Essay on Symbolism, Imagery and Diction in Homer’s Odyssey

Symbolism, Imagery and Diction in Homer’s Odyssey nbsp; During the course of history, the world has seen many fine works of literature like Homer’s epic, Odyssey. This book is a standard against which to compare all literary novels. The symbolism permeates the pages drawing the reader into the intriguing plot that includes twists within the central theme. Also, the author intelligently uses imagery and diction painting dramatic images in the readers mind - building upon major the themes. nbsp; The book contains a captivating use of symbolism making the story more interesting and understandable. This magnetizes the reader into the book. At the first show of dawn, great Alcinous left his couch, as did that ravager of cities,†¦show more content†¦He knew the sheer ruin this would entail.(1). Here, the gods are discussing the crime committed by Aegisthus in courting anothers wife and then killing Agamemnon upon his return.nbsp; The central theme in this book is definitely that of suffering and misery in existence, and there is no other character that knows this better than our hero, Odysseus. Odysseus is kept away from his home for 20 years. Every day, he experiences anguish in some form or the other. nbsp; She found him sitting by the waters edge: his eyes as ever dewed with tears at this ebbing if his precious life in vain lamentations after deliverance...retching up his heart with crying and sighs and misery, his gaze fixed upon the desolate main through a blur of tears. (57) This quote is from the time Odysseus is trapped on an island by the nymph Calypso for nine years. These powerful words portray clearly the pain that Odysseus bears within him thus giving the reader a fuller understanding of the story and his character. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Homer draws upon vocabulary cleverly throughout the book painting dramatic pictures into the readers mind, and thus revealing and enhancing major themes throughout the novel. nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; All round the cave-mouth there flourished a luxuriantShow MoreRelatedStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pagesoverwhelming space, danger, instability; whereas earth connotes safety, fertility and stability. 28. claim-to assert or maintain as a fact: Ex. She claimed that he was telling the truth. 29. classification and division- In a classification essay, a writer organizes, or sorts, things into categories. Division separates items into categories. 30. coherence- logical interconnection; overall sense or understandability. The property of unity in a written text or a segment of spoken discourse

