Life as we know it essays

Life as we know it essays Gordon Parks was born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1912, the youngest of sixteen children. Before making it as a successful photographer he went through many tough times. As his mother told him before her death. Make a man of yourself up there. Put something in to it, and youll get something out of it (Gibney). The weapons Parks used to get through life were poetry, music, and photography. Those were the weapons I used to fight racism, bigotry, and poverty in America. My advice to young people, especially Black people, is to not let the enemy use you (Gibney). As an aspiring artist he supported himself by working as a piano player, busboy, basketball player and Civilian Conservation Corpsman. He attended St. Paul Central High School working towards a diploma he never received. It was being a bus boy at the Lowry Hotel that exposed him to powerful people and new ideas. The Lowry Hotel was where influential band leaders of the time heard Parks compositions, and later performed them for lon ger audiences. At the age of twenty-five, he began to seriously consider a career in the direction of photography. Gordon Parks often created works of art centered around real life things due to how he grew up and what he was raised around, he wanted to express his life through his work. Inexperienced but ambitious, Parks first big break in professional photography came when he convinced Frank Murphys wifes clothing store in Saint Paul, Minnesota to let him try his hand at fashion photographs. In 1941, he became the first photographer to receive a fellowship from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. While Parks was working as a waiter on the Northern Pacific Railroad, he ran into a magazine and was introduced to photographers such as Ben Shahn, Jack Delano, Carl Mydans, Dorothea Lange, John Vachon, and Walker Evans. They were photographing poverty, and I knew poverty so well, Parks recalls (...

Using Calculus To Calculate Income Elasticity of Demand

Using Calculus To Calculate Income Elasticity of Demand Suppose youre given the following question: Demand is Q -110P 0.32I, where P is the price of the good and I is the consumers income. What is the income elasticity of demand when income is 20,000 and price is $5? We saw that we can calculate any elasticity by the formula: Elasticity of Z with respect to Y (dZ / dY)*(Y/Z) Price elasticity of income: (dQ / dI)*(I/Q) demand equation dQ/dI 0.32 Income elasticity of demand: (dQ / dI)*(I/Q)Income elasticity of demand: (0.32)*(I/(-110P 0.32I))Income elasticity of demand: 0.32I/(-110P 0.32I) Income elasticity of demand: 0.32I/(-110P 0.32I)Income elasticity of demand: 6400/(-550 6400)Income elasticity of demand: 6400/5850Income elasticity of demand: 1.094 Demand is Income Elastic Next: Using Calculus To Calculate Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand Other Price Elasticity Equations Using Calculus To Calculate Price Elasticity of Demand Using Calculus To Calculate Income Elasticity of Demand Using Calculus To Calculate Cross-Price Elasticity of Demand Using Calculus To Calculate Price Elasticity of Supply

Case Study 2 HRD 425 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

2 HRD 425 - Case Study Example or in New England but foresees future competition from Super Valu and Fleming, which are two largest players with revenue turnover of over several billion dollars. The company has also recently opened a massive distribution cum warehousing facility at Brattleboro to reduce the impact of union as well as to expand its business interests. The company now needs to overhaul its operational strategies and strengthen its teamwork productivity to meet the challenges of highly competitive market. Currently C&S faces problems from myriad fronts vis-Ã  -vis lack of effective work coordination and productivity, lack of accountability and responsibility, problems with quality control, decreasing margin, low retention and increased absenteeism. After acquiring its biggest client, the company had started facing problems of employees’ turnover resulting in increased operational cost. There was also lack of accountability and work coordination which adversely impacted customer relationship. After opening its massive 300,000 square feet warehousing and distribution center in Brattleboro, it has expanded its services to include refrigerated and frozen items. The company now needs to redefine its market strategy and organizational capabilities to overcome increased operational cost. Most importantly, although C&S has bagged A&P’s orders, it has increasingly become difficult to coordinate its activities and efficiently meet the demands of its new client. At the same time, the needs of its existing clients are neither met competently nor are they getting the expected high quality of customer service. The firm significantly lacks cohesive and motivated teamwork that encourages collective goals and shared learning. The firm has around 800 employees with 30 supervises but distinctly lacks coordinated work environment. Workers lack motivation and have become frustrated with overwork resulting in employee’s turnover. The company needs to make radical changes in its operational

