Sustainable Urbanism in Lowry Range Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8500 words

Sustainable Urbanism in Lowry Range - Essay Example Contemporary planning and development approaches suggest that privately-owned public spaces will be the Twenty-First Century reality for public spaces (Wallace 2005). As a leader in efforts to provide attractive and inclusive public spaces, New Urbanism also continues a development trend of reliance on the private sector’s provision and management of public activity and public space assets. Conflict exists between Constitutionally-protected rights of access, assembly, speech and expression and private property rights to exclude persons and activity. In the status quo, there are regulatory voids of excessive, ambiguous, and inadequate regulations that were attributable to direct private sector control and indirect public sector control. Analysis of the broader public forum regulatory structure for these spaces discovered that public use of certain spaces and certain commercial areas are especially vulnerable to these regulatory voids. Furthermore, it is important to note that e xpress public use rights in the form of public access/use entitlements play a unique role in supporting the public forum status of privately-owned public space (Endress 2005).Such administrative capacity is impeded by a limited understanding of the role of interstitial public spaces, by limited municipal resources for small park spaces, by strong commercial interests with small model development expectations, and by an entrenched property title bias toward bona fide public space assets.

Characteristics of the Market Essay Example for Free

Characteristics of the Market Essay a. National market Processing the small specialty foods with a broad product line and sales of $300 million per year which a food brokers represent the company to the retail food chains by the network. This company more focused on ethnic food specialties which including salad dressings, sauces for Italian pasta and condiments such as specialties pickles. b. Two plants produced product One in the Central Valley of California at Fresno and the other in Illinois south of Chicago which they buy the ingredients from other foods suppliers to avoid the peak seasonal characteristics encountered by food packers. The company production has take place in large quantities to maintain low production costs and assure consistent product quality. c. Generally order on small quantity Company has ordered from supplier amounting to five to six cases per order only or about 150 to 200 pounds at a time. d. Poor delivery However, customers have commented that the company have a poor delivery services because of many of ingredients are shipped over long distances and it has depending on the season. e. Two major department management This is include the Marketing and Sales and also has Production department and several staff units for personnel, purchasing and finance. Both of departments are responsible for marketing the product lines such promotion, product inventory at the public warehouses, providing sales support and also merchandising. There is also a national sales manager who responsibility for maintaining contact with food brokers, coordinating public warehouses and arrange for delivery 1) Case Summary (What’s the issue?) Horizon Foods Corporation (hereafter â€Å"Horizon†) is a still-growing, nationwide foods organization that is widely known for its high quality products. With $300 million sales each year, the firm has been relatively successful so far, gaining good reputation and arousing much interest of the public through its brokers and local retailers. However, as the company prospers and customers demand more, Horizon foresees a coming crisis. The distribution issue, which the company has faced for a while, is now causing stock-outs, and increasing competition in the market is threatening the company’s market share. Authorities involved fail to scrutinize the issue and its cause, and they are eager to blame each other for the problems. The division of labor between two major departments – Marketing and Sales, and Production – seems to need a complete rearrangement for a more efficient process. Horizon should also analyze its current brand positioning in the market and rework its strategies if needed. 2) Q1. What are the characteristics of the market served by the Horizon Foods Corporation? Horizon is a specialty foods processor. It has served a national market composed of food brokers who represent retail store chains. The food brokers make orders to Horizon. Generally, the orders are small. The production is done in two different plants thanks to the ingredients from some food suppliers. The plants are located in agricultural areas to reduce the cost of transportation. Moreover, Horizon produces in large quantities, and the food produced is very good in quality. The production is dispatched to several public warehouses. Then, these warehouses use contract carriers to deliver the products to the customers. Because of the small orders, the transportation cost to retail stores can be high. The market is very competitive since many of Horizon’s food competitors also offer a complete production line

