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1. Briefly discuss the international influence the UK exercises on today’s world.
British Empire and British Commonwealth World’s first industrialised country A developed country A nuclear power
A member state of the European Union
A permanent member of the United Nations Security Council
2. Discuss how England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland gradually became united in history, creating the current United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
In 1282, King Edward I finally conquered the last remaining native Welsh principalities in north and west Wales.
England and Scotland continued to be separate states until the Act of Union in 1707 during the reign of the last monarch of the Stuart Dynasty, Queen Anne.
The Act of Union in 1800 added Ireland to the Kingdom to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
In 1922, the territory of what is now the Republic of Ireland gained independence, leaving Northern Ireland as a continuing part of the United Kingdom.
3. What are the characteristics of the British Constitution?
(1) constitutional monarchy; (2) parliamentary supremacy; (3) representative democracy; (4) the rule of law.
4. What are the principles of the rule of law in the UK?
? Everyone is bound by the law.
? All persons are equal before the law.
? Law and order must be maintained through the officials and institutions of the state.
? Legal redress is provided for citizens when they feel they have experienced injustice.
? The law and legal processes and personnel should be independent from political interference.
5. Examine British economic policies and performance in modern times.
In the 19th century, Britain had the world’s leading economy.
The British economy remained relatively strong, but already began to decline from the beginning of the 20th century.
British government applied the economic theories of Keynes and carried out state involvement in the 1950s and 1960s.
British economy was referred to as the “Sick Man of Europe” by the 1970s.
Thatcherism was the reason for the boom in Britain in the 1980s. Since around 1992, Britain had witnessed the longest period of sustained economic growth for more than 15 years.
In 2008 the United Kingdom entered a recession brought about by the global financial crisis.
6. Comment on the problems the Social Security System confronts in present UK.
It makes citizens dependent and less inclined to work.
It has been expanded to provide a large number of people indiscriminately with more money than the country can afford.
The funding of its insurance side has always been problematic.
It is very complicated for claimants and administrators alike with its array of benefits and is subject to fraud.
One technical difficulty in implementing the system is that accurate figures of poverty are hard to define.
The system has been criticised for the racism and sexism in the mind of the original architect of the system.
7. Critically examine state secondary education in the UK, analyzing its structures, aims and achievements.
In general children in the UK attend secondary education from the age of 11 to 16.
A student can go to a comprehensive school, grammar school or an independent school, with the first two state-run where the majority attend.
All students between the age of 14 and 16 in England and Wales sit the General Certificate of Secondary Education examinations.
Regulated by the Education Reform Act 1988, secondary schools emphasize science and technology.
8. What were the main reasons that made the United States the world’s leading industrial power in the late 19th and early 20th century?
The factors that enabled the United States to become the world’s leading industrial power were many:a Yankee tradition of trade and commerce that provided both the skill and the capital required for industrial expansion; a commitment to private property and the profit system that gave the Rockefellers, the Morgans, and the Carnegies the incentive to build corporate empires; an abundant and skilled labor supply; political institutions and a constitution that fostered the growth of business and prohibited tariffs with the boundaries of the United States; the annexation of territories from foreign countries; immense and easily accessible raw materials; excellent natural and man-made transportation facilities; and expanding markets at home and abroad.
9. Americans are said to be more race-conscious than class-conscious. Why is that? To what extent can such a statement be justified? The USA is a multi-racial and multi-ethnic nation, with people from all over the world.
Moreover, the U.S. is also a nation of associations, where people join organization of every type, including racially- and ethnically-based interest groups.
The U.S. government and its ruling elite have spared no effort to preach bourgeois values and capitalist doctrine to the American public.
The ruling class and its parties have never hesitated to crush radical movements. 10. Why has the turnout been so low in American general elections during the past few decade?
The perception that one is busier is common, and might be just as important as a real decrease in leisure time.
Geographic mobility has increased over the last few decades. Single people are generally less likely to vote.
In the United States, the Vietnam War and Watergate scandal may have caused voters to lose faith in their political leaders during the 1960s and 1970s.
The decline in turnout is the product of a change in campaigning strategies as a result of the so-called new media.
It has been argued that attack ads and smear campaigns give voters a negative impression on the entire political process.
11. What could be the possible reasons for Americans to be so slow and so reluctant in initiating and developing their social services, particularly in comparison with other developed countries in the world?
Private charity organizations have been highly developed since the early days of the settlement.
Church organizations have been heavily involved in community services.
Americans have a long tradition of self-reliance, self-help, and self-independence.
Americans in general do not trust government.
12. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of local responsibility for public elementary and secondary education in the U.S.
Regarding the power over, or responsibility for, education, Americans tend to believe it is the business of local governments.
Americans are skeptical of governmental power, particularly the power of the central government.
Americans want to limit, if not control, power delegated to the government.
The advantage of local responsibility for public education is that it will be more responsible and responsive to the needs of local education.
The disadvantage is that the local government does not have enough financial resources.