Health Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Health Assessment - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  a health assessment is not a treatment but rather an evaluation and analysis of an individual’s health status in relation to the health continuum. A health assessment is done majorly for various purposes. First, a health assessment is done to establish a good relationship between a nurse and his or her patient. Secondly, the assessment aids the health care professionals to establish a patient’s potential and actual problems in addition to his/her strengths and weaknesses. On a broader spectrum, a health assessment lays the foundation for the nursing process. Subsequently, the data gathered from this process is used by nurses to diagnose problems that need nursing care.This paper discusses that separate health assessment into physical assessment and history assessment. History as a concept is significant since health tends to occur on a continuum. It is commonly understood in the nursing/ healthcare industry that focusing on the histor y of the patient provides critical data to the nurses. The level of healthcare assessment is dependent on the healthcare practitioner. However, majorly the focus is mainly bio psychosocial in general. For example, if a patient is in the emergency room, the main focus will be on the chief complaint and how to aid the patient recover. If the patient suffers from a heart attack, then initially the focus will be directed on the physical/biological problem.

Return to Normalcy Essay Example for Free

Return to Normalcy Essay â€Å"Return to Normalcy† United States presidential candidate Warren G. Harding’s campaign promise in the election of 1920. Doc 7 Muscle Shoals famous for its contributions to American popular music in the 1920’s. Doc 24 Election of 1924 – Republican Calvin Coolidge wins election by a landslide. Doc 11 Federal Farm Board created in 1929, before the stock market crash on Black Tuesday, 1929, but its powers were later enlarged to meet the economic crisis farmers faced during the Great Depression. It was established by the Agricultural Marketing Act to stabilize prices and to promote the sale of agricultural products. The board would help farmers stabilize prices by holding surplus grain and cotton in storage. Doc 7 Theodore Dreiser an American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters that succeeded at their objectives despite a lack of a firm moral code, and literary situations that more closely resemble studies of nature than tales of choice and agency. Dreisers best known novels include Sister Carrie (1900) and An American Tragedy (1925). Doc 3 T. S. Eliot a publisher, playwright, literary and social critic and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at age 25) and was naturalized as a British subject in 1927 at age 39. Doc 1 Fundamentalists The demand for a strict adherence to specific theological doctrines usually understood as a reaction against Modernist theology, combined with a vigorous attack on outside threats to their religious culture. The term fundamentalism was originally coined by its supporters to describe a specific package of theological beliefs that developed into a movement within the Protestant community of the United States in the early part of the 20th century, and that had its roots in the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy of that time. Doc 20 Billy Sunday an American athlete who, after being a popular outfielder in baseballs National League during the 1880s, became the most celebrated and influential American evangelistduring the first two decades of the 20th century. Henry Ford [Model T]- an automobile that was produced by Henry Fords Ford Motor Company from September 1908 to October 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, the car that opened travel to the common middle-class American; some of this was because of Fords innovations, including assembly line production instead of individual hand crafting. (23) flappers- a new breed of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptable behavior. Flappers were seen as brash for wearing excessive makeup, drinking, treating sex in a casual manner, smoking, driving automobiles and otherwise flouting social and sexual norms. (8,9,14,22) Harlem Renaissance- a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the New Negro Movement, named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke. Though it was centered in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, many French-speaking black writers from African and Caribbean colonies who lived in Paris were also influenced by the Harlem Renaissance. 3) Marcus Garvey- a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He founded the Black Star Line, part of the Back-to-Africa movement, which promoted the return of the African Diaspora to their ancestral lands. (10) Charles Lindbergh- an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist. As a 25-year-old U. S.  Air Mail pilot Lindbergh emerged suddenly from virtual obscurity to instantaneous world fame as the result of his Orteig Prize-winning solo non-stop flight on May 20–21, 1927, made from Roosevelt Field[N 1] located in Garden City on New Yorks Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France. (5,21) Twenty-One Demands- a set of demands made by the Empire of Japan under Prime Minister Okuma Shigenobu sent to the nominal government of the Republic of China on January 18, 1915, resulting in two treaties with Japan on May 25, 1915. 