Middle Age Religion

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the sole church in Europe, where it has its own laws and its own treasury. The church was considered as an important law-making body, recognized not only by the people, but also by its leaders. The heads of the Catholic Church played big roles in the government, as they used their influence to get their way on things. Bishops were rich people at that time, and has come from a line of noble families. They have a tight hold on the people, especially since they are the ones who are â€Å"closer† to God.The lives of the people living in the Middle Ages were greatly dominated by the church. The church’s influence is limitless, from peasants, to noble lords and even the Kings – they all succumb to the will of the Church. Many of the medieval people dedicated their lives in the service of the Catholic Church and the religion they are in. They offer a life of service to the people of the Church, in hope that their actions w ould be acknowledged by God, the creator. This had been the usual threat being issued by the people of the church in order to get what they wanted from the people (Carr).During the early years of the Christian religion, its growth was being suppressed by the Roman Empire. This is because the Christians have refused to worship the Roman gods or acknowledge the power of the Roman Emperor. Christians have been persecuted all throughout the empire. These persecutions ended during the reign of Emperor Constantine, who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. Constantine the Great then proclaimed himself as the emperor of the Christian people, thus spreading the religion throughout the Empire (Middle-Ages.org.uk).The beginning of the 5th century saw the crumble of the Roman Empire. This is caused by invading Germanic tribes conquering the city of Rome. This has led to the period referred to as the Dark Ages. The fall of Rome however, signals the rise of the Christian C hurch. The Dark Ages became a stepping stone for the Catholic Religion to flourish. From the Dark Ages up to the Early Middle Ages, the only accepted Christian religion was the Catholic religion. Catholic means universal, or as a whole. Any sect that was established was viewed to be as acts of heresy and the people are heretical (Middle-Ages.org.uk).The power of the Catholic Church in the middle ages was so great, that it owned lands, imposed its own taxes, and created its own laws. It is a very powerful institution that even Kings succumbed to its influence. The Church also accepted gifts and special offerings made by those who wanted to make sure that they have a place in heaven. The influence of the church extended to various lands. They were alongside the kings and rulers of Europe when it comes to power. Those who oppose the Church will instantly receive excommunication – they would go straight to hell when they die (Oakley).One of the major events in the Catholic Religi on in the middle ages occurred in the latter part of the middle ages. This is when the Eastern and Western Christian Churches split because of issues which arise from the crusades. This is called as the Great Schism, separating the two halves of Christian Churches. Another split occurred in the Western Christendom when two Popes have been elected and established at two different places. This is caused by disagreement in the elections. This continued to a few decades, up until the issue was healed at the Council of Constance, and the Catholic Religion finally became known as the Roman Catholic Religion.Works Cited:Carr, Karen. â€Å"Medieval Religion†.   1998. November 4 2007. .Middle-Ages.org.uk. â€Å"Middle Ages Religion†.   2002. November 4 2007. .Oakley, Thomas P. â€Å"Religion and the Middle Ages†.   2007. November 5 2007. .

The Renaissance: the Invention of the Printing Press

At the height of the Hussite crisis in the early 1400's, when the authorities ordered 200 manuscripts of heretical writings burned, people on both sides realized quite well the significance of that act. Two hundred handwritten manuscripts would be hard to replace. Not only would it be a time consuming job, but also trained scribes would be hard to find. After all, most of them worked for the Church, and it seemed unlikely that the Church would loan out its scribes to copy the works of heretics.Although the Hussites more than held their own against the Church, their movement remained confined mainly to the borders of their homeland of Bohemia. One main reason for this was that there was no mass media, such as the printing press to spread the word. A century later, all that had changed. Like any other invention, the printing press came along and had an impact when the right conditions existed at the right time and place. In this case, that was Europe in the mid 1400's.Like many or most inventions, the printing press was not the result of just one man's ingenious insight into all the problems involved in creating the printing press. Rather, printing was a combination of several different inventions and innovations: block printing, rag paper, oil based ink, interchangeable metal type, and the squeeze press. If one process started the chain reaction of events that led to the invention of the printing press, it was the rise of towns in Western Europe that sparked trade with the outside world all the way to China.That trade exposed Europeans to three things important for the invention of the printing press: rag paper, block printing, and, oddly enough, the Black Death. For centuries the Chinese had been making rag paper, which was made from a pulp of water and discarded rags that was then pressed into sheets of paper. When the Arabs met the Chinese at the battle of the Talas River in 751 A. D. , they carried off several prisoners skilled in making such paper. The tech nology spread gradually across the Muslim world, up through Spain and into Western Europe by the late 1200's.The squeeze press used in pressing the pulp into sheets of paper would also lend itself to pressing print evenly onto paper. The Black Death, which itself spread to Western Europe thanks to expanded trade routes, also greatly catalyzed the invention of the printing press in three ways, two of which combined with the invention of rag paper to provide Europe with plentiful paper. First of all, the survivors of the Black Death inherited the property of those who did not survive, so that even peasants found themselves a good deal richer.Since the textile industry was the most developed industry in Western Europe at that time, it should come as no surprise that people spent their money largely on new clothes. However, clothes wear out, leaving rags. As a result, fourteenth century Europe had plenty of rags to make into rag paper, which was much cheaper than the parchment (sheepski n) and vellum (calfskin) used to make books until then. Even by 1300, paper was only one-sixth the cost of parchment, and its relative cost continued to fall. Considering it took 170 calfskins or 300 sheepskins to make one copy of the Bible, we can see what a bargain paper was.But the Black Death had also killed off many of the monks who copied the books, since the crowded conditions in the monasteries had contributed to an unusually high mortality rate. One result of this was that the cost of copying books rose drastically while the cost of paper was dropping. Many people considered this unacceptable and looked for a better way to copy books. Thus the Black Death rag paper combined to create both lots of cheap paper plus an incentive for the invention of the printing press.The Black Death also helped lead to the decline of the Church, the rise of a money economy, and subsequently the Italian Renaissance with its secular ideas and emphasis on painting. It was the Renaissance artists who, in their search for a more durable paint, came up with oil-based paints. Adapting these to an oil-based ink that would adhere to metal type was fairly simple. Block printing, carved on porcelain, had existed for centuries before making its way to Europe. Some experiments with interchangeable copper type had been carried on in Korea.However, Chinese printing did not advance beyond that, possibly because the Chinese writing system used thousands of characters and was too unmanageable. For centuries after its introduction into Europe, block printing still found little use, since wooden printing blocks wore out quickly when compared to the time it took to carve them. As a result of the time and expense involved in making block prints, a few playing cards and pages of books were printed this way, but little else. What people needed was a movable type made of metal.And here again, the revival of towns and trade played a major role, since it stimulated a mining boom, especially in Ge rmany, along with better techniques for working metals, including soft metals such as gold and copper. It was a goldsmith from Mainz, Germany, Johannes Gutenberg, who created a durable and interchangeable metal type that allowed him to print many different pages, using the same letters over and over again in different combinations. It was also Gutenberg who combined all these disparate elements of movable type, rag paper, the squeeze press, and oil based inks to invent the first printing press in 1451.The first printed books were religious in nature, as were most medieval books. They also imitated (handwritten) manuscript form so that people would accept this new revolutionary way of copying books. The printing press soon changed the forms and uses of books quite radically. Books stopped imitating manuscript forms such as lined paper to help the copiers and abbreviations to save time in copying. They also covered an increasingly wider variety of non-religious topics (such as grammar s, etiquette, and geology books) that appealed especially to the professional members of the middle class.By 1482, there were about 100 printing presses in Western Europe: 50 in Italy, 30 in Germany, 9 in France, 8 each in Spain and Holland, and 4 in England. A Venetian printer, Aldus Manutius, realized that the real market was not for big heavy volumes of the Bible, but for smaller, cheaper, and easier to handle â€Å"pocket books†. Manutius further revolutionized book copying by his focusing on these smaller editions that more people could afford. He printed translations of the Greek classics and thus helped spread knowledge in general, and the Renaissance in particular, across Europe.By 1500, there were some 40,000 different editions with over 6,000,000 copies in print. The printing press had dramatic effects on European civilization. Its immediate effect was that it spread information quickly and accurately. This helped create a wider literate reading public. However, its importance lay not just in how it spread information and opinions, but also in what sorts of information and opinions it was spreading. There were two main directions printing took, both of which were probably totally unforeseen by its creators.First of all, more and more books of a secular nature were printed, with especially profound results in science. Scientists working on the same problem in different parts of Europe especially benefited, since they could print the results of their work and share it accurately with a large number of other scientists. They in turn could take that accurate, not miscopied, information, work with it and advance knowledge and understanding further. Of course, they could accurately share their information with many others and the process would continue.By the 1600's, this process would lead to the Scientific Revolution of the Enlightenment, which would radically alter how Europeans viewed the world and universe. The printing press also created its s hare of trouble as far as some people were concerned. It took book copying out of the hands of the Church and made it much harder for the Church to control or censor what was being written. It was hard enough to control what Wycliffe and Hus wrote with just a few hundred copies of their works in circulation.Imagine the problems the Church had when literally thousands of such works could be produced at a fraction of the cost. Each new printing press was just another hole in the dyke to be plugged up, and the Church had only so many fingers with which to do the job. It is no accident that the breakup of Europe's religious unity during the Protestant Reformation corresponded with the spread of printing. The difference between Martin Luther's successful Reformation and the Hussites' much more limited success was that Luther was armed with the printing press and knew how to use it with devastating effect.Some people go as far as to say that the printing press is the most important invent ion between the invention of writing itself and the computer. Although it is impossible to justify that statement to everyone's satisfaction, one can safely say that the printing press has been one of the most powerful inventions of the modern era. It has advanced and spread knowledge and molded public opinion in a way that nothing before the advent of television and radio in the twentieth century could rival. If it were not able to, then freedom of the press would not be such a jealously guarded liberty as it is today.