The Reasons To Enter Vietnam Economics Essay

The Reasons To Enter Vietnam Economics Essay 1.0 Introduction Vietnam located at the eastern part of the Indochinese Peninsula and the center of South East Asia and a tropical country of the northern hemisphere. The government is runs by the Communist Party of Vietnam. In 1995, the population size in Vietnam reached 74million, ranking second in South East Asia, seventh in Asia-Pacific Region and twelfth the world over. The population size was then increased to 95 million people in the year 2010. Vietnam count as a poor country if refer to its own country GDP per person. After Dot Moi came, the national economy has improved at a high rate thus it improved the living standards and national income of local people as well. The country is one of the fastest growing economies in global which had shown a consistent growth rate in the recent years. While according to World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund in 2011, the GDP of Vietnam was increased per capita and develops from lower- income country to middle-income country (Richard Rou sseau, 2011). Coca-Cola entered Vietnams market at 2004 and produced its own vitamin-packed energy drink along with some familiar brands such as Joy, Fanta, Sprite, and others for the local consumers. Besides, Coca-Cola builds three production plants in Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City. Reasons to Enter Vietnam At 2004, Coca-Cola made its first move out from Africa, they decided enters to the Asias markets which include Vietnam. These acquisitions were in line with the Groups growth strategy to expand into emerging markets, in order to underpin the organizations position as an Emerging Markets Specialist (Coca-Cola Sabco History, 2009). The first move of Coca-Cola into Vietnam is based on the new emerge and rapid growth of economy in Vietnam. As the rapid population growth and improvement of economy in Vietnam, Coca-Cola took the opportunity to enter their market. Vietnams economy was growing at between 4% 8% after recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997.The enhancing of living and educational standards of Vietnamese help in providing employment opportunities to them. The entry of the firm in Vietnamese market able in enhance the economic development and create some job opportunities for the local people. As the soda consumption has reduced in the U.S., Coca-Cola is one of the soft drink industries that increasingly looking to expand their business in countries where there consist of higher national income rate and huge population (Bloomberg Business week New, 2012). This news had shown the reason that Vietnam still able to encourage more investment from Coca-Cola in Vietnam. Moreover, Vietnam relies on the petroleum industry for its local energy consumption and for export; it will cause the economy of Vietnam more stable and attracted many foreign companies direct invest in Vietnam. This had attracted Coca-cola to enter Vietnam markets at 2004. Moreover, the payment for employees in Vietnam is quite low, therefore, it attract foreign companies moving into Vietnam instead of traditional market such as China, India, and Thailand. These all reasons push Coca-Cola chooses Vietnam and made it first move into it to operate its plants there. 2.0 Analysis Gains of entering into a foreign country Political Stability Entering into a foreign country such as Vietnam consists of gains and shortcomings. One of the advantages to enter Vietnam is its political stability. According to Mr. Philippe Delalande in 2010, he mentioned that political stability is one of the factors that have helped Vietnam pursue its economic development policy. Others view from George E. Kobrossy in 2013, General Director of Zamil Steel Vietnam (ZSV) also mention the advantages which help in attracting foreign investors to the country is Vietnams political stability, administrative reform and its efforts in upgrading infrastructure facilities. Coca-Cola faced problems to enter some countries few decades ago due to the politic issues that happened in the country. Standage (n.d) said that Coca-Cola did not exist in the former Soviet Union (Russian) because they worry that the revenue would go transfer to communist government coffers. While Webster (n.d) mention that Coca-Cola not enter French society because Coca-Cola was a mar k of capitalism and a difference between capitalism and communism during Cold War.US brand like Coca-Cola found itself pester in politics, or singled out for criticism although they are not trying to get involved in politics, said Webster. Thus, for the obvious reason, Coca-Cola reentered Vietnams market because of the political stability after Doi Moi (reformation) policy as they feel more assurance in expanding their business in a stable politic country. Foreign Direct Investment One of the gains of Coca-Cola is that Vietnamese government provides many investment incentives for foreign investors, the corporate income tax is low compared to other countries in South East Asia (standard rate is 28% and preferential rates from 10% to 20%). The Foreign Investment Agency reports that by 15 December 2011 Vietnam had attract more than 13,667 foreign investment projects, with a total capital of around RM612 billion (Foreign Investment Agency, 2011). Foreign-invested companies including Coca-Cola accounted for around 27% of the countrys exports, 35% of the countrys total industrial productivity, constituted 13% of GDP, and contributed around 25% of total tax incomes (Vietnam Investment Review, 2001). Thus, there are about US$300 million was announced to invest in Vietnam by Coca-Cola for further capture growing opportunities in one of the most developing consumer markets (Staff, 2012). Under commitments made by Vietnam as part of its agreement to the World Trade Organi zation, Vietnam offered foreign enterprise which included Coca-Cola the general right to import products and sell them to licensed distributors. The process to obtain an investment certificate for foreign-owned company is much easier now. Low labor cost Vietnam is gaining competitive advantage for labor-intensive production industry on the basis of low salary level (Meyer, 2005). In the research on labor costs, Japan labor cost in one month is $1,810, continue by $1,144 in Singapore, $82 in Indonesia, and then Vietnam rank the second lowest place which is US$49 a month and follow by the highest is Cambodia with $47.36 (EuroCham, 2010). Coca-Cola who has chosen to set-up regional offices in Vietnam help Vietnam proven the extensive labor pool is competitive in the market (GLC, 2007). According to the information collected, we found that Coca-Cola Vietnam invest in Vietnam to help boost the local business sales and created 500 new jobs locally in Vietnam while the total labor force that gain this benefit is 99 percent of local Vietnamese (Staff, 2012). This high percentage use of labor force proves that Coca-Cola Vietnam is afforded to hire more local employees due to their low labor cost or low wages. Low production Cost Coca-Cola entering Vietnam because one of the gains is they can exempted from import duties to build fixed assets, such as bottling machinery, means of transport, and production materials that are not produced locally. Additional exemptions are available for raw materials, parts and materials imported for production of goods for export. Coca-Colas revenue in central Vietnam had witnessed a double digit growth over the past few years; three bottling plants of the company produce more than 608 million liters per year in Vietnam (Nordic Industry Development, 2012). Therefore, Coca-Cola beverages Vietnam invested over $3 million into its second Danang-based purified bottle water production chain, with a capacity of up to 6,000 of 500ml bottles per hour due to the low production cost they gain in Vietnam (Nordic Industry Development, 2012). Variety Product Lines that meet Vietnameses Beverages Need Coca-Cola enters Vietnam as they met the demand for hydration, nutrition and energizing refreshment of their customer in Vietnam. Coca-Cola has variety brand of products in Vietnam such as Coca-cola, Coca-cola Light, Fanta, Joy, Minute Maid, Dasani, Real Leaf, Samurai, Schweppes and Sprite. Joy is bottled water drink that pure and has the largest share of 32% compare other brand that company produce. Coca-Cola has the second largest share of 23% continue by Sprite with the percentage of 18% and Fanta which has 17%. Other brands like Samurai obtain 5% from the market share while Minute Maid and Schweppes each occupied 2.5% (Soft drink-Vietnam, 2010). They offer high quality product that meet the need of their target market. For example, Samurai is targeted on the underserved market which is the Vietnamese male adults who need an energy boost, as most of them have heavy workloads. This vitamin-packed energy drink is fortified with six essential B vitamins and has an exciting and refres hing taste with a carbonated, sweet flavor that appeals to the Vietnamese palate and popular among the target group. (Coca Cola Sabco, 2009) Shortcomings of entering into a foreign country Unable to generate wholly-owned subsidiary business One of the shortcomings of Coca-Cola in Vietnam is that foreign-based companies are generally not able to have wholly-owned subsidiary without production in the country. Therefore, importers would normally cooperate with local partners. (Nguyen Meyer, 2004). This had caused Coca-Cola lost a great opportunity in generating more profits. Coca-Cola started-up their bottling plants through joining venture with local Vietnamese partner using the name of Coca-Cola Vietnam. (DDDN, 2013) With the holding only 60 percents of the venture, Coca Cola has limited control over the resources, information and financial leverage to expand their business model and caused this business to be unprofitable. (à lvarez, 2003) According to Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation, Coca-Colas cumulative losses are US$180.6 million, even bigger than its equity of US$141.6 million and Coca Cola was doubted that having transfer pricing. (TuoiTreNews, 2012). Limited Control There a major part of Vietnamese business still owned and controlled by the government and local authorities although there is dramatically growth of private business in Vietnam in recent years (Embassy, 2005). State ownership is still dominant, and issues like informal business practices or land leasing still cause headaches to foreign investors. From the information we analyze, we believe that Coca-Cola also face more difficulties in accessing bank financing, land, and other critical resources that private and smaller enterprises faced the same problems (Tenev, 2003). Coca-Cola as a foreign investors enter Vietnam this Communist country need follow their culture and unfortunately control as well as restricted their business operation in order to continue survive in Vietnam. We believe that Coca-Cola need to have personal relationships in order to sustain their business under Vietnams control because there are some enterprises also follow the same culture with Coca-Cola. There are 4 0 percent of the enterprises believed they had to have personal relationships to receive allocated and transferred lands if regarding to the land use procedures (Vietna.net Bridge, 2012). Drinking Water Problems The last shortcoming of entering Vietnam is about drinking water problems. Drinking water is a key element for healthy life and it is a cornerstone for sustainable community. Most of the consumers of beverages who are concern of the water resource and it will directly affect their purchase decision. (Dickson, 2005)Thus for this obvious reason, Coca cola acknowledged that clean water is critical to operate in sustainable community like Vietnam. In many part of Vietnam, clear water is still a dream. However, Coca-Cola wasted 2.43 liters of water just to produce 1 liter of beverage on average. (Kenan Institute Asia , 2010) Thus, it has given a big impact toward the environment. Our business can only be as healthy as the local communities where we operate; access to clean water is one of the most important barometers of a communitys health. by Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, the Coca-Cola Company. Coca Cola also understand that the issue of water wastage for the production not only affect s the ecology and environment but it affects the corporate image of their company as well. 3.0 Recommendations In past decades, Coca-Cola adopted joint venture with the local partners to penetrate into the Vietnamese market. However, many partners had quit the venture as they unable to bear with the consecutive  loss made. These losses are basically caused by the unnecessary spending and poor cash flow in the business. Thus, in order overcome the problem, jointing venture with local partner such as Chuong Duong Beverage Co. is not sufficient to expand their business efficiently, Coca-Cola should joint venture with other foreign firms who are large enough to support them in term of financial and management as well as serve the demand of the market. For instance, the PepsiCo. has jointed venture with Japanese beverage and wellness company Suntory Holdings Ltd. in Vietnam in order to sustain long term growth in Vietnamese market. As Suntory has a consolidated business foundation in South-East Asian markets, PespiCo is boosting its current market position in order to compete with their competit ors. (RTT , 2012) Beside, In order to generate more revenue, Coca-Cola should follow the footsteps of FedEx to consider in application for wholly-owned subsidiary. FedEx is expected to be the firm that having 100 percents of subsidiary in Vietnam. This could help them to have long-term commitment in Vietnamese market as they able to take advantage in this growing market. (Linh, 2012) In order to solve the limited control problems, Coca-Cola can establish a harmonious relationship with the local authorities since it easier to solve bureaucratic problems if and when they occur especially in Communist country. Relations with local and central authorities can be developed as cooperative relationships, and networking and building personal relationships is recommended to expand their business in Vietnam. Coca-Cola Company should build a close relationship with government so that they will provide more subsidies and privileges to Coca-Cola including the decreasing cost in power usage and cheaper raw materials. Gifts to the appropriate persons and doing more charity to the poverty residents may enhance the atmosphere and smooth the business process given that sending presents is part of traditional Vietnamese culture. Coca-Cola spent over 5milions to 2.1 billion populations in Pacific for the effort of managing the clean water resources with the Community Water Partnership (CWP) program .For example, in Vietnam, Coca-Cola enhances their corporate image and improving the water quality through the Plain of Reeds Wetland Restoration Project and Clean Water for Communities (Phase II), more than 10,000 Vietnam residents able to access to the clear water through. (Staff, 2012) However, these programs dont really have a significant improvement to clean water issue. Thus, in order to achieve efficiency and effectiveness for the business and production operation, Coca-Cola needs to have advance water recovery system besides their CWP program. Water resources always is the global challenges for the beverages company especially operate in country like Vietnam who facing serious issue of clean water. Indeed, Coca-Cola claimed that the technology that they developed not only can reduce operational water needs but it also improves water use efficiency by up to 35percents. (The Coca Cola company, 2012). However, we believe that this technology can be improved by learning from competitors innovation such as PepsiCo. With the helping of Siemens Industry Automation Division PepsiCo has installed an integrated reuse solution at Santiagos snack plantation. It helps the manufacturing facility in increasing its wastewater treatment capacity by 20percents and it is a beneficial technology that incorporating environmental. Besides, the system will reduce 70 percents of fresh water consumption. (Warrendale, 2012) Nonetheless, as we all know these two giant beverage companies were competed aggressively in the industry over a century. Additional, one of the competitive advantages of these companies to retain their uniqueness is their innovation and technology. Therefore, if these two companies could alliance themselves in term of sharing their technology among themselves to solve the water wastage issue it could bring a better water quality to Vietnamese as well as enhances their production especially the bottling process. Since they have the same interest, they can cooperate under the Strategic alliance basis. Strategic alliances are agreements between companies that remain independent and are often in competition. (R.J., 1999). Many alliances are designed in order to seek for improvement in volume, divide fixed costs of production and distribution. A very good example Coca-Cola can refer is the alliance of Nestlà ¨ and Haagen-Dazs. We believe we can grow better together than separately said a Diageo spokesperson. Nestlà ¨ would contribute its frozen dessert technology, while Haagen Dazs would contribute to distribution through the network of points of sale with its name. (E, 1999). The alliance of these two companies for production and marketing has allowed Nestlà ¨ sought to build critical mass in the ice cream sector and a way to reduce costs by operating its plants in California and Maryland at full capacity. (Pellicelli, 2003) Besides, further improvement in competitive advantages can be done through improving Coca-Colas variety product lines. As we know few of the Coca-Cola product lines like Samurai, Coke Light, and Joy win a competitive advantage in Vietnams market. If compare to Coca-Cola biggest competitor markets strategy, PepsiCo had entered the food market and earn over $13 million to their business. Besides, PepsiCo also engaged in snack food which brand under Frito-Lay to gain more markets share. Thus, we suggest that Coca-Cola Company also can increase their market share by extends their product brand in snack as what PepsiCo done. Coca-Cola Company can invest in a new snack brand to attract more consumers in the Vietnam food market. This strategy can be effectively and efficiently implement because snack food is commonly consumed by Vietnamese families but Vietnamese will consume snack food that import from United State due to its lower price (What We Eat to Help Us Grow, 2010). Coca-Cola Compa ny can produce healthy snack food with lower price to attract Vietnamese who focus in health such as Frito Lay which their tasting chips are low fat and ingredient all are natural which contain no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives (Pepsico, 2012). 4.0 Conclusion Coca-cola as a global leader in beverages industry offer hundreds of brand over the world had entered Vietnam market by offer quality product that can be trust and fulfill the need of Vietnamese. Coca-Cola Company help people lead to an active and healthy lifestyle by provide the information of the beverages. Coca-Cola Company announcement an investment plan of invest $300 million in Vietnam over the next three years to build new infrastructure, create jobs, develop strong partnerships and build its brands in the country.   In the research, we found that enter to Vietnam market have it advantages and disadvantages. After we analyze, we realize that the gains of Coca-Cola is more than shortcomings after enter Vietnam. In order to overcome the shortcomings, Coca-Cola needs to adopt immediate solution and effective strategies in order to strengthen their market position in Vietnam.

Simulation Proliferation and the City Essay examples -- Essays Papers

Simulation Proliferation and the City Mr. Hand wears all black, is tall, thin, and pale. He floats around a dark city and ends far too many lines with a creepy self-affirming â€Å"yesss.† In Dark City (Alex Proyas 1998) we see over and over again indications of the tropes and repetitions that make up the urban/filmic imagination. Not quite vampires, not quite grey aliens, not quite business men, not quite religious, not quite serial murderers, Mr. Hand and the other Strangers seem to be archetypal characters of the city. Is the imagination a domesticating function, territorializing wild occurrence and happenstance into termed rearrangements of what has come before? Or is it an explosive and infinite fountain of creativity? Modern metropolises and imagination present themselves together in such films as mutually helpful tools for inspecting one another – but my effort is to use the city to discuss several imaginations. As is only obvious enough from one city dweller talking to another, imagination (m oreso than representation or memory) is home to the ever changing city. Conversely, however, the city enables a specific citified imagination, with its own structure and economy. To begin, though, I want to interrogate, as a point of departure, the philosophy of fantasy in a highly commercial, idyllic, anti-city movie. Those lucky children of the 80’s witnessed the depiction and eventual summarization of the relation between fantasy, imagination, fiction, story, and control in the politico-creative manifesto, The Neverending Story (Wolfgang Peterson 1984). In the movie, Sebastian (a somewhat troubled young boy) reads a book (whose unfolding is the main content of the screen) and is then implicated in the collapse of a fantas... ...gination can be spoken of as a discourse that is ultimately just about itself: it is only by imagination that one imagination is to discover anything about the next – yet this ethereality is not only not troubling for the stability of simulation, but itself stabilized by the overproduction of simulacra such that its processing is pressured into sheer reactive creativity. The strikingly bizarre and symptomatically fascinating point, though, is why imagination might have almost anything at all to do with simulation, but this is just the predominant strength of an imagination over its inscription, by representation, into broader circulating winds of reality: its apparent nihilism. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Ã… ½iÃ… ¾ek, Slavoj. â€Å"Passion in the Era of Decaffeinated Belief.† Thy Symptom Issue 5, Winter 2004.

