Management and Leadership: Military Essay

Introduction Though popular consensus is that management and leadership are interchangeable terms with the same purpose and meaning nothing could be further from the truth. Management can be defined as influencing one or more person’s actions and activities through planning, organizing, leading, controlling and guiding toward accomplishing set goals or objectives. Leadership can be defined as effectively influencing and directing others in a manner that encourages obedience, confidence and loyal team support in accomplishing organizational goals. From these two definitions one might have a subtle hint as to how management and leadership differ. The purpose of this paper is to differentiate between managerial and leadership positions within military organizations, describe the roles that military managers and leaders play in creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture, and explain how the four functions of management support the creation and maintenance of a healthy organizational culture within military organizations. The final discussion will include two recommendations to create and maintain a healthy  organizational culture. Leadership and Management Just as the definitions suggest a distinct deference between management and leadership all military organizations have distinctive positions for management and leadership purposes. Military organizations use a designated ranking structure for the purpose of immediate distinction between management and leadership. Leadership personnel hold the title of officer in all branches of military service. Management personnel hold the title of noncommissioned officer (NCO). While officers are immediately recruited and appointed into the leadership position NCO’s have to earn their title and managerial position in the course of progression through the ranks from private to NCO. Though these two positions differ on many levels each is equally important to military organizational culture. â€Å"A leader is anyone who by virtue of assumed role or assigned responsibility inspires and influences people to accomplish organizational goals† (FM 6-22, 2006). Therefore, an officer’s (leaders) main focus is to motivate soldiers both inside and outside of their immediate chain of command to pursue actions, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the greater good of the organization (FM 6-22, 2006). Officers influence military personnel by setting a personal example (leading by example) on and off duty hours. Officer’s actions have a direct correlation to the amount of influence they will have in conveying purpose and vision, providing direction and motivating others. Being able to convey purpose and vision is important for officers’ to give subordinates the reason to take the necessary steps needed to accomplish missions. Open communication is essential in providing clear direction on how subordinates will go about accomplishing the mission. In order to provide clear direction officers are responsible for prioritizing mission tasks, assigning responsibilities and confirming that subordinates understand all directives given. Motivation is the key to encouraging subordinates to do whatever is necessary to accomplish the mission. An officers’ role in motivation is to understand or get to know as much as  possible about the needs, capabilities or limitations of his or her subordinates to determine what motivates who and personally praise or encourage when necessary. The process of getting subordinates to do whatever is necessary to accomplish the mission falls to the NCO (managers). According to Army Regulation 5-1 (2002) â€Å"management is linked with leadership, just as doctrine, systems, processes, facilities and equipment are connected with the people who use them.† Therefore, NCO’s have the authority to make decisions based on the needs of set missions in accordance with organizational policies. The NCO’s main focus is on daily operations, and immediate subordinate’s actions toward accomplishing set tasks in order to fulfill missions. The NCO’s mission is to provide instruction and supervision over subordinates to ensure tasks are being performed effectively, efficiently and in a timely manner. NCO’s implement the four functions of management in every mission presented. Planning is used to determine a working strategy to accomplish each mission assigned to the division. NCO’s will use organizing to determine how to break down missions into smaller tasks that can be performed over time. Once tasks and timelines have been determined human resources (available manpower) is evaluated according to knowledge and experience to determine who will be most effective on which task then tasks are assigned to individuals or teams. Once teams are assigned work commences and leading begins. NCO’s are responsible for overseeing each team’s daily progress, making on the spot corrections, giving additional instruction, motivating and directing each team to ensure that all projects are going according to schedule and all workers are performing effectively and efficiently toward achieving set goals. When issues arise NCO’s are responsible for controlling situations through risk management, bringing subordinates back on track, on the spot training, enforcing organizational rules and regulations and so forth. Types of controls that are used in any given situation will vary depending on an individual’s leadership or management style. Though leadership and management styles vary depending on individual  preference three specific styles stand out with both officers and NCO’s in military organizations: (1) autocratic, (2) participative and (3) delegating. Bateman and Snell (2007) describe each of these strategies as: Autocratic: leaders and or managers make decisions about what needs to be done at their own discretion then tell subordinates what to do and how they want it done. Participative: leaders and or managers will involve one or more subordinates in the decision making process on specific task planning and organizing. Delegating: leaders or managers will delegate authority to capable subordinates allowing them to make decisions for specific tasks while the leader or manager will still take full responsibility for any decision that was made through delegation. Each style is effective in its own right and in specific circumstances. Officers and NCO’s who use all three styles at different times are more effective than those who just stick to one. Organizational Culture Organizational culture is the basic nature or overall actions and conduct of an organization based on shared values and goals. In order to have a fuller understanding of military organizational culture one would need to grasp military organizational structure. Military organizations use a hierarchical divisional organizational structure. Bateman and Snell (2007) describe a divisional organization structure as â€Å"departmentalization that groups units around products, customers, or geographic regions.† Military divisional organizational structure is based around geographic regions. See Chart 1 for a visual break down of basic military organizational structure. DIVISIONAL ORGANIZATION: BASIC MILITARY ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Chart 1: Divisional Organization: Basic Military Organizational Structure. Notice that the basic structure consists of Officers; NCO’s and subordinates (enlisted soldiers). From the battalion level down to platoons each leader is accompanied by a manager. Information goes down the chain of command while requests go up the chain of command. Military culture is based on strict adherence to the chain of command and company policies i.e. subordinates would have to go through the squad leader and the platoon sergeant to speak to the first sergeant and so forth up the chain. Basic military organizational structure and culture is learned in _basic training_ (boot camp) where new recruits, both officers and enlisted personnel, undergo rigorous physical, mental and emotional training to establish military values and team building experience. Graduates are then separated and sent to _advance individual training_ (AIT) schools to learn specific trade skills. Through shared experiences from basic training new team building experiences develop. Again, graduates are separated and assigned to units based on their field of training. Shared experiences are the foundation for unit cohesiveness among all military personnel. While common experiences may vary they open the path for shared ideas, values, responsibility and perceptions of military uniformity to military organizational culture that guides all military personnel toward achieving common personal and organizational goals throughout their career. Though troops and their families are uprooted and moved from post to post at the needs of the military, sometimes at a moments notice, shared experiences and personal and professional commitment to military values and mission preserve the military organizational culture. Military organizational culture is more than a commitment. Military organizational culture is a way of life for all who dedicate their lives to honor and defend this nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Recommendations Military organizational culture is a culture that has stood the test of time decade after decade. Retired war heroes and new recruits all have one thing  in common. Each has a _common bond_ through shared experiences, dedication to military values, mission, ethics, code of conduct and so forth. Young or old, each has dedicated themselves to something bigger than themselves and committed their lives to honor and defend this nation’s freedom at all cost. While military culture has been mocked and scorned by many over the years, much can be learned from such a strong organizational culture. Many failing organizations in today’s challenging business environment would do well to incorporate some of the standards of military organizational culture into their own business. Having _strong core values_ in place is the basis for creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture. Military organizational culture consists of strong core values such as: â€Å"loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and courage† (U.S. Army web site, 2008). While some of these values could be considered strictly military oriented all organizations could agree that loyalty, duty, honor and integrity could be considered universal. More companies could and should integrate these types of core values into their mission and values statements to help create and maintain a more healthy organizational culture. Having a _code of conduct_ in place establishes guidelines for acceptable employee behavior which helps create and maintain a healthy organizational culture. Military organizations have established a strong code of conduct which describes separate and military distinctive areas of specific conduct becoming of service members. While the truth is that the military code of conduct is not applicable to civilian organizations all organizations could agree that specific behaviors do exist that are expected of all people within specialized organizations. Therefore, organizations could and should come up with a written policy explaining specific behaviors and actions that are acceptable and expected of all employees. Organizations may even have separate codes of conduct expectations for managers versus employees. The point here is to have an established and acceptable pattern of behavior for all employees to follow in order help maintain an overall healthy organizational culture. Conclusion From the research presented one can conclude that distinct differences between leaders and managers do exist. Leaders mainly focus on inspiring and motivating individuals toward accomplishing set goals. Managers mainly focus on motivating individuals through planning, organizing, leading and controlling functions of management. Based on these descriptions the main difference between management and leadership would be the method used to motivate individuals to accomplish goals. Though organizational structures may differ from one organization to the next organizational structure does help set the foundation for organizational culture. Organizational culture sets the tone for organizational success through shared experiences, values, beliefs and behaviors. Though many theories exist for creating and maintaining a healthy organizational culture each organization must come up with standards i.e. core values, code of ethics and so on that are unique and attainable to that particular organization based on specific needs i.e. values, mission and purpose. References Army Regulation 5-1. (2002). Management: Total Army Quality Management. Retrieved July 11, 2008, from http://www.hqda.army.mil/leadingchange/Army%20Policies/r5-1.pdf Bateman T., and Snell S., (2007), Management: Leading & Collaborating in a Competitive World (7th Ed.), McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York, NY. FM 6-22. (2006). Army Leadership: Competent, Confident, and Agile. Retrieved July 10, 2008 http://usacac.army.mil/cac/cal/FM6_22.pdf U.S. Army web site. (2008). U.S. Army: Training and Doctrine Command. Retrieved July 15, 2008, from http://www.tradoc.army.mil/