Baidu Enters African Mobile Browser Essay

Executive Summary Baidu Inc. will benefit from partnering with France Telecoms’ Orange to enter in Africa’s mobile searching market which has large potential opportunities and revenues. Africa, the Next Major Mobile Market Africa with the second large population in the world and emerging purchasing power from new middle class requires telecommunication to be popularized. The sudden growth and high density of mobile connection in Africa across countries generate large demand of smartphones and mobile webs or other mobile services. The fast speed of growth rate and potential opportunities in this market attract large mobile operators and search engines, and then Africa will become the major mobile market and transform the global economic landscape. Baidu should enter this market earlier to develop its international business Benefits and Limits of Partnering with Orange Exclusively Benefits:Enjoys Orange’s mass customer base Orange has health growth rate Orange has invested 3G networking in order to expand its market share Orange has more than 800 million customers and spreads its operation across 20 countries. Risk: The exclusive agreement limits Baidu’s expand from cooperating with others Evaluation: Despite the limits of the exclusive contract, the benefits of partnering with Orange are great. Baidu, which has less international business experiences, is good to start cooperating with large mobile operators like Orange to step into the large mobile competition in Africa, which has large potential market, opportunities, and revenues. Introduction Baidu Inc. signs its first global agreement with Orange, on an exclusive basis. The Baidu-Orange browser will provide more affordable and richer browsing experience for customers across Africa by enhancing data  compression capabilities up to 90% of compression. The browser is one-click access to web-search like apps. About Baidu: Baidu is the largest searching engine in China, taking more than 70% of the market share. It beat Google out of the Chinese market in 2010 because it was familiar with Chinese web culture in which allows free downloads and develops general searching However, Baidu lose its ability to be business internationalized, since Baidu satisfied its large market share in the region; at the same time it also lose its good timing to establish and develop its mobile searching while the popularizing and development in smartphones has changed the rules of the game from web networking to telecommunication networking. The need of Baidu expanding its global market and mobile web services is important and urgent. Baidu now is targeting in African as an emerging mobile market in the partnership with Orange, a France’s telecom Africa, the Next Major Mobile Market According to the observation from GSMA, African mobile market has dramatically grown and reaches the highest growth rate worldwide due to the governments have liberalized the telecommunication, and competitions between private telecoms have increased service affordability. Africa has large mobile connection penetration and has speedily gown From 2000 to 2011, mobile penetration has rapidly increased in Africa, from just 2% in 2000 to 63% in 2011, representing a compound annual growth rate of over 46%. It is expected to reach 85% mobile connection penetration in 2015 (GSMA, Africa Mobile Observatory Report, September. 2011) (See Figure 1) Figure 1: Mobile connections and penetration in Africa since 2000. Data sources: Wireless Intelligence. The number of cennections in North Africa has grown by 41% while Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest growth rate with 44% worldwidely, compared to an average of 34% for developing countries and 10% for developed countries.(Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November 13, 2012). (See Figure 2) Figure 2: Growth in the number of mobile connections world wide, 200-2012. Data source: wireless intelligence The rapid growth of mobile communication in Africa generates high demand of mobile telephony and mobile service and increases revenues According to Wireless Intelligence and International Monetary Fund (IMF), mobile operators reported over $35 billion revenues in 2011, growing by an average of 18% each year from $8.2 billion in 20000 in Africa. According to GSMA Africa Observatory 2011 Report, over the past 5 years, the number of subscribers across Africa had grown by almost 20% per year and was set to reach more than 735 million by the end of 2012. The mobile ecosystem in Africa currently generated approximately $56 billion or 3.5% of total GDP, with mobile operators alone contributing $49 billion. Africa is transforming the global economic landscapes. African economies are among the fastest-growing in the world while emerging economies in Asia have been slowed down due to their increasing capital and labor costs and markets saturated. Economists predicted that Africa would be poised to transform the global economic landscapes (John J.; Wild Wild, International Business: the challenge of globalization, January 16, 2013). Annual GDP growth averaged 5.7% between 2000 and 2010 in Sub-Saharan Africa. (IBM, â€Å"Is mobile Africa’s future?,† 2011) Expected annual growth averaged 7% over the next 20 years. (IBM, â€Å"Is mobile Africa’s future?,† 2011) 14% of the world’s population, the second large population in the world, provides large consumption base. (IBM, â€Å"Is mobile Africa’s future?,† 2011) New middle class has been emerging in Africa The purchasing powers from large population and middle class must stimulate the sales of mobile products and co-related mobile services. Africa’s mobile market is a good start for firms like Baidu, which seeking opportunities to expand its international business and mobile operation with  less experiences. Demands from large consumption’s requests and purchasing from new class created substantial profits. Benefits and Limits of Partnering with Orange Exclusively The Chinese Web services giant Baidu will bring its mobile browser to Africa in signing an exclusive contract with France Telecom’s Orange network, the third-biggest mobile operator in Africa. Benefits of partnering with Orange Orange, which has a mobile customer base of more than 80 million subscribers and covers 20 countries in Africa, has continued to see its smartphone user base in Arica and Middle East increasing, for example the demand for Android devices in Egypt has doubled in the second half of 2012 by Marc Rennard, senior executive vice president for Orange. (Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November 13, 2012) Orange has recently been deploying 3G networks in countries where it has operations and makes more low-cost smartphones available; customers have been steadily moving from basic feature phone towards more low-cost Android smartphones. (Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November 13, 2012) The mass user base, the wide geographical operations and the increased growth of smartphone users from Orange help Baidu expand its mobile services and data collecting in the new emerging market. This not only makes Baidu get a slice of Africa’s lucrative mobile and data market but also helps Baidu gain experience of transforming itself to be business internationalized and searching mobilized under the pressure of globalization and development in smartphones. Limits of Partnering with Orange Emeka Obiodu, Principal Analyst for Telecom Strategy, Ovum Research, pointed out that there is a limitation for Baidu by dealing with Orange exclusively. Baidu’s deal with Orange may limit the firm’s maneuverability in the market. If Baidu sticks to Orange exclusively, it will depend on Orange’s expansion of its geographical footprint. Obiodu later added his concern for Baidu that Over time, this lack of maneuverability will influence, and maybe undermine, Baidu’s ability to exploit emerging opportunities in the market. While Baidu is tie-up with Orange, its largest competitor Google has already entered in the Africa’s mobile browsing market. Google not only has a deal with South Africa’s giant telecom operator Telkom’s cellphone network unit 8ta but also rolls out a new services in Sub-Saharan Africa though operator Zambia Telecommunication Company, a government-owned telecom. (IDG Reporter, â€Å"Africa is the newest telecoms battleground,† January 27, 2013) The spread of Baidu browser is limited because it is depended on Orange’s geographical footprints due to exclusive agreement, compared with Google, which has multiple partnerships with large government-owned and private-owned operators. Despite the limitation, the benefits from cooperating with Orange for Baidu are greater. Baidu as an inexperienced international investor could decrease its risk to fail the first entry into an emerging market with the helps from sharing Orange’s wide geographical footprints and mass customer base. (TitaniumMedia, Baidu’s Radical Internationalization, 2013) Evaluation of Baidu’s Entry into Africa’s Mobile Bowering Market though Exclusive Partnership with France Telecom’s Orange. Africa’s mobile market Mobile market in Africa is potential and profitable (Deloitte;GSMA, Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report, November13, 2012): 85% mobile connection penetration in 2015 (forecast)  44% mobile connection growth (the highest growth rate worldwide) $49 billion revenues (mobile operator alone)  The fast and wide dissemination of mobile connection and communication in Africa makes the demand for smartphones and mobile web be on the rise remarkably, creating potential mobile market and providing healthy grown profits for Baidu, which is seeking opportunity to internationalize and  mobilize its operation. Partnership with France Telecom’s Orange Despite the limitation of just cooperating with one company, Orange is still a good partner which already has mass customer base and keeps growing users doubly though its investment in 3G networking. Baidu, a Chinese searching engine which has less international business’ experiences, takes advantage of cooperating with Orange in order to lower the risk of first entry into a unknown market by sharing Orange’s mass customer base and wide geographical operation . Entry into Africa and cooperation with Orange are a good start for Baidu turning itself internationalized and mobilized. References Wild, J. J., & Wild, K. L. (2013). International business: the challenges of globalization (Seventh ed.). : Pearson College Div. Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012. Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory Report. Retrieved May 4, 2014, from www.gsma.com/†¦/SSA_FullReport_v6.1_clean.pdf Arican Mobile Observatory 2011 Driving Economic and Social Development through Mobile Services. African Mobile Observatory Report. Retrieved , from www.gsma.com/†¦/2011/†¦/Africa-Mobile-Observatory Afica is the newest telecoms battleground. (2013, January 27). . Retrieved May 2, 2014, from http://www.cnmeonline.com/analysis/africa-is-the-newest-telecoms- battleground/ Is mobile Africa’s future?. (2011, January 1). . Retrieved May 15, 2014, fromhttp://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/global/share/19jan2012/mobile_africa/ Baidu’s Radical Internationalization. (2013, March 31). . Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://tech.163.com/13/0331/09/8R9JOH9O000915BF.html Appendix A Important notice about GSMA and Deloitt Frequent uses of data, facts, and statistics are from â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012†, a report is prepared by Drloitte for GSM Association with contract. The â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012† is provided exclusively for the GSMA’s use under the terms of contract. No party other than GSMA could be entitled on the report for any purpose whatever Deloitte accepts or not. Appendix B Figure 1 and 2 Figure 1 is from GSMA’s â€Å"Africa Mobile Observatory 2011 Driveng Economic and Social Development through Mobile Services.† Figure 2 from GSMA’s â€Å"Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory 2012.† Both figures of the charts are collected data from Wireless Intelligence

