle Market. That store was several blocks away from the Baltimore Sun, where Mencken worked. Apparently, Mencken used to park in a lot that my grandfather also owned, and this was the extent of their acquaintance. Whether or not Mencken patronized his store, Ill never know. Nevertheless, when my grandfather nonchalantly mentioned that he had known Mencken, I was floored. A member of my family knowing a famous writer and critic??!! There was just one degree of separation between me and H. L. MENCKEN?? I tried to pump him for more information, but all hed say was that Mencken was a nice guy. My grandfather was a man of few words.I wish I had taken the time when my grandfather was alive to write down his stories of My grandfather in his store in 1941. Baltimore during the Great Depression and World War II, all the people who passed through his store, and his general impressions of life in a literary city. But most of all, I wish that I could have talked to him about Mencken and found out if hed ever read any of the critics essays or articles. He probably had. After all, my grandfather was proud that I studied American literature. And Im proud that I knew him as long as I did. Are you from a literary city? Tell me about it in the comments! _________________________ Sign up for our newsletter to have the best of Book Riot delivered straight to your inbox every two weeks. No spam. We promise. To keep up with Book Riot on a daily basis, follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, , and subscribe to the Book Riot podcast in iTunes or via RSS. So much bookish goodnessall day, every day.

Luminescence Dating in Archaeology

Luminescence dating (including thermoluminescence and optically stimulated luminescence) is a type of dating methodology that measures the amount of light emitted from energy stored in certain rock types and derived soils to obtain an absolute date for a specific event that occurred in the past. The method is a direct dating technique, meaning that the amount of energy emitted is a direct result of the event being measured. Better still, unlike radiocarbon dating, the effect luminescence dating measures increases with time. As a result, there is no upper date limit set by the sensitivity of the method itself, although other factors may limit the methods feasibility. How Luminescence Dating Works Two forms of luminescence dating are used by archaeologists to date events in the past: thermoluminescence (TL) or thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL), which measures energy emitted after an object has been exposed to temperatures between 400 and 500 °C; and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), which measures energy emitted after an object has been exposed to daylight. To put it simply, certain minerals (quartz, feldspar, and calcite), store energy from the sun at a known rate. This energy is lodged in the imperfect lattices of the minerals crystals. Heating these crystals (such as when a pottery vessel is fired or when rocks are heated) empties the stored energy, after which time the mineral begins absorbing energy again. TL dating is a matter of comparing the energy stored in a crystal to what ought to be there, thereby coming up with a date-of-last-heated. In the same way, more or less, OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) dating measures the last time an object was exposed to sunlight. Luminescence dating is good for between a few hundred to (at least) several hundred thousand years, making it much more useful than carbon dating. The Meaning of Luminescence The term luminescence refers to the energy emitted as light from minerals such as quartz and feldspar after theyve been exposed to an ionizing radiation of some sort. Minerals—and, in fact, everything on our planet—are exposed to cosmic radiation: luminescence dating takes advantage of the fact that certain minerals both collect and release energy from that radiation under specific conditions. Two forms of luminescence dating are used by archaeologists to date events in the past: thermoluminescence (TL) or thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL), which measures energy emitted after an object has been exposed to temperatures between 400 and 500 °C; and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), which measures energy emitted after an object has been exposed to daylight. Crystalline rock types and soils collect energy from the radioactive decay of cosmic uranium, thorium, and potassium-40. Electrons from these substances get trapped in the minerals crystalline structure, and continuing exposure of the rocks to these elements over time leads to predictable increases in the number of electrons caught in the matrices. But when the rock is exposed to high enough levels of heat or light, that exposure causes vibrations in the mineral lattices and the trapped electrons are freed. The exposure to radioactive elements continues, and the minerals begin again storing free electrons in their structures. If you can measure the rate of acquisition of the stored energy, you can figure out how long it has been since the exposure happened. Materials of geological origin will have absorbed considerable quantities of radiation since their formation, so any human-caused exposure to heat or light will reset