Monday, December 30, 2019

A Neo Aristotelian Analysis Of President Obama s Oval...

Diana J. Park Professor Eleanor A. Lockhart Rhetorical Criticism 2 October 2015 A Neo-Aristotelian Analysis of President Obama’s: Oval Office Address on BP Oil Spill Energy On June 15, 2010, President Barack Obama formally addresses the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to inform people of his plans to contain the oil spill and the nation s need for clean energy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze President Obama’s speech on the BP oil spill using Foss’ neo-Aristotelian method of rhetorical criticism, by which I will reconstruct the context of the speech, apply four out of the five canons (excluding the canon of memory), and evaluate the speech’s effect on the intended audience. The first step to reconstructing the context of the speech requires me to provide background information on President Barack Obama. According to Biography.com, in 2008, Obama became the 44th president, and the United States’ first African American president. It is my opinion that much of Obama’s campaign strategy which focused on â€Å"changeâ⠂¬  as a common theme in his slogans was directed at liberals, African Americans, and young voters. Biography.com highlights that in his first term of presidency, Obama passed a $787 billion stimulus bill as well as the affordable care act. President Obama has become an influential leader that is known for his liberal values and determination to act on economic and social policies, such as these. Next, I will examine the occasion: the BP oil spill. Writer Kayla

Sunday, December 22, 2019

International NGOs and the Aid Industry - 1024 Words

The Article â€Å"International NGOs and the Aid Industry: constraints on international Solidarity† by Molly Kane is about the Make Poverty History campaign, which is a campaign that tried to eliminate global poverty using governmental action. It was initiated by NGOs trying to gain more aid, to help eliminate third world countries debt, and to help solve trade injustice. The campaign noticed an increase in North American development NGOs, and how all of them were campaigning for social change globally. Issues with social justice and aid depending on international politics are the most significant factors influencing African social, economic, and political life due to the fact that there is colonial ruling. The article talks about how poverty is the main problem facing third world countries, rather than rights and freedom. Increased financial dependence of INGOs has made third world countries dependent on the aid industries development. The process of decolonization was starte d to free the African nations from European colonial rule. The Article â€Å"NGOs, A Tainted History† by Firoze Manji and Carl OCoill is about how NGOs form a prominent part of the development machine in the developing world. With the thousands of NGOs that are now present in the world, their role in development is increasing every year. While their work contributes marginally to the relief of poverty, it also undermines the struggle of the African people to relieve them from economic, social and politicalShow MoreRelatedCritically Examine the Geopolitics of Humanitarian Aid Within the 21st Century.2228 Words   |  9 PagesCritically examine the geopolitics of humanitarian aid within the 21st century. How have responses to famine changed over time and what are the key challenges to famine prevention today? Geopolitics have played a huge role in humanitarian aid in the current century. Because humanitarian aid is largely sponsored by western countries it poses a huge problem in the form of a â€Å"parochial form of theorizing1 that supports the interests of the richest countries of the world. For the purpose of this essayRead MoreThe Combat Against Poverty Has Been An Ongoing Battle That1464 Words   |  6 PagesFurthermore, after the development of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) by the United Nations in 2001, a handful of Non-Government Organizations (NGO) and business entities began capitalizing on the creation of these MDG’s. That being said, many NGO’s distributed MDG related advertisements (which incorporates the heart warming feeling individuals get when helping others) in order to encourage the public to donate to impoverished countries. Whereas, business corporations utilize a unique businessRead MoreFast Fashion, And The Corporate Globalization Essay927 Words   |  4 Pagesexample; Bangladesh is the second largest clothing exporter in the world behind China, but Bangladesh has the lowest monthly minimum wage for garment factory workers. The Canadian government to keep its local companies competitive in the fashion industry, dropped the importing duties from Bangladesh, which in turn almost forced Canadian companies to relocate their factories to Bangladesh where labour was much cheaper allowing them to gain a higher profit, while still keeping the price of their garmentsRead MoreDemocracy and Government853 Words   |  3 PagesHowever the purpose of democracy is that it allows the ideals of minorities to be expressed. This balanced system allows for all to have a voice. Unfortunately many times Lobbyists and political parties can generalize the will of the people, serving industries more than citizens. However this is often checked up on, and with recent emergence of third parties, the voice of people can be heard. Democracies are set to address the issues which adolescents believe are important, and many have infrastructureRead More Illicit Trade and Drug Trafficking Proving to be a Major Problem1291 Words   |  6 Pages Illicit Trade and Drug Trafficking Proving to be a Major Problem Drug trafficking and illicit trade have proven to be major problems that the international community face as it enters into the twenty-first century. Currently the illegal drug trade market is one of the largest sectors of the modern global economy. Because of this fact, the drug trade is deeply rooted in many nations economic and social cultures, which makes it very difficult to control. Drug trafficking also brings with it theRead MorePeering Through Spectacles Of The English School, Has Provided1648 Words   |  7 PagesSchool, has provided valuable insight into the mechanics of international affairs, in which I had little prior knowledge. I have always believed that the United Nations assisted countries to co-operate by allowing the diversities to be acknowledged and respected, providing equality amongst the nations, even if relations have sometimes been strained. The English School are a group of scholars who believe that the state actors form an international society which hel ps to establish a co-operative environmentRead MorePollution Is A Business Problem1724 Words   |  7 PagesEach year industries use over 4 million pounds of materials to provide the average American family with the necessities it needs for one year. However, many of these products are not biodegradable and produce a considerable harm to the environment resulting in air and water pollution. In this essay, I will assess the problems that arise from business and its relation to pollution, the role of corporations and other stakeholders in addressing these issues, and develop a plan for businesses to tackleRead MorePlanet Of Slums By Mike Davis2118 Words   |  9 Pagesthere goods will now be sold on a global market, but at the same time received new competition from foreign agriculture. Owners who were able to take advantage of the new regulations and had successful harvests were able to grow and expand their industry. While poorer farmers unable to adjust to new IMF/World Bank regu lations were left to their own demise. Mother nature herself could also cause once successful family farms to be left abandoned and sold to those able to expand. Davis also highlightsRead MoreTo What Extent Is Aid Effective? Essays2132 Words   |  9 Pages To what extent is aid effective? The world is split in two, on one side the prosperous global north whose early industrialisation and development has led to the population having long lasting and comfortable lives, while on the other side, the global south falters collapsing in a pit of poverty and despair. The answer would seem simple, for the rich and well-off to give generously to the poor, so that the whole world can share in the abundant resources that this planet produces. However, sixtyRead MoreHiv / Aids Impact And Intervention1538 Words   |  7 PagesHIV/AIDS Impact and Intervention Group Research Assignment Russia 1. General background and statistics Physical Geography : the largest country in the world in size, with an area of more than 6.6 million square miles. Location : Northern Asia and Eastern Europe. Total Population : about 144 million citizens. Demographic : Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (Russia - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette) Major

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Behaviour For Learning And Management Of Students Education Essay Free Essays

