Buddhism in China and Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Buddhism in China and Japan - Essay Example On the contrary, it believes that change is normal and in order for a person to attain a state of spiritual satisfaction he has to act morally and follow the teachings that are designed to help him live through his lifelong worries without any confusion. There are two major sects established all over the world, Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. Emperor Asoka the Great embraced Buddhism after the war of Kalinga. In the third century, he made efforts to spread the word of Buddhism and sent missionaries to the North West region of India, which is Pakistan and Afghanistan of today. Out of the many religions established in China at that time, Taoism was one of them. Due to similarities in the Taoist teachings and Buddhism, in terms of spirituality and meditation, the concept was welcomed well by the Chinese and soon it became widely practiced by the people. In the sixth century, the message of Buddhism reached Korea and Japan. Buddhist scriptures were translated extensively all over the world. Due to historical and sociological reasons, Buddhist practices in China differ from those in Japan. Zen is a form of meditation proposed by Buddhism. However, the ways to attain the state of nirvana are different in both China and Japan. Besides, Japanese have merged this religion with that of the prevailing Shinto, which involves the inc lusion of several gods. This is not the case in China, where the concept of God in Buddhism is absent. However, the main beliefs remain the same. Only the means to achieve the goal are

How the Environment plays a role in Learning Essay Example for Free

How the Environment plays a role in Learning Essay Learning is a process which touches on almost every aspect of human life. Surprisingly, it is through learning that the experiences of the past are passed on to the younger generation by parents as well as educators. It is impossible to get knowledge without learning. Apart from knowledge, learning equips people with skills and abilities that enable them to deal perfectly with the complexities of life. Through learning for instance, individuals get to know about the rules that enable them to interact in their social lives. Learning is however not unique. It networks with an individual’s social life and the environment (Custom Essay, 2009). Richlin in his book, Blue print for learning: constructing collage courses to facilitate, access and document learning, acknowledges that â€Å"Learning does not occur in a vacuum. † It cannot occur in isolation either and is dependent on various factors such as the environment (Richlin, 2006). The environment is the substance upon which learning is laid upon. It forms the backbone of learning. Environment thus plays a significant role as far as the learning process is concerned. The environment can affect the learning process either positively or negatively. This research paper seeks to look at various environmental factors and the roles they play in the learning process. The Natural Environment Though in the current world there is a high rise of technology and people can change the environment to suit their needs, the impact of natural environment on learning is still so strong and cannot be ignored. For example, people who were brought up in rural areas are very different from those in urban area. This is in respect to what each has learned. Those from the remote areas are in contact with nature itself. They learn so much from nature since their dwelling place is so natural and has not been contaminated by human activities. On the other hand, a city dweller has no natural environment access and barely learns much from it. He or she is even less concerned with what is happening in the natural environment. Lessons on nature become challenging to city dwellers but remote dwellers learn with ease (Custom Essay, 2009). It is in the natural environment that historical, scientific, and geographical materials for learning are found in plenty. These natural features are fun to learn when individuals know what they are learning about. For instance, those located near the ocean or sea will have fun learning about the marine ecosystem. Likewise those in mountainous regions will enjoy a geography lesson on types of mountains. Learning in these natural environments is so real, so natural, and so meaningful and students tend to perform better than those who learn in the theoretical way in the cities (Smith, 2010). Social Environment Many people do not know that social environment plays a fundamental role in the process of learning. Humans are social beings and they can neither live nor learn in an isolated situation. Ones a child is born, the learning process begins from the social environment. By crying, the child knows that it will be attended to by the society around it. The first people to get in touch with an individual from an early age are from the family members. The family at this level is the social environment for the child. Basic knowledge is learned from the parents and it becomes the foundation of an individual’s future life. The social environment then expands as the individual advances in age. He or she can learn from friends, peers, and influential adults (Custom Essay, 2009). However, different people that an individual comes into contact with, impact differently on his or her learning process. At the early stage of a person’s life, parents shape the views, beliefs and equip the person with basic knowledge, skills and the abilities. The family can affect the child negatively or positively. For instance, statistics reveal that children under family abuse score less in exams than the ones who have been raised normally free from abuse. Abused children feel useless and they develop a negative self image. They undermine their learning ability and hence perform poorly in the learning process. In contrast, a family can positively motivate a child by encouraging them to believe they can. Such children build confidence in themselves that enable them to face challenges at home and in school. This positively influences their learning. The time the parents spend with their children also influences learning. Very committed parents like those in the military have little time for their children and therefore children do not get all the knowledge that they require. Other parents have a high priority for discipline and they will raise-up disciplined children. High level discipline augers well with learning (Smith, 2010). At the adolescent stage, peers mean everything to an individual’s life. An individual develops personality through the interaction with his or her peers (Custom Essay, 2009). Learning can be impaired if the teen chooses a bad social grouping. Anti-social behaviors like drug and substance abuse will no doubt impair a person’s learning process. Drug and substance abuse interferes with the activity of the mind in processing information. There is also the interference with the normal functioning of the body. In addition, some people spend much of their time in non-constructive activities like gambling. They therefore do not concentrate in their classroom activities leading to poor performance (Smith, 2010). Despite the fact that most of a person’s personality has already been shaped by the time they reach adulthood, adults still learn even in old age. The social environment affects the learning process of an adult (Custom Essay, 2009). The Physical Environment The physical environment also affects the learning process. To start with, the structures in which people, particularly students, spend most of their days will determine the quality of learning. Research has shown that students in shabby schools rarely perform well as compared to those in decent schools. Shabby structures are not attractive to the learners and they do not feel motivated to learn either. They might also be missing some structures such as windows which will pose a danger to learning especially in times of hurricanes and rains. A good physical environment is attractive and cultivates positive attitudes in both learners and teachers. Schools or learning environments should be friendly if at all the desirable learning is going to take place. There should be attractive spaces to give students comfort the way they would in a cafe. Learning is therefore improved with the physical environment improvement. In the classrooms, the arrangement of desks and spacing all count to the learning process. Studies have revealed that students who are less attentive and barely successful are mostly affected by arrangement of desks. Their queer behaviors will tend to increase when they are in rows rather than around tables. To make sure that all students are monitored, clustering of students should be avoided. This ensures that there is enough space for every student and there is no opportunity for the misconduct of students. The students therefore will be serious and of course learn more in spacious classes (Victorian Institute of Teaching, nd). Other physical aspects that determine the process of learning include climate, noise, and color. Extreme temperatures negatively affect the quality of learning (Victorian Institute of Teaching, nd). Hurricanes will also have their part to play. Many other disastrous weather conditions affect learning negatively. The student will spend more time fighting with the disasters than in their studies. Poor weather reduces the level of concentration (Smith, 2010). Noise disrupts the whole process of teaching and learning. Too much noise leads to the impairment of the cognitive function. Most reading and studying problems are associated with noise. Furthermore it is difficult for a student to hear what the teacher is saying if there is a lot of noise in the environment. Likewise color affects the efficiency and motivation in learning. Choice of colors depends primarily on the learners’ age and gender. Brighter colors go well with young children and adolescents will be attracted by subdued colors. Males feel at peace with brighter colors but females would like softer colors. Careful considerations should therefore be made when furnishing classrooms to avoid negative influences (Victorian Institute of Teaching, nd). The Cultural Environment Individuals are from different cultural backgrounds. The styles of learning differ from one culture to another. In the developing worlds like Asia and Africa, teachers, mentors and parents insist on the observation of strict discipline in the process of teaching and learning. Children are not given time to air their views. In contrast, in developed countries like US, learning is less controlled and children are allowed to actively participate in learning and teaching processes. This may go a long way to motivating students for better performance. Restrictions on the other hand will make students hate the whole process of learning and teaching (Smith, 2010). The learning process is also affected by the nature of the cultural environment. Some cultures may have a special respect when it comes to knowledge acquisition. People who are learned are greatly respected. These people become mentors to the learner and boost their morale. For example, if a child grows up admiring a certain engineer, chances are that he or she will learn more to become that engineer. Additionally, in the developed countries almost everyone is educated. They also have better resources such as equipped libraries and internet facilities. Their children therefore receive information they require in learning from diverse areas. The more the resources, the more simplified the learning process will be. On the other hand, inadequate resources will always pose a threat to the learning process. In addition, poor countries have a high number of uneducated people and thus do not act as motivators to learning (Smith, 2010). Some cultures also may influence learning by holding a special position in a particular area of study. For along time, there have been talks on mathematics, sciences and languages. Certain cultural backgrounds may fail to put weight on the study of language such as in Myanmar. Some tribes here have no records of their written language. Students from such localities are restricted by their cultural environment to learn the language. They will only have few language experiences. Other cultures will put more emphasis on subjects like mathematics. Learning mathematics for students from these environments will not be a difficult task. The cultural environment therefore dictates what is to be learnt and to what extent (Catherine, 2010). Classroom Setting There are different classroom settings all of which affect the process of learning. Learners tend to perceive various settings differently. For instance, in comparing the traditional classroom teaching with online learning, traditional though passed by time, provides the best setting. Online learning does not monitor the learner’s move. Learning therefore is at the mercy of the learner’s self discipline. More so, there is no reinforcement offered by online learning and there is no educator-recipient direct interaction. In traditional classroom environment, the learner’s moves are closely monitored, there is teacher-student contact and therefore reinforcement is guaranteed. The teacher is in a position to learn the psychological weakness of a student. Once the problem is known, the student can be helped out. Students of the traditional setting will always perform better academically than online students. The learning process is therefore affected by the kind of setting selected (Smith, 2010).