5:5:3:1. 75:1. 5 naval ratio- after World War I, many nations became concerned about the threat of another war and the possibility of an arms race. To address these issues in the naval arena, in 1922, Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy signed the Five Powers Treaty at the Washington Conference. In the treaty, the powers agreed to a 5:5:3:1. 75:1. 75 ratio of naval tonnage and restrictions with regard to new building of both ships and bases. Young Plan- a program for settlement of German reparations debts after World War I written in 1929 and formally adopted in 1930. It was presented by the committee headed (1929–30) by American Owen D. Young. The reparations, set in January 1921 by an Inter-Allied Reparations Commission at 269 billion gold marks (the equivalent of around 100,000 tonnes of pure gold) were deliberately crushing. Teapot Dome Scandal- a bribery incident that took place in the United States in 1922–1923, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome and two other locations to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. doc 24 Secy. of the Treasury Mellon (tax cuts)- Mellon came into office with a goal of reducing the huge federal debt from World War I. To do this, he needed to increase the federal revenue and cut spending. He believed that if the tax rates were too high, then the people would try to avoid paying them. He observed that as tax rates had increased during the first part of the 20th century, investors moved to avoid the highest rates by choosing tax-free municipal bonds, for instance. (doc 15 Progressive Party- was an American political party. It was formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt, after a split in the Republican Party between himself and President William Howard Taft. â€Å"The Lost Generation†- is a term used to refer to the generation, actually a cohort, that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel, The Sun Also Rises. (doc 9, Doc 13 Ernest Hemingway [A Farewell to Arms]- a semi-autobiographical novel written by Ernest Hemingway concerning events during the Italian campaigns during the First World War. The book, which was first published in 1929, is a first-person account of American Frederic Henry, serving as a Lieutenant (Tenente) in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The title is taken from a poem by 16th-century English dramatist George Peele. (doc 13 prohibition [Volstead Act]- prohibited the production, sale, and transport of intoxicating liquors, it did not define intoxicating liquors or provide penalties. It granted both the federal government and the states the power to enforce the ban by appropriate legislation. A bill to do so was introduced in Congress in 1919. (Doc 2 Immigration Acts (1921, 1924)- was a United States federal law that limited the annual number of immigrants who could be admitted from any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890, down from the 3% cap set by the Immigration Restriction Act of 1921, according to the Census of 1890. doc 11, doc 17 Scopes Trial- was a landmark American legal case in 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessees Butler Act which made it unlawful to teach evolution in any state-funded school. (Doc 1 The Jazz Singer (Doc 7)- is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the talkies and the decline of the silent f ilm era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, the movie stars Al Jolson, who performs six songs. The â€Å"New Woman† (Doc 22)- was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century. The New Woman pushed the limits set by male-dominated society, especially as modeled in the plays of Norwegian Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906). The New Woman sprang fully armed from Ibsens brain, according to a joke by Max Beerbohm (1872–1956). Langston Hughes (Doc. 3)- was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. Pan-African Movement (Document 10)- is a movement that seeks to unify African people or people living in Africa, into a one African community† Differing types of Pan-Africanism seek different levels of economic, racial, social, or political unity. Spirit of St. Louis (Doc 21)- is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize. Washington Naval Conference(NA)- also called the Washington Arms Conference, was a military conference called by President Warren G. Harding and held in Washington from 12 November 1921 to 6 February 1922. Conducted outside the auspices of the League of Nations, it was attended by nine nations. Dawes Plan(NA)- was an attempt in 1924 to solve the reparations problem, which had bedeviled international politics, in the wake of the Ruhr occupation and the hyperinflation crisis. It provided for the Allies to collect war reparations debt from Germany. Intended as an interim measure, the Young Plan was adopted in 1929 to replace it. Kellogg-Briand Treaty(NA)- agreement, signed Aug. 27, 1928, condemning â€Å"recourse to war for the solution of international controversies. † It is more properly known as the Pact of Paris. In June, 1927, Aristide Briand, foreign minister of France, proposed to the U. S. government a treaty outlawing war between the two countries.