The demand to pull off behavior has long been an issue within schools. With the push on raising attainment, the development of SEN proviso and the addition in policy, to be inclusive of all scholars irrespective of their academic degree or their societal behavior, as identified that 20 % of all SEN scholars have SEBD. Current policy has adapted towards a positive attack concentrating on the ability of instructors to make a positive acquisition environment developing positive relationships in order to advance a positive attitude towards larning, maneuvering off from the one time punitory attack and non being re-active to negative behavior but more pro-active as supported by ( EPPI ) Behaviour direction is frequently flagged as an country that ITE pupils feel they would profit from holding greater support in when come ining the profession of instruction ( Buell et al. We will write a custom essay sample on Behaviour For Learning And Management Of Students Education Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now , 1999 cited in EPPI ) . This has been met by the outlooks set by the TTA via the Qualifying to learn, the new criterions and demands for Qualified Teacher Status ( QTS ) ( TTA,2002 ) . B4L is a construct that has been developed through a reappraisal of effectual behaviour direction schemes. It has been identified that B4L is a consequence of battalion of influences and non simply the desire of a scholar to misconduct and unwillingness to larn. It is of import to place the theoretical rules behind the manner in which scholars manifest themselves in footings of behavior, as identified in the principle for the EPPI systemic reappraisal of how theories explain larning behavior in school context. Behaviour for larning ( B4L ) identifies the nexus between pupils societal behavior and behavior and the manner in which they learn. The schools policy clearly states high outlooks of pupils, â€Å" We expect pupils to reflect this in their visual aspect, attitudes and behavior. We know we are modeling the citizens of the hereafter and will promote them to care for one another, be unfastened, just, honest and merely. We want them to hold a sense of pride in being portion of our school community. † ( School Aims, Staff enchiridion ) . Further to this the school s vision is to raise accomplishment by developing a civilization where ‘learning is at the bosom of the school community ‘ . To accomplish this vision the school identifies whole school precedences for 2010/2011 including bettering behavior and attending. It besides stated that the school will concentrate on integrating SEAL pattern in the schoolroom, which has been identified as an of import key in developing scholar ‘s emotional intelligence ( Coleman, 1996 ) supplying scholars with the accomplishment set to supervise and better their behavior independently. It was clearly identified in the School Development Plan that Behaviour for larning needed to be addressed ( appendix 1 ) . This was farther reinforced as a high precedence country during staff meetings and subsequent correspondence from the Head Teacher ( Appendix 1a ) , which focused on current issues in lessons and the demand to better B4L. Two cardinal issues that arose were the usage of nomadic phones within lessons and consistence of countenances ( Appendix 1a ) . It is interesting to observe that these both encompass the instructor and the scholar. It is refering to observe that usage of nomadic phones within lessons is being flagged as a B4L issue and non a mark of detachment. Intelligibly there is a close nexus between the quality of acquisition, instruction and behavior, and hence raises the inquiry can behaviour be improved through bettering the quality of larning A ; learning? The school clearly identifies that there is a demand to reenforce their school policies on beha vior for acquisition. Through initial observation it was interesting to observe the degree of behavioral issues happening both in and out of lessons. It poses the inquiry is this a school being pro-active in pull offing behavior for larning or re-active to behaviour that had non been managed systematically? This survey will concentrate on the schools current policy on behavior for larning and how this is implemented on a day-to-day footing. Through a reappraisal of the schools current policy and issues this survey will trust to propose future recommendations to better behavior for acquisition. Recent national policy has moved off from a punitory system where pupils were punished for making something incorrect ‘reactive ‘ and are now working towards understanding what causes scholars to be off undertaking and show unwanted behaviour ‘pro-active ‘ . With the recent development of particular educational demands designation and proviso it is no longer acceptable to react in a punitory manner. National policy now promotes the inclusion of a greater diverseness of scholars in schools irrespective of degree of accomplishment or societal behavior ( Department for Education A ; Employment ( DfEE ) , 1999 ) . It is of import for schools to recognize this and develop schemes to advance B4L as over 20 % of SEN proviso are scholars with societal emotional and behavioral upset ( SEBD ) ( Department for Children, Schools A ; Families, 2008 ) . SEBD scholars by nature can expose unwanted behavior unless managed in a positive manner, and would it non be deemed una cceptable from an instruction professional ‘s position for a scholar predisposed to expose hapless behavior as the consequence of a recognized upset, to fall victim to punitory actions. It is hence of import for schools to hold a well-structured B4L policy that coincides with the SEN policy. Communication between the SEN section and the remainder of the school is besides indispensable. ( back up with research ) excessively many lessons lack challenge and make non take sufficient history of pupils ‘ single capablenesss or promote independent acquisition. Besides, quality of marker and feedback by and large varies well across the school. However, a little minority of parents expressed positions that the school ‘s communicating with parents could be better, and besides that pupils ‘ behavior was non ever every bit good as it should be. Inspectors found behavior to be satisfactory overall, but variable. In general, pupils have a high respect for their school, bask their instruction and appreciate the assortment of chances on offer to them, both within the course of study and beyond. They are developing a good scope of personal accomplishments that are fixing them good for their instruction and employment after school. Ensure that lesson activities systematically challenge pupils of all ability groups to do better advancement and develop their independent acquisition accomplishments, particularly at Key Stage 4. Behaviour in lessons is satisfactory, although someinstances of students being excessively rambunctious were seen during the review. However, there is by and large non plenty truly disputing learning across the school to guarantee that pupils make systematically good advancement in their acquisition and therefore develop the assurance and ability to work independently. Where learning is less effectual, be aftering does non take sufficient history of pupils ‘ different capablenesss and get downing points, and is excessively teacher-directed. Teachers do supply some clear, detailed and utile written feedback, but this is inconsistent across the school and does non ever give specific advice about what pupils need to make to better their work – a job which persists since the last review. How to cite Behaviour For Learning And Management Of Students Education Essay, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Describe the Relationship Between Hatshepsut and Thutmose Iii Essay Example For Students

Describe the Relationship Between Hatshepsut and Thutmose Iii Essay Section III – personalities in Their Times 2007 Question 14 – Option A – Egypt: Hatshepsut a) Describe the relationship between Hatshepsut and Thutmose III? There are many contradicting views and interpretations in regards to the relationship Hatshepsut had with Thuthmose III. Hatshepsut had ruled with Thuthmose III for over 10 years, it is definitely evident that Hatshepsut was the senior Pharaoh in the co-regency. However, the nature of their relationship is not entirely known. Some of the perceptions are that Thutmose III was frustrated and resentful towards Hatshepsut and that she was the ‘evil stepmother’. However there is also much evidence to support the idea that Thutmose III was completely fine with the co-regency, as he knew that he would assume the throne when Hatshepsut had passed away and things were working well in the co-regency. Even though Hatshepsut was the senior partner in the co-regency, the surviving inscriptions indicate that she accorded Thuthmose III the respect to which he was entitled. Throughout the co-regency it seems that Hatshepsut was careful to show her young partner the respect he was entitled to, even though she was almost invariably shown as the dominant pharaoh. Hatshepsut and Thuthmose III appear in many reliefs and inscriptions together. In a relief on a building in western Thebes, Hatshepsut and Thutmose III are depicted worshiping Amun-Re together. Thutmose III’s private thoughts about Hatshepsut are unknown; it appears that he did not challenge Hatshepsut’s authority. Historian Steindorf believes that, â€Å"It must have been much against his will that the energetic young Thutmose III watched from the side lines the high-handed rule of the pharaoh Hatshepsut and the chancellorship of the upstart Senenmut. Surely a collision was inevitable between the maturing strength and the resentment of the young king and the waning powers of the queen†. Evidence for a hostile relationship between Hatshepsut and Thuthmose III in the co-regency is the fact that all of Hatshepsut’s monuments were destroyed some years after her death, during the reign of Thuthmose III. Many historians believe that this may be a case of demnatio memorae, however Redford describes the events of the damaging of her monuments as a political necessity as Thutmose III may have been preferred to be linked to his male ancestors for posterity rather than to an atypical woman. The exact nature of the relationship between Hatshepsut and Thuthmose III will never be known, however there is evidence for both civil, successful co-regency on both parts – Hatshepsut took care of the homeland and Thutmose III was a traditional warrior pharaoh. There is also evidence for Thutmose III as raging with anger and hated his stepmother. While the exact nature of the relationship remains unknown, Hatshepsut and Thutmose III ruled very successfully in a co-regency which some describe as the most successful and prosperous period in Egypt’s reign.

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Biography of Anna Comnena, the First Female Historian

Biography of Anna Comnena, the First Female Historian Byzantine Princess Anna Comnena (Dec. 1 or 2, 1083–1153) was the first woman known to personally record historical events as a historian.  She also was a political figure who attempted to influence royal succession in the Byzantine Empire. In addition to The Alexiad, her 15-volume history on her fathers reign and related events, she wrote on medicine and ran a hospital and is sometimes identified as a physician. Fast Facts: Anna Comnena Known For: First female historianAlso Known As: Anna Komnene, Anna Komnena, Anna of ByzantiumBorn: Dec. 1 or 2, 1083 in Constantinople, Byzantine EmpireParents: Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, Irene DucasDied: 1153 in Constantinople, Byzantine EmpirePublished Work: The AlexiadSpouse: Nicephorus Bryennius Early Life and Education Anna Comnena was born on Dec. 1 or 2, 1083, in Constantinople, which was then the capital city of the Byzantine Empire and later of the Latin and Ottoman empires and finally of Turkey. It has been called Istanbul since the early 20th century. Her mother was Irene Ducas and her father was the Emperor Alexius I Comnenus, who ruled from 1081 to 1118. She was the eldest of her fathers children, born in Constantinople just a few years after he took over the throne as emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire by seizing it from Nicephorus III. Anna seems to have been a favorite of her father. She was betrothed at a young age to Constantine Ducas, a cousin on her mothers side and a son of Michael VII, the predecessor to Nicephorus III, and Maria Alania. She was then placed under Maria Alanias care, a common practice of the time. The young Constantine was named a co-emperor and was expected to be heir to Alexius I, who at that time had no sons. When Annas brother John was born, Constantine no longer had a claim on the throne. He died before the marriage could take place. As with some other medieval Byzantine royal women, Comnena was well-educated. She studied the classics, philosophy, music, science, and mathematics. Her studies included astronomy and medicine, topics about which she wrote later in her life.  As a royal daughter, she also studied military strategy, history, and geography. Although she credits her parents with being supportive of her education, her contemporary, Georgias Tornikes, said at her funeral that shed had to study ancient poetry- including The Odyssey- surreptitiously, as her parents disapproved of her reading about polytheism. Marriage In 1097 at the age of 14, Comnena married Nicephorus Bryennius, who was also a historian.  They had four children together in their 40 years of marriage. Bryennius had some claim to the throne as a statesman and general, and Comnena joined her mother, the Empress Irene, in a vain attempt to persuade her father to disinherit her brother, John, and replace him in the line of succession with Bryennius. Alexius appointed Comnena to head a 10,000-bed hospital and orphanage in Constantinople. She taught medicine there and at other hospitals and developed expertise on gout, an illness from which her father suffered. Later, when her father was dying, Comnena used her medical knowledge to choose from among the possible treatments for him. He died despite her efforts in 1118, and her brother John became emperor, John II Comnenus. Succession Plots After her brother was on the throne, Comnena and her mother plotted to overthrow him and to replace him with Annas husband, but Bryennius apparently refused to take part in the plot. Their plans were discovered and thwarted, Anna and her husband had to leave the court, and Anna lost her estates. When Comnenas husband died in 1137, she and her mother were sent to live in the convent of Kecharitomene, which Irene had founded.  The convent was devoted to learning, and there, at age 55, Comnena began serious work on the book for which she will long be remembered. The Alexiad A historical account of her fathers life and reign that her late husband had begun, The Alexiad totaled 15 volumes when it was completed and was written in Greek rather than in Latin, the spoken language of her place and time. In addition to recounting her fathers accomplishments, the book became a valuable source to later historians as a pro-Byzantine account of the early Crusades. While the book was written to praise Alexius accomplishments, Annas place at court for most of the period it covered made it more than that. She had been privy to details that were unusually accurate for histories of the time period. She wrote about the military, religious, and political aspects of history and was skeptical of the value of the Latin churchs First Crusade, which occurred during her fathers reign. She also wrote of her isolation at the convent and of her disgust with her husbands unwillingness to carry through with the plot that would have put him on the throne, noting that perhaps their genders should have been reversed. Legacy In addition to recounting her fathers reign, the book describes religious and intellectual activities within the empire and reflects the Byzantine  concept  of the imperial office. It also is a valuable account of the early Crusades, including character sketches of the First Crusades leaders and of others with whom Anna had direct contact. Comnena also wrote in The Alexiad about medicine and astronomy, demonstrating her considerable knowledge of science. She included references to the accomplishments of a number of women, including her influential grandmother Anna Dalassena. The Alexiad  was first translated into English in 1928 by another pioneering woman, Elizabeth Dawes, a  British classical scholar and the first woman to receive a doctorate in literature from the University of London. Sources Anna Comnena: Byzantine Princess. Encyclopedia Britannica.Anna Comnena: Byzantine Historian of the First Crusade. Women in World History Curriculum.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Party Government and the United Kingdom (UK) essays