Informational Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Informational - Essay Example The brand has various products in its portfolio like lipsticks, nail polishes, creams, lotions and shampoos. Right now, I work with promoting their international range of shampoos. With my background in MBA marketing, I also participated in their research program that shows how these shampoos are way ahead for different types of hair. The results have been overwhelming and soon we expect that the product will swing the market in its stride. I work online, through the phone and through meeting wonderful people like you. The brand has a special shampoo made just for hair textures like yours. Its called Smooth and Shine. You know you should try it sometime. Let me introduce myself. My name is Anna H. I am a mother of two children and a sister for many women, young and old. We sisters live and work together in an organization called Surviving Cancer. It brings together people and helps them share motivational stories and build each other's courage. I am a motivational speaker and counselor and often interact with them on various issues. With teaching certificates in the four forms of martial arts, I also teach these sisters yoga and take up exercises on positive thinking. I know of about fifty women suffering the trauma of chemotherapy for breast cancer. I know of ten women who are losing hope as they are at the edge of desperation for lack of funds. I recommend their cases as highly desperate. They could really benefit from a little generosity, both physically and mentally. It would really help if socially responsible organizations like yours could support our cause. Do visit us and if you are too busy at least take the time to check o ur website. You could support us through funds or by letting us organize a small sale of items made by these women. It really helps. Part three Personal commercial for schoolmates (an online introduction) Scenario: The online environment not only gives the platform to meet new people and make friends, but also professional alliances. Opportunities lie in the most unexpected places and online chat forums of school alumni is one such place where introductions are inevitably asked. This gives the unique platform for a perfect introduction. Type of audience: Both men and women. People of different ages employed in diverse fields of work Specific purpose: To promote myself as the fun filled person you loved in school, to tell them how great I am at my work and how I can be of assistance in any profession. Finally to possibly remind a few old friends, that their school friend is

WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES OF BI-RACIAL PEOPLE IN AMERICAN Essay

WHAT ARE THE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES OF BI-RACIAL PEOPLE IN AMERICAN SOCIETY - Essay Example etal pressure, stereotyping and work place discrimination, which not only affect their daily lives but also have an impact on their self-esteem and social interactions. Ever since the rendering of the anti-miscegenation laws as unconstitutional due to the 1967 decision taken by the Supreme Court, there has been an exponential increase in the amount of interracial couples as well as mixed-race children. However one consistent challenge faced by bi-racial Americans even today is that of identity development, more specifically biracial identity development. Identity development can clearly be defined as a lifelong process, which initiates from an individuals childhood and continues well into one’s adulthood. The key goal of this process is primarily to answer â€Å"Who am I?† As simple as this question sounds, one must not forget the fact that the identity of an individual is complex and consists of a number of aspects and domains. Bi-racial identity development is dependent on a number of factors that can rightly be categorized as cultural, historical and social (Tatum, 2003). According to Tatum the formulation of one’s identity is also dependant on individual characteristics, the dynamics of one’s family, factors to do with history, as well as social and political context. These comprise of one’s race, gender, age, environment, exposure, family setup, religion, sexual preference and the social and political climate one is surrounded by. Research shows that highly dependant on the development of identity development is the habits that the bi-racial youth adopts; where an unhealthy and confused identity would lead to engagement in more problematic behavior, such as substance abuse, poor academic performance or even a high school absence (Cloud, 2009). Being picked on, discriminated, and socially isolated due to their differentiated physical characteristics is another challenge that bi-racial Americans, even today, face. It was in the 18th Century that the

Parting the waters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Parting the waters - Essay Example This led to a number of literatures on Kings Events and occasions (Taylor, 4). One family known as the Rockefeller family created a major impact on King’s early life. It started in 1882, when a plea was raised at Ohio church for donation or a help fund. This plea was made by two women who intended for the Atlanta Female Baptist Seminary and Negro School for girls to be funded. During the event of the plea, the Rockefeller family was present, with the two women being teachers to Mrs Rockefeller. As a result, the family responded positively and agreed to come to the aid. In conjunction with Dr. Henry Morehouse the school was funded and set up and continued to operate. The Rockefeller’s family efforts continued and they saw the need to create a fund that will be able to cater for the needs of the minority group. This witnessed the birth of the Rockefeller fund, which in the later years, become a corner stone to majority of beneficiaries which included King. The fund did su pport King’s early education with a number of other civil rights activists. The foundation became an empowering tool to encourage majority of black Negros to embrace education (Taylor, 11). Years later when Martin Luther King Jr arrived at Crozer theological Seminary, he was amazed by what he found out; there were pool tables on one of the rooms in the basement. This was contrary to his past perception of associating pool social halls and places as scenes for immoral and bad behaviors. Secondly, he found ten Negro students out of a total of thirty five students, which came as a surprise to him as he was expecting a handful of them. One learning activity that surprised him was that there was no lock at the door and students were encouraged to actively participate in any free thinking and sharing of ideas. In the seminary, King’s first year was predominantly occupied with course work which took much of his time and attention and it covered topics like philosophy, the bib le and religious faiths. But the next years saw King being a dominant figure questioning every particular aspect or teachings. The life in the institution provided him with a wider knowledge on Christianity (Taylor, 24). King started to make visits to church leaders, pastors and church functions. One particular day he picked Johns and headed to Montgomery to a particular pastor known as Ralph Abernathy of the First Baptist Church. He was welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Brooks. This visit was highly beneficial to King as he was able to discuss in details, with his hosts, about the Negro churches and their challenges. It then brought a clear insight on what needed to be addressed or implemented to promote their existence. It is through such findings during the discussion that King, in the later years, used in reshaping the churches. Churches came up and continued discussing about civil rights (Taylor, 35). In the years that followed, it became an unfair scene to see majority of the Negros in Montgomery having to walk for long and impossible walks to and from work as the bus fares were too high and so was racial discrimination. As a result, city taxis cabs emerged and tried to cater for such needs and help out, but this was directly quashed out by the police commissioner who then arrested taxi drivers who overloaded the cabs smoothly

Literacy Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Literacy Narrative - Essay Example This made me have a hard time to establish relationships with my colleagues especially because my parents pushed me hard to maintain good grades while I struggle to resist the diversions like my love for soccer. Because of this, I had to balance my time for academics and at the same time extracurricular activities and make sure not one of which would pull one down. Sooner, I realized that the free society of America was to my advantage because it had given me the freedom that I did not enjoy at home. Whenever I am in school or with friends, I am truly me. However, the price to pay for that freedom would be the fact that I had to be more responsible for my own actions and the consequences of which. During my whole experience, one of the most useful lessons I learned would be learning how other foreign students survive and at the same time enjoy themselves in this situation. This really made my life a lot easier as I would not have to go through the rocky roads instead, walk in the paved ones already. Another would be knowing that practice makes perfect. Thus, to do so, during the weekly get togethers in the Global Heritage Hall of the campus, I threw myself in every conversation I can have with friends that spoke English because I know it would strengthen my language grasp and command over spoken and written English. Aside from that, I even made more friends, two of whom were Americans who had come from Texas. It was the time when I found out that surviving language barrier was not an impossible dream at all. My journey did not stop with just learning new English words and putting it all together to make a sensible statement. One of the important factors in learning a new language would be humor. I consider it as a vital factor that connected people of different walks in life and race not only through words but at the same time through memorable dialogue and helped us to overcome the awkwardness of the language wall. I

Stargirl Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Stargirl - Essay Example Stargirl confronts usual generally accepted pattern of behavior and transforms casualty by her appearance, actions, words and overall with her behavior. He is a real identity but not just in a way that she doesn’t do what others do. Not, her originality is deeper because he see world around her in different light. She tries to spread her light on others and in some way it works. She is not an individual that borders from others but she is a kind person who takes kindness and positive approach everywhere she goes. I didn’t like Stargirl changing her mind in order to become more socially accepted though it is a necessary plot detail. I was relieved when she decided to change her mind be herself again. This reminded me that what we think about ourselves is more important then what others think because nobody can know us better then we ourselves. When people want to be like others they follow false aim because they don’t really know how others feel as they too adjust their lives. When everybody forgets about their identity reality becomes false and incorrect. The only way to really exist is to be yourself. That is the main idea that, I think, character of Stargirl represents. I liked the particular methods of Stargirl to be happy with her own image of herself despite foolish standards that are always meant to oppress and limit one’s original individuality. â€Å"At the same time, we held back. Because she was different. Different. We had no one to compare her to, no one to measure her against.†

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or Personal Statement - 1

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences in the space below - Personal Statement Example My game improved and I ate free lunches for almost the entire summer! This is the type of challenge that best describes me. Other activities that I enjoy are downhill skiing and horseback riding. I am a novice a riding and am looking forward to improving. I have been told that I am too competitive by friends, but that is simply how I am wired. I never stoop to being a poor sport, and I have never lost a friend because of my competitive nature, so I guess I’m not too overbearing with my desire to always do my best. I am the sort of person that cannot relax by relaxing or giving something a half-effort. I relax by giving each challenge all of my effort and then enjoying the benefits of my hard work. This is why I love a good challenge. In the end, I’m a better more relaxed person because of the effort needed to overcome the

Evolution and Natural Selection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Evolution and Natural Selection - Essay Example However in the mid-nineteenth century, scientist like Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace sought to explain this process of adaptation and change as a natural one without attributing it to the influence of higher beings and spiritual powers. Fossil records are perhaps the best natural evidence of evolution. While the fossils of simpler organism are found among older rocks, the newer ones have fossils of more complex organisms.. (GCSE, BBC) Evolution is of 2 main types: Microevolution and macroevolution. Microevolution emphasises on genetic change from one generation to another while macroevolution deals with the process of gradual change in the physical form of living creatures. (The Process of Speciation, Global Change Program, University of Michigan) This paper will focus on the theory of evolution put forth by Charles Darwin. Key aspects of evolution like the process of Natural Selection and Variation will be discussed. Also, with reference to reference to 'Darwin's finches', the paper will describe how geographical isolation has caused new species to evolve from a common ancestor Darwin was influenced by observations made during his voyage as naturalist on the survey ship Beagle. After studying several plant and animal species, Charles Darwin published some of his key observations and ideas in his book, "The Origin of Species." His theory of evolution comprises 4 parts: 1. As fossils records shows the world is constantly changing. Several organisms have become extinct and others have changed over time are are rather different from their previously existing forms. 2. All organisms share a common ancestor and hence certain common features. 3. The process of change is a gradual one 4. The mechanism of evolutionary change is natural selection. (Evolution and Natural Selection, Global Change, University of Michigan) Natural Selection: The concept of Natural Selection according to Darwin is the mechanism for evolutionary change. He discussed Natural Selection in the context of an organism 'struggle for existence'. Every organism Darwin believed tended to produce far more offspring than can actually survive. Limited resources often caused several of these to perish. As a result, there was intense competition between these organisms and only some survive to live and reproduce further. Darwin also believed that the population within a species remained more or less constant over time. However these species do show a wide variation in features and these variations are passed on from one generation to another. (Ridley, 2003). The following chart describes the process of Natural selection. Source: Evolution and Natural Selection, Global Change, University of Michigan For natural selection to occur, reproduction is a very important aspect. Offspring's inherit certain important features from their parents, which help them in the struggle for existence. Besides there are 2 essential requirement, namely a. heritable variation of some trait like the beak or skin colour The differences in these traits could b a result of environmental factors and could often be significant for survival in that environment. differential survival and reproduction of that trait is essential to ensure that (Evolution and Na