Desiree’s Baby and Battle Royal: Character Comparison Essay

Reasons the main characters in Desiree’s baby and Battle Royal choose different paths to solve their problems Racism has deterred many Africans from living happily, for from the two given stories we saw that one took her own life for that and the other had to suffer all the cruelty and inequality of the whites in order to continue his academic life. In the stories, our main characters had both chosen different paths, solutions to their problem. The reasons that lead to this dissimilarity were that both of them were different people with different stands in society and also their situations were not alike. As a woman, Desiree’s joy in life lied in her happy family yet she was deserted by her own husband. Armand’s treatment towards Desiree made her became miserable and so when she left with the child, she had nothing to live for. Armand and Desiree were very much in love at the beginning of the story and Desiree could not cope without him. Desiree did not understand what she had done but she felt guilty. Armand thought that she had betrayed him that she was an unfaithful wife. The change in Armand’s attitude towards his wife affected Desiree and due to this she killed herself and her child. On the other hand, our young African-American narrator was a slave. He was and always has been an obedient slave who believed if he worked hard enough the white community would accept him. Thus, through all the abuse and after being treated as an entertainment, he still held on to his speech the one thing he was firmed of. And in the end, though he was very confused if his grandfather’s words were true he had to go continue his academic life first, which left him in a crossroad. Furthermore, Desiree was adopted by a well-respected family and also she married Armand who was also from a wealthy family, which put a lot of pressure on her to be a perfect woman. So when her husband falsely accused her of being black, she was confused since it went against everything she had been in her whole life: good, kind, and pure. She was shocked to see happiness taken away from her so easily and also to see that she had became a humiliation to her husband’s and her own family. That also is why she chose death as her solution. In contrast to Desiree the narrator’s family in Battle Royal were all slaves. They were not ashamed of it. They believed in â€Å"Equal but separate. †, they always taught their kids to be good and their good deed will be rewarded. This point was proven when white people gave the narrator a scholarship. At that point he had caught glimpses of the cruelty of the white society but still he was very grateful for that scholarship hence, it blindfolded him from the real truth. Moreover, Desiree chose death for herself because she thought she had nothing left to live for in this world, she was treated like an outcast. Of course we can argue that she had to live for her baby, but in the end she did what she did to save both of them. She was scared and she knew for sure that in this society no one would accept her baby. She did not want her child to go through what she had thus ending both of their lives was the easiest choice. However, our narrator in Battle Royal, not like Desiree, he had a choice. He could go to college be an obedient African-American like he was and everything would stay perfectly fine. He could have a life and he was not going to throw that rare opportunity away which is why his choice of path was not remotely as same as Desiree’s in the other short story. In conclusion, our characters had unraveled their problems through different ways. Desiree chose to commit suicide and our narrator in Battle Royal continued with his life though he was unsure what he should do. They chose differently because they were different person, they came from different society class at that time, and their problems were not the same. But in the end, Desiree and the African-American narrator were both victims of racism which were portrayed differently in both of our short stories but still were saying in Desiree’s case what tragic did racism brought and in our young narrator’s case that how racism can be covered with the sentence â€Å"Equal but separate. †

Kobe Earthquake Case Study

Great Hanshin / Kobe earthquake In the early of January 17th in 1995 at 5:46pm, while many were still sleeping peacefully, the destructive Great Hanshin earthquake, which measured 7. 2 on the Richter scale, struck the Japanese city of Kobe. Kobe has a population of 1. 5 million people and is a major port for importing and exporting goods for Japan, situated south of the main island, Honshu, on a narrow strip of land between the ocean and high mountain ranges, it lies above the junction of the Philippine and Eurasian plates.Kobe has rarely been affected by major earthquakes, only small tremors occasionally, but this earthquake that lasted for a whole 20 seconds, was the biggest to hit japan in 47 years. Japan is situated on the margin of the Eurasian plated, where the Philippine sea plate is being subducted below the Eurasian plate, resulting in Japan having greater than average seismic and volcanic activity. Immediately south of Osaka bay is a fault called the median tectonic line (M TL) and it was sudden movement along this fault that triggered the earthquake that hit Kobe.The movement was caused by the friction from the Eurasian and Philippine plates converging. The earthquake had a shallow focus, only 16 km below the surface, which had caused it to become so destructive. Kobe was largely affected, as the epicentre was only 30 km from the city centre. Japan is said to be the most earthquake prone country but this was proved otherwise in the Kobe earthquake. The 20 second earthquake caused the ground to move up to 50 centimetres horizontally and up to 1 meter vertically.The primary effects from the seismic waves shaking the crust were severe causing the collapse of buildings, bridges and roads. With a total of 75 000 buildings damaged or destroyed and all major road and rail way links damaged all communications from the east and west of japan were cut off. The after shocks from the earthquake caused the problems to become worse with a total of 5000 people dead, 300 000 homeless and 68 children orphaned. The earthquake also triggered a number of fires, congestion, chaos and business closures.Because of the severity of the earthquake it made it extremely difficult for emergency services to reach the worst affected parts of the city. All gas, water and telecommunications were cut off making it extremely hard for emergency crews to communicate and for fire fighters to put out the fires across the city, leaving the fire fighters to watch helplessly as Kobe burned. The earthquake caused a total of 100 billion dollars of damage with economic damage taking up 100 million dollars.Many typical Japanese insurance policies did not cover earthquakes, causing many families to loose everything. In the first few days food, blankets, medical supplies and clean water were of short supplies and the winter weather made it worse with temperatures dropping to -2. Because of the severity of the earthquake and the shortage in supplies, authorities found the disa ster difficult to cope with and the special defence forces were unable to reach the site until 4 hours after the earthquake with the original team only consisting of 170 troops.Even though the earthquake had such a large impact on all aspects of japan at the time it did not take them all to recover and get back on track with the short-term relief and rescue measures put in place they were able to get water, electricity, gas and telephone services were fully working by July and by august the railways were back in service. The port was rebuilt and the import volumes recovered fully within a year and the exports were nearly back to normal. The earthquake also caused a major decline in Japanese Stock market which then caused a domino effect on the banks but despite this damage the local economy recovered quickly.

Raging Against The Machine essays

Raging Against The Machine essays Imagine the world without music. Or imagine a world where we are told what to play, what to sing and even what we may listen to in the privacy of our own homes. That world already exists. A very politically charged band known as Rage Against Machine is one band out of thousands that has run into problems with the explicit nature of their music. To make a statement, Rage Against The Machine (RATM) had hung two upside-down American flags from their amps. Seconds before they took the stage to perform Bulls on Parade, Saturday Night Live (SNL) and NBC sent stagehands in to pull the flags down. The inverted flags, says Tom Morello (Rages guitarist), represented our contention that American democracy is inverted when what passes for democracy is an electoral choice between two representatives of the privileged class. Americas freedom of expression is inverted when youre free to say anything you want to say until it upsets a corporate sponsor. Finally, this was our way of expressing our opinion of the shows host, Steve Forbes. RATM first attempted to hang the flags during a pre-telecast rehearsal, SNLs producers demanded that we take the flags down, says Morello. They said the sponsors would be upset, and that because Steve Forbes was on, they had to run a tighter show. SNL also told the band it would mute objectionable lyrics in Bullet In The Head (Which was supposed to be RATMs second song). SNL even insisted that the song be bleeped in the studio because Forbes had friends and family there. On shows opening night, following the first performance, with the flags being torn down, RATM were approached by SNL and NBC officials and ordered to immediately leave the building (Hendrickson). Why did Saturday Night Live invite Rage Against The Machine to perform on their show when they disagree with what the band represent...

Themes in Heart of Darkness Essays

Themes in Heart of Darkness Essays Themes in Heart of Darkness Essay Themes in Heart of Darkness Essay Essay Topic: Heart Of Darkness â€Å"Heart of Darkness,† is regarded as one of the best and by far the most talked about novels of Joseph Conrad. The novel is not only read for it s unique settings, a variety of its interesting events, symbolic implications, exploration of ancient traditions but the popularity and literary status of novel owes a great deal to its multi-dimensional themes that have the power and vigor to penetrate deep down into the human psychology. Various critics ever since the publication of the novel have tried to find the real theme of the novel and have interpreted the hidden motives of interpreted Conrad in their style.But the most interesting comment comes from a famous and eminent Critic of the novelist. He says: â€Å"Heart of darkness† is a master-piece of abstract art by majestic painter, each time you look at it, you get a new meaning, different themes appear and reappear to the conscience, and what’s more the stream of thought continues to give food to the soul c ompare to an abstract meaning as every time when we read to find new meaning like abstract painting. There is hardly any doubt about the validity of the above statement. The real charm of the novel lies in its thematic depth. No, doubt, the novel is read about all over the world for its variety of themes; but this is also a fact that â€Å"darkness† evil nature of man is more hesitate theme prevailing in human heart is the most dominating theme of the novel, though there are other visible themes such as selfishness of modern man, inefficiency, imperialism and historical perspective. â€Å"Heart of Darkness† in fact dopiest the darkness of the human heart. The novelist wants to suggest the notion that all the development in the modern world and especially in Europe hasn’t been darkness is present in every man’s heart, and only in Africa able to sweep away the real darkness, ignorance, and brutality. We appear deceptively acceptable in society. The modern civilization has ju

A Song Analysis by Walt Whitman

The poem, A Song, by Walt Whitman appears in Leaves of Grass. This edition collection of poems appeared in 1867. It is the workshop for the other versions that followed. â€Å"A Song† is not as well-known as some of Whitman’s other songs. This one like many of his poems celebrates comradeship and nature. It appears in the Calamus section of the 1867 book. It does not appear in later additions. The poem praises the soldiers who fought for America’s freedom. The emphasis on comradeship grows throughout the four stanzas. It starts with life-long love grows to manly love and ends with high-towering love. He uses lots of images from nature as well including â€Å"trees along the rivers,† â€Å"along the shores,† â€Å"all over the prairies. † This emphasis of the water is no coincidence as ships and those that worked on them fascinated Whitman. He loved ride the ferries and spend time along the East River in New York state. His patriotic side shines through this poem too with phrases like â€Å"the continent indissoluble,† â€Å"divine magnetic lands,† â€Å"O Democracy. † His ideals of a united nation present in the poem, contrast with the country as it really was, with racial problems and disputes between the North and South. This ideal grew out of his visits with wartime veterans after seeing the harm that segregation did to the country. At very young age, this ideal emerged through his friendship with Tom Paine, who wrote Common Sense. Whitman wrote this poem shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation produced the freedom that many questioned could ever occur. Keats, Bryant, and Emerson inspired much of his poetry and followed their examples especially in his newer editions of Leaves of Grass. In â€Å"A Song,† music tries to ring through the words. Whitman was a master at matching images with musical sounds. The reader can almost hear the river through the trees or the song of the prairies. In the poem, his love for music reaches out to people. Music is universal and brings people of all races together. Whitman seems to say that through song all nations can achieve these things. By replacing the â€Å"I† in this poem with songs or song, the reader sees how important song and music became to Whitman. Whitman was largely self-taught learning his trade as a teenager. He worked in a print shop. He learned much about journalism and grew to love writing in all its forms. Among other things, he was a schoolteacher, a journalist, an editor. He also wrote fiction and essays.