What is the Function of a Social Contract? Essay -- essays research pa

What is the Function of a Social Contract? Philosophers have been concerned with the theories of a social contract for thousands of years. Plato mentions the concept in Crito and in Republic. These theories have stemmed from the concept of justice and for our society to be just. I will look at the works of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean Jacques Rousseau and finally with John Rawls after which a overall view into the function of a social contract can be derived as well as any problems with the theory(s). The basic concept of a social contract is for members of society to enter into a voluntary contract, which allows society to go from a state of nature to a state of civilisation. What is meant by a state of nature is quite similar to how the rest of the animal kingdom works. A person ¡Ã‚ ¦s security depends on his or her own personal power. The fittest survive and the weakest suffer. Every person is concerned with his or her own ends. Plato outlined two types of contract within society. These were the contract of citizenship and the contract of community. The contract of citizenship was tackled in Crito. He regarded it as a contract made by each individual citizen with the state or law. If a man is to remain in a political society he will have to accept its obligations for he has enjoyed it privileges and benefits. The contract of community was covered in Republic Book II. This theory is based on the assumption the man is an egoist. With this assumption of  ¡Ã‚ ¥every man for himself ¡Ã‚ ¦ it is likely that he would either cause harm to others or sustain harm from others and therefore there would be a need to combat this. Thomas Hobbes published his work, the leviathan, which included theories of a social contract. His view is very similar to Plato ¡Ã‚ ¦s in regards to contract of community. He felt that there was a need for members of a society to Curtail the war of all against all and without these theories this war would spiral out of control with everyone competing against scarce resources. He talks about how a person ¡Ã‚ ¦s strength is all that protects them from others. The only way he saw fit to counter this predicament would be for a person to voluntarily agree to a contract where their natural freedom is given up in return for personal security. This freedom would be give up to the supreme authority, the Leviathan, which would serve as a  ¡Ã‚ ¥common pow... ...ction to relatives and close associates. The theory of general will also has problems. What can protect society from unjust rulers who say they are working in the way of general will? General will does not allow for difference in taste. It also identifies moral obligation with general interest. This is a problem because people may have similar morals but have different interest. The rulers can also work with regards to the interest of the state but not with regards to morals. Bibliography Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Leviathan; Thomas Hobbes edited by Richard Tuck; 1991; Cambridge University Press Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rousseau ¡Ã‚ ¦s Political Philosophy; Ramon M Lemos; 1977; University of Georgia Press Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Second Treatise of Government; John Locke edited by Thomas P Peardon; 1952; Bobbs and Merrill company inc. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Problems of Political Philosophy revised edition; DD Raphael; 1976; Macmillan Press ltd. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Social Contract and Discourses; Jean Jacques Rousseau translated by GDH Cole; 1973; JM Dent and Sons ltd. Æ’Ã ¦Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Social Contract or Principles of Political Right second edition revised; Jean Jacques Rousseau translated by Henry J Tozer; 1898; Swan Sonnenschein and Co.

Recommendations: Project Management Essay

Obviously, the type of the organizational structure that MP used is Vertical Coordination. MP is a movie&record industry, so its product is relatively simple. Vertical Coordination is the most basic and ubiquitous way to harmonize the efforts of individuals, units, or divisions is to designate a boss with formal authority. In this structureï ¼Å'departments just focus on their core tasks, workers who have the same specialty are get together and seem to be more efficient. However, the MP’s that being typecast as solely a â€Å"music† or â€Å"black† production company would limit the industry’s opportunities and would leave the company vulnerable should the entertainment market shift. In order to achieve the company’s goal of product diversification, MP needs to change its organizational structure. Matrix Structure will be adjust to MP’s development because this form is common in the product diversification. At other production companies, executives generally had portfolios of projects which they personally developed. At MP, executives shared responsibilities on projects, often going to meetings for one another and consulting with each other. Therefore, although each project was the principal responsibility of a given executive, a number of executives might be working on the same project at the same time. Although this approach avoids the inconvenience to communication of each department effectively, But at the same time, it also causes the confusion of management and division of unbalance. So my recommendation is as follow: Unless getting the agreement from the meeting, the executives of each department are just focus on their cases.