Seven Wonders of the World Free Essays

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World While the ancient world left little written record, the evidence that we do have depicts it as far more advanced and culturally rich than many would expect. From the Phoenicians in Mesopotamia to the Mayans in Central America, technological advancements and complex theories drove the ancient civilizations ahead. Great thinkers from that period like Socrates left huge marks on the literary world. We will write a custom essay sample on Seven Wonders of the World or any similar topic only for you Order Now Great scientists like Copernicus developed theories that provided the foundations for more modern thought. Juxtaposing their technology with our own, we find their accomplishments truly amazing. Their buildings, remarkably built without cranes, bulldozers, or assembly lines, rival our greatest and create great wonder among our culture. Chief among their architectural feats, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World remind us constantly of the ancient cultures’ splendors and advancements. These landmarks, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria or the Walls of Babylon according to the list, left evidence of the magnificence of the ancient world. Understanding the history of the whole group as well as the history of the individual places creates a gratitude and reverence for our ancient ancestors. Herodotus created the first list of wonders in the fifth century BC but gained little notoriety for the feat and inspired few subsequent lists. His written record, a list mirroring that above with the exception of substituting the Pharos of Alexandria for the Lighthouse, was destroyed with the exception of references in the burning of the Library of Alexandria (History Reference Center). In following centuries, however, Herodotus’s ideas began to catch on. Conquering vast empires in the name of Macedonia, Alexander the Great led a strategic military campaign throughout the Balkans and much of the ancient world. Through these fourth century BC annexations, Alexander stimulated travel in the area, which in turn led to the Greeks gaining immense cultural knowledge about peoples like the Persians, Egyptians, and Babylonians. Alexander truly opened their world. With the influx of travel, the Greeks began and compile oral lists of ‘theamatas,’ a word translated to mean ‘the must-sees’. The lists, though they varied from person to person, lways contained a constant number of seven sites. Being neither a product nor factor of any number less than ten, seven is hard to separate into subdivisions and therefore provides an excellent number for indivisible things like the Seven Wonders, the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Seven Sages. After Herodotus, the next well-known list is that of Callimachus of Cyrene, a worker at the L ibrary of Alexandria. He wrote a work entitled ‘A Collection of Wonders in Lands throughout the World,’ but destroyed early on, the contents of the list remain unknown. De Septem Mundi Miraculous, or Of the Seven Wonders of the World, was written in 200 BC. Attributed to and supposedly written by Philo of Byzantium, many argue that it was actually written in the sixth century AD (Infoplease). Regardless, this work gives an excellent description of Seven Wonders, including the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Pyramids of Giza, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Colossus at Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Temple of Artemis and Ephesus, and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. While most lists agree on at least six of the seven wonders, some ancient and modern lists substitute the walls of Babylon for the Lighthouse of Alexandria. The most renowned ancient list, coming around 80 years later, belongs to Antipater of Sidon and does exactly this. A citizen of Alexandria, Egypt, Antipater compiled his list in a poem during the second century BC, saying   I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon, along which chariots may race, and on the Zeus by the banks of Alpheus. I have seen the Hanging Gardens and the Colossus of Helios, the great man-made mountains of the lofty pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of Maussollos. But when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside of Olympus (History Reference Center)   These lists inspired others to not only explore but to tell of their explorations. After the works of Herodotus, Callimachus, Philo, and Antipater, people strove to make their own lists of wonders, almost always including the eight documented by Philo and Antipater. The oldest and only remaining of these eight wonders, the Pyramids of Giza took ancient Egypt by storm in 2560 BC. A remarkable architectural feat, they remained the tallest structures in the world until the nineteenth century. They originally stood at 481 feet tall but have shrunk to around 450 feet. Khufu’s pyramid, also known as the Great Pyramid, contains 2,300,000 blocks weighing around two and a half tons each. Every side of that pyramid is 756 feet long (Infoplease). Fourth-Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops, ordered the pyramids built as tombs for Pharaohs Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaure. Their splendor begins with their location. Cheops chose a plateau made of white limestone located southwest of Cairo. Surrounded by the Nile River, spacious green plains, astounding palm groves, and the magnificent skyline of Memphis, the area itself is a wonder. Originator of the concept of Seven Wonders, Herodotus became the first to describe the Pyramids when he visited Egypt around 450 BC. His account of the pyramids begins with an insult of Cheops, saying claiming â€Å"Cheops, who reigned over them, plunged the country into deep calamities† (History Reference Center). In Herodotus’s books, he asserts that Cheops employed over 100,000 slaves at a time, switching the men out every three months, but ancient historian Diodorus Siculus alleged that the pyramids actually required 360,000 slaves. Recent discoveries, however, have pinned the number of workers between 5,500 and 8,000 and declared that they worked willingly, not as slaves. Herodotus goes on to describe a magnificent causeway used to transport stones and marvelous underground rooms that took approximately ten years to build. With information gathered from his Egyptian guide, Herodotus chronicled the process used to build the pyramids, writing   This pyramid was constructed on the following plan. They began by building it in the shape of steps, having first made it in this form, they drew up the stones for the rest of the work by means of machines, consisting of short pieces of wood, when they had lifted them from the ground to the first tier of the steps; as soon as stone had reached so far, it was laid on another machine, placed on the first range; from thence it was hauled up to the second [and from the second to the third,] by means of another machine, for as many as the tiers of the steps there were, there was the same amount of machines. This passage shows the technological advancements employed by the Egyptians. The architecture behind the underground rooms proved extremely innovative; Cheops used a canal from the Nile to create an insulation system (Books). Summing up his Egyptian encounter, he gives a brief account of the lesser two pyramids, built as tombs for Khafra and Menkaure, and moves on to new things. Though many people doubt its existence, the alleged regality of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon stupefies many. Herodotus, previously mentioned as the first big traveler of the era, gave a full description of the city of Babylon, making no mention of the Hanging Gardens. This causes speculation among many historians today (History Reference Center). For those who do believe, however, the Hanging Gardens stood in Mesopotamia, near the present location of Baghdad, Iraq. Berossus, a Babylonian priest, wrote the first account of the Gardens in 3rd century BC, but since then, the works have been lost. Strabo and Philo gave the next ancient descriptions. Philo wrote, The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on stone columns. Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping channels. These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of trees grow firmly attached to supple branches. This is a work of art of royal luxury and its most striking feature is that the labor of cultivation is suspended above the heads of the spectators. (Books)   While most of Mesopotamia lived up to its appellation the Fertile Crescent, Babylon differed, having a desert-like climate. According to ancient writers like Berossus, Philo of Byzantium, and Diodorus Siculus, King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered the Gardens built for his wife around sixth century BC (Infoplease). Amyitis, a native of the luscious green Persia, greatly missed the beautiful landscape of her home, and as any affectionate husband would do, Nebuchadnezzar built the Gardens to appease her. The King filled the Gardens with pears, plums, grapes, and many other colorful plants. Providing great shade among the sandy landscape, the Gardens served as a retreat for the royal family. For the scholars that believe that the Hanging Gardens actually existed, another argument arises over whether or not the Gardens actually â€Å"hang. † In their Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, Michael and Mary B. Woods argue that the description of the Gardens as â€Å"hanging† comes from a translation issue. They assert that the original Greek word can be translated into â€Å"hanging† or â€Å"overhanging† and claim that the original authors meant â€Å"overhanging†. Because its very existence remains disputed, no evidence of the date or method of destruction endures. Built in 560 BC, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus paid homage to the Greek goddess Artemis, goddess of the hunt, childbirth, and virginity (History Reference Center). King Croesus of Lydia ordered the Temple built on a marshland in present-day Turkey, and one hundred and twenty years later it opened for worship. Towering above other structures in the land, the Temple, made of marble, stood 300 long by 150 wide and massive columns (Infoplease). Croesus chose the location in hopes of protecting it from volatile earthquakes. That natural disaster, however, would not cause the destruction of the Temple; instead, it would fall victim to arson committed by a power-hungry Herostratus in 356 BC, on the birthday of Alexander the Great. Greek legend holds that Artemis, busy assisting with Alexander’s childbirth, found herself too preoccupied to protect her Temple. Alexander, sympathetic to this story, offered to pay for the restoration of the Temple, but the Ephesian leaders rejected the request claiming it was â€Å"inappropriate for a god to dedicate offerings to the gods† (Books). Despite Alexander’s dismissal, the Ephesians, led by sculptor Scopas of Paros, rebuilt the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, beginning almost immediately after the original’s destruction. The new Temple, the first made purely of marble, laid the foundation for extravagant building. Bigger than the original, it had 27 columns stretching 60 feet into the sky, spanning 425 feet long and 225 feet wide. Athens’s pride and joy, the Parthenon is believed to have only been a quarter of the size of the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Pliny the Elder provided a base ancient description of the Temple, along with many other Grecian works, in his Natural History, written in the 1st century AD. Of the Temple, he wrote, â€Å"The most wonderful monument of Grecian magnificence, and one that merits our genuine admiration, is the Temple of Diana at Ephesus† (Books). Some, like Pliny, referred to the Temple as the Temple of Diana, Artemis’s Roman form. As Christianity spread through the ancient world, the Temple slowly became obsolete and eventually met its demise through raids from the Goths in 268 AD. Dedicated Ephesians made a final attempt to rebuild the Temple after its destruction, but Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great’s decision to outlaw Christianity, eradicating the Temple’s purpose. Site of the earliest Olympics, Olympia wished to honor its supreme god, also patron of their games, for their prosperity and success. To do this, they commissioned Phidias, chief sculptor behind the Parthenon, to build a statue paying homage to this god, Zeus. Using an innovative method designed by Phidias himself, he built a wooden skeleton in the intended shape of the statue and ordered workers to adorn it. Sheets of iron and gold were cut and fashioned to cover the wooden structure. Looming over the Temple of Zeus, the statue rose 40 feet into the air and was a massive 22 feet wide. Zeus’s Statue features him sitting on a magnificent throne, with his head brushing the ceiling. The ancient historian Strabo criticized the proportions of the statue, claiming that Phidias â€Å"depicted Zeus seated, but with the head almost touching the ceiling, so that we have the impression that if Zeus moved to stand up he would unroof the temple. (History Reference Center). Citation Page 1. Scarre, Chris. â€Å"The Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World. † (2004): 125-127. History Reference Center. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. 2. Infoplease. Infoplease, n. d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. http://www. infoplease. com/. 3. â€Å"Books. † Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. http://www. claytonpl. org/research/guides/guide. cfm? id=24. How to cite Seven Wonders of the World, Papers Seven Wonders of the World Free Essays Seven Wonders of the World Centuries ago one man dreamed, designed and constructed a breathtaking monument and then, it went on to become a wonder. Wonders of the world are so many. No list can comprehend everything. We will write a custom essay sample on Seven Wonders of the World or any similar topic only for you Order Now But why they are actually the wonders and what are the factors which make them to call a wonders? Every wonder has its own history and importance, and they have some interesting facts related with them. However, the original seven wonders of the world are the most worthy of our praise and appreciation as they were constructed in an era that was devoid of any building machinery and done mostly by hand. The true wonder we can say is artistic, mysterious, magnificent, stunning or in other words it is really a master piece, and due to these qualities it attracts everyone towards itself. The most remarkable or amazing creations by mankind are included in the list of Seven Wonders of the World. The number 7 is said to symbolize perfection and hence is used to list the wonders. There are number of different lists of the Seven Wonders of the World: the seven wonders of the ancient world, seven natural wonders of the world, the new Seven Wonders of the World and the modern wonders. A campaign to name the new Seven Wonders of the World, launched in 1999, has just reached to its climax. Originally, there were nearly 200 nominations which were shortlisted and finally, in the largest ever poll of its kind, 100 million people voted across the world for the final seven. Voting was done through the internet, as well as by phone and text. The popularity poll was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the new seven wonders foundation based in Zurich, Switzerland, with winners announced on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon. The New seven wonders foundation is regulated by the Swiss Federal Foundation Authority. 1. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: In the recent past, people across the world were asked to vote for their favorite seven wonders of the world. The ancient Greeks loved art and architecture. They were the first people to compile the seven wonders of the ancient world list. These wonders were built-in the marvels of the 4th century BC. The Greeks had conquered much of the world and traveled far and wide. As they were patrons of beauty, they took fancy to the landmarks and unique architecture of various lands. 1. 1 Great Pyramid of Giza: The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only surviving member of the seven wonders of the ancient world list, which was built in 2584 BC. It is located at Giza Necropolis, Egypt. This pyramid is about 800 feet long, 450 feet high and is build from 2 million blocks of stone. It is said to have been built as the tomb of the 4th dynasty Egyptian Pharaoh Khufu. (Baxamusa) 1. 2 Hanging Gardens of Babylon: Hanging Gardens of Babylon is built around 600BC. It was built by King Nebuchandnezzar. He built the garden for his wife Amytis of Media to enjoy a private, terrace garden without any disturbance. It was built in Al-Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq. These gardens were said to be about 400 feet wide, 400 feet long and were over 80 feet in height. The garden is supposed to have been destroyed by a massive earthquake. 1. 3 Temple of Artemesium: The temple of Artemesium, at Ephesus, was one of great temple built by Croesus, king of Lydia, about 550 BC and was rebuilt after being burned by a madman named Herostratus in 356 BC. The Artemesium was famous not only for its great size over 350 by 180 feet but also for the magnificent works of art that adorned it. The temple was destroyed by invading Goths in 262 AD and was never rebuilt. 1. 4 Statue of Zeus at Olympia: Statue of Zeus at Olympia was built in 435 BC. The Greeks completed this building. The statue of Zeus was built in the temple to honor the Greek Olympic Game. The statue was a gigantic structure that occupied the whole width of the aisle of the temple. It was about 40 feet tall and was destroyed in a fire during the 5th and 6th century AD. Baxamusa) 1. 5 Mausoleum of Halicarnassus: Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was built in 351 BC. King Mausolus ruled a small kingdom in Asia Minor. His queen Artemisia was a beautiful woman who loved the king a lot. After the death of King Mausolus, she got the most beautiful mausoleum built in the memory of her loving husband. It was known as the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and people from far and wide came to visit it. By the year 1494 AD, it was destroyed by a flood. It was rebuilt but was damaged by an earthquake. 1. 6 Collosus of Rhodes: Collosus of Rhodes was built in 290 BC. Collosus of Rhodes was the colossal statue of the sun god Helios that stood in the ancient Greek city of Rhodes and was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After about 56 years it was built, the statue was destroyed by an earthquake. It fell into the harbor and just the thumb of the statue was visible over the water surface. The king of Egypt offered to rebuild the statue, but the people of Rhodes refused. This is because they believed Helios himself threw the statue in water in a fit of rage. 1. 7 Lighthouse of Alexandria: Lighthouse of Alexandria was built in 280 BC. The Island of Pharos was a harbor in Alexandria, Egypt. This lighthouse was built in this harbor and helped ships enter the harbor safely. This lighthouse is said to have survived for 1500 long years and finally destroyed by an earthquake in the 1300’s. During its era, it was the tallest man-made structure at about 380 to 440 feet high. So, these were some interesting facts about the 7 wonders of the ancient world. Just imagine, what an impact they may have created in the minds of the people of that age. Except the Pyramid of Giza, all the other wonders have long gone. We can just imagine more about these magnificent structures based on the writings by people of ancient Greece. These seven ancient wonders have something special thing in it, which creates curiosity between us to watch and study these wonders. Although, only one ancient wonder is left today, but still they have attraction and by this force of attraction these wonders attract everyone towards itself. We can just imagine more about these magnificent structures based on the writings by people of ancient Greece. 2. New Seven Wonders of the World: The list of New Seven Wonders consists of man-made monuments from all over the world. These Seven Wonders of the World are spread across continents and were selected by people throughout the world using a voting method. The organizers thought that this will promote global harmony, along with increasing people’s knowledge about these historical monuments some of which are not in their own continent. In 2001 an initiative was started by the Swiss corporation New Seven Wonders Foundation to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World from a selection of 200 existing monuments. Twenty-one finalists were announced January 1, 2006. Egyptians were not happy that the only surviving original wonder, the Great Pyramid of Giza, would have to compete with the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House, and other landmarks. In response, Giza was named an honorary Candidate. The results were announced on July 7, 2007, in Lisbon, Portugal. Figure [ 1 ]: New seven Wonders of the World, Source: New7Wonders of the World,en. wikipedia. org/wiki/New7Wonders_of_the_World. 2. 1 Chichen Itza: The name ‘Chichen Itza’ means ‘At the mouth of the well of Itza’. Here, Itza refers to a political clan of people, who were at their political and economical best in the northern peninsula (Saxena. Chaitra Suraj). Chichen Itza was the political focal point for a long time in the Mayan history. This winner of the seven wonders list is located in Yucatan, Mexico. The historical site consists of many stone buildings which are connected by a network of paved roads called Sacbeob. Most of these buildings have been restored and some are still under the process. These buildings have been grouped into sets of architectonic series (based on their architecture). And these sets are believed to be once separated by walls. The three famous sets out of them are, Great North Platform, the Osaario Group and the Central Group. These sets individually consist of various buildings, which are wonders in themselves. Chichen Itza consists of numerous temples, pyramids, and some interesting monuments like Steam Bath and the Great Ball Court. Each of the building had its own importance and was used for some specific purpose. One particular area of Chechen Itza is open to archeologists only, in a way it is still under observation and research. 2. 2 Christ the Redeemer: Christ the Redeemer is the statue of Jesus Christ, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is situated at a height of 700 meters on the Carcovado Mountain, in the Tijuca forest National Park. It weighs 635 tons and stands at a height of 39. 6 meters. It is built of reinforced concrete and soapstone and is the symbol of Christianity, as well as Rio de Janeiro. The construction of a historical monument on Corcovado was suggested first in 1850, then again in 1921. A lot many designs were considered for the religious monument, which included, the representation of the Christian cross and the tatue of Jesus with a globe in his hand. The Christ the Redeemer was finalized and the construction began in 1922 and continued till 1931. The cost of construction is estimated to be $250,000. The statue was opened to public on 12th of October, 1931 and in 2007 it became a part of the Seven Wonders of the World. In February 2008, the statue was struck by lightning, during a storm but was saved because of the o uter layer made of soapstone, which acted as an insulator. This particular storm is known to have caused a lot of damage in the city of Rio, but the statue stood unhurt. . 3 Colosseum: Colosseum, also known as the Roman Coliseum is situated in the city of Rome, Italy. Coming from such a strong background, it was a really strong contender for a position in Seven Wonders of the World list. It is an elliptical amphitheater and was originally known as Flavian Amphitheater. It is said to be one of the largest buildings of the Roman Empire. Construction of this amphitheater took around 10 years, starting from 70 AD and once ready the Colosseum was used for various public events and fights between gladiators. Gladiatorial fights were the major source of entertainment during those times and the public events consisted of mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, reenactments of famous battles, etc. The amphitheater was capable of seating a total of 50,000 spectators. It is estimated that some 500,000 people and over a million animals died in the events held at Colosseum. In the early medieval era, the building was stopped being used as a place of entertainment and then on, it is believed to have been used for various other purposes. The ancient building now stands partially ruined by earthquakes. . 4 Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China was built between the 5th and 16th centuries BC. This wall was designed to protect the northern border from attacks. The Great Wall is over 4,000 miles long. The Great Wall of China also has the distinction of being one of the Wonders of the middle Ages as well. The Great Wall of China is a stone wall built from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west of China and it stretches over a distance of 8,851. 8 kms. On land, the walls were made using earth or wood, but with the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the walls were made using bricks. Other materials like lime, tiles and stones were also widely used. With the use of bricks the construction is believed to have fastened and the brick walls were much stronger. The wall is now in ruins at most of the places and only a few parts remain in good condition. Parts of it have sustained years of erosion, human attacks, modern-day construction and even graffiti at a lot of places, in order to find a place in the 7 wonders of the world. (Saxena) 2. 5 Machu Picchu: Machu Picchu is a pre Columbian Inca site in Cuzco, Peru. It is located at a height of 8000 feet above the sea level on the crest of the mountain Machu Picchu. The name Machu Picchu means ‘Old Peak’ and is often referred to as ‘The Lost City of the Incas’. Its construction started in AD 1430 and the city was abandoned a hundred years later. It remained hidden from the outside world for hundreds of years, until it was discovered by Hiram Bingham, an American historian in the year 1911. Because of its location, Machu Picchu remained hidden from most of the world, including the Spanish conquerors. But now that it is in the seven wonders list, it is a famous tourist attraction and is visited by people from all across the world. Machu Picchu is believed to have been built at the peak of the Inca Empire and is the proof of their royalty and religious beliefs. Incas were basically sun worshipers. Inti in Peruvian means the Sun and hence, it can be easily understood that one of its primary buildings is â€Å"The Temple of the Sun†. The other main buildings are the Intihuatana and the Room of the Three Windows. Most of the buildings in Machu Picchu are in some or the other way related and dedicated to their God, ‘The Sun’. Machu Picchu is on the list of endangered ‘World Heritage Sites’. And that is why tourism in Machu Picchu is of great concern. Scientists believe that more the People, more will be the damage. 2. 6 Petra: Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma’an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduit system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. The downfall of Petra began under the Roman Empire. The basic reason being was the change of trade routes. Most of the Petra was destroyed by earthquakes, which damaged buildings and fractured the lifeline of Petra; the water management system. 2. 7 Taj Mahal: Taj Mahal famously known as the ‘Symbol of Love’ is a mausoleum, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is located in Agra, India. Taj Mahal’s construction began around 1632 and it took around 21 years to be completed. It was constructed according to the Mughal architecture, which is a combination of Persian, Indian and Islamic architectural styles. The mausoleum was built solely in marble, while other buildings in the complex were made of red stone. For the decoration purposes, 28 types of precious and semi precious stones were used and the raw material is believed to be ordered from as far as Afghanistan in the North and Sri Lanka in the South. It is said that nearly 20,000 workers were employed from all across the country for the construction work. These include skilled artisans, carvers, sculptors and stone cutters of excellent rapport. All in all, 37 people formed the creative unit of the project. Some of them were from foreign countries too. The approximate cost of construction is estimated to some 32 million rupees (Indian currency). It is considered as one of the master pieces of Mughal Empire and attracts tourism from all over the world. Statistics suggest that approximately 2 to 4 million people visit Taj Mahal annually. So, according to the above discussion we can say that every wonder has its own importance in the present world according to their historical background and their construction. People from all over the world visit these wonders to satiate their curiosity. Now a day’s architectures are in the constant struggle to make the new wonders which are better than the ancient and present wonders, but still the present wonders have great importance at the present time and architectures have to work very hard to defeat these wonders. Work Cited: 1. â€Å"Temple of Artemis. † Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. , 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2012. lt;britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/36816/Temple-of-Artemisgt; 2. â€Å"Colossus of Rhodes. † Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. , 2012. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. lt;britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/501620/Colossus-of-Rhodes. gt; 3. Mish, Frederick C. , Editor in Chief. â€Å"Petra. † Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. 9th ed. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster Inc. , 1985 4. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, The Message of the Sphinx, Pyramidology, 4 volume, 1957-1972, Web. 5. Nakate. Shashank. Seven Wonders of the World. Web 3/16/2010. Buzzle. com 6. Baxamusa. Batul Nafisa. 7 Wonders of the Ancient World List. Web. 2/25/2011. Buzzle. com 7. Marian K, Original Seven Wonders of the World. Web. 10/3/2011. Buzzle. com 8. Saxena. Chaitra Suraj, New 7 Wonders: What are the Seven Wonders of the World?. Web. 9/30/2011. Buzzle. com How to cite Seven Wonders of the World, Papers

