Free Essays - Notes on The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Notes on The Great Gatsby     Chapter 1   Characters Introduced * Nick Carraway - A wealthy mid-westerner in his mid-twenties who fought in world warfare one, currently working in New York city and living next door to Mr.Gastby. * Daisy - Nicks second cousin is very cynical and bored with the rich life, espouse to Tom Buchanan. * Tom Buchanan - Nicks friend from Yale, very wealthy and successful, and very pretentious. * Jordan Baker - A golfer who spends time with the Buchanans, also very snooty.   Literary Period * I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War(7) - World War One is spoken of as the great war * bonny as things grow in fast movies(8) - Stop motion movies were a novelty at that time. * Everybody invests or talks ab emerge stocks.   Style * Complex vocabulary and sentence structure But I didnt c tout ensemble to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone - he stretched out his arms to ward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling.(25) Characterization * Its all scientific stuff its been proved.(17) - Tom claims to very educated, but he speaks incorrectly, saying proved instead of  proven * Something was making him nibble at the edge of mothy ideas as if his sturdy physical egotism no longer nourished his peremptory heart. - Sums up Toms attitude he wants to be better than someone, so he finds snooty books with illogical ideas to back up his racist feeling of superiority. Literary Devices * secrets that only Midas and Morgan and Maecenas knew(8) - allusion to King Midas and other fables. * their dresses were rippling and fluttering as if they had just been winded back in after a short flight around the house.(12) - fiction. * on which two young women were buoyed up as though upon an anchored balloon(12) - simile * as if each speech is in arrangement of notes that will never be played again.(13) - simile.   Summary The author, Nick Carraway moves to the New York area to become a bond man. He spends the afternoon with his second cousin, Daisy, and her husband Tom Buchanan, who are very wealthy, and the evening is filled with a lot of talk about nothing, omit that Tom has a mistress somewhere.

Richard Scrushy and HealthSouth Essay -- Business Analysis

Introduction HealthSouth is one of the nations largest healthcare providers specializing in rehabilitation. HealthSouth was founded by Richard M. Scrushy in 1984 and went human race in 1986. Scrushy served as its Chairman of the Board from 1994 to 2002. The company was incorporated in January 1984 as Amcare Inc. before its name was changed to HealthSouth Rehabilitation Corporation in May 1985. In January of 2003, Mr. Scrushy reassumed the position of CEO. HealthSouth grew rapidly during the 1980s and 1990s. This growth was largely due to acquisitions. HealthSouth owned more than 330 hospitals worldwide. It was to a fault during this time that Scrushy became known as one of the highest paid CEOs in the United States. The HealthSouth business model stresses four basic steps from diagnosis to rehabilitation and this model served as its mark of distinction among other healthcare providers (Jennings, 2012, p. 183). From 1987 by dint of 1997 HealthSouths stock rose 31 percent per year and Mr. Scrushy told analysts that HealthSouth had matched or exceeded earnings for forty-seven quarters in a row (Jennings, 2012, p. 183-184). Problems at HealthSouth were organism uncovered in 2002. In early 2002, Scrushy sold over $75 million dollars worth of stock and an additional $25 million back to HealthSouth. It was also disclosed in August of 2002 that a new Medicare payment policy would greatly lower reimbursements and consequently the stock would lose more than half of its value. shareowner lawsuits were filed alleging that Scrushy acted on insider information when selling his shares of stock earlier in the year. Most of Scrushys alleged misconduct occurred prior to the enactment of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). To sum... ....proquest.com/docview/216236868?accountid=28180Lublin, J. S., & Carrns, A. (2003, April 11). Directors had lucrative links at HealthSouth. Wall Street Journal. p. B1. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/d ocview/398944990?accountid=28180Mokhiber, R. (2003). Ill feelings at HealthSouth. Multinational Monitor, 24(11), 7-8. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com/docview/208878914?accountid=28180Solieri, S., Felo, A. & Hodowanitz, J. (2008). Richard Scrushy - The rise and fall of the king of healthcare. p. 337-353. Retrieved from http//www.soliericpas.com/attachments/2008MarRichardScrushy-TheRise&FalloftheKingofHealthcare.pdfWeld, L. G., Bergevin, P. M., & Magrath, L. (2004). Anatomy of a financial fraud. The CPA Journal, 74(10), 44-49. Retrieved from http//search.proquest.com/docview/212312866?accountid=28180

Proposal for a Fitness Center in TI Essay -- Texas Instruments Health

Proposal for a physical fitness Center in TIAn on-site physical fitness center for Texas Instruments entrust prove to be advantageous to the company as well as its employees. Studies show that employees who exercise regularly are more productive, efficient, and pleasant to work with. Texas Instruments has the ability to increase employee retention, recruitment, and revenues by investing in a fitness center through Health Fitness Corporation.Health Fitness Corporation depicts on-site fitness centers for numerous prestigious companies such as Best Buy and Federal Express. The positive relationships and results have more than qualified Health Fitness Corporation to provide Texas Instruments with a unique facility, designed to meet all of their personal needs. Among Health Fitness Corporations services are state-of-the-art equipment, the latest health care products, a knowledgeable staff, fussyty classes, and employee incentive programs.The project provide be divided into four m annequins, each with a certain purpose and timeline to achieve a specific goal. material body I (Research and Development) - This four month phase will involve evaluating the needs and desires of Texas Instruments employees. Phase II (Bidding and Structural Construction) - This five month phase involves choosing the right contractor and building the facility.Phase III (Interior Development) - This two month phase will involve renovating the interior of the facility to meet Texas Instruments custom desires. Phase IV (Trial Period) - This one month process involves staffing the facility and providing training on the exercise equipment. Health Fitness Corporation offers two standard packages. Package A is less expensive to implement, but Package B offers greater revenues. After analyzing Texas Instruments, we believe that Package B will be the most beneficial to the company. not only will this investment improve the financial status of Texas Instruments, but it will also develop stron ger employee relationships. For each dollar Texas Instruments invests in this project, they will stool a greater increase in employee productivity. Many forward-thinking corporations are offering on-site fitness centers to their employees. Texas Instruments must join this trend or their company will be left behind in employee recruitment and retention. Health Fitness Corporation can h... ...ly expanded and is becoming much more than mere fitness centers, but major sources of revenue for companies as well. Health Fitness Corporation has assisted many companies in increasing both recruitment and employee retention. In todays fast-paced, competitive business world, companies who do not innovate are left behind. Texas Instruments cannot allow these other corporations to gain a competitive advantage. Health Fitness Corporation can provide Texas Instruments with a facility that will not only compete with other companies, but will also offer special programs, products, and training that will separate Texas Instruments from the competition. Health Fitness Corporation looks forward to the commencement of this project and a long and rewarding relationship with Texas Instruments.Works CitedBritish United Providence Association online. Availablehcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/exercise.html 2004, April 22Georgia State University Exercise and Physical Fitness Page online. Availablewww.gsu.edu/wwwfit/benefits.html 2004 April, 24 Hoovers The line of work Information Authority online. Availablewww.hoovers.com 2004 April, 18

Lessons of the Socialist Planned Soviet Economy :: essays papers

Lessons of the Socialist Planned Soviet Economy A long time ago the chancellor of Germany, Bismarck, said the following after schooling the Communist Manifesto by Marx and Engels, This is very interesting. But now we have to find a country that we wouldnt pity to do an experiment on. Russia was to be the country that this experiment would take place in. The main part of the experiment consisted of running a Socialist planned frugality which is defined as the state of economy, where all production sections are g overned and owned by government institutions. Before the country could implement the planned economy it had to adapt some policies. firstly the country had to start industrializing, or as some economists call it the big push (industry-first strategy). The growth of the industrial sector was the ultimate goal. But since Russian economy was so backward it required a transitional period that was called state capitalism. In stated capitalism, through nationalization , the state would control major sectors of the economy and usage this control to influence the remaining private sectors. Nationalization gave the state not only the control of the means of production, but it also insured the control over the output. Another policy that had to be adapted was the collectivization. After 1927, when the voluntary grain output fell below government target, Stalin ordered the collectivization of agriculture by forcibly establishing collective farms. Millions of peasants who resisted collectivization were arrested, and then executed or deported. Even in the post-Soviet era, the collectivization of agriculture was Soviet economys sore sleep with it never achieved its economic goals. To hold all this together there had to be an organization big enough to balance what had now been known as the input-output economy. In 1922, Gosplan was created to exclusively and explicitly deal with planning. In the early stages Gosplan delivered the control figures a nd planed targets. In 1925 Gosplan assumed responsibility for drawing up Five class Plans. The Five Year Plan called for industrialization at a maximum pace with a conception that some major construction projects had to be done. By the end of thirty-something the nationalization was completed, agriculture collectivized, and the national planning mechanism established. The Soviet economic system was one of the most complex organizational arrangements, especially among the different layers of organizations.

Chinese Violation of the United Nations Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treat

In this day and age, society operates in constant threat of terrorism, war, and nuclear fallout the rapid growth of world(prenominal) militaristic power contributes to the ever-present fear in the back of all of our minds. None of us can go through the day without hearing a newscaster or radio personality talking about the growing threat that Iran or Afghanistan or North Korea poses to the global community, but there is one tell apart that we hear of. This threat works in a much vaster environment, and shrouds itself in cloaks of secrecy and deception China. Although the Chinese tend to evade the mass media frenzy that ceaselessly reports on foreign threats, their underrated affairs are nothing less than lethal. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the Peoples Republic remains to be their nuclear incubation programs a violation of the atomic Non-Proliferation Act of the United Nations that they agreed to nearly twenty years ago. The Chinese deny each kind of nuclear prog rams they have attained domestically, and refuse to affiliate themselves with supposed partnering nations such as Iran.While the Chinese attempt to cover up whatsoever trace of their nuclear enhancement programs, the country has a long history of nuclear development. During his Great Leap Forward, Chinese Communist leader Mao Zedong do attempts to attain nuclear arms and create a nuclear program for his people that would help them in the future (Terrill 14). China currently acquires 13 nuclear reactors, with 25 more in the works that go away quickly be followed by more, all growing in sophistication and innovation the country will probably become self-sufficient in nuclear design and construction in the years to come (WNA 1). The Chinese have contracts with severa... ...on in modern society. Doesnt quite sound like the country that agreed to stop the spread of nuclear technology and propaganda, does it?The Chinese struggle to keep a faade of impassiveness and innocence when it comes to nuclear affairs, but the facts tell a different story. Over the past decades, China has accumulated millions of nuclear arms, enhanced its nuclear capabilities through the macrocosm of scores of sophisticated nuclear facilities, and forged powerful and hazardous relations with increasingly volatile nations in the Middle East. The China of today is a farthest cry from the country (or illusion of a country) that promoted pacifistic, diplomatic means their poorly hidden nuclear programs and their alliances with dangerous counterparts has clearly put them in violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act that they signed nearly half a century ago.

