Thursday, December 26, 2019

Cyrus the Great Essay - 1105 Words

Brice Woodard HIST 1110 February 7, 2012 Cyrus II of Persia, also known as Cyrus the Great, was one of the most influential and powerful rulers in the Ancient World. ¹ By overthrowing the Assyrian empire, he was able to start the Persian Empire. Through his superior diplomacy skills within his empire, to his genius war tactics, he built the foundation for a line of Persian Kings to rule one of the largest empires in world history. Cyrus the Great’s(C. 600-530 BCE) expansion started in Persia, located on the southern portion of the Iranian peninsula, Cyrus conquered the Medes, led by King Astyages, circa 559 BCE in the northern part of the peninsula. From there, he moved into Ecbatana to take over the Medes. He united the them with†¦show more content†¦The cylinder is written in Babylonian script stating that Marduk, the city-god of Babylon, had looked for a champion to restore Babylon to it’s old ways, and chose Cyrus, King of Persia, and declared him king of the world. ⠁ ¹ Marduk ordered Cyrus to rule over the tribes of Iran justly, and to march on Babylon which was uncontested, and the King of Babylon surrendered and the people of Babylon rejoiced for Cyrus as their king. Cyrus had set himself apart from other rulers by compromising with his empire rather than forcing his entire will on them. He accomplished this by allowing people that had been moved from their homeland to return, most notably allowing the Jews to return to Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar had them exiled and held captive in Babylon.⠁ ´ On top of them returning, Cyrus also encouraged them to rebuild their temple, which was also one of his finer qualities. During his conquests, he would allow the people to keep their religions and cultural differences, while allowing them to part of the Persian Empire. While Cyrus did allow these freedoms, he also was able to create an empire-wide trade network as well as a commanding Woodard 3 army due to an overall agenda that allowed him to keep his people happy while allowing his empire to expand. By allowing the Jews to return home and build aShow MoreRelatedCyrus the Great1669 Words   |  7 PagesCyrus the Great Builds the Persian Empire by Governing With Toleration and Kindness The greatest leaders in history often leave behind some sort of legacy. Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Persian Empire around 500 B.C., which was the largest empire of its time (Cyrus II, the Great). The empire stretched from ancient Iran, and grew to include an area reaching from Greece to India (Persian Empire). Cyrus’ reign saw some of the first contacts between Persia and Greece, and helped Persia gainRead MoreKing Cyrus Of The Great1747 Words   |  7 PagesKing Cyrus of Persia Bikram Brar Ms. Lussier Classics 11G-Section 2 November 15, 2014 This essay is about King Cyrus of Persia or as known throughout the world in his day as Cyrus the Great. This essay will be four paragraphs which will state his early life, genealogy and rise to the throne, his adult life and many conquests, his later years, families, death and his lasting legacy. King Cyrus was born in c. 575 B.C. He was the son of a Persian king called Cambyses and his wife MandaneRead MoreThe Persian Empire By Cyrus The Great1710 Words   |  7 Pagesaccredited to the wise guidance of a man known as Cyrus the Great. Cyrus was a bright and influential Persian king whose approach for expanding the Persian Empire was to conquer nearing lands with the goal of uniting them into one vast empire. With his dexterous guidance and a solid military, Cyrus succeeded in fashioning a massive empire that lasted for more than two hundred years. The strong roots and influences brought to the Persian Empire by Cyrus gave the emperors after him much power, like DariusRead MoreCyrus The Great s Personal Life1258 Words   |  6 PagesCyrus the Great, or ‘Kourosh-e-Bozorg’ in Persian, was the founder of the Archaemenid Empire (also known as the Persian Empire). Within his 29 years of Kingship, he had managed to create a legacy that lasts to this day through his mi litary campaigns against several empires, conquering the lands from present day Turkey to India, and ruling with religious tolerance. This assignment will discuss Cyrus the Great’s personal life as well as describe his actions that have founded the basic principles andRead MoreCyrus The Great Is The Best Rulers Of All Of Human History1544 Words   |  7 PagesCyrus the Great is considered one of the best rulers in all of human history. His Persian Empire stretched across Asia from India on the East to the Mediterranean Sea on the West. In Xenophon’s The Education of Cyrus, Cyrus’s absolute rule through knowledge solves the problem of political instability of regimes. Starting his rule as a commander of his army, Cyrus obtained the knowledge of how to get his soldiers to do what he wanted, and he implemented this knowledge to rule his empire as a wholeRead MoreCyrus The Great And Socrates1687 Words   |  7 PagesDespite the fact that Cyrus the Great and Socra tes led exceedingly different lives in different areas of the world, both of these men were very much free thinkers and prospered in their respective endeavors as a result of the extraordinary knowledge they possessed. In particular, to better understand Cyrus’s ascension to and maintaining of the throne, it’s useful to draw parallels between his knowledge and the knowledge of Socrates presented via Plato’s Gorgias. I will argue that Cyrus’s successRead MoreSemester Project : The Great And His Predetermined Destiny1325 Words   |  6 PagesProject Final Step Step One: My semester project topic is about Cyrus the Great and his predetermined destiny, his founding of his empire, how he was given the name the Great, and his use of power to establish basic human rights. Step Two: Cizek, Alexandru. From the historical truth to the literary convention: the life of Cyrus the great viewed by Herodotus, Ctesias and Xenophon. L Antiquità © classique (1975): 531-552. â€Å"Cyrus the Great: Asiatic Supremacy.† Beacon Lights of History 4 (2006): n. pagRead MoreThe Major Development Of The Persian Empire1695 Words   |  7 Pagesoriginated as a result of the great king known as Cyrus who united the Mediterranean and Asia Minor into one United Kingdom. Many of Cyrus’ qualities as a leader led to the Persians unspoken success in expanding their civilization into the largest and most powerful empire the world had ever seen. His campaign inspired the Persians to develop their nation by making expeditions through Media, Babylonia, Lydia, and Egypt. These four provinces had a major affect on Cyrus’ vision of creating an unstoppableRead MoreDuring The Iron Age Between 590-529 B.c1415 Words   |  6 Pagesperiod between 590-529 B.C.E., according to Richard Frye, was the period of the life of Cyrus the Great, the first ruler of the Persian Empire. Cyrus was the grandson of Astyages, who was the King of the Medes. After dreaming that C yrus would eventually overthrow him, Astyages ordered for Cyrus to be killed, but the Shepherd who was supposed to kill Cyrus decided to raise Cyrus as his own son. In 553 B.C.E., Cyrus revolted against the Medes, and in 550 B.C.E., defeated Astyages and the Medes, becomingRead MoreThe Empire Of The Persian Empire1682 Words   |  7 Pagesstory of the rise to power of the Medes and Persians against the Babylonians. The Book of Ezra/Nehemiah tells of how Cyrus the Great was benevolent and permitted the Jews to return to the Land of Israel to rebuild their destroyed temple. The Book of Chronicles reiterates what was said beforehand in Daniel and Ezra/Nehemiah. Lastly the Book of Isaiah also tells the story of Cyrus the Great, however, this telling is more mixed. The Book of Esther presents Persia as the setting under the rule of King Ahasuerus

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

The Impact Of Technology On The Healthcare Profession

Nursing has been around since the early antiquity years but it was not until Florence Nightingale came along in the 1850’s that the foundation of nursing was established. Over the years nursing has continued to grow and advance not just within its self but also within our society which has grown further and faster than anyone could ever imagine. For example nursing has learned to incorporate the advancements of technology into its self by using; smartphones as a form of communication (texting, pictures), electronic health records to chart patients information, and by using social media outlets such as Facebook, twitter, and blogs to interact with their clients and to reach out to new potential clients. Along with these advancements of†¦show more content†¦After a long night of work she heads home while forgetting her phone at the hospital. Which leads towards the scenario conclusion that I have decided to choose (1). Within this conclusion I as a nurse have found a l ost cellphone. While trying to figure out who the owner of the cellphone is I happen to come across photos that appear to have been taken the night before of the lead singer Jerod from the band â€Å"Blue Lizards†. I cannot believe what I have found and believe that no one could possibly trace the photos to me or the cellphone. After stumbling upon the cellphone I would have no other choice but to turn it into my supervisor and allow him or her to handle the situation as they see fit. I could possibly confront the nurse myself and explain to her how taking these photos last night is a violation of the patients right to privacy, a violation of HIPA and is simply unethical behavior, however I believe hearing this from a supervisor will be more effective. HIPAA Regulations HIPAA was created in 1996, its purposes is to allow people to maintain health insurance, protect confidential and secure healthcare information, and to help healthcare industry control administrative cost ( HHS.gov.n.d.). For the purpose of this paper I will be focusing on protection of confidential and secure healthcare information. In order to understand what qualifies as protected health care information you first have to understand what