Jobless Growth free essay sample

Introduction During the last few recessions experienced in the USA a new phenomenon has puzzled many economists titled ‘Jobless growth’. The term jobless growth refers to a situation when a country is emerging from a recession, where its gross domestic product increases but the unemployment rate stays the same or lags behind for several quarters without increasing following GDP growth. Jobless growth in the USA has alarmed many, the reason being that over the past few major recessions of 1991, 2001 and 2008, all recoveries were jobless. This is a contrast to previous recoveries in the USA, as since 1945-1990 economic recoveries in the USA led to rapid employment increases. In 1991-1992 recovery , output rose fairly steadily, but job growth remained near zero, for more than a year, similarly in the recovery of 2001-1003, GDP had grown each quarter at annualized rates between 1. 3 and 5. 0 percent, while payroll growth averaged -0. 4 percent at an annualized rate through July. We will write a custom essay sample on Jobless Growth or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the last recovery of 2008 till now, jobless growth occurred once again at an alarming rate, the unemployment rate at the end of 2009 measured 9. 6% a year into the recovery. This phenomenon has also been of an interest to me and I aim in my final project to investigate the causes of the jobless recoveries in the USA especially in the recoveries of 2001 and 2008, as they have had devastating consequences on unemployment and its growth. Motivation and Aims As an economics student, macroeconomic issues such as unemployment are of great interest to me as they give insight on lessons to be learnt in regards to advocating the right policies to maintain appropriate unemployment levels during dampening recessions such as the one experienced in 2008. In examining factors for the jobless growth of the USA it will also be useful to examine the experiences of other OECD countries’ unemployment trends over a similar period. The Two OECD countries of most interest are Canada and France. Being USA’s neighbouring country it is very likely that Canada will follow similar trends in unemployment to USA, also because of open trade between these two countries, factors that affect their unemployment is also likely to be similar. There are many factors that could have contributed to jobless growth in USA and the unemployment trades in France and Canada. The first factor or econometrically speaking variable that I will be measuring is the rate of technological change in all three countries and the effect it has on the unemployment rate. According to the article ‘Fictional unemployment as a heavy cost of technological progress’ by the authors William Baumol and Edward Nathan Wolf, where the article examined the causal effects of the rate of technological progress on the frictional rate of unemployment and therefore the natural rate of unemployment in the long term it was concluded that technological progress has a positive effect on the unemployment rate in the long term therefore unemployment rose and prolonged with an emerging rate of technological progress.