Operations Management assignment Essay Example for Free

Operations Management assignment Essay Supply chain management is the coordination of the processes and functions within a business, adopted by most companies in the UK in the late 1990’s. It deals with the internal and external factors that, when dealt with correctly and systematically, can determine a businesses success or failure. A supply chain is the network of activities that delivers a finished product service to the customer. By definition, supply chain management (SCM) is â€Å"the management of the flows of materials from suppliers to customers in order to reduce overall cost and increase responsiveness to the customers† (Reid Sanders). SCM entails the co-ordination of the movement of good through the supply chain from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors to the final customer. The main aim of SCM is to maximise the efficiency of any given process being carried out by a company; by doing this it is allowing them to try to cut their costs and hopefully keep satisfying their customers’ needs, while at the same time maintaining their competitive position within their market. Supply chain management is seen as more of an â€Å"open system† in contrast to the traditional system used by the majority of companies just 20 years ago. The new â€Å"open system† allows room for change which is greatly needed with the current financial instability of the economy. SCM has evolved over the years and has moulded to suit the ever changing economy. First adopted by the Japanese, in the form of Geba Kai (A meeting of the minds), the now commonly found process is used by a vast amount of companies in the UK. Nowadays, SCM within a business is responsible for a product from when it’s in its raw state to when it’s a finished product, ready for consumption by customers. The chain management that Comfort Company PLC currently uses is a very traditional system, otherwise known as a â€Å"closed system†. This type of management system isolates itself from the other components in the supply chain and therefore only has communication flowing through the companies own system, this is a negative attribute as it prevents the company from getting important and influential information about the state of the other links in their supply chain. When the dynamics of change happened, it forced the breakthrough of a new approach, the â€Å"open system†. The â€Å"open system† made companies a lot more open to operational change and as a result of this it made several managers, whose companies used the closed, more traditional system, view the new approach as a loss of power; this consequently made a lot of companies resist against the change. The new and more flexible â€Å"open system† was adopted firstly by the Japanese in the form of â€Å"Geba Kai†, they were closely flowed by the British who quickly followed them in adopting it. There are still some nations that, even now, rigidly stick to their old ways and use the â€Å"closed system†, two examples of these nations are the Americans and the Germans. Along with the list of positives the company will gain by changing from a traditional chain system to a more formal supply chain management (SCM) system, there are also a few strategic reasons why a company should change to the newer system, reasons that will help them to stay on par with the other business’ within their industry and within the whole business sector. One of these reasons is globalisation. As stated in â€Å"Operations management: Along the supply chain†, Two thirds of today’s businesses operate globally through global markets, global operations, global financing, and global supply chains†. Globalisation means that British companies, such as Comfort Company PLC are going to have to be prepared to compete in markets that are foreign to them and also have foreign competition within their own domestic markets. Companies that adopt, or have already adopted, a formal supply chain management system will have an advantage upon those who havenâ€⠄¢t and will be able to benefit from globalisation. There are many benefits a company would gain from introducing a formal supply chain management system, all fulfilling the wish to supply the customer with good quality products that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† posses, while at the same time giving them an opportunity to maximise their customer satisfaction, manage their supply chain effectively and allow flexibility to their supply chain. By maximising customer satisfaction, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could asses how well they are meeting their customers needs, while at the same receiving an indication of how well the business is doing in comparison with their competition; both in their market and foreign markets. Having a flexible supply chain would mean that the company would be able to react to change in demand quickly to ensure that they level the demand to their output, this would save them a lot of time, waste and resources if a freak change in demand was to happen. If â€Å"Comfort company plc† did not adopt the formal supply chain management system they would be at risk of loosing a lot of money if an unforeseeable change was to happen, this would give them a disadvantage upon the competition and would lower their competitive advantage. Effective management of a supply chain could open up opportunities for â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to improve many aspects of their production, and potentially save themselves a lot of money. By identifying the unnecessary waste along the supply chain, â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could make the process an easier, cheaper and quicker one for themselves and other links in their supply chain; this would make the chain more productive, co nsequently making the finished product â€Å"better value†. One of the main advantages of a formal supply chain management system, and an excellent attribute a company can have, is an advantage upon your competitors. Defined, competitive advantage is â€Å"an advantage over competition gained by offering consumers greater value, either by means of lower prices or by providing greater benefits and service that justifies higher prices†(Tutor2u.net, 2011). The type of competitive advantages a company such as â€Å"Comfort Company plc† would achieve from a formal SCM system are advantages such as lower costs and operational flexibility. As there are numerous ways of gaining a competitive advantage, the company in question needs to do some research into their market to see how it could be done, they could research the ways in which their successful competition operate and try to adopt some of their approaches. A good example of a company using its formal SCM system to achieve a good competitive advantage is Dell Computer Corporation. â€Å"Quick delivery of customised computers at prices 10-15 percent lower than the industry standard is Dell’s competitive advantage. A customised Dell computer can be en route to the customer within thirty-six hours. This quick response allows Dell to reduce its inventory level to approximately thirteen days of supply. Dell achieves this in part through its warehousing plan. Most of the components Dell uses are warehoused within fifteen minute travel time to an assembly point. Dell does not order components at its Austin, Texas, facility; instead, suppliers restock warehouses as needed, and Dell is only billed for items only after they are shipped. The result is better value for the customer† (Reid Sanders). There are a few ways â€Å"Comfort Company plc† can gain competitive advantage within their market, such as using tools like business to business (B2B) e-commerce, or adopting one of Dells results gaining approaches and making sure that there components and raw materials for making the products are located a short travel time away from the place of assembly. Being situated on the Crewe Gates industrial park, where many other businesses, some similar to â€Å"Comfort Company plc† no doubt, are situated, there’s sure to be some way that they could find a supplier closer. If this was to succeed they could create a good, strong relationship with the suppliers and build a barrier of trust and communication, this would be a perfect scenario to ensure the links in the supply chain are strong, as the supply chain is â€Å"only as weak and its weakest link† and vice versa. A business to business (B2B) e-commerce is when companies sell to other business, it is the largest segment of e-commerce. If â€Å"Comfort Company plc† were to use business to business (B2B) e-commerce, they could gain potential benefits such as: †¢Lower procurement administrative costs, †¢Better quality because if increased cooperation of between buyers and sellers, especially during the product design and development, †¢Low-cost access to global suppliers, †¢Lower inventory investment due to price transparency and reduced response times (R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders) The reasons/advantages stated above for changing from a traditional chain system to a formal supply chain management system are in fact more than just small advantages â€Å"Comfort Company plc† could gain, but necessary changed that need to be made if they want to survive the current economical crisis and still have customers/revenue at the end of it. With globalisation growing and the need to satisfy the customers becoming more apparent and diverse, the formal supply chain management system is a necessary system that every business, no matter how small or large, should put into place. The formal SCM system will allow â€Å"Comfort Company plc† to integrate their information systems with their suppliers and customers in an effort to meet their goals and objective while still at the same time doing this in a cost-saving way. With every new system brought into a company, there is the risk of it creating a few problems within the company; this makes the need of a contingency plan much higher. There are a few risks that come along with implementing such a big change to a business so set in its ways like â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, a main one being the possible lack of cooperation from the workforce or managers. When change happens in a workplace the employees can feel threatened and scared and will sometimes rebel against the new change, this could be avoided if the company took a few simple procedures to ensure the workforce are happy with the new system. They should tell the workforce about the new operational plan and get their feedback on it, this will make them feel involved in the change and will hopefully make them feel less alienated. Also, they should sit them down and explain the needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into the company, and the benefits it would gain by doing so, if they feel it would be benefiting the company, they should feel happier about the change going on. Furthermore, if both of the steps are carried out correctly, it could make them more motivated towards their job as they will feel involved in the company and will hopefully want it to succeed. Another risk of the formal supply chain management system is the potential loss of jobs within the company; this will be because some members of staff will not be needed as a go between for information between suppliers and so on. The redundancies in the company could possibly cause bad feeling between the workforce and the new system and could de-motivate them, possibly leading to a decrease in the effort put in by the workforce; this could potentially lead to a product being of a lower quality. Also, the possible redundancies made will be a negative factor for the economy as there will be a few more unemployed people in the country; this is one of the only major downfalls of the introduction of the formal SCM system. However, there may be members of staff who are close to retirement and could benefit from voluntary redundancy and the benefits that go with it. A negative of that would be that â€Å"Comfort Company plc† may loose some of their staff with the most experience and expertise, potentially making them train up current members of staff to the same quality as the members of staff who left. However, the operations management team at â€Å"Comfort Company plc† will have to put contingency plans in place that cover all of the possible risks, and ways to reduce the risks from happening. There are many needs of introducing a formal supply chain management system into â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, and many advantages it would gain by doing so. While there are also some risks involved, the advantages and needs outweigh them massively as they could potentially provide â€Å"Comfort Company plc† with a competitive advantage, while at the same time reducing their costs and use of resources. Like the traditional chain system currently adopted by â€Å"Comfort Company plc†, the new, more up to date formal supply chain management system will fulfil their wish to supply the customer with good quality products while at the same time saving them resources and money, making them more profitable. The introduction of a formal supply chain management (SCM) system is necessary and â€Å"Comfort Company plc† should definitely strongly consider it. References: †¢Operations Management: An integrated approach (2007) (3rd edition) R. Dan Reid, Nada R. Sanders. Pages 16, 98-105 †¢Operations Management: Along the supply chain (6h edition) Russell Taylor. Page 9. †¢Tutur2u.net (2011) Competitive advantage (WWW) Available from: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/competitive_advantage.htm