Publius Virgilius Maro Essay

Aside from Christianity there is no other force that shaped Western civilization other than the Greco-Roman culture. And there is no better representation of that period in history other than Rome and Publius Viirgilius Maro, also known as Virgil. A closer examination of Virgil and his works made many to realize that Virgil was a byproduct of events and it is the twin forces of the Roman Empire and Greek history that prompted Virgil to write. This paper will look into the two factors that influenced the writing of Publius Virgilius Maro. This can be done by looking first at the events that transpired before Virgil began writing and this means tracing back Greek and Roman history. The second way of knowing the connection between history and Virgil’s writings is to dig into his works and of course this means analyzing the Aeneid. It will be shown later that it is Roman history and Homer that shaped Virgil to become the writer that he was destined to be. Rome After more than two thousand years the world is still mesmerized by Rome. It is because of its legacy, it military prowess, and form of government. Rome was without equal when it comes to how it help shape Western history. Yet in the early days of Roman history there is not much to see. There is nothing that could make an outsider ascertain its potential to be a dominant ruler of known world in antiquity. Ting Morris traced its early development in obscurity and he remarked, â€Å"Rome began around 2,800 years ago as a few small settlements on wooded hills overlooking the Tiber River† (4). But then Rome began to distance itself from the Latin communities from which it was supposed to be a part of. What happens next began a series of development that will catapult this small community into the world map, â€Å"†¦the roman Republic conquered first Latium, then all of Italy. The Romans annexed much foreign territory to their own state, but they also established a system of alliances with all other states. This gave the Romans a vast reserve of manpower that allowed them to overthrow every major power in the Mediterranean†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Mackay, 40). A new age has come and a new military superpower was born. But when the Romans began to assimilate remnants of Alexander’s Empire, the new European power came face to face with an ancient civilization whose insight into religion, politics, and philosophy was far ahead of its time. In short the Romans, â€Å"†¦ recognized something in Greek culture that was more impressive than anything Rome itself achieved, in spite of Rome’s unprecedented military success† (Cox). At this point Rome was all brute force. Yes the soldiers led by the Caesars were brave, strong and are very eager to make their mark in the battlefield but when it comes to culture, the Romans were barbarians compared to the Greeks. The Romans discovered an effective methodology in fighting wars and they even had the distinct advantage of knowing how to build an empire out of disparate tribes and nations. They were experts in campaigns that require traveling far from home and yet they lack one more thing. They did not have a good system that can be put in place after victory. This is similar to the idea that it is easy to start a war but the more difficult thing to do is how to end it. So when Rome began to feel the success of empire building the more that they felt the need for a way of life that will enhance their reputation in Europe while at the same time offer them an opportunity to enjoy life more. They found the answer from the sophisticated Greeks. Virgil The Romans had to learn from the Greeks and their history can be characterized not only by empire building but also by the why they incorporated Greek thought and the Greek’s way of life into their own unique system. Now there is none better who understood the need for assimilating Greek culture than the Roman intellectuals of that time. In fact, â€Å"Among the adaptors of Greek culture, none was more brilliant †¦ than the poet Virgil. He faced a formidable challenge. Everyone who encountered Greek culture recognized how much it was shaped by Homer† (Cox). This means that there is a great need to surpass Homer and if this is not possible then at least equal Homer’s genius. If this can be achieved then the Romans had done something which other Greek imitators failed to do and that is to provide a great explanation for their existence. A myth has to be created, a legend has to be made and the purpose for such an endeavor is obvious. There is a need for something that will hold the empire together. At the time of writing the Aeneid, Rome was again in the cusp of revolution. Julius Caesar was defeated by Augustus Caesar and so steps must be made to consolidate his power and to strengthen the arm of the new emperor. For a brilliant man like Virgil, times like this one is an opportunity that must be grabbed by both hands. Virgil proceeded to hit two birds with one stone. First he would write an epic that will explain the origins of Rome. He will do so by using stories that are already familiar among the people that he wants to see united under Augustus Caesar and during that time there was no other story quite like the one weaved by Homer centuries before. Virgil saw that epic struggle for good and evil; battles between heroes; and the self-sacrificial behavior of some heroes simply because they believe in something higher than themselves proved to be a formula hard to resist. Virgil was ready to accept the challenge. But it is clear from the beginning that it would not be an easy task. Aside from that Homer is a world unto itself. And as they say there is no way one can improve on perfection, the Iliad and the Odyssey are the blueprints for creating great epics and so what else can be done to make it better. Virgil was able to solve this problem by being inventive and by starting where Homer ended his story. When Troy fell, one of her sons went on to build another kingdom. But then again Virgil cannot escape the past. Virgil could not resist using a successful formula. As they say there is no need to fix what was broken. Judging from the power of the Iliad and the Odyssey to move people it is almost impossible not to use the same method and technique of telling a great story. And so Virgil copied many ideas from Homer. In the introduction to the Aeneid Levi Robert pointed out that: Virgil borrowed from Homer a great many items: his verse form, the division into twelve books, mythology, many episodes and similes. In the Aeneid Venus doubles for Nausicaa, Dido for Calypso and Circe, and Drances for Thersites. The funeral games the desecent into Hades, where Aeneas meets Dido as Odysseus met Ajax, the prophecy of Anchises, the catalogue of ships, Turnus attempt to burn them, a broken truce †¦ a quarrel of two Italian leaders †¦ and a final single combat (Robert, xiii). Aeneid The Aeneid is basically the story of Aeneas, the god-like leader of a band of Trojan refugees fleeing to Italy after the fall of Troy. In the beginning, Aeneas built a fleet with the goal in mind of settling in a foreign land and to finally establish a new nation of Trojans. In Virgil’s mind, he wanted the world to understand the basis for the establishment of the Roman Empire. And there is nothing as perfect as that. Hornstein, Percy and Brown’s book, The Reader’s Companion to World Literature, was very helpful in understanding the context from which Virgil’s Aeneid was written, and they said that it was written