Special Interest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Special Interest - Essay Example The aims and objectives of Interest groups are set in such a way so as to benefit the group members or a specific portion of society, for example procuring government subsidies to farmers. There are also issues which cover the public interest in the broader sense such as improving air quality. Berry (1999) believes that the interest groups in the United States act as mediators in conveying the opinion and requirements of the common man to the elected representatives. Individuals can find an interest group that can address or focus on his personal problem. The directories of American Voluntary Associations provide an overview of what these interest group associations aim at and why they are formed. The Gale Research Encyclopedia of Associations is considered as the most acceptable listing of interest groups. Most of these groups seek to influence the public policies. Prior to 1970, the records in America had information on interest groups which were actively involved in business, labor and agriculture. As per the findings of Baumgartner and Leech (1998), the interest group universe has become more complicated since then. With the industrialization, the agricultural groups have started dwindling and have lost influence in the United States. Large number of new interest groups has come into existence, some of them are mentioned below: The large multinational corporations have much influence and say, states Sinclair (2000). These companies will be generally members in more than one trade association. These associations represent the view of the industry they are associated with. The National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are supported by the big corporations and these â€Å"umbrella† groups represent and speak on behalf of the entire business community, believes Victor (2001). Professionals also

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and the Sino-Soviet Split Essay

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and the Sino-Soviet Split - Essay Example The present research has identified that during the period from 1924-1927, China and the USSR suffered under poorly managed governments. After 1945, Stalin demonstrated a residual resistance to lending aid to the Chinese Communists.   However, with China’s establishment of the Chinese People’s Republic and the rise of Communism in China, both nations found a way to iron out their differences and to work together in solidarity. By the 1950s the common belief among the international community was that communist China and the USSR were impenetrable allies engaged in a common goal to ensure that Communism was a major influence on the world. There was more than enough evidence to support this perception. Under Mao Tse-tung’s leadership, China formally aligned itself with the USSR. When the Communist in North Korea invaded the Republic of Korea, China intervened and the USSR lent military aid. Regardless, by the 1960s, the Sino-Soviet Alliance was practically shatter ed as their respective ideologies and policies were increasingly at odds. The office of the US Central Intelligence Agency reported to the US’s administrators in February 1962 that: Sino-Soviet relations are in a critical phase just short of an acknowledged and definitive split. There is no longer much of a fundamental resolution of differences. In our view, the chances that such a split can be avoided in 1962 are no better than ever. There are a number of theories put forth by historians and political scientists attempting to understand the driving force splitting the union between the world’s two largest Communist states. Athwal argues that the US’ â€Å"nuclear superiority† put increasing pressures on Sino-Soviet relations and policies by first influencing China to obtain nuclear weapons and by forcing the Soviets to look to the West in a more amicable way. Moreover, both China and the Soviet Union had different perceptions of the US threat which creat ed additional tensions between the USSR and China. In addition, the US policies toward the Chinese Communist Party and the US sponsorship of CENTO and SEATO and its presence in South Asia placed continuing pressure on Sino-Soviet relations contributing to the split.

Negotiation skills - QUESTIONS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Negotiation skills - QUESTIONS 2 - Essay Example Avoiding in a conflict situation generally means postponing, showing lack of assertiveness or withdrawing from issues (at present time) in order to deal with them later or in other words showing reluctant behavior in terms of solving problem. However this avoidance may be deliberate in order to come up with the better solution later or for so many reasons (Trainer, 2012, p. 3). Moreover using this technique too much can result in creating a communication gap which further leads towards unhealthy co ordination as both parties are unable to know the stance of each other. Similarly if avoiding is overused it may affect the nature of the decision or stance of the other party. Likewise if avoiding is underused it may result in creating a situation which might hurt individuals feeling as usually discretion is not very much opt by individuals. Furthermore if individual is less likely to follow avoiding policy he is likely to be threatened by various issues and conflicts. Accommodating generally means sacrificing ones interest, goals or motives in order to give preference to others for satisfying their concerns. It can be use for number of reasons for instance if an individual is wrong and feels like correcting himself, or if a boss in a company accommodates employees in order to give them chance so they can learn from their previous mistakes (Trainer, 2012, p. 3). Accommodating if overused can lead towards losing of respect as employees are likely to make mistakes and take employer for granted. Moreover employer may lose his overall control over his employees because of overuse of accommodating factor. However if this factor is underused it may result in creating trouble in so many dimensions, for instance in creating goodwill, realizing, and accepting one’s own mistakes. Compromising is a phase in which both parties understand each other’s point of view and are willing to give up

Fixed Pricing Policy Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Fixed Pricing Policy - Coursework Example These may include menu-based pricing, activity-based pricing, and cost per drop. Most specifically the various fixed pricing strategies are based on the customer's demand and market expectations (Özer & Phillips, 2012). Consumers tend to experience two roots of value for a product. One is acquisition utility, and the other is transaction utility, these are what forms part of the consequences should a fixed pricing policy apply. Acquisition utility implies utility of obtaining a given product while on the other hand transaction utility implies the difference between the featured price and a subject's reference price. Through fixed pricing policy, consumers are able to decide for the time they will pay for better service provided and when it would be logical to order to reduce impulse buying (Nagle, 2011). These may include menu-based pricing, activity-based pricing, and cost per drop. Most specifically the various fixed pricing strategies are based on the customers demand and mark et expectations (Özer & Phillips, 2012). Consumers tend to experience two roots of value for a product. One is acquisition utility, and the other is transaction utility, these are what forms part of the consequences should a fixed pricing policy apply. Acquisition utility implies utility of obtaining a given product while on the other hand transaction utility implies the difference between the featured price and a subjects reference price. Through fixed pricing policy, consumers are able to decide for the time they will pay for better service provided and when it would be logical to order to reduce impulse buying (Nagle,

Cylyndrospermospis (CYN) Algae Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Cylyndrospermospis (CYN) Algae - Essay Example The paper analyses the risk of Cylindrospermopsin toxicity in human beings posed by consumption of seafood which are highly regarded s the toxin agents. The assessment covers the risk of exposure through seafood consumption by residents of Victoria, Australia, around the Gippsland Lakes, neglecting other kinds of exposure since the place where the field of study is other factors are either do not exist or are neglable. These other risk factors include: exposure due to recreational activities, which is highly advocated against in the area; and exposure through drinking water, which is ruled out since the water drunk the residents is not sourced at the Cyanobacteria infested Gippsland Lakes. Introduction Cylindrospermopsin is a toxin that occurs naturally, and is produced by specific strains of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii among at least 4 other freshwater cyanobacterial species, counting Umezakia natans, Anabaena bergii, Raphidiopsis curvata and Aphanizomenon ovalisporum (Aldrich, 2 012, p. 3). Cylindrospermopsin chemical structure was not clarified until 1992. It comprises of a tri-cyclic guanidine moiety combined with hydroxyl-methyl-uracil. Its molecular formula is C15H21N5O7S and molecular weight is 415.43. It is zwitterionic (a di-polar ion with localized negative and positive charges). Deoxycylindro-spermopsin, a cylindrospermopsin analog in which the hydroxyl group in the uracil bridge has been removed, isolated from R. curvata and C. raciborskii (Aldrich, 2012, p. 3) . 7-epicylindrospermopsin is another structural variation of cylindrospermopsin which was isolated from A. ovalisporum. The Gippsland Lakes is a coastal lagoons system located at southeast of Victoria in Australia, approximately 200 kilometers east Melbourne and are key for commercial, tourist and recreational activities. The Lakes act as a source of commercial seafood, including fish, crustaceans and shellfish, as well as providing general recreational fishing. Considerable modifications h ave occurred on the Lakes catchments since European settlement with fisheries and agricultural development, including the establishment of a permanently open Bass Straight entrance in 1889. This environment, once freshwater lake, is currently a more saline and high nutrient expanse, and cyanobacterial (the blue-green algal) blooms are now becoming a normal occurrence. Ever since 1985, there have existed 7 non-cyanobacterial blooms noted in the Lakes (commonly dinoflagellates or diatoms), and 12 cyanobacterial blooms (Kaarina Sivonen, 1999, p. 4). Nodularia spumigenna is the most common cyanobacterium to bloom, with periodic Microcystis aeruginosa and Anabaena circinalis blooms (Anon., n.d., p. 169) So as to provide guidance and to delineate acceptable levels of Cylindrospermopsin in seafood in Victoria, the Victorian Health Department convened a scientific advisory professional to perform a risk assessment regarding recreational and commercial seafood safety in the Victoria Gippslan d Lakes (Kankaanpaa, 2005, p. 3). The seafood of concern was fish, mussels and prawns from these lakes. Cylindrospermopsin was among the toxins detected in the risk assessment, others being saxitoxins, microcystins, nodularin - all of which are found in Australian aquatic surroundings and are distributed global (Moreira, et al., 2012, p. 3). Cyanobacterial blooms largely depend on water temperature and nutrient availability,

Negotiation skills - QUESTIONS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Negotiation skills - QUESTIONS 2 - Essay Example Avoiding in a conflict situation generally means postponing, showing lack of assertiveness or withdrawing from issues (at present time) in order to deal with them later or in other words showing reluctant behavior in terms of solving problem. However this avoidance may be deliberate in order to come up with the better solution later or for so many reasons (Trainer, 2012, p. 3). Moreover using this technique too much can result in creating a communication gap which further leads towards unhealthy co ordination as both parties are unable to know the stance of each other. Similarly if avoiding is overused it may affect the nature of the decision or stance of the other party. Likewise if avoiding is underused it may result in creating a situation which might hurt individuals feeling as usually discretion is not very much opt by individuals. Furthermore if individual is less likely to follow avoiding policy he is likely to be threatened by various issues and conflicts. Accommodating generally means sacrificing ones interest, goals or motives in order to give preference to others for satisfying their concerns. It can be use for number of reasons for instance if an individual is wrong and feels like correcting himself, or if a boss in a company accommodates employees in order to give them chance so they can learn from their previous mistakes (Trainer, 2012, p. 3). Accommodating if overused can lead towards losing of respect as employees are likely to make mistakes and take employer for granted. Moreover employer may lose his overall control over his employees because of overuse of accommodating factor. However if this factor is underused it may result in creating trouble in so many dimensions, for instance in creating goodwill, realizing, and accepting one’s own mistakes. Compromising is a phase in which both parties understand each other’s point of view and are willing to give up

