Free Essays on Plagues And Peoples

, I just do not possess the knowledge on this subject to feel that I have the right to make any judgmental comments on this critically acclaimed book. I do understand the ideas William McNeill explains in Plagues and Peoples, but I only understand them in a very broad, general way. To explain this book in one sentence from my point of view would be to say that disease had an extraordinary impact on humanity throughout history. The publisher comments on this book saying â€Å"Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impactpolitical, demographic, ecological, and psychologicalof disease on cultures. The history of disease is the history of humankind.† The history of disease is the history of humankind. This powerful comment from the publisher ultimately represents the impact of this book. I may not be able to represent my feelings towards this book as well as the publisher did, but I do understand the importance of McNeill’s ideas about how disease effected humankind and I am simply amazed in how it effected history the way that it did. I find it ironic that this book is so original in the way it discusses the effects of disease on the history of humanity, because after McNeill points all this out to us in this book it seems so obvious, and I feel like this should have alrea dy been thought about in the development of humankind. Now, thanks to this book, these ideas are not only considered, they are very respected, recognized, and t... Free Essays on Plagues And Peoples Free Essays on Plagues And Peoples Plagues and Peoples By: William H. McNeill A critic is defined as a person who forms and expresses judgments and finds faults. As an average college student I do not even feel like I have the say to find faults and express judgments about William McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples. This book is simply on a level that I have not managed to achieve comprehensively, in other words, I just do not possess the knowledge on this subject to feel that I have the right to make any judgmental comments on this critically acclaimed book. I do understand the ideas William McNeill explains in Plagues and Peoples, but I only understand them in a very broad, general way. To explain this book in one sentence from my point of view would be to say that disease had an extraordinary impact on humanity throughout history. The publisher comments on this book saying â€Å"Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impactpolitical, demographic, ecological, and psychologicalof disease on cultures. The history of disease is the history of humankind.† The history of disease is the history of humankind. This powerful comment from the publisher ultimately represents the impact of this book. I may not be able to represent my feelings towards this book as well as the publisher did, but I do understand the importance of McNeill’s ideas about how disease effected humankind and I am simply amazed in how it effected history the way that it did. I find it ironic that this book is so original in the way it discusses the effects of disease on the history of humanity, because after McNeill points all this out to us in this book it seems so obvious, and I feel like this should have alrea dy been thought about in the development of humankind. Now, thanks to this book, these ideas are not only considered, they are very respected, recognized, and t...