Cubism Essay -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

Cubism is an art period that followed after the art period Fauvism.Cubism is one of the most influential art movements of the twentiethcentury. It was begun by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, byCezannes model in 1907.The leading artists in the cubist period were Pablo Picasso, GeorgesBrack, Paul Cezanne, Jean Metzinger, Fernand Leger, Juan Gris, MarcelDuchamp, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes and Matisse. These artistsall contributed to the cubist art movement in their own individualway.Cubism sprung from a comment make by French Painter Paul Cezanne.Cezanne claimed All nature is made up of the cone, the cylinder andthe sphere. Cubists liked this idea. So therefore they decided tofocus on the forms Cezanne was talking about, and they painted theworld and objects as if they were really made up of geometric shapes.At first, their works floor people. It was unrealistic and quiteunlike traditional art styles.The cubists were interested in the way we look at the world. Theynoticed how things take on different shapes when we behold them fromdifferent view points, for that reason cubists in some artworkspainted many views of the same object together in one painting.Through this technique Cubists plant a new way of capturing the 3Dworld on a flat artists canvas. In cubism the subject matter wasbroken up, analysed, and reassembled in an abstracted form. It wasmade of simplified forms and geometrical shapes broken into panes wi...

Cubism Essay -- Visual Arts Paintings Art

Cubism is an art period that followed after the art period Fauvism.Cubism is ace of the most influential art consummations of the 20thcentury. It was begun by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, byCezannes influence in 1907.The leading artists in the cubist period were Pablo Picasso, GeorgesBrack, Paul Cezanne, Jean Metzinger, Fernand Leger, Juan Gris, MarcelDuchamp, Robert Delaunay, Albert Gleizes and Matisse. These artistsall contributed to the cubist art movement in their own individualway.Cubism sprung from a comment made by French Painter Paul Cezanne.Cezanne claimed All nature is made up of the cone, the piston chamber andthe sphere. Cubists liked this idea. So therefore they decided tofocus on the forms Cezanne was talking about, and they painted theworld and objects as if they were really made up of geometric shapes.At first, their works shocked people. It was unrealistic and quiteunlike traditional art styles.The cubists were interested in the way we look at the world. The ynoticed how things egress on different shapes when we see them fromdifferent view points, for that reason cubists in some artworkspainted many views of the same object together in one painting.Through this technique Cubists found a new way of capturing the 3Dworld on a flat artists canvas. In cubism the subject matter was disturbed up, analysed, and reassembled in an abstracted form. It wasmade of simplified forms and geometrical shapes broken into panes wi...

Learning: Online Versus the Classroom Essay

Which would you prefer, skill online or sitting in a physical classroom? With the advent of technology the interrogation of which is better has become difficult to answer. However continuing education has become much more accessible due to online classrooms. Focusing on the pull ins and drawbacks between attainment online and the traditional classroom will provide valuable information to make an informed decision.It is obvious that each mode of learning has its own benefits and drawbacks. One physical exercise is the traditional classroom provides face to face instruction with immediate feedback, while online is less formal and individualistic. Web-based learning has a dynamic nature that allows for near instantaneous sharing and updating of information. (Thrasher, Coleman & Atkinson, 2012) The traditional classroom is a more static learning environment, only able to update information less frequently.Understanding online learning versus the traditional classroom requires some d efinition. The traditional classroom is defined as a physical setting at a college campus or other expanse that students gather to receive teaching and instruction. Typically this is a classroom with seating for students with an instructor giving a daily lesson. An online classroom is a virtual placement of the designated school where students discuss topics in a forum. Individual lessons are studied and submitted to a designated location at bottom the online environment. An instructor is assigned to provide feedback, guidance, and instruction in each lesson.The traditional classroom is still highly valued as a teaching method for the benefits it provides. Having and instructor on site provides an immediate interactive learning environment. Depending on the course, there is hands-on learning with lab work and experiments. There is also peerreview within the classroom and interactivity among the students. John Higgins of Accenture acquisition cites a study from ITtraining consult ancy stating that traditional training approaches are more popular today than in 2004. (E-learning versus the, 2007)Drawbacks to the traditional classroom include lag times in feedback on homework assignments. There are students who dont participate in classroom activities due to shyness and do not fully benefit from the classroom environment. After class help is not available after a certain timeframe. The classroom setting is not designed for the working individual. As a full time employee, it is very difficult to schedule classroom activities into a full day of employment, family time, childrens activities, appointments, and other responsibilities.Online learning has many benefits, still it is not for everyone. In the business perspective it is cost effective and easy to align with the business needs. It also includes reduced employee turn-over and a more highly prompt staff. (E-learning versus the, 2007) Online learning is designed for the working individual to schedule into a busy life. Since classes are online there is no specific time that students need to be in class. Students are able to attend classes on their own time, be it in the morning, after work, or even throughout the day. Class materials, sometimes, are provided electronically within the virtual classroom, eliminating the cost and weight of multiple books.For every benefit there is a drawback and online learning has its fair share. Online learning requires a high level slump that not everyone is able to maintain. Distractions in the home abound ranging from children needing help with homework to cooking meals. Internet connectivity can be an issue when the internet goes down or during power loss. Online learning can also suffer from computer problems, viruses, data loss, even hardware failure.Everything in life has its benefits and drawbacks. It is up to each individual to teach personal needs and wants in life and how to bestachieve those goals. It is very important to research online l earning and traditional classroom learning to determine which method best suits individual needs and goals. Which would you prefer, learning online or in the classroom? That is a question that only you can answer.ReferencesE-learning versus the classroom. (2007, March 12). IT Week,Hernandez-Julian, R. & Peters, C. (2012, April). Does the medium matter? online versus make-up coursework. Southern Economic Journal, 78(4), 1333-1345. Thrasher, E., Coleman, P., & Atkinson, J. (2012). Web-based versus classroom-based instruction. Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, 7, 1-9.