Concept Of E Commerce It Information Technology Essay

Concept Of E Commerce It Information Technology Essay You are required to choose an E-commerce website and asses it in terms of seven unique features. Which of the features does the site implement well and which feature poorly in your opinion. Provide your detailed findings and suggestion for improvement? Assume that, you had bought two products through online. Explain why you choose to buy that product through online, pros and cons of online purchase. Table of content Introduction Nowadays most of the peoples in this generation will spend most of the time sitting in front of computer and online. At this moment, most of the peoples will use e-commerce website purchase things rather than go shopping mall and purchases things. In this question , students are required to choose an E-commerce website and assess it in term of seven unique features and explain in details which are the features are implement well and which features poorly in our own opinion, not only that, there are also required to give suggestion the improvement for the poorly features. The seven features of e-commerce such as, Ubiquity, Global Reach, Universal Standards, Richness, Interactivity, Information Density, Personalization and customization. Most of the e-commerce website will include those seven unique features, just a problem between which is good and bad. In order to have a successful e-commerce website, these seven unique features are important. Main body Question 1 From the early and humble beginnings, where peoples are still using the traditional transaction and most of the companies does not have their own website, but nowadays e-commerce sees billions traded annually and not only small companies, even large companies also could not afford without a website. Indeed, for many companies, their presence on the Internet is their window to the world and they are also considering as e-commerce businesses. Actually what is e-commerce? E-commerce also called as Electronic Commerce. E-commerce is a type of industry where purchasing and selling of products or services are conducted through over the internet and other computer network. E-commerce are involves digitally enabled commercial transactions between and among organizations and individuals. There are two categories e-commerce which are classified by nature of market relationship and classified by type of technologies used. In classified by nature of market relationship are included B2C (Business -to-Consumer), B2B (Business-to-Business) and C2C (Consumer-to-Consumer). Classified by type of technologies used are included P2P (Peer-to-Peer) and M-Commerce (Mobile Commerce). Require having a successful e-commerce website, these are the seven unique features for the e-commerce website is needed. These are the seven unique features for e-commerce, Ubiquity, Global Reach, Universal Standards, Richness, Interactivity, Information Density, Personalization and customization. Ubiquity It is available everywhere such as work, home and any other places via mobile device. When anytime Marketplace is created or extended beyond traditional boundaries and removed from a geographic location. Shopping can take place anywhere. It can reduce costs and save time such as parking fees and wasting time purposely go to the shopping mall and spend time to search for the items. It can make more convenience for customer. Global reach Total numbers of consumers or users an e-commerce business can have. Technology Dimension Business Significance Technology reaches beyond national boundaries Commerce is enabled across cultural and national boundaries seamlessly and without modification. Marketplace includes potentially billions of consumers and millions of businesses worldwide. The next one is universal standard. Universal standard Universal standard is about to lowers market entry for merchants and search costs for consumers. It can reduce product search cost and by creating a single, one world market place, where price discovery becomes faster, simpler and more accurate. Easily to get the information about all the suppliers, prices, and delivery terms of a specific product anywhere in the world. Richness It can provide information richness which is more powerful selling environment for consumers. E-Commerce technologies have changed the traditional tradeoff between reach and richness with audio, video and text message. Instead of using traditional technologies like TV, radio and magazines, most of the peoples will rather use Internet and web get the marketing messages. In the internet and web are able to provide millions rich marketing messages for audiences. Interactivity Consumers or users can be interacted the content in a dialogue that dynamically adjusts the experience to the individual, and make the consumer a co- participant in the process of delivering goods to the market. It is quite similar to face-to-face experience. Comparing to the TV or radio, it is on a massive global scale. Information density Information density amount and quality of information available to all market participants, it can reduces information cost and raises quality Information processing, storage and communication costs drop dramatically while accuracy and timeliness improve greatly. Information becomes plentiful, cheap and accurate. For example, price discrimination in which a merchant can sell the same goods to different targeted market with a different price. Personalization or customization In this features are allow consumers personalized messages to be delivered to individuals as well as groups personalization of marketing messages and also allow consumers customize the products and services based on individual characteristics and consumers needed. In this question are required to choose an e-commerce website, the e-commerce website that are going to choose will be www.ebay.com.my. What is eBay? EBay was founded since 1995 which is an American multinational internet consumer-to-consumer corporation, headquartered in San Jose, California. It was started as a place to trade collectables and hard-to-find items. Today eBay is a global marketplace where businesses and individuals can buy and sell practically anything, but mostly eBay is more on a type of e-commerce which is consumer-to-consumer. Peoples can get information without register in the website, need to register only when peoples wants to buy or sell the products. Peoples can buy what they want in eBay, it is because for everyone. They can buy the things that they want with a great price. These are the example items can found in eBay, electronics, designer fashion, your favorite toy, rare antiques, new cars and furniture. When peoples are looking for those items, they will look for eBay website. eBay also is a best place for peoples to sell things, millions of peoples in this world will just sell things on eBay every day for make some extra money, clear up clutter around the house, start their own business and jump-start holiday savings. At the same time, people s are no need to worry about the products that had been sold will go wrong, eBay will have many programs in place to help you trade with peace of mind, such as feedback system, buyer protection program and dedicated security center. EBay is one of the e-commerce website including all the seven unique features of e-commerce technology and significance. But eBay are not perfectly can do well with all the seven unique features; it has great and poor too. These are the seven unique features of e-commerce will list in sequence from greatest to the poorest. Ubiquity will be the greatest for eBay; it is because eBay are available to everywhere as long as you can online then you can get the information of the products that you looking for. The second will be global reach; eBay is available for everyone in the world, so the number of the users or consumers will be a lot, it is under a global reach level, but there might be some problem that can be reconsider is the users or consumers will be too many and it is hard to be maintain the users or consumers, the marketplace is too wide. Thirdly, universal standard, peoples can get lower cost on eBay and easily to find supplier on eBay, but the price is not fixed and some more consumers have to pay more for the eBay commission. Richness will be in the middle, eBay will just provide information with text and photos, the information sometime will not be so accurate, in order to improve the richness in eBay, it should require sellers to provide a video for their products to make the products information more accurate and clear. EBay quite poor in interactivity, it is hard to have a contact with the sellers; eBay should prepare a more convenience program that allow consumers to contact sellers instead of just reach messages to the sellers. EBay very poor in personalization and customization, it is because eBay is consumer-to-consumer method, so the products sell in eBay mostly is second hand, it is very hard to customize the products for the consumers, they should prepare a form in the website for consumers to write down what they want to change for the products. Lastly, this is the poorest features for the eBay, information density, better do not expect the products will be quality, the items that sell in eBay most probably are second hand or third hand or even more, eBay should compulsory to the seller to have warranty for their products, and improve the limitation, set limited years for the products, for example, if a products that had been more than 10years, do not allow the seller to put in the eBay and sell it. In my opinion, the most important is about the information density feature for eBay, if they can give warrantee for the quality of the products, this warrantee will enroll more peoples use eBay to sell or buy things. Conclusion In conclusion, nothing is perfect in this world, so every e-commerce website will have well and bad, does not have any e-commerce website can fully do well for all the seven unique features. They can only do is keep ask for feedback and suggestion from the consumers or users and keep try to improve the weakness to be better and better, to have a better quality of the website, the more users and consumers only will be enrolled. Especially, eBay is one of the e-commerce website that for the whole world with consumer-to-consumer method to serve consumers, although it is quite convenience to get the products information for peoples needed, but peoples who going to buy products from eBay better do not give too much expectation for the products quality, must be aware of it, it is because the products might not be exactly look as better as the photo provided in the website. Introduction In this question I am required to assume myself is a consumer of online purchase. I had bought two products through the online purchasing website. Why I want to buy those products through online? Why I dont want to go to the shop and buy those products? In this generation online purchase are very common. In this question I do not only have to explain the reason why I want to buy those products from website, I also have to explain in details about the pros and cons of online purchase, which is the advantages and disadvantages of online purchases. Actually, there are not only advantages for online purchase, behind every advantage will also have disadvantage. Although nowadays online purchase are very convenience and more save cost, but there are also certain issues happens we have to be aware, maybe those issues happen will make our money lost and our privacy will be leak out. The answer will telling about we should aware and how to avoid our privacy information and how the hacker get our information and where they get from. Main body Question 2 The two products that I will choose to buy through online are desktop computer and mobile phone. Why choose online purchasing? It is quite convenience comparing to go to the shopping mall or those device shop for research, their prices and the equipment. First of all is about why I will choose to buy desktop computer through online purchasing. Buy a desktop computer with a reasonable and even cheaper price and also specialist for games is not that easy, have to do search for many information and price list. If buying through online, no need to waste my time go to the shopping mall and computer center look for the information and prices, it makes me save time so I can take more time to check for the other brands of the desktop computer price and save cost, I no need to pay the extra parking fees at the computer shops and shopping mall, can just take the money that had saved to assembly more equipment for my desktop computer in order to make it run more faster because it is buy for gaming. Through the online purchasing website can get all the information about the desktop computer including prices. For example, buying a dell desktop, I can just go to a e-commerce website which is sell dells devices and see which of the desktop computer are most suitable for gaming, I can check for the price in the website and try to customize that what I want for my desktop computer such as from 4GB RAM upgrade to 8GB RAM and 500GB hard disk space upgrade to 1TB hard disk space. Not only has that, buying mobile phoned also same, we able to check what the market price for the phone are, and the details for the phone that we looking for, see is it whether the phone really suitable for me or can get even better than that with the reasonable price, can have some packages through the online purchasing website and more convenience. This is why I will choose to buy desktop computer and mobile phone through online purchasing. There are many pros and cons for online purchasing. pros is something similar like advantages of online purchasing and cons is something similar like disadvantages of online purchasing. Pros of online purchasing First of all, it is quite easy to shop through online purchasing. Peoples just needed to have an average internet connection and also some basic knowledge about how to use internet browser to run the e-commerce website. We can just type in their web domain name to browse their website, so that we can get the information about what they are offering, read reviews, make rational buying decision and make comparison with the product from the same categories. Would it be nice to get everything delivered at your doorsteps without you even stepping outside your homes? Purchasing products through online we can get buying our grocery just sitting on our comfortable sofa and watch our favorite TV shows. We also can have some comparisons, read reviews, view user ratings and make uniform and rational buying decisions in online purchasing web. It is much more convenience for us to do quick comparisons, so that we can get a chance to search the entire positive and negatives of a certain product or service. Can we have discount through the online purchasing? Yes! Since there are many online shopping website exists, of course there will be many competition on internet between different shopping websites, but customers always the first, so many websites will offers many kind of promotions for customer such as, gift certificates, shopping points, discount and cash back benefits. Who will be the people who win those offers? We are the persons can won it. No hard cash for online purchasing, its mean buying products without paying cash. We can get the products that we wanted without paying anything in cash. Everything will be handled by our credit card or PayPal account. Especially, those electronic products like plasma television. Cons of online purchasing While shopping on the Internet can be a pleasing and rewarding experience, the negatives or disadvantages associated with Internet shopping cannot be neglected. Let us take a look at some of the disadvantages of online shopping. Firstly, online shopping actually we do not physically seen the items, which mean we can only see the items through the photo provided on e-commerce website, we could not see the items that we bought until it arrive. Normally the photo of items that we see will be much better than once we have the item in front of us. Secondly, online security is quite weak, although online payments are safe but not always, there might have some of the e-commerce websites are not secure enough or do not encrypt our personal credit card date, if hacker has break into the sites system, our credit card data and information will be leak out. Thirdly, certain peoples computer might have spyware on their computer, if we using this computer to purchasing items through online purchasing, it is a risk of our credit card information and personal data been stolen by our own computer. Fourthly, it can cause spam issues on our email, when we bought something through the website such as, a digital camera. We are happy when we receive it, but days pass we will suddenly receiving a hoard of emails offering discounts, special schemes, promotions and so on from the website. When every time they have any special promotions or disco unt, the website will keep sending messages to our email, it is because after we bought products from their website, the website may do have a clause in their privacy policy document that our email able to share with third parties to send us relevant offers, it is quite annoying. Lastly, sometime it may cause online connection issues, due to the internet connection unstable, or sometime there will be a time too many visit the website will cause internet connection problems, when we add items to our online shopping cart, after entering credit card information and submit it, at this moment the internet connection error, we may not know is it the order went through correctly or not. After refresh the screen it may cause double billing or double ordering. Conclusion In conclusion, buying desktop computer and mobile phone from website really very convenience for me, I can get more information not only for the brand that I looking for, at the same time I can also have more information about the other brand of the desktop computer and mobile phone, might be I can found there is another brands products price and features also reasonable than what I looking for. Beside this, the pros and cons given in the question I had learnt a lesson about how to safety buy products from online website. Before buying items through online, make sure our connectivity are going smooth and double check the whole computer it is any spyware in my computer, make sure the whole computer is clear and connection is smooth, only confirm the products that had picked and key in the information that are required that the website asking for. Choose the website that are most people use also very important, dont choose the website that not common without confidentially and nobodys know, or else our money also might gone without anybodys knowing. So choose the website with high confidentially and most people know.