The Penalty of Death by H.L. Mencken

The Penalty of Death by H.L. Mencken As shown in H.L. Mencken on the Writing Life, Mencken was an influential satirist as well as an editor, literary critic, and longtime journalist with The Baltimore Sun. As you read his arguments in favor of the death penalty, consider how (and why) Mencken injects humor into his discussion of a grim subject. His satirical use of the persuasive essay format uses irony and sarcasm to help make his point. It is similar in mode to Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal.  Satirical essays like Menckens and Swifts allow the authors to make serious points in humorous, entertaining ways. Teachers can use these essays to help students understand satire and persuasive essays.  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹ The Penalty of Death by H.L. Mencken Of the arguments against capital punishment that issue from uplifters, two are commonly heard most often, to wit: That hanging a man (or frying him or gassing him) is a dreadful business, degrading to those who have to do it and revolting to those who have to witness it.That it is useless, for it does not deter others from the same crime. The first of these arguments, it seems to me, is plainly too weak to need serious refutation. All it says, in brief, is that the work of the hangman is unpleasant. Granted. But suppose it is? It may be quite necessary to society for all that. There are, indeed, many other jobs that are unpleasant, and yet no one thinks of abolishing them- that of the plumber, that of the soldier, that of the garbage-man, that of the priest hearing confessions, that of the sand-hog, and so on. Moreover, what evidence is there that any actual hangman complains of his work? I have heard none. On the contrary, I have known many who delighted in their ancient art, and practiced it proudly. In the second argument of the abolitionists there is rather more force, but even here, I believe, the ground under them is shaky. Their fundamental error consists in assuming that the whole aim of punishing criminals is to deter other (potential) criminalsthat we hang or electrocute A simply in order to so alarm B that he will not kill C. This, I believe, is an assumption which confuses a part with the whole. Deterrence, obviously, is one of the aims of punishment, but it is surely not the only one. On the contrary, there are at least half a dozen, and some are probably quite as important. At least one of them, practically considered, is more important. Commonly, it is described as revenge, but revenge is really not the word for it. I borrow a better term from the late Aristotle: katharsis. Katharsis, so used, means a salubrious discharge of emotions, a healthy letting off of steam. A school-boy, disliking his teacher, deposits a tack upon the pedagogical chair; the teacher jumps and the boy laughs. This is katharsis. What I contend is that one of the prime objects of all judicial punishments is to afford the same grateful relief (a) to the immediate victims of the criminal punished, and (b) to the general body of moral and timorous men. These persons, and particularly the first group, are concerned only indirectly with deterring other criminals. The thing they crave primarily is the satisfaction of seeing the criminal actually before them suffer as he made them suffer. What they want is the peace of mind that goes with the feeling that accounts are squared. Until they get that satisfaction they are in a state of emotional tension, and hence unhappy. The instant they get it they are comfortable. I do not argue that this yearning is noble; I simply argue that it is almost universal among human beings. In the face of injuries that are unimportant and can be borne without damage it may yield to higher impulses; that is to say, it may yield to what is called Christian charity. But when the injury is serious Christianity is adjourned, and even saints reach for their sidearms. It is plainly asking too much of human nature to expect it to conquer so natural an impulse. A keeps a store and has a bookkeeper, B. B steals $700, employs it in playing at dice or bingo, and is cleaned out. What is A to do? Let B go? If he does so he will be unable to sleep at night. The sense of injury, of injustice, of frustration, will haunt him like pruritus. So he turns B over to the police, and they hustle B to prison. Thereafter A can sleep. More, he has pleasant dreams. He pictures B chained to the wall of a dungeon a hundred feet underground, devoured by rats and scorpions. It is so agreeable that it makes him forget his $700. He has got his katharsis. The same thing precisely takes place on a larger scale when there is a crime which destroys a whole community’s sense of security. Every law-abiding citizen feels menaced and frustrated until the criminals have been struck downuntil the communal capacity to get even with them, and more than even has been dramatically demonstrated. Here, manifestly, the business of deterring others is no more than an afterthought. The main thing is to destroy the concrete scoundrels whose act has alarmed everyone and thus made everyone unhappy. Until they are brought to book that unhappiness continues; when the law has been executed upon them there is a sigh of relief. In other words, there is katharsis. I know of no public demand for the death penalty for ordinary crimes, even for ordinary homicides. Its infliction would shock all men of normal decency of feeling. But for crimes involving the deliberate and inexcusable taking of human life, by men openly defiant of all civilized orderfor such crimes it seems, to nine men out of ten, a just and proper punishment. Any lesser penalty leaves them feeling that the criminal has got the better of societythat he is free to add insult to injury by laughing. That feeling can be dissipated only by a recourse to katharsis, the invention of the aforesaid Aristotle. It is more effectively and economically achieved, as human nature now is, by wafting the criminal to realms of bliss. The real objection to capital punishment doesn’t lie against the actual extermination of the condemned, but against our brutal American habit of putting it off so long. After all, every one of us must die soon or late, and a murderer, it must be assumed, is one who makes that sad fact the cornerstone of his metaphysic. But it is one thing to die, and quite another thing to lie for long months and even years under the shadow of death. No sane man would choose such a finish. All of us, despite the Prayer Book, long for a swift and unexpected end. Unhappily, a murderer, under the irrational American system, is tortured for what, to him, must seem a whole series of eternities. For months on end, he sits in prison while his lawyers carry on their idiotic buffoonery with writs, injunctions, mandamuses, and appeals. In order to get his money (or that of his friends) they have to feed him with hope. Now and then, by the imbecility of a judge or some trick of juridic science, they actu ally justify it. But let us say that, his money all gone, they finally throw up their hands. Their client is now ready for the rope or the chair. But he must still wait for months before it fetches him. That wait, I believe, is horribly cruel. I have seen more than one man sitting in the death-house, and I don’t want to see any more. Worse, it is wholly useless. Why should he wait at all? Why not hang him the day after the last court dissipates his last hope? Why torture him as not even cannibals would torture their victims? The common answer is that he must have time to make his peace with God. But how long does that take? It may be accomplished, I believe, in two hours quite as comfortably as in two years. There are, indeed, no temporal limitations upon God. He could forgive a whole herd of murderers in a millionth of a second. More, it has been done. Source This version of The Penalty of Death originally appeared in Menckens Prejudices: Fifth Series (1926).

To what extent have Standard Charges improved the practice of planning Literature review

To what extent have Standard Charges improved the practice of planning obligations in the United Kingdom - Literature review Example The most common form of Standard Charge in relation to planning is the, so called, ‘roof-tax’, which is a tariff imposed ‘on development’ (Syms 2010, p.206). Despite the initial concerns regarding the role and the value of Standard Charges, it has been proved that the specific measure could help towards the improvement of planning obligations in Britain. The ways in which the above target is achieved are analytically explained in this paper; reference is made to the potential differentiation of Standard Charges from other, similar, approaches of planning obligations practice, such as the negotiated approach. 2. Critical review of planning obligations practice The framework of the planning obligations practice in Britain has been extensively examined in the literature; the contribution of these obligations in community development has been considered as one of the most important causes of this phenomenon. However, the emphasis on the planning obligations prac tice has been also related to various political interests, as analytically explained below. ... In accordance with Ratcliffe et al (2009) in their initial form, planning obligations were considered as ‘land-use/ amenity – related gains and social/ economic – related gains (Debenham et al. 1988 in Ratcliffe et al. 2009, p. 16). Another characteristic of planning obligations system in Britain is that the specific system is based ‘upon negotiation and bargaining’ (Ratcliffe et al 2009, p.16). It is assumed that planning obligations system is not fully standardized, but it can be rather transformed and customized in accordance with the needs of each particular case. In this context, flexibility is an additional characteristic of planning obligations system; it is this characteristic, which can result to problems for the effective operation of the specific system, a gap that is covered through Standard Charges, as they are analytically explained below. The planning obligations practice in Britain has to address a series of issues, the most important of which is the demand for increase of development across the country. In a report published by the House of Commons in 2006 reference is made to the need for urban development in the greater London area (House of Commons, 2006, p.198); furthermore, it is explained that the planning obligations practice could help the efforts of the London borough – and the Councils of the surrounding boroughs also – to support land development across London so that the housing needs of the local population to be covered. In the above context, it is made clear that the planning obligations system in London ‘should ensure that increases in value are captured and used to support infrastructure investment to maximize capacity and sustainability’ (House of Commons 2006, p.198).