Were The Federalists Democratic Essays - United States, Democracy

Were The Federalists Democratic? The idea of democracy is both vague and is often over-simplified to mean majority rules. In theory, such a notion sounds both just and efficient. However, in practice, the concept of majority rules is much more complex and often difficult to implement. Modern-day versions of democracy, such as the one utilized in the United States, simply guarantees a persons right to voice his or her opinion in all matters involving the public. American democracy merely provides a forum for the expression of such viewpoints; it does not guarantee the ability of any individual to bring about change. The Federalists, who were greatly responsible for the ratification of the beloved Constitution of the United States, recognized the impracticality of Jeffersons town-hall democracy and simple majority rules and settled on a type of government which could merely guarantee an individuals right to representation. In some regards, the Federalists were pragmatic democrats-supporters of democracy who recognized the shortcomings of the voting public while at the same time suggested certain instruments to protect John Q. Public. The Federalists were opposite of idealists; they were realists. And it is this realism that is directly responsible for the success of democracy within the United States. Democracy, the ideal, is held dear by most Americans. What Americans would not dofor the vindication of a fundamental first principle: the right of the people to determine their own future, comments Albert R. Papa in his article The Allure of Civics Book Democracy. While nearly all Americans recognize the benefits of a democratic nation, the Federalists maintain that often times, minority and majority factions of society act contrary to the good of the whole. Madison, a staunch Federalist, defines a faction in The Federalist Papers No. 10 as a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion, or of interest, adverse to the rights of other citizens, or to the permanent and aggregate interests of the community. While Madison maintains that factions, by definition, are detrimental to the good of the whole, he does recognize their right to exist. What could be more democratic than allowing all grou ps to assemble, even those which violate public good? Never does Madison suggest restricting the rights of such groups; Liberty is to faction, what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could be a less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency writes Madison. The pragmatic nature of Madison realizes the corrosive function of factions and he explains within his writings why such entities will not pose problems for America- a larger Republic. He argues that in Republics composed of larger populations, factions fail to play significant roles because of their decreased ability to exert influence on others. The smaller the societythe fewer the distinct parties and interests, the more frequently will a majority be found of the same party; and the smaller the number of indiv iduals composing a majority, and the smaller the compass within which they are placed, the more easily will they concert and execute their plans of oppression, suggests Madison. Although Madison and most Federalists recognize that factions simply exist because of human nature and therefore cannot be eradicated, they believe the system set-up within the United States will prevent factions from dominating the political process. The fact that Madison includes the line whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole in his definition of factions is quite significant. Can the majority ever be wrong? Since most Americans believe that democracy should serve the interests of the majority (majority rules), how can a majority faction ever represent views inconsistent with the good of the whole? Critics of the Federalists Papers argue that Madisons definition of factions is extremely anti-democratic in nature. Even though a factions viewpoints may be destructive to the institution of American government, the governments main role is to represent the will of the people regardless of subsequent effects. However, certainly one