Whirligigs by Paul Fleischman :: essays research papers

Whirligigs by Paul Fleischman After getting humiliated at a party, Brent drives away drunk and decides to kill himself. Letting go of the wheel on the highway, he ends up killing someone else. He killed a girl named Lea. Her mom asks Brent to put up 4 whirligigs, one in each corner of the US. Since they were Lea’s favorite toys, they’re meant to be monuments representing Lea’s ability to make people happy. With wood, sum tools, a book on whirligigs, and a bus pass, Brent leaves on his trip to build the whirligigs. In each of the 4 states, someone sees’ one of the whirligigs and learns a lesson. After seeing the whirligig in Florida, a young Puerto Rican dad learns an important lesson. It’s that people in a group can make good music or bad music. A young girl and her dying grandmother get a lot closer after seeing the whirligig in San Diego, California. In Washington, an adopted kid finds out that his life isn’t that bad after all. And lastly, a girl and her best friend are reunited in Maine. The biggest lessons learned are the ones that Brent learns on his trip to the four spots. All kinds of people contribute to Brent’s change of attitude; one comment or story or facial expression at a time. Not only does he help himself, but also several people that he meets. Some of the conflicts were the times when the kid was throwing rocks at his first whirligig, and when he left his whirligig book on the bus. Each conflict leads to a good ending though. The kid that was throwing rocks at it somehow gained a respect for the whirligig, after his mom told him off. Brent figured that the whirligig had helped him this far and now it was time for the book to help inspire someone else. So the whirligigs turned into a far bigger influence than anyone else could imagine. The rising action of the story was when he would find friends and they would help him to realize certain things about himself. The biker that he met helped him get started on stars. One of the maids that he met on his trip had shown him kindness and through this, she taught him that u can always have a fresh start or second chance at life as long as you try hard enough. And the artist that he met at the ocean helped him learn that u shouldn’t always judge a book by its cover, there might be more to someone than you think.

The Battle of Hastings: Duke of Normandy, Earl of Wessex, King of Norway

At the beginning of 1066, King Edward the Confessor ruled England. He had no children so there was uncertainty on who would rule next. There were three men who wished to be king. They were William, Duke of Normandy; Harold Godwineson, Earl of Wessex, and Harald Hardraada, King of Norway. On January 6th, 1066, the day after Edward died, Harold Godwineson was crowned king. William saw this as a declaration of war, and said he would kill Harold. He immediately made plans to invade England. It took him two months to assemble his army and navy. When they were ready to leave, the wind had been blowing the wrong direction so William had to wait another couple months before he could set sail. During this time Harold was preparing for William. Harold’s army mainly consisted of highly trained soldiers known as the Housecarls. It also consisted of Fyrds, peasants serving two months at war a year for the king, who did not have much skill. Harold had been waiting at the South Coast for a long time now. His army were running out of food supplies and everyone was getting wrestles. So he decides William is not coming and dismantles his army, returning to London. Harald Hardraada, with his Viking army, had now landed on the North East Coast of England and attacked Yorkshire. Harold hears the news, reassembles his army and head on foot to Yorkshire, deciding that William would not be coming. They walked 180miles in 5 days, which was a very fast speed on foot. The Vikings were unprepared and were slaughtered. This battle was known as the Battle of Stamford Bridge. On the 27th September, 1066, William’s army set sail for England, as the weather had changed and conditions were favourable. A day later they arrived at the South Coast, expecting resistance, but none came. There was no army waiting for them. He moved through English villages, burning the villagers to attract Harold’s attention. William wanted to fight. Horses were at the heart of William’s battle plan. His army consisted of more than 2000 mounted knights. He had, in addition, hired mercenary soldiers to fight on his side. Harold’s army only fought on foot. They would not know how to respond to soldiers on horseback. Harold heard the news that the Norman’s had finally landed. He orders his army, who had many injuries and fatalities after the Battle of Stamford Bridge, south towards William. Over 7000 English soldiers together walked 250 miles. A long the way, they pass through villages, and Harold attempts to get peasants to join his army. He falsely claimed it was the Pope’s war, and that they would be instantly accepted into Heaven. After hearing this many peasants joined. However, they had no experience. Harold’s army lined up at the top a hill, forcing William to attack uphill. Harold is waiting for reinforcements to come and help out. The men at the front of Harold’s army, including Harold himself, form a shield wall. William divided his troops into three groups. His plan was to use archery to weaken the shield wall, then, when a hole appeared, would strike and break through. However the archers made little difference as they were shooting uphill. The Norman army then advances up the hill. The Saxons started throwing anything they could, including axes, towards the approaching army. The shield wall holds. When the Norman’s had reached the shield wall the cavalry tried desperately to break through the shield wall. Their attempts were useless. The left side of the Norman army falls back, and the Saxons on that side follow – a foolish mistake. These Saxons were surrounded and all killed. Both sides returned to their previous battle positions. The front line of the Saxons was now shorter, allowing the Normans to attack from the side. The Norman’s charged again at the shield wall and this time it collapsed and the Norman’s broke through. By this time Harold was dead, so his army retreated into the wood behind. This ended the Battle of Hastings. The next day Harold’s mother asked William for Harold’s body in exchange for his body weight in gold, but William refused. He said that his body should be buried in the land that he sought to guard.