Medical Record Keeping

What are the problems with America’s current medical recordkeeping system? How would electronic medical records alleviate these problems? The majority of America’s current medical record keeping is paper based which creates a lot of problems like:- a. Recordkeeping became really difficult with growing numbers of patients and their visits to Medical Practitioner. There are shelves full of folders and papers in corridors. b. It makes it difficult to effective communication, referring and access to the records. During emergency it could be the matter of life and death. c.It’s difficult to systematically examine and to share the information; the updating of these records is almost a challenge. There are cases of wrong entry and duplicate entries etc. d. When a patient changes a Doctor or moves to other problems, it becomes a hassle for patient as well as for Doctor. The electronic medical records will allow patients to enter their basic medical data into an online si te initially and after that Doctor also will be able to send relevant information for regular update. This system will make record keeping more effective and streamlined which are easily accessible.The use of electronic record keeping reduces errors in medical records. The handwritten records are subject to lots of human errors due to misspelling, illegibility, and differing terminologies. Thus digitations and standardisation of records will make the information universally accessible and cost effective too. Apart from this, it could also be used for remainder message for refilling of prescription, directories for doctors and personalised health advice. 2. What are the pros and cons of electronic patient records? Do you think the concerns over digitizing our medical records are valid?Why or why not? The main proponents of electronics patient record cite the following advantages: a. The electronics patient records reduce errors in medical records. With the use of electronics patient records standardization of patient health records may eventually become achievable. b. Paper records can be easily lost. Digital records can be stored virtually forever and can be kept long after the physical records are gone. Electronics patient records also help keep records of health information that patients tend to forget with time, i. e. inoculations, previous illnesses and medications. . Electronics patient records make health care cost-efficient by consolidating all data in one place. Previously, paper-based records are located in different places and getting access to all of them takes a lot of time and money. d. Electronics patient records can save lives. It enables rapid identification of at-risk patients and access to their medical history, thereby enabling rapid diagnosis and treatment especially in emergency situations. Classic examples are people with diabetes and/or heart problems who have high risk of collapsing and having attacks.The disadvantages of Electronics pa tient records: Electronics patient records threaten privacy. Many people are uncomfortable about having their entire medical history recorded and digitized for almost just anybody to see – in other words, incursion into people's privacy. a. Medical data can be used against a person in some cases, be it for a job application, insurance coverage or a college scholarship. Although it is against the law to discriminate against people with illnesses and disabilities, it is a fact of life that the fitter you are, the more competitive you are in the job market. . Electronics patient records can lead to loss of the human touch in health care. In the process of digitalization, the interpersonal aspect in health care may be lost. The doctors are forced to think in categories and can seldom express a personal opinion on an individual case. c. Electronics patient records are not that efficient. Despite efforts in digitalization and standardization, but sometimes one clinic's EMR system i s not compatible with that of a general practitioner or another clinic's system, thus belying the claim of added efficiency d.Electronic medical records are not safe and secure. Google Health and HealthVault are quick in assuring patients of the safety of their online health accounts. Stories of data hacking, stolen identities and blackmail abound. Even high security databases such as those run by banks and credit institutions are often compromised. 3. Should people entrust Google with their electronic medical records? Why or why not? People should adopt Google’s electronic medical records as it allows patients to control their medical records.If they decide to change doctors or hospitals, they will be able to electronically transfer their Google records by themselves. There are a lot of advantages that has been discussed in above questions which will benefit people and the whole system. Some concerns like privacy and security of data is restricting people to adopt this; they wonder whether hackers will be able to access the Google medical records or whether the company will use them commercially. Google has assured that it will not share or sell the data, and it's absurd to think Google would attempt to use medical records for commercial purposes.Further, hacking into hospital, small clinic, or family practice computer systems is far easier that going after Google's data centre. Google’s reassurances that its security is iron-tight and that businesses and individuals should have confidence in its ability to store and protect data. Based on these facts people should trust Google with their records. 4. If you were in charge of designing an electronic medical recordkeeping system, what are some features you would include? What are features you would avoid? The features which should be included in an electronic record keeping system are: a.It should store and manage the medical and health information in one central place. b. It should be personalize d i. e. the patient decides what goes on the record. c. It can give doctors fast and easy access to the patient’s records but only if the patient allows it. d. It can import electronic records from hospitals and pharmacies that are Google Health-enabled or are registered Google Health partners. e. It should be completely free. f. It should be secure. g. The system will have record standardization and interfaces can be customized to each provider environment.This customization should be done so that a physician's input interface closely mimics previously utilized paper forms. More time must be spent by both the implementation team and the healthcare provider to understand the workflow needs. h. All together features that should be included are security, universal standards for gathering, storing, and disseminating data, and universal standards for transmission technologies. Some features to be avoided are unrestricted access to data and unencrypted transmissions.

He-y Come on Ou-t analysis Essay

In the short story â€Å"He-y Come on Ou-t† the hole symbolizes an easy solution for a big problem. People used this hole to dump their waste, and fears into it. They used it to dispose unwanted materials, and at the same time to bring money into the city by charging others to dump their waste into it. The hole also symbolizes the people’s ignorance as well, people do not fully understand what this big dark gaping space is, and that it could harm the Earth in many possible ways, yet they still use it for their own good. The hole is a positive thing, because people learn from experience, and that hole taught the people that every action has a consequence and that everything comes around again in some way. This hole also shows how people won’t always get away with something bad they have done. The hole swallows all the sin people have done, and gives them some peace of mind. I would sure like to use one of these phenomenon’s, but if I do many other people will, and later on the world will lack a lot of things. This hole is sure useful at times, but it will reflect on the world and the environment, because everything has its bad and it’s good. Almost everything we use is recycled or some parts of it are taken to do and produce something else. Some things do not naturally occur, so when people start getting rid of materials and things that they think are useless, we will be short on a lot of things in the upcoming centuries. Not all people are geniuses or aware of what the things they are using is made out of. Even if this hole will be used for a good cause, and to save our environment instead of burning garbage, dead animal bodies, etc. there are still many other ways to do such things in a safer way without risking our environment. We live in an uncontrolled world; if such thing existed some people will manage to find a way to use it to harm our environment. We shouldn’t take the easy way out in everything, but think and solve the problem once and for all.

Current U.S Policy towards Libya Research Paper

Current U.S Policy towards Libya - Research Paper Example I am prompted to write your good office to recommend that our government should take a direct participation in Libya because I am concerned with the recent political development in Libya particularly the unclear circumstances that led to the death of the dictator Muammar Ghaddafi and NTC’s handling of its political prisoners that has been reported as being abused (CBS News, November 29, 2011). I believe that if the US government will take a proactive role in Libya, it will prevent the dissolution of its political gains that was earned by the revolution against the tyranny of Muammar’s government. I believe that it is only with US government direct participation that will ensure that Libya will follow the democratic process of justice and ensure its smooth transition into a real democracy. III. Argument why the official should act as you suggest. This should also have several parts:Â   - a) sketch the public problem, as you see it;Â   The newly founded government of Li bya is still very young and still carries the vestiges of the old regime. Being such, it is prone to excess with a predilection towards summary execution as a way of meting justice. This was clearly demonstrated with the unclear circumstances of Muammar Ghaddafi’s death where he was captured alive and was later reported dead alleging that he was caught in the cross fire (El Gamal). Many of us are not convinced. Given the political culture of Libya, we both know that there was a big probability that he was executed. Such, the US government must act so that similar acts or incidents would not happen again. As what we have seen, Libya’s newly installed government is lukewarm in investigating the circumstances of his death if indeed he was caught in the cross fire or summarily executed. It would be better to take a preventive step than to react to an incident that has already happened. The recent development of prisoner abuse is already beginning to surface. With the less open political environment of Libya, I suspect that there are more abuses than what is actually reported. Already, UN had reported that Libya’s new leaders acknowledged that prisoners are being abused (Associated Press November 29, 2011). If these abuses will continue, I am anxious that Libya will lose its political gains if it will degenerate and slide back to its former dictatorial nature of carrying out justice. In effect, nothing changed but only those who are in power. To keep Libya’s political gains, it has to maintain a steady course towards democracy and proper implementation of justice. For Libya to achieve this, it is imperative that the United States government should be directly involved in setting up the justice system of Libya and its government. b) describe the inadequacy of the actions taken on it to date The United States government must learn from history, particularly the lessons taught by the experience of Iraq when the US government left after it l iberated the country from Saddam Hussein. Iraq disintegrated and fell into chaos without a clear government (Rashidian). We should not let this happen to Libya. Libya have started a revolution and able to win it under the slogan of freedom and democracy. But we have to understand that this was a close country that only had a bare idea of what democratic process and justice

Issues in Employee Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Issues in Employee Performance - Essay Example However, having a sound output for the company depends on the quality of human capital one organisation has. In order to attain quality productivity, one must select competent personnel of which can deliver the expected output based on the set goals and objectives of the company. Moreover, on the other hand, those who have been employed in the company should be measured based on ones productivity and accomplishment, a process of which leads towards employees performance management. Primarily, employees’ performance management focuses on developing ones capabilities. Aguinis (2007) mentioned in one of his writings that performance management is â€Å"a continuous process of identifying, measuring and developing the performance of an individual.† Aguinis (2007) further added that this continuous capacity building needs clear objectives, observing and measuring performance and regular feedback. However, Cokins (2004) does not limit performance management to capacity buildi ng but rather â€Å"performance management helps managers to sense earlier and respond more quickly to uncertain changes.† Understanding the Nature of Employees According to Dan Hill (2008) employee management is the most emotional part of the business. It is a relationship that links the superior and the staff where interaction takes place and sometimes intense. Fast phased working environment mostly leads to misunderstanding or disagreement affecting office relationship. Emotionally confronted with reality cannot be avoided since it party dominate the relationship that shadows rationality and objectivity affecting company goals and specific work assignments. In some cases of which are highly damaging to the company’s reputation and as part of correcting the actions of which has negatively undertaken by an employee, immediate termination of employment should be considered and served to the employee. However, in less grievous cases, disciplinary action may take its pla ce in order to help the employee improve their quality to meet work standards. It should always be kept in mind that majority of employees would like to succeed in their respective position in which in order for an employee to advance to their respective careers, constant guidance and coaching is expected from their superior. This would help them improved and be recognized once ability enabling them to integrate concretely to the company’s operations giving them a sense of belongingness and for them to be able to recognize their personal problem and being able to improve oneself. Performance Management Wilson (2005) conferred that performance management has its own set of process, concept of which its approach has a holistic philosophy that integrates employees motivation, awareness of expectation from the superiors, personnel development and training, monitoring and performance measurement for them to be able to know the key areas for improvement. According to Mathis and Jac kson (2008) performance management should emanate from the organizations needs to meet its strategic objectives. Performance management serves as a strategy relating to every activity of organisation (Armstrong, 2005). Armstrong (2006) mentioned that installing a performance management system in the workplace creates an atmosphere that enables employees to performance in high