Art Through the Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art Through the Ages - Essay Example Imagination should not only form the basis for understanding 19th century art in the context of political, technological and social changes, but it should also help in developing the ability to locate art work in history. It is crucial to consider the convictions, expectations and prejudices of the spectators and artists in art during this historical period. Style refers to the distinguishing manner of producing an artistic object and the way the spectators look at the object. Style is a historian’s extraordinary sphere. However, because of its subjective assessment, it is rarely used by historians. Style in art provides a useful tool for creating chronology. In art history inquiry, defining artistic style comprise a vital element. Several different types of style exist; regional, period and personal style2. Regional style refers to the usage of variations in style attached to geography. Like the object’s date, its place of origin and providence can determine its charac ter. Artwork from the same location but made ages apart can have similarities, unlike contemporaneous work from differing locations. For instance, a historian can differentiate Egyptian art from Mexican or Italian art made during the same age. Variations in the two sets of art exist, which make it possible to differentiate the artwork. Through regional style, art in the 19th century can be studied and used to show the ideas and aims of the artists in this period3. In 1820-1860, romanticism and naturalism came out through the work by Delacroix in Liberty Leading the People and in Rude and Corot’s work. Their work portrayed emotional reactions against neo-classicalism. These artists used nature, patriotism, supernatural, heroism and glorification of the past to show changes in politics, technology and social aspects of life. For instant, peasants were used to show that the society, during this time, was composed of peasants. This means that not many technological advances had b een made during this period. The emotional reactions against neo-classicalism also showed the political nature of 1820-1860s. The work by Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, portrays the emotional hatred of neo-classicalism. The art also depicted the peasant workers in their farms or homes. The hatred of neo-classicalism and the peasant workers showed political resentment towards neo-classicalism and the lack of technological knowledge and application in daily duties. The work also portrayed hints of patriotism in people, especially in protecting themselves against neo-classicalism4. Realism followed by naturalism came out in 1850-1870s through the works of Daumier, Hogarth and Eiffel. During this period, art portrayed positivism based on facts and not emotions. Industrial progress had begun to take root during this period. Eiffel designed the Eiffel tower during this period. This signified an age of advancement because man thought of complex achievements. The industrial revoluti on resulted in changes, in the society, because people could afford food and luxuries after working in the industries. Artists like Eiffel who designed the Eiffel tower explored into the technological world by designing a complex structure that had technological complexities. The growing steel industry provided material for the construction of his design. This period did not witness much political skepticism as the people had a positive outlook of the political future. The industrial and technological development kept