Cylyndrospermospis (CYN) Algae Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Cylyndrospermospis (CYN) Algae - Essay Example The paper analyses the risk of Cylindrospermopsin toxicity in human beings posed by consumption of seafood which are highly regarded s the toxin agents. The assessment covers the risk of exposure through seafood consumption by residents of Victoria, Australia, around the Gippsland Lakes, neglecting other kinds of exposure since the place where the field of study is other factors are either do not exist or are neglable. These other risk factors include: exposure due to recreational activities, which is highly advocated against in the area; and exposure through drinking water, which is ruled out since the water drunk the residents is not sourced at the Cyanobacteria infested Gippsland Lakes. Introduction Cylindrospermopsin is a toxin that occurs naturally, and is produced by specific strains of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii among at least 4 other freshwater cyanobacterial species, counting Umezakia natans, Anabaena bergii, Raphidiopsis curvata and Aphanizomenon ovalisporum (Aldrich, 2 012, p. 3). Cylindrospermopsin chemical structure was not clarified until 1992. It comprises of a tri-cyclic guanidine moiety combined with hydroxyl-methyl-uracil. Its molecular formula is C15H21N5O7S and molecular weight is 415.43. It is zwitterionic (a di-polar ion with localized negative and positive charges). Deoxycylindro-spermopsin, a cylindrospermopsin analog in which the hydroxyl group in the uracil bridge has been removed, isolated from R. curvata and C. raciborskii (Aldrich, 2012, p. 3) . 7-epicylindrospermopsin is another structural variation of cylindrospermopsin which was isolated from A. ovalisporum. The Gippsland Lakes is a coastal lagoons system located at southeast of Victoria in Australia, approximately 200 kilometers east Melbourne and are key for commercial, tourist and recreational activities. The Lakes act as a source of commercial seafood, including fish, crustaceans and shellfish, as well as providing general recreational fishing. Considerable modifications h ave occurred on the Lakes catchments since European settlement with fisheries and agricultural development, including the establishment of a permanently open Bass Straight entrance in 1889. This environment, once freshwater lake, is currently a more saline and high nutrient expanse, and cyanobacterial (the blue-green algal) blooms are now becoming a normal occurrence. Ever since 1985, there have existed 7 non-cyanobacterial blooms noted in the Lakes (commonly dinoflagellates or diatoms), and 12 cyanobacterial blooms (Kaarina Sivonen, 1999, p. 4). Nodularia spumigenna is the most common cyanobacterium to bloom, with periodic Microcystis aeruginosa and Anabaena circinalis blooms (Anon., n.d., p. 169) So as to provide guidance and to delineate acceptable levels of Cylindrospermopsin in seafood in Victoria, the Victorian Health Department convened a scientific advisory professional to perform a risk assessment regarding recreational and commercial seafood safety in the Victoria Gippslan d Lakes (Kankaanpaa, 2005, p. 3). The seafood of concern was fish, mussels and prawns from these lakes. Cylindrospermopsin was among the toxins detected in the risk assessment, others being saxitoxins, microcystins, nodularin - all of which are found in Australian aquatic surroundings and are distributed global (Moreira, et al., 2012, p. 3). Cyanobacterial blooms largely depend on water temperature and nutrient availability,

Germanys Invasion of Poland Essay Example for Free

Germanys Invasion of Poland Essay Poland is a fairly large country situated in central Europe. Its borders extend to Germany in the west, to Baltic Sea (Russian region of Kaliningrad) in the north, to Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine in the east, and to the republics of Czech Slovakia in the south. The name Poland was taken from a Slavic tribe called Polanie, which had once inhabited in most of the area which falls within what is now Poland. The largest city, also the capital city of Poland is Warsaw. The terrain of Poland consists mostly of rolling mountains and leveled planes. There was a vast empire of Poland that once existed across most of central Europe, but it was mostly due to the foreign invaders and their conquests of Poland one after the other which brought decline to Poland and an end to its existence as a separate and independent nation. Therefore the economy and political structure of Poland was greatly destroyed especially during 1900s. Then the World War 11(1939-1945) shattered what was left in Poland. Poland which is basically an agricultural country soon began to develop into Industrial country when after the wars its poor agrarian population began shifting to towns and urban cities for jobs in industries and factories. There was also significant ethnic homogeneity to be seen throughout Poland especially after World War 11 as a result of Polands boundary treaty with the Soviet Union and the immigration of German-speaking people. But the vast majority of population were entirely Polish-speaking and affiliated to Roman Catholic Church. But during 1946s, by a shear stroke of bad luck, the Poles were thrust into communism and the entire nation became a communist country. The ruling communist party formed its government and imposed restrictions on the freedom of speech and action of its people. The communist regime continued to govern until 1989, when non-communists won elections in the parliament. Eventually the freedom was restored to Poland and her people got rid of the communist yoke in the year 1990. The economy structure of Poland too was transformed to a private enterprise system. And in 1999, Poland became a member of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), a military defense pact among Western nations. Kwasniewski was again elected as president in 2000, and the Democratic Left Alliance also secured majority of seats in the parliamentary elections of 2001. Soon after that a coalition government of the Peasant Party and the Ruling Party was formed. And it was sometimes later in 2004 that Poland became the member of the EU (European Union). (Janusz, n. p. ) Brief Account of Polands Decline in History Despite advances made by Poland in 1300s, signs of her decline had started in the mid 1500s. Polands economy and parliament were shattered because of costly wars among its nobles and rulers resulting into losing of much of its territory to Ukraine and the Baltic province to Sweden during 1600s. The weakened Poland thus was partitioned in 1772, 1793 and 1795 successively by its neighbors, Austria, Russia and Prussia, the emerging and leading powers of contemporary Europe. Then Poles joined the French forces of Napoleon Bonaparte to fight back their lost territories. The latter fought back Prussian Poland and named it Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. Russia tried to crush Polish culture by imposing Russian language but the people of Poland under Prussian influence not only adopted German language but also formed German Empire in 1871. After World War 1 (1914-1918), by virtue of the treaty of Versailles in 1919, Poland regained much of its annexed territory from Germany, so also went all out to settle its boundaries with Russia. Russia, who was offended, waged a war against Poland (1919 to 1920). The war ended with a treaty of Riga giving back Poland some of its territories annexed by Russia. By 1930s Poland had reestablished its government and developed its economy. But she was soon posed with threats from the emerging military might of Germany and the Soviet Union simultaneously from opposite sides. In early1939, Adolph Hitler demanded that Danzig be handed over to Germany and that she may be allowed a free passage to Pomerania in the east without any restrictions. This was not accepted by the Poles, so the latter made an alliance with the UK France in 1921, by which Poland was to be protected by these two powers in case of threat from a foreign power. But Adolph Hitler attacked Poland on the 1st of September. Thus the World War 11 erupted when the UK and France under pledge to protect Poland, declared war on Germany. (Janusz, n. p. ) The Chronology in Polands Invasion by Germany The chronology depicting salient events in Germanys invasion of Poland include: a) Adolph Hitler annexed the native states of Austria and Sudetenland in 1938, and invaded the Czech part of Czechoslovakia the next year. b) Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 -. The invasion of Poland forced Britain and France, to declare war on Germany because they had pledged to protect Poland. This caused the World War II to begin. c) Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. d) The United States proclaimed her neutrality on 5 September 1939. e) The US President declared limited national emergency on 8, September 1939. f) Later in September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east and Poland was partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union g) All Polish forces surrendered to German Army on 6, October 1939. h) Congress passed a bill of law allowing the sale of weapons and military arsenal across the warring nations on 4, November 1939. i) The Soviet Union attacked Finland on 30 November 1939. The former also captured the Baltic States and northern Romania in 1940. (Europes Changing Borders, n. p. ) The Background History A new facet to international politics was added when Adolph Hitler acceded to power in 1939. Initially he was held back because of Germanys isolation and its non-interference policy into the committee of nations. Also he needed time to put Germanys shattered economy back on rails. He took hasty and short-cut steps to complete this phase the same year. The signs of new dimensions in German policy began to be demonstrated through Hitlers drastic and revolutionary acts like the Rome-Berlin Axis, the condemnation of the Locarno treaties; the re-occupation of Rhineland, and the pact of anti-Comintern with Japan. The expediency in Hitlers initial strategy involved the target-achieving through threats instead of physically going to war. This was sufficiently shown in the unopposed annexation of Austria and the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia in 1938, and which prove his new policy to be right. Therefore Hitler expected the same to happen while annexing Poland. He anticipated England and France to give way once again and being over-optimistic, he believed that the notorious Nazi-Soviet pact of August 23, 1939, would deter the Western powers from intervention. But this time Hitler miscalculated as his speculations proved wrong. (Barraclough, p132) The World War-11 Fall of Poland On 23, August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a secret treaty by which Poland was to be partitioned and divided between them. By August 25, 1939, a pact of alliance between Poland and England had also concluded. Thus according to secret plans, Germany attacked Poland on the first of September 1939. The United Kingdom and France then declared war on Germany. The U. S. S. R. invaded Poland on September 17. The Poles fought bravely, but were defeated within a month. Germany and the Soviet Union vide the secret clauses of the plan divided Poland between themselves. But in 1941, Germany attacked the U. S. S. R. and seized all of Poland. Shortly after the fall of Poland, a Polish government in Paris, which was formed in-exile, was shifted to London sometimes later. In several conflicts Polish forces joined Allied armed forces besides an underground Home Army, which was stationed inside Poland was meant to operate against the Germans. When Germans attacked the USSR in 1941, the communist party in Poland also formed in-exile center in the Soviet republic. These underground movements of communist Poles, working directly under the soviet supreme command fought German troops on the eastern side. The Polish Communist Party was officially announced in 1942 with Wladyslaw Gomulka formally becoming the Party leader in 1943. The USSR troops invaded Poland in 1944 and started driving out the Germans. The same year an uprising against Germany was staged by the Home Agency in Warsaw. But it was only two months later that the Home Agency was silenced and forced to surrender, and a Polish Committee of National Liberation was formed in Lublin. The Soviet Union did not show resentment in the formation of this the committee because all the members constituting the committee were entirely Communists like the provisional government of Poland. The Allies too acknowledged the Committee at Yalta conference in 1945 after it had agreed to include representatives of the non-communist groups as well as the representatives of the government of the London government-in-exile. The Extermination of Polish Jews There were heavy casualties on the Poland side besides a widespread devastation and destruction. At the time when both the German troops and the USSR forces had occupied Poland, Warsaw was completely in ruins with millions of polish Jews extirpated within the extermination camps. Nearly half of six millions Poles who had perished between 1939 and 1945 were Jews. The Nazis of Germany finished off a large population of the Polish Jews by starvation and massacres in the notorious concentration camps like the one at Auschwitz. About six million Poles were killed, and nearly 3 million were migrated to Germany for forced labor. Polish Jews suffered the worst fate in the history of mankind with a population of some 3,113,900 Jews were exterminated. Notwithstanding German repression, the Poles did not either halt or stop fighting for their independence. A movement called underground resistance was organized, and a government in-exile was established in France and London respectively. While those Poles who had been taken as prisoners of war by the Soviet Union were granted permission to form a group of soldiers i. e. a corpse under Wladislaw Anders which was supposed to fight against the Allies. However other Polish units were organized in France and the United Kingdom separately. The Germans officially announced the disclosure of a mass grave of at least 11,000 Polish soldiers mostly officers that were killed by the Soviets in 1943. The discovery of the mass grave in the forests of Katyn triggered the breakout of fresh hostilities and fights between the Soviet Union and the Polish government in-exile. It was sometimes later in 1990 that the USSR government admitted the massacre of Polish troops. The escalations were mounted and the crack was further broadened when the Soviet demanded the Curzon-Line to be the new border between the USSR and Poland. A new Polish government (provisional) had already been set up in July, 1944 at Lublin at the time when Soviet troops had made their entry into Poland. Also in October 1944, a Polish uprising at Warsaw, which was organized by the resistance movement, hitherto controlled by the London-based Polish government in-exile, was pinned down by the German troops while the USSR forces continued to be dormant in the outskirts of Warsaw. It was in early 1945 that remnant German troops were ousted from Poland. Finally a treaty was signed at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 between the allies and the Soviet Union. The new Lublin government under Mikolajczyk attained recognition from the United States and the Great Britain. By the virtue of the clauses of this pact at Yalta, the agreements that were reached upon included: 1. A new Soviet-Polish border was fixed a little east of the Curzon Line. 2. Poland was allotted to pay 15 percent of the German reparation charges to the USSR. 3. Upholding the agreements already made at the Potsdam Conference in July-Aug. , 1945, the parts of Prussia lying to the east of Neisse and Oder rivers and including Gdansk, and the southern parts of Eastern Prussia which covers a total area of 101,010 square kilometers (39,000 square miles), pending a general peace treaty, were placed under the control of Polish government 4. The deportation or eviction of German troops including the civilians from these parts of Poland mentioned in 3 above was granted sanction.