History Germany Essay Essay Example for Free

History Germany Essay Essay How far do you agree that the new Weimar Republic was seriously threatened by political extremists in the years 1919-24? (30 marks) Between the years 1919 and 1924 the Weimar Republic experienced many threats against its new democratic regime, however it could be argued that none of the threats ever truly had the ability or support required to overthrow the new state, therefore rendering the attempts by the political extremists as not that threatening. The Weimar Republic saw the end of the Kaiser’s rule and the start of a new semi presidential and representative democratic ruling. Even dating back to the formation of Germany in 1870, the foundation of German Politics and power has always lain with the elites and middle class of the population. With the new Weimar Republic these elites were supposed to lose their power and control due to the democratic regime, however this did not actually happen. Therefore any political extremists that threatened the system, and in turn threatened the elite’s power, were dealt with in harsh manners. During the trials from the 1920 Putch over seven hundred people went to trial however only one person was convicted and given five years in prison. Since the Putch would have been an act of treason, and under German law, the punishment should have been death, however the fact there was so little convictions and such lenient punishments suggests just how strong the elite’s power still was and how strong the Weimar Republic would have been with the elite’s power backing it, but they would only do this as long as things were benefiting them. The Kapp- Là ¼ttwitz Putch of 1920 did lead to an exposure of the army’s reluctance to support the Weimar Republic due to the fact the army was ordered to act by Noske, the Defence Minister, however the leaders of the military refused to get involved and instead remained neutral. This therefore would have planted a seed of doubt into people’s minds as to how good the Republic would be as not even the army were going to protect it, which then would lead some people to feel unprotected and vulnerable, and  could have led to people turning against the democratic system and instead turning back to the old ways of running the country. Yet, this was not the case therefore suggesting that the Kapp- Là ¼ttwitz Putch did not pose as being that significant of a threat. The Munich Beer Hall Putch could be argued as being doomed from the start and therefore never truly being a serious threat. From the beginning and throughout it never had the support of the German people, with only a small number of people supporting their cause. Seeckt also used his powers to command the army to resist the Putch and with the combination of the Bavarian Police and the army the Putch was crushed easily with minimal deaths. However, in the end Hitler was arrested on charges of treason (again meaning the punishment under German law should have been death) and he only received a five year prison sentence yet he was released after just nine months. This again showed that the political power was with the elites and that the Weimar Republic was not as strong as first thought, yet the public were still willing to keep the democratic state in place and give it a chance to work. Therefore it could be argued that as long as people had a belief in the Weimar Republic and were willing to support it then any attempts by political extremists would never have been that successful and therefore they were never truly much of a threat. In conclusion, although the Weimar Republic did indeed experience many threats from political extremists, with some seemingly serious threats against it which showed the many flaws in the system such as the power of the elites and the army’s standing in the new regime, yet none of the attempts had enough public support backing them to have a serious impact. They just didn’t have enough public support as people, especially of the working classes, believed in their new democratic system, and wanted to give it enough time to start to evoke changes that would benefit them in the long run. Therefore the attempts could not have had enough of an impact to name them as being serious threats against their new democratic state.