Gold and Diamond Mining of Africa Essay Example for Free

Gold and Diamond Mining of Africa Essay * Diamond mining in Africa Ever since the Kimberley diamond strike of 1868, South Africa has been a world leader in diamond production. The primary South African sources of diamonds, including seven large diamond mines around the country, are controlled by the De Beers Consolidated Mines Company. In 2003, De Beers’s operations accounted for 94% of the nations total diamond output of 11,900,000 carats. Nicky Oppenheimer, the current Chairman of DeBeers. * The life of the miners The search for diamonds is not exactly easy. Many miners and diamond diggers in sub-Saharan Africa travel great distances to find work and submit to gruelingly long hours for low wages – or sometimes no wages – in substandard conditions. Child labor has long been a problem in informal diamond mines, especially during times of war. Children have often been exploited to do excavation work because they are small enough to be lowered into small, narrow pits by ropes to dig out sacks of dirt, which is in turn washed by other children in search of diamonds. During Sierra Leone’s 10-year civil war, children were often used as soldiers and workers in the rich Koidu diamond mines that funded the country’s rebels. USAID launched the Kono Peace Diamond Alliance in 2002 to try to improve the working conditions in the mines – particularly for children. But it is an uphill battle across Africa to get children who are either family breadwinners, or fending for themselves or conscripted into slave-like labor to stop working and go to school. A child solider in Africa Land is often cleared and vegetated areas dug up to create open pit mines in he rushed search for diamond deposits, leaving them unsuitable for other farming activities. Informal mining in hilly areas also leads to erosion – and, in turn, flooding. The salt, heavy minerals and chemical products from mining equipment can run off into rivers and pollute vital water sources for mining communities and people living downstream. * gold mining in Africa South Africa accounted for 15% of the worlds gold production in 2002 and 12% in 2005, though the nation had produced as much as 30% of world output as recently as 1993. Despite declining production, South Africas gold exports were valued at $3. billion USD in 2005. Almost 50% of the worlds gold reserves are found in South Africa. Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest pure gold miningcompany in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and four regional business units (RBUs) located in Australia, Africa, North America and South America. Barrick is currently undertaking mining and exploration projects in Saudi Arabia, Papua New Guinea, the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Australia, Peru, Chile, Russia, South Africa,Pakistan, Colombia, Argentina and Tanzania. For 2008, it produced 7. million ounces of gold at a cash cost of US $443/ounce. As of December 31, 2008 its proven and probable gold mineral reserves stand at 138. 5 million ounces. Peter monk, the wizard of gold mining * The life of gold miners The unknown factor in South Africa is the future of labor costs. The mines employ several hundred thousand miners underground: half the production costs are for wages. Most of the gold miners are members of the black National Union of Mineworkers, which is pressing hard both for political and social reform, and for better wages and working conditions for its members. But the long-delayed beginnings of political reform in South Africa in the late 1980s coincided with a slump in gold prices. The South African gold mines, many of them a century old, were by then the worlds deepest, and were technically very difficult and financially very expensive to operate even in spite of the low wages paid to the miners. The quality of the ore was slowly dropping: the average gold ore now averages less than 5 grams of gold per tonne. Winnie Mandela is on record as saying to black miners, You hold the golden key to our liberation. The moment you stop digging gold and diamonds, that is the moment you will be free. She could not be more wrong. If the gold mines close, the economic disaster will be visited most on the poorer section of society, the blacks. The South African reforms were predicated absolutely on a stable and healthy economy. In 1999, the price of gold dropped to a low point around $250/oz. This was very bad news for South African gold companies, South African gold miners, and the South African government. Gold companies scrambled to reorganize and streamline their operations. By the time the price again reached $290 again in early 2000, the gold industry had changed dramatically, in South Africa and globally. Health problems of gold miners who worked underground include decreased life expectancy; increased frequency of cancer of the trachea, bronchus, lung, stomach, and liver; increased frequency of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), silicosis, and pleural diseases; increased frequency of insect-borne diseases, such as malaria and dengue fever; noise-induced hearing loss; increased prevalence of certain bacterial and viral diseases; and diseases of the blood, skin, and musculoskeletal system. These problems are briefly documented in gold miners from Australia, North America, South America, and Africa. In general, HIV infection or excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption tended to exacerbate existing health problems. Miners who used elemental mercury to amalgamate and extract gold were heavily contaminated with mercury. Among individuals exposed occupationally, concentrations of mercury in their air, fish diet, hair, urine, blood, and other tissues significantly exceeded all criteria proposed by various national and international regulatory agencies for protection of human health.

Etiology of HIV-Associated Dementia :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Etiology of HIV-Associated Dementia The etiologic agents of the neurologic disease associated with HIV and AIDS are many. Opportunistic infections- cryptococcus, toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus, are a few of the organic causes of neurologic disease in AIDS patients, but will not be the main focus of this paper. The human immunodeficiency virus in itself is implicated in much of the neurological manifestations of the disease, and it is the effects of the presence of the virus within the central nervous system which is of interest to me in this paper. With the advent of more effective highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and thus increased life span of people with AIDS, neurological disorders are becoming a hot topic in AIDS research. In the early days of the epidemic, those infected with the virus could only hope to live for a short time before developing the symptoms of full blown AIDS, and death ensued shortly afterwards. The progress made in treatment in the past two decades has prolonged the lives of people with AIDS, to the point where diagnosis is no longer a sign of imminent debilitation and death, but rather an acknowledgement of a possible long road ahead with the aid of drug cocktails. There is also a strong possibility that the HIV infected person may develop HIV associated dementia after years of living with the disease (1). HIV associated dementia (HAD) is comprised of a spectrum of conditions from the mild HIV-1 motor cognitive-motor disorder to severe and debilitating AIDS dementia complex. Symptoms begin with motor slowing (2), and may progress to severe loss of cognitive function, loss of bladder and bowel control, and paraparesis . A classification system has been formulated for HIV associated dementia: Stage 0: Normal Stage 0.5: Subclinical or Equivocal Minimal or equivocal symptoms. Mild (soft) neurological signs. No impairment of work or activities of daily living (ADL). Stage 1: Mild Unequivocal intellectual or motor impairment. Able to do all but the most demanding work or ADL. Stage 2: Moderate Cannot work or perform demanding ADL. Capable of self-care. Ambulatory, but may need a single prop. Stage 3: Severe Major intellectual disability, or Cannot walk unassisted. Stage 4: End-Stage Nearly vegetative. 3. Disease may result from the direct presence of the virus in the central nervous system, toxins released from the virus, the body's immunological responses, or any number of other factors. Studies have found that non physiological levels of cytokines in the brain may have an effect of enhancing replication of HIV 3.