the luminescence clock considerably more recently than that  since only the energy stored since the event will be recorded. Measuring Stored Energy The way you measure energy stored in an object that you expect has been exposed to heat or light in the past  is to stimulate that object again  and measure the amount of energy released. The energy released by stimulating the crystals is expressed in light (luminescence). The intensity of blue, green or infrared light that is created when an object is stimulated is proportional to the number of electrons stored in the minerals structure and, in turn, those light units are converted to dose units. The equations used by scholars to determine the date when the last exposure happened are typically: Age total luminescence/annual rate of luminescence acquisition, orAge paleodose (De)/annual dose(DT) Where De  is the laboratory beta dose that induces the same luminescence intensity in the sample emitted by the natural sample, and DT  is the annual dose rate comprised of several components of radiation that arise in the decay of natural radioactive elements. Datable Events and Objects Artifacts which can be dated using these methods include  ceramics, burned  lithics, burned bricks and soil from  hearths  (TL), and unburned stone surfaces that were exposed to light and then buried (OSL). Pottery: The most recent heating measured in pottery sherds is assumed to represent the manufacturing event; the signal arises from quartz or feldspar in the clay or other tempering additives. Although pottery vessels can be exposed to heat during cooking, cooking is never at sufficient levels to reset the luminescence clock. TL dating was used to determine the age of  Indus Valley  civilization occupations, which had proved resistant to radiocarbon dating, because of the local climate. Luminescence can also be used to determine the original firing temperature.Lithics: Raw material such as flints and cherts have been dated by TL; fire-cracked rock from hearths can also be dated by TL as long as they were fired to sufficiently high temperatures. The resetting mechanism is primarily heated  and works on the assumption that the raw stone material was heat-treated during stone tool manufacture. However, heat treatment normally involves temperatures between 300 and 400 °C, not alw ays sufficiently high enough. The best success from TL dates on chipped stone artifacts likely are from events when they were deposited into a hearth and accidentally fired.Surfaces of buildings and walls: The buried elements of standing walls of archaeological ruins have been dated using optically stimulated luminescence; the derived date provides the age of burial of the surface. In other words, the OSL date on a foundation wall of a building is the last time that foundation was exposed to light before being used as the initial layers in a building, and hence when the building was first built.Others: Some success has been found dating objects such as bone tools, bricks, mortar, mounds, and agricultural terraces. Ancient slag  left from early  metal production  have also been dated using TL, as well as absolute dating of kiln fragments or vitrified linings of furnaces and crucibles. Geologists have used OSL and TL to establish long, log chronologies of landscapes; luminescence dating is a powerful tool to help date sentiments dated to the  Quaternary  and much earlier periods. History of the Science Thermoluminescence was first clearly described in a paper presented to the Royal Society (of Britain) in 1663, by  Robert Boyle, who described the effect in a diamond which had been warmed to body temperature. The possibility of making use of TL stored in a mineral or pottery sample was first proposed by chemist  Farrington Daniels  in the 1950s. During the 1960s and 70s, the  Oxford University Research Laboratory for Archaeology and History of Art  led in the development of TL as a method of dating archaeological materials. Sources Forman SL. 1989.  Applications and limitations of thermoluminescence to date quaternary sediments.  Quaternary International  1:47-59. Forman SL, Jackson ME, McCalpin J, and Maat P. 1988.  The potential of using thermoluminescence to date buried soils developed on colluvial and fluvial sediments from Utah and Colorado, U.S.A.: Preliminary results.  Quaternary Science Reviews  7(3-4):287-293. Fraser JA, and Price DM. 2013.  A thermoluminescence (TL) analysis of ceramics from Applied Clay Science  82:24-30.cairns in Jordan: Using TL to integrate off-site features into regional chronologies.   Liritzis I, Singhvi AK, Feathers JK, Wagner GA, Kadereit A, Zacharais N, and Li S-H. 2013.  .Luminescence Dating in Archaeology, Anthropology, and Geoarchaeology: An Overview  Cham: Springer. Seeley M-A. 1975.  Thermoluminescent dating in its application to archaeology: A review.  Journal of Archaeological Science  2(1):17-43. Singhvi AK, and Mejdahl V. 1985.  Thermoluminescence dating of sediments.  Nuclear Tracks and Radiation Measurements  10(1-2):137-161. Wintle AG. 1990.  A review of current research on TL dating of loess.  Quaternary Science Reviews  9(4):385-397. Wintle AG, and Huntley DJ. 1982.  Thermoluminescence dating of sediments.  Quaternary Science Reviews  1(1):31-53.

What to Expect From Student Narrative Essay Samples?