A Quiz About Attribution

A Quiz About Attribution A Quiz About Attribution A Quiz About Attribution By Mark Nichol Punctuation associated with attribution identification of the source of a statement can, when used incorrectly, confuse rather than clarify communication. Troubleshoot these troublesome sentences, paying attention to the relationship of the attribution to the rest of the sentence, and then compare your revisions with my solutions at the bottom of the page: 1. â€Å"Now he needed ‘new worlds to conquer,’ in his own words.† 2. â€Å"She makes this moral argument, ‘Taking whatever we need from the world to support our comfortable lives is not worthy of us as moral beings.’† 3. â€Å"Only a few days before the sisters flew off to the Caribbean, Smith said Jane had moved from her apartment in San Francisco.† 4. â€Å"Unfortunately, he estimated that it’s 25 percent less effective at eliminating odors than standard brands.† 5. â€Å"I think they’re going to have that mentality of: ‘How dare he?’† 6. â€Å"And while Osama bin Ladens killing has dealt a crippling blow to his terrorist organization, she said, ‘Nobody should believe individual al Qaeda leaders cannot be replaced.’† 7. â€Å"To pass a necessity test usually means a negative response to the question: ‘Can the same result be obtained by other means?’† 8. â€Å"He explained that unlike during the previous droughts, ‘When the drought breaks, we will not return to cooler, wetter conditions.’† 9. â€Å"‘We were very worried,’ says Jones, ‘It was the winter from hell.’† 10. â€Å"He voted against the bill, declaring: ‘The only thing this bill will stimulate is the national debt.’† Answers and Explanations 1. The original sentence is correct, but there’s more to good writing that correct grammar. There’s a great opportunity in this sentence for a rhythm of tension and release, so exploit it: â€Å"Now he needed, in his own words, ‘new worlds to conquer.’† 2. When an attribution is in itself grammatically self-contained (â€Å"She makes this moral argument† is a complete sentence), use a colon, rather than a comma, to signal the setup (as I’ve done when prefacing each correction here): â€Å"She makes this moral argument: ‘Taking whatever we need from the world to support our comfortable lives is not worthy of us as moral beings.’† 3. The punctuation in this sentence conveys that Smith made the statement shortly before the sisters’ flight. But â€Å"Smith said† is a parenthetical attribution that tells the reader who made the comment that the move occurred just before the trip: â€Å"Only a few days before the sisters flew off to the Caribbean, Smith said, Jane had moved from her apartment in San Francisco.† 4. This sentence’s problem is the same as the preceding one; it’s only the length of the introductory part of the sentence that differs. The estimate described was not unfortunate; â€Å"unfortunately† is part of the larger sentence, not part of the attribution: â€Å"Unfortunately, he estimated, it’s 25 percent less effective at eliminating odors than standard brands.† 5. By contrast with the second sentence, above, in this case a colon immediately preceding the quotation clumsily brings the sentence to a halt. No punctuation is necessary in this type of construction: â€Å"I think they’re going to have that mentality of ‘How dare he?’† 6. When a person’s comments are partially paraphrased, and an attribution separates an indirect quotation from a direct quotation, the latter element, because it doesn’t constitute a complete sentence, should not begin with a capitalized word even if it is grammatically complete: â€Å"And while Osama bin Ladens killing has dealt a crippling blow to his terrorist organization, she said, ‘nobody should believe individual al Qaeda leaders cannot be replaced.’† 7. As in the fifth example, above, this sentence requires no punctuation preceding the quotation: â€Å"To pass a necessity test usually means a negative response to the question ‘Can the same result be obtained by other means?’† 8. As in the sixth example, above, though the direct quotation is a complete sentence, a preceding paraphrase has been attached to it as an introductory phrase. Even though, unlike in the similar example, the attribution begins the sentence rather than appears between the indirect and direct quotations, the two elements constitute a single statement and the direct quotation should not begin with a capitalized word: â€Å"He explained that unlike during the previous droughts, ‘when the drought breaks, we will not return to cooler, wetter conditions.’† 9. This sentence consists of two complete statements separated by an attribution, so the attribution should be followed by a period: â€Å"‘We were very worried,’ says Jones. ‘It was the winter from hell.’† 10. When an attribution includes a verb, the punctuation following it should be a comma, not a colon: â€Å"He voted against the bill, declaring, ‘The only thing this bill will stimulate is the national debt.’† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Exquisite AdjectivesStory Writing 10135 Synonyms for Rain and Snow

Have No Time for Homework Learn How to Speed Up the Process!

Have No Time for Homework Learn How to Speed Up the Process! How to Complete Your Homework Quicker For most of the students homework is torture and they would rather concentrate on their leisure or hobbies. However, there are many ways out and simply by organizing the process, asking for help and learning useful tips will surely help to boost your creativity. Don’t hesitate and approach your homework right now! Make lists. It is not surprising to hear students say that they have simply forgotten about the task. There is a simple solution: write down class assignments in one of the convenient ways and you will always remember about them! The most effective way is to use a simple diary. Write all the assignments on a separate page and always have it in front of you. You can also use calendars and daily logs. There is also a chance to write down all the tasks on top of your workbook, indicating the number of pages and all of the guidelines your teacher may have. However, if you use such method we strongly recommend you to copy tasks to your diary not to lose anything. Such a simple trick will help you not to miss any details; Understand every assignment. Many students are too shy to ask teachers or their friends for clarifications and hope to manage the task on their own. However, if you don’t understand the task, you won’t be able to detect whether you have the necessary data or skills. If you see that the equation is not familiar or the questions after the text are too confusing, ask your teacher at once. The best way is to look through your homework while you are still in the class and not when you come back from school; Make sure you have all the necessary tools. Remember how distracting it is to notice that you don’t have a ruler or a necessary pen, while you are already working on your homework? You will lose track of time and often won’t be able to get back to your thoughts. If you plan in advance, you will have everything you need to complete homework without any distractions. Another useful advice is to plan a break in advance and don’t get up from your place until that time approaches; Remain focused on a single task. It is impossible to remain effective if you decide to complete homework on several subjects simultaneously. Go to the next one only when one subject is ready. This will help you to complete every assignment without missing any important details. If you find the assignment too difficult and need assistance, you can switch to another task. Stick to the chosen duration of breaks and don’t make them longer. Remember, the first 15 minutes are the most effective because your brain is ready to solve the most complicated tasks; Don’t forget to treat yourself for a completed assignment. For example, you can promise yourself to play a favorite video game or to have some chocolate once you are finished. However, such a treat should be something you don’t usually do while you are on a break to stimulate you to complete homework much quicker; Don’t hesitate to ask for help. If you are not able to concentrate, you can always ask your friends or relatives for help. You can give your phone to them, while you are doing your homework not to feel tempted to check your social accounts. After your homework is completed, take your phone back and don’t forget to treat yourself; Discuss difficult assignments with your teacher. He was the one to choose it, so he knows the task perfectly and may help you to complete it and cope with all the difficulties. If you are asking for help it doesn’t mean that you are stupid and don’t understand the task. A good teacher will surely listen to your questions and will offer the best solution. Never be scared of asking for help, because it is much simpler than to get stuck in the middle of the process at home, not knowing what to do. Network This advice may not be directly related to completing your homework but it is an essential part of your student time, which is able to simplify your life! Ask international students whether they find it beneficial to meet people from all corners of the world with different backgrounds and skills. College is a great chance to enter an internship, attend various fairs and competitions, where you can meet people and network. If you use all of these opportunities wisely, it will be much easier for you to get a strong reputation among other students. Such relationships may not only influence your future carrier but also help to overcome any difficulties with assignments you may face. Networking is a key, which will always help you to remain afloat, understand subjects and find useful connects. Believe us, networking at college is as huge, as using social media accounts at Facebook or LinkedIn. Â   Train Have you ever talked to students, who are studying communications? They obviously have lots of benefits, when it comes to learning unique training techniques and skills. Such skills help students to train in completely different situations, which allows them to sharpen skills in completing all types of homework and other assignments. Communication and foreign students also get an opportunity to understand what they want from their lives and help to get additional skills for future success. If you are a journalist or a language student, you may be offered to attend newspapers, channels and radio stations. All of them help you to train and exercise unique skills to build a strong portfolio, sharpening skills in completing all sorts of assignments. You should always remember that completing homework is important not only for getting a degree but also for building a future career. Very often students invent brilliant ideas for the future business amidst completing homework, so training is surely a key to a better future. Being rejected Now, when you know how it is possible to simplify the process of completing homework, and know why it is important to network and train, we would like to say a few words about rejection. Once in a while, any student will have to experience rejection. Whether it is a rejection of a poorly completed homework or a scholarship cover letter. However, students, who are taking a communication course, know that rejection of an article or a new strategy can become a positive result for their future and be fruitful for the future success. Don’t worry if your homework gets rejected or your teacher asks for additional changes. Just work on the best solution, mind your previous mistakes and improve yourself to deliver better results in future. We hope that our simple but yet effective tips helped you to understand that there is nothing difficult in completing homework with a proper approach and enough devotion.

Tracing Chivalry Through Knighthood essays

Tracing Chivalry Through Knighthood essays Throughout my semester of studies on knighthood, I have noticed two major swings in its goal. At first the knight existed only as a vassal, a mounted warrior for fighting. Then as the first crusade came around in 1095 it turned the knights attentions to their new quest in Jerusalem. As many joined the ranks of such sects as the knights of the temple, their job became increasingly religious and their status became one of the church. The second transformation comes with the appearance of court life. As the knights became more entangled in the ways of court life, the code of morals known as chivalry becomes more refined and available to fewer people. At the same time, with the appearance of the knight in the court came a more elite and aristocratic type of knight. This being said, the chivalry of the 12th and 13th centuries can be explained as a culmination of the elitist ideals of knighthood along with the social pressures of the courts and the times. To best be able to describe the evolution of the 13th century knight we must first understand its roots, its origins. The origins of knighthood has always been the feudalistic society of the 8th century. The Frankish Kingdom at this time was one of peasants. The few rich land owners became magnets for young men looking to make something of themselves, and in the spirit of feudalism bands of men formed together to form forces to be reckoned with. Feudalism is a form of society were a person ¹s loyalty is not towards the abstract notion of  ³state, ² but to a lord to which they have chosen to be indebted. This lord- vassal relationship is the basis to the idea of loyalty which is the foundation of all knighthood. The social status of the knight at this point in history is quite low, they are the paid labor, the hired muscle. The lord must now equip his new knight with all that is needed to fight, a sword, a shield, armor, a horse, a helmet, as well as food rations. The u...