Project proposal for up-gradation of our e-mail system Essay

Project proposal for up-gradation of our e-mail system - Essay Example The current system is a mix of five different e-mail systems being used across twelve departments. This has been found to be inadequate to meet the present and future demands of effective and uninterrupted communication. This proposal is aimed at integrating different systems into a single system by powering and installing a comprehensive communication package. LONG TERM OBJECTIVES: The objective of the project is to implement an integrated e-mail system by replacing the existing fragmented system that is currently being used. Once implemented, the new system will be capable of handling a comprehensive range of communication needs to support our growth. It is estimated that this system will be geared to handle all our future needs for a period of ten years. Expected Project results: All problems we had with the old e-mail system will be eliminated with the new software and hardware. The whole project will take ten days to implement and to become operative PROJECT SCHEDULE AND WORK PLAN: The project plan is given here in detail. The project costs and a Gantt chart is reproduced at the end. Till the process of the implementation of the project is over, the required staff will be required to work on all days including weekends. The following tasks are required for completion. a. a. Purchase of new software package: Five vendors were identified and a comprehensive review of their product and services had been done with the help of the IT department. It has been decided that the package sold by Company X will be most suitable for our situation. The company is willing to customize the whole software to our specifications. The review report will be made available to the stakeholders and the board of directors for final approval. Once approved, the contract can be signed in three days. b. Replacing obsolete hardware like modems, switches and routers. Our IT staff on the direction of the software vendor, has estimated that all communication hardware will have to be changed. Fifteen incompatible computers will have to be replaced. An additional ten nodes are also required to be purchased. Suitable vendors have been identified and are awaiting approval of the board of directors after review by the stakeholders. The whole process would take seven days to complete including installation. The old system will run concurrently till the new one becomes functional. c. Backup of all exiting communication received and sent so far: The new package has been designed to read the backup files of all existing communication stored in our systems. The backup will be done by our IT staff and it will take two days to complete. It will not seriously affect our day to day operations.

Fallacies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fallacies - Assignment Example The language fallacy creates an impression on the readers of the article that the same issue occurs in the other communities located within the United States. People should not be misled by this fallacy. Language fallacy includes the use of language to create a false impression on the people (Engel, 1994). Further, to ensure the veracity of the statement, a research should be conducted. Evidence Fallacy. The article offers an assertion that is not supported by evidence. The violation creates an impression or statement that is not verified by evidence (Austin, 2008). Identifying the evidence fallacy, the statement â€Å"they will reduce public assistance rolls substantially and give our nation’s welfare reform effort a fighting chance to succeed.† indicates a false impression that reducing public assistance rolls substantially will automatically result to giving our nation’s welfare reform effort a fighting chance to succeed. There are strong probabilities that re ducing public assistance rolls substantially will not give our nation’s welfare reform a fighting chance to succeed. The news reporter should have verified his or her data, prior to the presentation to the public. The reporter will be surprised that thee is a possibility that the government continues to implement other programs that will alleviate the nation’s drug and alcohol abuse. Reasoning Fallacy. The author shows a reasoning fallacy. A reasoning fallacy crops up when the conclusions of the author are based on faulty gathering of supporting evidences. The author of the paper commits the unforgivable fallacy because of unskillful analysis of the facts (Sprague, 2008). Identifying the reasoning fallacy, the statement â€Å"State and local officials need not be tagged as tax-and-spend liberals if they devote more resources to addressing these problems among welfare recipients.† shows a generalization aspect of reasoning fallacy. The statement gives a false imp ression that all state and local officials are automatically tagged as tax-and-spend liberals if they devote more resources to addressing these problems among welfare recipients, giving an impression that the liberals are spendthrifts. Definitely, not all of the state and local officials should be tagged as tax-and-spend liberals because some state and local officials base their devoting more resources to the addressing these problems among welfare recipients on legal, evidential, and other legitimate grounds that exempt them from being tagged as tax-and-spend liberals. The author should have reported the facts, not to prematurely jump into conclusions. Using government funds to help the drug dependents and alcohol dependents should not be construed as unfavorable tax money allocation. Presence of fallacies. The fallacies diminish the quality of the author’s arguments. The readers can use common sense to detect if the author’s arguments are valid. By reading the articl e, the average reader will always say the statements, findings, or conclusions do not apply to all situations. There will always be exceptions to the author’s proposals. The author should add more data and researches to back up his proposed concepts. The purpose of the author’s fallacies is to increase acceptance of the author’

Saint Thomas Aquinas and his influence on Western thought Research Paper

Saint Thomas Aquinas and his influence on Western thought - Research Paper Example Aquino has been considered by many as one of the major pillars of civilization in the west. His philosophy exerted much influence not only on the successive Christian theology, but also the philosophy of the west in general. One could only conclude that Aquino’s existence was needed at this time when Catholic politics and the events in the world needed great intervention (Aquinas and Regan 73). At this time, a decision was made in Vatican apprehensively where Aquinas was assigned the task of merging formally Christianity with carnal reason. Aquino was born in Roccasecca Sicily in a noble family of Mr. Count Landulph and Mrs. Theodora (Aquinas and Regan 22). There were expectations that Aquino would pursue his uncle’s (Sinibald) footsteps to the position of abbot in the Benedictine monastery. He started his education at five years of age in a monastery, and the later proceeded to Naples University. While in this university, Aquinas chose to pursue the Dominican Order, de spite the fact that he faced much opposition from his family. The family even went to an extent of incarcerating him in trying to compel him to follow the family footsteps. However, their efforts failed following Pope Innocent the 4th’s intervention, propelling Aquino to the position of a Dominican monk by 1242. He later studied briefly under Magnus A., then later in Paris. While in Paris he vocally distinguished himself during the University champion Guillaume de St. Amour (Aquinas and Gilby 137). After his graduation from the university in 1248 with a degree in theology, he got back to Cologne and started his literary works. Aquino was described as a humble, peace-loving and simple man who loved poetry. Aquinas and Regan (63) assert that through his great learning and personality, he maintained a great deal of self control which saw him win over his rivals. He even refused to take part in an activity known as flesh mortification, a requirement for every Dominican Friar. Fur thermore, he also declined to hold some prestigious positions such as Naples’ Archbishop. He later went back to Naples with the aim of implementing a program of theological studies in the Naples University neighborhood in 1272. During St. Nicolas feast in 1273, Aquino had a vision in which he had a voice speaking to congratulating him for his great writings. The voice asked him for the reward that he wished to be given and Thomas said all that he needed was God himself (Aquinas and Regan 92). From there henceforth Aquino wrote no more. Earlier on, the Paris Bishop had condemned Aristotle’s teachings which were offered in the university, which also aimed at Aquino’s teachings. Gilby and Aquinas (15) explains that later in early 1274, Aquino left for France on a Second Council mission, but died before reaching there after falling sick shortly. On sensing his death, Aquino said that, that was his eternal rest and he had chosen it. St. Thomas Aquinas left back great works that can never be forgotten. His works were first condemned after his death by the Paris Bishop and there was an excommunication of Aquinas in posthumously. It took quite a number of years for his reputation to be revived; in the mid 15th century, his works were revived and taught throughout Paris, and at this time he was termed as the Dr. of the church (Aquinas, Regan and Baumgarth 140). In the contemporary societies, he is recognized by the Catholic Church in particular as the grand theologian philosopher. His works and their influence on Western

International Market Entry and Development Essay - 2

International Market Entry and Development - Essay Example The purpose of this essay is to analyze foreign marketplaces and the strategies that must be used to penetrate US, China and other's markets. The competitive landscape has changed and the United States has to keep up with the changes worldwide. Currently the top exporter in the world is the emerging economy of China, while the U.S. is the 4th highest exporter and the top importer worldwide. Due to the amazing growth of many emerging economies companies must target these foreign nations to achieve further growth in the long term. One of the best ways to establish a strong market presence described in the essay is through the utilization of a branding strategy. A branding strategy has many benefits including the ability to charge a premium price for products and services. A company in the apparel industry that has used a branding strategy to successfully penetrate many nations worldwide is Urban Outfitters. The use of a branding strategy helps companies build up a reputation among cust omers that leaves a lasting impression on the buyers. The use of marketing is also described by the researcher and is critical to create a branding strategy. The reseacher mentiones that the top fast food restaurant in the world, McDonald’s, spends every year a $1 billion in marketing expenses to continue its branding strategy. Companies that are able to establish a brand value have a better chance to succeed in international markets. The branding strategy can be as effective in the international markets as in the domestic marketplace.