What to Expect From Student Narrative Essay Samples? New Questions About Student Narrative Essay Samples An outline is extremely crucial for a descriptive essay, as it permits you to abide by the plot and include all the vital specifics. Furthermore, it is possible to also take a look at our Argumentative Essay templates. Descriptive Narrative Essay Example may be used mainly to recreate a function. The Basics of Student Narrative Essay Samples High school essay writing is a frequent classroom activity and is also part of several normal examinations. Next, employing an expert to compose an essay for you're able to help you better your academic outcome. A descriptive essay isn't just present within the field of education and research. It can be used in different activities and undertakings. Up in Arms About Student Narrative Essay Samples? A descriptive essay presents an individual, place, or thing, in a manner that readers feel like it's in front of their eyes, or they ar e tasting it, or they can hear this, or they can smell it. Do something similar on different parts of the document that you need to modify or delete. Explain the objective of the paper and the way you mean to deal with the topic. The regular structure of a paper is composed of an introduction, the body, and a conclusion. The Fight Against Student Narrative Essay Samples Many facets of my life have influenced my nature and the manner I live. Ensure you will always don't forget the items that we've discussed so that you can remain ready in writing a descriptive essay if you are going to be tasked to do so even within the professional working atmosphere. The actual folks highly praise our essay help site. A personal narrative essay is all about a personal experience, therefore it is usually written in the very first individual. Before writing a descriptive essay, you need to be able to understand how you are likely to encrypt your essay to meet up with the question requirement s. A valuable collection of descriptive essay thoughts and topics are available here. The main reason why lots of students opt to tackle descriptive essay topics is because they are simple to take care of. It's possible to use narrative essay examples high school to find out more. The coming of the essay has to be in the current tense and reveal what things to expect in the remainder of the write-up. Now your essay can turn into one of many descriptive essay examples out there for students to utilize for support. In the event that you were assigned with a descriptive essay, you are likely puzzled where to get started. As you begin on your descriptive essay, it's important that you identify just what you wish to describe. The principal matter to be mindful about in personal descriptive essay is that there shouldn't be any over-exaggeration. A very good descriptive essay comes out of a knowledgeable and imaginative mind. A descriptive essay, since the name implies, is a sort of essay that describes something. A narrative essay, more than every other kind of essay, allows you to be creative as a writer. Samples supply you with a chance to secure closer to the style and structure that's usually appreciated by tutors. All of these are positive. Quite a few music or internet radio websites have come up on the Internet in the previous five decades. Descriptive writing is normally identified by means of senses to supply a narrative, sketch or explanation on the subject available. Writing descriptive essay students need to be more personal and use their imagination to the complete extent. Persuasive essays should have logical and very clear reasoning supported by facts and arguments. Writing a fan tastic descriptive essay is basically giving a thorough explanation of a specific feature or phenomenon. The objective of samples is to help you reflect on a specific topic and provide the course which will help you finish your essay. As a writer, you ought to go through various samples so that you are able to get exposed. Descriptive essay samples can help you with writing a description of sensory details which are an essential portion of descriptive writing.

Mine pro Free Essays

There are 3 doctor and 5 nurse that have been worked in this organization. Usually the operation starts on game until pm. The special of this organization is, it is open every day. We will write a custom essay sample on Mine pro or any similar topic only for you Order Now This organization has been built to easier the student to make a day with a healthy health. Not only give a free treatment for student, the organization give the service for all the candidate in Tim include the worker and lecture too. Purposely to short the time and help the student to get the faster treatment so the learning schedule will not been disturb. Not only give free treatment, this organization supply medicine for those that need it for free too. The medicine did came from various of supplier because f different disease that may influence. Not because that only the medicine that have been supply are based on budget that have be limited by government. 1. 2 Organizational Chart 1. 3 Current System Description The patient and the doctor usually have to fill down all the info as manually. They have to write it in a card that have prepare for them to refill like patient card, doctor card. Medicine supplier and many more works. All of this card will be save in one cabinet that special made for it. The patient will write down their personal detail and their first date receive service provide. The actor will receive patient detail, begin the treatment and suggest the solution or the medicine should take. After that the medical section will receive receipt from the doctor, prepare the medicine and give to patience. From the medicine section work, the workers need to do all the record manually about the process of in and out the medicine. About the stock, Who are the supplier and the quantity Of the medicine too. After that the worker need to make a monthly report, so they knew the quantity and the disease that mostly affected. 1. 4 Current System Problem The patient may have more than one patient card. Take time to find patient card. The doctor may have lost the past information about the patient health problem. May lost the record about the medicine. 2. Proposed Project Overview 2. 1 Proposed System Process The patient will fill in the information into the system when they first come. How to cite Mine pro, Papers