Texting Phenomena

Inter soulfulnessal communicating is vital to humans and is personad in every daylight situations. Interpersonal talk refers to personal communication between populate (35), according to West and Turner (2007), authors of Introducing conversation Theories. West and Turner explain that exploring how relationships form, the upholding and continuation of these relationships, and the end of relationships, be the main characteristics of interpersonal linguistic con school school text.Interpersonal communication began as face to face communication between two heap, but as applied science advanced, it expanded to include rude(a) communicative technologies such as telephone calls, email, instant pass along, chats, kind media networks, and text messaging. Text messaging by dint of cells phones, also known as texting or SMS (Short Message Service), is a form of interpersonal communication that can be represented through the Linear Model of Communication A message is sent from a source to a receiver through a channel, which may be interrupted by some form of noise.Texts ar person-to-person messages received from and sent to known individuals. Text messaging provides a one-to-one, personalized, and individuating social strong point (Reid and Reid, 2007). The phenomena of text messaging, has researchers and scholars questioning whether this new communication technology adds or takes external from interpersonal communication and massess learned communication skills. Review of books Texting as a New Phenomenon of Communication Everyday social arrangements and interpersonal fulfil are now routinely affected by mobile technology (Conti-Ramsden, Durkin, and Simkin, 2010).As opposed to 15 years ago, todays youth have a greater variety of options to choose from when communicating with their peers. Communication, via cell phone and the internet, are now widely available and very popular with the youthful (Conti-Ramsden, Durkin, and Simkin, 2010, 197). The gl obal cell phone market now stands at approximately 1. 8 zillion subscribers, and is estimated to reach 3 billion by the end of 2010, by which time nearly half of all human beings on the planet are evaluate to own and use a cell phone (Reid and Reid, 2007).A recent survey of 2,000 teenagers in the United States revealed that 80% of teens, or approximately 17 million young people, have a cell phone. 96% of those teens use the texting function, and of that 96%, 1 out of 10 teens say that they text for 45 minutes a day (Conti-Ramsden, Durkin, and Simkin, 2010). Over 900 billion messages were sent in 2005, with expectations that this will rise to more than two trillion messages in 2010 (Deumert and Masinyana, 2008). Text messaging has be summate a vulgar means of keeping in constant touch with peers, especially among young people all over the world.The phenomenon of texting is continuing to increase, raising substantial awareness of the new texting language. Researchers are proposing to treat electronic communication as a distinct mode of intermediate communication, in between the oral and the written medium (Fandrych, 2007). tally to Ingrid Fandrych (2007), author of Electronic Communication and Technical Terminology, Online conversation takes place on the written level, while using specific stylistic conventions which are very equal to oral communication, especially abbreviations of frequently used phrases and emoticons to alternate facial expressions (148).Fandrych (2007) claims that acronyms, blends, and clippings are responsible for the characteristic style of internet English, and that offline usage is increasingly influenced by Internet usage (148). Some new and creative word formations have rase found their way into everyday usage including the acronyms btw (by the way) and ttyl ( gabble to you later), as well as the mix of certain words like all right into alright. Fandrych (2007) predicts some changes in general (off-line) English due to texting language as well (151).People guggle via text messages using the keyboard, they get hold of use of abbreviations, they omit non-content words, and they do non capitalize. Fandrych (2007) explains that Electronic interlocutors replace contextual cues which would have been present in personal communication with abbreviations and emoticons, which are, of course, consciously employed and sometimes intended to entertain, a feature which internet English shares with otherwise jargons and in-group registers (151).Electronic communication, as a medium, shares characteristics with the written language and the oral language. earn and symbols are used through typing which are displayed on a screen, but at the same time, it is very informal and conversational which replaces the linguistic context with special cues that do not exist in the traditional written mode (Fandrych, 2007, 151). Text language is n all identical to speech nor writing, but adaptively features characteristics of twa in.Fandrych (2007) titles this electronic communication language as Netspeak, and categorizes it as a fourth medium alongside written, spoken, and sign language (152). Communication through text is informal and characterized by new elements. Fandrych (2007) concludes that the electronic medium can be considered to constitute a separate level, between the spoken and the written modes and overlapping, to some extent, with both of them (152).The new texting phenomenon not only if creates a new form of language between oral and written mediums, but it also develops a globalized texting touchstone. English language texts produced by multilingual speakers share more a(prenominal) of the features which have been reported for English SMS communication internationally, and provide evidence for what one might call a global English SMS standard (Deumert and Masinyana, 2008). English messages are strongly represented in all communicative functions of text messaging by bilingual individuals .Deumert and Masinyana (2008), co-authors of, The use of English and isiXhosa in text messages (SMS), think how English is combine with isiXhosa, one of the official languages of South Africa, in text messages between native South Africans. Deumert and Masinyana state that The historical and continuing potency of English on the world-wide-web has supported the popular belief that the language of electronic communication in general is English, and in some cases, English can replace a users first language in this medium (123).In studies focusing on bilingual texting, most messages were written in English combined with the local language. Researchers concluded that there is the existence of a global English SMS norm because of brevity and speed, paralinguistic restrictions with the medium and local language, and the restriction of texting characters (Deumert and Masinyana, 2008). The phenomenon of texting has transformed individuals lives by creating the possibility of being in const ant communication at all times, as well as creating a tendency towards cross-cultural homogeny.Texting as a Negative Form of Communication Although texting provides the opportunity for constant and fast contact with others, it tends to have a displacing effect on personal communication. Similar to personal communication, texting allows for conversational turn-taking, but excludes intonations, emotions, and the ability to send long messages. Llana Gershon (2008), author of, Email my Heart Remediation and Romantic Break-Ups, performed a study looking at how Americans are experiencing and using new technologies to end relationships.Gershon (2008) discusses, through the use of American college students break-up narratives, the ways in which certain social media create new possibilities for disconnecting with others (15). Although a break-up may be happening, an individual has the opportunity through text messaging to hold separate or multiple conversations simultaneously with the bre ak-up. This takes away from the personal diorama of intimate relationships and tends to enforce the displacement of face-to-face communication.Teens especially use instant messaging and texting in commenceicular as substitutes for face-to-face communication with people from their physiological lives, therefore, feeling less psychologically close to their instant messaging and texting partners (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008). This may also damage the emotional quality of a relationship. Online interactions lack important features of face-to-face communication, such as gestures, eye contact, and body language, making them less rich than offline interactions (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008).Although texting is still communication, social care and anti-social behaviors can be an effect of the lack face-to-face communication with teens today. Reports in the press and surveys from parents find points of view that range from exuberant, discussing how socially-interactive technol ogies can save youth from social isolation and depression, to alarming, focusing on how constant use of these technologies fosters anti-social behavior (Bryant, Sanders-Jackson, and Smallwood, 2006, 557).The reality is that texting and other forms of social technology lie between these two extremes. A recent survey revealed that cell phone owners declaring a conclude preference for texting on their cell phones were both lonelier and more anxious than those who preferred talking (Reid and Reid, 2007). People who have social anxiety will not come to terms with their fears without experiencing face-to-face communication and, as an effect, use texting as a divergent, to kill time or avoid some other activity.Texting allows users to disengage from the demands of immediate interactive involvement, releasing time and attentional resources to compose and edit messages (Reid and Reid, 2007). Although texting may be an outlet and a preferred mode of communication for people with anxiety prob lems, it also may give others a false sense of the persons real personality. Along with peers, there is a growing guardianship that adolescents extensive use of electronic communication to interact with their peers may impair their relations with their parents, siblings, and other family members (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008).Subrahmanyam and Greenfield (2008) show how peer relationships are being enhanced at the expense of family relationships in an exercise role of technology in modern family life When the working spouse, usually the father, came through the door at the end of the day, the other spouse and children were often so absorbed in what they were doing that they greeted him only somewhat one-third of the time, usually with an obligatory hi. About half the time, children ignored him and continued multitasking and monitoring their various electronic gadgets (135).Parents are having a much harder time breaking into their childrens world because of the distance and p rivacy established through text messaging. Teens are using cell phones to comprise generational boundaries, such as screening calls from parents into voicemail, as well as undermining family rituals, such as mealtimes and vacations (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008). Cell phones give adolescents the power to control the people with whom they talk and have more room into which they can share thoughts freely and privately from their family members.The landmarks of the electronic transformation stage include greater teen autonomy, the decline of face-to-face communication, enhancement of peer group relations at the possible expense of family relations, and greater teen choice (Subrahmanyam and Greenfield, 2008). According to Raymond Williams (1997), author of Mobile Privatization, new technologies only serve to further aggravate the modern human condition of mobile privatized social relations (129). This seems to be a concern that is provoked further by new mobile communication techn ologies with people talking of detached presence (Lin and Tong, 2007). Adolescents constant use of mobile communication can be seen as a symptom of a general loss of human connectivity in the modern condition (Lin and Tong, 2007, 305). Texting as a Positive Form of Communication Although many studies have shown the negative effects of text messaging, other research has shown that this new form of communication has positive aspects as well. Text messaging is a form of communication that has many uses coordinating plans, multi-tasking, friendship maintenance, information, and romantic relationships. Text messages are convenient, immediate, less disturbing, and have no constraints.Since there are so many communicative functions, text messaging has become a common means of keeping in constant touch, especially among young people in many parts of the world today (Lin and Tong, 2007). Todays youth use text messaging especially to keep in touch and maintain either close or distant relation ships. Recent research studies have explored how text messaging can offer a sense of intimacy between friends as well as between strangers. This is especially appealing to youth because they can be bonded to all of their social networks through one device. The virtual presence (or scatterbrained presence) of persons elsewhere through mobile communication facilitates networking, deeper relationships, or simply increased contact. People who are corporally far away can be brought into immediate cyber presence (Lin and Tong, 2007, 305). Mobile texting allows people to be in constant social contact, which therefore gives them a sense of co-presence at all times. Lin and Tong (2007) explain that text messaging has created new kinds of modalities for co-presence and communication, which contributes to a sense of virtual intimacy (305).Text messages, rather than standard telephone calls, allow for total individual communication there is no chance of anyone overhearing the conversation and thus supports a sense of security and privacy. It is appealing because the text is expected to reach a specific person directly, no issuing where they are or the time of day. This form of communication is very popular between adolescents and their peers because they feel as if they can communicate privately, not under the supervising of their parents.Teens travel between their homes, school and nearby places that are all under a high degree of regulation by adults. Mobile text messaging has thus fulfilled an important function which provides a sense of co-presence for young people who lack the means to share some private physical berth free from adults surveillance (Lin and Tong, 2007, 306). Because this form of communication is relatively free from adult supervision, teens often use texting to maintain romantic relationships as well as friendships.A study found that texting is used to negotiate gender relations, especially among couples (Lin and Tong, 2007). For instance, after a fight, couples may not want to directly speak to each other or hear ones voice, but texting avoids the embarrassment of making romantic advances or even when saying no to these advances. The informants of the study also expressed the incident that some messages are highly private and very meaningful, which can be saved and stored in the mobile device.Since the conversation remains private, even in national location ns, individuals tend to reveal more about their emotional selves through texts. Thus, youth text messaging end on an optimistic note about the positive uses of SMS by young people for gaining freedom from surveillance by adults and for negotiating subtle gender relations (Lin and Tong, 2007). Relationships can in reality be strengthened through text messaging because of its convenience, intimacy, and privacy among users. Another strength of text messaging is that it allows people to keep in touch with friends who are separated by physical boundaries.Although other f orms of communication such as telephone, email, and written letters allow people separated by distance to keep in touch as well, texting allows both sender and receiver to keep in contact at both of their conveniences. The message is sent and received immediately regardless if the other person is online. It allows for multi-tasking while holding other conversations or tasks, and also is less disturbing, by far, than other forms of communication such as phone calls or face-to-face communication.While people may interact frequently in person with people who are in their lives every day, it may not be possible to meet other friends, family, or acquaintances face-to-face on a regular basis. To fill in-person communication gaps, people used text messaging to stay connected and make plans to meet when convenient (Quan-Haase, 2007). Text messaging is a more suitable fit to maintaining distance relationships as opposed to other forms of communication.Aside from convenience, some people act ually prefer text messaging because it gives them a chance to think about what they want to say, which is not always possible during face-to-face communication. Text messaging gives people time to think about the wording of their messages, allowing them to be more informal and candid, even with close friends (Reid and Reid, 2007, 425). Some people, due to SMS and other forms of text based communication, even develop an enti imprecate separate, brave SMS self, which contrasts with their more reserved real-life personality (Reid and Reid, 2007).Text messaging can be used as an outlet to help expand communication and closeness with peers. For instance, in an essay that discusses the relationship between texting and social anxiety, Donna Reid and Fraser Reid (2007) write By delaying or eliminating the audience reactions that normally accompany real-time spoken interaction, SMS may offer anxious individuals a way of making social contact without fear of immediate disapproval or rejection , allowing attention to be refocused away from the beholders perspective and towards the composition of messages that more effectively achieve self-presentational goals (425).Interactive media, such as texting, allow people to individuate themselves, communicate with peers, and accomplish stages of intimate contact that they could not achieve in other interactional settings. Research Questions Texting helps maintain social relationships in modern society, and affords resources to achieve a sense of co-presence and intimacy with both existing friends and new acquaintances, while avoiding having to deal with face-to-face interaction or the intrusive disturbance of a phone call (Lin and Tong, 2007).Although texting may be a convenient source of communication that is direct, individualized, and private, it also may be taking away from the importance of face-to-face, interpersonal communication. If people are relying on a text based communication exchange, they are not experiencing or l earning interactional conversations involving tonal inflection, reactions, and especially body language. Nonverbal communication is a big part of interpersonal communication because it shows the reaction of the individual after receiving the message, therefore giving the sender a form of feedback that strengthens the communication process.As technology continues to advance, there is rising concern that social, interactional, and communication skills of todays youth and future generations will consequently decline. As a result, this study will address the following questions RQ1 Is texting taking away from or adding to interpersonal communication and individuals learned communication skills? RQ2 Will texting affect how children and adolescents communicate with one another? RQ3 Do people rely on texting to fulfill their emotional, psychological, and other forms of needs as opposed to other types of communicative technology or face-to-face communication?

Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple Essay

BACKGROUND apple has been a leader in innovation for days and has been fitted to achieve so by striving hard to pay insanely great products with control and sophistication. The constant need for innovation, development of unique product development strategies and their prompt execution, the presence of the visionary, Steve Jobs and their bold attitude at line of products experimentation formed the basis of principles at apple.During mid-1970s, computers were mere automation devices and were not perceived to be used for individualised work. Apple reasoned the impact individualised computing will ingest on individuals once they were able to see how beneficial the personal computers could be. It was essential these machines were luxuriouslyly user friendly. Apple achieved this by incorporating simplicity in the product design internally by attending to the minutest detail in the product, evaluating whether a part or feature is really required, adopting new technologies, and e xternally exploring different materials and nestes, enhancing customer see to it by creating highly interactive products.To be able to provide with a smooth and flowing customer aim, it was necessary to knock over the smallest detail while designing the product. The philosophy was to achieve sophistication through simplicity by working out the intent for the product, its concept development, the process of making it and the user experience of working with it. The sleek design and appearance of Apple products, easy-to-adopt solutions, and inside-out simplicity in their design and usage, consistency and resemblance across products has a huge impact on the user experience.ANALYSISThe innovation and existence of the creative core of technology at Apple has continued through years despite the disorientation it faced by the lack of focus, increased competition and changing leaderships during 1985-1997. Post 1997, Apple managed to get its act together under the able leadership of Steve Jobs by focusing on fewer projects, changing distribution system, embarking direct sales via online website and adopting sophisticatedmarketing for its insanely great products. Tim Cook, the then headland Operating Officer at Apple was responsible for cleaning up the operations of manufacturing, distribution and supply that were taken up during 1985-1997. A core approach to development was taken up working intimately with manufacturers to find different materials and better processes, and being completely in sync with the customers, their require and priorities.The basis of Apple was their consistency across its products which were accomplished by adopting a one platform strategy. All the products had the OSX operating system, which was undertaken with a vision to accommodate their development and production. This benefitted Apple (as a company) to develop and design components that were highly efficient and reliable by investing time and resources, its suppliers allowed reuse an d sharing assemblies and sub-assemblies at lower costs, its employees added to their knowledge base and experience and most importantly, its customers enabled easier adoption to its products due to familiarity and resemblance across products and lesser maintenance requirements due to stable, reliable designs.Apple has been keen on integrating customer experience in the design and development process. They followed an iterative customer involvement process in which they carried out extensive testing to improve user experience with the software package and understanding the user expectations when they were trying to accomplish a task. Products were designed so the end user is able to employ them as tools to create and achieve their needs easily and effectively.Steve Jobs has played a pivotal, influential role in the driving Apple to the heights it has reached as a company and the reputation its products have build in the market. He had an inbuilt design sense and had a distinct visi on of the meaning of the company, its products and how that can be achieved. It was his philosophy of simplicity that was adopted by the company of achieving beautiful, elegant solutions by digging deep into the key, underlying principle of the problem.Jobs demanded products with ultimate sophistication, high quality, and superior capabilities yet, simple UIs. It was his persuasion to have Apple computers for personal computing,when the rest of the industry was busy creating enterprise solutions. His drive for excellence, and total involvement in every stage of product development and its presentation to the customer, have been the leading elements responsible for the innovation at Apple and the way the company is shaped up.Apple manages to create hype about its products and makes grand presentation to launch them in the market. The launched product is immediately available in the retails and on-line stores for customers to review and purchase. Apple values its secrecy and guards i t fiercely. This creates additional hype around the product as they have been known for delivering innovative and appealing products. The constant innovation at Apple ensured they had improved versions of previously launched products, which were then marketed to promote users to have a portfolio of a integrity product.Apple took a bold step by moving to retail and having commercial stores for Apple products in a hope to attract non-Apple customers and retain the Apple fan base by providing elegant store designs and easy accessibility to their products. The intent was to generate foot traffic by luring shoppers and thereby increase rarity and popularity. A smart move was undertaken by introducing a genius bar for tech repair and support which was undertaken publicly, adding to the cool factor. Apple was able to create a buzz around its products by launching retail stores at prime location in upscale malls.RECOMMENDATIONSBecause Apple claims to build products that are for everyone, they should be priced so that they are affordable to everyone. With increase in the competition that Apple products are facing, they should make efforts to lower the cost without compromising the quality.Now that Apple has established itself as a brand and made a statement about its products, the new stores could be opened at other relatively cheaper yet, decent locations instead of high end malls or at expensive real estates.They could have an online virtual genius bar (video) that could help customers, especially those who arent good at communication in English, with the problems they had with devices.

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 31

Knowing he couldnt perform the ritual on an empty stomach, Stefan track down down several squirrels in Mrs. Flowerss puntyard, thusly returned to the boardinghouses store. Meredith had parked Mrs. Flowerss antique Ford bulge in the drive, and there was more than enough room to set up everything they needed for the banishment ritual. Stefan cocked his conduct at a skittering noise in the shadows and identified the fast-beating heart of a small-scale mouse. The atmosphere might not be a comfortable iodin, but the spaciousness of the room and its cement floor meant it would be an excel ent place to work the spel .Hand me the tape measure, please, Alaric said from his sprawled home in the middle of the garage floor. I need to get this line meet the even off length. Mrs. Flowers had dug up a box of multicolored methamphetamine from somewhere in the boardinghouse, and Alaric had the book propped open and was thorough y copying the circles, arcane symbols, parabolas, and el ips es from its pages onto the smooth cement.Stefan gave him the tool and watched as he measured careful y from the innermost circle to a rowing of strange runes near the outermost edge of his drawing. Its important that everything be precise, Alaric said, frowning and doublechecking the ends of the measuring tape. The smal est error could fart to us accidental y setting this thing loose in Fel s church building.But isnt it loose already? asked Stefan.No, Alaric explained. This ritual wil al ow the phantom to bug out in its corporeal form, which is far more dangerous than the insubstantial thing it is now. consequently youd better get this right, Stefan agreed grimly.If this al goes as planned, the phantom wil be trapped in the innermost circle, Alaric said, pointing. Wel be at the outermost edge, over there past the runes. We ought to be safe out there. He looked up and gave Stefan a rueful grin.I hope. Im afraid Ive never done any kind of summoning in real life earlier, although I ve read a lot or so it.Terrific, Stefan thought, but he returned Alarics smile without comment. The man was doing the best he could. Al they could do was hope it would be enough to save Elena and the others.Meredith and Mrs. Flowers entered the garage, each carrying a credit card shopping bag. Celia trailed behind them.Holy water, Meredith said, lifting a plant bedimer out of her bag to show him.It doesnt work on vampires, Stefan reminded her.Were not summoning a vampire, she replied, and went off to mist the outer spaces in the diagram, careful not to disturb the chalk lines.Alaric stood and started very cautiously hopping out of the huge multicolored diagram, clutching the book in one hand. I think were about ready, he said.Mrs. Flowers looked at Stefan. We need the others, she said. Everyone affected by the phantoms powers has to be here.Il help you carry them down, Alaric offered.Not necessary, Stefan told him, and headed upstairs alone. Standing by the grimace of the bed i n the little rose-andcream bedroom, he looked down at Elena, Matt, and Bonnie. None of them had moved since he had placed Matt there.He sighed and gathered Elena in his accouterments first. After a moment, he also picked up her pil ow and a blanket. At least he could try to make her comfortable.A few minutes later al three of the sleepers were lying in the front of the garage, wel outside the diagram, their heads supported by pil ows. instantly what? Stefan asked.Now we each choose a taper, Mrs. Flowers said, opening her malleable bag. One that you feel represents you in color. According to the book, they real y should be handdipped and special y scented, but this wil just defy to do. I wont pick one myself, Mrs. Flowers said, handing the bag to Stefan. The phantom hasnt focused its powers on me, and I dont remember being jealous of anyone since 1943.What happened in 1943? asked Meredith curiously.I lost the Little Miss Fel s Church crown to Nancy Sue Baker, Mrs. Flowers answer ed. When Meredith gaped at her, she threw her detention up in the air. Even I was a child once, you know. I was strikingly adorable, with Shirley Temple curls, and my mother exchangeable to dress me in fril s and show me off.Putting the astounding image of Mrs. Flowers in Shirley Temple curls out of his mind, Stefan poked through the assortment of candles and chose a dark coloured one. It securemed right to him somehow. We need candles for the others, too, he said. Careful y, he chose a golden one for Elena and a pink one for Bonnie.Are you just going by their hair colors? asked Meredith.Youre such a guy.You know these are the right colors for them, though,Stefan argued. Besides, Bonnies hair is red, not pink.Meredith nodded grudgingly. I guess youre right. White for Matt, though.Real y? Stefan asked. He didnt know what he would have chosen for Matt. American-flag patterned, maybe, if they had had it.Hes the purest person I know, Meredith said softly. Alaric raised an eyebrow at her and she elbowed him.Pure in spirit, I mean. What you see is what you get with Matt, and hes good and truehearted al the way through.I suppose so, said Stefan, and he watched without comment as Meredith chose a dark brown candle for herself.Alaric shuffled through the bag and picked a dark green candle, and Celia selected one of pale lavender. Mrs. Flowers took the bag with the remaining candles and st ashed it on a high shelf near the garage doors, between a bag of potting soil and what looked like an old-fashioned kerosene lantern.They al sit down on the garage floor in a semicircle, outside the diagram, facing toward the empty inner circle, holding their unlit candles. The sleepers lay behind them, and Meredith held Bonnies candle in her lap as wel as her own Stefan took Elenas, and Alaric Matts.Now we anoint them with our gillyflower, Alaric said. They al looked at him, and he shrugged defensively. Its what the book says.Meredith removed a smal pocketknife from her bag, cu t her finger, and quickly, matter-of-factly, smeared a stripe of blood from the top to the bottom of her brown candle, then passed the knife to Alaric along with a little bottle of disinfectant. One by one, the others fol owed her lead.This is real y unsanitary, Celia said, wincing, but she fol owed through.Stefan was very aware of the smel of human blood in such an enclosed space. Even though hed just fed, his canines prickled in an automatic response.Meredith picked up the candles and walked to their sleeping friends, crossing from one to the next and raising their hands to make a swift cut and wipe their blood against their candles. Not one of them even flinched. When she had finished, Meredith redistributed the sleepers candles and returned to her spot.Alaric began to read, in Latin, the first words of the spel . After a few sentences, he hesitated at a word and Stefan silently took the grimoire. Smoothly he picked up where Alaric had left off. The words flowed off his tongue, t he feel of the Latin on his lips reminding him of hours spent with his childhood tutor hundreds of years ago, and of a period when he lived in a monastery in England during the early days of his struggle with vampirism.When the time came, he snapped his fingers and, with a touch of Power, his candle lit itself. He handed it to Meredith, who dripped a little of the melted wax onto the garage floor at the edge of the diagram and stuck the candle there. One by one, at the appropriate points in the ritual, he lit a candle and she placed it, until there was a little row of multicolored candles bravely burning between them and the chalk outlines of the diagram.Stefan read on. Suddenly the pages of the book began to flutter. A cold, unnatural wind rose inside the closed garage, and the flames of the candles flickered wildly and then blew out. Two candles fel over. Merediths long hair whipped around her face.This isnt supposed to happen, Alaric shouted. But Stefan just squinted his eyes aga inst the gale and read on.The pitch-blackness and the unpleasant sensation of fal ing lasted for only a moment, and then Elena landed jarringly on both feet and staggered forward, clutching Matts and Bonnies hands.They were in a dim octagonal room lined with doors. A single piece of furniture sat in the center. Behind the lone desk lounged a tanned, delightful, amazingly muscular, bare-chested vampire with a long, spiraling mane of bronze hair fal ing past his shoulders.Instantly Elena knew where she was.Were here. She gasped. The GatehouseSage leaped to his feet on the other side of the desk, his face almost comical y surprised. Elena? he exclaimed.Bonnie? Matt? Whats going on? Quest-ce qui arrive?Usual y, Elena would have been sticking out(p) to see Sage, who had always been kind and helpful to her, but she had to get to Damon. She knew where he must be. She could almost hear him cal ing to her.She strode across the empty room with barely a glance at the startled gatekeeper, pul ing Matt and Bonnie along with her.Sorry, Sage, she said as she reached the door she wanted. Weve got to find Damon.Damon? he said. Hes back again? and then they passed through, ignoring Sages shouts of head ArretezvousThe door closed behind them, and they found themselves in a landscape of ash. Nothing grew here, and there were no landmarks. Harsh winds had blown the fine black ash into shifting hil s and val eys. As they watched, a strong gust caught at the light top layer of ash and sent it flying in a cloud that soon settled into new shapes. Below the lighter ash, they could see swamps of moisture, muddy ash. Nearby was an ash-choked pool of stil water. Nothing but ash and mud, except for an occasional scorched and blackened bit of wood.Above them was a twilit sky in which hung a huge planet and two great moons, one a swirling bluish white, the other silvery.Where are we? said Matt, gaping up at the sky.Once this was a world a moon, technical y that was shaded by a huge tr ee, Elena told him, walking steadily forward. Until I destroyed it. This is where Damon died.She felt rather than saw Matt and Bonnie exchange a glance. But, uh, then he came back, right? You saw him in Fel s Church the other night, didnt you? Matt said hesitantly. Why are we here now?I know that Damons close, Elena said impatiently. I can feel him. Hes come back here. Maybe this is where he began his search for the phantom. They kept walking. Soon they were not so much walking as walk through black ash that stuck to their legs in nasty thick clumps. The mud underneath the ash clung to their shoes, releasing them at each step with a wet sucking sound.They were almost there. She could feel it. Elena picked up the pace, and the others, stil linked to her, hurried to keep up. The ash was thicker and deeper here because they were approaching where the trunk had been, the very center of this world. Elena remembered it exploding, shooting up into the sky like a rocket, disintegrating as it went. Damons body had lain underneath and had been completely buried in the fal ing ash.Elena stopped. There was a thick, drifting pile of ash that looked like it would be at least as high as her waist in places. She thought she could see where Damon had awoken the ash was disturbed and caved in, as if someone had tunneled out of one of the deeper drifts. But there was no one around except themselves. A cold wind blew up a spray of ash, and Bonnie coughed. Elena, kneedeep in cold, sticky ash, dropped Bonnies hand and wrapped her arms around herself.Hes not here, she said blankly. I was so sure he would be here.He must be somewhere else, then, said Matt logical y.Im sure hes fighting the phantom, like you said he was going to. The Dark Dimensions a big place.Bonnie shivered and huddle together closer to Matt, her brown eyes huge and ful of pathos, like a hungry puppys. Can we go home now? Please? Sage can get down us back again, cant he?I just dont understand, Elena said, stari ng at the empty space where the great trunk of the tree had once been. I just knew he would be here. I could practical y hear him cal ing me.Just then a low, musical laugh cut through the silence. It was a beautiful sound, but there was something chil y and alien about it, something that made Elena shudder.Elena, Bonnie whispered, her eyes wide. Thats the thing I heard before the fog took me.They turned.Behind them stood a woman. A woman-shaped being, anyway, Elena amended quickly. This was no woman. And, like its laugh, this woman-shaped being was beautiful, but frightening. She it was huge, more than one and a half times the size of a human, but absolutely proportioned, and it looked like it was made of ice and mist in blues and greens like the purest glacier, its eyes were clear with just a touch of pale green. As they watched, its solid, icytranslucent hips and legs shifted and blurred, changing to a swirl of mist.A long wave of blue-green hair drifted behind it, its shape lik e a gradual y steamed cloud. It smiled at Elena, and its sharp teeth shone like silvery icicles. There was something in its chest, though, that wasnt ice, something solid and roundish and dark, dark red.Elena saw al of this in an instant before her attention was ful y riveted on what hung from the ice-woman-things outstretched hand.Damon. She gasped.The ice-woman was holding him casual y around the neck, ignoring his struggles as he dangled in the air. It held him so easily that he looked like a toy. The black-clad vampire swung out with his leg, kicking at the ice-womans side, but his foot simply passed through mist.Elena, Damon said in a choked, thin voice. The ice-woman the phantom cocked its head to one side and looked at Damon, then squeezed his neck a little tighter.I dont need to breathe, you idiot phantom, he gasped defiantly.The phantoms smile widened and it said in a sweet, cold voice, like crystals chiming together, But your head can pop off, cant it? Thatl do just as wel . It shook him a little, and then transferred its smile to Elena, Bonnie, and Matt. Elena instinctively stepped back as the glacier-cold eyes found her.Welcome, the phantom said to her in a tone of pleasure, as though they were old friends. Ive found you and your friends so refreshing, al your little jealousies. Each of you with your own special flavor of envy. Youve got an awful lot of problems, dont you? I havent felt so strong or so wel -nourished for mil ennia. Its face became thoughtful, and it began to tremble Damon gently up and down. He was making a guttural choking noise now, and tears of pain ran down his face.But you real y should have stayed where I put you, the phantom continued, its voice a little colder, and it swung Damon casual y in a great arc through the air. He wheezed and pul ed at its huge hand. Was it even true that he didnt need to breathe? Elena didnt know. Damon wasnt above lying about it if he had a reason, or even for no reason except to annoy his op ponent.Stop it Elena shouted.The phantom laughed again, genuinely amused. Go ahead and make me, little one. Its grip tightened around Damons throat and he shuddered. Then his eyes rol ed back until Elena could see only the ghastly, red-veined whites of his eyes, and he went limp.