Monday, December 9, 2019

April 19th, 1996 Essay Example For Students

April 19th, 1996 Essay A critical analysis of the main characters and plot from the novel Beloved (BY TONI MORRISON). Frank ManciniBeloved is a novel set in Ohio during 1873, several years after the Civil War. The book centers on characters who struggle fruitlessly to keep their painful recollections of the past at bay. The whole story revolves around issues of race, gender, family relationships and the supernatural, covering two generations and three decades up to the 19th century. Concentrating on events arising from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1856, it describes the horrendous consequences of an escape from slavery for Sethe, her children and Paul D. The narrative begins 18 years after Sethes break for freedom, and it gradually persuades the reader to accept the haunting of 124 Bluestone Road by a 2 year old child, killed by her mother Sethe: Full of babys venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the childrenby 1873 Sethe and her daughter Denver were its only victims (Page 1). The novel is divided into three parts. Each part opens with statements as to indicate the progress of the hauntingfrom the poltergeist to the materialized spirit to the final freeing of both the spirit and Sethe; Part I: 124 WAS SPITEFUL (Page 1); Part II: 124 WAS LOUD(Page 169); Part III: 124 WAS QUIET (Page 239). These parts reflect the progressive reconciliation of a betrayed child and her desperate mother. Overall symbolizing the gradual acceptance of freedom and the enormous work and continuous struggle that would persist for the next 100 years. The dynamics of the story attempt to distance the reader from an immediate and direct exposure to the extremes of the real horror contained in the narrative. The narrative jumps from one setting to another, from the past to the present. However, the complex chronology is necessary to understand the psychological and emotional state of all the participants in the story. Reading the story resembles listening to a story. This peculiar oral style surfaces; it feels as if the novel is speaking the emotions of each character out loudly, allowing the reader to identify with each one. Events that occurred prior and during the 18 years of Sethes freedom are slowly revealed and pieced together throughout the novel. Ever so painfully, Sethe is in need of rebuilding her identity and remembering the past and her origins: Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. You know. Some things you forget. Other things you never do. But its not. Places, places, are still there. If a house burns down its gone, but the placethe picture of itstays, and not just in rememory, but out there in the world (Page 35). The author moves around the characters allowing each participant in the story a turnBaby Suggs, Paul D, Stamp Paid, Denver, Sethe and Belovedto convey their perceptions of events to the reader. Baby Suggs horror at her grandchilds murder is passionately displayed: Baby Suggs had got the boys inside and was bathing their heads, rubbing their hands, lifting their lids, whispering, Beg your pardon, I beg your pardon, the whole time (Page 152). Within this horror, the insensitivity of her landlord is shown when Baby Suggs is approached by her landlords kids regarding fixing some shoes, not knowing and not caring to know they just give her the shoes: Baby Suggs She took the shoes from himsaying, I beg your pardon. Lord, I beg your pardon. I sure do (Page 153). Paul Ds memories of Sweet Home are remembered to confront his and Sethes past: Paul D smiled then, remembering the bedding dress. Sethe was thirteen when she came to Sweet Home and already iron-eyed (Page 10). These various voices act as witnesses to Sethes experiences and showing how black women had no control over their husbands, children or own bodies. Racial issues are one of the main issues in Beloved. The story revolves around the life of a former slave and her attempts to get on with her life as best as she can considering what the white slave owners have put her through. The cruelties of the slaves by the slave owners in this story are probably conservative compared to what really occurred in many cases. This novel is about emotions and perceptions of African-Americans and of the burden of sorrow that they have inherited from being deprived of their homeland and treated like animals. These emotions are complex and very deep. Abortion: Pro Choice View EssaySelf-acceptance and love are perhaps the most important points of the novel. For people whose negative up bringing and indoctrination has associated blackness with every form of evil and ugliness, self-love is difficult to achieve. Appreciation of one self and moral reconstruction can be achieved only with a rejection of all that had destroyed black identity in slavery. The author is attempting to show the roots of this negativity in order to overcome it. The story revolves around the scars and the psychological state of African-Americans during and after slavery. Beloved materializes when Seths plantation past re-emerges with a visit from a fellow ex-slave, Paul D. He offers her love and the possibility of a new life. This triggers Beloved incarnation who is extremely jealous to be recognized as the proof of her mothers deed. The signs indicating that the young woman was Seths child materializing in flesh and blood were many, such as her name Beloved and her weak neck: Her neck, its circumference no wider than a parlor-service saucer, kept bending and her chin brushed the bit of lace edging her dress (Page 50). The sudden emergency Sethe experienced as she noticed Beloved, remind the reader of Sethe giving birth. Beloveds struggle to reclaim connection with her mother, could symbolize their struggle for freedom by reclaiming their past. In order to never forget their enslaved history and confrontation could be the catalyst to growth: She had an emergency that unmanageable. She never made the outhouse. Right in front of its door she had to lift her skirts, and the water she voided was endlessNo, more like flooding the boat when Denver was born (Page 51). Denver had never left 124 Bluestone Road and never encountered white people until forced to seek help from her community where she recognizes the danger that Beloved poses to Sethe. She begins to grow by attending to her mother and Beloved as if they were her children. Later when in the house of Bodwin a pro anti-slavery activist she sees a small statue of a black boy kneeling and with his mouth wide open to be used as a money box: Painted across the pedestal he knelt on were the words At Yo Service (Page 255). Here she realizes that help from this man who owns this ornament is helping to perpetuate racism and that her emancipation is only possible with the help of the black community. Although this novel is full of symbolism and metaphors, the ghost of Sethes dead baby could reflect the authors beliefs in the paranormal. Anyone who enters the house on Bluestone Road actually witnesses the presence of this ghost which may symbolize slaverys rememories that haunt Sethe and her people throughout the story. All of the characters try to repress their memories, which need to be faced and exorcised as you would a ghost. The end of this novel emphasizes the importance of the community and the individuals search for self which characterizes the survival struggle of Black Americans. Sethe is destroyed by her memories and her isolation with the ghost of Beloved, (representing the memories of slavery) until the community intervenes and saves her. The black community and their cohesiveness and harmony is an essential factor to further the healing of 244 years of slavery and another 133 years of political abuse. The author has successfully developed a novel which represents the hopes, aspirations, and historical memories of black America in 273 pages. Special attention has been placed on black women, which struggle under a double burden: that of racial prejudice and that of a male-centered society.

Monday, December 2, 2019

Manhattan Project Essays - Manhattan Project, Code Names

Manhattan Project The research for the first Atomic bomb was done in the United States, by a group of the best scientists; this research was given the name of "The Manhattan Project". On Monday July 16th, 1945, a countdown for the detonation of the first atomic bomb took place near Los Alamos, New Mexico. This atomic bomb testing would forever change the meaning of war. As the atomic bomb was detonated it sent shock-waves all over the world. There was endless research done on the bomb in the United States. The research was called "The Manhattan Engineer District Project" but it was more commonly known as "The Manhattan Project."1 The Manhattan Project was brought by fear of Germany and it's atomic research. On account of the fear of Germany the United States took action upon testing their own atomic bomb. Once the bomb was tested, the United States had to decide whether it should be used and if so, where? Then there was the process of dropping the bomb. The Manhattan Project was overall one of the highest and most significant projects ever done in the United States.2 The United States government was shocked by the news of German scientists discovering nuclear fission. The news came to the United States from Albert Einstein. Einstein found out the nuclear fission information from a German physicist named Leo Szilard. He then told it to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and urged him to start an investment toward atomic research. 3The research would then help construct an atomic weapon of mass destruction. Roosevelt was not especially concerned about investing in atomic weapon research because he didn't plan on getting involved in the War. When Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, Roosevelt entered the war and sent significant funds to the construction of the atomic weapon. Roosevelt speeded up the process of research by having General Groves setup a committee of the brightest minds from all around the world. Because most of the work done on research of the bomb was done in the Manhattan District of New York, at the US Army Corps of Engineers, the name given to the lay out was "The Manhattan Project".3 The man that General Grooves chose to head the Manhattan project was Robert J. Oppenheimer. Oppenheimer was a Jewish born child who was raised in Manhattan. Oppenheimer went to Harvard University to complete a four-year chemistry program in three years. After Harvard, Oppenheimer went to Cambridge University to get a degree in Subatomic Physics. Then he went to teach at Berkley University.4 Another main person in the research project was Enrico Fermi. Fermi was a graduate of the University of Pisa, where he received his Ph.D. Fermi then went to the University of Rome teaching chemistry and biology. Fermi played a major role in the development of the bomb by creating a sustained nuclear fission chain reaction, which was critical to making the atomic bomb.4 Richard Feyman was another scientist which worked on the atomic bomb. Feyman graduated from Princeton where he excelled in physics and other scientific studies. Feyman's big duty on the Manhattan Project was to break big problems into smaller easier to do problems.4 The Manhattan Project, also had to have facilities for the research and testing of the atomic bomb. Some of the facilities built by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included: power stations, factories, steel works, hospitals, laboratories, and housing for everybody that worked on the project.. Other facilities that were built for the construction of the bomb were plants to make the radioactive material needed to construct the bomb. Oak Ridge, Tennessee was used to make uranium which was used as an explosive to react with plutonium. The plutonium itself was made in Hanford, Washington.5 To make this explosion possible, a piece of uranium was fired at another piece of uranium to make the critical mass that was needed for an explosion. Critical mass is the exact amount of fissionable material needed to maintain a fission chain reaction. Once Critical mass was obtained it compressed Plutonium and when the Plutonium was compressed enough, atoms from plutonium were split and it made an explosive bomb that could destroy a medium sized city.3 Security was tight on the Los Alamos site because there was fear that bomb secrets would be spread outside of the work place. There were many people that worked on the bomb that didn't even know they were working on it, they just thought it to be another regular government job. The workers that were there could not use their

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Essays

What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Essays What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Paper What are the contrasts between Blanche and Stanley in A streetcar named desire Paper Essay Topic: A Streetcar Named Desire Literature Blanche and Stanley are at juxtaposition towards each other, there is a conflict between them that goes beyond simply disliking one another. One of the explanations for this is that Blanche comes from a very different world to Stanley. In many ways Stanleys represents new America whereas Blanche represents the old, America. This contrast of hard working, manual labour against well mannered, chivalrous and delicate is one of the very first conflicts of culture. In a way Blanche represents the old south, which in history supported slavery. We can see Blanche representing the confederacy, the posh upper class slave owners and Stanley as the would-be slave, resentful of his treatment from the South and by Blanche. Another contrast is the animalistic natures of the two characters. In many ways Blanche is like a moth. Her delicate nature and fragility invoke images of the cover of the book. Stanley is more like a bear, a heavily territorial creature that will fiercely protect its mate. Further evidence that Blanche is like a moth can be seen in her behaviour. Moths never really stay in one place; they flit from place to place, and in Blanches case from one danger to another. The cover shows a harsh light bulb, which is the harsh reality of the world in a sense. Blanche often seeks out the light because of what she lost, even though it hurts her. The flamingo hotel is one example of this; the young man is another. She seeks to find that spotlight that will light up her world again and risk herself in the process. Stanley on the other hand does not have the capacity for those feelings. He wears bold, primary colours such as red and green and purple, which convey his animalistic passion whereas Blanche is not motivated in this way. Relying often on the ethereal illusions of the mind. This is perhaps what frustrates Stanley; Blanche is nothing substantial, she is almost devoid of reason. This goes against Stanleys perceptions about the world, that everything is black and white and that you are either friend or foe. Much like in nature. In many ways Blanches character is something of a contradiction, she seeks out new love in order to find what was lost, and yet she has not looked inwards at herself to question her own actions much. She regrets telling Alan that he disgusted her and she defends her picture of him in an act of defiance against Stanley. This contradicts my point earlier about her only believing in the ethereal. Because in order to counter Stanleys passion you have to fight fire with fire and be passionate yourself. So perhaps deep down Blanche is more like Stanley. She is heavily territorial regarding Alan and protective of his memory. Something which reflects in the name of the book A streetcar named desire Blanche in effect believes the world is illusionary, but her desire forces her to accept some things are real and like a streetcar she has no choice abut changing course. The things she accepts as real [IE Her love for Alan] she will defend fiercely. Stanley on the other hand has formed a very hunter-gatherer relationship with Stella. She is like a trophy, a symbol of something he has conquered with his passionate tendencies. They fall out and fight it seems on a regular basis, but they are inexplicably attracted back to each other. The contrast then can be seen in Stella as well as Blanche. Stella is more down-to-earth, more like Stanley than her sister. She accepts certain facts whereas Blanche fabricates ways around them. Stanley also resents Blanche because of her reliance of the imaginary. His perception of the world puts him as the alpha male, women should be attracted to him and in return he can control them through force. Blanche seems to be immune to this, looking down her nose at him and not succumbing to lust. I imagine Stanley has not encountered this from women before. Stanley not only believes in reality, he is reality. He is the hard knuckled, nature driven man and Blanche is the white, ethereal spectre, which fades in and out of reality. In that respect the characters are very much in two different worlds with two different beliefs. Going back to the moth idea, Blanche moves from place to place on impulse. Impulse can be described as the single track, single path nature of a streetcar carriage. She talks about fabricating lies to attract men she has had previous relations with, she does not wish to lose face despite already having lost most of it in her hometown of Laurel. Quite clearly Blanche has not got quite a sound mind, because it seems to fabricate reality to what suits her. She still believes she is a lady of upper-class nature, but she has essentially tainted herself through her activities at the flamingo. She bathes a lot, and this frustrates Stanley. He works in the grease and muck and does not see it necessary to clean himself as often as Blanche, and yet she washes herself constantly. Blanche characteristically dresses in white, the purest form of light. When she bathes she is cleansing herself. I think that she might be trying to cleanse the blood of her dead husband from herself. Stanley does not seem to have been through the emotional trauma that she has, and so cannot understand how she feels. When you murder someone, directly or otherwise, it sticks in your mind and Blanche has convinced herself of her responsibility towards his death. In summer then, Blanche shares a few passionate similarities with Stanley. Her perception of reality is similar to Stanleys when it comes to love. However she surrounds herself with the false and the fake, to comfort herself and to try and cleanse her body of the taint that surrounds it.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