Business process re engineering The WritePass Journal

Business process re engineering Introduction Business process re engineering IntroductionTHE IMPACT OF BPR ON AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE CONCEPT OF BPRADVANTAGES OF BPR DISADVANTAGES OF BPR ROLE OF IS/IT FUNCTION IN BPRIT PROCESSES AND DEVELOPMENTIMPORTANCE OF IS/IT IN BPRCONTRIBUTIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEMIMPACT OF IS/IT IN AN ORGANIZATIONLIMITATAIONS TO TECHNOLOGYCONCLUSIONRECOMMENDATIONSBIBLIOGRAPHYREFERENCESRelated Introduction A management approach concerned at making the improvements and developments to the business by raising the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes that exist within and across the organisations. The key for an organisation to success the business process reengineering is to look at their business processes from a clean slate prospect in order to determine how they can improve and better build these processes to lead their businesses. THE IMPACT OF BPR ON AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE The people and the processes are the foundation of any organizations and business process reengineering renovates an organization in ways that directly affect performance. If the individuals are motivated and working hard, than the processes of the businesses are manageable and the nonessential activities remain, the execution of organization will be poor. The key to transforming how people work is business process reengineering, which becomes visible to be minor changes in processes and can have dramatic effects on cash flow, the delivery of the service and the satisfaction of the customer. The best technique to map and improve the organizations procedures is to take a top down approach, and not undertake a project in isolation. Beginning with mission statements, which define and describe the purpose of the organization, what it apart from others in its sector or an industry. Producing vision statements which define where the organization is going, to provide a clear picture of the desired future position. Establish these into a comprehensible business strategy, which derives thereby the objectives of the project.   Defining behaviours, which makes possible for the organization to obtain its goals. Produce the key power measurements to seek out progress. In relationship of the efficiency improvements to the culture of the organization. Identifying initiatives that will improve performance. CONCEPT OF BPR The concept of BPR generally includes the use of computers, information system and Information technology to organize data, project trends, etc. Many large companies are giving high importance to software integration, they want to build strong links between business systems and make information flow better and avoid to access data stored in multiple systems. Let us take an example, suppose a person wants to place an order over the internet. An integrated software solution take that order, shift it and allocate them to the manufacturing plant on one hand and place order for the raw materials on the basis of the stock, update the financial position of the company with respect to suppliers and the inventory on the other hand and so on. Different names have been given by the people to the integration of ERP, SCM, BPR and CRM. These names include e-business, c-business, m-business and KM etc. There are many softwares that do these integration activities. To name a few software these are known as Baan, Fourth Shift, Frida, JD Edwards One World, Manage 2000, Masterpiece MP/Net, Micro strategy, Oracle e-Business Suite, People Soft and SAP R/3. ADVANTAGES OF BPR It locates the customer at the midpoint of the organisation. It helps to reorganize business functions, identify the core activities and processes as well as inefficient or obsolete ones. It helps them to focus on overall corporate objectives and promotes greater staff involvement. It reduces the new product development and process activity times and can condense the response of the customer as well. It can lead to `quantum leap improvements and developments in business resultsif planned and implemented carefully. It can improve the current industry position, an inefficient and reorganize business processes and can make them the industrial leader. DISADVANTAGES OF BPR It is more suited to products and services that involve logical sequences in production. It may be less suitable for highly variable processes. It may require a high level of investment in IT and requires good teamwork and a high degree of planning and implementation expertise. It can be seen as a real threat to jobs. Success is not automatically guaranteed. ROLE OF IS/IT FUNCTION IN BPR Top management must have the full support to BPR to succeed. The leader must be willing to drive change, even to the point of ruthlessness, if resistance is encountered. â€Å"Although, BPR has its roots in IT management, it is primarily a Business Initiative that has broad consequences in terms of satisfying the needs of customers and the firms other constituents†. (Davenport Stoddard 1994) The IS/IT group may need to play a behind-the-scenes advocacy role; convincing senior management of the power offered by IT and process redesign. It would also need to incorporate the skills of process measurement, analysis, and redesign. It is essential to differentiate between information technology (IT) and information systems (IS) to understand the role that information systems play in today’s business environment. IT is the term employed to describe the hardware of computer, the software, and the tools of infrastructure of network in other words, technology itself. IS describes the broader prospect in which IT is employed by the management to create and the systems of support which make it possible for the organization to chase and achieve its strategic goals. When discussing IS, it is important to consider all three of its dimensions: IT, management, and organizations. As a practical matter, it should be noted that the terms IT and IS are often used interchangeably, particularly by those who are not directly involved in the IS or IT field. Information technology is persistent in all the organizations and society as a whole. Businesses are based on IT and telecommunications to achieve their day-to-day goals. In fact, the collection, storage, and retrieval of data and information are both more sophisticated and more ordinary than they have ever been. The information which a company gathers about its procedures of management is a valuable tool of resource for planning.The organizations are able to create and implement new strategies by the innovative use of existing information technologies and systems of information. For example, FedEx upgraded its parcel tracking system to provide the direct access through the website of the shipment information to its customers. This upgrade reduced the cost to provide the service to the customers and simultaneously increased the quality and the availability of the service. This example shows the possibilities of IS while adopting new strategies. IT PROCESSES AND DEVELOPMENT Today, we find a great number of advances in the IT’s has being employed in the companies. In one way, the remarkable advances in personal computers and the communications make it possible to employees to work outside the office while still being always connected to the office. The employees can work of the house or other places. The communication systems of multi-media, which send and receive audio and video signals, help us by making decisions by employing the email, the transfer of file, or the videoconference. The techniques of computer-aided design/manufacture/technology (CAD/CAM/CAE) take account of the design of products, manufacture, and the coordinating activities of technology. By gaining new IT tools, it enables companies to gain important advantages such as: 1) Cost savings, improvement and recovering the accuracy of exchanging information. 2) Avoiding inherent human errors so complex and repetitive tasks are used. 3) Saving money because it reduces errors and the time it takes to accomplish tasks. 4) Integrating and coordinating several functions immediately. 5) Improving the effectiveness and the effectiveness of organization by elimination delay, the administrative intermediaries, and the unessential stages of transformation and by providing a better access to information. The environment of today quickly requires companies to develop and offer the products which will satisfy the needs for customers. The companies cannot be able to do this if they apply processes with many stages and rare collaboration. Consequently, this environment forces a change of the processes of businesses to the mediation reduced by device and increased collaboration. To diminish the degree of mediation and increase the degree of collaboration, Firstly companies must reduce the degree of mediation in processes. That is, they must convert processes with a great number of stages of intermediary of processes which take part directly in the final results. The IT’s that make this modification easy might be: 1)   Shared databases: Different functions are allowed to take part directly by employing information stored in the data bases. Each function can approach, write, or recover the information of this data base the moment when it is necessary. 2) Imaging technology: Several people may work at the same time on a digitalized image of documents or graphics. 3) Electronic data exchange and electronic funds transference. Furthermore, shared computing resources make it possible for different functions to have access to information at any time. Second, the companies must increase the degree of collaboration in the processes so that the implied functions share information. IT that makes the collaboration easy among the different people can be technologies of communication. These allow the transfer of information by using tools such as the email, the videoconference, and the File Transfer Protocol. IMPORTANCE OF IS/IT IN BPR All organizations would like to grow and extend. In order to reach this growth and prosperity, organizations place long-term goals. Their roles as a financial manager are to be helped to develop the organizational strategies which facilitate and obtain those goals. The future growth and prosperity of any organization is essential in an effective management and use of information technology (IT) and information systems (IS). In today’s organizations, the vast majority of the data to support organizational activities and decisions comes from IS, which incorporates IT, data and information, and business procedures. Organizations with poorly designed information systems face numerous problems. Consider the case of the Hershey Foods Corporation, which found it unable to effectively ship candy for the Halloween season following the implementation of a new computer system. The company faced a 19% drop in profitability because of this problem. Yet at the same time, organizations that effectively design and manage their information systems can gain tremendous benefits. A recent study by Jeanne Ross and Peter Weill found that organizations that effectively manage their IT decision making experience financial performance levels about 20% higher than those with less effective IT management. IS/IT should not be used as a cure-all for organizational problems because technology can create as many problems as it solves if it is not understood properly and its applications are not actively managed. The key to developing a good strategy to achieve an organization’s goals is to build well-designed and well-managed systems. CONTRIBUTIONS OF INFORMATION SYSTEM IS contributes to organizational goals when people use data, information, and information technology through a set of procedures. IMPACT OF IS/IT IN AN ORGANIZATION All medium to large organisations depend on information technology (IT) for their continuous survival. Consider organisations like British Gas, British Telecom, the Power and Water companies having to manually calculate, millions of customer bills every month or quarter. Similar opinion applies to many other organisations such as the high street banks, central and local government. A recent article in the Daily Telegraph IT supplement suggested that many large organisations could last no longer than 24 hours without IT support! There should be a little wonder that attitudes to the development of information systems have changed over the years from an ad hoc almost cavalier approach to a professionally managed, disciplined, planned, and engineering approach. IT can prove to be useful during the process of redesign and reengineering analysis. The graphics software and the tools of CASE can produce the charts of process maps, the spreadsheets and the costing software take account of the analysis of the cost activity-based, the data base can track the satisfaction and the complaints of the customers and display boards of E-mail of â€Å"lamp-shade† can be introduced to capture suggestions of the employees. Moreover the E-mail and the groupware can facilitate the communication and coordination through the geographical and organizational barriers. It is recommended that during the process of implementation stage, companies follow these basis rules: Recognize that IT is only part of the solution: it allows managers to collect, store, analyze, and communicate and distribute information better. Cut and paste the IT tools needed. Bring in an internal or external IT expert: their knowledge, skills, intelligence, and experience are invaluable. After implementation, continually monitor IT performance and keep up with new IT developments. Mentioned below are some examples of the companies experience that show the role and implementation of IS/IT in business process redesigning To exhibit the advantages of BPR, Ford Motor was chosen by Hammer [1990]. By applying the data bases shared in the process of accounts payable, which includes the purchase, receiving, and the accounts payable, Ford reduced its labour of the employees by 75 percent. Hewlett-Packard changed the functioning model of its salesmen. Using the portable computers, they were connected to the data base of the inventory of the company. They obtain the information of period on time, activate and apply directly for promotions, changes of the prices, or discounts. Pointless to say, their time devoted to the customers has increased by 27 percent and sales, of 10 percent. When Citibank transformed its system of analysis of credit by reducing paper dispensation, it obtained an increase of 43 percent at time devoted to gather new customers. The credit of IBM took two weeks to finish a claim of financing because there were five stages to the process. By redesigning the process and while making take part the general practitioners who work with data bases and telecommunications networks, it takes now only four hours. LIMITATAIONS TO TECHNOLOGY There are limits to what a technology may accomplish. For example, when the video conferencing technology of communication became the first time available, much were excited about the prospect to employ the visual communication to finish the need for business trip, or reduce-the least substantially it. While there is no question which the visual communication can be employed for some aspects of communication of businesses, it did not finish the need for travel, partly because of the nature slightly limited of the medium and the human desire for the contact head to head. Still another, and really undefeatable, the question which limits the use of the video conferencing communication is physical distance and the notion of the time zones. Consider a situation where a senior executive in Vancouver tries to arrange a video conference with sales offices in Eastern Canada, Europe, and in Asia. Taking account of the time zones, there is no overlapping time of covering during the normal working hours which will allow parts in these four geographical regions to meet. CONCLUSION To be successful, business process reengineering projects need to be top down, taking in the complete organization, and the full end to end processes. It needs to be supported by tools that make processes easy to track and analyze. BPR is a methodology by which important improvements are obtained, although it requires big changes in organization and work style. This involves the need to change or even increase working styles, job functions, needed knowledge, and organization values. Reengineering requires long-time dedication, resources, and effort. These are made easier by using elements called enablers. Its role is crucial because it allows a company to alter processes in two ways: collaboration grade increase and mediation grade decrease through the implementation of shared databases and communication technologies. So, IT may help companies to obtain important improvements on variables such as costs, quality, and delivery time. Although these are not the only important elements, also bear in mind structural changes, company culture, and human resources. RECOMMENDATIONS BPR must be accompanied by strategic planning, which addresses leveraging IT as a competitive tool. Place the customer at the centre of the reengineering effort concentrate on reengineering fragmented processes that lead to delays or other negative impacts on customer service. BPR must be owned throughout the organization, not driven by a group of outside consultants. Case teams must be comprised of both managers as well as those will actually do the work. The IT group should be an integral part of the reengineering team from the start. BPR must be sponsored by top executives, who are not about to leave or retire. BPR projects must have a timetable, ideally between three to six months, so that the organization is not in a state of limbo. BPR must not ignore corporate culture and must emphasize constant communication and feedback. BIBLIOGRAPHY Berman, Saul, Strategic Direction: Dont Reengineer Without It; Scanning the Horizon for Turbulence, Planning Review, November 1994; Pg. 18. Brown, Tom, De-engineering the Corporation, Industry Week, April 18, 1994; Pg. 18. Cafasso, Rosemary, Rethinking Reengineering, Computerworld, March 15, 1993; Pg. 102. Caldwell, Bruce, Missteps, Miscues Business Reengineering Failures, InformationWeek, June 20, 1994; Pg. 50. Chew, Angie, How Insurance Firms Can Reengineer for Success, Business Times, June 20, 1994; Pg. 11. Cone, Edward, Technology Chief of the Year; All the Right Moves Tom Trainer of Reebok International Successfully Teamed Business Reengineering with Information Technology, InformationWeek, December 26, 1994; Pg. 35. Davenport, Thomas H., Will Participative Makeovers of Business Processes Succeed Where Reengineering Failed? Planning Review, January 1995; Pg. 24. Economist Newspaper Group, Reengineering Reviewed The Economist, June 1994, Pg 24. Ettorre, Barbara, Reengineering Tales from the Front, Management Review, January 1995; Pg. 13. REFERENCES http://jobfunctions.bnet.com/abstract.aspx?docid=390451promo=100511tag=bn-left teamtechnology.co.uk/business-process-reengineering.html comp.glam.ac.uk/pages/staff/tdhutchings/chapter1.html#head1 scribd.com/doc/396076/Foundations-of-Information-Systems-in-Business netlib.com/bpr1.shtml#recom entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/100012316_2.html kmbook.com/bpr.htm susanto.id.au/papers/BPEASAP.asp