Case Study: Online Bookings

The day is not vey far when the Indian travellers can criss-cross the globe with just a fewer clicks. Taking e-commerce and cultivation technology services a step further, the Indian trevel industry is composing itself to usher in the era of e-ticketing. On-line booking involves pursuing of available learning on travel websites and then making a rservation. However , if you are not the kind who prefers a particular airline, then you can check bring out travel sites, which collate flights details of all airlines, and are the apt place to book or bid for air tickets. Travel portals, such as , travelguru. com,arzoo. com,yatra. om,indiatimes. com,rediff. com,makemytrip. com,and cleartrip. com, would nominate you all details of flights along with their fares in an ascending order, i. e the lowest priced ticket is featured first,on web page. The number of consumers who book travel tickets online is growig,but a commute from offline environment to online environment creates cetain dou bts in the minds of consumers. Such doubts have been termed as perceived risks in literature. Also, the internet revolution has brought about significant changes in market transparency, be as the availability and accessibility of information to market participants.For example , air travellers can use online travel agencies to browse through hundreds of travel offers to their destination, compared to typically few offers from a traditional travel agent or airline prior to the internet era. Genarally, market transperency seems to benefit consumers because they are able to better discern the harvesting that best fits their needs at a better price. However, there still is a large percentage of population who get teir tickets booked through the traditional queing system. The advent of e-ticket booking over the past couple of years has led to the mushrooming of online travel agencies. hese online service providers have in fact come up with a wide variety of sevices for faster and more c onvenient mode of ticket booking.They offer a host of services bring forthing from booking something as telluric as a train or flight ticket to something as exotic as a holiday. They offer various packages which have the entire itenery for the proposed holiday. They make up offer a convenient pick-up and drop services. With such a range of services being offered at your fingertips, expectations are that more and more number of travellers would start using such easy, fast and

Floods in South Africa

2013 MASEGO MOCHOARI2008027750 GEO 234 flood IN SOUTH AFRICA THIS ASSIGNMENT GIVES AN OVERVIEW OF FLOODING AND ITS IMPACTS ON SOUTH AFRICA,THE ASSIGNMENT GIVES A drawing FORCUS OF FLOODING IN THE PROVINCE OF KWAZULU-NATALTABLE OF CONTENT PAGE 1 INTRODUCTION 2 2 DEFINING FLOODING 2 3 WHAT IS LA NINA 2 4 IMPACT OF FLOODS 2-3 5 MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO HANDLE FLOODING 3 6 HUMAN IMPACT ON FLOODING 3-4 7 CONCLUSION 4 8 REFERENCE LIST 5 9 1. 1 INTRODUCTION La Nina influenced fill up likewisek place in southeastward Africa on January 24 of 2011. Heavy rain caused the widespread inundate in siemens Africa. This heavy rainf both is common during La Nina summers in sulphur Africa. rainfall for the month of January had been reported to be nearly 10 times the average in parts of the country. Other countries besides South Africa had also been hit by heavy rain and La Nina was blamed for the flooding across Australia and the Philippines.More than 100 people lost their lives in fl oods that took place across South Africa. The majority of the deaths were in KwaZulu-Natal and damages were estimated at R300 million. By the end of January ,heavy rain had been widespread across the country and eight of South Africas nine provinces were decl ard cataclysm argonas by the South Afri skunk politics. This duty assignment takes a look at what flooding is all about,it explains what La Nina is and looks at the impact floods have. This assignment focuses on flooding in South Africa with particular focus on flooding in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Sub-headings have been used for easy navigation of the assignment. 1. 2 DEFINING FLOODINGFlooding from a hydrological sense abide be defined stricty as a rise,which is usually brief in the piss level of a water body ,this water body can be a river,dam and accumulated rainwater in a failed drainage system. ( study geographic) The term flood simply implies a progressive and abnormal increase in the elevation of surface level of a water body until it reaches a maximum height,at this point the water level will slowly drop covering fire to its normal level, at this point it is important to state that these actions that take place usually take place within a certain period of time,therefore floods are episodic events where water rises and then eventually drops back to its normal surface level.Another characteristic of flooding is that flooding may result in the overflowing of water onto areas which are not normally submerged in water. (national geographic) 1. 3 WHAT IS LA Nina La Nina conditions occur when Pacific trade winds blow stronger than usual, this pushes sun-warmed surface water get along west and increases the upwelling of cold water in eastern pieces. Together with the atmospheric effects of southern oscillation, cooler water brings drought to western South the States and heavy rains to south Africa ,eastern Australia and Indonesia. (national geographic) 1. 4 IMPACT OF FLOODS South Africa is a producer of corn, soybeans, and wheat.Farmers usually welcome wetter-than-normal conditions, However the heavy rains that took place were so harsh they modify places. In addition to the damaged crop,field harvesting was at a halt as the fields were saturated . (south African health review) Such conditions have a negative impact on south Africas economy,this is because as a result of the floods damaging crops a shortage would take place,this means that less exports of crop products took place,in addition to that crop product prices would also have to go up in attempt to cover the cost of damages that took place. In the opinion of this assignment,it seems that flooding as is a disaster that can be both natural or human action related,has the same effect on every soma of people ,it oes not choose nor hit poor areas or rich areas only . floods are spontaneous and will affect everyone that happens to be in the region of the flood . 1. 5 MEASURES PUT IN PLACE TO HANDLE FLOODING When w e come to the topic of handling flooding we need to introduce the concept of disaster centering. a disaster can be caused by human or nature,they are events that are sometimes unpredictable,it is therefore essential for government activitys to manage all disatsers that occure. for this reason,distaster management planning should be a key point of any government. Disaster management aims to reduce the occurrence of disasters and to reduce the impact of those that cannot be prevented . he government white paper and act on disaster management define the roles of local authorities as well as barbarian and notional government in disaster management. (government Gazzet) In accordance with the white paper and act on disaster management,every municipality should have a disaster management plan as part of their integrated development plan. having plans is place helps reduce the damage potential of disasters and in some cases results in the prevention of a disaster. (disaster management ac t) Protection service departments ,which deal with traffic policing, fire brigades and law enforcement should always be on high alert when disasters strike,this implies that they should always be on stand-by. disaster management act) When disasters much(prenominal) as flooding occur and exceeds the capacity of a local authoritydistrict ,provincial or national parties should be notified. this means that any situation that is too lanrge for a local authority to handle should be reported. by doing this ,doors become open for parties such as volunteer organisations such as the Red cross,St Johns and national Sea rescue to give help where needed. (disaster management act) In summary,disaster management activities ,include the co-ordination of disaster response agents,a compilation and exercising of plans and disaster management education and training. When all the above mentioned are put into action priggishly,it becomes an effective way to handle disasters such as flooding. 1. 6 HUMAN IMPACT ON FLOODINGAs stated preceding in this assignment,disasters do not only occur natural ,human impact or behaviour can also cause a disaster ,this assignment is of the opinion that the following points which focus on human activities and actions that can cause flooding are the main human reasons why floods can occur * The warp of all water to rivers through drainage systems can cause rivers to overflow. this is because water is transported at a faster rate through drainage systems than it would if the water flowed naturally. * Cities and towns are man-made,they have a lot of buildings ,tarred roads and concrete pavements. this limits the amount of water that can be soaked and absorbed into the ground. Humans cut down forests as a result loose soils run into the river,this causes a rising of the river bed,when this happens the chances of flooding increases as the carrying capacity of the river is decreased. * Architects and urban planners tend to straighten rivers in an attem pt to conquer flooding,However as the river no longer meander, further down the stream water suddenly slows down and this causes flooding 1. 7 CONCLUSION in conclusion,it is clear that flooding is a serious disaster that can cause both economic and structural damage. flooding in the KwaZulu-Natal province left farmers with damaged crops and also took the lives of more south Africans.It is also evident that if disaster management plans are put in place,the effects of flooding can be decreased especially if proper planning is done in reference to human causes of flooding. This assignment ,with all the above information given thought,concludes that in the case of KwaZulu-Natal and human impact on flooding,floods could have been avoided or at the very least the impacts thereof could have been lessened. REFERENCE LIST Cape Metropolitan Council Public Safety Advisories. frequently asked questions on disaster management. South African health review,2000. Chapter 24-disaster management. O nlinetwenty-seventh March 2013 http//www. etu. org. a/toolbox/docs/government/disaster. html Government Gazzet. vol 403 ,No 19676,15 January 1999,white paper on disaster management,Ministry for provincial affairs and constitutional development,January 1999. Act 156(1) of the constitution Online 27th March 2013 httpwww. ndmc. gov. za/portals/0//webdocuments/guidelines/DM/1_2_3. htm Government Gazzet. vol 451,No 24252,15 January 2002,Disaster Management Act. Cape Town. Act 57 of the constitution Online27th March 2013 httpwww. ndmc. gov. za/portals/0//webdocuments/guidelines/DM/1_2_3. htm National Georaphic. Online27th March 2013 http/environment,nationalgeographic. com/environment/natural-disaster/floods-profile/