Louisiana Purchase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Louisiana Purchase - Essay Example The United States had initially set peace with the French and the Spanish people and had agreed not to bulge into their details but as soon as the rights of the American Merchants were curtailed, they decided to act accordingly. The settling of the Americans on the land led to the country starting the acquisition of the piece of land and this brought a lot of disturbance from the Spanish and the French who had just accommodated the United States as a gesture but were taking over piece by piece. This eventually led to a deal being signed (Fleming, 2007). President Jefferson was objective to the idea of acquiring the piece of land. The reason behind this was because he was known to be of a liberal mind. With this kind of attitude, he could not commit any activity that was not enlisted in the constitution. He however reconciled the issue by having his advisors convince him that the whole of the United States was starting to view him as a dictator. This made him engage in the deal to eliminate this notion from the minds of the Americans. The ramifications of this deal for the United Nations was that it was able to achieve respect from some of the countries that had assumed its power and that the land acquired could settle more

Faux Fur for Real Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Faux Fur for Real - Article Example Fashion directors and designers have been increasingly surprised with the ongoing trend of high end sales of faux fur products. Major online sites and retail stores inclusive of the high end designer brands as well as the mass market retailers have been showcasing huge stocks of materials and garments which look like cheetah, beaver or mink. However, the surprising points which the article depicts are that the materials coming from Japan and Europe are extremely high in terms of quality and sustainability. Moreover they offer greater variety in terms of designs and textures and at the same time come at a lower price than real fur. In other words, the article speaks about the emerging trend towards consumption of faux fur over real fur over the years both by the general public as well as the celebrities. Objective of article The objective of the article is to put forth the various attributes of faux fur which has made it immensely popular among consumers. Some of the products which ha ve helped to have an edge over real products are that they allow greater flexibility and resistance towards tough conditions and hazards. Additionally, they are also available at much lower prices in comparison to the products which are made of real fur. ... The target market comprises of both the males and females in society belonging the group mentioned in this context. Globalization has knit the entire world into a single unit which has caused considerable intermingling of the western and the eastern cultures of the world. Thus the influence of the western cultures on the Asian nations has been very prominent and inevitable. With the economic development and improvement of nations, the youth have been increasingly attracted towards stylish products, commodities and accessories. The general consumption of fashionable dresses and products has seen a rise over the years. Thus it is imperative that the use of fur products and accessories would be high in most nations. However, greater demand of the product would be felt from nations having cooler temperatures. Thus the target markets would comprise of the youth belonging to those nations having cold and mild temperatures rather than the tropical countries. Considering both the fashion tre nds as well as the environmental conditions faux fur would be increasingly demanded more in the western countries which demands greater protection on cold temperatures and also showcases the latest fashion trends in the world. Designers and manufacturers must be updated about the latest consumer trends in the sector which the article does successfully. The article provides a very clear depiction about the changing consumption trends of fur products and the emerging changes taking place over the years. The retailers, manufacturers and designers would be benefitted greatly from the trend which the article seeks to put forth. Marketing Concepts The article depicts a marketing strategy

Idea Generation and Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Idea Generation and Analysis - Research Paper Example OSHA official have extremely comprehensive rules that are difficult to be understood by both employers and employees. The most notable thing I believe is to ensure that a relationship is maintained between OSHA and the people they intend to protect. Forums should be put in place that employers and employees can be sensitized about safety and security around the boat yard. 2. In line with the first idea, there should be material distributed within the boat yards that would encourage safe working practices within the boat yard. Small screens could be placed in common areas that employees take their breaks, and the screens should show clips of the various kinds of hazards that the workers are exposed to. The video should show how the accidents could occur and after which show how the accidents can be avoided. 3. There should be hazard signs placed at high risk areas. The signs should indicate what risk the worker might be exposing themselves to. For instance, if the surface where the worker is working on is slippery, there could be a hazard indicating there is a wet surface ahead; making the worker more alert to the danger. These hazards could be accompanied by voiceovers since some workers might be too distracted to see signs, and they would be at risk. 4. Workers might have a common are where they go into change into their work clothes when they report to work. The management could put up check lists at exists of the changing rooms. This checklists should be both visual and textual as they would attract more attention. â€Å"Do you have you helmet on†, and beside that a picture of a hard hat. Ensuring that the workers have the right gear on would reduce the risk of injury should something go wrong. 5. OSHA should not only enforce rules but should also encourage the adaptation of safe working practices within boat yards. They could encourage employee efforts

FDI Albania Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

FDI Albania - Dissertation Example The goal of this study is to identify the external opportunities, threats, trends and strategic uncertainties that may be present in Albania, the country chosen for investment. Albania is a country that has recently joined the open economy system. It is encouraging foreign investments thru different government policy measures. However, before foreign investments get in place, there is a need to make an environment analysis on whether or not the country is an appropriate place for investment. Thru available methods of analysis, development of performance is provided as background information, the economic growth of Albania is reviewed, weaknesses of the country system are discovered, and threats for the operations of an investor are found. Conclusion provides benchmark information that could be used by the government in making the country feasible for foreign investment. The overall assessment is explained as a business cycle experienced by the Albanian government. A business cycle is perceived to be a general experience present in all economies, but its length and depth differs in each country experience. Albania is lucky to have a short lived period of recession as it shows signs of recovery already although it is still far into getting back to its former shape. Environment analysis of Albania Introduction Globalization has led to the interests of foreign investors in investing to emerging economies and to the developing countries. Logically, these foreign investors conduct an environment analysis to find out the most efficient economy among various options available. Among the most favoured places for investment are the big emerging markets; i.e. Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Albania, which is the subject of this analysis, is unfortunately not included among the lists classified by analysts of FSTSE, Dow Jones, and The Economists. Purpose of this research The motivation in conductin g this research is to find out whether the economic environment of Albania provides an impetus of interest to foreign investors. Findings will be relevant to policy makers in order to adapt measures that will encourage foreign investors to become players in various investments opened by the government. In this context a country report analysis will be provided to analyze whether the political and economic trends in Albania will have an effect in the short to medium term prospects of investments of foreign companies. The report will constitute the issues shaping Albania, the political scene, economic policy, domestic economy, sector trends, foreign trade and payments. Background – the development performance of Albania Albania is a South Eastern European Country situated on the Adriatic and Ionian Coast with a population of 3.2 million ( CIA Factbook, 2011) After World War II Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its tran sition to democracy after 1990. The 1992 elections ended 47 years of communist rule, but the latter half of the decade saw a quick turnover of presidents and prime ministers. Many Albanians left the country in search of work; the money they

FDI Albania Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

FDI Albania - Dissertation Example The goal of this study is to identify the external opportunities, threats, trends and strategic uncertainties that may be present in Albania, the country chosen for investment. Albania is a country that has recently joined the open economy system. It is encouraging foreign investments thru different government policy measures. However, before foreign investments get in place, there is a need to make an environment analysis on whether or not the country is an appropriate place for investment. Thru available methods of analysis, development of performance is provided as background information, the economic growth of Albania is reviewed, weaknesses of the country system are discovered, and threats for the operations of an investor are found. Conclusion provides benchmark information that could be used by the government in making the country feasible for foreign investment. The overall assessment is explained as a business cycle experienced by the Albanian government. A business cycle is perceived to be a general experience present in all economies, but its length and depth differs in each country experience. Albania is lucky to have a short lived period of recession as it shows signs of recovery already although it is still far into getting back to its former shape. Environment analysis of Albania Introduction Globalization has led to the interests of foreign investors in investing to emerging economies and to the developing countries. Logically, these foreign investors conduct an environment analysis to find out the most efficient economy among various options available. Among the most favoured places for investment are the big emerging markets; i.e. Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Albania, which is the subject of this analysis, is unfortunately not included among the lists classified by analysts of FSTSE, Dow Jones, and The Economists. Purpose of this research The motivation in conductin g this research is to find out whether the economic environment of Albania provides an impetus of interest to foreign investors. Findings will be relevant to policy makers in order to adapt measures that will encourage foreign investors to become players in various investments opened by the government. In this context a country report analysis will be provided to analyze whether the political and economic trends in Albania will have an effect in the short to medium term prospects of investments of foreign companies. The report will constitute the issues shaping Albania, the political scene, economic policy, domestic economy, sector trends, foreign trade and payments. Background – the development performance of Albania Albania is a South Eastern European Country situated on the Adriatic and Ionian Coast with a population of 3.2 million ( CIA Factbook, 2011) After World War II Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its tran sition to democracy after 1990. The 1992 elections ended 47 years of communist rule, but the latter half of the decade saw a quick turnover of presidents and prime ministers. Many Albanians left the country in search of work; the money they

MST 203 Marketing Coursework Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MST 203 Marketing Coursework - Essay Example It is irrefutable that this principle also changes the role and function of marketing managers in the business organization. Marketing management is defined as the "analysis, planning, implementation, and control of programs designed to create, build, and maintain beneficial exchanges with target buyers for the purpose of achieving organizational objectives (Kotler & Armstrong 2001, p.14)." Truly, the business arena has evolved from placing emphasis on production, product improvements, and selling approaches and started to focus on customers. Marketing management functions now covers how a company can create and extend more valuable goods and services to each customer. Tesco PLC is the largest British retailer based on both global and local shares. Traditionally, the UK-based international retailer specializes only in the distribution of food products but it currently adds other goods and services to its product portfolio which ranges from clothing to consumer electronics to consumer financial services to internet services to internet service and consumer telecom. Last February 26, the company announced a total annual turnover of 33.974 billion and reported a pre-tax profit of 1.962 billion. It is estimated that in every 8 UK retail sales, 1 is spent on Tesco. Tesco is currently one of the world recognized retailers. As marketing is an essential aspect of a business organization, it is irrefutable that Tesco's success can be attributed on how it manages its marketing activities. This report will specifically look at the management activities and decision which named the company as the #5 largest retailer in the global arena. Marketing at a Strategic Level Strategic planning is one of the essential marketing management activities undertaken by Tesco PLC. Accordingly, Tesco PLC's commitment in effectively marketing its products is mirrored in the way it crafts its mission, vision, and goals. Tesco states its mission as "Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty (Our Core Purpose)." This statement is further expressed in two key values known as "No one tries harder for the customer," and "Treat people as we like to be treated (Our Core Purpose)." With these statements and values as guides in conducting their business operations, Tesco PLC undoubtedly lays a strong foundation in marketing its products and services. Recently, the company launched its new simplified marketing strategy which is a response to the increasing complexity of operations due to the rapid growth of its stores, range of products, intense competition, and new customer demographics. These factors, along with other challenges make it relatively more difficult and longer for Tesco to make important decisions. Thus, simplifying their marketing strategy into three words which contains the core value and purpose of the company is seen to be beneficial. Tesco PLC's new marketing strategy is encapsulated into three words-Every Little Helps. Every Little Helps reflects the company's recognition that it has a huge feat to accomplish and that every little [effort] helps in reaching its goals.