Mine pro Free Essays

There are 3 doctor and 5 nurse that have been worked in this organization. Usually the operation starts on game until pm. The special of this organization is, it is open every day. We will write a custom essay sample on Mine pro or any similar topic only for you Order Now This organization has been built to easier the student to make a day with a healthy health. Not only give a free treatment for student, the organization give the service for all the candidate in Tim include the worker and lecture too. Purposely to short the time and help the student to get the faster treatment so the learning schedule will not been disturb. Not only give free treatment, this organization supply medicine for those that need it for free too. The medicine did came from various of supplier because f different disease that may influence. Not because that only the medicine that have been supply are based on budget that have be limited by government. 1. 2 Organizational Chart 1. 3 Current System Description The patient and the doctor usually have to fill down all the info as manually. They have to write it in a card that have prepare for them to refill like patient card, doctor card. Medicine supplier and many more works. All of this card will be save in one cabinet that special made for it. The patient will write down their personal detail and their first date receive service provide. The actor will receive patient detail, begin the treatment and suggest the solution or the medicine should take. After that the medical section will receive receipt from the doctor, prepare the medicine and give to patience. From the medicine section work, the workers need to do all the record manually about the process of in and out the medicine. About the stock, Who are the supplier and the quantity Of the medicine too. After that the worker need to make a monthly report, so they knew the quantity and the disease that mostly affected. 1. 4 Current System Problem The patient may have more than one patient card. Take time to find patient card. The doctor may have lost the past information about the patient health problem. May lost the record about the medicine. 2. Proposed Project Overview 2. 1 Proposed System Process The patient will fill in the information into the system when they first come. How to cite Mine pro, Papers