Improving Access to Nature in Urban Environments

Improving Access to Nature in Urban Environments In an urbanizing world, discuss the value of green and blue spaces in towns and cities and describe some of the approaches being used to improve access to nature. Introduction 50 years after Henri Lefebvre identified seeds of planet ‘Trantor’, Isaac Asimov’s (1995) completely urbanized science fiction planet, amidst the Earth’s urbanization (Merrifield, 2013), 54% of global population today are urban dwellers, and it is projected to increase to 66% in 2050 (United Nations, 2014). Lefebvre’s prognostications are coming true at a staggering pace. Such booming population growth in cities and towns puts immense pressure on ever-shrinking urban spaces. In light of competing land use, the frantic pursuit of economic prosperity and social advancement has neglected urban green and aquatic environments. Many remain incognizant of the importance of nature and its access within increasingly concretized landscapes. The benefits and detriments of urban green and blue spaces will be explored using a multi-dimensional approach considering various aspects of urban nature’s importance. Health Dimension To begin with, from the perspective of well-being, green and blue environments satisfy a fundamental human need for a conducive environment. Human evolution theory suggests that modern humans have developed a certain genetic inclination to respond positively to habitat settings favourable to survival and well-being of their ancestors (Kellert and Wilson, 1993). These responses are believed to be triggered when immersed within nature. As such, the restorative effects of nature seem to serve as ‘natural tranquilizers’ amidst the urban hustle and bustle (van den Berg et al., 1998). For instance, Ulrich (1984) discovered that hospital patients with the opportunity to look out onto greenery recovered much quicker from surgery than those whose views were confined to buildings. This reflects the recuperative influences of green spaces on well-being of urban dwellers. Further research also strengthened evidence of restorative sounds and visual properties of water and waves withi n aquatic spaces (White et al, 2010). The array of physical and spiritual healing functions of natural environments provide the basis of human needs that make cities and towns liveable. Socio-Spatial Dimension Moving on, from a social paradigm, natural environments within urban localities can facilitate social progression by allowing people to seek emotional refuge while providing valued recreational space. ‘The free world of the public park has always evolved a pre-lapsarian world of innocence and autonomy’ (Thompson, 2002, p. 66). Indeed, chasing after better lives and getting to places on time have caused personal time to be left behind amidst busy cosmopolitan lifestyles. The serene natural environment is perhaps the only place where one could seek emotional shelter in terms of privacy and self-reflection. In addition to being emotional sanctuaries, urban green and blue spaces represent extended recreational space amidst congested urban environments. Growing urban populations are forcing people to live even closer than ever before as land use becomes competitive. For instance, half of Hong Kong’s population is housed within continuously shrinking living space at app roximately 13.4m ³ per individual (Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2014). Increasing proximity between humans generates feelings of confinement within countless of man-made walls. Hence, the presence of open green and blue spaces allow urban dwellers to step away from the highly-constrained landscapes of built environments, where there is space for one’s privacy and for forging social relationships free from cramped cities and towns. While recognising the importance of urban green and blue spaces, it would be myopic to overlook any potential detriments. Although these natural environments are paradise away from stressful urban life, they could also be harbour potential danger. These natural habitats provide ‘wild’ breeding grounds for crime and incivilities, and could ‘be a place of fear and anxiety’ (Thompson, 2002, pp. 66). Research studies revealed that visitors to promenades along the Rhine in Cologne and Dà ¼sseldorf, especially women and elderly, were concerned about theft and harassment in addition to issues of victimisation (Và ¶lker and Kistemann, 2013, pp. 120). The manifestation of crime and anti-social behaviour creates negative perceptions and feelings of powerlessness that indirectly erect mental barriers for potential nature users. Development Dimension Apart from the benefits that urban inhabitants enjoy, it is also imperative that we consider the advantages of having urban natural environments within cities and towns. Urban green and blue spaces contribute to the sustainable development of built environments, in both economic and ecological dimensions. Research conducted by White et al. (2010) revealed that combined green and blue environments were most preferred, depicted in Fig 1. Fig 1: Research Conclusions on Environment Preference Ratings Source: White et al. (2010), pp. 487 The aesthetic appeal of nature highlighted above translates to higher fiscal revenue and monetary returns for the urban settlement. For instance, people were found to be willing to pay almost 8% to 12% more for housing properties with views of water and green interface across several districts within the Netherlands (Luttik, 2000). In addition, urban greenery also attracts greater influx of foreign investments into cities and towns, exemplified by the beautification of Singapore as a â€Å"garden city† that propelled the city’s economic rise (Braatz, 1993). Hence, the presence of green and blue spaces in urban areas create positive perceptions of pleasant environments, which makes cities and towns more alluring in the economic sense. Furthermore, ecological footprints of urban development could potentially be mitigated. Research has shown that 85% of air pollutants and dust particles can be filtered out in a typical-sized urban park (Bolund and Sven, 1999), In addition, the combined effects of green and blue spaces are also effective in combating the urban heat island effect. Ambient temperatures within Chapultepec Park in Mexico City were observed to be 2 °C to 3 °C lower than surrounding urban areas (Jauregui, 1990/1991). The presence of natural spaces helps to regulate the urban environment and make cities and towns more hospitable. For any urban settlement pursuing sustainable development, these green and blue spaces may hold the answers. Improving Access to Nature Growing understanding of the urban nature’s beneficial outcomes and potential detriments has generated renewed focus on making nature more accessible. Different definitions of improving access underpin the myriad of strategies and implementations that have been adopted. Firstly, the shift in focus towards ‘green infrastructure’ which involves enhancing engineered water infrastructure by integrating nature with urban ‘grey infrastructure’ have become increasingly popular (Wendel et al., 2011). This approach interprets improving accessibility as increasing the distribution of natural spaces. Recent academic literature suggest that we â€Å"may have to bring nature to people rather than have people come to nature, especially in urbanized environments’ (Lin et al., 2014, pp. 6). Thus, nature should be incorporated into existing urban infrastructure to raise opportunities for encounters. In Tampa, Florida, converted storm water ponds enhanced with green spaces saw a 35% increase in walking access (Wendel et al., 2011). On the other hand, in South-East London, such incorporation was done through the restoration of a section of river Ravensbourne within Cornmill Gardens by replacing concrete encasements with natural slopin g banks and bank vegetation (The London Rivers Action Plan, 2009). These strategies, combining landscape and water management, mimics natural watersheds to enhance urban hydrology while greatly improving public access. Another strategy to improve accessibility points towards public education espousing human connections with nature. This approach understands improving access through raising motivation to visit nature. Education theory suggests that ‘biophilia’ (Kellert and Wilson, 1993) and interest in nature are encouraged by early childhood experiences (Stokes, 2006). Removal of such experiences would dramatically reduce one’s motivation to visit nature regardless of accessibility. To illustrate, the Forest Schools Education (FSE) movement was originally developed to develop a greater affinity with nature for pre-school children in Denmark. This Scandinavian concept, now adopted across pre-schools worldwide, develops children’s appreciation of nature through regular visits to natural spaces for play (Forest Schools Education, 2013). Cultivating one’s orientation towards nature through interactive opportunities can therefore develop life-long motivations to visit t he natural environment. Thirdly, improving accessibility by reducing barriers to usage advocates the improvement of public amenities within natural spaces. This approach focuses on creating safe and conducive conditions for public access to nature with a peace of mind. This greatly reduces perceptions of danger and encourages frequent access. In Santa Cruz, Bolivia, over 65% of respondents highlighted safety as the main obstacle that limited accessibility of nature (Wendel et al., 2012). Hence, access to nature can be augmented through improved public amenities and infrastructure to make these spaces safer. In Bogota, Columbia, improving access to nature focused upon heightened security and safety through installing fences, increasing uniformed guard patrol frequencies and improving lighting conditions (Berney, 2010). Thus, safe natural environments would encourage more frequent visits and greatly reduce deterrence of usage associated with perceptions of danger. Conclusion Being indispensable ecological assets in today’s urbanizing world, urban green and blue environments deliver an extensive range of crucial functions that cover health and social benefits to ecological and economic goals. Facilitating public access to these ‘lungs of the city’ (Sutton, 1971) through a spectrum of interventions ensure that the opportunities and perks provided by these urban ecosystems help improve the quality of urban life. As planet Earth increasingly resembles ‘Trantor’ more than ever before, we must realize that in order to sustain the development of cities and towns, urban natural environments are a ‘must-have’ rather than a ‘nice-to-have’. 1509 words Bibliography Asimov, I. 1955. Foundation, (Voyager Paperback, London). Berney, R. 2010. Learning from Bogota: How municipal experts transformed public spaces, Journal of Urban Design, 15(4) pp. 539 – 558. Bolund, P. and Sven, H. 1999. Ecosystem Services in Urban Areas, Ecological Economics, 29 pp. 293 – 301. Braatz, S. 1993. Urban Forestry in Developing Countries: Status and Issues, in Kollin, C., Mahon, J. and Frame, L. (eds) Proceedings of the Sixth National Urban Forest Conference: Minneapolis, Minnesota, September 14-18, 1993, (American Forests, Minnesota). Forest Schools Education, 2013. ‘Introduction to Forest Schools’, http://www.forestschools.com/course-material/forest-schools-general/, Accessed 11th October 2014. Hong Kong Housing Authority, 2014. Housing in Figures 2014, https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/common/pdf/about-us/publications-and-statistics/HIF.pdf. Jauregui, E. 1990/1991. Influence of a large urban park on temperature and convective precipitation in a tropical country, Energy and Buildings, 15 – 16 pp. 45 – 63. Kellert, S.R. and Wilson, E.O. 1993. The biophilia hypothesis, (Island Press, Washington DC). Lin, B., Fuller, R., Bush, R., Gaston, K. and Shanahan, D. 2014. Opportunity or Orientation? Who Uses Urban Parks and Why, PLOS ONE, 9(1) pp. 1 – 7. Luttik, J. 2000. The value of trees, water and open space as reflected by house prices in the Netherlands, Landscape and Urban Planning, 48 pp. 161 – 167. Merrifield, A. 2013. The Urban Question under Planetary Urbanization, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 37.3 pp. 909 – 922. Rosenzweig, M.L. 2003. Win-Win Ecology: How The Earth’s Species Can Survive In The Midst of Human Enterprise, (Oxford University Press, New York). Stokes, D.L. 2006. Conservators of Experience, BioScience, 56(1) pp. 6 – 7. Sutton, S.B. (ed.). 1971. Civilizing American Cities: A Selection of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Writings on City Landscapes, (MIT Press, Cambridge). The River Restoration Centre, 2009. The London Rivers Action Plan: A tool to help restore rivers for people and nature, http://www.therrc.co.uk/lrap/lplan.pdf. Thompson, C.W. 2002. Urban open space in the 21st Century, Landscape and Urban Planning, 60 pp. 59 – 72. Ulrich, R.S. 1984. View through a window may influence recovery from surgery, Science, 224 pp. 420 – 421. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2014. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision, Highlights (ST/ESA/SER.A/352). van den Berg, A.E., Maas, J., Verheij, R.A. and Groenewegen, P. 2010. Green space as a buffer between stressful life events and health, Social Science and Medicine, 70 pp. 1203 – 1210. Và ¶lker, S. and Kistemann, T. 2013. â€Å"I’m always entirely happy when I’m here!† Urban blue enhancing human health and well-being in Cologne and Dà ¼sseldorf, Germany, Social Science and Medicine, 78 pp.113 – 124. Wendel, H.E., Downs, J.A. and Milhelcic, J. 2011. Assessing Equitable Access to Urban Green Space: The Role of Engineered Water Infrastructure, Environmental Science and Technology, 45 pp. 6728 – 6734. Wendel, H.E., Zarger, R. and Mihelcic, J. 2012. Accessibility and usability: Green space preferences, perceptions and barriers in a rapidly urbanizing city in Latin America, Landscape and Urban Planning, 107 pp. 272 – 282. White, M., Smith, A., Humphryes, K., Pahl, S., Snelling, D. and Depledge, M. 2010. Blue Space: The importance of water for preference, affect and restorativeness ratings of natural and built scenes, Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30 pp. 482 493.