Microbial fuel cells and how cay they produce electricity Lab Report

Microbial fuel cells and how cay they produce electricity - Lab Report Example Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) signify an innovative method of procuring renewable energy in the era of energy crisis. Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 is capable of growing in 50 days in MFCs, the organism is capable of partly oxidizing lactate to acetate with enhanced recovery of the electrons producing electricity. Electricity was generated with lactate or hydrogen on their complete oxidation through electrigens. The cells are attached to the anode, the electrode, thereby conserving energy for growth as the cell is capable of donating its electrons to the electrode. Introduction It is evident that fossil fuels are limited sources for energy on the planet and they are on the verge of exhaustion. Consumption of fossil fuel has augmented climate changes, enhancing temperatures, floods or droughts on the planet causing global warming. Burning involves consumption of oxygen, on flaming fossil fuels which are chiefly carbon, the gas evolved is mainly carbon-di-oxide and obnoxious carbon mono-oxi de. These two gases are hazardous and are chief pollutants. Therefore it is imperative to exploit other means and resources for the production of energy. The new source of energy is retrieved from microbial cells, which are biodegradable and environment friendly (Noam M, 2005). Present era witnesses the generation of electricity from biodegradable compounds, for instance pure chemicals and wastewater. Recently, the production of electricity from microbes paves the way for generating microbial fuel cells capable of producing electricity from complex organic wastes and renewable biomass. Wastes and renewable biomass are attractive sources of energy because both of them encompass natural carbon being fixed in recent times, thus impact on the atmosphere could be reduced. ‘A microbial fuel cells is a mimic of a biological system in which bacteria do not directly transfer their produced electrons to their characteristic electron acceptor’. (Rabaey K, Lissens G, Steven D, Sici liano S and Verstraete W. 2003). MFCs are able to generate electricity through oxidation of organic matter by means of bacteria. Electricity could be generated from a range of biodegradable substrates such as glucose, acetate, ethanol, butyrate, lactate and organic matter. The biggest advantage of MFCs is that they are capable of functioning at room temperature and can be designed to perform numerous functions at different temperatures. In addition, MFCs have also special enzymes to generate electricity. The enzymes produced by MFCs can produce high level of power (Lovely DR, 2006). Enormous factors influence MFCs, these are kind of microbe, type of the proton, resistance and chemical substrate. MFCs also can be coupled with wastewater treatment and thereby exploiting the metabolic potentials of the MFCs, as they are able to metabolize many carbon sources. Chief bacterial population associated with MFCs encompasses Aeromonas, Clostridium, Geobacter, Enterococcus and Shewanella. Ther e are four methods that make the electrons reach the anode they are- (1) Direct membrane associated transfer, (2) Nanowires (conductive pili), (3) Endogenous electron mediators (or electron shuttles) and (4) Exogenous chemical mediators (or electron shuttles). Nanowires plays an important role in the transport of the electrons. Nanowires might help electrons transfer from the bacteria to the metal oxides

FDI Albania Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

FDI Albania - Dissertation Example The goal of this study is to identify the external opportunities, threats, trends and strategic uncertainties that may be present in Albania, the country chosen for investment. Albania is a country that has recently joined the open economy system. It is encouraging foreign investments thru different government policy measures. However, before foreign investments get in place, there is a need to make an environment analysis on whether or not the country is an appropriate place for investment. Thru available methods of analysis, development of performance is provided as background information, the economic growth of Albania is reviewed, weaknesses of the country system are discovered, and threats for the operations of an investor are found. Conclusion provides benchmark information that could be used by the government in making the country feasible for foreign investment. The overall assessment is explained as a business cycle experienced by the Albanian government. A business cycle is perceived to be a general experience present in all economies, but its length and depth differs in each country experience. Albania is lucky to have a short lived period of recession as it shows signs of recovery already although it is still far into getting back to its former shape. Environment analysis of Albania Introduction Globalization has led to the interests of foreign investors in investing to emerging economies and to the developing countries. Logically, these foreign investors conduct an environment analysis to find out the most efficient economy among various options available. Among the most favoured places for investment are the big emerging markets; i.e. Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Albania, which is the subject of this analysis, is unfortunately not included among the lists classified by analysts of FSTSE, Dow Jones, and The Economists. Purpose of this research The motivation in conductin g this research is to find out whether the economic environment of Albania provides an impetus of interest to foreign investors. Findings will be relevant to policy makers in order to adapt measures that will encourage foreign investors to become players in various investments opened by the government. In this context a country report analysis will be provided to analyze whether the political and economic trends in Albania will have an effect in the short to medium term prospects of investments of foreign companies. The report will constitute the issues shaping Albania, the political scene, economic policy, domestic economy, sector trends, foreign trade and payments. Background – the development performance of Albania Albania is a South Eastern European Country situated on the Adriatic and Ionian Coast with a population of 3.2 million ( CIA Factbook, 2011) After World War II Albania became a Stalinist state under Enver Hoxha, and remained staunchly isolationist until its tran sition to democracy after 1990. The 1992 elections ended 47 years of communist rule, but the latter half of the decade saw a quick turnover of presidents and prime ministers. Many Albanians left the country in search of work; the money they

Microbial fuel cells and how cay they produce electricity Lab Report

Microbial fuel cells and how cay they produce electricity - Lab Report Example Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) signify an innovative method of procuring renewable energy in the era of energy crisis. Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 is capable of growing in 50 days in MFCs, the organism is capable of partly oxidizing lactate to acetate with enhanced recovery of the electrons producing electricity. Electricity was generated with lactate or hydrogen on their complete oxidation through electrigens. The cells are attached to the anode, the electrode, thereby conserving energy for growth as the cell is capable of donating its electrons to the electrode. Introduction It is evident that fossil fuels are limited sources for energy on the planet and they are on the verge of exhaustion. Consumption of fossil fuel has augmented climate changes, enhancing temperatures, floods or droughts on the planet causing global warming. Burning involves consumption of oxygen, on flaming fossil fuels which are chiefly carbon, the gas evolved is mainly carbon-di-oxide and obnoxious carbon mono-oxi de. These two gases are hazardous and are chief pollutants. Therefore it is imperative to exploit other means and resources for the production of energy. The new source of energy is retrieved from microbial cells, which are biodegradable and environment friendly (Noam M, 2005). Present era witnesses the generation of electricity from biodegradable compounds, for instance pure chemicals and wastewater. Recently, the production of electricity from microbes paves the way for generating microbial fuel cells capable of producing electricity from complex organic wastes and renewable biomass. Wastes and renewable biomass are attractive sources of energy because both of them encompass natural carbon being fixed in recent times, thus impact on the atmosphere could be reduced. ‘A microbial fuel cells is a mimic of a biological system in which bacteria do not directly transfer their produced electrons to their characteristic electron acceptor’. (Rabaey K, Lissens G, Steven D, Sici liano S and Verstraete W. 2003). MFCs are able to generate electricity through oxidation of organic matter by means of bacteria. Electricity could be generated from a range of biodegradable substrates such as glucose, acetate, ethanol, butyrate, lactate and organic matter. The biggest advantage of MFCs is that they are capable of functioning at room temperature and can be designed to perform numerous functions at different temperatures. In addition, MFCs have also special enzymes to generate electricity. The enzymes produced by MFCs can produce high level of power (Lovely DR, 2006). Enormous factors influence MFCs, these are kind of microbe, type of the proton, resistance and chemical substrate. MFCs also can be coupled with wastewater treatment and thereby exploiting the metabolic potentials of the MFCs, as they are able to metabolize many carbon sources. Chief bacterial population associated with MFCs encompasses Aeromonas, Clostridium, Geobacter, Enterococcus and Shewanella. Ther e are four methods that make the electrons reach the anode they are- (1) Direct membrane associated transfer, (2) Nanowires (conductive pili), (3) Endogenous electron mediators (or electron shuttles) and (4) Exogenous chemical mediators (or electron shuttles). Nanowires plays an important role in the transport of the electrons. Nanowires might help electrons transfer from the bacteria to the metal oxides