The Life and Death of Marie-Antoinette

The Life and Death of Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette (born Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Ãâ€"sterreich-Lothringen; November 2,  1755–October 16,  1793) was an Austrian noble and French Queen Consort whose position as a hate figure for much of France helped contribute to the events of the French Revolution, during which she was executed. Fast Facts: Marie-Antoinette Known For:  As the queen of Louis XVI, she was executed during the French Revolution. She is often quoted as saying, Let them eat cake (there is no proof of this statement).Also Known As:  Maria Antonia Josepha Joanna von Ãâ€"sterreich-LothringenBorn:  November 2, 1755,  in Vienna (now in Austria)Parents: Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Austrian Empress Maria TheresaDied:  October 16, 1793, in Paris, FranceEducation: Private palace tutors  Spouse: King Louis XVI of FranceChildren: Marie-Thà ©rà ¨se-Charlotte, Louis Joseph Xavier Franà §ois, Louis Charles, Sophie Hà ©là ¨ne Bà ©atrice de FranceNotable Quote: I am calm, as people are whose consciences are clear. Early Years Marie-Antoinette was born on November 2nd, 1755. She was the eleventh daughter - eighth surviving - of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. All the royal sisters were called Marie as a sign of devotion to the Virgin Mary, and so the future queen became known by her second name – Antonia – which became Antoinette in France. She was bought up, like most noble women, to obey her future husband, an oddity given that her mother, Maria Theresa, was a powerful ruler in her own right. Her education was poor thanks to the choice of tutor, leading to later accusations that Marie was stupid; in fact, she was able with everything she was competently taught. Marriage to Dauphin Louis In 1756 Austria and France, long term enemies signed an alliance against the growing power of Prussia. This failed to quell the suspicions and prejudices each nation had long held for each other, and these problems were to affect Marie Antoinette deeply. However, to help cement the alliance it was decided that a marriage should be made between the two nations, and in 1770 Marie Antoinette was married to the heir to the French throne, Dauphin Louis. At this point her French was poor, and a special tutor was appointed. Marie now found herself in her mid-teens in a foreign country, largely cut off from the people and places of her childhood. She was in Versailles, a world where almost every action was governed by fiercely employed rules of etiquette which enforced and supported the monarchy, and which the young Marie thought ridiculous. However, at this early stage, she tried to adopt them. Marie Antoinette displayed what we would now call humanitarian instincts, but her marriage was far from happy to start with. Louis was often rumored to have had a medical problem which caused him pain during sex, but it’s likely he simply wasn’t doing the right thing, and so the marriage initially went unconsummated, and once it was there was still little chance of the much-desired heir being produced. The culture of the time - and her mother - blamed Marie, while close observation and attendant gossip undermined the future queen. Marie sought solace in a small circle of court friends, with whom later enemies would accuse her of hetero- and homosexual affairs. Austria had hoped that Marie Antoinette would dominate Louis and advance their own interests, and to this end first Maria Theresa and then Emperor Joseph II bombarded Marie with requests; in the end, she failed to have any effect on her husband until the French Revolution. Queen Consort of France Louis succeeded to the throne of France in 1774 as Louis XVI; at first, the new king and queen were wildly popular. Marie Antoinette had little regard or interest in court politics, of which there was a lot, and managed to offend by favoring a small group of courtiers in which foreigners seemed to dominate. It’s not surprising that Marie seemed to identify more with people away from their homelands, but public opinion often angrily interpreted this as Marie favoring others instead of the French. Marie masked over her early anxieties about children by growing ever more interested in court pursuits. In doing so she gained a reputation for outward frivolity - gambling, dancing, flirting, shopping - which has never gone away. But she was irreverent out of fear, self-doubting rather than self-absorbed. As Queen Consort Marie ran an expensive and opulent court, which was to be expected and certainly kept parts of Paris employed, but she did so at a time when French finances were collapsing, especially during and after the American Revolutionary War, so she was seen as a cause of wasteful excess. Indeed, her position as a foreigner to France, her expenditure, her perceived aloofness and her early lack of an heir led extreme slanders to be spread about her; claims of extramarital affairs were among the more benign, violent pornography was the other extreme. Opposition grew. The situation isn’t as clear cut as a gluttonous Marie spending freely as France collapsed. While Marie was keen to use her privileges - and she did spend - Marie rejected the established royal traditions and began to reshape the monarchy in a new fashion, rejecting stark formality for a more personal, almost friendly touch, possibly derived from her father. Out went the previous fashion on all but key occasions. Marie Antoinette favored privacy, intimacy, and simplicity over the previous Versailles regimes, and Louis XVI largely agreed. Unfortunately, a hostile French public reacted badly to these changes, interpreting them as signs of indolence and vice, as they undermined the way the French court had been built to survive. At some point, the phrase ‘Let them eat cake’ was falsely attributed to her. Queen, and Finally a Mother In 1778 Marie gave birth to her first child, a girl, and in 1781 the much longed for male heir arrived. Marie began to spend more and more time involved with her new family, and away from previous pursuits. Now the slanders moved away from Louis’ failings to the question of who the father was. The rumors continued to build, affecting both Marie Antoinette - who had previously managed to ignore them - and the French public, who increasingly saw the queen as a debauched, idiotic spendthrift who dominated Louis. Public opinion, on the whole, was turning. This situation worsened in 1785-6 when Maria was publicly accused in the ‘Affair of the Diamond Necklace’. Although she was innocent, she took the brunt of the negative publicity and the affair discredited the whole French monarchy. As Marie did begin to resist the pleas of her relatives to influence the King on behalf of Austria, and as Marie became more serious and engaged in the politics of France fully for the first time - she went to government meetings on issues which didn’t directly affect her - it so happened that France began to collapse into revolution. The King, with the country paralyzed by debt, tried to force reforms through an Assembly of Notables, and as this failed he became depressed. With an ill husband, a physically ill son, and the monarchy collapsing, Marie too became depressed and deeply afraid for her future, although she tried to keep the others afloat. Crowds now openly hissed at the Queen, who was nicknamed ‘Madame Deficit’ over her alleged spending. Marie Antoinette was directly responsible for the recall of Swiss banker Necker to the government, an openly popular move, but when her eldest son died in June 1789, the King and Queen fell into distraught mourning. Unfortunately, this was the exact moment when politics in France decisively changed. The Queen was now openly hated, and many of her close friends (who were also hated by association) fled France. Marie Antoinette stayed, out of feelings of duty and the sense of her position. It was to be a fatal decision, even if the mob only called for her to be sent to a convent at this point The French Revolution As the French Revolution developed, Marie had an influence over her weak and indecisive husband and was able to partly influence royal policy, although her idea of seeking sanctuary with the army away from both Versailles and Paris was rejected. As a mob of women stormed Versailles to harangue the king, a group broke into the queen’s bedroom shouting they wanted to kill Marie, who had just escaped to the king’s room. The royal family was coerced into moving to Paris, and effectively made prisoners. Marie decided to remove herself from the public eye as much as possible, and hope that she wouldn’t be blamed for the actions of aristocrats who had fled France and were agitating for foreign intervention. Marie appears to have become more patient, more pragmatic and, inevitably, more melancholic. For a while, life went on in a similar manner to before, in a strange sort of twilight. Marie Antoinette became then more pro-active again: it was Marie who negotiated with Mirabeau on how to save the crown, and Marie whose distrust of the man led to his advice being rejected. It was also Marie who initially arranged for her, Louis and the children to flee France, but they only reached Varennes before being caught. Throughout Marie Antoinette was insistent she would not flee without Louis, and certainly not without her children, who were still held in better regard than the king and queen. Marie also negotiated with Barnave on what form a constitutional monarchy might take, while also encouraging the Emperor to start armed protests, and form an alliance which would - as Marie hoped - threaten France into behaving. Marie worked frequently, diligently and in secret to help create this, but it was little more than a dream. As France declared war on Austria, Marie Antoinette was now seen as a literal enemy of the state by many. It is perhaps ironic that at the same instance as Marie began to distrust Austrian intentions under their new Emperor - she feared they would come for territory rather than in defense of the French crown - she still fed as much information as she could gather to the Austrians to aid them. The Queen had always been accused of treason and would be again at her trial, but a sympathetic biographer like Antonia Fraser argues Marie always thought her missives were in the best interest of France. The royal family was threatened by the mob before the monarchy was overthrown and the royals properly imprisoned. Louis was tried and executed, but not before Marie’s closest friend was murdered in the September Massacres and her head paraded on a pike before the royal prison. Trial and Death Marie Antoinette now became known, to those more charitably disposed to her, as Widow Capet. Louis’ death hit her hard, and she was allowed to dress in mourning. There was now debate over what to do with her: some hoped for an exchange with Austria, but the Emperor wasn’t overly worried about his aunt’s fate, while others wanted a trial and there was a tug of war between French government factions. Marie now grew very physically ill, her son was taken away, and she was moved to a new prison, where she became prisoner no. 280. There were ad hoc rescue attempts from admirers, but nothing came close. As influential parties in the French government finally got their way - they had decided the public should be given the head of the former queen - Marie Antoinette was tried. All the old slanders were trotted out, plus new ones like sexually abusing her son. While Marie responded at key times with great intelligence, the substance of the trial was irrelevant: her guilt had been pre-ordained, and this was the verdict. On October 16, 1793, she was taken to the guillotine, exhibiting the same courage and coolness with which she had greeted each episode of danger in the revolution, and executed. A Falsely Maligned Woman Marie Antoinette exhibited faults, such as spending frequently in an era when royal finances had been collapsing, but she remains one of the most incorrectly maligned figures in Europe’s history. She was at the forefront of a change in royal styles which would be widely adopted after her death, but she was in many ways too early. She was let down deeply by the actions of her husband and the French state to which she had been sent and cast aside much of her criticized frivolity once her husband had been able to contribute a family, allowing her to ably fulfill the role society wanted her to play. The days of the Revolution confirmed her as an able parent, and throughout her life as consort, she exhibited sympathy and charm. Many women in history have been the subject of slanders, but few ever reached the levels of those printed against Marie, and even fewer suffered as greatly from the way these stories affected public opinion. It is also unfortunate that Marie Antoinette was frequently accused of exactly what her relatives demanded of her - to dominate Louis and push policies favoring Austria - when Marie herself had no influence over Louis until the revolution. The question of her treason against France during the revolution is more problematic, but Marie thought she was acting loyally to the best interests of France, which was to her the French monarchy, not the revolutionary government.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Marking Mix Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marking Mix - Essay Example The main challenges are limited distribution facilities and narrow market. This, product diversification has been used to dispose of by-products and to capitalize on a company's research-and-development efforts. In fact, the diversification of a product line has been a basic way of achieving long-term market survival. If one considers the rapid technological advances that are being made and the new products being developed, then diversification does not become an incidental or peripheral activity, but a pivotal activity worthy of vigorous and sustained pursuit. The Temperature Sensors are safe for users, so any ethical or social problems are exist. If the company starts to sell this product in other regions, it should ensure that Temperature Sensors are suitable for different temperature regimes and can be used in countries with severe weather conditions. Also, it is important to product Temperature Sensors with scales and marks on different languages so target population can easily read and understand the product information. Gray leaf spot resistant is a new chemical product aimed to protect vegetation from gray leaf spot disease. This is an improvement of existing products. In this case, attempts to diversify product lines create a risk, for dealer and customer reaction is always uncertain. To some extent, the risk may be reduced through the use of marketing intelligence, as is the case when products that enjoy good differential advantages are discovered. A product- program starts with screening and then consideration of what is to be done to bring a product to the market. Firms may follow a check list that covers various aspects of product introduction, based on a study of trade practices. Product diversification may result in either trading up or trading down. In trading up, the manufacturer adds related items to his line that will sell for an increase in price, whereas trading down is the reverse process. There are two objectives involved in a decision to increase the number of variations in price a nd quality: to gain sales by catering to a new segment of the market, and to gain sales in the existing market by trading up or down (Dobson and Starkey 2004). The main ethical and social concerns are safety of chemicals and effectiveness of the product, environmental and legal compliance. If the company wants to sell this product overseas, it is important to take into account legal regulations and standards applied to chemical products and pesticides in a foreign country. The company should test the product in different environment and ensure it is safe enough for different geographical locations and weather conditions. As markets become more heterogeneous, and diverse products are developed to satisfy them, manufacturing efficiency will decline (Paley, 2006). Ramadan Iftar Box 2 is a revision of the existing product line popular in Lebanon. This product is a reaction to competitor's moves and consist of adjustments of current product lines, or they may involve the development of new products. The former are mainly defensive moves and the latter mainly offensive (Paley, 2006). Most companies use the defensive strategies to improve the profitability of existing lines and develop new products to meet competitors' lines. However, the