Party Government and the United Kingdom (UK) essays Party Government is the type of Government we use in the UK; five main features can be identified from party government. Firstly, in nearly every general election it is just one party that wins a majority and forms the government, there have been exceptions, but usually, a one-party majority is a case. Secondly, party manifestos can be written, particularly around an election, and the party is winning the majority has a mandate to carry out of the policies in the manifesto, even the unpopular ones. Thirdly, the Government, and also the opposition party, have nearly all control of parliamentary time and agenda. Private Members Bills are occasionally discussed, but the bulk of the time is reserved for the government or opposition party. Fourthly, many official posts, including ministers and chairs of committees, are appointed by the leadership of parties, mainly the Government and opposition parties. This means a great deal of patronage is involved in party government. Finally, opposit ion to the government is normally through the official opposition party and other large parties that didn't form a government. Pressure groups and the public also have an impact on the opposition, but opposition is mainly in the form of the opposition parties. Party government, has its benefits to the country, but also its disadvantages. The main advantage to Party government is the fact that after a general election a clear and decisive government can form. This government normally stays united and rarely splits, providing a stable government. Another advantage of party government is that the electorate knows the policies that the government will be carried out because their election manifesto states their policies. The Doctrine of 'Manifesto and Mandate' allows the government to follow its policies without any major opposition because it says that a government has been elected, and so has authority to carry out its policies. Also, the fundamental dis...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Systems Design and Management Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Systems Design and Management Strategy - Essay Example Global business can penetrate the remotest areas of the countryside. We can communicate to anyone whose location maybe in any part of the globe because of technology, mobile communications, the internet, Information Technology, and so on. Technological changes have brought about further innovations and inequalities because of the digital divide in the community setting where there is lack of technological attention from the government. But organizations with their advanced technology and availability of manpower are more benefitted. Global organizations have their websites and most of them conduct business online. People sell and buy products and services through the internet. There is also the emergence of the knowledge economy, a new innovation in business which is performed, conducted and enhanced through the knowledge, talents and capabilities of employees. In this set up, knowledge is both a product and resource. The organization is more concerned with the people and the knowled ge they possess. Firms value people-embodied knowhow. They invest much on labor capital. Organizations like this produce ‘stars’ in the industry. According to Groysberg et al. (2008), stars are among the best in the industry and are far superior than colleagues in performance. They usually do â€Å"estimates, accessibility and responsiveness, service quality, stock selection, industry knowledge and written reports† (Groysberg et al., 2008, p. 5). The knowledge that stars acquire include the knowledge and experience they have inside the organization, and it is not good to hire or pirate stars from other companies because they usually perform not quite well in the new organization. Their expertise was attained in the organization they blossomed and therefore it matches with the organization. In the new environment, the so-called star won’t perform well. 1.1 Trends in management A management trend in the age of globalization is clustering or team working. Thi s requires some skill and talent, and cannot be simply taken for granted. It requires determination to put individual talents into a single force to work for change or introduce ideas that can provide further innovations for the organization. By having clusters and groups, talents and capabilities of members are maximized. The ways in which the workforce gets direct orders from top management – the deeply centralized order – is seldom done any longer. With globalization, the technique is to manage the organization horizontally. The internet can do wonders. Mobile communications also are valuable tools. Communication is fast and effective. Team formation is considered a special feature for improved organizational performance. Introducing the principles of team formation in the workplace is like implementing total quality management. They present a strong foundation for global organizations in the present system, and can be an effective way of providing work and life bal ance for the workforce. (Knights and Willmott, 2007, p. 125) Through team building members become flexible and respond to new challenges or solve problems within (or beyond) their reach. Members are more motivated to work because of the responsibility and power bestowed upon them by management. Allowing individual members to hold responsibilities of problem-solving – even decision-making which is traditionally done by top management –

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Zara's Supply Chain Methods Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Zara's Supply Chain Methods - Case Study Example The USP can be identified using the business model of Zara and by understanding its competitive edge over other players in the market. The case also aims at developing a strategic analysis of the market conditions, communication, branding and the competition faced by Zara. Zara does not advertise as much as its competitors. Its average advertising spend is 0.3% while 3-4% is the standard industry spend. This gives them a strategic cost advantage against their competitors. This also makes their expansion strategies more economical. The main alternative to advertising used by Zara is its store layouts and displays. Zara has a team of around 200 people exclusively working on acquiring global prime real-estate locations. They are also responsible for frequent refurbishing of the stores and creative window displaying. There is a testing facility in their headquarters where different layouts are tested and the best is selected for various stores at different locations. The peculiar business model of Zara helps them in reducing their advertising store by giving them alternative options to attract customers. This is by influencing the buying behaviors of customers. Zara updates its collection twice every week. So a usual customer of Zara knows that new styles will be awaiting them every week, making them want to pay another visit very soon. Also, if a customer does not find anything interesting to buy, he knows that he will get more choices in the coming week. New styles in Zara are added very frequently, but are not replenished. This creates a scarcity and the customers of Zara pay frequent visits to the stores so that they don't miss out on certain styles. Zara, because of its unique branding has got itself a cult image through the years. Each Zara store is redesigned every 5 years to keep up with the current fashion. Zara targets a broad range of customers and do not define their target market by age and lifestyle like traditional retailers. They target people of all age group who are educated and are sensitive to fashion and react to changes in fashion. As fashion is more globalized in recent times, Zara offers standardized fashion wear. Also, their pricing strategy is different. Outside of Spain, and particularly in the UK, it is based on more premium prices. Partly to compensate for higher distribution and rental costs, prices can be up to 40 per cent higher. Zara's positioning as an aspiration brand in the UK has the added benefit of giving the perception of clear water between itself and mass-market fast-fashion rivals such as New Look or H&M. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS USING ANSOFF'S MATRIX Market Penetration Strategy Through its unique business model, Zara encourages its existing customers to buy more. Every new style reaches the store shelves from design table in about two weeks. This fast-fashion methodology helps in remaining updated to the latest trends and makes the customers visit the stores more often. This quick inventory turnover is due to its vertically integrated supply chain and its total control over its system. Market Development Strategy Zara identifies potential segments in the market as a first step in their market development. By giving equal importance to all such segments, Zara

Monday, November 18, 2019

Employee Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Employee Relations - Essay Example In order to support the topic a case study pertaining to the UK retail catering sector has been provided. The report is concluded through personal views and ideas that had been generated during the course of the research. 3 This report is intended to evaluate the extent to which the National Minimum Wage has been successful in bridging the gap between male and female workers in the retail catering sector of the UK. While undertaking extensive literature review and drawing ideas from relevant sources, the report has discussed the employment conditions prevalent in the nation and has also tried to throw light upon the element of equal employment opportunities. It has further analysed the British workforce, and while evaluating the provisions for equitable payment of wages has discussed the role that the National Minimum Wage. In order to support the topic a case study pertaining to the UK retail catering sector has been provided. The report is concluded through personal views and ideas that had been generated during the course of the research. Gender discrimination in workforce in UK has been in existence for many decades. Women workforce was primarily found in low paid, part-time and low status jobs. There were relatively less number of women working in managerial, higher levels of judiciary and politics and senior level jobs. The reason behind such low concentration of women was the fact that women were assumed to have a different role in the society. They are traditionally known to look after the family and rise up the child (Goldsmith & Nickson, 1997). However the numbers has changed drastically in the 21st and more and more women are joining the workforce which is a consequence of an increasing number of women pursuing higher education. In 2005 number of working women in UK was 70%. Work can be categorized as Part time and Full time. Women mainly undertake part time work. In UK the percentage of women and men

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Examining The Guest By Albert Camus English Literature Essay