Is Performing Arts a Waste of Time, Money, and Resource

Performing arts is a waste of time, money and resource? In the 21th centuries, many people may think that performing arts is a subject that existed for the teenagers who cannot excel well in studies. Most of the people also think that this subject is only for the teenagers that wanted to be an actress or singer, but actually this is a totally illogical mindset. However, the definitions of performing arts are actually a term that used to explain a national art that brings a message of a drama, rather than just present for its own interest only and without any of the moral values.Furthermore, performing art is usually means that a performance that are presented to audiences, but it does not representing a canonical theatrical play which does not refers to describe a group of artificial characters in normal script. Therefore, it allowed interaction between the performer and audience, such as spoken words or even the audience did not give any response it is still a response. The origin o f performing arts can be found in many countries especially those European countries.As for Asia countries, performing art is still not very commonly use in schools. People choose to study performing arts for many reasons, it included many personal beneficiations or just because they enjoy it. However, people have variety opinions towards how performing arts affect their life and is this really a waste of time, money and resource for studying this particular subject. In my opinion, studying performing arts is not a waste of time.It is because performing in front of a crowd; no matter it is a large or even a small audience; can be very astounding but during practice time, people will more or little grow in confidence by seeing their improvements, they will be able to use this confidence in every phase in their daily life. The most important key that a performer need is communication, for example: musician and actor communicate with the audience, actor, photographer and dancer communi cate with director, they will be able to done their job with a well communication and cooperation.In this case, to be a part of the performing arts students can improve and develop interpersonal skills. In additions, there is also proved that participate in Music, Drama and Dance will improve people’s concentration levels in their work and also develop a new phase of understanding and knowledge to the particular subject. According to the research, there are also psychological and spiritual advantages which performing art brings calmness, self discipline, self expression and fulfillment.On the other hand, there are thousands of people in this whole wide world think that studying in performing art this subject is really a waste of time, money and resource. They believe that whoever studied in this particular subject will not have any job opportunity in this society. This is a cruel society, most of the people may have the thought that if you like to have stable income every mon th or year, you should not have achieving this by doing what u enjoyed. This means that only when hard work is paid then only people can have the satisfied outcome.

Brief Analysis Of Historical Inaccuracy In Literature

Brief Analysis of Historical Inaccuracy in Literature Literature is among the most important sources of historical and cultural education; it is arguably much more essential to the public before the prevalence of motion pictures. Hence, the core idea, the depiction of background and even the most trivial details in literature can somehow shape the readers' understandings of a person, an ethnicity group, a nation and a form of culture. Therefore, literature has the burden of being historically accurate.In the case of many German tales about anti-Semitism, cultural intolerance and ethnically discrimination against Jews are explicit. The tales depict Jews as blasphemers, murderers and liars, but the more interesting phenomenon is the fate of all these Jews in the tales, where they are labeled, expelled and executed. If we review the history of Jews during WI, in which they were first forced to wear the Star of David as symbol, then expelled from normal activities and driven to ghettos, and finally persecuted in concentration amps, we can find the strong similarity between the tales and the reality.Perhaps, part of the motivations behind the Holocaust is the negative understandings or hostility cultivated with these anti-Semitic tales. In my childhood, watched the movie of Cleopatra and started to consider Octavia as a negative image, despite that Augustus was the greatest emperor of Rome. Similarly, many German children's understandings of Jews as villains from the tales would have profound impact on their future. Furthermore, tragic and catastrophic events tend to create a deeper negation, which is why literature referring to tragic events should be more cautious regarding historical accuracy.For example, children's sympathy of the girl in The Girl Who Was Killed by Jews can create considerable hatred against Jews. Likewise, when I saw a review to a book about Battle of Outburst saying that Germans are all murderers because their ancestors were all butchers, know another hatred against Germans is being cultivated with inaccurate or biased literature of Vowel.