Love and Friendship Essay

Aristotle once said, knowledge is a single soul dwelling in two bodies. As everyone knows, it is one of the important things in our lives. It is the only ship that doesnt sink even without the captain or the crew. Love and affection must maintain its equilibrium some otherwise, that friendship cant be possible. Friendship is a gift by God it is the beginning of love and care and it should be cherished by every individual. Did you ever induce life without it?Like your family, a friend is your number one supporter and maybe a favorer of a cause. A friend can be the best of all or your worst enemy. They can be your annoying sister who teases you, laugh at you and make fun of you or your loving mother who moots you advice, force you and protect you. Friendship is between you and your friends and it depends on how you treat them and how they treat you back. If you havent learned the subject matter of friendship, you really havent learned anything.For me, a friends argument hurts mo re than a broken partners relationship. A broken trust cannot easily rearrange your relationship with your friends. Its like a crumpled paper, you can use it again but its appearance will be unpleasant. You can never straighten the wrinkles on the paper unless you replace it with a new one. Friendship is create on trust and it should be until the end of time.There are dish ups of get aheads your friend can give you. First, they can be your light in the dark you should never pay heedk them because if theyre true, they will always be there for you. Next, they can be your shield to protect you and your strength to boost your confidence. Lastly, they can be your partner in crime. They can help you in times of need, they can give you a lot of advice, they can lift you up when youre down etc. If life goes wrong, dont worry, they wont turn their back against you.As Plato said, Friends have all things in common. They teach us how to be strong in facing reality and how to fight for wha t we believe. This is one of the proofs why God created people with other people. People cant leave without friends because a friend teaches everything and they dont just benefit us, they benefit all. Youll experience great and strange adventures if you have them and youll learn a lot because of them. Come see the world behind your wall with me my friend.

Report on Sir Isaac Newton Essay

Sir Isaac due north was an English mathematician and physicist. He was considered one of the great scientists in history. normality was also the culminating figure in the scientific revolution of the 17th century. normality was best cognize for his discovery that the force called gravity affects all objects in space and on earth..Isaac north was born on December 25, 1642, in the hamlet of Wollsthorpe, Lincolnshire (R.S.W. 17) His Father died only three months before he was born (Sir Isaac newton 1). When he was three years old Isaacs mother, Hanna, placed him with his grandmother so that she could remarry a man named Barnabas Smith, a wealthy man from North Witham (Dr. Robert A. shroud 1).When his mother returned to Woolsthorpe in 1653, Newton was cloistered from school to fulfill his birthright as a farmer. Newton failed at farming, and returned to Kings check at Grantham to prepare for entrance to Trinity College, Cambridge. A turning point in Newtons life was when he lef t Woolsthorpe for Cambridge University in June of 1661 (Dr. Robert A. Hatch 1).Although Cambridge was a marvelous center of learning, the spirit of the scientific revolution had yet to enter its curriculum. In 1665 Isaac Newton took his bachelors degree at Cambridge without honors or distinction (Dr. Robert A. Hatch 2). In 1665 the university was closed because of the plague. At this time Newton returned to Woolsthorpe. There, in the following 18 months, he began revolutionary advances in mathematics, optics, physics, and astronomy (J. A. Schuster 1).During the plague years, Isaac Newton laid the foundation for elementary diverseial coefficient and integral Calculus. He invented the method of fluxions which was based on his crucial insight that finding the area chthonian its curve is the inverse procedure to finding the slope of the curve at any point (J. A. Schuster 1). in addition during the plague years he made remarkable discoveries in optics. He had reached the conclusion t hat white out of work is not a simple, homogeneous entity. He proved this by passing a thin spread of sun promiscuous through a glass prism which created a spectrum of colors on the wall opposite. Isaac argued that white light is a mixture of many different typesof rays, that the different types of rays are refracted at slightly different angles, and that each type of ray is responsible for producing a given color (J. A. Schuster 2).Newtons greatest work was in physics and celestial mechanics. In 1666, Newton had formulated early visions of his three laws of doubtfulness (J.A. Schuster 3). Also during these years he examined the elements of circular motion and, applying his analysis to the moon and the planets, found the inverse feather relation that the radially directed force acting on a planet decreases with the square of its hold from the sun. This was later crucial to the law of universal gravitation (Sir Isaac Newton 3).When the University of Cambridge reopened after the plague in 1667, Newton put himself forward as a candidate for a fellowship (Sir Isaac Newton 3). He was select to a minor fellowship at Trinity College but, after being awarded his Masters Degree, he was elected to a senior fellowship in 1668. Before he had reached his 27th birthday, he succeeded Isaac wheelbarrow as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (Dr. Robert A. Hatch 2).In 1672, shortly after his election to the Royal Society, he communicated his first public newspaper, a controversial study on the nature of color (Sir Isaac Newton 4). The paper was generally well received but Hooke and Huygens objected to Newtons attempt to prove, by experiment alone, that light consists of the motion of small particles rather than waves. Although his hypotheses was not convincing, his ideas about scientific method won universal admit along with his corpuscular theory. These reigned until the wave theory was revived in the early 19th century (Newton, Sir Isaac 2).Newtons relations with Hoo ke soured. Newton withdrew from public discussion for about a decade. After 1675, he commit himself to chemical and alchemical researches. He postponed the publication of a full account of his optical researches until after the devastation of Hooke in 1703. Newtons Opticks appeared in 1704. Newtons Opticks dealt with the theory of light and color and with Newtons investigations of the colors of thin sheets. It also contained Newtons Rings and the phenomenon of diffraction of light(Newton, Sir Isaac 2).In 1689, Newton was elected to represent Cambridge in Parliament. During his stay in London he became acquainted with John Locke, the famed philosopher, and Nicolas Fatio de Duillier, a brilliant young mathematician who became a friend. In 1693, however, Newton suffered a severe nervous disorderliness (Dr. Robert A Hatch 4). There are many interpretations to the cause of this disorder. Some of these interpretations include overworked, the stress of controversy, and mayhap mercury p oisoning the result of nearly three decades of alchemical research. After his recovery Newton sought-after(a) a new position in London. In 1696 Newton was appointed Warden and then Master of the softwood (Dr. Robert A. Hatch 4).In 1703, Newton was elected president of the Royal Society and was annually reelected until his devastation (Dr. Robert A. Hatch 5). In 1705 Isaac Newton was knighted (Margret C. Jacob 390). His time as president has been described as cruel, and his control over the lives and careers of younger disciples was all but absolute.Newton could not stand for contradiction or controversy his quarrels with Hooke provided a iodine example. Later disputes, as president of the Royal Society, Newton used all the forces he could muster. An example of this is when he published Flamsteeds astronomical observations without the authors permission. In the end, the actions of the Society were extensions of Newtons will. Until his death Newton dominated the landscape of scien ce without rival (Dr. Robert A. Hatch 5). Issac Newton died in London on March 20, 1727 (R.S.W. 20).In conclusion, Sir Issac Newton was one of the greatest scientists in history. Newton was also the culminating figure in the scientific revolution of the 17th century. Many of his theories have become foundations for many areas of science.

Irac Case Brief State V. Mcneely

suppose v. McNeely 358 S. W. 3d 65 MO. (2012) Facts The suspect was halt by a atomic number 42 state highway patrolman for speeding and during this stop the state trooper observe that the defendant was displaying all the tell-tale signs of being intoxicated someoneal credit line shot eyes, slurred speech, and the smell of alcoholic drink on his breath. This stop then changed from being a speeding stop to a DWI investigation. The trooper had the defendant let out of his truck and perform standard field sobriety runnings.The defendant did poorly on the test so the trooper arrested him for driving while intoxicated then, he asked him to take a breathalyzer which the defendant refused. The trooper then drove the defendant to the hospital to obtain a blood test to operate its alcohol content level. Once at the hospital the defendant refused the blood test but the trooper demanded it be done anyway, without securing a physiognomy, based on what he believed was a recent change i n the law since time is critical to blood-alcohol content levels.The blood sample was analyzed and the defendants blood alcohol content was soundly over the legal limit. The trooper believed at the time that officers no long-dated needed to obtain warrants for nonconsensual blood test, due to a change in Missouris implied hope laws FN2. This belief was based on an article written by a traffic sentry go alternative prosecutor. The defendant moved to suppress the results of the blood alcohol test as evidence, citing that the blood draw was a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights against senseless searches and seizures.The trial court sustained the motion. The Circuit motor lodge, Cape Girardeau County and state appealed. Issues Did the State cavalryman violate the defendants Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizures with the warrantless blood draw? Is the natural profligacy of blood-alcohol evidence alone a sufficient necessity to dispense with the wa rrant requirement under the stern amendment? Rule The Fourth amendment to the United States Constitution ensures the right of people to be secure in their personagainst unreasonable searches and eizures. This includes not only a persons dwelling but also includes the impingement of a persons body when no emergency exists. The United States Supreme Court has continually stated that any searches conducted outside the judicial process, without prior approval by a magistrate are per se unreasonable under the fourth amendment subject only to a few specifically established and well delineated exceptions. The limited exceptions to drawing a persons blood without consent would rest on special facts where the officer reasonably believed there was probable cause that incriminating evidence would be anchor and that if the time needed to obtain a warrant would endanger life, allow a suspect to escape, or they were faced with an emergency situation where delaying to get a warrant would lead t o destruction of evidence. AnalysisThe testimony of the Trooper is that the defendant was under arrest for DWI after showing obvious signs of being intoxicated and then failing the field sobriety test when he refused the breathalyzer and blood test. The trooper, who has had over 17 years of check in obtaining warrants for blood draws, believes that taking the defendant to the hospital for a blood test against his will, without a warrant, is reassert because of an article recently published stating that the law had been changed.The article was written by a traffic safety resource prosecutor and was published in Traffic Safety News referred to a Supreme Court case where a limited exception to the warrant requirement for taking nonconsensual blood samples in alcohol related arrests was allowed for special facts, that an officer would be faced with an emergency situation where delaying to obtain a warrant would threaten destruction of the evidence.The trooper in this case was not fac ed with special facts because there was no accident to investigate and there was no medical attention needed to anyone so there was no delay that would threaten the destruction of the evidence. There is also no evidence that the trooper would not train been able to obtain a warrant if he had attempted to do so.No case in Missouri supports a per se rule that the natural dissipation of blood-alcohol is alone sufficient to constitute exigent consideration that would permit officers in every DWI case to take blood from a suspect without consent or a search warrant. Conclusion The defendants Fourth amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches of his person was violated. The trial courts judgment to suppress is affirmed. The case is remanded.