Examining The Guest By Albert Camus English Literature Essay The modern work I chose to examine was The Guest by Albert Camus. I chose this piece because I felt that it was easy to relate to the sense of isolation that was faced by the character Daru. The political theory and psychology in the piece were self evident as it played a big role on the actions of the character in his lonely state. In my opinion the title The Guest, suggests that there is more than one person that Daru doesnt know about. The main character Daru can be examined to be a self-righteous, trusting, full-hearted person. His caring for the prisoner and actions toward him made him feel like he was doing the right thing to help out a fellow human being. The political theory around this piece can be described as volatile in the sense that it assumes to the reader that a war is about to happen. Then Ill wait for the declaration of war! and there is talk of a forthcoming revolt. bring awareness of the actual political unrest among the two feuding parties, the Algerian French colonial government and the Algerian Arabs. I believe this feud is what places Darus post in such a remote environment. The idea that Daru doesnt know what exactly would be the reason for him having a gun would be further supported by the fact that his shotgun is in his trunk which means he obviously doesnt use it. When Balducci told him that he ought to have it near his bed because if there is an uprising no one is safe, were all in the same boat. I believe he is hinting towards the fact that I think he knows people are following him to retreave the prisoner. I feel that the severe political unrest will begin to happen after the end of the story. The psychological impact involved in Darus isolation was that he was caught up between the legal system that imposed itself on the Arabs family quarrel and his emotions to do right as a man. When Daru said every bit of this disgusts me, and first of all your fellow here. I believe he was fighting with his inner morals which to him were to do the right thing and to not turn the Arab over but in turn, set him free. He doesnt have any problem with his choice in refusing to turn him over and firmly stands by his decision. Instead of taking the prisoner off and setting him free, he wished that the Arab would just run away that way he would be alone with no decision to make. The statement that mans stupid crime revolted him, but to hand him over was contrary to honor supports this entirely. The statement, he could see nothing but the dark yet shining eyes and the animal mouth, in my opinion means that he didnt see the prisoner as a monster or a killer but just as a normal person incapable of murdering another human being. I believe that when Daru was feeding the prisoner and treating him like an actual human being the Arab developed some sort of Stockholm syndrome while in the custody of someone who I believe he grew to trust in a short amount of time. I think that when the prisoner asked Daru if he would come with them to the prison, he knew that his fellow Arabs were following him to get him back. I believe he was trying to protect Daru from what was going to happen. When Daru was walking the Arab south to the nomads where he would be safe, his heart grew heavy and I honestly dont think that Daru wanted him to leave since they formed a very strange and mysterious bond among men. When Daru returned to find the message you handed over our brother. You will pay for this. written on his black board I believe he was unsure why they would be after him considering that he just let their brother go, not only with food but also with money. He finds himself felling misunders tood and what I believe is frightended when he dosent see anyone in sight. The psychological impact in my opinion is greater on the concept of isolation more so than the political theory involed with the character and his struggles. I think the author did a good job dehumanizing the prisoner in an attempt to make Daru seem like he is still alone although someone is there. The imagery and detail also given make it easy to visualize just how alone and torn Daru actually is. I believe that the storys title should be changed from The Guest to The Unseen Guest just to make it play a little more to the psychological aspect of the piece. (words: 1024)

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

A Hero of Our Time - Gregoriy Pechorin is No Hero Essay examples -- H

A Hero of Our Time  Ã‚  - Gregoriy Pechorin is No Hero Is Pechorin, the protagonist of Mikhail Lermontov's novella A Hero of Our Time an honorable man? Much of Pechorin's behavior proves him to be a cruel and insensitive man, who seems to bring only havoc and destruction to a situation. He is often aggravating, self-serving and insensitive to others. However in other instances, Pechorin proves himself to be the least reprehensible character. He shows himself to be a man with great self knowledge and knowledge of human behavior.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Pechorin can be seen as a dangerous man, who is insensitive and manipulative to others for self-serving reasons to the point of their destruction. Over the course of this book, A Hero of Our Time, Pechorin plays a major role, whether intentionally or recklessly, in the cruel destruction of four secondary characters: Princess Mary, Grushnitsky, Bela and Maxim Maximych.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Pechorin finds entertainment in playing with people's lives and emotions. Princess Mary, the young beautiful and slightly pompous Moscow princess and Grushnitisky, a young, arrogant, superficial and self-centered cadet, two young people beginning to fall in love, are Pechorin's victims. "The stage is set," Pechorin cries, delighted, to his friend Dr. Werner, "We'll see if we can provide a denouement for this comedy. Evidently fate means to see that I am not bored."(102-103) Envious of their happiness, particularly Grushnitsky's, as well as their utter blindness, Pechorin takes it upon himself to make sure their relationship is obliterated. He uses their individual and human weakness against them.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The most manipulated character of this novel is Princess Mary. The majority of her interactions with Pechorin serve only to... ... be truly blamed for his behavior because he is tormented by eyes that seek truth and purity in a corrupt and deranged society. Pechorin is a man of contradictions, for he writes honestly to himself, "I was born with a passion for contradiction. My whole life has been nothing but a series of dismal, unsuccessful attempts to go against heart or reason." (98)   Ã‚  Ã‚   Pechorin is a contradiction within himself. He is a disturbing and dangerous character masked behind the innocent facade of a beautiful and heroic young man. His redeeming quality is that he understands this about himself. However it isn't enough.    Works Cited and Consulted Brown, William Edward. ed. Critical Essays on Mikhail Lermontov. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1997. Lermontov, Mikhail. A Hero of Our Time. Ed. Neil Cornwall. Trans. Martin Parker. Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle, 1995.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Napoleon was a child of the Enlightenment Essay

Assess the validity of this statement by using specific policies and attitudes of Napoleon. During the time period of the French Revolution, many governments came and went as a result of the unorganized and often times, radical political regimes that were recklessly installed by desperate people longing for equality and liberty. The French were inspired by the new liberal notions and ideas of political and economic rights for all proposed by Enlightenment thinkers. As different forms of governments and their leaders among them passed, one man named Napoleon Bonaparte rose to power by manipulating the Directory and the French people to enable him to assume authoritative powers over his subjects and, as a side effect, majority of continental Europe. Bonaparte used his autocratic powers to maintain the rights achieved during the revolution and inject new Enlightenment he had been educated from the small island of Corsica as long as they did not interfere with his thirst for power. Napol eon Bonaparte rose to power via the arrogance of a political leader who failed to comprehend the influence of Bonaparte and his army. Napoleon Bonaparte issued a constitution, the Constitution of Year VIII, to clarify his new political intentions he would impose. With this constitution, he created an illusion to the French people that people from all fractions of the political spectrum would be content with. His constitution appealed to the common man and democratic supporters with â€Å"universal male suffrage.† An elaborate system of checks and balances between each sector of his government appealed to republican supporters. Also, the Council of State would satisfy any monarchists that remained in France. However, as an intellectually-inclined individual from his education in philosophy and military strategy, Bonaparte provided the French with a sound and stable state and what appeared to be a constitutional government in which he knew that the public would eat up his legal proposition. Bonaparte also simplified and cleaned up the French government and its legal system with reforms such as the Civil Code o f 1804, or more commonly known as the Napoleonic Code. Napoleon Bonaparte created reforms that were based off of the education he received as a boy from the Age of Enlightenment that would thus act as a tool for nation-building and continental domination. Napoleon Bonaparte demonstrated from his enlightened point of view that religion could be separate from government–but does not have to be totally eradicated from society itself to achieve such an intention–with the concordat with Pope Pius VII. He also treated all faiths equally by emphasizing that the state was supreme over whatever religion or denomination it may be like how he enacted laws on both Protestant and Jewish communities in the Roman Catholic dominated France. Bonaparte maintained the abolishment of the practice of primogeniture. Napoleon also went on a rampage all of Europe to expand his empire. As he marched throughout Europe, he liberated peasants by eliminating the economic and social practice of serfdom. Napoleon Bonaparte developed in an environment that was saturated with philosophical ideas pertaining to social and religious ideas that Enlightenment thinkers studied and discovered new ways of the ways people could interact such as religious toleration and social equality. Napoleon Bonaparte grew up in a home that was greatly influenced by Enlightenment ideas and principles. This statement can be reached with Bonaparte’s actions that were obviously liberal and new to the decades prior to the French Revolution. He did assume total control over France and the continent of Europe, but he did permit some liberty and freedom to his loyal subjects. Bonaparte used Enlightenment ideals to gain power and used them to maintain power by convincing he was still providing what the liberal bourgeois and nobility had been fighting for and along with some new ideas that did not go against his drive for authoritative powers. In all Napoleon Bonaparte utilized his Enlightenment education to manipulate the French and free many serfs and to control France and later Europe.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Zero Tolerance

In Bedford, Texas, a 16-year-old honor student was expelled after a security guard noticed a kitchen knife on the floor of the student's car. The knife apparently had fallen unnoticed as the student carted some of his grandmother's possessions to Goodwill. He was ordered to spend a year in a juvenile-justice education program and banished from district property and school-sponsored activities. In Deer Lakes, Pennsylvania, a kindergarten student was suspended for bringing a toy axe to school. Zero tolerance is a policy concerning issues in today's society that are thought to be extremely dangerous. The three main focuses of the policy are incidences of violence, drugs, and alcohol. Zero tolerance treats children as if they were adults, and removes the "innocent until proven guilty" philosophy on which our country thrives. This policy could be extremely harmful to the lives of the students it affects and, "[...] disrupts the lives and educations of good students nearly as often as it does those of troubled students." This happens by treating all offenses dealing with the aforementioned issues and all students equally, even if the student has had a flawless record and had obviously no harmful intent (Starr 1). Before the zero tolerance idea came about, the school system treated discipline in a completely different manner. Each student would be evaluated based on their prior record, where and when the incident occurred, and what the circumstances were surrounding the incident. If a student was a relatively good kid with no past disciplinary actions taken against him or her, they were much more likely to have a punishment that actually taught them something, rather than creating a sense of resentment towards the school authorities, and "the system" in general. Before the era of zero tolerance, a kid with a great future ahead could not screw it all up by making one simple mistake. The line that zero tolerance crosses is one of intent. Z... Free Essays on Zero Tolerance Free Essays on Zero Tolerance In Bedford, Texas, a 16-year-old honor student was expelled after a security guard noticed a kitchen knife on the floor of the student's car. The knife apparently had fallen unnoticed as the student carted some of his grandmother's possessions to Goodwill. He was ordered to spend a year in a juvenile-justice education program and banished from district property and school-sponsored activities. In Deer Lakes, Pennsylvania, a kindergarten student was suspended for bringing a toy axe to school. Zero tolerance is a policy concerning issues in today's society that are thought to be extremely dangerous. The three main focuses of the policy are incidences of violence, drugs, and alcohol. Zero tolerance treats children as if they were adults, and removes the "innocent until proven guilty" philosophy on which our country thrives. This policy could be extremely harmful to the lives of the students it affects and, "[...] disrupts the lives and educations of good students nearly as often as it does those of troubled students." This happens by treating all offenses dealing with the aforementioned issues and all students equally, even if the student has had a flawless record and had obviously no harmful intent (Starr 1). Before the zero tolerance idea came about, the school system treated discipline in a completely different manner. Each student would be evaluated based on their prior record, where and when the incident occurred, and what the circumstances were surrounding the incident. If a student was a relatively good kid with no past disciplinary actions taken against him or her, they were much more likely to have a punishment that actually taught them something, rather than creating a sense of resentment towards the school authorities, and "the system" in general. Before the era of zero tolerance, a kid with a great future ahead could not screw it all up by making one simple mistake. The line that zero tolerance crosses is one of intent. Z...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Racial Identity and Religion