Free Essays on Muslim Civilization

The Muslim civilization is centered around the Islamic faith. Islam is followed by a fifth of the world’s population (Pillars of Islam).The development of Islam through its environment can be explained more clearly with a background of the East territory. There are three focuses of interest in the centuries preceding the wave of Arab conquests of the Near East region in the seventh century. The Christian Byzantines had some influence over the Red Sea, extending at times to an alliance with the Monophysite Christians of Abyssinia; the Zoroastrian Persians, with their capital in Ctesiphon in Mesoptamia, had influence which reached at times the eastern side of Arabia and along the south coast to the Yemen; and the South Arabian kingdons whose century, had lost virtually all semblance of vitality by the time of the rise of the Arabs (Islam and the West). The Arabian Peninsula, although having had settled centres for several millenniums, did not contain a power to be reckoned ! with in the world at the time, except in so far as various tribal areas became pawns in the hands of external kingdoms, perhaps thereby creating the forces which would eventually expand out of the peninsula and sugjugate the earlier rulers. In the year 527 Justinian came to the throne of the Bysantine empire at Constantinople, He was determined to restore the unity with the decaying Roman empire, the western parts of which had been lost to the Bermanic tribes, especially the Vandals and th Goths. He was successful by his death in 565, much of this accomplishment was being nullified as the result of continual local uprisings. The persians took advantage of the subsequent unstable situation and made initiatives on their western border with Byzantium. Heavy taxes, however, provoked instability on the edges of his newly expanded area. Heraclius, the Byzantine leader who died in 641, nmanaged to gain supremacy in Constantinople in 610,only to witness the Persi... Free Essays on Muslim Civilization Free Essays on Muslim Civilization The Muslim civilization is centered around the Islamic faith. Islam is followed by a fifth of the world’s population (Pillars of Islam).The development of Islam through its environment can be explained more clearly with a background of the East territory. There are three focuses of interest in the centuries preceding the wave of Arab conquests of the Near East region in the seventh century. The Christian Byzantines had some influence over the Red Sea, extending at times to an alliance with the Monophysite Christians of Abyssinia; the Zoroastrian Persians, with their capital in Ctesiphon in Mesoptamia, had influence which reached at times the eastern side of Arabia and along the south coast to the Yemen; and the South Arabian kingdons whose century, had lost virtually all semblance of vitality by the time of the rise of the Arabs (Islam and the West). The Arabian Peninsula, although having had settled centres for several millenniums, did not contain a power to be reckoned ! with in the world at the time, except in so far as various tribal areas became pawns in the hands of external kingdoms, perhaps thereby creating the forces which would eventually expand out of the peninsula and sugjugate the earlier rulers. In the year 527 Justinian came to the throne of the Bysantine empire at Constantinople, He was determined to restore the unity with the decaying Roman empire, the western parts of which had been lost to the Bermanic tribes, especially the Vandals and th Goths. He was successful by his death in 565, much of this accomplishment was being nullified as the result of continual local uprisings. The persians took advantage of the subsequent unstable situation and made initiatives on their western border with Byzantium. Heavy taxes, however, provoked instability on the edges of his newly expanded area. Heraclius, the Byzantine leader who died in 641, nmanaged to gain supremacy in Constantinople in 610,only to witness the Persi...