Rephrasing Aging behaviour of 17-4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rephrasing Aging behaviour of 17-4 - Essay Example Continuously, layers of powder are deposited in a repeated cycle until the desired 3D structure is produced . DMLS process ensures production of parts that are fully dense and that require minimal post-processing activity. The DMLS process compares to another AM process popularly known as the Selective Laser Sintering (SLS). Conceptually, both SLS and DMLS are similar however, DMLS uses uncoated pre-alloyed metal powders for the sintering material, unlike SLS which utilizes coated metal powders or polymers . The final outcome of the DMLS procedure is characterized by fine or metastable microstructures , which at times may differ with the set international standards of conventional manufacturing. Moreover, further investigation into the mechanical properties of the microstructures resulting from the DMLS process is necessary to ensure that the structures produced are compatible and able to support the practical use they are intended. During the DMLS process, yielding begins at low values of about 600 Mpa due to the complexity of the process which results from the multiple constituents and interactions of the microstructure formation, especially precipitations. During the process, the structures may have large hardenings which may elicit discrepancies on the part of micro hardness and yield stress as a result of the strain induced transformation of the austenite. The austenite transformation occurs when the whole or part of the plastic field and the accumulation of twins is retained. The low twining probability in austenite may be attributed to the rapid nucleation of the martensite plates within the high twinned austenitic regions, which causes continuous strain-induced transformation along the plastic field. In addition, the accumulation of twins in the martensite affects the plastic flow providing increase in strain hardening ability . The presence of retained austenite material may significantly influence the mechanical composition

Love.report on Singapore Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Love.report on Singapore Airlines - Case Study Example It was also the first airlines to come up with satellite-supported in-flight communication system in 1991. The company is also credited with the idea of developing an International Culinary Panel comprising of worldwide prominent chefs, in addition to, the commencement of audio and video on choice facilities. Meanwhile, female air travel attendants, known as the Singapore Girls, have carried on the tradition of dressing in sarong kebaya outfit. Today, Singapore Airlines is one of the most reputed companies around the world. Changi Airport functions as the airline’s focal point from where it offers flight services to 35 countries around the world including regions of East Asia, South Asia, and South East Asia alongside the region between Australia and Europe. It is also known for operating the world’s two longest continuous commercial flights from Singapore to Newark and Los Angeles. The company is also attributed as the launcher of Airbus A380, the world’s bigges t traveller airplane. The financial performance of Singapore Airlines has always been encouraging with the exception of the year 2009-10. However, the company was able to recuperate and deliver excellent financial results in the year 2010-11 (Singapore Airlines, 2012). The P/E Ratio of Tiger Airways is slightly better than that of Singapore Airlines. This means that currently, investors are willing to pay more per dollar of accounted proceeds for Tiger Airways (Tiger airways Airline, 2011). However, taking other financial ratios into account along with the recent resurgence of Singapore Airlines after an unfortunate 2009-10 financial year, it can be stated that Singapore Airlines is more attractive in the eyes of investors as compared to the Tiger Airways. One noticeable divergence of the Singapore Airlines share price from the path of the ST index occurs during the period November 2010. During this period, the

The function of catecholase Essay Example for Free

The function of catecholase Essay 5 mL of enzyme, and all of the trials were set up as two tubes to begin with. One tube had 3. 5 mL of water and 2. 0 mL of catechol, and the other had . 5 mL of enzyme. By keeping the enzyme and substrate separate, we were able to have more control over the starting point of the reaction, and were able to bring each individual component to the desired temperature before starting. The temperatures that our group tested were 37oC, 45oC, 50oC, 55oC, 65oC, and 75oC. Both our group and group A-4 tested 37 and 45 degrees. This allowed us to compare each groups results more accurately. The setup for the actual experiment was that each temperature had its own test tube rack. Four tubes of water and catechol and four tubes of enzyme were put into each rack, and these racks were then submerged into either a hot water bath or a circulating water bath, depending on which temperature was being tested. The tubes were allowed to sit in the water for approximately five minutes to allow the contents of the tubes to come up to the temperature we were trying to test. Then the tube of enzyme was poured into the tube of catechol, the tube was covered and inverted to mix the contents, and the timer was started. We allowed the reaction to run from three to five minutes, keeping track of exactly how long each set went for. Our method for ensuring that the reactions ran for the exact length of time stated was to start each reaction thirty seconds later than the first, and then take the measurements from the spectrophotometer exactly thirty seconds apart, keeping the tubes in the same order. Before measuring each tube, we again inverted it several times to make sure that the product was uniformly distributed throughout the tube. Results Results for Group A-5 Temperature (degrees Celsius) Trial 1. Trial 2 Trial 3 Trial 4 Mean Standard Deviation 3 (Table 2) (Graph 1 (Graph 2)According to our results, the optimal temperature for the reaction of catecholase is 45oC. We were able to determine this because the average reaction rate was highest at this temperature (see table 1). We were correct in assuming that the reaction would gradually speed up as the temperature increased until it reached a point where the enzyme began to denature, and then the reaction rate would slow after that. This gradual increase, peak, and then decrease can be seen in the graph 1 above. The bars above and below each data point are representations of the standard deviation associated with each value. This shows how much variation we had within each set of trials. When we compared our results to group A-4, it was clear that they too found the peak reaction rate to be at the 45-degree temperature. This served to further verify our results. It is interesting to note that in the graph of both of our data, although the actual values are not the same, the overall conclusions are. Discussion After analysis of the data, it is clear that our hypothesis was correct, because the found peak does fall within the range of 23 and 75. We can be fairly certain that our data are correct because we were able to control the fixed variables, such as the amounts of each component of the reaction, very well by having the same person measure out the same thing for each trial. We were fairly accurate at controlling the temperature because the baths were monitored at a steady temperature for the time the reaction was taking place, although it would have probably been to our benefit to actually take the temperature of the liquids inside the test tubes instead of only monitoring the environment outside of the tubes. Also, we could have increased accuracy by having the spectrophotometer nearer to the baths, because there was some heat lost during transport, which could have affected the tubes that were measured later. There was also some confusion at the beginning of the experiment about exactly what technique was to be used, which resulted in our having to repeat the trials for the 65-degree temperature. We assume that similar problems are to blame for the differences in the reaction rates for 37o and 45o between our group and group A-4. We also discovered after the experiment had been completed that the other group had left the catechol out in a separate tube during heating, while we left the enzyme out. This difference in method may have contributed to the differences. To make sure that these problems did not result in faulty conclusions, I looked up another experiment on the effects of temperature done by Pierre Greenway. Greenways findings indicate that the peak temperature for enzyme function is actually at 40oC, and not 45. This is an interesting discovery, since we did not test thoroughly in the range of 37o-45o. The next course of experimentation suggested by these findings would be to thoroughly test the reaction rates at temperatures between 35 and 45 degrees Celsius. Measuring at one-degree intervals would give the best results, but may require another collaboration to be achieved in a reasonable amount of time. It may also be interesting to test the reaction rate at even higher temperatures, and try to find the point at which all of the enzyme is completely destroyed. According to the results of Greenway, this temperature was around 60oC for him, but we tested beyond that in our own experiment and found the rate to still be decreasing. Any of these questions would be interesting to try to answer.   Show   The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Patterns of Behaviour section.