at a time of conflict. Italy was ravaged by more than fifty years of revolution and civil war. When the long-sought peace came, a new form of government was fashioned from a battle weary nation. And with the new set-up, ultimate power was in the hands of one man- Augustus Caesar. It was during this time that the Roman Virgil began working on the Aeneid. Hornstein, Brown and Percy wrote: Vergil began the poem in 29 B. C. , two years after the battle of Actium brought this period of civil war to an end. He had long been preparing for the task. His purpose was national: he desired to glorify the Roman people by his theme and exalt the Emperor in the person of his hero. (5) Homer Putnam acknowledge that Virgil is under the towering shadow of Homer when he made this judgment, â€Å"Homer himself, against whose essential insights into humanity, Virgil’s own achievement will always be measured. † Homer’s success allowed him to set the standard upon which others who will come after him will be forced to measure up. Allen Mandelbaum tells of how his previous study prevented him from fully appreciating Virgil’s works and he said, â€Å"One was a tag line of mark Van Doren that echoed through my youth with tenacious resonance: ‘Homer is a world; Virgil, a style’. † It also did not help that the critics saw Virgil as copying Homer, Gaskell said, â€Å"The overall plan of Virgil’s epic was plainly Homeric, with its main elements reversed: now the odyssey of the man comes first and the armed fighting follows it: but the Homeric parallels are many and obvious. † (161). The only major difference was that Homer was illiterate and therefore had to express the beauty of his poetry in oral reform. On the other hand Virgil was literate and he could study Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey in written form as well as compose his own epic and was able to write it down. This explains the difference in style but all the more strengthens the view that Virgil was strongly influenced by Homer. Conclusion Now the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall down into its proper places and one can now see the bigger picture. It was mentioned earlier that it was in 168 BC when the Romans began to conquer the remnants of Alexander’s Empire and it is through the conquest of former Greek states that the Romans saw first hand the beauty that was Greece. In short the highly militaristic Romans lacked the cultural refinements that one can find in abundance in Greek societies. It is through the process of incorporating Greek culture into the Roman’s way of life that they rediscovered the power of Homeric poetry. It took the genius of Virgil to use Homer’s works and use it as the foundation for his own epic. And so in 29 BC Virgil began writing the Aeneid with the purpose of emulating what Homer has achieved in Greece. Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey provided a sense of identity for all Greeks and Virgil was hoping to achieve the same results. But the desire to incorporate Greek life into Roman life is easier said than done. But everyone who will try to copy from someone begins by copying almost everything that one can see and the eye can appreciate. For instance the Romans copied the design of their temples and they also described their gods using the same attributes found in Greek society. But there is no need to worry because the Roman changed the Greek sounding names of their gods into Roman names for their statues. Virgil attempted to accomplish two major things when he wrote the Aeneid. He wanted to impress the new emperor (Augustus Caesar) and secondly he wanted to have a unique Roman epic that will help unite the people. Virgil was successful in achieving both. The hero of the Aeneid was behaving in much the same way as Augustus Caesar especially with regards to his conquest and the subsequent creation of a new nation out of that sheer determination to succeed. Now for the second part, Virgil was also able to create an epic that can be comparable to Homer. It is true that he copied many things from Homer and yet at the same time his stories were never simply a rehash of what Homer did. Virgil simply needed an inspiration to get going and he found it in the character of Aeneas whom Homer briefly mentioned in his work. From this little known character, Aeneid began to build a story that made the peoples pulse to race. It was indeed an epic story of battles, of struggle between good and evil, of heroes who most of the time failed to achieve their potential and sometimes die a tragic death. The Aeneid is basically an explanation as to the existence of Rome. For many there is a need to have that kind of idea, that kind of emotional anchor in times of trouble. And there is no way to fully understand the impact of Aeneid towards the people of Rome. But one thing is sure Virgil’s work was able to unite the whole of the empire and is instrumental as to why the empire endured for so long. It is now very clear that that Virgil was influenced by historical events and the circumstances that surrounded his life. If there were two streams where these influences came from then Homer is a mighty source of inspiration while the politics and warfare in ancient Rome provided Virgil with more materials to use. In Rome’s struggle to carve out a nation in Europe was evident in Aeneid where the hero had to travel and faced with numerous risks just so he can establish a new nation. It was Homer who provided much influence for Virgil. If Homer did not produce the Iliad and Odyssey it is hard to imagine Virgil able to make his own. This is not to take away anything form the accomplishments of Virgil but it would be almost impossible for him to write beautifully without Homer as guide. Homer did not only provide the seed from which Virgil will grow a powerful story, Homer also provided the correct format. And so putting it all together it is now very clear that Virgil was a byproduct of the events that surrounded him. Yet even before he was born, Homer’s influence and genius was already felt in many parts of the Western world. When Virgil was still very young it is easy to imagine that he was already familiar with the Iliad and Odyssey and no doubt the stories found in those epics help to shape the way he thinks. Works Cited Appelbaum, Stanley. Ed. â€Å"The Aeneid by Vergil† Trans. Charles J. Billson. Canada: Dover Publications, 1995. Cox, John. Introduction to Virgil, The Aeneid. 2008. General Education at Hope College. 03 April 2008. < http://www. hope. edu/academic/ids/171/Aeneid. html Gaskell, Philip. Ed. â€Å"Landmarks in Classical Literature† Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999. Hemminger, Bill. Exploring Ancient World Cultures: Rome. 1997. EAWC at University of Evansville. 02 April 2008. < http://eawc. evansville. edu/ropage. htm> Hornstein, L. H. , G. D. Percy, and Calvin S. Brown. Eds. â€Å"The Reader’s Companion to World Literature† New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. , 1973. Knight, G. R. Wilson. Trans. â€Å"The Aeneid by Virgil† New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. , 1956. Mackay, Christopher. â€Å"Ancient Rome: A Military and Political History. † New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Mandelbaum, Allen. Trans. â€Å"The Aeneid by Virgil† California: University of California Press, 1971. Morford, Mark P. O. and Robert J. Lenardon. â€Å"Classical Mythology† 7th ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Morris, Ting. â€Å"Ancient Rome. † MN: Smart Apple Media, 2007.