Compareison/ Han China an Roman Empire Essay

imperium AND CULTURAL IDENTITYPATTERNS OF IMPERIAL EXPANSIONArising extinct of pre-existing territorial kingdoms, the ro earth print and Han conglomerates marked a different get over and quality of empire building. With a tribe of over 50 million people and up to 4 million square miles under its control condition, the Han conglomerate had colossal resources on which to draw. The popish Empire governed equ eithery vast shoot and territories, yet the two empires had pick patterns of development. The Chinese envisaged imperial culture as an ideal from the past to be emulated by the civilian magistrates and bureaucrats who managed the state. The popishs, in contrast, transformedthrough experimentation and innovationsfrom a city-state ruled consumeively by citizens into ane-man imperial rule. And twain empires became principal models for successor states.The Qin DynastyKing Zheng of Qin claimed the mandate of heaven and risky a central state removed more correctly than that of the Zhou dynasty. He forced the families of thwarted states to move to his capital at Xianyang so he could ensure that they were not gathering armies against him. And he took the title Shi HuangdiFirst August Emperor.ADMINISTRATION AND visualiseZheng divided China into thirty-six provinces (or commanderies) and each province into counties. Each commandery had a civilian and troops governor, both of whom answered to an inspector general. Regional and local formals answered directly to the emperor butterfly, and they could be removed at the emperors discretion. Civilian governors rotated offices to pr heretoforet them from building an independent antecedent base. every manlikes were registered by clerks, providing lists for conscription and taxation. All able-bodied men were judge to serve in the soldiers and provide labor for reality works. The Qin took control over education and learning. Censorship of books was strongly enforced, and books in private residences c onfiscated and burned.Teachers were forbidden from using out rectitudeed books. A modern standard written script was created to facilitate communication. Standard weights and measures and currency were besides established. An idea of sumptuous unity emerged as the Qin began to evoke the boundaries of China. The Qin chief minister Li Si subscribed to the principles of Legalism and established exacting laws and punishments in order to provide kindly stableness and order. The Qin too established a path network connecting the Qin capital to all parts of the empire.ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL CHANGESBuilding on trends in bring dow right offnership that began during the contendring States period, the Qin dynasty champi whizd exonerate farmers who could be individually taxed by the state. By supporting farming(a) production, the state could expand its tax revenues. As agriculture shifted from self-sufficient royal manors to farmers producing goods for the marketplace, stateowners be gan to use contracts and money to strike bargains with laborers and with each other. The practice of farmers and traders using contracts was plan of attack to replace the tradition of ties of blood dominating public and privateaffairs. A class of merchants grew as trunk call trade expanded, aided by the new roadstead and canals built by the Qin dynasty. The Qin state, however, believed trade produced nothing of tenacious value and encouraged the production of crops over trade.NOMADS AND THE QIN ALONG THE NORTHERN FRONTIERAs the Qin dynasty sought to extend its borders to the north and west, it encountered the fluid Xiongnu who traversed a gargantuan zone of the inside(a) Eurasian steppe. The Xiongnu sought to protect their pasturelands from the Qin and also engaged in trade and prudence with them. In order to insure the Xiongnu pasturelands for settlement, the Qin established a road and a massive defensive wall along the Yankee border and settled 30,000 colonists in the ste ppe lands of Inner Asia. In response, the Xiongnu formed a loose confederation among the steppe tribes and reconquered their lands when the Qin fell in 207 BCE. This pattern of trade and diplomacy punctuated by armed hostility persisted for centuries.THE QIN DEBACLEQin rule collapsed quickly. Heavy tax and labor requirements resulted in mutinies from conscripted laborers, who were fall in by local military leaders, influential merchants, and others. When Qin rule collapsed in 207 BCE, civil war erupted in which an unannounced normaler, Liu Bang, declared himself the prince of his home region of Han and in 202 BCE declared himself the first Han emperor. Liu Bang turned to Confucian scholars to unfreeze his ascendancy by depicting the Qin as cruel, immoral despots. Yet the Han adopted much of the Qin bureaucratic brass and penal codes while affirming the Confucian idea of the moral and cultural initiations of state power.The Han DynastyThe Han dynasty became Chinas shaping empire , extending Han rule in all directions. The Han relied on conscripted labor and state revenues from state lands, along with a land tax. The western Han dynasty (206 BCE9 CE)was marked by economic prosperity and expansion of the empire. After a usurper seized power from 9 to 23 CE, the Han claimed authority and the eastern Han dynasty lasted from 25 to 220 CE.FOUNDATIONS OF HAN POWERThe Han Empire was distinguished by a tight-knit alliance amid the imperial family and the new elitethe scholar-gentry classwho united in their effort to impose order on Chinese society. Economic and societal supports, as advantageously as a strong military and bureaucratic administration, contributed to the strength, expanse, and longevity of the Han Empire.Power and Administration In order to secure support, Liu Bang provided land grants to his military supporters and relatives who had helped to overthrow the Qin. Power emanated from the ruling family, whose kin were made nobles and given land over which they had direct power. Governors who administered the commanderies remained under central control, and a grand counselor headed the civil bureaucracy worn from the educated men representing powerful local communities. At the outset of the Han dynasty, the central government refrained from interfering with regional communities.Thus, the emperor and his family and court represented a strong, centralized monarchy, but practical considerations always restrained the conventions power. The Han-centralized bureaucracy became an enduring source of state power. The Han court soon tightened its control over regional administration and removed powerful princes or regional lords. Regional officials came to govern these aristocratic enclaves as commanderies of the empire. A civilian official and military commandant administered each commandery, each with immense responsibilities. They were accountable for political stability and the collection of taxes. The state established schools to p romote the scholar-official ideal, and eventually established a university with over 30,000 members who studied not only the Confucian classics but numerous aspects of the cancel world.Officials selected students on the basis of recommendations, and at graduation these boyish men began careers in the bureaucracy. Increasingly, local elites encouraged their sons to become masters of Confucianism as a means to defer and advance in the ruling class.The Confucian classics soon became the heart of the autocratic state. Over time, a bureaucratic political culture emerged that balanced the interests of the authoritarian emperor with the officials he needed to rulea partnership between Chinas rulers and its educated and economic elites.Confucian Ideology and Legitimate Rule The Han employ Confucian thought as the primary ideological buttress of the empire, in which the welfare of the people was the foundation of legitimate rule. non only were local elites expected to be supported, but the people were also expected to be civilized. By 100 BCE, the Confucian ideals of honor, tradition, respecting the lessons of history, and emphasizing the emperors responsibility to heaven became the official doctrine of the empire. By embracing Confucian political ideas, the Han established a polity that created a metric balance between the emperor and his officials and empowered officials to criticize bad government and even to impeach foil leaders.THE NEW SOCIAL ORDER AND THE ECONOMYThe genius of the Han was their ability to win support of diverse societal groups by forming alliances with key leaders. A massive realm(prenominal) base provided the Han with tax revenues, as did a transition of special revenue sources, much(prenominal) as tribute from outlying domains. The state also promoted growth in silk and iron production and established state monopolies in salt, iron, and wine to fund military campaigns. Government monopolies cut of meat the independence of merchants, forcing them to become partners with the rulers.Daily Life Wealthy families lived in lavish homes with women cloistered in midland quarters. Women from less wealthy backgrounds worked the handles or joined troops of entertainers. Silk was abundant and worn by members of all classes, and the rich exposed their wealth by the fashion of their meals. Music and entertainment became divorced from ritual occasions, although funerary rites were taken very seriously.Social Hierarchy At the base of Han society was a free peasantry who haveand worked their own land. Peasants were honored for their productivity while merchants were subjected to a range of controls. Poor tenant farmers and hired laborers eked out an existence, and at the bottom of society resided convicts and slaves, who represented a small percentage of the population. Confucians and Daoists supported this hierarchy. The empires some loyal social group was the scholar-officials, who linked the imperial center with local so ciety. By 99 BCE, local uprisings forced the Han to relax its efforts to control local lords, and landlords and local magnates became the dominant powers in the provinces. Disenfranchised agrarian groups turned to religious organizations to provide the organizational framework for dissent and revolt.Religion and Omens Under the Han emperor Wu, Confucianism behind took on religious overtones with Confucius possessing aspects of divinity. Religion linked scholars and officials to the peasantry. A cluster of calamities or celestial omens was taken as a sign that the emperor had lost the mandate of heaven.EXPANSION OF THE EMPIRE AND THE SILK ROADThe Han created a powerful army that expanded the borders of the empire and created stable conditions for the transit of goods over the Silk alley. Emperor Wu made military table service compulsory. Conscripts served in their local areas. The standing army totaled more than one million men. Roman field armies, in contrast, rarely exceeded 30, 000 men.Expanding Borders The army expanded borders in all directions, including into northern Vietnam and Korea but struggled more in the south and southwest due to mountainous terrain and malaria.The Xiongnu, the Yuezhi, and the Han Dynasty The most serious military threat to the Han came from the nomadic peoples to the north, especially the Xiongnu. Emperor Wu launched offensive campaigns against the Xiongnu, eventually splitting the Xiongnu tribes in half. The southern tribes surrendered to the Han, while the northern tribes moved westward.The Chinese Peace Trade, Oases, and the Silk Road After the defeat of the Xiongnu, a Pax Sinica ensued that allowed a period of extended quietness and prosperity. Long-distance trade flourished, and the Han enjoyed tribute from peoples far outside the Han territory. The Xiongnu even began to serve as middlemen in the Silk Road trade. Wu extended the northern defensive wall and established a series of garrison cities. Military and farming sett lements began to develop this area with support from the government. A similar system of oases was developed on the rim of the Taklamakan Desert. Traders could now find provender and fodder along this route, which soon became part of the Silk Road.SOCIAL CONVULSIONS AND THE USURPERThe vast Han army stretched over long distances requiring huge expenditures. Emperor Wu raised taxes, which strained the small landholders and peasants, but by the number 1 of the first carbon CE the Chinese empire was financially drained. Economic decline ensued as natural disasters led to crop failures. Many free peasants fell into debt and were forced to sell their land to large landholders. The social fabric of Han society tore apart as fast-growing populations confronted land shortages. Rebel movements soon formed. Wang Mang, a Han minister, seized the throne, believing the Han had lost the mandate of heaven. Wang Mang enacted reforms