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Cultural representation of Italians in the media. Looking at the MTV Essay

Cultural representation of Italians in the media. Looking at the MTV series Jersey Shore - Essay Example Alternatively, they are momma’s boys. They all have names like Pauly and Joey, and eat spaghetti every night. Of course, this is not the case – Italians are just as nuanced as anybody else. Some may fit the stereotype, and most probably do not. Nonetheless, the cultural portrayals of Italians have been largely negative, and there is no place where this is more evident than the television show Jersey Shore. The show is based upon 10 Italian-Americans living in a house on the Jersey Shore in the first season, and Miami Beach in the second season, and centers around the exploits of the â€Å"Guidos† and â€Å"Guidettes† in the house. The girls are high maintenance, crass, vain and drunk. The boys are perpetually tanned, with blow-out hair, muscular, crass, vain and drunk. They all hook up with random people, and say cuss words every other word. They are all apparently low class, and, with the exception of one of the boys, uneducated. In short, the show takes every negative stereotype of the Italian American and adds a few more. And, unfortunately for the Italian Americans in society, the show is a huge hit. Basic Concepts – Collective Identity, Culture and Cultural Sociology To understand why Jersey Shore is so offensive to Italian-Americans, one must understand the basics of culture, identity and ethnic identity. These are all basic concepts that ties in why television shows that feature stereotypes are harmful to targeted groups. The first concept that needs to be understood is that of culture, as television shows, such as Jersey Shore would be considered to be a part of our popular culture. Culture refers to the way that individuals make sense of their world, and a way to individuals to find meaning (Cushman, 1996, p. 7). Events that occur in the individual’s world are thus interpreted through the culture of the individual, and this is one way that individuals understand the modern world. The social world is what provid es the basis for an individual’s culture, specifically the concrete experiences experienced by this individual. Culture is reflexive, in that people make culture, and culture makes the individual. This is how both individual and collective identities are formed. (Cushman, 1996, p. 7). A person’s life is shaped by culture because culture imposes inherent patterns that are formed by communal life, logic and narrative, and discourse and language. In this way, culture forms the self, as the growth of the self is dependent upon external images and social bonds (Bruner, 1990, p. 42). The internal thoughts, feelings and states of consciousness that an individual has is externalized and shared by concrete representations of culture and are formed into cultural objects, which includes television programs (Cushman, 1996, p. 90). Moreover, culture helps frame the individual’s experiences and acts, because these are realized by the individual when he or she participates in culture’s symbolic systems (Bruner, 1990, p. 33). Culture is how individual meaning becomes communal and public (Bruner, 1990, p. 34). Moreover, there is proof that television series, among other cultural objects, impact the culture because culture is learned, not innate. This was shown by the studies done by Eisenhart (1995). Eisenhart set out to find out what aspects of a given culture influences individuals, and why this would be so (Eisenhart, 1995, p. 4). Eisenhart posited that there would be different ways of transmitting

Sunday, November 17, 2019

In the lake of the woods Essay Example for Free

In the lake of the woods Essay I believe that everything that happened in the story is an effect of John’s sufferings. We can say that John is the real victim in this book. The story tells us that John, as a child was frequently abused verbally and physically by his alcoholic father, whom to other children seemed the perfect father. John then turns to his fantasy of being a sorcerer in order to treat himself from the abuse. According to Penn State Children’s Hospital, over the long run, abused children are more likely to use drugs, become sexually promiscuous, have low self esteem, exhibit extremely passive or aggressive behavior, have difficulty with interpersonal relationships, perform poorly in school, have frequent nightmares, and experience depression that can lead to attempted suicide. These may explain how John became a not-so normal adult, who now believes that he is in fact, the sorcerer. In one long-term study, as many as 80 percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least one psychiatric disorder at age 21 (Child Welfare Information Gateway). Kathy’s disappearance provides us a venue to think of what John could have done. O’Brien, the author of In the Lake of the Woods, lets us readers decide. In a human rights point of view, I firmly believe that child abuse has immeasurable effects as proven by the statements above. A physically abused child may become as violent as his oppressor or even more. With this, I can say that John’s psychological health was affected and this is why Kathy, his wife disappeared. It can be that John, spilled hot water over Kathy when he said he poured the boiling water on the plants. It only manifests that John has violent tendencies. John’s psychological health may have also been deterred by his participation in the Vietnam massacre. He is guilty of his In the Lake of the Woods page 2 participation and is trying to erase the thought by moving to another place. And his plan did not work. We can say that John may have murdered his wife and plans to kill himself afterwards. John’s human right was violated as a child and come his adult life, he has done the same. Keeping human rights in mind, this is what I think happened in the story. This is not exclusive to the book but is also prevalent in today’s society. Wars are waged because someone’s human rights were stepped on, fathers hit their spouses because they were also abused by their fathers. It only says that human rights violation is a disease. It is a social cancer that leads to death and violence. The book tells us how human rights play a role and that it is not just a set of rules but a law that protects our lives and our future. Bibliography â€Å"Long-term Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect†. Child Welfare Information Gateway. 9 December 2006. http://www. childwelfare. gov/pubs/factsheets/long_term_consequences. cfm â€Å"Child Physical Abuse†. Penn State Children’s Hospital. 9 December 2006. http://www. hmc. psu. edu/childrens/healthinfo/pq/physicalabuse. htm.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

William Penn Essay -- essays research papers

William Penn William Penn was born and raised in England, but he is well known for what he did in the Americas. First and foremost, William Penn was a religious nonconformist and writer: he wrote numerous religious books over his lifetime. Second, Penn is responsible for the â€Å"holy experiment†: the colony of Pennsylvania. He was a Quaker advocate, and as a proprietor had the opportunity to practice the Quaker Peace testimony. Penn was interested in religion from the time he was a child. When he was twelve years old he had the opportunity to hear testimony from a traveling Quaker minister, Thomas Loe. Penn was touched by Loe’s message, and sought the ‘authentic Christian message’ rather then focusing on ‘institutional’ religion. At the age of 16, Penn started attending Oxford University. It was at Oxford University, that William began to reject Anglicanism and he began attending unauthorized prayer meetings. At this time, he was expelled for his â€Å"religious unconformity†. He then attended a Protestant school in France, where he completed his education. When Penn turned 23, he converted and became a Quaker after another run in with Thomas Loe. He then began to write down his religious ideas, and took a lot of criticism from other scholars. Penn wrote the book Sandy Foundations Shaken which was considered â€Å"controversial and superficial† and for this, was imprisoned in the Tower of London. While imprisoned, Penn kept writing. He wrote the book No Cross, No Crown, which was a ...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Stylistic Means