Old and New Architecture in Vienna, Austria

Old and New Architecture in Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria, by the Danube River, has a mixture of architecture representing many periods and styles, ranging from elaborate Baroque-era monuments to a 20th century rejection of high ornamentation.  The history of Vienna, or  Wien as its called, is as rich and complicated as the architecture that portrays it. The city doors are open to celebrate architecture - and anytime is a great time to visit. Being centrally located in Europe, the area was settled early on by both the Celts and then the Romans. It has been the capital of the Holy Roman Empire and the  Austro-Hungarian Empire. Vienna has been invaded both by marauding armies and medieval plagues. During the Second World War, it ceased to exist completely as it was enveloped by Nazi Germany. Yet today we still think of Vienna as the home of the Strauss waltz and the Freudian dream. The influence of Wiener Moderne or Vienna Modern architecture on the rest of the world was as profound as any other movement in history. Visiting Vienna Perhaps the most iconic structure in all of Vienna is the Gothic St. Stephans Cathedral. First begun as a Romanesque cathedral, its construction throughout the ages displays the influences of the day, from Gothic to Baroque all the way up to its patterned tile roof. Wealthy aristocratic families like the Liechtensteins may have first brought the ornate Baroque style of architecture (1600-1830) to Vienna. Their private summer home, the Garden Palais Liechtenstein from 1709, combines Italian villa-like details on the outside with ornate Baroque interiors. It is open to the public as an art museum. The Belvedere is another Baroque palace complex from this time period, the early 1700s. Designed by Italian-born architect Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt (1668-1745), Belvedere Palace and Gardens is popular eye-candy for the Danube River cruise-taker. Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor from 1711 to 1740, is perhaps responsible for bringing Baroque architecture to the ruling class of Vienna. At the height of the Black Plague pandemic, he vowed to build a church to St. Charles Borromeo if the plague would leave his city. It did, and the magnificent Karlskirche (1737) was first designed by Baroque master architect Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach.  Baroque architecture reigned during the time of Charles daughter, Empress Maria Theresa (1740-80), and her son Joseph II (1780-90). Architect Fischer von Erlach also designed and rebuilt a country hunting cottage into a summer royal getaway, the Baroque Schà ¶nbrunn Palace. Viennas Imperial Winter Palace remained The Hofburg. By the mid-1800s, the former city walls and military enforcements that protected the city center were demolished. In their place, Emperor Franz Joseph I launched a massive urban renewal, creating what has been called the most beautiful boulevard in the world, the Ringstrasse. Ring Boulevard is lined with over three miles of monumental, historically-inspired neo-Gothic and neo-Baroque buildings. The term Ringstrassenstil is sometimes used to describe this mix of styles. The Museum of Fine Arts and the Renaissance Revival Vienna Opera House (Wiener Staatsoper) were constructed during this time.  Burgtheater, Europes second-oldest theater, was first housed in Hofburg Palace before this new theater was built in 1888. Modern Vienna The Viennese Secession movement at the turn of the 20th century launched a revolutionary spirit in architecture. Architect Otto Wagner (1841-1918) combined traditional styles and Art Nouveau influences. Later, architect Adolf Loos (1870-1933) established the stark, minimalist style we see at The Goldman and Salatsch Building. Eyebrows raised when Loos built this modern structure across from the Imperial Palace in Vienna. The year was 1909, and the Looshaus marked an important transition in the world of architecture. Yet, the buildings of Otto Wagner may have influenced this modernist movement. Some have called Otto Koloman Wagner the Father of Modern Architecture. For certain, this influential Austrian helped move Vienna from Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) into 20th-century architectural practicality. Wagners influence on the architecture of Vienna is felt everywhere in that city, as noted by Adolf Loos himself, who in 1911 is said to have called Wagner the greatest architect in the world. Born on July 13, 1841 in Penzig near Vienna, Otto Wagner was educated at the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna and Kà ¶nigliche Bauakademie in Berlin, Germany. He then went back to Vienna in 1860 to study at the Akademie der bildenden Kà ¼nste (Academy of Fine Arts), graduating in 1863. He was trained in the Neoclassical fine art style that was ultimately rejected by the Secessionists. Otto Wagners architecture in Vienna is stunning. The distinctive tiled facade of the Majolika Haus makes this 1899 apartment building desired property even today. The Karlsplatz Stadtbahn rail station that once  inked urban Vienna with its growing suburbs in 1900 is so revered an example of beautiful  Art Nouveau architecture that it was moved piece by piece to a safer venue when the railroad upgraded. Wagner ushered in modernism with the Austrian Postal Savings Bank (1903-1912) - the Banking Hall of the Ãâ€"sterreichische Postsparkasse also brought the modern banking function of paper transactions to Vienna. The architect returned to Art Nouveau with the 1907 Kirche am Steinhof or Church of St. Leopold at Steinhof Asylum, a beautiful church designed especially for the mentally ill. Wagners own villas in  Hà ¼tteldorf, Vienna best express his transformation from his neoclassical training to Jugendstil. Why is Otto Wagner Important? Art Nouveau in Vienna, a new art known as Jugendstil.Vienna Secession, founded in 1897 by a union of Austrian artists, Wagner was not a founder but is associated with the movement. The Secession was based on the belief that art and architecture should be of its own time and not a revival or imitation of historic forms such as Classical, Gothic, or Renaissance. On the Secession exhibition hall in Vienna are these German words: der zeit ihre kunst (to every age its art) and der kunst ihre freiheit (to art its freedom).Vienna Moderne, a transitional time in European architecture. The Industrial Revolution was offering new construction materials and processes, and, like architects of the Chicago School, a group of artists and architects in Vienna were finding their way to what we consider Modernity. Architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable has described it as a time full of genius and contradiction, characterized by a kind of bipolar architecture of simple, geometric designs adorned with fanciful Jugendstil ornamentation. Moderne Architektur, Wagners 1896 book on modern architecture continues to be studied.Urban Planning and Iconic Architecture in Vienna:   The Steinhof Church and the Majolikahaus are even pictured on coffee mugs available to purchase as souvenirs. Otto Wagner, Creating Iconic Architecture for Vienna The same year Louis Sullivan was suggesting a form follows function in American skyscraper design, Otto Wagner was describing aspects of modern architecture in Vienna in his translated declaration that something impractical cannot be beautiful. His most important writing is perhaps the 1896 Moderne Architektur, in which he asserts the case for Modern Architecture: A certain practical element with which man is imbued today simply cannot be ignored, and ultimately every artist will have to agree with the following proposition: Something impractical cannot be beautiful. - Composition, p. 82 All modern creations must correspond to the new materials and demands of the present if they are to suit modern man. - Style, p. 78 Things that have their source in modern views correspond perfectly to our appearance....things copied and imitated from old models never do....A man in a modern traveling suit, for example, fits in very well with the waiting room of a train station, with sleeping cars, with all our vehicles; yet would we not stare if we were to see someone dressed in clothing from the Louis XV period using such things? - Style, p. 77 The room that we inhabit should be as simple as our clothing....Sufficient light, a pleasant temperature, and clean air in rooms are very just demands of man....If architecture is not rooted in life, in the needs of contemporary man...it will just cease to be an art. - The Practice of Art, pp. 118, 119, 122 Composition also entails artistic economy. By this I mean a moderation in the use and treatment of forms handed down to us or newly created that corresponds to modern ideas and extends to everything possible. This is especially true for those forms that are considered high expressions of artistic feeling and monumental exaltation, such as domes, towers, quadrigae, columns, etc. Such forms, in any case, should be used only with absolute justification and sparingly, since their overuse always produces the opposite effect. If the work being created is to be a true reflection of our time, the simple, the practical, the - one might almost say - military approach must be fully and completely expressed, and for this reason alone everything extravagant must be avoided. - Composition, p. 84 Todays Vienna Todays Vienna is a showplace of architectural innovation. Twentieth-century buildings include  Hundertwasser-Haus, a brilliantly colored, unusually shaped building by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and a controversial glass and steel structure, the 1990 Haas Haus by Pritzker Laureate Hans Hollein. Another Pritzker architect took the lead converting the century-old and historically protected industrial buildings of Vienna into what today is known as  Jean Nouvel Buildings Gasometers Vienna  - a massive urban complex with offices and shops that became adaptive reuse on a grand scale. In addition to the Gasometer project, Pritzker Laureate Jean Nouvel has designed housing units in Vienna, as have the Pritzker winners Herzog and de Meuron on Pilotengasse.  And that apartment house on the Spittelauer Lnde? Another Pritzker Laureate, Zaha Hadid. Vienna continues to make architecture in a big way, and they want you to know that Vienna’s architecture scene is thriving. Sources The Dictionary of Art Vol. 32, Grove, Oxford University Press, 1996, pp. 760-763Vienna Moderne (November 26, 1978), Architecture, Anyone? by Ada Louise Huxtable, University of California Press, 1986, p. 100Modern Architecture by Otto Wagner, A Guidebook for His Students to This Field of Art, edited and translated by Harry Francis Mallgrave, The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities, 1988 (translated from the 1902 third edition)