Governments Must Balance Law with Individual Rights Essay -- Governmen

The topic of Government, laws and individual rights has always been on the minds of many people. Today is no exception, with the economy in poor shape and with a President who promises many changes to come. Will the changes really come? And if they do will they benefit the people of the United States of America or will they cause more violence and destruction to our economy? They say we have the right of free speech, to speak our minds and vocalize our opinions on topics that are important to us. They say we have freedom to choose our own religion and beliefs, to choose who we praise and what we believe to be right and wrong. They also say that we have the freedom to bear arms; to protect ourselves, and our country. Are these just words or are they really our rights? The constitution ...

Essay --

Buddhism is one of biggest and influential religions. Buddhism has own teachings and ethics which are different from other religions. It also has traditional holidays which are still continued. Buddhism's source and Buddha’s story are interesting so it has many believers. The numbers of Buddhists are still increasing, and Buddhism grows bigger today. 2. What is Buddhism? There are 350 million Buddhists on the world. Many people study spirit of Buddhism, and Buddhism requires deep study. 2.1 Basic information of Buddhism Buddhism's basic emphasis is to practice meditation and to develop spirit. Buddhism teaches practical methods and gives a lot of example of answer that helps to solve human's problems in society. It emphasizes to find true purpose of human life and happiness and researches to understand deeply and psychologically about human mind. Buddhists also do not worship and study about any other God or divinities. They even do not worship Buddha who is creator of Buddhism. They sometimes go to a temple and bow down to a statue which has smiling. It is just an expression of thanks for the teaching of Buddha. Buddhists think Buddha is ideal person so try to resemble him. They always practice to get highest quality of personality and spirit like Buddha. 2.2 Meditation There are many different types of Buddhism, but all of that are based on practice of meditation. Meditation is major activity of Buddhists. It is a time to develop spirit and mind. When Buddhists meditate in a house or a temple, they believe that meditation helps to find peace in mind and gives positive energy and happiness. They have meditation time like a habit. The other goal of Buddhists is to understand reality of nature and the finish of suffering. ... ...sm today Buddhism is one of suitable religion for modern people’s life. People want to be relaxed and have peaceful life in competition of society. It increases numbers of people who practice meditation and study Buddhism. Buddhists say that meditation gives happiness in suffering life. It makes many people try to practice meditation. There are also many Buddhist centers and meditation festivals. It is easy to find and experience Buddhism culture. Especially, South Korea has long history of Buddhism so there are many Buddhist architectures and arts which are highly acclaimed. Buddhism is effective religion, also it is artistic culture. 8. Conclusion Buddhism has a lot of study and teaching. Its teaching and culture are very unique. It also has different own views and ethics, so it is still continued. Buddha’s Buddhism is a history and deep-rooted religion.

Music Concert Report

Concert Report Guidelines Listening to live performances is an essential part of learning to appreciate and understand music. Treat this report as though you were a music critic writing for your local newspaper. In other words, what did you like/not like and why? Here are some general guidelines to help you listen, think, and write about a concert. Basic Information to Include When and where did the concert take place? How many pieces were performed? What were they called and how many movements were in each? Who composed each piece? Who were the performers (name of the ensemble and/or names of the soloists)?If there was a conductor, what was his or her name? What types of instruments were played and/or what types of voice parts were featured? Was there any special purpose to the concert? If so, explain. General Questions to Keep in Mind What was your general reaction to the concert? How did the performance sound to you? Was the music performed well? Were the musicians rhythmically â €Å"together†? Were they playing/singing in tune? Did any instruments or voices stick out? How would you rate the musicians’ technical ability and the energy of their performance? Did they seem well prepared for the concert?Which composition did you like best? Why? (e. g. , what specifically did you like about the piece itself or the way it was performed? ) Which composition did you like least? Why? Did any of the compositions trigger an emotional response from you? What were your specific feelings or thoughts in response to the music? Specific Points to Consider You may want to focus your discussion and analysis of the concert on one or more of the following points. Describe what you heard and observed using the following musical terms, elements, and concepts discussed in class when applicable.Genre (symphony, concerto, string quartet, etc. ) Stylistic period (Baroque, Classical, Romantic, etc. ) Mood (emotion conveyed by the music and performers) Pitch To what extent does pitch vary throughout the piece? How do changes in pitch reflect changes in mood? Rhythm (beat, accent, tempo, meter, syncopation) How were the elements of rhythm used to create special or interesting musical effects? Dynamics (level of sound) Identify changes in dynamics and discuss the effect these changes create. Tone color (bright, brassy, warm, ringing, hollow, etc. Mode (major, minor) Harmony/Melody Discuss the balance (or lack of it) between the melody and its â€Å"accompaniment. † Did you hear consonance, dissonance, or a combination of both? Motives/Themes Identify and note where individual motives and themes are first introduced and subsequently reappear in each piece. Texture (monophony, homophony, polyphony, etc. ) Form (sonata form, A B A, theme and variations, etc. ) Using the musical terminology and concepts covered in class, discuss the most interesting musical elements or features of the pieces that were performed.Compare the pieces from this performan ce with other compositions you have studied in class, noting similarities and differences. (Note: In selecting a composition from class, you may want to look for a piece by the same composer, from the same style period, or of the same genre as the piece(s) from the performance. ) How does this concert compare to the performance(s) you attended previously? Describe the behavior of the performers and the audience. What, if any, interaction occurred between the two? What kind of behavioral expectations do performers and audiences bring to the concert?How are these expectations satisfied or frustrated? Other VERY Important Information Concerts should be semi-professional/collegiate level or above. (For example, attending a younger sibling’s high school band concert will not be accepted. ) The purpose of these concerts is to attend a concert you might not normally attend in an attempt to expand your horizons. This means attending a rock/country/pop concert is out of the question. A good rule of thumb is when debating whether a concert is appropriate or not, ask your professor! Once you attend a concert, please submit the report within five days of the event.Any papers handed in beyond that point will NOT be accepted. Paper requirements: a minimum of two pages, double-spaced, 12-point font, one-inch margins. Please edit your paper for accuracy. Include the program (or ticket stub if no program is given out) with the report. Organizations With Community Events Calendars on the Web: A&M: http://performancestudies. tamu. edu/ Blinn: http://www. blinn. edu/odonnell/index. htm MSC OPAS: http://opas. tamu. edu/ Arts Council – Brazos Valley: http://www. acbv. org/ KBTX: http://www. kbtx. com/ KAMU: http://events. publicbroadcasting. net/kamu/events. eventsmain

Compared Writing Styles of Rowlandson, Bradford, and Byrd

The writing styles of Rowlandson and Bradford are very similar, while Byrd's writing style is different from the other two. Rowlandson's journal is a narraritive of her captivity, and Bradfords journal is a narrative of his journey to and arrival at his destination in the New World. Byrd's journal was was written as a satire, to essentially make fun of Rowlandson and Bradford's religious views. Mary Rowlandson kept the journal of her captivity to inform future generations of her experiences while being held captive and used as a slave by the Indians whom kidnapped her and her children. Rowlandon's main purpose in this passage is to show how her experiences revealed Gods purpose. Throughout the passagee Rowlandson makes reference to how God helped her through this difficult time. She was very stong in her religion and her views on her faith in God. In the passage Rowlandson expressses her gratefulness that her belief in God kept her from committing suicide. â€Å"I cannot but take notice of the wondrful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible. The above quote is one of the many times she makes regerence to how appreciative she is of God in her tine of trouble. As Rowlandon writes, she uses multiple strategies throughout her passage. On one many being allegory. Rowlandon uses allegories by placing biblical quotations to give symbolic meaning to her experiences. William Bradford's writing techniques and purpose are very similar to that of Rowlandson. Bradford writes about his voyage to the New World and experiences that take place once they reached land. Just like Rowlandon, Bradfords writing is to inform future generations of his experiences in the New World. Bradford give account of his voyage to the New World on the Mayflower, landding in the New world, and the hardships that he battled throughout it all. Bradford, much like Rowlandon, talked about how grateful he was for God to provide fot him and bring hin through his trials,. â€Å"But it pleased God before they came half seas over†¦. † In many instances, such as the above, Bradford gave God credit, and was very appreciative of it. William Byrd, unlike Bradford and Rowlandon, did not write a captivity nattatiive, but instead just kept an account of events. He did not give God credit for everything, but instead, used satire to make fun of Rowlandon and Bradford. Byrd was not saying that God meant nothing and he did not believe in him, but he did not constantly credit him with everything. As it is implied, Rowlandson and Bradford have very similar writing techniques, while Byrd had a different style than the other two.