The Origin Of Art Deco Cultural Studies Essay

The Origin Of Art Deco Cultural Studies Essay Art Deco, one of the most influential art movements in the art history which was influenced by various cultures and art movements of past and present, lifestyle and society of the period between two life changing world wars, was diverse in design and glamorous and luxurious in style. Key influences include many styles of art and design including the high-style French crafts, different cultures of the far distant past and contemporary avant-grade art. It has reflected these inspirations intellectually and stylishly on its wonderful designs from finest French Art Deco furniture to mass produced modern household consumer goods. It was not just a style which reflected travel and adventure, leisure and entertainment, but a taste that was highly enjoyed by both high-society elite and common man with new spirit after the Second World War. It had handed down its concepts of design and visuals of both traditional and modern style to younger art movements as well as its vibrant, bold, and glam orous style becoming an influence to many contemporary designs. Art Decos characteristics cannot be defined easily as the term Art Deco includes a mixture of styles ranging from ancient arts and traditional French Decorative Arts to mass produced Avant-grade Modernism. Benton(2003) has found that Richard Guy Wilson said in Defining Art Deco, Art Deco Society of New York News that: If we can use the term Art Deco not to designate a specific style, but rather that it is inclusive and connotes the tremendous fertility of ideas, culture and design beginning in the early twentieth century and reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s we will better serve our own purpose. (Benton, 2003, p16) Thus according to C. Benton (2003), Art Deco can be described as the body of artefacts including works inspired by, but not copied from, historic and traditional high styles, works inspired by various cultures of past and those inspired by contemporary avant-grade art. All these influences and inspirations which helped to become what Art Deco is started at the first major appearance of Art Deco at the 1925 Paris Worlds Fair the Exposition Internationale des Arts DÃ ©coratifs et Industriels Modernes, where the term Art Deco derived from. ORIGIN OF ART DECO Paris was the cultural centre of the Western world, as well as home of many famous artists and designers. However, after the First World War when the United States hosted several art expositions and it seemed likely to have the leadership role in vital areas of art as it had less damage physically and economically, French was determined to retain her leadership in this area. Hence according to Chandler(2000), with the return of peace and prosperity, French once again hosted an international exposition to reassert her power as the ruler of taste and style. The Exposition Internationale des Arts DÃ ©coratifs et Industriels Modernes was set to show the world that French taste would lead the way again and to define the elements of the new style which would soon be known as Art Deco. The exposition exhibited works of artists and designers from various countries where the early French Art Decos influences came from. Chandler(2000) has found that the exposition was supposed to bring togeth er the nations of the world and to show some sense of a developing common aesthetic among the practitioners of decorative arts and architecture. In fact countless talents from many countries had shown what could be done without turning back to the tradition in art and culture. The exposition was a success and the Art Deco style was born out of it. Moreover, since the exhibition, Art Deco expanded from Paris to other countries all over the world and although Americans did not participate at the exposition, the influence of this style had sprung across the country for the next two decades. The style developed mainly in France where it showed its emotional stylish playfulness. At the same time the rays of Art Deco touched upon the modern western architecture, decoration, design, and fine arts around the world, and even non-French Art Deco somehow relates to the early Parisian Art Deco designs. French-inspired ornamentations were used on American buildings continuously until the 1940s. Duncan(1999) said that the early French Art Deco style had in its moment of glory provided America with the legacy of rich architectural ornamentation. It is found that many international artists and designers adopted or adapted the design elements of high-style French Art Deco on their later modernized Art Deco. the furniture of the German Bruno Paul or the jewellery of the American firm Black, Starr Frostmany other designers throughout Europe and the United States paid vestigial homage to the French style, among them the creators of the spectacular American and English motion picture palaces, the Russian-born Serge Chermayeff and the British Clarice Cliff with her jazzy, brightly hued pottery (P.Bayer, 2000, p 10). EXTENSION OF STYLE ART NOUVEAU However, one could say that the beginning of the style Art Deco showed an early presence since before the 1925 Exposition, as early as the last years of ninetieth century when Art Nouveau gained its appreciation. The 1900 Exposition Universelle which was held in Paris, was one of the most successful and ambitious exhibitions in the history of Paris. Works of twenty four participating nations and their numerous colonies including European, American, African and Asian countries were exhibited. Hence there were varieties of fine arts, jewellery designs, ceramics and pottery, furniture and all sorts of craftsmanship which had inspired the Art Nouveau designers and some young designers who would later introduce the style Art Deco to the world. Two years later Art Nouveau became the most fashionable and sought after design style of the early twentieth century, and many designers became to develop interesting, variations and historical themes into their work. However, the style began to dec line afterwards because of the First World War and the rise of industrialization. After World War I, because of the result of the dramatic changes in social, personal and economical matters, expensive highly stylised and hand crafted Art Nouveau lost its favour and was replaced by new design concepts of mass produced modernism. The decorative aspects of the style became unessential and many European designers followed mass production and functionalism of German Bauhaus movement. Art Nouveau style was applied to low quality uninteresting products for commercial gain. On the other hand younger avant-grade designers began to experiment the modern design concepts by combining them with their predecessors fine craftsmanship to produce a design style that has both intellect of modernism and visual of the traditional styles. The cluttered floral designs, pastel colours and the overly decorative patterns and curls of Art Nouveau were stripped down to angular geometric shapes, clear bright and bold colours, uncluttered clean shapes and refined detailing of the new style Ar t Deco. Art Deco designers still kept their predecessors stylised designs and superb craftsmanship and adapted them in many of high-style Art Deco. Hence Art Nouveau style didnt come to an abrupt end but continued as Art Deco for several more years until it was replaced by mass produced modernist Art Deco designs. Art Deco is not the opposite of Art Nouveau; it is in many aspects an extension of it, particularly in its preoccupation with lavish ornamentation, fine materials and superlative craftsmanship. (Duncan, 2000, p6) Art Nouveau style mainly influenced the French Art Deco designers such as Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann who was famous for his French style Art Deco furniture designs. Moreover the influence of Art Nouveau can be seen in many of French Art Deco pochoir illustrations which adapted the elements of floral, stylised Art Nouveau with the combination of bold colours, and glamour of Art Decos characteristics. INFLUENCES OF THE ANCIENT ART As Art Deco was already gradually forming since the 1900 exhibition, the inspiration of the style is very diverse and came from different art forms and cultures. Among these influences, ancient Egyptian art and Aztec and Mayan architecture of ancient Mexico art were best known and adopted by many Art Deco artists and designers. Because of the discovery of the Tutankhamun tomb in 1922, the Egyptian art was popular among the Art Deco designers, that the craze touched every aspect of design. Fashion accessories, furniture, products and interior designs at that time had combination of Egyptian-inspired geometrical shapes with the Art Decos own stylised and decorative patterns. Egyptian arts usage of colour and ornamentations were also adopted for architectural decorations. Examples of these can be seen in usage of bold flashes of gold colour on the black granite surface of Raymond Hoods American Radiator building, and Egyptian-inspired eagle-shaped gargoyle ornaments on the Art Decos ico nic, the Chrysler Building. The ancient Mexican architecture also directly influenced Art Deco skyscrapers and interior designs. The geometric forms and patterns of rigid stonework Mexican art can be traced in many of 1920s and 1930s architecture and design. According to Baddeley(2003), the block-like mass, ziggurat forms and patterns of Manhattans skyline evoked rather than replicated the militaristic decorations of Aztec temple design. Even the zoning law applied on the New Yorks skyscrapers was based on the Aztec architecture concepts. According to Duncan(1999), the zoning law is applied to the high buildings to ensure adequate light and air for the citys working populace, hence architects developed a series of setbacks, or terraces, which stepped backwards and upwards like Ziggurats of the Aztec architecture. However, the decorations on the building and inside of the building had influences from historical art styles of Japanese, Islamic, Celtic besides Egyptian and Mexican, and sometimes all the styles app ear together to give the impression of an unspecified historicism. TRADITIONAL AND MODERNITY, DECORATION AND FUNCTION Art Deco was purely decorative and was not the leading intellectuals of the period although it had approach to functionalism of modern designs. Since World War I and rapid industrialization, most modernist artists and designers were keen to produce mass-produced designs made in new, low-cost materials and rejected any decorative intentions. However, according to Robinson(1988) many of these designers soon realised that functionalism alone cannot fulfil the customers demands as certain amount of fantasy, luxury and embellishment were required in order to fulfil their aesthetic dreams. Many designers working in more mundane materials, for mass production and the popular market, came to see forms and motifs derived from fine art as capable of bringing aesthetic value to even modest domestic environments, as well as giving value to their own practice. (Benton, 2003, p105) Thus Art Deco is decorative even when it doesnt employ ornaments and surface decorations, to provide sense of emotional fulfilment and luxury to bold machine-made items. This concept of Art Deco was practiced in many areas of designs including industrial, interior and furniture designs as well as in architectural design. According to Duncan(1999), in traditional architecture, Modernist decoration was used as a transitional device to alert the eye to a change in the buildings contour. Vertical and horizontal decorations were used to emphasize a skyscrapers height and rhythm of the setbacks, moreover colour was also applied along the setbacks on the building to provide definition to the passerby far below. Duncan(1999) has found that Hildreth Meiere, American artist and architect said in July 1932 The Question of Decorative Architectural Forum that: Decoration is that which gives color or texture, scale or pattern or interest, which is used, whether functionally or not, because it gives pleasure or expression. An architect instinctively employs it because he is an artist who designs for aesthetic enjoyment as well as a builder who must build adequately for physical needs. (Duncan, 1999, p150) Thus Art Decos modernized traditional style or decorative modern style of decorations and ornamentations were applied on everyday household products, automobiles and buildings to give certain amount of interest and luxury, as a result Art Deco became widely appreciated by the high society and considered to be the functional form of elegant and luxurious modernism. AVANT-GRADE INFLUENCES Art Deco designers and Avant-grade designers shared the same interest in applying decoration since the latter themselves became to practice the decorative arts on their artworks. Benton(2003) believed that the association between avant-grade art and Art Deco was also encouraged by decorative artists ambitions. Likewise, Art Deco designers also adapted the avant-grade movements elements in many areas of its decorations. Many of Art Decos graphic posters and illustrations showed the influence of cubism and futurism by adding abstract, fragmented, overlapped geometrical shapes with crisp rigid lines to show the periods occupation with speed and power. The influence also can be seen in the areas of product design and furniture design, for instance Erik Magnussen used the abstracting and fragmentation techniques of Cubism on his coffee service called Cubic or The Lights and Shadows of Manhatten to produce interesting and eccentric look of an usual and functional coffee set. NEW WORLD, MODERNIZATION AND MASS SOCIETY Art Deco style was influenced by past and present art movements and styles, but on the other hand, the influence came from not only creative environment but also the lifestyle and the ever changing society of the period between two world wars when the movement reigned supreme. The First World War gave a sense of break from the past and provided modernity to the whole new world which accompanied urbanization, standardization, and mass society. The new lifestyle of the modern world and the new roles for the common men resulted in mass consumption and demanding society, hence mass production became vital in manufacturing and producing areas. Deco style graphic design and posters with the illustrations of expanding leisure activities such as dance halls, and entertaining sports such as tennis and golf, as well as the brochures for holidays and beaches became the popular media between the consumers and the manufacturers as a result of demanding entertainment and pleasure by the mass socie ty of not only elites but also common people. Furthermore, developing science and technology which is a crucial element in the modern society also played an important role in creating modernity in the new world. Production and utilization of electric power, discoveries of new materials such as plastics, and the advancing techniques in creative area provided the whole new concepts to Art Deco designers and hence many artists and designers began to experiment with new design forms and materials to provide new satisfaction and fulfilment to the changing taste of the society. Robinson(1988) wrote that soon after the 1925 Exposition, superficial copies of Art Deco style products began to appear in large department stores that this took away the essential aesthetic understanding and quality of craftsmanship that had elevated the original Art Deco designs to a truly modern art form. Hence the rapid expansion of mass society and the advanced technology had soon produced a new style of Art Deco called streamlining which would replace the traditional techniques and style of Art Deco. SPEED, STYLE AND STREAMLINING The mass production of transportation methods, which is the result of the rapid expansion of mass travel, was the vital reason that the Art Deco designers turn to a new style of design and streamlining technique. According to Atterbury(2003), streamlining reflected contemporary enthusiasms for science, technology, engineering and, above all, travel and transportation. Streamlining was applied to a new generation of automobiles, aircrafts and trains, to express speed and mechanical efficiency, as well as to domestic and commercial objects where speed and efficiency were irrelevant. Atterbury(2003) also mentioned that streamlining and speed became synonymous in the public mind, and so streamlined forms were widely applied to domestic motor vehicles despite having little or no impact on their actual performance. Despite the science and rationality, the image of speed was more important and streamlining was used as decorations to appeal the surface look and seduce potential customers as the sleek contoured horizontal lines and smooth surfaces not only provide modernity, but also suggest luxury, comfort and restfulness. Works of industrial designer Raymond Loewy strongly reflected the streamlining style of Art Deco since he was one of the logical leaders who emphasized on styling this to promote mass consumption and mass production among the commercial competition during the Great Depression in America. The industrial designers attempt to modernize consumer goods as a means of boosting sales led him(Raymond Loewy) in the 1930s to the pursuit of a new style, one which evolved from the preceding fashionable Art Deco style of the 1920s and could be applied to industrial products. (Duncan, 1999, p 270) Hence new principles and application of streamlining became a fashion statement and was applied on almost every item from book covers and pencil sharpeners to the buildings decoration and the automobiles and trains. Examples of streamlining on buildings, which is known as streamline modern architecture, include the Coca-Cola Bottling Company plant, the California Petroleum Service Station and many roadside diners in Los Angeles, as well as the buildings and pavilions of the 1939 New York Worlds Fair which is known for acting as an endpoint of the Art Deco style. Like traditional stylised Art Nouveau was replaced by the mass-produced streamlined modern Art Deco after the World War I, so was Art Deco by total machine aesthetic Modernism when the Second World War definitely killed off the flame of Art Deco and the style lost its glamour after the New York Worlds Fair in 1939. Even though streamlining was popular after the 1925 Art Deco Exposition in the design of buildings and transportation, the original Art Decos decorative motifs had become out of date and took over by the pure functionalism of Post-modernist designers. Though some notable expressions of decorative exuberance inspired by Art Deco practices survived, the styles characteristic decorative repertoire and cheerfully commercial traits were widely abandoned in favour of design languages redolent of the larger social good. (Benton, 2003, p429) INFLUENCES OF ART DECO However, Art Deco recovered with the growing interest in advertising, graphic design, fashion design and glamour and individualism in the 1950s and 1960s. The major exhibitions on the subject and publications books on Art Deco fashion and fashion illustration had encouraged the revival of Art Deco. This new interest influenced many younger artists and designers such as The Memphis Group of the 1980s. According to Benton(2003), Art Deco also encouraged Post-modern architects and designers to employ a richer iconography to be playful and to take risks with materials, colours, surfaces, shapes and visual references. Although Art Deco style had left many good influential examples of designs for the future generations, there were some disadvantages in those influences it had handed down to later design movements especially popular, transient, expendable, low cost, mass produced, young, witty, sexy, gimmicky, glamorous and big business art movement in the 1950s which was known as Pop art. Late Art Decos mass consumption and mass production concepts of design were the certain part of the origins of mass media, and the illusion of popular artificial fulfilment of the modern art culture. Like mass produced cheap Art Deco products fulfilled the desires of the mass society after the First World War, according to Belting(2003) today visual advertising blinds the consumers eye to the thing itself and hides the illusion, its true nature behind the effects and lies of advertisements. Hence Art Decos both illustrative influence and conceptual influence has reappeared in nowadays graphic and advertising designs. Besides, Art Deco architecture and interior design also regained its popularity nowadays and the style was adapted in many of the recent architecture and replicated for the interior designs of contemporary buildings. The Parkview Square in the downtown area of Singapore, for instance is proof that the Art Deco influence is still surviving in some parts of the world today. The building design is classic Art Deco style and inspired by the Chanin Building as well as the lobby of the building is filled with Art Deco style hand crafted details and decorations. Similarly, the Williams Tower which is also known as the Transco Tower in Houston, Texas is also a fine example of Art Deco inspired skyscraper with rigid lines, angles and setbacks of the 1920s Art Deco architectural characteristics. What is more, the rotating beacon at the top which lights up at night put emphasis on the influence of the glamorous and luxurious night light of the pure Art Deco style. In addition, there are a few c ommercial and residential buildings surviving in Houston which are designed in postmodern interpretations of Art Deco streamline moderne style. Indeed, Art Deco may not be as popular as it was in its period of 1920s and 1930s,its intellectually and visually fascinating design concepts are still influencing the contemporary world and many design aspects of everyday life. CONCLUSION To conclude, Art Deco was a style as well as a total result of styles, a wonderful mixture of traditional and contemporary designs, with diverse cultures and technologies. It not only took inspirations from past and its predecessors, but also was influenced by the changing lifestyle and modernity of the period. Even though the time and the age between two wars was unrest and unstable, Art Deco had lived long for three decades and flourished successfully until the spirit died down entirely in 1939 at The New York Worlds Fair. Many iconic and notable examples survived until these days and the styles elements and characteristics are being adapted or replicated in contemporary designs by today designers. The styles concepts of uniting mass production and the artist, function and decorations, commercial profits and emotional fulfilments, had passed essential examples and lessons in the history of art and design to younger generations and new birth of modern designs. Art Deco was decorativ e using fine craftsmanship in traditional style, yet it was modern and advanced in technologies and creations. Art Deco had gained its satisfying popularity during its high time, and in fact the style is still being enjoyed by todays society. What is more, the fact that it is still influencing many designers these days is undeniable.