The German Invaded Poland On 1st September 1939 History Essay

The German Invaded Poland On 1st September 1939 History Essay After 27 years when the German invaded Poland on 1st September 1939, it came to a second war. There have an omens show that the expansionist declared in its aims which had simply invaded another. In that time, they believe that the second war will end the war. This is the reason the nations and their leaders allowed another conflict to threaten the planet. The scope of this war was not evident, they intending the war would last for six years and involved more than two hundred countries which caused millions of people to suffers in the war. Besides that, they also believed that this war will affected the lives of three quarters of the worlds population and influences the lives of the majority of the worlds inhabitants to some grade. German move into Poland had been occupied by the rampaging Blitzkrieg techniques within a month. The Battle of Britain was at its height, Hitlers plans to invade England were close to being given the green light, and this awful funk filled many nations hea rt. The World War 2 was fought on the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Pacific. Besides that, there are four major land campaigns which were in the Soviet Union, North Africa, the Mediterranean, Western Europe and the Far East. There were no less than 56 countries involved in these World War 2. Most of them were fought out to the bitter and between equally well-trained and well-equipped armies. For our knowledge, the World War 2 was a war that was more cruel, bitter and vast than other war in the history. The war was taking part in vast air, land and sea battles. It turned World War 2 into a global conflict and ended it with the drawn of the nuclear era. World War 2 was a global military conflict lasting from year 1939 to 1945 which had been involved most of the worlds nations. It is including all of the great powers, which was organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. The World War 2 was the most widespread war in the history, with more than 100 millions military personnel mobilised. The major participants placed their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the services of the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. From the year 1939 to 1945, the Germanys military machine struck out and occupy most of the Western Europe, swept into deserts of North Africa and drove deep into the hinterlands of Russia. However, the Allies gathered strength and eventually crushed the Germany Army and Axis powers with a display of brute force that has remained unmatched to this day. In year 1939, Hitler invaded Poland on 1st September. After that, the Britain and France declare a war on Germany two days later. However, on the year 1940, there were a rationing started in the United Kingdom. Besides that, German started Blitzkrieg and succeeds preduce over Belgium, Holland and France. In the same year, the Churchill was became the Prime Minister of Britain. The British Expeditionary Force evacuated from Dunkirk. Hitler has to postpone his invasion plans when the British became the victory in the Battle of Britain. During 1941, the Europe was under Nazi control for the time being, the war was took on more on the global dimension. The gas chambers at Auschwitz were used when the bombing of British and German cities still continued, Hitler invaded Russia. In Hawaii, on 7th December 1941, the Japanese tired of American trade embargoes. They setup a surprise attack on the US Navy base of Pearl Harbor. In January 1942, the first Americans arrived in England, and they began their counter-offensive and snatch up Tobruk in June. The Blitz intensified in both England and Germany, by using the first thousand-bomber air raid on Cologne. Besides, the German was bombed the British cathedral cities. However, the Japanese was still continued their extension into Borneo, Java and Sumatra in the Pacific. In February, there are around 25,000 prisoners of war taken during the unassailable British stronghold of Singapore fell rapidly. During that time, many of them died in Japanese camps in the following year. Be sides that, there was a reversal of German fortunes during the second half of the year. The Montgomery gained was forced the British to voluntary in North Africa at El Alamein, and Russian also forces to counterattacked at Stalingrad. In the February of 1943, the Germany was surrender at Stalingrad. This is because they lose the bell by the Hitlers armies. However, the Battle still continued to frenzy in the Atlantic, and we can saw about 27 merchant vessels sunk by the Germany U-boats one four-day period in March. There was an integration of long-range aircraft and the codebreakers at the Bletchley during that time. In the mid of May 1943, the North Africa were forces by the Germany and Italian to surrendered to the Allies. So, the Allied victory in North Africa be capable of the invasion of Italy to be launched. As a result, there was a prompted to German to invasion into northern Italy. German armies was engaged the Allies in the South, it is to testify the slow and costly through the fight to Italy. At the same year, the Japanese at Guadalcanal was forces to overcame by US, and British and Indian armies began their guerrilla campaign in Burma. The long discussed was always postpones during the opening of the S econd Front in Europe. As a result, it was being prepared for the following year. Come to events of 1944, Japan began its last offensive in China. However, the major cities and lines of communication had limited to their control. Besides that, their resistance which often led by the Communist was widespread. There was a static campaign in central Italy during January 1944. After the allied bombing in February, the Germans counter-attacked and the fighting saw the destruction of the medieval monastery at Monte Cassino. The German retreat from Anzio at the end of May. However, Rome was liberated in June, which was the day before the Allies Operation Overload, now we known as the D-Day landings. As Operation Overload got underway, there are 6,500 vessels landed over 130,000 Allied forces on five Normandy beaches which are codenamed Utah, Omaha, Golf, Juno and Sword. Around 12,000 aircraft guarantee the air superiority for the Allies for bombing defences. However, they were unable to counter-attack with the necessary speed and strength after the landings caught the Ge rman by surprise. Nevertheless, at the end of June 1944, Cherbourg was liberated. Paris followed two months later. By the end of the August, the Russians had taken the Bucharest. Besides, the Estonia was taken just within the months, and the Budapest was under surrounded by the end of the year. In December 1944, around 19,000 Americans was killed by the Battle of the Bulge and delayed the Allies march into the Germany. In the year 1945, the New Year saw the Soviet liberation of Auschwitz, and the revelation of the sickening smuttiness of the Holocaust, its scale became more distinct as more camps were liberated in the following months. The Soviet army continued its offensive from the east in the March, while from the west the Allies determinate a bridge across the Rhine at Remagen. Meanwhile, the western Allies raced the Russians to be the first to Berlin. On 21 April, the Russian won. On 30th April, Hitler was killed himself, where two days after Mussolini had been captured and hanged by Italian partisans. While on 7 May, the Germany surrendered with term less. However, in the Pacific, it had continued to bile throughout this time. In the February, the Americans had inroad into Iwo Jima. Besides that, the Philippines and Okinawa string along with and Japanese forces to began withdraw from China. The Allied planned to invade Japan, but fears of fierce resistance and massive casualties prompted Harr y Truman. The new American president agrees the use of an atomic bomb to combat Japan. Since 1942, the atomic bomb had been in development. During 6 August, one of the bomb was fallen on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. After three days, there was another which fallen on Nagasaki. There had no other country that could withstand by such attacks, finally the Japanese surrendered on 14 August. The World War 2 was the biggest conflict in the history that had lasted almost six years. Around 100 million people had been militarised, and almost 50 million had been killed. For those who had died, 15 million of them were soldiers, and 20 million of them were Russian civilians. Besides, there were six million were Jews and over four million were poles. Timeline for World War 2: wwii%20timeline%20copy.jpg Chronology of World War 2: 1937 Japan begins undeclared war on China March 1938 Germany annexes Australia to the German Reich 29 September 1938 Chamberlain, Daladier, Mussolini, and Hitler meet at Munich conference May 1939 Pact of Steel: military alliences between Italy and Germany 1939 Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union 1 september 1939 Fermany attacks Poland 3 september 1939 Great Britian and France declare war on Germany April 1940 germany attacks Denmark and Norway May 1940 Germany invades the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France June 1940 Italy enters the war on the side of Germany 17 June 1940 French Marshal Petain petitions Germany for an armistice and creates a collaborationist government at Vichy September 1940 Japan, Germany and Italy sign Tripartite pact September- November 1940 The Battle of Britain 22 June 1941 Germany invades the Soviet Union 1941 First extermination camp created in Chelmno, Poland 7 December 1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, the following day, the United States declared war on Japan 11 December 1941 Germany declares war on the United Stated January 1942 Wannsee Conference, where the Final Solution is planned June 1942 Italian government withdraws from the war April 1943 unsuccessful uprising in the warsaw ghetto November 1943 Churchill, Rooservelt, and Stalin meet at Teheran conference 6 June 1944 Allied forces land in nonthern France D-Day February 1945 Churchill, Rooservelt, and Stalin meet at Yalta March 1945 American forces march into Germany 30 April 1945 Hitler commits suicide July and August 1945 Churchill, Truman, and Stalin meet at Potsdam 6 August 1945 United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima 2 September 1945 Japan surrenders Nazi Germany: Nazi Germany or known as Third Reich, is the common name for Germany while govern by Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Germany Workers Party (NSDAP) during 1933 to 1945. Nazi Germany is at the bottom of in the wake of the national shame, embarrassment, anger and resentment which resulting from the Treaty of Versailles. Nazi Germany had two official names which are known as the Deutsches Reich (German Reich), from 1933 to 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich (Greater German Reich). Germany was started the development into Greater Germany during the World War 2, which began in 1939 after Germany invaded Poland, jump-start the United Kingdom and France to declare a war on Germany. During the war, the Germany was subjugated and occupied most at Europe and Northern Africa. Besides, the Nazis persecuted and murdered millions of Jews and other minorities in the Holocaust Final Solution. Hitler was learned that the Soviet Union able to sign a non-aggression pact with Germany and would support an attack on Poland. As a result, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939. After 2 days, the United Kingdom and Italy was declared a war on Germany. World War 2 was underway, but Poland fell quickly, especially after the Soviets attacked Poland on 17 September. In May 1940, Hitler ordered an attack on France through the Low Countries. The Battle of France ended with an overwhelming German victory. However, the British was refused Hitlers offer of peace, as a result, the war was continued. Germany and Britain was continued their fight at sea and in the air. Nevertheless, on 24 August, the two off-course German bombers was accidentally bombed London against Hitlers orders, it was the reason for changing the course of the war. In response to the attack, the British bombed Berlin, this was the reason which sent Hitler into a bile. Hitler hoped to break British morale and win peace. However, the British refused to back down. Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941. On the eve of the invasion, Hitler was formed a deputy which was known as Rudolf Hess, the reason of forming this deputy was attempted to negotiate terms of peace with the United Kingdom in an unofficial private meeting after crash-landing in Scotland. On 11 December 1941, four days after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, Nazi Germany was declared a war on the United States. This was not only a chance for Germany to strengthen its ties with Japan, but after months of anti-German hysteria in the American media and Lend-Lease aid to Britain, the leaking of Rainbow Five and the foreboding content of Franklin Delano Roosevelts Pearl Harbor speech made it clear to Hitler that the US could not be kept neutral. Germanys policy of ease up towards the US was designed to keep the US out of the war, but actually it was a burden to Germanys war effort. Germany had refrained from attacking American convoys, even if they were bound for the United Kingdom or the Soviet Union. By contrast, after Germany declared war on the US, the German navy began to unrestricted submarine warfare, by using U-Boats to attack ships without warning. The goal of Germanys navy, the Kriegsmarine, was to cut off Britains supply line. Under these instances, one of the most famous naval battles in history was took place, which was known as the German battleship  Bismarck. It was Germanys largest and most powerful warship, which attempting to break out into the Atlantic and raid supply ships heading for Britain. German U-Boats were more successful than surface raiders like Bismarck. However, Germany failed to make submarine production a top priority early on and by the time it did, the British and their allies were developing the technology and strategies to neutralize it. The Allied victory in the Battle of the Atlantic was achieved at a huge cost. Between the year 1939 and 1945, there were 3,500 Allied ships were sunk (gross tonnage 14.5 million) at a cost of 783 German U-Boats. On 30 April 1945, as the Battle for Berlin anger and the city was being overrun by Soviet forces, Hitler committed suicide in his underground bunker. After two days which was on 2 May 1945, German General Helmuth Weidling unconditionally surrendered Berlin to the Soviet General Vasily Chuikov. At the same time, the Hitler was succeeded by Grand Admiral Karl Dà ¶nitz as Reichs President and Dr. Joseph Goebbels as Reich Chancellor. There was no one that can be replace Hitler as the Fà ¼hrer, which was a position that Hitler abrogated in his will. However, the Goebbels committed were suicide in the Fà ¼hrerbunker a day after assuming office. The World War 2 was the largest and most demolish in human history, there were around 60 million dead across the world, which including almost 9 to 11 million people who perished during the Holocaust. The Soviet Union was lost around 27 million people during the war, almost half of them all were World War II casualties. Towards the end of the war, Europe had more than 40 million refugees, the European economy had collapsed, and 70% of the European industrial infrastructure was destroyed. Impact of World War II: Seclusion from the wars demolished, the most of the Americans predict that the World War 2 would shape their tomorrow. The war was physically undamaged and excitated the economically of the United States. Compared to other countries, the United State was loss around 400,000 uniformed personnel in the warface. President Franklin D. Roosevelt had given the United State few signals about what they need to expect, and voice them their broad desire due to the uncertain, secretive and exhausted by the war. Herein, most of the Americans viewed the wars impact as rising ruggedly during the antagonize. The postwar economy attracted worry and hope, nourished by the discourager and by give publicity to promise an economic reward for the wartime victimization. The hope lastly met because of the partly from the G.I Bill. Besides, some of them predict the wars result for the social relations. The World War 2 was destroyed the existing racial system by reaching federal power into the Jim Craw South. Besides, it also inoculates with the aspirations and tactics of the African Americans, and also rebuilds the national priorities. For those who want to wield power overseas and imitate the claim of defending freedom, the leaders need to increase to find out the racial differentiate as an anachronism that squandered resources, said by A. Philip Randolph. The war was rewrote the systems of the gender and the sexuality in more complicated ways. There was a guerdon for both male virtue and womens redound. Traditional family was contrivance during the wartime. The term was used to the damaged of many women and homosexuals. However, there had something in common even thought they were differences on their fortunes and social groups. Their fate was shaped by the Americas global power. After the war of World War 2, it impacts the war into a blurry future. The cold war had given permanence to temporary wartime improvisations in the national governance. Actually the World War 2 alone will not make anything happen, but it can be known as a set of the stage for it to happen. Costs, Casualties and Other Data: World War 2 diffuses death and destroys that we never seen before. We can just generally summarize the loss of life that occurs in the World War 2. World War 2 was unusual for the first time in the history. The numbers of civilians were killed greater than soldiers. In estimation, there were around 30,000,000 soldiers died in the World War 2. However, there were around 50,000,000 civilians that killed during the world war. WorldWarII-DeathsByCountry-Barchart.png Based on the cart above, we can see that the highest percentage that killed in the war was the Allied civilians which were 58%. The second ranks for the deaths were the Allied military, which were in the percentage of 25%. The deaths in the Axis were lock-in the least. The Axis military were 13% while the Axis civilians were only 4%. As we can realise, the worst in the total deaths (1945) were from the Poland based on the percentage of population (1939) in the Allies. However, for the Axis, the worst in the total deaths (1945) were from the Germany based on the percentage of population (1939). There were more than 18 million people been killed in the Poland during the World War II. Nevertheless, they were more than 10 million people killed in the Germany during the war. Military Casualties Those from United States, Great Britain, and the Commonwealth nations, their documents are most accurate and meaningful figures for the battle casualties. Those for other nations, Allied or Axis, the results are different in reliability. However, the Chinese figures are largely estimate because there are lacks of documentation. We can see the most accurate figures from the table that been provided. As we can see from the Table 1, the services that provide by the United States Armed Forces are army, navy, marine corps and coast guard. This table was shown the numbers of people that involve in casualties in World War 2. The total strength for the United Forces is 16,353,659. The total battle death is 292,131 while total deaths from other causes are 115.187. For those who in wounds, the total casualties are 671,801 and the total for captured or missing are around 139,709. Besides, Table 2 showed the figure of armed forces peak strength and battle deaths of the principle Allied Power. The nations that involved in the allied power was Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Greece, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, USSR, Union of South Africa, United Kingdom, United States, and Yugoslavia. The particular of the number can be view from the Table 2. As an example, the peak strength for Australia is 680,000 while the battle deaths are 23,365. However, the table 3 showed about the figure of armed forces peak strength and battle deaths of the Axis Power. The nations that contain in the axis power are Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Romania. As an example, the peak strength for Bulgaria is 450,000 while the battle deaths are 10,000. There was a limited number of the casualties occurred in the battle deaths after the Bulgaria joined the allies. The meaning of total strength was the total numbers of personnel that belonging to the armed forces during the entire war. However, the peak strength is the greatest strength that reached at any one time during the World War 2. By using different methods to calculated the casualties will have different results. So, different reputable reference sometime will show us slightly different figures. Civilian Casualties As we know, the casualties among the civilian will be more less accurate compared to military casualties. We cannot avoid this because many of the civilian will escaped and run to another place before invaded armies or the consecutive air attacks on the major industrial centers. Some of them were sent to Germany or the Soviet for forced labour. The civilian casualties were caused by aircraft bombs, V-1(flying bombs), V-2, and artillery fire in United Kingdom. The total of numbers that been killed in the World War 2 was 60,595 while the numbers that in seriously injured was 86,182. As a result, the total civilian casualties in the London area were around 146,777 peoples. Killed Seriously injured Total Aircraft bombs 51,509 61,423 112,932 V-1 (flying bombs) 6,184 17,981 24,165 V-2 2,754 6,523 9,277 Artillery fire 148 255 403 Total 60,595 86,182 146,777 Industrial Conversion and War Production At the end, the winner goes to the Allied Powers technological Superiority. The technology superior of the allied power inclusive the ability to raise, arm, equip, move and supply superior forces all over the world. Other than that, they also able to broke up and destroyed the technological recourses of the Axis Nations. The United Stated was the one who provided with the raw materials, skilled manpower, and industrial that made their victory possible. However, they need lots of budget to serve their technology superior. As we can see from Table 4, we able to know the United States budget expenditures from year 1940 up to year 1945. All the figures are illustrated in Billions of dollar. The defense expenditures that included were war department, navy department, and other department. Beside the defense expenditures, the United State also provides nondefense expenditures in their budget expenditures. The total defense expenditures for 1940 were $1.9 billion while the nondefense expend itures were $5.3 billion. As we can see from the Table 4, the total defense expenditures and nondefense expenditures were keep on increasing until year 1944. The range were around $89($90.9 $1.9) for total defense expenditures, while range around $91.9($97.2 $5.3) for total nondefense expenditures. Lastly, the total defense expenditures were decrease to $59.8 at the year 1945. Other than that, the total nondefense expenditures also decrease to $66 at the same year. Data Table 1UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES TOTAL STRENGTH AND CASUALTIES IN WORLD WAR II, DEC. 7, 1941-DEC. 31, 1946 Service Total strength Battle deaths- -Deaths from Wounds(1) Captured or missing other causes Army(2) 11,260,000 234,874 83,400 565,861 135,524 Navy 4,183,466 36,950 25,664 37,778 2,429 Marine Corps 669,100 19,733 4,778 67,207 1,756 Coast Guard 241,093 574 1,345 955 - Total 16,353,659 292,131 115,187 671,801 139,709 (1) Not mortal. (2) Includes Army Air Forces. Table 2ARMED FORCES PEAK STRENGTHS AND BATTLE DEATHS OF THE PRINCIPAL ALLIED POWERS Nation Peak strength Battle deaths Australia 680,000 23,365 Belgium 650,000 7,760 Canada 780,000 37,476 China 5,000,000 2,200,000(1) Denmark 25,000 3,006(2) France 5,000,000 210,671 Greece 414,000 73,700(2) India 2,150,000 24,338 Netherlands 410,000 6,238 New Zealand 157,000 10,033 Norway 45,000 1,000 Poland 1,000,000 320,000 USSR 12,500,000 7,500,000 Union of South Africa 140,000 6,840 United Kingdom 5,120,000 244,723 United States 12,300,000 292,131 Yugoslavia 500,000 410,000(2) (1) Casualties beginning with the Japanese invasion in 1937.(2) Most of these casualties were suffered in guerrilla warfare that followed German occupation of the country. In the case of Denmark they include more than 1,200 merchant sailors in the service of the Allied powers. Table 3ARMED FORCES PEAK STRENGTHS AND BATTLE DEATHS OF THE AXIS POWERS Nation Peak strength Battle deaths Bulgaria 450,000 10,000(1) Finland 250,000 82,000 Germany 10,200,000 3,500,000 Hungary 350,000 140,000 Italy 3,750,000 77,494(2) Japan 6,095,000 1,219,000 Romania 600,000 300,000(1) (1) A limited number of these casualties occurred after the country joined the Allies.(2) Of these, 17,494 were killed after Italy became a cobelligerent with the Allies. Table 4UNITED STATES BUDGET EXPENDITURES, JULY 1, 1940-AUG. 31, 1945 (Billions of dollars) Expenditures 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Defense expenditures: War Department $0.9 $ 7.3 $29.5 $46.5 $49.2 $34.0 Navy Department 0.9 4.2 14.0 24.6 29.6 19.4 Other departments 0.1 2.7 8.9 14.1 12.1 6.4 Total 1.9 14.2 52.4 85.2 90.9 59.8 Nondefense expenditures 3.4 6.0 5.4 5.0 6.3 6.2 Total $5.3 $20.2 $57.8 $90.2 $97.2 $66.0 John R. Elting Colonel, United States Army United States Military Academy Continuing impact of World War II: Even thought World War 2 have been passed long time ago, but the shadow of the impact were still remains observable. The World War 2 was generated a mythology that became in-depth in the popular culture. In US, they set up the American flag on Iwo Jima. Besides, they also build up the portrait of Germany Jewish girl Anne Frank. This is to memorial recognizes the nations sacrifice in the war. Meantime, they assumed that the idea of victim and perpetrator was a fresh circumstance. There was a lot of discussion about the Comfort Women. This term are known as the sex slaves of Japanese Soldiers during the war-time. Besides, there was a lot of debated on the impact of the strategic bombing on the civilians in Germany and Japan. In German and Japan, it found out that there were still have other categories of victims among the forced labor force. Besides, the Soviet Union concentration camps also had been found out in the same problems. The popular view of the war which are the sense of right and wrong has become blurred. The most secular heritage of the war has been the memory of the Holocaust in the West. This is the only single element of the war that attracted greater attention. The museums devotional the Holocaust and to Jewish history have been founded within the last two decades in Washington, Berlin, London, and other cities. The historical image if Adolf Hitler was still keeps alive in the memory of the Holocaust. The World War 2 had comprised of many different wars and all of the wars have their own causes. However, it is the most terrible war, and it also still remains the most ferly and notable legacy of the 1940s which was unleashed by Hitler against the Jewish people. It is the most furious and murderous decade of the modern times.