ENGLISH ESSAY WRITING SERVICE for Students

ENGLISH ESSAY WRITING SERVICE for Students Essay writing is important and mostly crucial part of education process. Through the essays students are able to demonstrate their unique capabilities. The primary goal of essay writing is to determine the ability to organize a well-structured essay in a logical and systematical manner. When the student is lacking such ability, actions must be taken at once. One of the options is to buy custom written papers from online English essay writing service. Professional writers with years of writing experience will write a paper you need including all personal requirements you wish to include. Every essay writing assignment is your chance to improve your paper writing skills. Explore and read more information do as much research as you can and continue writing. Your essay writing skills are promised to be improved. Good English is your primary objective. The second important aspect is proper essay structuring start with introduction and finish up with nice and logical conclusion. For all other assignment writing requests, use professional essay writing service.

Employee Relations And Customer Satisfaction Case Study

Employee Relations And Customer Satisfaction - Case Study Example It is the classification of a society according to the values, interests, and behaviors. It is determined by the social categories’ income, education, wealth among other factors. The higher the classification of a people in society, the greater their ability to afford a better lifestyle. The society is mostly categorized in divisions of high class, the middle class, the working class and the low-class citizens. A higher class of people will desire the banking services of a higher class and vice versa (Beryl, 1996). Subculture, yet another characteristic refers to who share certain values, based on their similar experiences in life and exposure to similar situations. These groups of a society exhibit similar buying characteristics since their taste and preferences in purchasing products and services are influenced by similarity is situations and experiences. These are the characteristics that play a major role in determining the tastes and preferences of individuals or groups of people in the society that also influences the banking services and facilities they seek (Jefferson, 2011). The buyer makes a decision to purchase goods and services by following a process well defined. The buyer first recognizes the needs and wants that they have, which needs to be fulfilled. Information search follows, where the buyer seeks to understand the ranges of products and services that can meet their identified needs. The buyer then embarks on analyzing the alternatives provided to him, based on the potential range of products and services that can meet their needs (Heskett, 2008). The buyer then settles on the product or service to buy. Once he has made the decision on what to purchase, he then goes on and purchases the product, and applies it to fulfill the needs and wants that he had. The last stage of the process is a post-purchase evaluation, where the buyer assesses the products or services he purchased for their suitability to meet his needs.

Walmart -Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walmart -Planning - Essay Example Overview of planning Planning is considered to be the first step in doing anything. Planning comprises of a scheduled set of activities and tasks which are pre-defined and resources, cost, material, labor and time is also determined in advance for every activity in the planning process. Without planning, there is no set route to follow and everything goes haywire. Chances of discrepancies, inadequacies, risks and gaps increase in the absence of planning process. Planning can take the form of short or long term planning. In the former case, planning is not much in-depth and focuses on achieving short term monetary benefits. Long term planning is meant to gain strategic advantage because all other elements of managing, controlling and organizing are then aligned with that of strategic planning to fulfill desired goals. Wal-Mart’s vision and mission Wal-Mart’s successful operations are attributed to its cost leadership strategy which has always been focused on its customer (Center for Applied Research 2005). While its vision/mission statement goes as "Wal-Mart’s mission is to help people save money so they can live better†, its stores slogans also compliment its vision and mission statement which run as "Wal-Mart. Always low price. Always." Thus, cost effectiveness and providing products and services at rock bottom prices stand at the core of any planning or managing process at Wal-Mart. Planning at Wal-Mart is a mix of both strategic and day-to-day planning. When we talk of strategic goals, it refer to supplier selection, optimizing on technological inputs, use of automation techniques, software and other decisions which provide a competitive edge to it. Daily routine planning involves inventory control and management, quality control, distribution systems, et cetera (Goodstein, Nolan & Pfeiffer 1993, p.131). Application of planning process within Wal-Mart Wal-Mart is considered as a value driven company and this value addition is attri buted to its strategic planning in operational, tactical and contingency categories. It has always decided in advance where it wants to go, how and which activities to focus upon to achieve desired objectives. Wal-Mart’s planning process spans across all of its functions namely store management, finance, human resources, operations, information technology and strategic management. On tactical front, it has always devised plans and means on how to attract customers and stick to its low cost proposition. This is what gives way to its EDLP (Every Day Low Pricing) strategy. In operations side also, Wal-Mart exercises collaborative planning and forecasting relationship (CPFR) with that of its suppliers as it believes that involvement of suppliers in critical decisions helps reduce costs and improve quality. This way, it is able to extract synergies from that of its partners and develop long term relations with them. From financial perspective, separate committee is formed comprisi ng of 3-4 members who meet regularly and discuss issues pertaining to the capital structure, financial status, global policies, acquisitions, investments and annual financing plans. Within strategic planning, the committee also analyzes the basic goals to be achieved and in this respect, reviews its relations with investors, stakeholders, banks, financial institutions and others. Regular monitoring and check on its dividend policy and annual budgeting process enables undeviated implementation of set plans