How far is Shylock a character for whom we can feel sympathy? :: essays research papers

How far is Shylock a character for whom we can feel sympathy? How would a contemporary audience’s response to him differ from that of an audience in Shakespeare’s time? Shylock isn’t a character for whom we can feel much sympathy for because he always seems to be thinking about himself and his money rather than other people around him. Through most of the play he seems selfish, and it seems in some parts of the play as though he doesn’t care about his daughter. He also has a very strict religion, which also sometimes makes him seem as an uptight character. Although he sometimes does try and be a good father to his daughter such as in act 2, scene 3. This is where he tells her to lock the house up and to keep safe from the masque, but even part of this act to his daughter was to make sure no Christian men would come into his house or anything get stolen. Through the whole of the play the audience keeps changing their sympathy for Shylock, pitying him one moment and hating him the next. Some people would call the audience’s feelings to Shylock a kind of roller coaster of sympathy. Also in act 2, scene 8 Salerio and Solanio are talking about the way Shylock reacted to his daughter leaving. Solanio said that Shylock had said: ‘My daughter! O my ducats! O my daughter!’ This quote makes the audience feel a tiny bit of sympathy for Shylock as it shows how he feels awful about how he has lost his daughter and money at the same time. Solario also goes on to say: ‘Stolen by my daughter! Justice! Find the girl! She hath the stones upon her, and the ducats!’ After this is said the audience will feel a lot less sympathy for Shylock as it seems he only cares about finding his daughter because she has the ducats with her and the only way to get back his ducats etc is to find his daughter. Although he only cares about his ducats the audience might feel sympathy for him because that it was his own flesh and blood that stole the ducats from him. So Shylock would feel quite betrayed by this. In act 3, scene 1 there is a lot of evidence that shows Shylock valuing money over his daughter. Shylock had said in this scene: ‘I would my daughter were dead at my foot, and the jewels in her ear; would she were hearsed at my foot, and the ducats in her coffin.

The Israeli and Turkish Relationship Essay -- Diplomacy

Relationship between Turkey and Israel has been characterized with times of cooperation but also tension. It is a story that provides for interesting political episodes. Its history includes important trade and political interests bringing both sides’ benefits and, more recently, a rapid fall in their wide-ranging cooperation, bringing many disagreements which are yet to be resolved. Turkey was the first country with a prevailing Muslim population that recognized the independence that the state of Israel declared in1948. Thereafter, â€Å"after several decades of discreet relations, the Israeli-Arab peace process made public bilateral Israeli-Turkish ties more acceptable to Turks, who are predominantly Muslim and sympathetic to the Palestinians† (Migdalovitz). This initial fruitful level of cooperation among the two countries, however, experienced a downturn only a decade later. In 1991, Turkey sent its first ambassador to Israel since recalling his predecessor during the Suez crisis of 1956. And, in the intervening years, Turkey was represented in Israel by lower level diplomats. Moreover, the two regional neighbors cemented closer ties in part due to their common view of Syria, which at the time supported the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) insurgency in Turkey, with several military agreements and a free trade agreement in 1996.† Thus, the relations between Turkey and Israel blossomed with Israeli arms sales to Turkey, regular military exercises, the exchange of high-level official visits, and booming trade and tourism. Additionally, Israel modernized U.S.-made fighter planes, tanks, and helicopters for Turkey, and Turkey purchased Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (Migdalovitz). Later on, these measures were accompanied and ... ...elebritychoice/tonybenn.shtml>. Inbar, Efraim. "The Deterioration in Israeli-Turkish Relations and its International Ramifications." 2011. Migdalovitz, Carol. Turkey: Selected Foreign Policy Issues. 28 11 2010. . Paul Rivlin, Yitzhak Gal. Israel’s Trade Relations with Turkey: an update. 1 May 2011. . Shaoul, Jean. Growing tensions between Turkey and Israel. 12 September 2011. . Turkone, Mumtazer. Where are Turkish-Israeli relations heading? 25 September 2011. . Weekly, Turkish. Turkish PM Erdogan to visit Israel, Palestine. April 30 2005. .

The Wealth of Nations Essay -- essays research papers

In 1759 Adam Smith, then a thirty-six year old Professor of Moral Philosophy at Glasgow University, published his Theory of Moral Sentiments. This work attracted the attention of the guardians of the immensely wealthy Duke of Buccleuch towards retaining its author as a tutor to the youthful Duke whilst on a protracted, and hopefully educational, "Grand Tour" of continental Europe. While tutoring from 1763 Adam Smith found some of the time spent in the French provinces hard to fill and seems to have begun his masterpiece An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, as a way of taking up otherwise idle hours in the summer of 1764. Overall however he derived much personal philosophical benefit from these months of journeying on the continent. In Paris he met amongst others, the "Physiocrat" economic theorist (and court Physician) Quesnay and the French Ministers, Turgot and Necker. The French economic policy, during these times were conducted in accordance with the "Mercantilism"(the theory and system of political economy prevailing in Europe after the decline of feudalism, based on national policies of accumulating bullion, establishing colonies and a merchant marine, and developing industry and mining to attain a favorable balance of trade) that had held sway in the economic thinking of Europe for some three centuries. Mercantilism expected that governmental control would be exercised over industry and trade in accordance with the theory that national strength (i.e. the Royal states treasury) is increased by a preponderance of exports over imports. By nature, back then France was fitted to be a great agricultural country, a great producer and exporter of corn and wine; but French legislators for several generations had wanted to counteract the apparently natural bias of French economic life towards agriculture, and had tried to make France an exporter of manufactured goods. Like most legislators in those times, they had been prodigiously impressed by the ambitious position which the maritime powers, as they were then called (the comparatively little powers of England and Holland), were able to take in the politics of Europe. They saw that this influence came from wealth, that this wealth was made in trade and manufacture, and therefore they dete... ...one constitutes the ultimate aim and end of economic life. Although Economics has moved on in many was from the outlook and policies endorsed in the Wealth of Nations that epoch-making publication remains as perhaps the most famous economics book of all time. Governments in search of a strengthening of their states through economic policy, and many individuals in search of personal gain, have all drawn lessons from its pages. Powerful movements that led to the emergence of Modern Capitalism were substantially based on Smith's work and hence he deserves to be regarded as one of the most dramatically influential philosophers or philosophic writers of modern times. This book is a comprehensive and systematic theory of an economy. It shows the connections and relationships among variables. The Wealth of Nations also talks about the division of labor. Smith states that the division of labor starts the process of economic growth. One growth is started, accumulation keeps it going. There are three benefits of division of labor. First; increase in skill and dexterity. Second; save time in moving from job to job. And lastly, the invention of new machinery.

How Pop Culture Affects Teens Essay

Popular culture is all around us and it influences many teens across the world. Teenagers are affected by pop culture in almost every aspect of life whether it is music, media, celebrities, fashion, and even literature. These kinds of things have become top priority for teenagers of today’s world. They have surrounded themselves by it and have grown to love, even worship pop culture. Our main objective is to raise awareness to the significance of popular culture in comparison to the cultures of the world. â€Å"Popular Culture is the new Babylon, into which so much art and intellect now flow, it is our Imperial Theater, Supreme Temple of the Western Eye. We live in the age of idols. The pagan past, never dead, flames again in our mystic hierarchies of stardom.† Parental angst about teenagers’ musical preferences is as old as popular culture itself. Ever since Elvis first swiveled his hips for 1950s TV audiences, consensus has zigzagged sharply on how strongly music impacts its teen listeners. Critics see desensitization toward violence as one major consequence of long-term exposure to music with antisocial themes, while defenders of popular culture simply view it as one more signpost in the era of teen rebellion. Popular culture’s influence on teens? It is a known concept that younger teens can be easily influenced. There are several studies that have been done that show the fact that the younger the age, the more likely the person is to follow a crowd. Peer pressure plays a huge role in this also, but the fact is that during the early teen years, one is more likely to pick a role model based on who is considered popular by a majority. The thing is, that may not always be the best thing. This is why there have been several efforts made to regulate the content in popular culture that is reachable to younger children. This includes putting warning labels on CDs, having ratings on television shows, and requiring ID in order to view certain movies. Even though parents and political figures have made several efforts, it may not be enough. Who is really to blame? Is it right to blame the celebrities whose sole purpose is to entertain us? In my opinion, popular culture has had an influence on teens. And depending on the day it is, the influence may not be a good one. Even though I do not feel music or movies should be to blame for the troubles that teenagers have gotten into, there are some teens who feel the need to follow whatever trends that are shown in popular culture, whether it is positive or negative. It is the responsibility of the public figures who are involved in these forms of entertainment to try and be a positive influence. But the one thing that we all must keep in mind is that celebrities are people too and are bound to make mistakes. Teenagers are the group most strongly influenced by popular culture (more commonly called pop culture). What exactly is popular culture? According to Wikipedia English: â€Å"Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred through an informal consensus within the mainstream of any given society.† Thesaurus.com refers to pop culture as a â€Å"modern way of living.† Effects on teens Not only are teens strongly influenced by pop culture but it affects them on many levels. It affects them cognitively (how they think), emotionally (how they feel) and behaviorally (what they do). The last decade has seen exponential growth in the media – with the advent of the internet, mass media has almost been overtaken by social media. The teens have latched onto social media with intensity and this has had both negative and positive effects. Conclusion The relationship between teens, pop culture and the media (mass and social) is deeply symbiotic – and here to stay. The teens of today have grown up with mobile phones and internet access, information always at their finger-tips. Popular culture continues to affect teens in both positive and negative ways. On the other hand, teens also affect pop culture. The sophisticated teen of today is the creator and innovator of the future. Today I am going to talk about the topic: è ¯ Ã© ¢Ëœ Firstly, I’ll present the causes of pop culture. Next, I’ll give the consequences of this trend. Finally,I’ll sum up the conclusion in the short sentences.