Literature Program Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Literature Program Paper - Essay Example Education is one of the primary and essential activities especially for the preschool-aged children (i.e. children aged between 3 to 5 years) which bestows numerous advantages. In accordance with the present day context, the increasing pace of global economy has resulted in a major emphasis upon the importance of education at the early stage of the life of children which enables them to enhance their human virtue along with facilitating them to cope with different environmental and social factors. Based on the importance and essentiality of education at the early stage, this report intends prepare an effective literature plan especially for the preschool children through identifying the development goals which may enable to support the language, intellectual, personality, social and moral as well as aesthetic and creative development of the preschool age children. ... A range of developmental activities as well as strategies will be implemented in order to perform a streamlined experiential learning (Childs Play Learning Center, 2011). The literature program will also involve television as the primary media which would broadcast various initiatives of the literature program which would enable to draw community involvement. In addition, the parents will be considered as a major part of this literature program to increase the efficiency of the preschool learning activities. Identifying the Development Goals Language The language development activities in the literature program will be focused on providing performing activities which allow the preschool children to effectively understand and develop their linguistic skills. In order enhance the capability of the preschool children the activities will be performed independently for each age group. Moreover, telling stories will also be an effective activity which would enable the preschoolers to remai n interested with regard to the learning process (Childs Play Learning Center, 2011). Intellectual Learning In order to enhance the intellectual capability of the preschoolers, it’s important to observe regarding how the children tend to practice while doing any activity. As it can be observed that predominantly preschool children learn through observing and doing various activities by themselves. Therefore, the literature program will be focused on different cognitive areas such as numbers, shapes and colors which may enable the preschoolers to enhance their intellectual skills (University of Illinois Board of Trustees, 2013). Personality Development Personality development is

UNIT 4 DISCUSSION BOARD Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

UNIT 4 DISCUSSION BOARD - Essay Example The next year would take its toll on Jane as she engaged in non-rational escalation of commitment to support her decision. The soap cleaned comparably well in comparison to the previous product. However, after the first week the workers complained that the soap was clogging the jets and they had to shut down the machine every two days to clean them. Jane tells them that they were probably already in need of cleaning and it couldnt be the soap. Besides, with the money she saved they could afford to clean the jets occasionally. She has begun the escalation process due to the need for self-justification (Colwell & Mowday, n.d.). She rationalized that the soap was working just fine. Two weeks later, one of the owners asked Jane to return the soap and go back to the old brand. She called the supplier and was advised of the 20% re-stocking charge to return the soap. However, the salesman told her that because she had a bad experience and was under some pressure, he would sell her another years supply at a 50% discount. Jane did the math and figured she would save the 20% restocking fee and get a 50% discount. That was a savings of 70% and would be enough to save her reputation. She purchased another years supply. Jane had gone down the path of serial decision making and was basing her decisions on the previous errors she had made, which is the critical feature of non-rational escalation (Staw, 1981, p.584). In addition, she was the victim of perceptual bias that impeded her ability to think objectively (Block, 2005, p.15). Jane was also ignoring everything she had learned in business class. She was not making decisions based on the current state and was using her sunk costs to influence her decision (Schminke, 1998, p.205). She was throwing good money after bad. Jane did some research on clogged jets and found that soap was the most likely suspect but could be caused