All stylistic means of the English languages can be divided into expressive means (EM) and stylistic devices (SD). â€Å"The expressive means of a language are those phonetic, morphological, word building, lexical, preseological or syntactical forms which exist in language as-a-system for the purpose of logical and various dictionaries. Among lexical EM we must mention words with emotive meanings, interjections, polysemantic words, vulgar words, slang etc. The fact that polysemantic words retain their primary and secondary meanings is of great importance for stylistics. It is quite easy to understand the meaning of the following phrases; He grasped the main idea; a burning question; pity melted her heart. The italicized words are used in their secondary transferred dictionary meanings. But the primary and secondary meanings are realized simultaneously. The expressiveness of these words becomes obvious when compared with neutral equivalents; He understood the main idea; an important question; pity softened her heart. According to Prof I. R. Galperin`s definition Stylistic Devise is a conscious and intentional intensification of some type structural or semantic property of a language unit promoted to a generalized status and thus becoming a generative model. SD must always have some function in the text, besides they bring some additional information. The conception that words possess several meanings gives rise to such SDS as metaphor, metonymy, irony, epithet and others. Thus, a metaphor is a conscious and intentional intensification of typical sema ntic properties of a word: â€Å"Oh, Rain†-said Mor. He enveloped her in a great embrace. (I. Murdoch). The dictionary meaning of the verb â€Å"envelope† is â€Å"to wrap up, coer on all sides†. The contextual meaning is â€Å"to embrace† The typical features of proverbs and sayings serve as the foundation for an SD which is called epigram, i. e. brevity, rhythm and other properties of proverbs constitute a generative mo0del into which new content is poured A thing of beauty is a joy for ever. (J. Keats) Sweet is pleasure after pain (J. Dryden) What the eye does not see, the stomach doesn’t get upset (J. K. Jerome). These phrases are not proverbs; they are the creations of individual writers and poets. When such phrases are used in the text they accumulate great emotive force and function. They acquire a generalized status and thus easily become an SD while proverbs remain EM of the language. The some may be said about syntax. The typical structural features of oral speech (violation of word order, omission of some parts of the sentence, repetition of certain words etc) may be intensified and promoted to a generalized status. Such SDs as inversion, parallel constructions, chiasmus is the result of these stylistic transformations. It is important to know that the stylistic use of EM must not necessarily lead to the formation of an SD. For example, repetition is widely used in folk song and poetry and in oral speech to make our speech emotional and expressive, but we can’t say that in such cases we use a SD. When the weather is wet We must not fret,- When the weather is cold We must not scold When the weather is warm We must not storm. Thus we may draw the conclusion that EM are the facts of the language, while SDs are the property of the speech. They are the creation of individuals (writers and poets) and are based on the peculiarities of existing EM of the language. This is in short the difference between EM and SD. While speaking about SD we must always remember: the force of one and the same SD may be different. In some cases the emotive charge may be very strong, in others it may be weak. It depends on the use of a SD in one and the same function. Due to the overuse of the SD it may become hackneyed, trite and looses its freshness and brightness; 1. The best pens of the world A sweet smile 2. with his mousing walk Speaking about SDs we must mention the cases when two or more EM or SD meet at one point, it one utterance. Such clusters of SDs are called convergence. â€Å"Together each SD adds its expressivity to that of the others. In general, the effects of these SDs converge into one especially striking emphasis† (M. Riffaterre) For example: When everyone had recovered George said; â€Å"She put in her thumb and pulled out a plum†. Then away we were into our merciless hacking-hecking laughter again. (S. M. Maugham). In English examples we find the convergence of several SDs: decomposition of a proverb (to put one’s thumb into smth), a bring case of an onomatopoeia in the function of an epithet (Hacking-hecking), inversion (adverbial modifier stand before the subject). â€Å" †¦ and heaved and heaved still unrestingly heaved the black sea as if its vast tides were a conscience. Here the convergence comprises repetition, inversion and simile†. [1]

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Love Letter to Her

From the moment I heard your voice I felt a connection to your soul. I can still remember exactly how you looked the day we first met. Your beautiful eyes captured my heart and your smile erased any and all doubts that I had ever experienced. When you opened your arms I stepped into your loving, kind embrace and knew that I was â€Å"home† right where I had always belonged. You knew just the words to say to put me at ease and when your hand reached out to hold mine, I realized that I had found my future, my soul-mate and the love that I had always dreamed of discovering.We spoke for hours about every possible subject and never ran out of words to say to each other. I could see the longing and passion in your eyes and I am sure that it was a reflection of the incredibly intense desire that I was feeling at the same moment. The world had ceased to exist and there were only the two of us sitting next to each other, holding hands and experiencing emotions that we had never felt be fore. When you first whispered the words, â€Å"I love you,† into my ear as we walked towards your room, it was the happiest moment in my life. My joy was deeper, richer and more intense than I had ever dreamed possible.I can remember the tears in my eyes as I turned to look at you. The kiss we shared that night was one I shall never forget. Having to tell you â€Å"Good Night† and return home without you was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my life. Even knowing that you would call me on the phone later to wish me goodnight once more made our parting no easier to bear. The moments when we were apart seemed like a bitter eternity and I could barely wait until the next time I would see you or talk to you. Never have distances seemed so long and cold and lonely.Our phone conversations would often have long moments where the two of us just held the phone to our ears and took comfort from the sound of the other's soft breathing. You are the only person that could cause my heart to skip a beat with just a sidelong glance or a gentle smile. I gaze into your eyes and lose track of where I am, and even who I am. Your voice stirs a deeply intense longing in every fiber of my body and your caress makes me feel as though I am melting inside. These are feelings that I never knew existed and now I never want to lose these feelings, not even for a moment.Ever since you came into my life I have known what true love and desire really are and these are emotions that many people will never know. You appear to me in my dreams and even these imaginary kisses rock my world and thrill me to the very core of my being. I can barely wait until the night is here, when I can lie in bed and dream of you once more. I want nothing more than to spend my life with you at my side. When I wake in the morning I want to find you there beside me. When I go to sleep at night I want to feel your arms holding me, protecting me from the world.You are the one true love of my life and I am only sorry that it took us so many years to meet. Now that we have found each other and are making a life together I will never again know the empty feelings of loneliness. You have made my life complete and I shall cherish your incredible gift of unconditional love and devotion until the moment that my body takes its last breath on this Earth. I love you, my babygirl No matter what the future holds for us I will love you until the end of time, and beyond. These words are my promise to never take you for granted or doubt the love that binds us for now and all eternity.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Combat Veterans Entitled to IRS Refunds

Combat Veterans Entitled to IRS Refunds Combat-Disabled Veterans May Receive IRS Refund The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced some combat veterans may be due a refund for taxes applied against their disability severance payments over a 15-year period. A detailed article on this announcement is available here.According to a recent press release, approximately 140,000 combat-injured disabled veterans may be due a refund. In the release, the IRS states combat veterans who received disability severance payments between 1991 and 2016, and filed that payment as income, may be entitled to a refund. Combat-disabled veterans who are eligible for this refund should expect to receive a letter from the IRS.What Happened?Between 1991 and 2016, the IRS taxed the disability severance payments of combat veterans, and mistakenly filed those benefits as income. The Combat Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016 corrected this issue.How Can You Collect?Combat-disabled veterans who are eligible must act quickly, as they only have one year from when they rece ive their letter to file for their refund. They also need their original tax documents from when the severance payment was claimed. Veterans who no longer have their original paperwork can still qualify for the following standard refunds:$1,750 for veterans who received disability severance from 1991-2005 $2,400 for veterans who received disability severance from 2006-2010$3,200 for veterans who received disability severance from 2011-2016The legal estates of those combat veterans who are now deceased can also receive refunds, provided their court-appointed representatives file for them. All combat-disabled veterans eligible for the refund will need to fill out IRS form 1040X.We Can HelpIf you are disabled and unable to work, call Disability Attorneys of Michigan for a free confidential consultation. We’ll let you know if we can help you get a monthly check and help you determine if any money or assets you receive could impact your eligibility for disability benefits.Disabili ty Attorneys of Michigan works hard every day helping the disabled of Michigan seek the Social Security Disability and Veterans Disability benefits they need. If you are unable to work due to a physical, mental, or cognitive impairment; call Disability Attorneys of Michigan now for a free consultation at 800-949- 2900.Let Michigan’s experienced disability law firm help you get the benefits you deserve.Disability Attorneys of Michigan, Compassionate Excellence. IRS Refunds to Veterans, Michigan Veteran Benefits Lawyer, Veteran Benefits, Veterans Benefits Attorneys

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

How to bond with your employees without compromising your authority 

How to bond with your employees without compromising your authority   Authority and power are complex issues that come with the task of being a manager. In the workplace, the ability to hire, fire, and give raises sets the power dynamic between employees and bosses. But while power and authority are clearly linked, authority is a bit murkier to define- it relies on the established relationship between employees and their bosses and can be built over years and lost in an instant. Bonding with your employees and projecting authority are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the two things are much closer than one might think.Here are a few ways you might develop both leadership traits.Establish an atmosphere of mutual respectAuthority doesn’t come automatically with a job title. It is earned when managers are clearly knowledgeable and competent, and when they get results. But you can’t get those results without team effort- and your interaction with employees plays a vital role in establishing authority. In order to truly lead a team, you need t o earn trust and establish an atmosphere of mutual respect with employees. If you find yourself pounding on your desk and engaging in intimidation tactics, chances are you are trying to assert authority rather than earn it. But if you build a base of shared respect, then bonding with employees will grow your authority rather than diminish it.Take an interest in your employeesYou don’t want to invite daily gab sessions or become a shoulder to cry on, but being responsive to employees and really listening can help foster your authority. Simple things like knowing where your employees went to college, or the names of their family members, or their personal interests and hobbies, can help you understand their motivations and actions at work and help establish basic respect. This type of bonding also fosters a working relationship that can open the channels of communication so that when your employees have a good idea, they can reach out. This way you can be the boss employees wan t to listen to and will trust to follow.Be a real personSo, can you drink a beer with your employees and just be a regular person? Sure. But you can’t drink too much or share too much personal information. Letting employees see that you’re a real person with your own life and interests outside of work does not compromise your authority, but is part of that two-way street of building mutual respect. Social settings like the office party can help you bond while keeping it professional.hbspt.cta.load(2785852, '9e52c197-5b5b-45e6-af34-d56403f973c5', {});Set boundariesAfter you relax with employees at an office party or talk up your golf game, you need to be clear when it’s time to focus back on work. The afternoon progress meeting is not the place to shoot the breeze, so take care to establish the atmosphere you want with a simple, firm-yet-kind acknowledgment of when it’s time to get back to business.Head off problem employeesOccasionally there will be the e mployee who can’t separate the friendly boss from the friend and switch gears back to work-mode. If you find an employee becoming overly familiar, too joking, or disrespectful, this is where your authority needs to put its foot down. Nipping a problem in the bud is best, and opening the channels of communication with the individual employee can turn the situation around.Bonding with your employees, when done the right way, can actually help you gain authority. It can take years to cultivate but largely stems from you setting appropriate boundaries and maintaining genuine interest in your employees as people. So ask yourself: are you approachable, or intimidating? And which do you think will get better results?