Racial Identity and Religion Introduction Cultural differences can be explained using multicultural concepts that may include racial identity and religion. These two concepts can summarize the behavioral norms in both a single cultured and a multicultural society. Both concepts are important in enhancing the development of co-habitation in the contemporary fast growing world.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Racial Identity and Religion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Multicultural concepts do also come in handy in societal development especially when they tackle the subject in question on an interaction perspective. This is because development does not take place in single isolated variables. They take place in totality. This work gives a brief but comprehensive discussion of the two multicultural concepts which are quite significant in the understanding of cultural differences. Racial Identity It should be noted that the genesis of ra cial concepts is closely related to the classification of human beings. Many racial theories have attempted to demarcate and elevate one particular social group from others, thereby justifying the oppression and exploitation of certain ethnic groups who are presumed to be inferior. The inferiority concept here refers to the level of intelligence, degree of morality, physicality of the individuals in the social group and culture of the social group (Fedelina and Guido-Dibrito, 1999). As a result, there was the institutionalization of enslavement of Africans by the whites. Another act that is related to racialism is the terrorism committed against particular groups. Racial identity is the subjective sense of an invigorating sameness and continuity. The concept is known to interact closely with the social class, culture, gender and other biological factors. Racial identity takes on many forms. The concept begins during the early stages of childhood development and develops rapidly amon gst groups so visibly recognized by race. Such messages are conveyed through metacommunications which are subtle and often unspoken messages that are learned early in life and reinforced without the aid of spoken words. Thus, it may not emanate from the teachings of parents. This is pretty evident especially in racially integrated schools. In such schools, there are racially homogeneous eating areas in lunch rooms. The unspoken rule in these lunch rooms is that boundaries must not be violated. Thus, whites eat with whites; blacks eat with blacks, Hispanics with Hispanics and so forth. This instance explains the fact that even without parents verbal teachings on racial orientations, racialism can still be conveyed implicitly in racially segregated housing patterns and socioeconomic relationships.Advertising Looking for research paper on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As an individual matures, he or she develops a personality that is informed by social and moral attitudes, behaviors, and feelings. It should be noted that social and personality developments are strongly intertwined with racial presumptions that are learned through copying (Fedelina and Guido-Dibrito, 1999). This habit is internalized and further enhanced by the need to conform the prevailing racial norms so that the individual’s characters are socially acceptable. It is quite disheartening to understand that racial segregation still has its roots in the modern society. In places where race is still a powerful divider, sociocultural backgrounds and ethnical similarities do not matter a lot even if it is within the particular social group. The reality of sociocultural and ethnical similarities is quite irrelevant in such situations. A good example is the relationship between the Whites and the Blacks in America. Their cultural similarities are so obvious to people living outside the United States. However, racial spheres still exist and it is the major tool that obfuscates the two races. Religion Religion is the culture of a belief in a deity or a superior being that is believed to control natural phenomena among those who practice it. Religion concerns with nature and life’s purpose especially when viewed in the perspective of creation and a holy being (Culture and religion, 2010). Religion is actually a wide subject that requires extensive research concerned with the development of personalities in a multicultural society. There are so many religions at present and they include Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Shinto, Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism among many others. The above are just the major religions. Otherwise, there are many other religions whose beliefs are practiced by fewer numbers of the population. In a multicultural society, it is quite difficult to enhance specific religious convictions. In the western society, for example, Caucasian, Afro-Caribbean, South Asian an d Chinese people jostle every street. The presence of these people comes along with different cultural and religious backgrounds. Such kinds of society are usually faced with the problems of decisions on how to adjust to make their own ways. Such people may insist upon many religious beliefs as essential tools for the satisfactory livelihood of the entire community in question. Thus, there must be a visible line that distinguishes between religion and culture is such a pluralistic society (Culture and religion, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Racial Identity and Religion specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is here that pluralism must take effect so as to take care of the various modes of freedom. These forms of freedoms include the freedom to believe or not to believe, and the freedom to conform or not to conform. Also in this system lies the freedom from the domination of one religious group. Religi ous beliefs are taught to children and enhanced through internalization and the need to maintain the individuality and character of the religion. Some people tend to be exclusivists by thinking that only their religion is right. Integration plays a major role in the adaptation and acceptance of different religious groups. It is through integration, adaptation and acceptance that a particular religious group may secure homes, incomes, and amenities together with other different groups. In many urban multicultural societies, religious affiliations have continued to diminish in use as a benchmark for public decision making. The act of assimilation in exclusivist societies is quite difficult taking into consideration that most of these societies come from rural backgrounds. Exposure to different religious beliefs other than ones own is a factor that plays a big role in acceptance of the other religions. However, it should be noted that integration of particular religious groups is quite different from assimilation. Assimilation is not easy when dealing with enhancement and maintenance of a particular religion. However, integration is quite easy because it comes along with acceptance that means trust. As it is well known, trust is not a threat to the society as a whole. Conclusion Many racial theories have attempted to demarcate and elevate one particular social group from others, thereby justifying the oppression and exploitation of certain ethnic groups who are presumed to be inferior. Racial identity is the subjective sense of an invariant sameness and continuity. The concept is known to interact closely with the social class, culture, gender and other biological factors. On the other hand, religion is the culture of a belief in a deity or a superior being that is believed to control natural phenomena among those who practice it. In a multicultural society, religion requires integration to develop the culture of acceptance and adaptability.Advertising Looking for research paper on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reference List Culture and religion, (2010). Culture and Religion: Thoughts on Religion. Retrieved from cultureandreligion.com/html/thoughts_on_religion.html Fedelina, A., Guido-Dibrito, F. (1999). Racial and Ethnic Identity and Development. New Directions For Adult And Continuing Education. No. 84. Web.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Interpersonl therpy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Interpersonl therpy - Essay Example IPT is one of the short term therpies tht hve been proven to be effective for the tretment of depression. Short term usully involves up to 20 sessions (usully weekly meetings, 1 hour per session) nd mintins focus on 1-2 key issues tht seem to be most closely relted to the depression. Although depression my not be cused by interpersonl events, it usully hs n interpersonl component, tht is, it ffects reltionships nd roles in those reltionships. IPT ws developed to ddress these interpersonl issues. The precise focus of the therpy trgets interpersonl events (such s interpersonl disputes / conflicts, interpersonl role trnsitions, complicted grief tht goes beyond the norml berevement period) tht seem to be most importnt in the onset nd / or mintennce of the depression. IPT is time-limited therpy tht previews in totl 12-week tretment schedule (Mufson & Moreu, 1998). The gols of IPT re to identify interpersonl problem res with which the dolescent is struggling nd to focuse on how those problems re currently impcting their reltionships (Mufson & Moreu, 1998). There re three tretment phses identified s prt of the IPTmodel--initil, middle, nd termintion. Initil Phse occurs during s... te history of current interpersonl reltionships, identify the interpersonl problem re(s) tht my hve precipitted the onset of the depression, discuss gols nd techniques of IPT tretment, nd contrct for tretment. The middle phse of IPT tretment consists of sessions five through eight nd it is during this time tht the mentl helth counselor nd client begin to directly work on the interpersonl problem res identified during the initil stges of tretment. The min gol of the middle phse of IPTtretment is to ssocite these interpersonl problem res to the depressive symptomology currently being experienced by the dolescent. Five interpersonl problem res re exmined during this time: grief, interpersonl role disputes, role trnsitions, interpersonl deficits, nd single-prent fmilies (Mufson & Moreu, 1999). The focus of these interpersonl problem res hs been modified from IPT to meet the developmentl needs nd issues of depressed dolescents. The termintion phse of IPT occurs between sessions nine through twelve (Mufson & Moreu, 1999). In this phse, dolescents re helped to individute from the mentl helth counselor nd to gin sense of efficcy for coping with future problems. During the termintion session, mentl helth counselors nd dolescents process wht hs occurred in counseling, discuss possible res tht could cuse future problems, nd explore problem-solving strtegies relted to those res. Cognitive-Behviorl Therpy Cognitive-behviourl therpy (CBT) is the ne mongst number of structured psychotherpies tht hd proved to be effective in the cute tretment of depression. CBT is generic term referring to therpies tht incorporte both behviorl interventions (direct ttempts to reduce dysfunctionl emotions nd behvior by ltering behvior) nd cognitive interventions (ttempts to reduce dysfunctionl