Radiation Dose In Pediatric Cranial Health And Social Care Essay

In the past two decennaries, the figure of encephalon computed imaging scrutiny has increased quickly. This is in big portion due to progresss in multidetector CT engineering, which allows faster image acquisition and improved image quality. The increased usage in CT surveies has led to a significantly increased radiation dosage to the patient. However, about one tierce of CT encephalons scrutinies in the paediatric group are non pertinent to the diagnosing and direction. These show that it is non the best trial for the kids. Comparing with grownups, kids are more variety meats radiosensitive to radiation ; they will hold longer life clip hazard to confront cancerous alterations induced by radiation. In response to increasing concern for patient radiation protection, we should utilize the right proficient parametric quantities to protect the kids from inordinate and unneeded radiation dosage for these by CT scan. To cut down the radiation dosage, the doctors and radiotherapists shoul d ever conscious to cut down CT scan radiation dosage for kids. Furthermore, we can develop some appropriate schemes to optimise scanning patterns based on the age, clinical indicants and organic structure size of the patients. Undertaking aims and significance ( Max. 1 page: State the intent of the proposed survey, place cardinal issues and jobs being addressed, province possible result in footings of its relevancy, significance and value ) The intent of this survey is to look into the consequence of dose decrease in different parametric quantity used in the Brain CT scan. In the visible radiation of addition the usage of encephalon CT scrutiny, dose decrease while maintain the CT diagnostic value and image quality is a ambitious undertaking. Since a figure of issues are related to CT radiation, they have become more outstanding as usage has increased. The issues concerns about the part of CT to a comparatively big radiation dosage to the populace. Furthermore, kids have more organ radiosensitive than grownups and they have a longer lifetime hazard radiation-induced malignant neoplastic disease. Therefore, we should do accommodation of paediatric CT parametric quantities based on the size or part of involvement to be scanned. On the other manus, the decrease of radiation dosage to cranial CT may depend on many factors such as replacing of CT usage, by utilizing other mode ( MRI or ultrasound ) which have less radiation dosage, lessening in the figure of CT surveies requested. The aim of this survey is to find whether a lower radiation dosage technique could be used for paediatric cranial CT without impacting the diagnostic value and image quality in the scrutiny. Reviewing the literature and compare the approximative equivalent dosage to relevant organ ( mSv ) , I find that the protocol scenes in planing for kids and grownups are about the same. The radiation decrease can be about 50 % reduced by altering some parametric quantities. Therefore, the CT protocol scenes in cranial CT used for grownups should non be used for kids. It is the clip we should alter the attitude and face the job how to cut down the radiation dosage in CT engineering for kids. The CT makers, doctors, radiotherapists and radiographer besides portion the duty to keep an appropriate balance between radiation dosage and diagnostic image quality. Background ( Max. 2 pages: A clear, comprehensive and up-to-date but concise reappraisal of the literature ; sum up and give cardinal mentions on related work, including old and alternate attacks to the jobs ) CT is a various diagnostic process and it can give high diagnostic output. However, CT scanning comprises about 15 % of the radiological scrutiny and represents the largest beginning ( about 70 % ) of radiation dosage to the patient.1, 9 The usage of CT encephalon in kids is increasing in the past two decennaries. Indeed, CT induced radiation dosage is comparatively high compared with other imaging technique. The hazard for paediatric patients to develop long term biological effects following exposure to ionising radiation is higher than that for grownups because their cells, tissues and variety meats have a higher radiosentivity and they have a longer clip to live.2,11 The European Commission ( EC ) states that & amp ; acirc ; ˆ?radiation exposure in the first 10 old ages of life is estimated to hold a hazard about 4 times greater than exposure incurred at 30-40 old ages of age for some damaging effects & A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢.3 Give the recent attending to radiation hazards, the radiation dosage of cranial CT in kids and the demand for accommodations in parametric quantities to the populace, we should understand more about existent pattern of cranial CT in paediatric patients. Most CT Centre merely follows the recommended scenes of the makers, but these may non the best appropriate scenes for the patient. For paediatric cranial CT, there is no consensus about the optimal scene in different infirmaries. To understand a patient receives how much of the radiation dosage in a peculiar scan, one must hold cognition of the methods of dose measuring. Radiation dosage is influenced by the radiation quality, the geometry of the scanner, the sensor type and the current transition of the tube.10 Dose increases nonlinearly with an addition in tube electromotive force but will diminish the image noise. Typically, an addition in kVp from 120 to 140kVp will increase the dose by about 47 % . The incursion is improved and an about 70 % higher dosage reaches the sensor. But in some articles, informations suggest that kVp every bit low as 80 kVp can besides supply acceptable image quality in neonates.4 Milliamperes ( ma ) and gantry rotary motion rhythm clip ( in seconds ) are combined to supply a step of radiation normally known as the tubing current ( ma ) . A additive relationship exists between tubing current and the radiation dosage. By cutting down the ma half, the patient exposure can be reduced by 50 % while maintaining the same noise degree and image quality. Cohnen et Al besides studied CT dosage in paediatric cranial CT and concluded that a 40 % decrease was possible.7 Chan et Al performed CT in kids aged 1-12 old ages with several different milliampere 2nd valleies and he found that a 40 % decrease in milliampere seconds could be used in paediatric cranial CT.2,8 Section thickness and table velocity besides affect dosage. The faster table velocity and thicker piece should be selected based on the scan indicant. In general, most paediatric CT scan can be performed at a pitch of 1.5.5,6,12 Adjustment in piece thickness and pitch demand to be balanced against the possible loss in spacial declaration from the increased image noise. Multiple dose descriptions have been used in the past. Presently, the Computed Tomography Dose Index ( CTDI ) , along with its discrepancies, and the Dose Length Product ( DLP ) are the standard parametric quantities used to depict CT associated radiation dosage. Radiation dose CTDI is measured in milligrays as displayed on the CT proctor every bit good as DLP which are calculated by the CT machine automatically. Increase the tube electromotive force from 120kVp to 140kVp additions the CT dosage index ( CTDI ) by a factor of 1.4, but decrease the tubing electromotive force to 80kVp lowers the CTDI by a factor of about 2.2.13 We can measure the paediatric cranial CT protocol and happen the CT radiation dosage that is recommended to be every bit low as moderately accomplishable. Hence, we need to unite different attacks sing to CT dose decrease. In add-on, the refering parties including doctors, radiotherapists and radiographers must take the duty to keep an appropriate balance in scanning parametric quantities, diagnostic image quality and radiation dosage. Long term schemes is desperately set up that include encouraging development and acceptance of paediatric CT protocols, educating working staff through diary publications and conferences within and outside the radiology fortes, carry oning farther research to find the relationship between CT quality and dosage. We besides customize CT scanning for single kids to optimise exposure scenes and to measure the demand for CT in an single patient. Methodology ( soap. 2 pages: including research design, program, stuffs, methods and cardinal mentions ) The survey will be carried out in CT scan room at the Radiology Department of the Princess Margaret Hospital. A entire figure of 100 paediatric patients aged under 15 old ages for encephalon CT scan during January to June 2011 by indiscriminately selected as topics of this survey. Before informations aggregation, the survey will acquire the blessing from the Department Manager Mr. Fung and so explicate to all CT radiographers to acquire their full cooperation in the survey. Furthermore, the process will be explained to each patient and their parents in order to obtain their permission in the survey. The patients will split into two groups, one is control group and the others are study group. Brain CT scan will be done by utilizing paediatric CT scan protocol in the control group. We can measure the radiation dosage by altering the exposure parametric quantities in the survey group. Brain CT scan was done utilizing 64-section CT scanner GE lightspeed VCT machine. Image obtained utilizing a multi-slice axial computed imaging system of 5mm piece thickness without automatic choice of effectual ma. Scaning parametric quantities that affect radiation dosage include peak kilovoltage, tubing current, pitch etc. Therefore, the survey group will be divided into 3 parts. The first portion is to compare the different kVp ( 80kVp, 100kVp and 120kVp ) to the image quality while other puting kept at a changeless scene. The 2nd portion is to compare the different tubing current ( 100mAs and 120 ma ) and the 3rd portion is to compare the different pitch ( 1 and 1.5 ) . All CTDI and Dose-Length P roduct will be recorded after the scrutiny. I will ask for two radiotherapists Dr. Yung and Dr. Lam to reexamine the movies in a double-blinded mode by utilizing 6 inquiries assessment strategy. Question 1-5 are refering about radiation dosage and image quality for visualising defined anatomical constructions. The anatomical construction chosen for reappraisal included: ( Q1 ) border of the sidelong ventricles, ( Q2 ) the basilar arteria in the prepontine cistern, ( Q3 ) internal capsules, ( Q4 ) ambient cistern, ( Q5 ) gray-white distinction at the degree of 4th ventricles. The inquiry 6 will inquire the radiotherapists grade of assurance in doing a diagnosing. A 5-point marking system will be used for rating. Indicate 5 means the anatomical construction can clearly be visualized and the assurance degree in making a diagnosing are about 90 % or above. Indicate 4 agencies visual image and assurance are about 70 % . Point 3,4 and 5 are about 50 % , 30 % and less than 10 % severally. Consistency of marking will be assessed by giving 40 scans to the two radiotherapists. The average tonss given to these 6 inquiries during the first and 2nd reading will be compared. Statistical analysis will set about utilizing assurance interval ( CI ) and hypothesis testing, as expressed by P values. The assurance interval can demo the deficiency of preciseness in the estimation of involvement and therefore conveyed more utile information than the P value which are merely a quantitative value. For each reader, 95 % CI and a two sample t-test will execute to compare the average value of the tonss for each inquiry between the two groups. For inquiry 6, this assessed the radiotherapists & A ; acirc ; ˆâ„ ¢ assurance degree, farther distribution of tonss between the two groups. Dependability trials to measure intra-reader understanding in hiting the movies were besides carried out by utilizing 95 % CI and paired t-test. Analysis was facilitated by the usage of commercially available computing machine statistics plan SPSS ver.1.7.