Propelling the Salvation Army Towards Success free essay sample

In light of the massive adverse publicity surrounding non-profit organizations and charities, the key objective of the Salvation Army (â€Å"the Army†) in the coming years is to increase public confidence. Increasing public confidence arguably leads to increase in public donations that will allow the Army to extend its reach to more needy people in Singapore. This calls for a major overhaul in the Army’s organisation strategy, as new strategies need to be formulated to rise to the challenges of the turbulent environment. An organizational change is expected of the Army and the communication of change represents the key to a successful implementation of the new corporate strategy. Engaged to engineer the change, our consulting team will orchestrate the process in four stages. Firstly, we scrutinize the external environment in which the Army operates in and identify the key threats and opportunities in the near future. Next, we would perform a critical strategic analysis of the Army’s existing strategic framework and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses against the environmental threats and opportunities. We will write a custom essay sample on Propelling the Salvation Army Towards Success or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Subsequently, we will propose changes to its strategic framework to better minimize the threats and capitalize on the opportunities. Lastly, we recommend the use of the Balanced Scorecard as a strategy management system to communicate the organizational change and execute its strategies. Designed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, the Balanced Scorecard has been used by many profit-maximizing organizations and received spectacular success. As a strategic management tool that aligns employees to organizational goals and objectives, the BSC is equally applicable in the context of a charitable organisation. We espoused that if the pitfalls are cautiously avoided and the difficulties circumvented, the benefits brought about by the BSC will outweigh the cost of implementation. Careful use of the BSC will propel The Salvation Army towards sustainable success. The Salvation Army is a worldwide non-profit organization that provides social aid to the poor, destitute and hungry with the intention of bringing the message Christian Salvation to the world with no discrimination towards any race or religion. With its operations spanning globally, the Army has employed a highly de-centralized organisation design to better cater to local needs. While the London Headquarter provides guidance, the operations are run predominantly by a selected group of passionate local citizens. In Singapore, the Army provides social aid through its churches (corps) and a wide range of social and community programmes. The range of aid provided includes child care centres, children homes, personal development programmes for secondary school students, youth development centres, tuition centres, corps community services, family support services, elderly care, nursing homes and rehabilitation centres, prison-support ministries and services. The accounting scandals of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) took the Singapore public by storm. There was huge media coverage about the impropriety of usage of funds and the management was unable to account for the money received and spent. In a spate of scandals about charitable organizations hitting Singapore, public confidence towards these charitable organizations took a huge plunge. The need for the Army to improve its image and to adopt a new strategy is imminent in order to deliver its objectives continuously. These lessons are critical to the future success of The Army. †¢Transparency in Operations Consequent to the decreased public confidence, the public has become more careful in selecting the organizations they donate to. While it is uncertain as to the motivation of philanthropic acts by individuals, there is a healthy desire for more transparency about public funded activities. [Gallagher and Weinberg, 1991] This suggests that the more transparent the charitable organisation is, the more individuals are willing to donate to that charitable organisation. Corporate Governance The second lesson that can be drawn is the importance of good corporate governance practices in charitable organizations. Governance in the charity sector refers to the systems and processes concerned with ensuring the overall direction, effectiveness, supervision and accountability of an organisation. [CGC IPC, 2007] Charities are for the benefit of people by the people, it is just a form of organizing and making sure that the resources in cash or in-kind are being directed to those in need. Therefore, it is imperative that the charitable organisation be accountable to the public as to where the funds are directed and how they are allocated. Good corporate governance is fast becoming an important criterion for the public in deciding whether to donate to a charitable organisation and even a more important factor for volunteers when choosing which charitable organisation to volunteer at. To achieve this, the Army’s Board is entrusted with the responsibility to ensure that there is good governance in the company to build the firm foundation for maintaining clear accounting and high public awareness and trust. This also contributes towards performance indicators and operational structures. †¢Corporate Culture Corporate culture is perhaps the most vital towards promoting ethics in a company. Having a corporate culture that emphasizes ethical behaviors provide great boost to public confidence. Consequent to the NKF Saga, we have seen how the employees of NKF decided against blowing the whistle on their superiors despite being aware of the fraudulent practices of the upper management. This ill culture where unethical behaviour is condoned has brought down an otherwise successful and good-intentioned organisation. Our consulting team will perform a critical review on the Army’s existing strategies and tactics and propose changes to lift the Army out of the current situation through boosting public confidence and ultimately increase their donation funds to deliver its intended objectives. Subsequently, we propose the use of Balanced Scorecard (â€Å"BSC†) to implement the pro posed strategies and tactics in view of its success in the corporate world.