Saturday, November 2, 2019

#6 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

#6 - Coursework Example This ensures that citizens can go about their daily lives without fear of unreasonable intrusion by the government. Unreasonable search and seizure are both infringement on the rights of individuals to privacy and freedom. Search means the â€Å"examination of a person, place or vehicle for contraband or evidence of a crime† (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 195-6). Seizure, on the other hand, means â€Å"the taking by law enforcement or other government agent of contraband, evidence of a crime or even a person into custody† (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 195-6). => A stop is one of the ways â€Å"to balance the rights of an individual and the governments need for tools to carry out its jobof protecting society from lawbreakers† (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 212). It is â€Å"a brief detention of a person based on specific and articulable facts for the purpose of investigating suspicious activity† (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 212). However, a stop should be "[due to a] reasonable suspicion [and not merely a] reasonable belief† (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 212). The difference of a stop from an arrest is that in an arrest, â€Å"the person is not free to go† (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 212). In an arrest, the Miranda warning is necessary, while in a stop, no such warning is needed. This is because a stop is not a detention and the person is usually free to go after a short time. One good example of a stop is when a driver is stopped because of a simple traffic violation. No Miranda warning is needed, and usually, the driver is free to go after a few minutes (Harr, Hess, and Orthmann 212). An arrest, however, is a more complex process. For example, a person is stopped or frisked and the police officer finds a probable cause for an arrest (i.e. drugs found in pockets), then the Miranda warning is delivered and an arrest ensues. => â€Å"A frisk is a limited pat-down search for weapons for the protection

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Scholarship on Dickens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Scholarship on Dickens - Essay Example In those days, London was described as the doomed city with unsanitary living conditions and was a galore of diseases. â€Å"There were four epidemics of cholera within Dickens’s own lifetime and, beside these mortal visitations, there were periodic and regular outbreaks of typhus, typhoid fever, epidemic diarrhoea, dysentery, smallpox and a variety of ailments which were classified only as â€Å"fevers†.2† To improve the health condition of the people of London and other cities that were the main breeding ground for all diseases that would spread later to the rural areas of England, Dickens knew that sanitary conditions of the cities should improve. We see him attending many meetings to talk on behalf of sanitary improvement. Passionately arguing the case of sanitary reform in London on May 10th 1851, Charles Dickens said: â€Å"I can honestly declare that the use I have since that time made of my eyes and nose have only strengthened the conviction that certain sanitary reforms must precede all other social remedies, and that neither education nor religion can do anything useful until the way has been paved for their ministrations by cleanliness and decency.3† Sanitary work in London and other cities started only in his latter life. He was an influential social reformer of his time in many fields and being so very well-known, his views were respected. His characters of imagination provided him ample platform to argue the social reforms that he craved to see in the difficult times of Victorian England. His magazines and speeches on social injustice show him as one of the main propagandists of the time. He advocated the reforms without being specific about them. His desire was to see any kind of relief to the sufferers. For example; the Hard Times was based on a labour dispute in the weaving industry which was referred as â€Å"The Preston Lockout 1853-54†. According to George Bernard Shaw, ‘he was a revolutionary without knowing it4’. In a

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Modern Era Essay Example for Free