Democracy and Iraq essays

Democracy and Iraq essays Through what in retrospect seems to be a highly manipulative and dishonest media campaign, George Bush Jr. and the United States armed forces have turned their focus on the democratization of Iraq. Once the necessary evidence needed to support the idea that Saddam Hussein was hiding weapons of mass destruction remained unfound a new mission needed to be established. So the seemingly impossible task of bringing western democracy to a distinctly non-western state has fallen upon the United States of America. Is this even possible? Do not, first and foremost according to the basics democracy, the Iraq people need to want western democracy? Assuming that the Iraqi people do want to be subject to the western idea of self-rule, can they be taught how? The first problem with the democratization of Iraq is the historical context. Iraq sits upon what historically has been a frontier in the sense that Mesopotamias unique geographic features and location have attracted a succession of invaders (Helms 1984, 8). The Middle East has been subject to invasion of the western world for centuries. Beginning with the crusades from Europe in the 11th century, more recently with the perceived invasion of the West bank and the Creation of Israel the animosity towards the west only grows (Mackey 2002, 384). It isnt hard to figure why the Iraqis have not been welcoming Operation Iraqi Freedoms soldiers with open arms. Arab unity was central to the recently ousted Baths partys ideology. Numerous attempts were made by Arab Nationalists to make it a reality (Helms 54). Numerous members of the Bath party have been left over in Iraq. Many citizens of Iraq still believe in a unified Arab world and in that world there is no room for U.S. occupation or Israel for that matter. Many of these insiders, commandos and officials, still exists and wage war on the occupyi...