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Building Your Company's Vision by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras Assignment

Building Your Company's Vision by Jim Collins & Jerry Porras - Assignment Example It is the sum of the characters of an organization which forms the infrastructure of the organization over the period of time. Core Ideology is the heritage of the founders or other eminent members of the organization leave behind which stays with the company forever. It shows where the organization stands, what is its purpose, and why does it exists. The most fundamental part of core ideology is the purpose of existence of the organization. Core ideology is not about the market trends or the customer needs. It is an internal organizational matter and it is not affected by the fluctuations and demands of the market. In a world of continuous change, core ideology is vital for the company to hold an organization and its personnel together at all times and makes it indifferent to the entire outside stimulus which may have the potential to hinder the company’s development. HP, Sony, Disney, Motorola, 3M and many other powerful companies have had focused and clear core ideologies w hich helped them pave their way to success. Core values are those lasting tenets of an organization which do not require any external justification or explanation. They exist for the company itself not for the market or the customers. They do not change according to the market trends but are formed on the basis of the values and beliefs of the people working in these organizations. Core values are not strategies for success but they are a handful of principles and rules passed on to generations which helps the company to last in the ever-changing business world. They do not change frequently if they change at all. Core values remain constant during times of environmental and social change as they are values of the people working inside an organization and behold their intrinsic beliefs and insights.  

Friday, November 1, 2019

Cash Flows Under Different Risk Management Decisions Essay

Cash Flows Under Different Risk Management Decisions - Essay Example A risk is involved because of the uncertainty is present in the future. Therefore, the risk can also be called as the uncertainty of the future events (Crouhy, 2000). It can be explained in a way that we are not aware of the unexpected circumstance, which may happen in the coming future. Despite the projections and planning, one cannot fight with the events which are out of the control of human beings. This can be explained with the example of common human being, who plans and takes decisions in his life with some expectations, which he believes will have more chances to occur in the future but if life does not move according to the expected circumstances so the person may face loss in his decision. Therefore, the chance of occurring unexpected circumstances is referred to as the risk of loss. The reason may be that the decisions may not move according to the plan (Hopkins, 2012). Risk can also be explained with the more specified example of financial planning of a person, who projec ts his cash flows that will occur in the future based on the potential for his career growth. If the result of the decision is in accordance with his plan then he will be able to enjoy profits otherwise loss (David, 2008).The job of any risk manager is to control the risk and identify more profitable option at the given level of risk. The risk level is determined using different risk-based components and the then financial engineering is used to evaluate the results of the risk-based decisions (McLucas, 2003).

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Socialist Critique of Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Socialist Critique of Capitalism - Essay Example Furthermore, socialism argues for the collective ownership of the means of production as this prioritizes the common good against individualistic advantage (A Brief Introduction to Socialism from a Non-Marxist, Democratic Libertarian Perspective, n.d.). One can easily recognize that the socialist argument subordinates individual advantage to collective good as this, it is assumed, will overshadow the inherent selfishness of man. Marx was triumphant in his critique against capitalism (Manifesto of the Communist Party, 1847) which was strongly manifested after the 1950s; nations of the Soviet Union, China, Cuba, and Eastern Europe were aptly persuaded to overthrow their existing mode of production and replace it with Marx's communism/socialism that promises a classless society which was rather Utopian at the time and until now. Marx fittingly made use of theories of human nature to cogently deliver his denigration against capitalism. However, Marx did not directly use the term "human nature" but instead applied another concept which was "species-being" or "species-essence". This conception of Marx in relation to human nature was borrowed from the philosophy of Ludwig Feuerbach which submits to both specific human nature and the entire humanity. Marx translated this philosophy as a treatise that declares humans as conscious actors in the unfolding of history and nature itself. In the year 1845, Marx inscribed to the world his belief that the human essence cannot be found in a particular individual but in his association with the larger social relations which he belongs. Logically, this statement points to the insight that the human essence is a fluid concept which is hardwired on the total structure of social relations borne out from a society. He then goes on to assert that the fundamental essence of humans as individuals enmeshed in a particular mode of production is their labor. One of the primary arguments of Marx was that humans are distinguished through their behavior toward production and that this economic activity is their soul. Yet, he did not entirely described "labor" as a perfectly embedded human essence but one that is also the source of oppression, alienation, and private property. He ardently argued that in communism "labor" is an unnecessary human activity and an abhorrent fraction of the material state of societies; whereas in capitalism labor represents the material ex igencies of the few owners of production and the workers themselves were merely caricatures of torment, suffering, and hard work. Moreover, Marx alleged that productive activities which are vital to human nature are only gratifying if executed freely. Under the pretext of capitalism, labor is nothing but a tool of dehumanization and isolation for the providers of the valuable labor. Furthermore, labor performed in capitalism invariably produces alienation of the workers from their own produce. Marx (1932), in his article on historical materialism, used the allegory of a carpenter working on a chair. A carpenter who successfully accomplished an entire chair is more self-fulfilled than the carpenter who only took fractions of work to complete an entire chair. Marx related labor with self-identity thus claiming that in capitalism which is characterized by

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Rules Of The Sociological Method Response Philosophy Essay

The Rules Of The Sociological Method Response Philosophy Essay Over time the study and application of social sciences have become to be viewed differently in comparison to those in the realm of natural sciences. By definition and practise Social sciences rely more on subjective details and inference than do those of the natural sciences which rely on empirical data to derive conclusions. Emile Durkheim sought to establish rules and practises for the methods used to discover new information utilized by the social sciences. With his publication of the book, The Rules of the Sociological Method, Durkheims theory of the social fact was revealed and presented as a practical and workable model for utilization within the discipline of the study of social behaviour. Durkheim goes on within his writings to break down his theory and to outline the different rules. Seemingly the most vital section establishes the Rules for the Constitution of Social Types. Social Types is a significant concept and the section that defines it is most important, this is due to the clarity in which brings it to his thesis and because it aids in relating the theory of social facts to particular societies and species. It is for these reasons that one can clearly see the concept and refinement of social types is the most vital piece to Emile Durkheims theory of social facts. Durkheims theory on Social Facts is based upon the thesis that there is a category of facts which present very special characteristics: they consist of manners of acting, thinking and feeling external to the individual. Which are invested with a coercive power by virtue of which they exercise control over him. This definition shows that Durkheim is focusing on sociology and the main forms of socialization; acting, thinking and feeling and how they control an individual. Along with this definition Durkheim continues to refine his outline that a social fact is a thing that stems from an idea not an idea from a thing.(page 60). From this frame of reference Durkheim further explores the social fact and the many other variables that make up its sum. Durkheim identifies that social facts are divided into two separate groups: normal and pathological. Normal social facts are attributes or characteristics that are found in most if not all of a population, while pathological social facts are found within a limited number of the population and are sometimes only experienced for a brief period of time. With this clarity one can begin to see the importance of social types and its relation to Durkheims thesis as you cannot categorize something as normal or pathological until you are fully aware of its social type. Simply, this is due to the fact that you will not know how common or uncommon a particular social fact may be to a population until it has been identified and categorized. The importance of social types however begins to be more clearly portrayed when analyzing the rules for the constitution of social types. Durkheim implies that human beings are not all the same and suggests many different groups of species exist amongst us. He does his best to distinguish himself from the historian and philosopher who both view society in much different ways. The historian looks at every event and occurrence within society in sequence to that particular time as unique and will not be repeated. On the other hand is the philosopher, who views humans as different groups who are governed by laws and justice. These laws aid in taking humans through the many stages of growth and evolution into more complex and modern societies. Sociology takes a much different view and approach than these two disciplines. Durkheim believes that cities are made up of many different types of species with the inference that many of these species are similar in several ways. Durkheim theorizes that these differences arise within each particular species and calls them social facts affording each a classification accordingly to the particular species. In my frame of reference and after having been exposed to Durkheims concepts I find myself supporting Durkheims views as practical and realistic of the three, in accordance to how society is really made up. The historian sees no relation in anything while the philosopher believes that laws applied to certain societies are what dictate how that society will progress, sociology seems to be a medium to these two schools of thought. Conceptually this shows that social types can be seen in many different ways of thinking and is not limited to sociology or any discipline for that matter. Durkheim uses these social types to apply social facts with this aiding in expl aining how and why certain things occur socially. Durkheim correlates social fact with a very heavy reliance on social types. While Durkheim does an excellent job in outlining and creating his theory regarding social facts, he does encounter some problems. One issue he identifies and discusses is not how many different species there may be, but what exactly is the best way to go about classifying them. Durkheim states, We shall begin by classifying societies according to the degree of organisation they manifest, taking as a base the perfectly simple society or the single-segment society. Within these classes different varieties will be distinguished, according to whether a complete coalescence of the initial segments takes place. Durkheim describes the idea of classifying different societies by their organisation as a whole. Ultimately, categorizing the seemingly more advanced societies as superior in comparison to others that do not appear to be as advanced. There may be some critique given to this idea, that Durkheim may believe a society has little going on while quite the opposite is actually taking place. The term simple is used to describe these lower societies, which one may interpret this classification as labelling this group as primitive. One could say that the difference in language, culture and practice creates a barrier and the automatic classification of simple is wrong. Still I must digress; one can see the importance that this classification has to Durkheims theory. The fact that dependencies exist within these societies makes it so that modern societies must rely on resources and labour that are more complex in comparison to the more simple societies who must also rely on resources and labour fitted to suit their needs. The impact that the social type has can be seen clearly as the theory of the social fact is defined and explained. It is needed to describe and categorize the many different species of people so that the social facts of that particular society may be analyzed and discovered. If it were not for social types, the classification of normal and pathological would cease to exist. This would ultimately make it impossible to accurately identify and outline social facts for specific populations. The social type proves that it is a large division within the theory of the social fact. It is this factor that ultimately ties the different thoughts and ideas together. This is why, for me, I view the concept and utilization of social type as the most vital piece to Emile Durkheims theory of social facts.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Juxtaposing Viewpoints on Genetic Species Revival Essay -- genetic engi