The Modern Era Essay Early Modern World Historians sometimes refer to the era between the premodern (or medieval) and late modern eras as the â€Å"early modern world.† The world during this era was increasingly united by the projection of European power abroad, especially in the Americas. Although early modern Europeans still had little knowledge of, let alone hegemony (influence) over, the inland regions of Africa and Asia, the links created and dominated by Europeans made the entire world a stage for fundamental historical processes. Historians debate, or pass over in silence, the problem of determining the precise starting and ending dates of the early modern world and have produced only the vaguest consensus. Roughly, the era of the early modern world began during the fifteenth century with the Timurid (relating to the Turkic conqueror Timur) and Italian cultural renaissances. The year 1405 serves as a convenient starting date because it marks not only the death of Timur, the last great central Asian conqueror to join farmers and nomads into a single empire, but also the first of the Chinese admiral Zheng He’s (c. 1371–1435) naval expeditions to the â€Å"Western Oceans.† The era might be taken to end in the late eighteenth century with the French and Industrial revolutions, both European events of global consequence in the late modern world. The uncertainty of this periodization derives in part from the concept of an early modern Europe, with its own uncertain chronological boundaries, and in part from the unconsidered way in which both phrases entered historical scholarship. Origins of the Concept Although conceptually the phrase early modern world is an extension of the phrase early modern Europe, the initial histories of both phrases have some surprises. The earliest known appearance of the phrase early modern world occurs in Willard Fisher’s â€Å"Money and Credit Paper in the Modern Market†Ã‚  from The Journal of Political Economy (1895). Although Fisher writes, â€Å"We all know that the system of bank credits and bank money, which was introduced into the great commercial centers of the early modern world, has now attained a quite marvelous development† (1895, 391), the geographical sense of his statement is strictly, if implicitly, European. On the other hand, the phrase early modern Europe first shows up twenty years later, in Dixon Ryan Fox’s â€Å"Foundations of West India Policy† in Political Science Quarterly (1915). Fox remarks, â€Å"It was now realized by students of colonial history that in the Caribbean [the â€Å"West India† of the article’s title] might best be traced the application of those principles which formed the working basis for the old empires of early modern Europe† (1915, 663). Ironically, the phrase early modern Europe first appeared in the Caribbean, in the global context of colonialism, in an article advocating trans-Atlantic history. In their debu ts each phrase bore something of the other’s sense. Fox’s usage was an anomaly, and when the phrase early modern Europe arrived in Europe, it had come to stay. The phrase early modern world, however, for decades would imply world to mean, in an indefinite way, immediate rather than global surroundings; because this historical scholarship dealt with European subjects, the â€Å"early modern world† was in fact â€Å"early modern Europe.† The early modern world became global only with C. F. Strong’s grammar school textbook The Early Modern World (1955) and S. Harrison Thomson’s 1964 review of J. H. Parry’s The Age of Reconnaissance, in which Thomson uses the phrase to describe the â€Å"story of the successive expansion of European venture, from Africa to the reaches of the Indian Ocean by Arabs and Portuguese by sea, the movement westward to the Americas and the early transition from discovery to fishing, trading, and exploitation†(1964, 188). The first considered analysis of the early mo dern world came after the posthumous publication of Joseph Fletcher’s article â€Å"Integrative History† in 1985. Such analysis has tended to adopt either a deductive or an inductive approach. Deductive Approach A deductive approach to the early modern world compares premodernity and late modernity, devises the characteristics necessary to bridge the two stages, and only then seeks confirmation in the historical record. This approach assumes the existence of a modernizing trajectory, which the early modern world shared with (and perhaps inherited from) early modern Europe. Informed by a Marxist perspective, the essentials of the early modern world would highlight transitions from feudal to bourgeois, from serfdom to wage-earning proletariat, and from local subsistence to regional market economies. A functionalist understanding of modernity, of the sort theorized by the German sociologist Max Weber, the U.S. sociologist Talcott Parsons, or the French sociologist Emile Durkheim, explains social phenomena in terms of their ability to fulfill social needs and broadens this base beyond the mode of production. Here the critical shifts would be from belief in miracles to belief in science, from household-based craft production powered by muscle, dung, water, and wood to factory-based mass production powered by electricity and fossil fuels, and from government justified by tradition to government consciously invented. Even in the context of early modern Europe critics challenge the effectiveness of a deductive approach by condemning its implication of an inevitable progress from premodernity to modernity. A deductive approach takes little cognizance of the possibilities of various starting points, different destinations, and particular paths. In some twentieth-century cases the transition to modernity was less a progression than a violently dramatic change. When expanded to a global context this approach becomes not only teleological (assuming a design or purpose in history), but also artificially Eurocentric. Inductive Approach Rather than specify theoretical factors to be sought in the time period, an inductive approach examines what happened in different places and extracts from what happened a set of common features. Although such an approach removes the theoretical obstacle of a modernizing trajectory, the historian is left with the Herculean task of specifying processes that united all,  most, or many of the world’s peoples. Such an approach need not focus on Europe, nor need it measure the success of various regions in terms of their progress along Europe’s path. How closely do the rough chronological parameters suggested here match the conventional historiographies (the writings of history) of the various regions outside Europe?  Traditional periodizations in African and American history are directly linked to European expansion. Marked by a European presence that could not yet dominate the continent, an early modern Africa might last from the Portuguese capture of Ceuta, a port on the Moroccan side of the Strait of Gibraltar (1415), until the development of quinine and steamships in the nineteenth century. The first Niger steamship expedition returned without casualties in 1854. An early modern America might stretch from the encounters of 1492 until the period of independence movements, from 1776 to the independence of Brazil in 1822. An early modern India might begin with the fifth generation descendant of Timur, Zahir-ud-Din Muhammad Babur, whose ancestry inspired him to conquer northern India. The Mughal dynasty he founded (1526) would rule effectively for two centuries; the British would take charge of its Delhi nucleus in 1803. An early modern Japan stretches from the unification efforts of Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) to the end of the Tokugawa shogunate (the dictatorship of a Japanese military governor) in 1867. Other regional historiographies fit less naturally. Although the Ottomans’ 1453 conquest of Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey) was timely, the Chinese Ming dynasty began too early (1368) and ended inconveniently in the middle of our early modern period (1644). Worse, key modernizing revolutions came late relative to the western European timetable the Chinese Revolution in 1911, the Russian Bolshevik revolution in 1917, and the Kemalist (relating to the Turkish soldier and statesman Kemal Ataturk) revolution in Turkey in 1923. The actual use of the phrase early modern in the periodization of regional histories varies. Outside of Europe, it is most commonly used in Asia, especially in works on China, Japan, and, to a lesser extent, India. Historians of China sometimes extend the period into the twentieth century. Far fewer historians write of an â€Å"early modern Africa† or an â€Å"early modern Brazil.† This fact is due in part to the power of the word colonial to identify these time periods. Latin American periodization is so consistently divided into pre-Columbian, colonial, and national periods that there is no need for the phrase early  modern, which should correspond to the middle, colonial period. In fact, the phrase early modern Mexico sometimes refers to the period immediately after independence. The divergence of these traditional periodizations of regional histories, so often linked to high-level political history, should not surprise. The global historian in search of an early modern world can look beyond these periodizations to seek processes that enveloped wide swaths of the planet. Development of Global Sea Passages Nothing is more characteristic of the early modern world than the creation of truly global sea passages. Before 1492 the Americas remained essentially isolated from Eurasia. In 1788 the last key sea passage was completed by the first permanent settlement of Europeans in Australia. This passage also concluded the integration of the Pacific Ocean as a geographical concept, a process that began when the Spanish explorer Vasco Nuà ±ez de Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific from America in 1513. During the early fifteenth century the Europeans were unlikely candidates to fill the key role in this process of exploration. Portuguese exploration of the African coast was declining, and mariners were reluctant to sail out of sight of land. Even the overland excursions undertaken by Europeans had become more modest. Muslims still controlled southern Iberia, and in 1453 the Ottomans conquered Constantinople. Smart money would have looked rather at the Chinese admiral Zheng He, whose seven expeditions between 1405 and 1433  reached even the shores of eastern Africa. A change in Chinese imperial policy halted these expeditions, and the voyages that finally connected the world were directed by Europeans. In 1522 the survivors of the expedition of the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan completed the first circumnavigation of the globe. During the following centuries a skilled captain and crew could navigate a ship from any port to any port and reasonably expect to arrive. In 1570 the Flemish cartographer Ortelius published what has been described as the first modern atlas, the Theatrum orbis terrarum (Theater of the World); this comprehensive yet handy and inexpensive work enjoyed immediate success. By the end of the period the best mapped region of the world would be China. Global Demographic Interconnections The world’s population doubled during the early modern period, from approximately 374 million (1400) to 968 million people (1800). Although demographic data are limited, some patterns emerge. Rapid growth was punctuated by a seventeenthcentury decline in Europe, Russia, Iran, Central Asia, China, and Korea and recovery from this decline occurred globally, even in the Americas. The more populous regions tended to grow more rapidly. The new global sea passages set the stage for a transatlantic â€Å"Columbian exchange† (the biological and cultural exchange between the New World and the Old World that began with the 1492 voyage of Christopher Columbus) and for a transpacific â€Å"Magellan exchange† of crops and disease pathogens that put the peoples of the world in a more direct demographic relationship than ever before. The arrival of American maize and potatoes in Eurasia, and later in Africa, facilitated an intensive agricultural, and thus demographic, growth, and the appearance of tomatoes in Italy and chili peppers in India had important dietary and culinary consequences. Disease also became a global phenomenon. First appearing in Europe in 1494, venereal syphilis reached India four years later, and by 1505 it had  outraced the Portuguese to China. The New World’s isolation and limited biodiversity (biological diversity as indicated by numbers of species of plants and animals) did not afford its indigenous peoples the same immunities enjoyed by Europeans, who as children were exposed to a multiplicity of infections. Measles, smallpox, and other diseases brought by Europeans triggered a long-term demographic catastrophe. The indigenous population of central Mexico declined from 30 million in 1518 to 1.6 million in 1620 a genocide unintended, misunderstood, and undesired by the Spanish who sought souls for salvation and laborers for their mines. Contact with the wider world wrought similar demographic calamities on other isolated peoples, including Pacific Islanders, Siberian tribes, and the Khoikhoi of southern Africa. Increased contacts distributed pathogens more evenly throughout the world and generally reduced susceptibility to epidemic disease. Development of a Global Economy The development of global sea passages integrated America into a truly global economy. Rapidly growing long distance commerce linked expanding economies on every continent. Dutch merchants in Amsterdam could purchase commodities anywhere in the world, bring them to Amsterdam, store them safely, add value through processing and packaging, and sell them for profit. Intensive production fueled by the commercialism of an increasingly global market gave new importance to cash crops and sparked an unprecedented expansion in the slave trade. The movement of manufactured goods from eastern Asia toward Europe and America created a chain of balance-of-trade deficits, which funneled silver from American mines to China. Regular transpacific trade developed during the decades after the founding of Manila in the Philippines in 1571 and followed the same pattern: Exports of porcelain and silks from China created a trade imbalance that sucked silver from the Americas and from Japan. Through military-commercial giants such as the Dutch East India Company (founded in 1602), European merchants disrupted traditional trading  conditions in Africa and Asia to muscle into regional â€Å"country trade.† The expansion of settled populations, as well as the new ocean trade route alternatives to the Silk Road that linked China to the West, contributed to the decline of nomadism. The agriculture of settled peoples supported large populations and tax bases that an efficient state could translate into permanent military strength. Development of Large and Efficient States The global trade in firearms and similar weapons contributed to the growth of large and efficient states, known as â€Å"gunpowder empires.