The Capitalist Future: A Consequence of Calvinist Annunciation :: essays research papers fc

The Capitalist Future: A Consequence of Calvinist Annunciation In his work, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber predicts that the future will be a world of "mechanized perfection" devoid of "religious and ethical meaning." In this world modern capitalism becomes a self sustaining system no longer needing the Calvinist religious impetus that had inspired the work ethic. Weber argues that the future will be a capitalistic society, where the proletariat and the bourgeoisie alike, will not be driven by religious motivation, but instead by a constant struggle to benefit from the system. He reasons that this future of the capitalist society is a direct consequence of the teachings of Calvinism. The Calvinist work ethic of 'living to work' forms the core of modern capitalism. This ethic originated from the Calvinist doctrine of predestination and the notion of a transcendental God. Predestination decrees that God has already picked out who those "predestined into everlasting life" (100) and those "foreordained to everlasting death" (100). Calvinists also believe that God, a distant "grand conception" (164) who is "beyond all human comprehension," (164) is unreachable. Both these beliefs together eliminated any possibility of appeasing God through service or sacrifice. The answer to the question whether believers were the chosen or the damned could thus neither be influenced nor known. If, however, one turned his work into a 'calling,' restricting any desire to wasteful pleasure, he could experience a feeling of assurance that he is indeed a member of the Elect. Calvinism preached this ascetic ethic of hard work and complete absence of frivolous waste of money and time. As a result, the work ethic of the population shifted from 'working to live' to 'living to work.' Traditional capitalism which relied on the "greedy maximization of profit in a one-shot enterprise," (14) became the rational modern capitalism, a continuous cycle involving the constant "productive investment of capital." (172) The Calvinist teachings demanded honest dealings in business, steady production and sales, and continuous savings and reinvestment which no doubt led to phenomenal business growth and success. Weber illustrates in the following quote: "When the limitation of consumption is combined with the release of acquisitive activity, the inevitable practical result is obvious: accumulation of capital through ascetic compulsion to save." (172) This "diligent and frugal" (175) attitude made people richer and "material goods gained an increasing and finally an inexorable power over the lives of men." (181) The dependence on external goods went from the "light cloak which can be thrown aside at any moment" (181) to a necessity, or as Weber puts it, an "iron cage." (181) The so called acetic lifestyle now led to an increased

The Invention of the World Essay -- Literary Analysis, Jack Hodgins

In The Invention of the World, Jack Hodgins invites us to consider an alternative dystopia in which fantasy and reality converge to create sense and constance in an otherwise chaotic existence. Unleashing an arsenal of characters in two parallel worlds, Hodgins attempts to uncover the mysteries of people, and he delves into the paradoxical genre of magic realism, a term coined by Franz Roh in 1925, to achieve this. Focussing on characterization, The Invention of the World offers sufficient surrealism to provide fictional entertainment, whilst cleverly grounding his mythical tale in a relatable reality inspired by history and realism. Specifically, Hodgins offers a lens into the lives of a number of characters. Arguably, Maggie Kyle and Wade Powers achieve contentment on their pilgrimage to Ireland through self-reflection and internal enlightenment; conversely, Kineally and Becker, seek to achieve their constance through the manipulation, exploitation and dependence on other people in their lives. Hodgin’s novel traces the journey of these characters and evokes consideration of the effects of our choices on the long-term equilibrium of our existence and self-enlightenment. From the beginning of the tale, the motif of travel predominates. As Becker â€Å"[waves] your car down the ramp onto the government ferry...† (vii) we are not only introduced to the setting, but also the idea that Becker has a certain authority and inclination to control that journey. As Becker researches, documents and attempts to quantify the tale of Donal Keneally and his rise as founder of the â€Å"Colony of the Revelation of Truth†, we learn of his dissonance and inability to find contentment. Becker’s energy on the pilgrimage â€Å"[was] wild with trying to take eve... ...17). With Wade’s turbulent waters eventually settled by Maggie, this resonating re-birth enables both characters to realize a happiness that can only be found within. To conclude, Hodgins’s entrancing tale merges fact with fiction, magic with reality, and chaos with romance. While Becker and Keneally ultimately fail in their attempts to create, using pride and ambition as fuel towards constancy, Hodgins creates a poetic final scene in which Wade and Maggie Powers symbolically unite in matrimony, ironically wed by Horseman, Wade’s sagely nemesis, amongst the chaos of thrown insults, wielded chainsaws, food fights and terrible music, Maggie is, significantly, able to â€Å"[stand up, beside her husband, ready† (353). Through the magic of myth, Hodgins teaches us to find a place where we can be satisfied, enjoy who we are, and appreciate the important people around us.

Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc

With the technological knowledge in the world growing from day to day, there is no way to predict where science may lead us in the future. Just a few years ago, cloning was something of a fictional nature that most scientists had thought about, but never seriously considered it as an experiment. Recently, animals have been cloned, and cloning has become no less than true reality. In a few more years, the knowledge on how to clone humans could be present. Before that advancement arrives, we need to ask ourselves if this knowledge of cloning is a beneficial idea or a destructive one. Cloning will have negative effects on our society in the future because: cloning devalues uniqueness of the individual cloned, clones could be used in crimes or used as weapons, cloned animals that are reintroduced into the ecosystem could cause the ecosystem to change drastically, people who try to clone their dead loved ones will be shocked to find that the clone may resemble the person that they love, but it really isn't the person that they love, finally, animals that are cloned for medical reasons don't deserve to be brought into this world just to be used only for their organs and other body parts. If something isn't done to avoid cloning humans before it is too late, then cloning could upset the balance of our society drastically, possibly causing irreversible mishap in the world as we know it today. The knowledge on how to clone humans doesn't exist yet, but the knowledge on how to clone animals is presently being utilized in research labs worldwide. Standard cloning involves taking DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from a cell of a particular species and transferring it into an egg cell from another animal belonging to the same species or another one. Before this process can take place, the nucleus from the original cell must be removed from that egg. The result is then implanted into the surrogate mother. This mother will then provide the food and nutrients for the embryo to develop until the mother gives birth to the clone. Until recently, the surrogate mother had to be of the same species, but now, with recent technological advances, one species can now give birth to a different species ("Science and Technology" 100). The laundry list of complaints about cloning begins with the fact that cloning humans decreases the value of uniqueness of the individual. Accordi... ...ls." CeresNet 2000.5 Nov. 2000 http://www.ceresnet.org/ViewEntry.cfm?ID=82&Section=outreach Colvin, Jonathon. "Me, my clone, and I (or in defense of human cloning)." The Humanist May/Jun. 2000: 39. Dixon, Dr. Patrick. Don't Clone – 3 Reasons. 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm Lemonick, Michael D. "Could a clone ever run for President?" Time 8 Nov. 1999: 96. Mayor, Susan. "UK authorities recommend human cloning for therapeutic research." British Medical Journal 98: 1613. Myers, Nichole. Personal Interview. 1 April. 2001. Pavone, Fr. Frank. "What does it mean to be Me?" 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.priestsforlife.org/pressreleases/clonepress.html Rembert, Tracey C. "Me and my shadow." E Jul/Aug. 1997: 15–21. Schaeffer, Pamela. "Many oppose human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 19,21. "Science and technology: New kid on the block." The Economist 14 Oct. 2000: 100. "Vatican: No to human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 21. Watson, Rory. "European parliament wants world ban on human cloning." British Medical Journal 97: 847 Cloning Essay -- essays research papers fc With the technological knowledge in the world growing from day to day, there is no way to predict where science may lead us in the future. Just a few years ago, cloning was something of a fictional nature that most scientists had thought about, but never seriously considered it as an experiment. Recently, animals have been cloned, and cloning has become no less than true reality. In a few more years, the knowledge on how to clone humans could be present. Before that advancement arrives, we need to ask ourselves if this knowledge of cloning is a beneficial idea or a destructive one. Cloning will have negative effects on our society in the future because: cloning devalues uniqueness of the individual cloned, clones could be used in crimes or used as weapons, cloned animals that are reintroduced into the ecosystem could cause the ecosystem to change drastically, people who try to clone their dead loved ones will be shocked to find that the clone may resemble the person that they love, but it really isn't the person that they love, finally, animals that are cloned for medical reasons don't deserve to be brought into this world just to be used only for their organs and other body parts. If something isn't done to avoid cloning humans before it is too late, then cloning could upset the balance of our society drastically, possibly causing irreversible mishap in the world as we know it today. The knowledge on how to clone humans doesn't exist yet, but the knowledge on how to clone animals is presently being utilized in research labs worldwide. Standard cloning involves taking DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) from a cell of a particular species and transferring it into an egg cell from another animal belonging to the same species or another one. Before this process can take place, the nucleus from the original cell must be removed from that egg. The result is then implanted into the surrogate mother. This mother will then provide the food and nutrients for the embryo to develop until the mother gives birth to the clone. Until recently, the surrogate mother had to be of the same species, but now, with recent technological advances, one species can now give birth to a different species ("Science and Technology" 100). The laundry list of complaints about cloning begins with the fact that cloning humans decreases the value of uniqueness of the individual. Accordi... ...ls." CeresNet 2000.5 Nov. 2000 http://www.ceresnet.org/ViewEntry.cfm?ID=82&Section=outreach Colvin, Jonathon. "Me, my clone, and I (or in defense of human cloning)." The Humanist May/Jun. 2000: 39. Dixon, Dr. Patrick. Don't Clone – 3 Reasons. 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.globalchange.com/noclones.htm Lemonick, Michael D. "Could a clone ever run for President?" Time 8 Nov. 1999: 96. Mayor, Susan. "UK authorities recommend human cloning for therapeutic research." British Medical Journal 98: 1613. Myers, Nichole. Personal Interview. 1 April. 2001. Pavone, Fr. Frank. "What does it mean to be Me?" 31 Oct. 2000 http://www.priestsforlife.org/pressreleases/clonepress.html Rembert, Tracey C. "Me and my shadow." E Jul/Aug. 1997: 15–21. Schaeffer, Pamela. "Many oppose human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 19,21. "Science and technology: New kid on the block." The Economist 14 Oct. 2000: 100. "Vatican: No to human cloning." National Catholic Reporter 22 Oct. 1999: 21. Watson, Rory. "European parliament wants world ban on human cloning." British Medical Journal 97: 847