Meaning of Life and Br Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Life and Br Essay Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba illustrated a story through comics that represent different moods and feelings in a series titled Daytripper. Comic books are a form of art, and they provide the reader with a broad spectrum of topics. Artist express the world through colors, symbols, and themes to show feelings, thoughts, and ideas and this can be done through various forms of art, which includes comic books. The illustrations in comic books help to convey the meaning of the story. In Daytripper, Moon and Ba describe Bras de Oliva Domingo’s life and how choices produce outcomes both good and bad. At a young age Bras believes that anything is possible, and one never knows what is in store for him at the end. His philosophy in life are the same principles as in fishing as one casts a line the excitement builds because one never knows what is on the end of the line. Water is reoccurring in the story, and it symbolizes Bras de Oliva Domingo’s struggles to stay above water through his sea of memories of his life. In the beginning, Bras feels there are no boundaries and one can explore as many opportunities life has to offer. Life’s daily decisions shape the outcomes both good and bad. The purpose is to learn from ones past decisions and make changes improve our relationships and to be content with our lives in the end. The main character has ample opportunity to make changes along his journey for he experiences death at each phase of his life. Bras discovers endless possibilities from the seas from Iemanja, the spirit of the waters, in a dream they are riding in a boat through rough seas being tossed around with baskets that represent wishes and desires. Moon and Ba illustrate how in Bras dreams his lifes goals are laid out as he wishes. Just as water flows in and out, Bras dreams come in and out each night in his sleep. Bras flows through life just like water flows in and out never knowing where it will end up. Rougher waves represent new opportunities that continuously arise, but if one waits to long to take advantage of the opportunity then the waves may carry away the opportunity. As waves are continuously moving new chances will be present time and time again. Bras misses many opportunities because he is not willing â€Å"to go after his dreams† (203). His dreams tell him time is running out, and he needs to make the most of his opportunities. Each dream ends with â€Å"wake up before it’s too late† (203). Bras dreams about his possibilities and wishes he could take a chance to change his life, but he never does. Bras is just an observer in his dreams watching as the water passes by carrying the baskets. The dark colors and spirit of the waters are a main part of the artwork in the comic. Bras has responsibilities to his job and his wife, and he is content with both just cruising through each day. His life is similar to the ocean how the waves move along to the shore and effortlessly move back out to sea. He learns lessons along the way which he has no control and finds his wife frustrated with him from living a content and everyday life. Illustrations show water running full blast when they are not doing dishes or running any water. She later clinches the sink that is overflowing with water because Bras does not understand their life has joy and love. She wants her life to be less stressful so that the sink will stop overflowing. Just by Bras listening to his wife the water pressure will lessen, and the sink will not fill as quickly. Bras turns a deaf ear and does not listen, and the water just flows over the kitchen sink onto the floor. The overflow of water represents her stress, and he comes to realize he can help decrease the stress by making a few simple changes. She keeps trying to explain to him she cannot do it all on her own while he just sits there and listens. The overflow of water represents the burdens she feels by their life and needs Bras help to alleviate some of the daily pressures from her. As she pours him tea, the water flows up to the dining room table, and he finally understands her frustration over his laziness. At this point, Bras realizes by helping his family they will not be so overwhelmed and the water will stop overflowing. Just as the seas calm at times, Bras too feels tranquility at the end of his life. One late night he steps in the ocean and stares at the sky as it changes from dark and ordinary to a burst of stars symbolizing the calmness of the night. The peacefulness of the water helps Bras feel satisfied with his life. He feels at peace with his relationships with his dad, wife, and son. He smiles as he looks out on the calm ocean accepting his final destiny to be swept away by the sea. He stands in the water thinking for a long time accepting his fate, and the calm water represents he is at harmony with his life. The reader is left to complete his fate, which may just be Bras swimming out as far as he can until he the water carries him out to sea. The story connects water and life as a cycle that is continuously flowing. Water represents constant change just as one’s life changes through the years. Psychiatrists have used water for years as a representation of ones mind because the deeper you go the more problems one may see. The ocean represents power and strength and people have the same characteristics. Every day we make choices and some outcomes can be predicted and others cannot. The beauty of the ocean is the unknown and change and how the meaning relates to life. One can change their behavior and possibly the outcome may change. It all is part of the cycle of life. Works Cited Moon, Fabio and Gabriel Ba. Daytripper. New York: DC Comics, 2011.