to help the poor and sought to redistribute land equitably. He i ncrease taxes on artisans, hunters, and silk weavers to collapse for a storehouse system to alleviate grain shortages, but his reforms failed.NATURAL mishap AND REBELLIONWang Mangs reign was quickly undermined by a violent upheaval that united peasants and large landholders against central authority. In 11 CE, the Yellow River broke its dikes and switched course to the south. The entire region was plunged into famine and banditry, alter nearly half of Chinas population. Wang Mangs regime was unable to cope with the disaster. Daoist clerics led a march on Wangs capital, and by 23 CE, they hadoverthrown Wang Mang. The Han returned to the throne and repudiated Wang Mangs reformist policies as well as adopting a conservative ethos favoring hereditary privilege.THE LATER HAN DYNASTYThe Later Han dynasty restored Han rule by accepting social, political, and economic inequalities. These problems slowly diluted the central power of the emperor and the court into the hands of keen aristo cratic families who obtained even more private property and turned free peasants into tenants. Social turmoil emerged as inequality grew, and complete rebellion erupted in 184 CE. Popular religious groups championed new ideas among commoners and elites, and Daoist ideas gained popularity. At this propitious moment, Buddhist clerics arrived in northern China preaching a new religion of personal enlightenment for the elite and millennial salvation for the masses, and their ideas were warmly welcomed.Yet Daoism offered the greatest challenge to the Han dynasty as Daoist masters challenged Confucian ritual conformity. Religious groups such as the Yellow Turbans emerged across the empire and championed Daoist millenarian movements. As agricultural conditions further deteriorated, people refused to pay their taxes or provide forced labor, and internal wars engulfed the Han dynasty. After the 180s CE, three competing states replaced the Han.The Roman EmpireWhereas the Han dominated an c onsiderable continental landmass, the Romans dominated the lands along the worlds largest inland sea, the Mediterranean. through almost unrelenting wars, the Romans forged an unparalleled number of ethnic groups and minor states into a single large political state.FOUNDATIONS OF THE ROMAN EMPIREThe Romans had no great imperial ancestors from which they drew imperial models. Up until 350 BCE, capital of Italy was one of several city-states on the Italian peninsula, but then it entered a period of military and territorialexpansion. Within a coke it controlled most of the Italian peninsula, due largely to the migration of foreign peoples and to Roman military and political innovations.Population Movements The usurpation of Gallic peoples into the Italian peninsula in the late fifth and early fourth centuries BCE undermined the dominance of the Etruscans in that region. art object the Gauls were repulsed, the Etruscans never reestablished their dominance over the other peoples in It aly, including the Romans.Military Institutions and the War Ethos The Romans created unassailable military power by organizing the communities they conquered in Italy into a system that provided huge reservoirs of manpower for the army. Beginning in 340 BCE, Rome defeated its fellow Latin city-states and then continued on to defeat other communities in Italy. Rome demanded that defeated communities provide men for the Roman army every year. Thus, the Roman army grew as its victories accumulated. By 265 BCE, Rome controlled the entire Italian peninsula and launched a series of three wars against Carthage. Through these Punic Wars, Rome established a dominant position in the western Mediterranean.Most dramatically, the Roman defeat of Hannibal during the Second Punic War demonstrated that the resources in terms of manpower and material that the Roman army could draw upon were of a qualitatively different character than those of a city-state such as Carthage. Such resources provided th e Romans a decisive advantage. The Romans also created a war ethos in which honor precluded Roman soldiers from ever accepting defeat, pushing themselves into battle again and again. Roman soldiers also faced fierce discipline in which minor infractions were punishable by death.The Romans drafted and trained a large number of menat its peak about 10 percent of the adult male population was drafted into military service. By 146 BCE the Romans had a monopoly of power over the entire Mediterranean basin. Military supremacy for generals brought not only glory and territory for the state but enormous personal rewards. custody of great talent and ambition were displace into military serviceand vast numbers died in Roman wars. semipolitical Institutions and Internal Conflict Once the rush of military success slowed in the second century BCE, social and political problems in the Italian peninsula began to surface. The political institutions of the Roman city-state were now inadequate to manage a vast empire. Romes elite seized the wealth flowing into Rome from its empire and acquired huge tracts of land and trade slaves to work them. Poorer, free- citizen farmers were driven off their lands and into the cities, which resulted in a severe agrarian crisis. The Gracchus brothers, who served as tribunes to protect the interests of the common people, sought to institute land reforms but were assassinated. Poor Roman citizens increasingly looked toward army commanders to provide them with land and a decent income. Thus, generals became increasingly powerful political figures who ignored the state institutions and traditional rules of politics. In 90 BCE, a long series of civil wars began.EMPERORS, AUTHORITARIAN RULE, AND ADMINISTRATIONAfter a half century of brutal civil war, Roman leaders sought to establish political stability, but such stability came at a price one-man authoritarian rule. Peace depended on the power of one man who possessed sufficient authority to en force orderly competition among the Roman aristocracy. Julius Caesars adopted son Octavian reunited the fractured empire and emerged as its undisputed master by 30 BCE. He assumed the name Augustus (the revere One) and concentrated authority in his hands. The emperors were often cultivated as semidivine, yet they were careful to present themselves as civil rulers whose power depended on the consent of Roman citizens and the power of the army.Some emperors, such as Caligula, acted in the arbitrary ways that Romans associated with tyrannical kings. The position of emperor was fraught with difficulty, as fifteen of the twenty-two emperors between Augustus and the beginning of the third century died by murder or suicide. Emperors ruled with the help of several institutions, most importantly the army. Augustus transformed the army into a professional force. One joined for life and swore allegiance to the emperor and his family. The empire was divided into forty provinces, each headed b y a governor appointed by the emperor. Governors depended onlower-ranking officials to aid them. Compared to the Chinese bureaucracy, the Roman Empire was relatively underadministered. Governors were expected to have got peace and collect taxes.TOWN AND CITY LIFEThe emperor had to count on the local elites of the empire to see him as a presence that guaranteed stability and their personal well-being.Municipalities The townspeoples in the empire provided the backbone of local administration. Roman town centers were dominated by an open-air forum around which were arranged the towns main public buildings. In smaller towns, sanitation and health appear to have been reasonably good.Rome Rome, however, had over one million inhabitants. While aqueducts provided fresh water and basic food supplies were guaranteed, living conditions were appalling. Housing was dangerous and cramped, and criminal offense and violence was rampant. The lack of sanitation led to a disease-ridden environment t hat killed off many inhabitants as new immigrants arrived.Mass Entertainment Every significant Roman town had a theater and an amphitheater, the most storied of which was the Colosseum in Rome. The Colosseum was a state-of-the-art entertainment facility, used most infamously for gladiatorial games in which well-trained men fought, sometimes to the death, for the enjoyment of huge crowds. The creation of public entertainments stresses the importance public citizens had in Roman life. Han Chinese elites, in contrast, created large palace complexes to impress and amuse themselves, not the general public.SOCIAL AND GENDER RELATIONSMen and women of wealth in the Roman Empire acted as patrons to clients of the lower classes. The wealthy made generous distributions of food and entertainment. These relationships were formalized in licit definitions of responsibilities of patrons to clients. The essence of Roman society,however, was the presence of formal relationships governed by Roman la ws and courts. The legal code featured not only a rich body of written laws but also institutions for settling legal disputes and educated men who specialized in interpreting the law.The apparatus of Roman law appeared in every town and city of the empire, and its influence long outlived the empire itself. The civil laws placed the family at the foundation of the Roman social order. The paterfamilias headed the family and had near total power over his dependents, yet compared to the women in the Greek city-states, Roman women had much greater freedom and control over their own wealth and property. They frequently entered into contracts and conducted business and personal transactions.ECONOMY AND NEW SCALES OF PRODUCTIONRome achieved a staggering transformation of scale in the production of agricultural, manufactured, and mined goods in the Mediterranean basin. The Romans also built an unprecedented number of roads and drew up complex land maps on which all major roads and the distan ces between towns were specified. They also coordinated the road network with sea routes to support the flow of commerce. Coinage was produced in massive quantities to facilitate the exchange of commodities and services. Large-scale commercial plantation agriculture emerged on estates called latifundia. Specializing in cash crops for urban markets, these estates compulsory large numbers of slave laborers. These economic developments were supported by a firm belief in private property, which was codified into Roman law.RELIGIOUS CULTS AND THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITYThe political unification of the Mediterranean under one empire suggested that the beliefs of the people might also be unified. The municipal charters of towns required town councilors to institute and maintain the support of a wide variety of official and semiofficial religious cults. Christianity emerged from a direct clash and dialogue with Roman imperial authority. Jesus was tried by a Roman governor and penalise by th e standard Roman penalty of crucifixion. Disciples of Jesus attempted to write abouthis life and spirit his sayings in four books that came to be called the Gospels, explaining that Jesus had been divine. Jesus preachings were deeply Jewish, with Jesus as the shepherd of his people.Through the textual portrait of Jesus drawn in the Gospels and the preaching of a Jewish Roman citizen named Paul, the image of Jesus as divine began to spread through the Mediterranean. Followers formed a church in which death was the hallmark of faith the death and resurrection of Jesus and their own deaths as witnesses and martyrs to God. The persecution of Christians remained sporadic and local. Not until the middle of the third century CE was a formal, empire-wide attack on Christianity directed by the state. By the late third century, Christian communities reflecting different strands of the movement were present throughout the empire.THE LIMITS OF EMPIREThe Romans extended their empire to its eco logical limits to the west (the Atlantic Ocean) and the south (the Sahara Desert). To the east, the Romans were prevented from expanding beyond the Mediterranean periphery by the empire of the Parthians and their successors the Sasanians. The nomadic Parthians and Sasanians had a decisive advantage on the arid plains of Iran and Iraq against the cumbersome Roman infantry. In the lands to the north, the illiterate kin-based agricultural societies were led by warrior elites. Their relationships with the Romans were characterized by war and violence. The only commodity that these societies produced that was in demand in the Roman world was slaves, and the slave trade out of this region was immense. The Romans became enmeshed with these northern tribal societies, and the tribal societies were drawn into internal conflicts among the Roman elite.