Word: agrarian
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...much of China's recent history, this difference was a liability. The country's vast, mostly agrarian West was isolated from the international economy and lagged badly behind the booming east coast in progress and prosperity. Nine years ago, Beijing sought to begin closing this development gap by investing heavily in highways, airports and other infrastructure across the western region. This has helped to kick-start growth. So has geography: Xi'an's lack of exposure to crashing global markets means it has barely been singed by the crisis. In fact, the city has benefited. It's received $230 million...
Duncan also noted that the current system of summer vacations of interminable duration is a vestige of another era. “Our school calendar is based upon the agrarian economy, and not too many of our kids are working the fields today,” Duncan said...
There are a lot of ways to divide the world--rich and poor, east and west, industrial and agrarian. Now add one more: smoking and nonsmoking. In the U.S. and other developed countries, Big Tobacco is on the run, chased to the curbs by a combination of lawsuits, smoking bans and high taxes. Fewer than 20% of Americans now smoke--the lowest rate since reliable records have been kept. President Barack Obama recently signed laws boosting federal cigarette taxes from 32 a pack to $1 and giving the FDA the power to regulate cigarettes like any other food or drug...
Duncan, as the nation's educator in chief, has repeatedly plugged a longer school day and year. He views today's standard six-hour, 180-day calendar as way too old school, a holdover from not only 19th century agrarian society but also mid-20th century Donna Reed-style parenting. "Our children are no longer working in the fields," Duncan says. "And Mom isn't waiting at home at 2:30 with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich. That just doesn't happen in many American families anymore." (Read an interview with Duncan...
...shift in disease burden has a number of root causes. Victories against infectious disease mostly affecting children lead to more people living to adulthood, and thus an increase in chronic diseases. Economic development leads to lifestyle changes that increase the risk for chronic diseases. For example, shifts from agrarian to urban living results in less physical activity, more processed food, and exposure to more air pollution. Most African governments lack information and resources to respond to this growing crisis...