America (referatas)
The people. Oregonians are predominantly white and American-born. There are small populations of Hispanics, blacks, and Asians. American Indians make up about 1 percent of the population. Roman Catholics from the largest single religious denomination but make up only one-third of all religious adherents.
The economy. Traditionaly, Oregon has had a resource oriented economy, strongly dependet upon its forests and farms. Through diversification, however, various new industries have been estabilished and tourism, recreation, and trade and service activities have grown.
Administration and social conditions. Government. The state constitution was adopted in 1857. Oregon has been in the vanguard of several innovative movements in U.S.government collectively known as the Oregon System. In 1907 the concepts of initiatve and referendum were introdused by which voters are able to initiate and vote upon statutes or constitutional revisions;these were suplemented in 1908 by the system of recall, under which the removal of elected offcials can be initiated by the voters. The state was also one of the earliest to impose a state income tax, which it did in1923.
The court system is headed by the seven-justice Superme Court which hasadministrative authority over all other courts. The justices, elected for six-year terms, elect one of their members as chief justice.
Education. The first free public school system was created by the territorial legislature in 1849. In 1951 the legislature estabilished a board of education, appointed by the governor. The constitution provides for an elected superintendent of public instruction.
Opportunities for education after high school are provided by community colleges, a state system of higher education composed of three universities(the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and Portland State University), three regional colleges, two specialized schools, and several private colleges. The community colleges are adminstered by lay boards, supported by local taxes, and responsive to local needs in their curricula.
Health and welfare. The Department of Human Resources coordinates the activities of the state’s principal social service agencies. More than 250 programs provide service directly citizens. The Oregon Health Sciences University, ocated in Portland, includes schools of medicine, dentistry, and nursing, hospitals and outpatient clinics, and other facilities. The university’s Institute for Advanced Biomedical Research was one of the world’s first centres to focus on study of the molecular biology of the brain.
Cultural life. As a relatively young state and one in which the human imprint is scarcely visible over vast stretches of land, Oregon has not developed a cultural identity equivalent to those of the longer settled or more heavily populated regions. Its people, however, no less in the sparsely settled areas of the aest than in the population centres of the Willamette valley, take full part in the increasingly homogeniaus character of American life. Portland has large auditoriums and a coliseum. Theatrical and musical groups are found in all of the cities and larger towns, and the Origon Shakespearen Festival in Ashland draws thousands of viewers each summer. University and college communities have public offerings in the arts and other cultural activities.
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