The Italians in Italy and the United States Research Paper

The Italians in Italy and the United States - Research Paper Example Many Italian immigrants and Italian Americans made contributions in various fields such as science, entertainment and the military. While the number of people immigrating to the United States from Italy has decreased in recent years immigrants that come are inspired by the opportunities offered. The population of Italy is expected to decrease dramatically due to the declining birth rate. This combined with the unstable economy of Italy may contribute to a loss of its identity. Many Italian American organizations fear that future generations will not know about the positive aspects of their heritage due to the negative stereotypes of Italians perpetuated by the media. The Italians in Italy and the United States The Italians in Italy and in the United States brought a rich heritage to both nations. In Italy and in America Italians made contributions in various aspects of society throughout history. However factors such as a slow population growth in Italy, a decrease in immigration fro m Italy to the United States, an unstable economy and negative stereotypes of this ethnic group threaten that heritage. Italians in Italy and in America are threatened with the loss of their identity and uniqueness. Italians are no longer the predominant immigrant group in the United States. The future of Italy is imperiled by its stagnant growth. The paper will discuss current and past immigration trends of Italians, contributions made by Italians in Italy and the U.S, the current state of Italy as well as negative stereotypes of Italians. In the 1880’s massive economic decline and an overpopulated nation resulted in a dramatic increase in Italian immigration to the United States. ... Some early Italian migrants were young men who wanted to work for brief periods and then return to Italy. Others would settle in America in predominantly Italian areas. The men mostly did physical labor which included building the communication infrastructure. â€Å"The Italian contribution to the refining of America also derives from the immigrant labor used to build reservoirs, streetcar lines, subways, railroads and buildings to pave streets and to install and repair sewage lines.† (Scarpaci & Mormino p.12) Italian immigrants brought with them an agrarian, family oriented culture that placed emphasis on hard work as a means to succeed and survive. They felt that during troubled times, they can always trust in family. Throughout most of the 20th century there was a gradually increasing influx of immigrants from Italy who would settle in America. During the 1920s most Americans were leading prosperous lives and many Italian American colonies received infusions of capital deri ved as a result of breaking Prohibition laws. Most Italian Americans were adversely affected by the Great Depression. As a result they became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Democratic coalition. From World War 2 to the 1950s and 1960s more Italian Americans were middle class due to ample employment opportunities. By the mid-1970s Italian American young people were attending college at the national average. According to Census Bureau data, Italian Americans have an average high school graduation rate, and a higher rate of college and post graduate degrees compared to the national average. (Scarpaci & Mormino, 2008)From 1998 to 2002 many college students throughout the United States took classes to learn Italian. It is the fourth most commonly taught foreign language in U.S.

Law of Business Associations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law of Business Associations - Essay Example James and Patrick also have the stakes of an accounting firm. This is the same accounting company that handles the accounts of Noosa Group. These three directors own the stakes of Noosa Company equally, each one of them owns 2000 shares, out of the total 6000 shares that the company holds. The company has not paid dividends to its shareholders. Instead they have invested their profits, back into other businesses of the company, with the aim of achieving their long term goals of the organization. Harris’ wife gets sick, and he needs some money to take her to hospital. He is unemployed, unlike the two other directors, who run an accounting firm. He does not have the money to treat her wife, and approaches the other directors to ask them if he company could start paying dividends to its directors. The other directors refuse, and when he decides to sell his shares, they refuse to buy him out. They force him to resign on the account that he is against the long term goals of the org anization. He is forced to resign, although he does it reluctantly. Issue This case has several issues: a) Disagreement between directors. b) Interference of Personal Interests in the Company. c) Company Responsibilities to the shareholders. The directors of Noosa Group are in disagreement. They have disagreed over the conflicting interest of the company. They are divided into two major groups. One side of the group wants the company to start paying dividends to its shareholders, while the other group has refused to approve that request, on claims that it will interfere with the long term goals of the organization. It is the responsibility of a company to declare dividends whenever they make profits. This means that the company is also in breach. The shareholders of the company should also be shown the company’s accounts, whenever they want to see them. The finance the company, and also make key decisions of the company. Therefore, they are entitled to knowing whatever is goi ng on, and how the company is spending their money. Noosa refused to disclose its books of accounts to Harris. Later, Harris discovers that the company has been overpaying the accounting firm that is in charge of managing Noosa. The company is directed by James and Patrick. This is another issue of personal interest interferes in the company. Rule The law gives shareholders and directors the power to make key decisions of the firm (Fu-Lai, 2007). They are the key stakeholders of the company, and hence should be given information about all the major operations of the company (Lui, 2005). They should see the audited accounts of the firm, whenever they demand to do so. Each shareholder has power to vote, in the decision making process of the company. The voting power is decided by the weight of their shares, which is dictated by the number of shares that one owns (Hamilton, & Gray,2009). The higher the number of shares, the stronger the vote becomes. The directors of the company are al so forbidden from running another business, whose interest and that of their company conflicts (Halwey, 2011). Application In this case, there is a breach of the company’s law. First, the company refused to show Harris their accounting records. Harris is an equal shareholder to the rest of the directors, and