Chinese Literature Essay

1. Shang Dynasty (about 1700-1050 BC) Development of Chinese Writing * Historical record and archaeological evidence are present in this era. * Hieroglyphic writing system later evolved into ideographic and partly-phonetic Chinese characters. 2. Zhou Dynasty (1045-255 BC) Basic Philosophical and Religious Literature * The great literary works of philosophy and religion that became the basis for Chinese religious and social belief stem from what is called the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476) and the Warring States Period (475-221). * Taoism, Confucian literature, and other prominent religious and philosophical schools all emerged during these two periods or the so called â€Å"One Hundred Schools of Thought.† * They say that most of the philosophical and religious works of that time were destroyed. If there were great fictional books created, they have been lost. 3. Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) Literary Disaster and Legalism * A big philosophical and religious school then was called Mohism. * An early form of Buddhism was also established in China at that time. * The emperor wanted to reduce and destroy the â€Å"One Hundred Schools of Thought† * So the â€Å"Book Burning and Burial of Scholars† was a literary disaster. * The Qin Dynasty standardized the written Classical Language. * The Qin Emperor favored a philosophical school that was called Legalism (æ ³â€¢Ã¥ ® ¶). 4. Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) Scientific and Historical Texts * Confucian texts were rewritten and republished. Confucianism was mixed with the Legalism philosophy of Li Si. * Sima Qian wrote Historical Records that is a major history concerning the overall history of China from before the Shang Dynasty until the Han Dynasty. * The Han Dynasty era was one of the two main hotspot eras for scientific and technical advance. * Two or three mathematical texts showing advanced mathematics for the times were written. 5. Tang Dynasty (618-907) Early Woodblock Printing and Poetry * This era’s main contribution to Chinese literature was in the poetry of Dufu, Li Bai and many other poets. 6. Song Dynasty (960-1279) Early Woodblock Printing, Travel Literature, Poetry, Scientific Texts and the Neo-Confucian Classics * Has made remarkable scientific and technical advances. * Invention of movable type which helped to spread knowledge since printed material could be published more quickly and cheaply. * Travel literature in which authors wrote about their trips and about various destinations became popular perhaps because the texts could be cheaply bought. * The Confucian Classics were codified and used as test material for the entrance examination into the elite bureaucracy, advanced scientific texts and atlases were published, and important poems were written. * The Five Classics and Four Books were written in the written Classical Language which include: * * Five Classics: * The Book of Changes, * The Classic of Poetry, * The Record of Rites * The Classic of History, and * The Spring and Autumn Annals * Four Books: * The Analects of Confucius * The Doctrine of the Mean * The Great Learning * Analects of Confucius * .Shen Kuo (1031–1095) is said to have discovered the concepts of true north and magnetic declination towards the North Pole * Su Song (1020–1101) wrote a treatise called the Bencao Tujing with information on medicine, botany and zoology. * Song poet named Lu is thought to have written almost 10,000 poems. Su Tungpo is regarded as a great poet of the Northern Song era. Here is a stanza he wrote: â€Å"The moon rounds the red mansion Stoops to silk-pad doors Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?† 7. Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) Drama and Great Fictional Novels * An era whereof some historically renowned dramatic playwrights and novelists who wrote in vernacular language. * The Yuan â€Å"Zaju† style of opera was similar to their shadow plays. Perhaps the playwrights adopted the plots and the features. The music of the Zaju operas was called Yuan Qu (Yuan Music). * After the Yuan Dynasty, the operatic style developed into the Painted Faces style of Chinese opera that was popular until modern times. * Guan Hanqing is regarded as one of the best playwrights of the times. He wrote Midsummer Snow that was one of the most popular drama pieces. * The Romance of the Western Chamber was written by Wang Shifu. It is considered one of the best romantic dramas ever written in China. * Novels were another outstanding achievement of the Yuan era. 8. Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Novels * The Journey to the West is based on the historical journey of a Buddhist to India during the Tang era to learn Buddhist teachings and bring back scriptures and information. 9. Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Novels and Pre-modern Literature * In the 19th century, foreign literature and the West became better known. In the middle of this era, the last of China’s four great classic novels was written called Dream of the Red Chamber (ç ´â€¦Ã¦ ¨â€œÃ¥ ¤ ¢); and near the end of the era, modernistic literature developed. * Educated Chinese had easier access to foreign literature, and they were more influenced by Western culture. Chinese Literatures 1. Chinese Classical Prose * Prose writing in ancient and pre-modern China differed from poetry in that it was less rigidly structured and wasn’t like verses in a song or like one of the common styles of poetry. But compared to English prose, literary prose before the year 1900 was often much more formalized. * Classical prose can be divided into three types called * Piantiwen style or parallel prose style is more formalized style of prose writing * Guwen style is less formal and more ancient style * Vernacular style which is used in operatic dramas and in the Four Classic Novels of Chinese literature. 2. Chinese Poetry * Poetry has been a favorite literary genre for thousands of years. Poetry isn’t taken very seriously in the West, especially in the last two hundred years, but Chinese ancient poetry is still read and ancient Chinese poets are honored. * There are Five Major Kinds of Major Ancient Poetic Styles * Shi è © © poems are composed of couplets. They are poems of two more coupled lines. The two lines of a couplet usually rhyme and match rhythmically and complement each other tonally. Modern Mandarin only has five tones, but ancient languages usually had more, so the tonal rhythms are generally lost. * Ci è ©Å¾ poetry can be described as poems that have patterns of syllables and tonal patterns. In making a Ci poetry, a poet chooses words that fit a specific pattern. These patterns may have once been part of a song. But the music has been lost. There are various patterns that provided affective settings for various effects or moods. * Ge æ ­Å' means song. Ge poems are the words to a song that can be sung. There were folk songs as well as songs composed by the literate and educated composers. * Qu æ› ² is the style of music and song in the operas or Mongol Music. The songs from the operas and popular songs were a poetic style that was also popular in later eras. The poetic style is freer of form. * Fuè ³ ¦ is the fifth major style of poetry . These are descriptive poems that contain both prose and couplets. These were popular about 1,500 years to 2,000 years ago. Often poets included rare or unusual written characters from preceding eras in their poems. * The greatest ancient poets are thought to lived in the Tang, Song, and Han eras. The following were considered to be the exemplary poets: * Du Fu (712-770) liked to write in a structured form of poetry that was called Lu Shi Ã¥ ¾â€¹Ã¨ © © or regulated poetry. He is thought of as one of the greatest realist poets of China. His poems reflect the hard realities of war, people dying next to rich rulers, and primitive rural life. Here is a famous ‘couplet: â€Å"Behind redden doors stink wine and meat; But upon the road die frozen men.† * Li Bai (701-762) liked to write in a free form poetry like that of more ancient times. This kind of poetry was called Gu Shi (Ã¥  ¤Ã¨ © ©). He wrote about places he visited and things he saw. He is described as a romantic poet. * Su Tungpo (1037-1101) is also called Su Shi. He is regarded as a great poet of the Northern Song era (960-1127). More than 2,000 of his poems survive. Here is a stanza he wrote: â€Å"The moon rounds the red mansion Stoops to silk-pad doors Shines upon the sleepless Bearing no grudge Why does the moon tend to be full when people are apart?† 3. Chinese Scientific Texts * Chinese science texts give an idea of the state of knowledge in the dynastic eras. During several eras,Chinese scientists and inventors led the world in various fields. * Suan Shu Shu (Computation and Numbers Book). It shows how to solve arithmetic problems that officials or people doing business face. * Jiuzhang Suanshu (Nine Chapter Computation Book). The book features basic algebra such as finding cube roots and square roots. Negative numbers are also used. * Zhoubi Suan Jing (The Arithmetical Classic of the Gnomon and the Circular Paths of Heaven) about astronomical problems. It is said text has a mathematical proof for the â€Å"Gougu Theorem† (å‹ ¾Ã¨â€š ¡Ã¥ ®Å¡Ã§ â€ ; a2 + b2 = c2) that is known as the Pythagorean Theorem in the West. A method of determining the distance of the sun from the earth by using a right angled triangle is described. * The second period of rapid scientific and technological advancement was the Song era. Two men in particular stand out: Shen Kuo (1031–1095) and Su Song (1020–1101) both wrote scientific treatises about their research and about various fields. 4. China’s Classic Novels * Four long fictional novels are usually thought to be the best novels in Chinese literature. And the following two novels set a standard for classical literary works. * The Romance of the Three Kingdoms The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a semi-historical work said to be written by Luo Guan Zhong. It is historical fiction about the lives and struggles of rulers and the wars at the end of the Han Dynasty and in the Three Kingdoms Period. The novel describes the machinations, court intrigues, and the shifting alliances of the three kingdoms that emerged from the Han Empire. * Water Margin Water Margin is about the lives and ideals of a group of characters who fought against the corrupt Song Dynasty that the Mongols conquered. It is said it was written in vernacular language by Shi Nai An. The setting of the novel is during the Northern Song Dynasty era before the northern part of the Song Empire was overrun by a northern tribe and before the Mongols conquered the whole area. Water Margin is reminiscent of the story of Robin Hood. Likewise, there may have been actual outlaws, and popular legends and stories later grew. But Water Margin is probably more fictional and less historically accurate than The Romance of the Three Kingdoms * The other two novels. * Journey to the West The long tale about a fantastic journey to the west of a group that went to India was written at a time that the Silk Road land routes were blocked by Mongol and Muslim countries. Perhaps one of the reasons the novel was popular was that people during the Ming era wanted to travel to the west, but they couldn’t. The latter Ming Dynasty was isolationist. In the novel, a great intelligent monkey and a small band of characters protects a defenseless monk during his journey. Buddha commissioned the monk to help India that had fallen into gross sin and immorality. The monkey and other characters have magical skills. Journey to the West is thought to have been published anonymously by Wu Cheng’en in the 16th century though scholars have doubt about the authorship. * The Dream of the Red Chamber The fourth major novel that made an impact on Chinese history and literature is The Dream of the Red Chamber. It was the last of the Four Classic Novels to be written. It is about the fortunes and lives of the people of two branches of a clan in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) era. The two families had adjacent compounds. It is appreciated because it gives a view into the lives of two ruling families of that time. One of the members of the clan was made a concubine of an emperor. But then the imperial court turned against the two families.