† Expensive and complex, the most advanced weapons became a monopoly of centralized states, which employed them to weaken local opposition. During the mid-fifteenth century the king of France used artillery to reduce some sixty castles annually. Administrative procedures also became increasingly routinized and efficient. Ever more abstract notions of state authority accompanied the evolution of new  sources of legitimacy. From the Irrawaddy River in Asia to the Seine River in Europe, religious uniformity served to reinforce and confirm centralized rule. The ideal of universal empire was native to America, Africa, and Eurasia. The early modern unification of England with Scotland and Ireland was paralleled throughout Europe. If in 1450 Europe contained six hundred independent political units (or more, depending on the criteria), in the nineteenth century it contained around twentyfive. About thirty independent city-states, khanates (state governed by a ruler with the Mongol title â€Å"khan†), and princedoms were absorbed into the Russian empire. By 1600 the Tokugawa shogunate had unified Japan. Fourteenth century southeastern Asia had two dozen independent states that evolved into Vietnam, Siam (Thailand), and Burma (Myanmar) by 1825. The Mughals unified India north of the Deccan Plateau for the first time since the Mauryan empire (c. 321–185 BCE). Unification was also an overture to expansion. In addition to an increasing European presence worldwide, Qing China (1644–1912) invaded Xinjiang,  Mongolia, Nepal, Burma, and Formosa, and during the seventeenth century Romanov Russia stretched out to the Pacific. The new unities led relentlessly to new fragmentations and hierarchies, and resistance to such centralizing political forces was equally universal. During the century between 1575 and 1675, for example, uprisings occurred in China, Japan, India, Armenia, Georgia, Kurdistan, Ukraine, the Balkans, the German lands, Switzerland, France, Catalonia, Portugal, England, Ireland, and Mexico. At the end of the period, the French Revolution (1789) would enjoy global influence as the first revolution modern in its progressive, absolute, and sudden nature. Intensification of Land Use The concurrence of population growth, global markets, and aggressive states led to wider and more intensive use of land. Displacing or subordinating indigenous peoples, pioneers backed by aggressive states drained wetlands and cleared forests to create new lands for intensive commercial, agricultural, and pastoral regimes. (Similarly, commercial hunters pursued various species of flora and fauna to extinction for sale on a global market.) Oblivious to any land claims held by indigenous peoples, states would offer pioneers low taxes in exchange for settlement and land rights. For example, the Mughal Empire provided land grants, Hindu merchants provided capital, and Sufi (Muslim mystic) brotherhoods provided leadership for the communities of Muslim pioneers who transformed the Bengal wetlands into a key rice-producing region. These efforts compensated for the extended disobliging weather patterns that plagued temperate zones throughout the Northern Hemisphere a â€Å"little ice age† affecting climate throughout the early modern world. Religious Revival The most distinctive religious characteristic of this era was the global  expansion of Christianity. Indeed, the impetus driving the creation of global sea passages was religious as well as commercial. The efforts of Catholic religious orders predominated the great Protestant missionary societies would be founded only in the 1790s. Sufi brotherhoods such as the Naqshibandiyah expanded Islam in Africa, India, China, and southeastern Asia.Tibetan Buddhism pushed into northwestern China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Buryatia, and to Kalmikya, on the shore of the Caspian Sea, which remains today the only Buddhist republic in Europe. The increased emphasis on orthodox and textual conventions of Latin Christendom’s Reformation had a parallel in the Raskol schism of the Russian Orthodox Church during the 1650s. Elsewhere, Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab (1703–1792) founded the Wahabbi movement to reform Sunni Islam under strict Quranic interpretation. Many people believed that the era that historians call â€Å"early modern† would be the last. Franciscan apocalyptic thought inspired Columbus, and the belief that the god Quetzalcoatl would return from the East in a One Reed year led the Aztec sovereign Montezuma II to regard the Spanish conqueror Hernà ¡n Cortà ©s and his comrades as divine envoys. A Jesuit at the court of Akbar in 1581 found the Mughal ruler open to the idea of the imminent end because that year was eleven years from the thousandth anniversary of the Hijra, which was the journey the Prophet Muhammad took from Mecca to Medina in  622 CE. The Jewish Sabbatian movement expected the end of the world in 1666. In late eighteenth-century central China the White Lotus Society awaited the return of the Buddha to put an end to suffering. All these developments might best be understood in the context of notions of history in which significant change was either absent or sudden and awesome. Outlook Neither a deductive nor an inductive approach to the early modern world is  entirely satisfactory. A deductive approach expects to see the entire world following a Eurocentric roadmap to modernization (one that Europe itself might not have followed). An inductive approach respects the diversity of historical experience, but this diversity itself can frustrate attempts to delineate a discrete list of unifying features. If historians can tolerate the inconveniences of regional exceptions to every â€Å"global† process, the idea of an early modern world has its attractions. Although a perspective that twists the world around a European center is unproductive, the regions of the early modern world were increasingly named (in America) and mapped (as in China) by Europeans. Nevertheless, in its application beyond Europe the idea of an early modern world redresses the distortions of the Orientalist assumption of parochial, timeless, and conservative inertias unaltered by European expansion. It recognizes that peoples of the early modern era in some ways had more in common with each other than with their own ancestors and descendents that time unites just as powerfully as place. It facilitates comparative analysis and abets inquiry that trespasses across national boundaries. It sees the entire world as a stage, not only for comparative study, but also for the broadest possible analysis for a historian’s scrutiny. Further Reading Benton, L. (2002). Law and Colonial Cultures: Legal Regimes in World History, 1400– 1900. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Black, J. (Ed.). (1999).War in The Early Modern World, 1450–1815. London: UCL Press. Fisher,W. (1895). Money and Credit Paper in the Modern Market. The Journal of Political Economy, 3, 391–413. Fletcher, J. (1985). Integrative History: Parallels and Interconnections in the Early Modern Period, 1500–1800. Journal of Turkish Studies, 9, 37–57. Flynn, D. O., Giraldez, A. (1995). Born with a Silver Spoon: World Trade’s Origins in 1571. Journal of World History, 6(2), 201–221. Fox, D. R. (1915). Foundations of West India Policy. Political Science Quarterly, 30, 661–672. Frank, A. G. (1998). ReOrient: Global Economy in the Asian Age. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Goldstone, J. A. (1991). Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Goldstone, J. A. (1998). The Problem of the â€Å"Early Modern† World. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 41, 249–284. Huff,T. E. (1993). The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam, China and the West. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Lieberman,V. (1997). Transcending East-West Dichotomies: State and Culture Formation in Six Ostensibly Disparate Areas. Modern Asian Studies, 31(3), 463–546. Mousnier, R. (1970). Peasant Uprisings in Seventeenth-Century France, Russia, and China (B. Pearce,Trans.). New York: Harper and Row. Parker,G. (1996). The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500–1800 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Pomeranz, K.(2001).The Great Divergence: China, Europe, and the Making of the Modern World Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Richards, J. F. (1997). Early Modern India and World History. Journal of World History, 8, 197–209. Richards, J. F. (2003). The Unending Frontier: An Environmental History of the Early Modern World. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. Starn, R. (2002). The Early Modern Muddle. Journal of Early Modern History, 6(3), 296–307. Strong, C. F. (1955). The Early Modern World. London: University of London Press. Subrahmanyam, S. (1997). Connected Histories: Notes Towards a Reconfiguration of Early Modern Eurasia. Modern Asian Studies, 31(3), 735– 762. Thomson, S. H. (1964). The Age of Reconnaissance, by J. H. Parry. The Journal of Modern History, 36(2), 187–188. Wallerstein, I. (1974). The Modern World-System. New York: Academic. Wiesner-Hanks, M. (2000). Christianity and Sexuality in the Early Modern World: Regulating desire, reforming practice. London: Routledge. Wills, J. E., Jr. (2001). 1688: A Global History. New York: Norton. The Modern Era The modern era is the briefest and most turbulent of the three main eras of human history. Whereas the era of foragers lasted more than 200,000 years and the agrarian era about 10,000 years, the modern era has lasted just 250 years. Yet, during this brief era change has been more rapid and more fundamental than ever before; indeed, populations have grown so fast that 20 percent of all humans may have lived during these two and a half centuries. The modern era is also the most interconnected of the three eras. Whereas new ideas and technologies once took thousands of years to circle the globe, today people from different continents can converse as easily as if they lived in a single global village. History has become world history in the most literal sense. For our purposes the modern era is assumed to begin about 1750.Yet, its roots lay deep in the agrarian era, and we could make a good case for a starting date of 1500 or even earlier. Determining the end date of the modern era is even trickier. Some scholars have argued that it ended during the twentieth century and that we now live in a postmodern era. Yet, many features of the modern era persist today and will persist for some time into the future; thus, it makes more sense to see our contemporary period as part of the modern era. This fact means that we do not know when the modern era will end, nor can we see its overall shape as clearly as we might wish. The fact that we cannot see the modern era as a whole makes it difficult to specify its main features, and justifies using the deliberately vague label â€Å"modern.† At present the diagnostic feature of the modern era seems to be a sharp increase in rates of innovation. New technologies enhanced human control over natural resources and stimulated rapid population growth. In their turn, technological and demographic changes transformed lifeways, cultural and religious traditions, patterns of  health and aging, and social and political relationships. For world historians the modern era poses distinctive challenges. We are too close to see it clearly and objectively; we have so much information that we have difficulty distinguishing trends from details; and change has occurred faster than ever before and embraced all parts of the world. What follows is one attempt to construct a coherent overview, based on generalizations that have achieved broad acceptance among world historians. Major Features and Trends of the Modern Era The modern era is the first to have generated a large body of statistical evidence; thus, it is also the first in which we can quantify many of the larger changes. Increases in Population and Productivity Human populations have increased faster than ever before during the modern era, although growth rates slowed during the late twentieth century. Between 1750 and 2000 the number of men and women in the world rose from approximately 770 million to almost 6 billion, close to an eightfold increase in just 250 years. This increase is the equivalent of a growth rate of about 0.8 percent per annum and represents a doubling  time of about eighty-five years. (Compare this with estimated doubling times of fourteen hundred years during the agrarian era and eight thousand to nine thousand years during the era of foragers.) An eightfold increase in human numbers was possible only because productivity rose even faster. The estimates of the economist Angus Maddison suggest that global gross domestic product rose more than ninety fold during three hundred years, whereas production per person rose nine fold. These astonishing increases in productivity lie behind all the most significant changes of the modern era. Productivity rose in part because new technologies were introduced. In agriculture, for example, food production  kept pace with population growth because of improved crop rotations, increased use of irrigation, widespread application of artificial fertilizers and pesticides, and the use of genetically modified crops. However, productivity also rose because humans learned to exploit new sources of energy. During the agrarian era each human controlled, on average, 12,000 kilocalories a day (about four times the energy needed to sustain a human body), and the most powerful prime movers available were domestic animals or wind-driven ships. During the modern era humans have learned to harvest the huge reserves of energy stored in fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas and even to exploit the power lurking within atomic nuclei. Today each person controls, on average, 230,000 kilocalories a day—twenty times as much as during the agrarian era. A world of planes, rockets, and nuclear power has replaced a world of horses, oxen, and wood fires. City Sprawl As populations have increased, so has the average size of human communities. In 1500 about fifty cities had more than 100,000 inhabitants, and none had more than a million. By 2000 several thousand cities had more than 100,000 inhabitants, about 411 had more than a million, and 41 had more than 5 million. During the agrarian era most people lived and worked in villages; by the end of the twentieth century almost 50 percent of the world’s population lived in communities of at least five thousand people. The rapid decline of villages marked a fundamental transformation in the lives of most people on Earth. As during the agrarian era, the increasing size of communities  transformed lifeways, beginning with patterns of employment: Whereas most people during the agrarian world were small farmers, today most people support themselves by wage work in a huge variety of occupations. Innovations in transportation and communications have transformed relations between communities and regions. Before the nineteenth century no one  traveled faster than the pace of a horse (or a fast sailing ship), and the fastest way to transmit written messages was by state-sponsored courier systems that used relays of horses. Today messages can cross the world instantaneously, and even perishable goods can be transported from one end of the world to another in just a few hours or days. Increasingly Complex and Powerful Governments As populations have grown and people’s lives have become more intertwined, more complex forms of regulation have become necessary, which is why the business of government has been revolutionized. Most premodern governments were content to manage war and taxes, leaving their subjects to get on with their livelihoods more or less unhindered, but the managerial tasks facing modern states are much more complex, and they have to spend more effort in mobilizing and regulating the lives of those they rule. The huge bureaucracies of modern states are one of the most important byproducts of the modern revolution. So, too, are the structures of democracy, which allow governments to align their policies more closely with the needs and capabilities of the large and varied populations they rule. Nationalism—the close emotional and intellectual identification of citizens with their governments—is another by-product of these new relationships between governments and those they rule. The presence of democracy and nationalism may suggest that modern governments are more reluctant to impose their will by force, but, in fact, they have much more administrative and coercive power than did rulers of the agrarian era. No government of the agrarian era tried to track the births, deaths, and incomes of all the people it ruled or to impose compulsory schooling; yet, many modern governments handle these colossal tasks routinely. Modern states can also inflict violence more effectively and on a larger scale than even the greatest empires of the agrarian era. Whereas an eighteenth century cannon could destroy a house or kill a closely packed group of soldiers, modern nuclear weapons can destroy entire cities  and millions of people, and the concerted launch of many nuclear weapons could end human history within just a few hours. A subtler change in the nature of power is the increased dependence of modern states on commercial success rather than raw coercion. Their power depends so much on the economic productivity of the societies they rule that modern governments have to be effective economic managers. The creation of more democratic systems of government, the declining importance of slavery, the ending of European imperial power during the twentieth century, the collapse of the Soviet command economy in 1991, and the ending of apartheid (racial segregation) in South Africa in 1990 and 1991 all reflected a growing awareness that successful economic management is more effective than crudely coercive forms of rule.