America’s New Free Trade Agreement Essay Example

America’s New Free Trade Agreement Essay Example America’s New Free Trade Agreement Essay America’s New Free Trade Agreement Essay The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), implemented in the year 1994, is meant to remove barriers to trade between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. An important component of this free trade agreement is the member countries’ concern for environmental as well as labor issues, which must be worked on and agreed upon by the member countries. Yet another significant component of NAFTA is that of conflict resolution between the member nations. For this, the free trade agreement outlines procedures (Topulos).Since the time that it was first implemented, NAFTA has proved to be a positive experience for all member countries. In Mexico after NAFTA, poverty rates were reduced, and the real income increased, despite the economic crisis that the country went through during 1994-1995. Experts believe that the free trade agreement has the potential to reduce the poverty of Mexico even further. Trade among member nations has already increased tremendously. Goods produced in the United States, Canada or Mexico, are now distributed simultaneously in all three member countries. Moreover, the Mexican factories that process imported raw materials into finished goods for export have seen a dramatic increase in their income. Trade in other sectors of the Mexican economy has also increased. In the area of agriculture, Mexico has witnessed a steady increase in exports every year since the inception of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreeme nt). Undoubtedly, NAFTA is expected to benefit Mexico also in the future, just as the benefits of the agreement are being realized more fully today by the United States and Canada. The latter are expected to still increase their benefits of NAFTA with Mexico’s economic development.Given the benefits of NAFTA to the economies of the member countries, and the faith of the United States that it should have firm economic relationships with its neighbors – in December 2003, the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua completed their negotiations on the newest free trade agreement in the region: the Central American Free Trade Agreement or CAFTA (Promoting Trade With Central America And The Dominican Republic). The United States and Costa Rica agreed on the latter’s participation in the new free trade agreement in January 2004. Two months later, the United States concluded negotiations also with the Dominican Republic to integrate the latter int o the CAFTA. This changed the name of CAFTA to DR-CAFTA, or the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (Costa Rica).The goal of DR-CAFTA was the establishment of a free trade zone, which would be similar to the NAFTA. Thus, the DR-CAFTA removes tarrifs on approximately 80 percent of the U.S. exports to the other member countries (Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement). By so doing, the new free trade agreement makes it especially beneficial for member countries that are economically weak to buy high quality U.S. products and thereby raise their standards of living. What is more, the agreement allows for easy access of goods from member countries into the United States market. Once again, the economically weak member countries are bound to benefit substantially through the new agreement, seeing that they may now have the gigantic U.S. market to sell their products to (Runyon).Other provisions of the DR-CAFTA include: (1) a promise made by the govern ments of all member countries that foreign investment is guaranteed in their respective nations; (2) a gradual removal of all barriers to trade that were initially meant to protect domestic production; (3) no duties on the import of agricultural goods; (4) subsidies on all agricultural goods, except sugar, must be eliminated; (5) intellectual property rights must be maintained; (6) a gradual removal of protectionist barriers in all sectors; (7) national monopolies must be dismantled so as to allow foreign investments to compete equally with the domestic organizations; (8) transnational companies would be given the right to resolve conflicts in private international courts; (9) the environment must be respected, and environmental laws abided by; (10) the major labor standards of the International Labor Organization must be enforced in all member countries; and (11) government corruption must be reduced and eventually eliminated in all member countries, especially the economically wea k ones where corruption is rampant (Dominican Republic).The United States’ economy would benefit by selling tariff-free goods to the member countries of the DR-CAFTA. The DR-CAFTA states would be able to purchase more U.S. goods than before, seeing as the tariffs would have been lifted. It is worthy of note, however, that the combined GDP of the DR-CAFTA states is only 0.5 percent of the GDP of the United States. The quantity of U.S. goods that the DR-CAFTA states would be able to purchase would be limited but naturally. Still, the benefits that these states achieve in the long run through the DR-CAFTA are expected to be greater than the benefits that the United States would be able to realize. This is because the DR-CAFTA states are all economically weaker than the U.S. Thus, positive changes manifested in the economically weak states would appear to be much greater in extent (Runyon).Although the effects of the new free trade agreement between the United States, Dominican R epublic, and five Central American countries, have not been documented as yet, it is believed that once the DR-CAFTA has been fully implemented, the United States would be able to increase its exports to the member countries by approximately 15 percent. U.S. imports are similarly expected to increase by around 12 percent, while the effect on the aggregate output as well as employment in the United States is expected to be little. Hornbeck states: These estimates are in line with expectations made prior to the negotiations that the marginal effects of the DR-CAFTA would be small, but positive for the U.S. economy as a whole, given the DR-CAFTA countries had small and already largely open economies.Once again, the overall benefits of DR-CAFTA would be more clearly visible in the DR-CAFTA states in the long run, just as the case of Mexico and NAFTA reveals greater interest in the benefits of NAFTA to Mexico. Just as NAFTA reduced poverty rates in Mexico, increased trade in the DR-CAFTA nations is expected to reduce poverty rates in these nations. However, it may take a while before the full benefits of DR-CAFTA are realized in these nations. Molly Runyon explains why the full range of benefits of DR-CAFTA would not be immediately visible in the economically weak nations: 1. Costa Rica. Retrieved from ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2004/2004_National_Trade_Estimate/2004_NTE_Report/asset_upload_file462_4745.pdf. (7 April 2007).2. Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement. Wikipedia (2007). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/. (7 April 2007).3. Hornbeck, J. F. The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA). Congressional Research Service (2005, July 6). Retrieved from http://price.house.gov/UploadedFiles/CAFTA%207.6.05.pdf. (7 April 2007).4. North American Free Trade Agreement. Wikipedia (2007). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement. (7 April 2007 ).5. Promoting Trade With Central America And The Dominican Republic. The White House. Retrieved from whitehouse.gov/index.html. (7 April 2007).6. Runyon, Molly. Free Trade in Weak States: The Case of DR-CAFTA in Nicaragua. Retrieved from http://fletcher.tufts.edu/research/2006/Runyon.pdf. (7 April 2007).7. Topulos, Katherine. NAFTA. Duke University School of Law (2007). Retrieved from law.duke.edu/lib/researchguides/pdf/nafta.pdf. (7 April 2007).