Appearance and Staging of The Relapse; or Virtue in Danger

Appearance and Staging of The Relapse; or Virtue in Danger In John Vanbrugh’s The Relapse; or Virtue in Danger, Act I, scene i. plays a crucial role in establishing the theme of appearance versus reality. Because this play is a continuation of Colley Cibber’s Love’s Last Shift, it is imperative that the first scene of the opening act has the ability to stand on its own. Therefore, in order to exude the themes of duplicity and manipulation, deceit and denial, it is essential that the casted actor and actress know not only how to act, but how to act within an act. In addition, by focusing specifically on the tone and the word choices Vanbrugh utilizes for the dialogue between Loveless and Amanda in the opening scene, the audience can readily detect the ultimate fate of the couple’s marriage. Lastly, by choosing the perfect setting for which the opening scene occurs and by directing the physical movements and facial expressions desired from the actors, the new rendition of Vanbrugh’s The Relapse will not only be a success, but will enable the audience to develop a deeper understanding of the characters and the motivations behind their actions in less than 150 lines. As the curtains open, the lights should be affixed upon a handsome looking man in his late twenties. Wearing clothing not as royal as the king or as disheveled as a beggar, this man must have an uncomfortable look in his appearance, not fitting in the role he is playing. Similarly, surrounded by shelves and shelves of thickly bound novels, the man should be sitting in an armchair with a novel in his hand, but his eyes shifting from one object to the other. Immediately, the appearance and the setting of the opening scene should radiate a sense of discomfort and unsuitableness. Assuming that a majority of the audience has not seen Cibber’s Love’s Last Shift, Loveless, husband to Amanda, must not appear to be the fully unkempt rake from the inception or the fully refined and reformed gentleman at the end. By allowing the setting and the initial perception of the actor to become the foundation of The Relapse, there is room for growing validity in the actors’ verbal exchanges. As Loveless opens with a soliloquy, he declares, â€Å"How true is that philosophy which says / Our heaven is seated in our minds† (I. i. 1-2)! With the help of the uncomfortable manifestation in which Loveless displays through his actions and speech, the audience can infer that Loveless is not only sitting in a room he is not fully accustomed to, but he is also partaking in something he has rarely done before, reading. Furthermore, Loveless betrays him desires to the audience by revealing to the audience of â€Å"all the roving pleasures of [his] youth/ (Where nights and days seemed all consumed in joy,/ Where the false face of luxury / Displayed such charms† (I. i. 3-6). Unconscious of his vulnerability to the audience, Loveless is mentally and emotionally reflecting on â€Å"the raging flame of wild destructive lust† while verbally seeking innocence by deeming his thoughts as â€Å"a warm pleasing fire of lawful love† (I. i. 15-16). By showi ng the contradictions between what he says and how he feels as well as emphasizing the inability to blend with his surroundings, the audience can see that Loveless is trying to talk himself out of what he loves. As the title of the play will suggest, Loveless has already relapsed in his mind and his heart. In fact, the reality is that Loveless does not find the life of â€Å"moment’s peace† to be exhilarating and prefers to engage his mind â€Å"musing on [his] happy state / and full of grateful thoughts† (I. i. 9, 20-21). The language of the opening scene is vital because it reveals both Loveless’s actions and his habitual nature. In addition, by manipulating the setting and the dress of the actor with the character’s dialogue, the scene takes full advantage of the character’s natural role as a rake. When Amanda walks on stage, she should bring no surprises or excitement. Although the actress playing Amanda should be young, in her early twenties, and attractive, she cannot be exceedingly beautiful. In addition, the actress playing Amanda should have a calm gait and plain, simple attire. By doing so, no new feelings are incited for Loveless, allowing their marriage to appear monotonous and habitual. In the exchange between the married couple, the word â€Å"heaven† is repeated over five times, disclosing to the audience that their love may extend beyond reality. There is a play on appearance versus reality in this exchange; although the perfect and divine nature of heaven is used to delineate the relationship between Loveless and Amanda (appearance), religion itself is detached from their relationship (reality). In addition, when Amanda enters the stage to meet Loveless, there should not be an interruption to Loveless’s thoughts. He verbally tells Amanda â€Å"You find me musing on [his] happy state / And full of grateful thoughts to Heaven and you† but his thoughts have not departed from â€Å"roving pleasures† (I. i. 20-21, 2). Similarly, when Loveless woos Amanda by saying â€Å"The largest boons that Heaven thinks fit to grant / To things it has decreed shall crawl on earth / Are in the gift of women formed like you,† the actor must act with deceit, almost imagining that the person he is wooing is not Amanda, but one of the â€Å"wild destructive lust† (I. i. 28-30). In order for the relationship to appear duplicitous and manipulative, both the actor and the actress must exaggerate their movements and speech. Every time the word heaven is used, the actors should be exaggerating their physical interactions with each other by drawing themselves closer to each other, climaxing when Amanda says, â€Å"There let [their love] grow forever† (I. i. 39). Unfortunately, the downhill deterioration of Amanda and Loveless’s marriage begins all too soon after the farfetched exchanges of Heaven granting them forever growing love. Amanda should be slowly pulling away from Loveless’s caress as she comments, â€Å"’Twere all the heaven I’d ask. / But we are clad in black mortality, / And the dark curtain of eternal night / At last must drop between us† (I. i. 42-45). Amanda seems to acknowledge in the futility of their relationship by disclosing the inevitability of â€Å"that mournful separation† (I. i. 47). Because Loveless is the deceiver, the actor who plays his role must be able to be simultaneously sarcastic, yet charming. Amanda, on the other hand, is intelligent yet insecure. Therefore, the actress playing her role must not be domineering and self-righteous, but must possess both intelligence and a sense of fear and self-denial when questioning her husband’s faithfulness. From the once seemingly affectionate and loving exchange between a husband and a wife now surfaces the harsh reality of a relationship built upon â€Å"rocks of reason† (I. i. 55). Also, within this conversation, there needs to be focus on Amanda’s ability to manipulate as well, though her manipulation result in sorrow and grief. Amanda’s utilization of guilt is a weapon of her manipulation. After claiming the certainty of a division between them, Amanda must look away from Loveless sorrowfully as she says, â€Å"Perhaps that pain may only be my lot;† but turn to him once more with the slightest tone of accusation saying, â€Å"You possibly may be exempted from it: Men find out softer ways to quench their fires† (I. i. 50-53). By questioning Loveless’s constancy simply by generalizing men as having the ability to find another female replacement, Amanda, in effect, is able to extract from Loveless the foundation of his love for her: â€Å"You’ll f ind ‘tis built upon a steady basis / The rock of reason now supports my love† (I. i.54-55). If logic and reasoning are the only means by which Loveless is married to Amanda, then the truth has been revealed and there is no more hope for this marriage. In addition, knowing that the character Amanda plays is that of a submissive wife, she does not have any power or control over Loveless. In fact, Amanda’s fears are made so transparent for the audience that sympathy is aroused toward her while condescension and contempt for Loveless. Therefore, the actress must reveal her truest self exposing to the audience her love for Loveless and her fears of his infidelity in their marriage. As Amanda confesses with parallel statements of, â€Å"I know its false insinuating pleasures; / I know the force of its delusions; / I know the strength of its attacks; / I know the weak defence of nature; / I know you are a man – and I – a wife,† her voice must be crying out in desperation, her body becoming weaker and weaker after each â€Å"I know† (I. i. 65-70), her knees touching the ground as she accepts her position as the subservient wife. Loveless, on the other hand, is roused to his feet in anger upon hearing h is wife’s fears and confession that she â€Å"is uneasy at your going to stay so long in Town† (I. i. 65). The role of the authoritative and the submissive can be portrayed by the actor and actress’s bodily physique. Amanda must have a fragile and innocent appeal to her; Loveless should appear arrogant and self-righteous. The words Loveless uses in response to Amanda include banish, traitors, arms, destructions, roving, bankrupt; these words show the harshness and coldness Loveless feels toward his wife. On stage, Loveless must rise in anger, his speech becoming more agitated, as he defends himself by saying â€Å"I have never thrown one roving thought that way† (I. i. 89). The actor must also be standing over the actress, exuding a sense of authority and power in the hands of a man. Knowing from the very beginning that the character, Loveless, does not belong in the countryside, there also needs to be a sense of urgency in his speech that reveals his desire to leave ‘Town’ and go to London as well. Ultimately, Loveless once again betrays his inner desires for sex with other women with his air of pride. Although he uses â€Å"honest conscience [as his] witness to never have thought of other women, his rhetoric are all indicative of sex as he references to â€Å"old cast mistress† and his â€Å"former boon companions† (I. i. 108). What appears to be honest conscience is in reality a mere reflection of Loveless’s inner desires. Towards the end of this act, Vanbrugh uses short, staccato lines in the back to back exchange between the couple; Loveless and Amanda are both engaged in an unbridled rage and ruthless contempt has been made exceptionally clear in the language structure. Throughout the argument, the two actors should be facing each other at a short distance away. Although the argument is tense, the actor playing Loveless must stand firm in his belief that Amanda’s distrusts of his faithfulness are wrong. In order to portray the anger on stage, not only must this exchange happen in rapid succession between Amanda and Loveless, they need to physically exaggerate their bodily movements to show anger and frustration. Although Loveless will remain cold-hearted even when the act ends, Amanda’s voice must be brought to a whimper after Loveless screams, â€Å"Fie, fie, Amanda! It is not kind thus to distrust me† (I. i. 127). Whereas Loveless’s fears are founded on distrust, Amanda ’s are â€Å"founded on [her] love† (I. i. 128). There is a collision of faithfulness and infidelity, love and deceit. As the act concludes, Amanda’s last lines, â€Å"’Twould be a weakness in my tongue / my prudence could not answer / If I should press you farther with my fears; / I’ll therefore trouble you no longer with ‘em,† depict her ultimate surrender to her husband’s infidelity (I. i. 136-140). Unable to persuade Loveless to stay with her in the countryside, Vanbrugh limits the female voice in communication to man, suggesting that the only hope for Amanda now is in a higher power of God. The first act of John Vanbrugh’s The Relapse; or Virtue in Danger is extraordinarily powerful in its ability to disclose characters’ motives and inner desires to the audience. In addition, not only is this opening scene captivating, it does not rely on luxurious staging or lighting. Because this play has a focus on appearance versus reality, through the means of dress and setting, the audience is able to acknowledge the ways in which the actors manipulate and deceive. From setting the stage to appear unfitting for Loveless to clothing Amanda in a simple night gown, the audience is able to detect the incompatibility of the married couple. Relying on the actors’ tone and body movements to betray their own selves, the audience can see through the actors’ deceits and self-denial. Ultimately, it is through the careful and well thought-out intertwining of the script and the acting that will determine the success of The Relapse.