Amistad: Film and Book Comparison

Amistad: Film and Book Comparison Jinchen Zhao After watching the film Amistad and read the book of this story, I feel like they are both valuable to study the history of America in 1840s. Meanwhile, from my point of view, the book is more academical than the movie while the movie can give you a quick idea about what is really going on in the story and you can feel the story more directly than the book. Now, lets compare them in different aspects. What can the student more readily learn from the film as opposed to the book? After watching the movie, the first thing that I feel different from the book is the mood that those actors behaved were really shocking. From the movie, we can directly feel the eager of those black people whom lead by Cinque want to regain their freedom.The time that Cinque yelled out Gives us free make me feel the power of those black people and this cant be shown in the book. Furthermore, the visual appeal it emanates to the audience, and we all can feel the frustration as the Africans when they want to say about themselves but they cannot due to they are unable to speak English, meanwhile, we all can feel the happiness when they finally have their freedom back. That is hardly to feel when we only read the book. Do the different mediums tell the same story or are there sufficient reasons to argue they do not? This question is pretty hard to tell, in my point of view, they are neither telling the EXACT same story nor they are telling the different story. First of all, the book is more academical resource of the story, and the book is telling us the story more in direct ways. For example: There are a lot of examples about the effect to people, city, countries if the Africans are freed. E.g. Van Buren was more thinking about the influence about his re-election if he choose to free those African people.(p.47) The Cuban Planters always considering the number of free black people they would like to give as they do not want the uprising of them and at the same time, they want profit. (p.19) All those examples made the book a perfect resource for research and the book gives us more details about the environment in the society as well as introduced many political jargon. On the other hand, the story line in the movie is almost the same as the book. From the uprising to got caught and finally earne d their freedom in the end. Yet there is some difference. As we all know. The movie Amistad is a typical Hollywood film, in this case, there is inevitable changes to the original story in order to let people pay to watch the movie and be entertained by the film. For example:In the book, Roger Baldwin was interested in free the African people before the Amistad trial and he was trying to help them in a previous court base. Yet in the film, thats not what the person is, the film want to make the character: Roger Baldwin, have a good turn-around and make the story more interesting,Roger Baldwin only begin to fight for the African people at the end of the movie, he was more caring about his career advancing in the beginning.(p.37 and film). Cinque did not kill the captain of Amistad in the book(p.25), instead he let his friends strangle him. This can be reasoned as the Hollywood movie usually want to build a hero in the film and that is Cinque. The most different thing about the film an d the book is the procedure of the trial. Although they reach the same conclusion: The Africans earned their freedom, but in the book, there are long long story that they used many words to convince that the Africans should earned their freedom while in the movie, it is more likely that all people are persuaded by John Quincy Adams in a matter of time.(p.193) Since the film version of this historical event cannot contain the same amount of detail as the book version, do the details omitted from the film essentially presented different account to the extent that the history portrayed is essentially different from that depicted in the book? From my opinion, the details that omitted from the film does not produce a different story. They are more likely to be a additional remarks to each other. Basically, the book and the film shows us the same story, from the beginning of the uprising to get caught again and through the trails then finally get their freedom back, the main story line are pretty the same,yet there is still differences. The people in the book are more accurate to describe what they really are, their personality, the thinking, the attitude is clearly described in the book. On the other hand, as the major goal of a film is to make audience pay and make them entertained, there are some difference in the film. But in general, the film cannot be called a different story. Is one medium more suited to academic study? Does this make one medium superior to the other when it comes to teaching history in university? To this question, I think the answer is: Yes, the book is more suited to academic study. First of all, the book is extremely informative as it is based on the research those who are extremely well-known in the Amistad subject, legal materials and records from archives. All this gives Jones plenty of valuable information to write a accurate book and provide a deep analysis about the whole story around Amistad. The detail provided by the book is extremely valuable and this makes the book a much more suited to academic study than the book because when people read the book, they can know that this is what really happen in the past rather than thinking which part is changed in the film in order to make people like the movie more. Jones remains neutral in the book and he only gives us the facts of the story. He clearly described how Amistad trial affect the people who were fighting for black peoples rights(p.27), he told us the divide between the North and South of America during the elect ion, and the problem between Spain and America. On the other hand,   the film did present the story to us, but to be honest, although the main story line are the same, yet the details are inaccurate. In academic study, you want to teach students the truth about history and let students know the details of the whole trial. It is just not quite well to use the film to teach in academic study due to the inaccurate and lack of details. Do both mediums use the same sources? And What sort of sources do the film and the book rely on? In my point of view, they are using the different sources, as I said earlier, the book is based on the professors research of Amistad project, court records from archives and legal materials etc. It is more detailed and accurate while the film is almost totally based on the book and made some adjustment to entertain audiences more while earn some profit in the film. 6. If you would be given the task of teaching the history of this subject, is using one medium more preferable than the other for teaching a first-year university class? In this case, as we are teaching a first-year university class. To be fair, it is not easy for students to read a 280+ page books in a short time. In this case, I would say I will use the movie as the primary resource to teach first year students to let them have a general idea about the story. At the same time, I will tell them that there is some problem with the film which is inaccurate and lack of details, I might assign homework or assignment to let student have a research on the books about the difference between the real story and the story that presented in the film. Of course, I will provide a small range of page on the book to help students quickly locate the main points. E.g. Pg20-25. Meanwhile, it is good to write a small essay around 300-400 words after finish watching a 2 hour film. The film is a perfect resource to let first-year students know the general idea of the story and at the same time, it wont be too hard to understand. Although I do believe that reading the wh ole book is much more accurate and full of details. To be fair, it is still not good enough to be a teaching material as we cannot spend whole term on a single story. In conclusion, Amistad is a good story to study the past of 1840s in America, the book is more detailed and accurate about the history and make it a perfect choice of academic study or research while the movie can let us have a wonderful two and half hours of history feast while still can get the main story line. Both material are extremely valuable, we cannot decline any of those two in the function of helping us learning the past. To best describe the relationship between the book and the movie, I think the movie can be the best attachment to the book. The Gender Imbalance in China: History and Overview The Gender Imbalance in China: History and Overview Introduction Carl Max identified social class as the definitive origin of classism as well as of oppression in regards to women. In respect to China, leaders assumed that the birth of the Republic brought with it the demise of class-based discrimination thereby liberating women. But this is not particularly the case as the new society was characterized by amplified efforts to transform the society through masculinization as women became increasingly pressured to act as well as dress in a manly manner. In this respect, the period encompassing the Cultural Revolution saw â€Å"women who tried to look feminine† criticized â€Å"for their improper attitudes† (Ownby, 351). This submission will seek to â€Å"In China’s Modern Economy, a Retro Push against Women† appearing in the New York Times in regards to the picture it paints in relation to gender in China to ordinary American reader. Based on the course as well as various course materials, the article will be critiqued i n regards to the manner in which it displaces various figures presented by the course. Discussion The economic explosion in China has created an array of opportunities for Chinese women on the one hand, but has equally fostered a renaissance of long-introverted traditional values. Increasingly, men as well as women hold the hold the opinion that a woman’s place in society is confined to the home. In this regard, affluent men take mistresses in what epitomizes a modern resurgence of concubines coupled with increasing pressure for women to marry early. In the workplace and particularly the corporate scene, the Socialist-epoch consensus has been substituted with open sexism, which in some intances is toughened by the law (Tatlow and Forsythe, 1). This summation is consistent with the requirement that women bind their feet as the men did as outlined by predetermined cultural norms as well as practices to in an effort to fulfill the need to use the body as attire and therefore use the body as reflection of the society. â€Å"The body was a signpost that could be rearranged by a person to show political allegiance or defiance. The mass hysteria that enforced conformity to Manchu attire unleashed, in turn, affords new insights into the gendered nature of conceptions of the body† (Ko, 20). Patriarchal Society In regards to the article and the impression created to the general reader in America, China is not the society that has been portrayed in various media. It is not a model state in relation to the place of women in the society in comparison with other parts of Asia. The regime has gone to great lengths to portray women as being equal to their male counterparts by declaring their role in the society as being equal to the half the sky (Tatlow and Forsythe, 2). However, the reality is that women still play second fiddle to men and what the Chinese authorities are trying to do is present as false picture to the world in order to justify their position as a global leader underlined by the need to achieve gender equity as well as equality. However, this conclusion does not present itself clearly from the article but the underlying theme of the article is predicated on debunking the erroneous myths advanced to the ordinary American reader. Indeed, while the women in corporate America are struggling with the glass ceiling, their counterparts in China are battling a different and more potent form of career discrimination: the sticky floor. Though the glass ceiling does prevail in China, most women do not seem to progress from the point they entered a career in. They will remain there playing a predefined role in order to meet a specific target. The reality presented here is one where the society tries to maintain as well as control traditional values as opposed to promoting the ideals of a modern woman within a contemporary society. To the American reader, having a woman or several of them in on the board of public or private organization is standard practice due to the inherent advantages within the global business context. However, in the Chinese society as presently constituted, this notion is met with misunderstanding and to some extent boredom by business and government leaders. At this point, the question that begs is why this trend is so prominent in China particularly in state-owned organizations where for instance, a majority of the firms making up the CS300 assemblage do not have women directors despite being owned by the state which could simply make an executive order and make it a requirement for the fairer sex to be represented. A closer look at the article reveals a situation where the society as it were tries to justify why women are still being oppressed and confined to peripheral roles within the great economic renaissance sweeping through China. In this regard, women should be blamed for the precarious situation they find themselves in the present society as they have failed to fight for equality (Tatlow and Forsythe, 3). This conclusion could not deviate further from the truth as the society as presently assembled fails to facilitate the creation of a conducive environment for women to demand their rightful place in the social, economic as well as political realm. Take the Leadership of the Chinese Communism Part as a case in point. The party is primarily dominated by the male gender throughout its ranks. In fact, no woman has ever expressed any intention of ascending to its leadership and by extension the leadership of the Republic due to the patriarchal nature of the current political dispensation th at then defines the interactions within the other facets of the society. Further â€Å"the feminine qualities of irrationality, willingness, regret, romanticism, and love of illusion† have been carried forward to the present generation and as such continue to determine the role women play in the society as regards politics (Barlow and Bjorge, 316). Republican China It is important to take cognizance of the fact that the situation presented by the article has not been sustained throughout the entire history of China. It is therefore important to examine the function women have played historically particularly during the initial decades of the twentieth century- an aspect that has not been adequately examined by the authors. In this regard, the Guomindang Civil Code during the last decade of the 20th century recognized the vital role of an individual in regards to legal purposes. Women were consequently accorded passive agency which, enabled them to resist or endure abuse and if their resistance was judged insufficient, they were criminally liable. Consequently, women were regarded as active agents as well totally autonomous and like men; they controlled their own choices in marriage, sought divorce and inherited property. These then laid the foundation of the new republican society in China (Hershatter, 24). This means that the present society in China was build through an appreciation of the critical role that both sexes can play in building a modern society predicated on class as well as social equality. As previously Stated, the leadership within the Republic views women as holding up half the sky and this statement is therefore not as misplaced as the article would like to portray to the common folk in America. The only difference here being that over time and particularly in the years following the Cultural Revolution, the society changed and perceived the role of women as confined to the home setting. This is why women are today encouraged or rather pressured into marrying early and therefore leaving their career to raise children. New Woman versus Modern Girl The change in gender and sexuality in China during the preliminary decades of this epoch, was first and foremost motivated by the recognition that confining women to their conformist roles within the confines of home and away from the work force meant that their potential to add to the revolution required in the country would remain unexploited and consequently restrain the productivity required to build a modern society as well as economy. To realize this nationalistic goal, China had no option but to construct a novel woman- one who would contribute positively to the state as well as the nation. This woman would be detached from conventional female seclusion based on the fact that labor or gender roles were â€Å"linked with family disaster, with hardship, and barely getting by† (Hershatter, 57). However after China achieved its intended goal as regards to creating a new state, it seems that it was widely believed that women had made their contribution and such, would not be required in China and their place was subsequently their role was confined to the domestic realm. Though a great read, the article fails to take cognizance of these facts in order to give the common reader a lucid picture as to the important contribution made by Chinese women throughput various stages of its illustrious history. What the article does is portray a society that never went through various transformations since the Maoist era where discussing such issues like â€Å"personal life, romantic relationships, or sex was considered bourgeois and hence taboo† (Honig, 143). The new woman created during the creation of the republic therefore differs markedly from the modern girl in the sense that the latter has no role to pray in furthering the goals of the current dispensation as was the case w ith the latter. In this regard, it is important to note that the Cultural Revolution succeeded in creating a modern woman but did not extend the benefits to the modern woman. Positionality in Modern China The current position of women in China is borne out of the realization that the communist regime emphasized gender equality in an effort to unite the two sexes as the nation focused attention on building socialism. The general picture portrayed here is one that depicts gender equality rhetoric that basically epitomizes the reality of inequality in the present society, where women are no more than keepers of the home and therefore cannot play any significant or make any significant contribution to Modern China. Women were only accorded equal status as men in order to for them to get educated and therefore reflect the aspiration of the new Republic. From the article appearing in the New York Times, it is important to examine what being a woman in the current society in China means in regards to the dynamic responsibilities in workplaces as well as the society. The changing social in addition to economic fabric has created numerous opportunities in regards to Chinese women but it is important to interrogate whether these transformations have impacted the roles of women in any significant way. In this respect, a Chinese woman is required by the society, to continue playing her traditional values as espoused by the traditional values esteemed by the cultural stratum while at the same time utilizing the opportunities as well as freedoms presented by the new China (Tatlow and Forsythe, 4). In addition, the growing middleclass living lucratively within the cities is focused on giving their daughter the opportunities they never hand in order to compete effectively with their male colleagues but the idea that women should marry early and consequently leave their careers early in order to raise their children still underlines their perspectives as regards the role of women. This conclusion is supported by fact that even though the Chinese society has changed profoundly in the last few decades, just like other women in the world, they have to strike a balance work and family responsibility if they are going to gain their rightful place in the society (Tatlow and Forsythe, 5). In this respect, a woman can be on the one hand an individual while on the other represent numerous characters. This is markedly different from the manner in which men are viewed as they are only required to be individuals without other characters irrespective of the setting. It is clear that the society under consideration is more opened-minded and continues to recognize the important contribution of women towards social and economic as well as political advancement but societal pressures still persist. Gender differences will therefore continue to influence the way women are viewed and as such, they will never be truly emancipated. Indeed, the powerful assumptions that women are obliged to marry early and consequently focus their energies on families after the birth of a child will account for inherent disparities going forward. More importantly, despite the provisions in law prohibiting discrimination, the vagueness in the writing as well as spirit will continue to maintain the status quo and as such, women will repose as well as reside in the realm of second citizenly from where they cannot make any significant contribution to the future of China (Tatlow and Forsythe, 6). Conclusion The article, â€Å"In China’s Modern Economy, a Retro Push against Women† is great read in regards to painting a true picture of the position women hold in contemporary China. It portrays gender as defining factor in interactions within the society. To the American reader, it depicts are a markedly different situation since the women in the corporate sector there are battling the sticky floor as opposed to the glass ceiling. In essence, the article underscores the need within the society to restrict women to a particular rank without giving them any incentive to progress as societal needs in regards to gender roles must at all times supersede the need to progress career-wise. Works cited Barlow, Tani E and Bjorge Gary J. I Myself Am A woman: Selected writings of Ding Ling. Boston: Boston Press, 1989. Print. Hershatter, Gail. National Countermemories: The Gender of Memory: Rural Chinese Women and the 1950s. Gender and Cultural Memory, 2002: 43-70. Print. Honig, Emily. Socialist Sex: The Cultural Revolution Revisted. Modern China 29.2, 2003: 143-175. Print. Ko, Dorothy. The Body As Attire: The Shifting Meaning of Footbinding in Sebenteeth Century China. Journal of Womens History, 1997: 8-27. Print. Ownby, David. The Gender of Rebels. Du, Shanshan and Ya-chen Chen. Women and Gender in Contemporary Chinese Societies: Beyond Han Patriarchy. Lexington Books, 2013. 385-386. Print. Tatlow, Didi Kirsten and Michael Forsythe. In China’s Modern Economy, a Retro Push Against Women. New York Times, 20th February 2015. Web.