Why Nat Turners Rebellion Scared White Southerners

Why Nat Turner's Rebellion Scared White Southerners Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831 frightened Southerners because it challenged the idea that slavery was a  benevolent institution. In speeches and writings, slave owners portrayed themselves not so much as ruthless businessmen exploiting a people for their labor but as kind and well-intentioned masters tutoring blacks in civilization and religion. A pervasive white Southern fear of rebellion, however, belied their own arguments that slaves were, in fact, happy. Uprisings like the one Turner staged in Virginia left no doubt that slaves wanted their freedom. Nat Turner, Prophet Turner was born into slavery on Oct. 2, 1800, in Southampton County, Va., on slaveholder Benjamin Turner’s farm. He recounts in his confession (published as The Confessions of Nat Turner) that even when he was young, his family believed he: â€Å"surely would be a prophet, as the Lord had shewn me things that had happened before my birth. And my father and mother strengthened me in this my first impression, saying in my presence, I was intended for some great purpose, which they had always thought from certain marks on my head and breast.† By his own account, Turner was a deeply spiritual man. He spent his youth praying and fasting, and one day, while taking a prayer break from plowing, he heard a voice: â€Å"The spirit spoke to me, saying ‘Seek ye the kingdom of Heaven and all things shall be added unto you.’† Turner was convinced throughout his adulthood that he had some great purpose in life, a conviction that his experience at the plow confirmed. He searched for that mission in life, and starting in 1825, he began receiving visions from God. The first occurred after he had run away and bade him return to slaveryTurner was told that he shouldn’t indulge his earthly wishes for freedom, but rather he was to serve the â€Å"kingdom of Heaven,† from bondage. From then on, Turner experienced visions that he believed meant he was to attack directly the institution of slavery. He had a vision of a spiritual battleof black and white spirits at waras well as a vision in which he was instructed to take up the cause of Christ. As the years passed, Turner waited for a sign that it was time for him to act. The Rebellion A startling eclipse of the sun in February of 1831 was the sign for which Turner had been waiting. It was time to strike against his enemies. He didn’t hurryhe gathered followers and planned. In August of that same year, they struck. At 2 a.m. on Aug. 21, Turner and his men killed the family of Joseph Travis on whose farm he had been a slave for over a year. Turner and his group then moved through the county, going from house to house, killing whites they encountered and recruiting more followers. They took money, supplies, and firearms as they traveled. By the time the white inhabitants of Southampton had become alerted to the rebellion, Turner and his men numbered approximately 50 or 60 and included five free black men. A battle between Turner’s force and white Southern men ensued on Aug. 22, around mid-day near the town of Jerusalem. Turner’s men dispersed in the chaos, but a remnant remained with Turner to continue the fight. The state militia fought Turner and his remaining followers on Aug. 23, but Turner eluded capture until Oct. 30. He and his men had managed to kill 55 white Southerners. The Aftermath of Nat Turner’s Rebellion According to Turner, Travis had not been a cruel master, and that was the paradox that white Southerners had to face in the aftermath of Nat Turner’s Rebellion. They attempted to delude themselves that their slaves were content, but Turner forced them to confront the innate evil of the institution. White Southerners responded brutally to the rebellion. They executed 55 slaves for participating in or supporting the revolt, including Turner, and other angry whites killed over 200 African-Americans in the days after the rebellion. Turners rebellion not only pointed to the lie that slavery was a benevolent institution but also showed how white Southerners own Christian beliefs supported his bid for freedom. Turner described his mission in his confession: â€Å"The Holy Ghost had revealed itself to me, and made plain the miracles it had shown me- For as the blood of Christ had been shed on this earth, and had ascended to heaven for the salvation of sinners, and was now returning to earth again in the form of dew- and as the leaves on the trees bore the impression of the figures I had seen in the heavens, it was plain to me that the Saviour was about to lay down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and the great day of judgment was at hand.† Sources â€Å"Africans in America.† PBS.org.  Haskins, Jim et al. â€Å"Nat Turner† in African-American Religious Leaders. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, 2008.Oates, Stephen. The Fires of Jubilee: Nat Turner’s Fierce Rebellion. New York: HarperCollins, 1990.Turner, Nat. .The Confessions of Nat Turner Baltimore: Lucas Deaver, 1831.

The Impact of Sea Level Rise Due to Climate Change Research Paper

The Impact of Sea Level Rise Due to Climate Change - Research Paper Example Global climate change has been attributed to natural as well as anthropogenic agents. Climate change is responsible for the rise in sea level in two major ways. To begin with, rising temperature on land causes land ice, to melt. Land ice is melting faster than ever before as a result of increasing temperatures. According to Cazenave1 and Cozannet (2014), as land ice shrinks by melting away, the melt water drains into oceans and seas of the world. Consequently, the sea level rises and water overflow the banks. Also, climate change results into rising level of the sea because of rising temperatures, which cause sea water to expand. As the sea water gets heated up, it expands occupying more space and eventually finds its way out into the land bordering the sea. Thermal expansion of sea water has been responsible for the rise in sea level for the last century since the birth of industrial revolution. The Impacts of Rising Sea Level A significant number of individuals live in coastal areas around the world. In the United States alone, about a third of the country’s population reside in coastal regions. A good number of states bordering the sea have large pieces of low-lying lands, which are very susceptible to rising level of the sea as well as coastal storm surges. The persistent rise in sea level puts the coastal regions at risk in many ways. These include: coastal community flooding causing massive destruction of property and infrastructure, degradation of shoreline from erosion and landslides, increased storm surges and loss of wetlands and estuaries.