Though it may seem that the issue of species revival through a means of genetic science is a modern idea, similar arguments throughout the past also hold relevance to the modern issue of genetic species revival. To better understand the issue as it becomes more prevalent, it is important to examen different perspectives that span many centuries time, generating new insight on the issue. Examining different perspectives on the perceived human influences on species extinction vs. natural law and lack of adaptability, and give a determination on the ethical implications to society and ecology from the above arguments and philosophies from each viewpoint. Through these key statements, the arguments on genetic species revival can be effectively argued. The premise of the entire argument for and against genetic species revival rests with either the belief in human influences on species, or natural law. Human influences as a cause for species extinction is a recent idea which author Carl Zimmer gives a his main reason for favoring genetic species revival. â€Å"If we’re talking about species we drove extinct, then I think we have an obligation to try to do this† (Zimmer 451). In the authors opinion, human influences trump natural law, which he would consider to be an outdated and non-effective way of looking at how species become extinct. Therefore, because natural law is only a way of looking at how species become extinct, it is not a solution to species extinction. Thus, genetic species revival is the only way which human influences can be combated and the problem of species extinction can be solved. True, human influences may be a new idea ascribed as reason to species extinction. Yet Charles Darwin, an 19th century natural b... ...ophies from each viewpoint. From these statements, the issue of genetic species revival can be argued and a real and ethical solution to the issue derived. Works Cited Darwin, Charles, and David Quammen. On the Origin of Species. New York: Sterling, ! ! 2008. Print.! Leakey, Richard E., and Roger Lewin. The Sixth Extinction: Biodiversity and Its ! ! ! Survival. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1996. Print.! "Marcus Tullius Cicero Quotes." Marcus Tullius Cicero. European Graduate School ! ! EGS, 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.! Parry, Roland L. "Ancient Beasts Roam Spain's Wilderness." NewsDaily.com. Agence ! ! France Presse, 02 Mar. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. ! Zimmer, Carl. "Bringing Them Back to Life." Good Reasons With Contemporary ! ! ! Arguments. 6th ed. Ed. Lester Faigley and Jack Selzer. San Francisco: Pearson, ! ! 2014. 445-451. Pearson eText. Web. 5 Feb. 2014.!

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Country : Czech Republic

It is very important for any student of history and politics of nations to have a deep grasp and understanding of the political, historical, social, economic and structural revolution of nations. This is very important for them to be able to produce an accurate analysis and recommendation of policies. No one will be able come up to an accurate analysis without tracing the history of a particular nation. No two nations are entirely similar.This is why it is necessary for us to study each nation separately to be able to come up with a scholarly and viable set of analysis and recommendation. In this paper, I am are going to review and analyze the Czech Republic. I am going to provide some of the most important and basic information about the Czech Republic including its political framework, ideological status, government arrangement, civic socialization, current issues and other important facts that will be useful for any student of political science in the production of analysis and re commendations for the said country.Constitution The current constitution of the Czech Republic which was ratified in December 16, 1992 and became effective in January 1, 1993 is a consequence of the inability of the former Czech and Slovakia to arrive to document that will be able to come up to a structure and framework that will be able to adopt the inputs of the two republics. As a result, the Czech-Slovak federation was dissolved and decided to go on their own ways (Country Review 34). IdeologyAs a former communist country that is under the sphere of the Soviet Union, the Czech Republic experienced first hand the disadvantages of the said system. As the Soviet collapsed and lose the hold to the Czechs, the republic adopted a western style of governance with democracy and liberalism as the most important foundations in the structure and arrangement of the government and its economy. Government Model and Currency The Czech Republic is democratic state with a parliamentary governmen t.It is governed by the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms that had been around since 1993. It is one of the most well developed post- Communist state up to date. A former centrally planned economy modeled from the USSR, the Czech Republic today is a thriving market economy that is open and taking advantage of the investments that came from foreign investors. The republic is now a member of the European Union. However, its currency remains to be Czech koruna despite its advantageous position by shifting to Euro.(Central Intelligence Agency) Political System, Political Parties, Party Structures There are numerous political parties or political clubs in the Czech Republic. They consist of the major and minor players in the houses. The major groups are Civic Democratic Party Parliamentary Club which is a center-right and euroskeptic party and Czech Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Club which is characterized by its major inclinati on to the left side of the spectrum.Some of the minor players are the Bohemia and Moravia Communist Party Parliamentary Club which is also a extreme left party and a product of the former communist party in the republic, Christian and Democratic Union which is a conservative and Christian party and a part of the government coalition, the Green Party Parliamentary Club is a centrist party whose majority of the support came from major cites like Prague, the capital of the republic. (Kabelova, House of Parliaments) Electoral Process As a parliamentary, the civic population will elect their representatives that will hold the office in the Chamber of Senate and Senate.The suffrage in the Czech Republic is 18 years old. These public elected officials will elect the head of the government from their ranks for the next five years by absolute majority vote. (Country Review 35-37) Executive Branch The head or the leader of the executive branch of the Czech Republic is called president. The cu rrent president of the Czech Republic is President Vaclav Klaus which was elected and came in to power in March 7, 2003. The president is elected by the Parliament and is legible to hold the office for five years.The president is also allowed to govern for two terms. Vaclav Claus was reelected in February 15, 2008 and scheduled to govern until 2013 (CIA World Fact Book). Vaclav Claus was a member and the founder of Civic Democratic Party, a center-right party in the Czech Republic and is known for his euroskepticism (i. e. skepticism to the structure and policies of the integration of Europe by the European Union). (Country Review 16-17) Legislative Branch The highest law making body in the Czech Republic is known as the Parliament of the Czech Republic.It is composed of two separate houses namely the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Senate is comprised with 81 seats that are elected by the citizens of the republic. They are to hold the office for six years. On the other hand , the Chamber of Deputies is comprised of 200 seats that are elected to serve for four years. Both of the legislative houses possess the power to initiate the formulation and legislation of laws. They are also tasked to elect the president by a vote characterized with absolute majority for the two chambers.They can also passed a motion or vote of no-confidence to the government with an absolute majority votes that will derail the power to the elected government and shall make room for a new election. (Country Review 35-36) Judicial Branch The Judicial branch of government in the Czech Republic is composed of a Constitutional Court, a Supreme Court, a Supreme Administrative Court, high, regional and district courts. The president is tasked to appoint 15 judges of the CC that will hold the office for 10 years. (Kabelova, Courts of Law)Political Socialization and Political Participation In terms of its native citizens, the Czech Republic had managed to retained the former wide practice of civilian accessibility to the government. There is an open door policy in the different offices of government wherein citizens can talk to officials first hand. Town meetings are also common wherein citizens conduct scheduled meetings with their head of municipalities and cities once in a while. (Migration Policy Index) Recent Issues High level of corruption in the government offices in the Czech Republic poses a major concern.There are many surveys that conclude the that the public does not trust the officials in the government including many political parties. One agency even released a report that only 18 percent of the population trust the government officials and the political parties. Other studies tackles the continuous decrease of government effectiveness since the mid 1990s. Despite the numerous claims and allegations of corruption in the government, there is no conviction of high level officials for committing corruption. (US. Department of State)With this problem, the government must establish an independent body that will put the suspects to trials. The body should possess the capability to convict the suspects to prison or other punishments. Also, the body should be structurally and legally arranged to be immune as much as possible to the influence of the outside influences. On the other hand, the migrants in the Czech Republic are experiencing unfair treatment in relation to its native counter parts. There is no effective electoral rights for the migrants in the Czech Republic. Their political liberties are limited.The migrants are only consulted through a representative who was appointed by the government. Migrants cannot form their own association unless there is a considerable number of Czech natives. No foreigners, including EU citizens can join Czech political parties. (Migration Policy Index) There is also a growing concern in relation to the discrimination of women on the Czech Republic. Under the law, men and women are regarded as equ al in all aspects including family law, property law and the judicial system. Women in the Czech Republic can be found more often in the lower median salary.Women's salary in the republic is less than 25 percent when compared to their men counterparts. Women are more likely to be unemployed when compared to men. Lastly, there is only a small population of women who were given senior positions in the government and in the corporate world. (US. Department of State) As a member of the European Union, the EU must increased its awareness on the rampant inequality in the Czech Republic. It must exercise its administrative and economic edge to convince the government to adopt a more migrants/foreigner friendy policies.Unless there is no pressure from the outside, we cannot expect any changes to be adopted by the Czech government. Evaluation No one can deny the development of the Czech Republic after its shift to a liberal democratic system. However, despite this achievements, we cannot als o take for granted the shortfalls and limitation of the government in many important aspects – those I stated above. Most of this problems can be rooted to the Czech Republic's communist past that can be still engraved in some parts of the population. After all, a single generation only had passed since the shift of the Czech Republic from a communist structure.In this sense, we conclude that the achievements and developments that had been achieved by the Czech Republic cannot be undermined with its shortfalls. As it always stated, changes is impossible overnight. In many cases, for these problems and limitation to be corrected, time and effort is needed. As long as the officials and the citizens of the Czech Republic take in mind their problems and limitation, we can expect a more developed Czech Republic, not only in economic conditions but also on to its social, political and structural conditions. ConclusionIn this paper, we had discussed the different important aspects a nd information of the Czech Republic ranging from its political, economical and structural conditions. With these information in hand, we had been able to address the issues and problems in the republic. With the factual information and scholarly assessment that we had gathered, we had been able to come up to recommendations that are more likely to work due to its reliance to factual information. Once again, we had improved the importance of the knowledge and understanding of a specific country for us to come up to a viable and accurate analysis and recommendations.Works Cited Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook: Czech Republic. 2010. Web. Accessed 23 May 2010. Country Watch. Country Review: Czech Republic. Country Watch. 2010. Web. Accessed. 23 May 2010. Kabelova, Andrea. Czech Republic Political System. Legislative, executive and judicial power in the Czech Republic. 2010. Web. Accessed 23 May 2010. Migration Policy Index. Czech Republic – Political participatio n. Strategic thinking on equality and mobility. 2010. Web. Accessed 23 May 2010. U. S. Department of State. Czech Republic: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. U. S. Department of State. 2010. Web. Accessed 23 May 2010.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Pollution in China Essay

Introduction China, with its rapid industrialisation seems to have paid its price by witnessing steeply rising levels of pollution. With millions of largely unregulated industries, the vast rivers, streams and lakes have become easy avenues for chemical, textile and tanning industries to discharge their toxic contents at will. The paper discusses the pollution in China, its impact on the environment and how it has affected the lives of people.   An Overview of Pollution in China   A report by the World Bank (China 2007) has pointed out that China is facing increased levels of pollution that has kept pace with the rising industrialisation of rural China. The report points out that the use of energy in China has went up by 70 % between 2000 and 2005. The use of coal has also increased by 75% and this has created a corresponding increase in the air pollution. The report points out that China’s emissions of SO2 and soot were respectively 42 percent and 11 percent higher making it the largest polluter in the world. The report also points out that pollution of water, rivers, lakes has also increased to alarming levels. Water pollution is also a cause for serious concern and during 2001 and 2005, about 54 percent of the seven main rivers in China contained water deemed unsafe for human consumption. The report points out that the economic burden of premature mortality and morbidity due to air pollution was157.3 billion Yuan in 2003, or 1.16 percent of by WHO. The report suggests that pollution costs China more than 147 billion Yuan a year in the form of increased health related costs. A report from CBS news says â€Å"China’s air pollution seems like a problem just for that country, think again. The stuff spewing out in China has now been detected in the United States, and some suspect it’s beginning to affect the U.S. climate China’s far-reaching dust and soot cloud travelling to the West Coast hits Hawaii first, and that may be why temperatures in Hawaii are rising. A lot of early-computer modelling of Chinese pollution’s effects on the global climate is turning out to be just plain wrong. This is why a massive new study with ground and air monitoring across Asia starts next year† (Yinchaun, 31 March 2000). Following table shows the air quality in China Table 1. Trends in Air Quality in China’s Cities (%) (China, 2007) The following table shows the distribution of particulate matter in air Table 2. Distribution of PM10 and SO2 Levels in 341 Cities, 2003 and 2004 (China, 2007)   The list of pollutants that infect China re provided in the following table. Table 4. List of major pollutants and their categories (China, 2007)   Clare (Clare D’Souza, 2002) reports that â€Å"Energy consumption, especially coal consumption, is the main source of air pollutants such as particles, SO2, NOx, and CO in most cities of China. As the primary energy source, coal has accounted for about 65 to 70 percent (China Statistical Yearbook 2004) of total energy consumption in recent years, which has caused many environmental and human health problems. Crude oil consumption has been increasing because of the rapid expansion of the motor vehicle fleet in many cities. In recent years, epidemiological studies conducted around the world have demonstrated that there are close associations between air pollution and health outcomes. PM10 and SO2 are chosen in many studies as the indicative pollutants for evaluating the health effects of ambient air pollution. Although the mechanisms are not fully understood, epidemiological evidence suggests that outdoor air pollution is a contributing cause of morbidity and mortality. Epidemiological studies have found consistent and coherent associations between air pollution and various outcomes, including respiratory symptoms, reduced lung function, chronic bronchitis, and mortality†. The author suggests that industry â€Å"size† is controversial with respect to environmental issues. In some studies large enterprises have been deemed to be more pollution intensive in comparison with small enterprises. The author reports that small enterprises as being more environmentally friendly due to their size and found small plants to be far more pollution intensive because they are difficult and costly to regulate. Empirical research has suggested that enterprise size is inversely correlated with emissions intensity in developing countries. World Bank and other institutions have found that small enterprises are pollution intensive (Mani, 1997).   Karshenas (1992 author has pointed that the Winter’s (model of business and the environment may be a more appropriate way of approaching the problem. According to the author, â€Å"enterprises may not have mastered perfection in terms of ecological sustainability but enterprises can make a systematic assessment of the areas where improvements can be introduced. Although Winter goes beyond traditional management theory, the model emphasizes ecologically sound processes and practices right throughout a firm, from company policy, employee relations, supply chain, public relations and marketing. A firm should consider prevention, reduction, recycling and disposal of wastes throughout its operations. They should use sustainable inputs in environmentally friendly manufacturing processes that result in greener outputs (i.e. maintaining environmentally friendly processes for a product from cradle to grave). This would prove to be profitable, provided that the end users, be they industry or consumers, are committed to using green products. Ideally, enterprises should take control of their own operational structure by viewing cleaner manufacturing as a competitive and strategic challenge, they should resort to manufacturing life-cycle analysis, environmental auditing and environmental reporting. The reality is that an enterprise cannot consider making a product ecologically sound without considering how its raw material acquisition, development, manufacturing, distribution, sales and disposal systems impact on the environment. The author suggests that has gone one step further by stating that managers in a green venture start from a different mindset. They recognise that becoming green is an opportunity to establish a unique position in a niche market or, by being able to produce a higher value product with fewer resources, to gain a competitive advantage. He proposed a trisect by which sustainable business is based on the concept of balancing ecological, economic and social factors†..   Action to fight pollution   The government of China has redoubled its efforts in fighting pollution and has organized task forces at the local levels. The structure is shown in the following figure. Figure 1. Main Government Partners in the Project   The report has identified a number of measures to fight pollution and these are displayed in the following table. Table 4. Sectors and Pollutants Included in the CECM (China, 2007) The team has implemented certain steps to fight the pollution and these are illustrated in the following figure.   Figure 2. Flow Chart for Estimating the Economic Cost of Pollution (China, 2007)   The following steps have been proposed: Step 1: Identify the pollution factors, polluted area, and related conditions. Step 2: Determine affected endpoints and establish dose-response relationships for pollution damage. Step 3: Estimate population (or other) exposures in polluted areas. Step 4: Estimate physical impacts from pollution using information from steps 2 and 3. Step 5: Convert pollution impacts in physical terms to pollution costs in monetary terms. Indiscreet reaction by the Chinese government Wang (Wang Xiangwei. 4 Jun 4, 2007) reports that the Chinese government is paranoid about maintaining a good image about China, for fears that it may hurt its business stakes. The author reports that the most convenient way for China to control pollution is by jailing activists who point out the problems of pollution. The author reports about the village of Wuxi and how it was affected by pollution. â€Å"For hundreds of years, Wuxi , on the edge of Tai Lake, was the envy of the nation. In the heart of the Yangtze River delta and known as â€Å"the land of fish and rice†, it was bestowed with fertile land and abundant waterways, and was also home to famous poets, painters and industrialists. Since recently however, the city has become a stinking hell for its five million residents as a blue-green algal bloom from the heavily polluted lake contaminated the city’s tap water, making it foul-smelling and undrinkable. After scrambling for six days with emergency measures, Wuxi officials said yesterday the tap water was drinkable. But the residents, who have relied on bottled water for drinking and cooking, have every reason to be suspicious. Xinhua has reported that after the usual cleaning aids such as activated carbon failed to remove the odour, the city adopted what Mayor Mao Xiaoping called â€Å"a bold move† by pouring huge amounts of potassium permanganate (Condy’s crystals) into water-intake points. This allowed the strong oxidising agent to remove foul-smelling matter from the pipes. But Xinhua failed to explain that potassium permanganate is hazardous and can be a health risk. As the Wuxi officials brazenly claimed credit for winning the battle against the water crisis, none of them yet had the decency to apologise to the suffering residents. All of them have blamed factors beyond their control – higher- than-normal temperatures that helped to foster the growth of the algae, a lack of rain and favourable wind conditions, and the lowest water level in the lake in five decades. In fact, the fundamental cause of the crisis is the lake’s heavy pollution – as several mainland environmentalists have repeatedly warned the authorities in the past decade. Wu Lihong, 39, is one of them. He has spent large sums of his own money over the past 16 years collecting evidence of pollution at Tai Lake, the mainland’s thirdlargest freshwater lake, and petitioning the local authorities to shut down the polluters. Now, with a water crisis on its hands, one would imagine any government that claims to â€Å"put the people first† would give Wu a medal of honour and make him a hero. Instead, Wu, known as the Tai Lake anti-pollution warrior in overseas media, is languishing in jail and awaiting trial on June 12 on trumped-up charges of blackmail. A farmer turned businessman who grew up in Zhoutie town in Yixing – a small, booming industrial city under the jurisdiction of Wuxi – Wu witnessed the lake turn into a cesspit. He then made it a personal crusade to petition authorities to shut down more than 2,000 chemical factories in Yixing that spewed toxic pollutants into the lake every day. By passing the local bureaucracy and filing reports to higher- level government officials has led to limited success he is welcomed, even liked by many central government officials and national media in Beijing. In 2005, he was chosen as one of mainland’s top 10 environmentalists and honoured at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People. But he incurred the wrath of local officials and has been constantly harassed by local policemen, officials and thugs. He was arrested again in April on charges of blackmail after the local officials set a trap for him. They offered him 40,000 yuan for a mission to attract investment from other mainland cities, and then laid charges of blackmailing the authorities. His lawyer, Zhu Xiaoyan , said that Wu had told her that he was whipped while in custody, and she was not allowed to see him until more than six weeks after his arrest. Like Gao Yaojie , a retired Henan doctor who refused to keep quiet about Aids, Wu has refused to stand down despite the threat of jail. The mainland leadership should learn from the fiasco of trying to muzzle Ms Gao and release Wu immediately†.(Wang Xiangwei. 4 Jun 4, 2007).   Conclusion Pollution in China has assumed the proportion of an epidemic with wide ramifications on the health of the people, the environment, air and water. The paper has presented discussed various aspects of the problem and presented statistics to show the extent of pollution. Certain recommendations have also been made so that the pollution could be averted and reduced to some extent. References China, 2007. Cost of Pollution in China. Retrieved 18 January 2008 from www.worldbank.org/eapenvironment. Clare D’Souza, 2002. The nexus between industrialization and environment. Journal of Environmental Management and Health. Volume 13 Number 1 2002 pp. 80-97 Karshenas, M (1992), â€Å"Environment development and employment: some conceptual issues†, in Bhalla, A.S (Eds),Environment Development and Employment, WEP Study, ILO, Geneva, Mani, M, Pargal, S, Huq, M (1997), â€Å"Does environmental regulation determine the location of new manufacturing?†, World Bank, Washington, DC, Policy Research Working Paper Wang Xiangwei. 4 Jun 4, 2007. Release the man who first raised the alarm about Tai Lake’s pollution China Briefing. South China Morning Post. Hong Kong. P. 5 Xinhua, 26 December 2006. China’s Energy Conditions and Policies. Xinhua News Agency – CEIS. p: 1 Yinchaun. 31 March 2000. A Global Problem: China’s Pollution. Retrieved 18 January 2008 from http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/03/31/archive/main178697.shtml