Foundations of psychology Essay Example for Free

Foundations of psychology Essay (a) Conceptually, reasoning is characterized by various attitudes, emotions, feelings or even assumptions. These are the psychological factors that occur psychologically as parameters that help to develop a logical conclusion in ones reasoning. Rationality in reasoning is what yields a final resolution. However, such reasoning is brought to a state of imbalance in which the different assumptions, feelings and attitudes tend to shape the outcome responses. Perhaps however, each of the attributes could be controlled by aspects of various stimuli that respond to the three stage of classical conditioning. Initially, an aspect of anxiety of wanting to create some reflective thinking occurs. This is because of the desire to come to a logical conclusion of the problem held in the reasoning. The unconditioned stimulus before the reasoning was to arrive at a phenomenon based on the results of the reasoning. The driving force then throws an imbalance in the cognitive state of the brain senses with a basic aim of arriving towards an imperative solution based on the foundations of the question in the reasoning. A state of confusion occurs basically due to inability of making the correct choice of solutions. The solution should be independent of the external environment. Additionally, the choices to the solution also consider that reasoning may have various solutions. However, a conflict exists between the set of decisions alternatives due to the inability of making the most rational decision instantly. However, the principles of classical conditioning help to develop various stimuli corresponding to the various decision alternatives. Each stimulus (like a defensive censor) evokes one another to finally reach at an equilibrium consensus which the cognitive personality chooses as the best decision variable (Anne, 1999) A state of ambivalence follows the above stage of confusion. Ambivalence develops from the emotional perceptions and seeks to give a feeling of no specific inclination in any of the decision alternatives persuaded in the reasoning process. This is however a defense mechanism since it denies the strong efforts of strong feelings in the decision alternatives thus lessening the probable pain which one would have encountered in decision making (Michael, 1977) (b) Role of memory in reasoning The human memory is an important element in cognitive reasoning. Memory is what aligns the different aspects involved in reasoning to yield a correspondence between one another. The attitudes, feelings and assumptions ought to be construed in a dimension that brings reflective ties to one another. Memory can be said as the pivot entry between the functional relationships in all elements that define reasoning. The fundamental scope of reasoning is comprised of various complimentary processes that depend on one another. The philosophical and psychological standpoints have pinpointed on memory and reasoning as working in an integrated system and none can replace one another. Memory acts as an object that brings a tie and conjoins the various independent processes that are involved in the process of reasoning. It is also the object that provides subjective interactions and explorations among the wide scope of the cognitive processes to arrive at a balance of interest which is the defining choice/decision variable of the reasoning process (Thomson, 2001) Conceptually, the association that exists in human reasoning is brought about by the organization and content interaction of the human memory. It helps to bring about a scope of interpretation about the various processes that are involved in the human cognition. Consequently, memory is influential as a trajectory object for the integration of the various processes in the reasoning processes that finally strikes a balance in the choice of decision to follow. (c) Obstacles in reasoning There are various obstacles that could hinder the process of effective reasoning. These include; Mental entrenchment: This is a situation that occurs when the mind is framed in models that represent various problems, problem contexts or perhaps the possible procedures for use in solving a particular problem. When a person involved in reasoning has entrenched mind sets, they may develop methods that creates a solution to the problem in question but which does not provide the most optimal and effective solutions to such problems (Mark, 2007) Either, functional fixedness is an obstacle in effective thinking/reasoning. This case arises when an individual who has an ability of doing specific things extends such methods in creating the decisions in reasoning. He is unable to develop methodologies that addresses a certain problem in question but rather has to refer to what models his/her mind (Mark, 2007) Stereotypes: Stereotypes are those fundamental generalizations that are unsupported by rationality held by the members within a certain setting or the contemporary society. Stereotypes could be learned during childhood. Individuals accustomed to various senses of stereotypical thinking always make generalized choice and decisions in their reasoning process. Negative transfers: This is the condition when the procedures that are to be used in solving a current problem occurs in the future as harder problems that are perhaps unsolvable. This is a contrast of positive transfer that implies the former process for solving gone problems make the current problem easy to solve. These obstacles are highly involved in obstructing the critique of critical and effective thinking by bringing the wrong illusions and impressions in the reasoning process. (d) Types of reasoning involved in the experience Generally, there are various reasoning involved in an experience. Each differs in terms of flow of precepts and hypothetical developments. The process of reasoning within the given set of experience is important in giving the rationality behind the choice of one decision at the expense of the others. However, various types of reasoning are used in the reasoning process. These include; Abduction: This is the process through which a hypothesis statement about an experience is made. It seeks to formulate the fundamental scope of levels with which such a problem/experience occurs and the possible influential factors behind it. The cause and the effect reasoning: This is the mode of reasoning which seeks to relate the starting point of an experience or a problem of interest. It involves establishing the causes and effects and then trying to relate how each affects one another or how each is related to the other. (Manktelow, 1999) Comparative reasoning: This is the reasoning precept that seeks to draw a comparative analogy by comparing and relating one thing with the corresponding alternative. It then seeks to strike a balance of stability between such relationships. Deductive reasoning: It is the reasoning that involves establishing the generalized parameters and then moving towards a drive in the specific rules. Inductive reasoning: This is that which involves establishing the specific parameters and then driving towards the generalized rules. (e) Methods of enhancing effective reasoning in this experience. Critical thinking is that which goes beyond logical reasoning. It is that which works towards scrutinizing arguments by support of empirical evidence. Enhancing reasoning is a combination of various tools that promote the cognitive precepts of the human brain. These include; Physical exercise: Physical exercise is highly supportive in the functionality of the brain. A functional brain is a brain that has the cognitive power of critical and effective reasoning. Taking physical exercise helps to refresh the nervous system whose central context is the brain faculty (Robert, 1991) Taking adequate sleep: It is of necessity that a person takes enough sleep that brings relaxation to the reasoning and thinking autonomies. The mind set that could be infiltrated by sleep and stress is prone to inadequate reasoning. Various decisions by the human reasoning can only be ploughed in by a sober and a relaxed cognitive personality. Neurofeedback process: This is the process through which the precepts of human reasoning are controlled by reflecting back to what presumes a certain reasoning obligation. It is the sensational process of developing a raw feedback to the mind that causes fatal relaxation before engaging into fresh models of reasoning (Anne, 1999) Avoiding reasoning distracters: This is achieved through adequate payment of attention. Though a complex pattern involved in the brain function, it can be ensured by the proper payment of attention to the reasoning process that would then help to withdraw all possible abstractions and therefore driving towards concrete decisions. Reference Anne, T (1999) Critical Reasoning in Ethics. London, Routledge Manktelow, K (1999) Reasoning and Thinking. London. Psychology Press Mark, R (2007) The Psychology of Reasoning, London, Routeldge. Michael, S (1977) Reasoning. New York, McGraw Hill Robert, A (1991) Practical Reasoning. London, Routledge Thomson, A (2001) Critical Reasoning: A Practical Introduction. London, Routlege

Knowledge as a Double Edged Sword in the novels Oryx and Crake as well

Is knowledge, which is the base of human ingenuity and intelligence, also the factor which will bring upon humanity’s impending destruction? Knowledge today plays a key role in almost every facet of human existence, from food, to water, to providing the foundation for every piece technological equipment ever constructed. Knowledge though has also provided us with ever more imaginative and efficient means of killing and destroying each other and the planet, these means include nuclear weapons, and of course biological warfare. Therefore knowledge plays the role of the doubled-edged sword, bringing humanity luxuries and power beyond conception, as well as arming us with the tools to completely eradicate all life. In the novel of Oryx and Crake, a slightly more advanced civilization than ours, where biotechnology has brought numerous wonders to the world is brought into perspective. This civilization, wrought by corruption, has eliminated disease, and now is making synthetic viru ses in order to cash in on the destruction, the perfect scheme. One of the protagonists, Crake, discovers this scheme, and with this knowledge, seeks to destroy the corrupted civilization, by performing the same atrocity. With Crake’s synthetic virus, he eliminates the entirety of human race, with the tools knowledge supplied him with. In the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz the human race is just an insignificant remnant of its former glory, after it obliterated itself with the use of nuclear weapons. This novel shows humanity’s rise out of the ashes, with focus being placed on the Order of St. Leibowitz, the sole caretakers’ of the hated knowledge from the age past. With the knowledge contained with the Order, humanity experiences a renaissance, in which ulte... ...prized knowledge above all else. In both Oryx and Crake and A Canticle for Leibowitz, knowledged acts as a doubled-edged sword bringing wonders and inventions that truly make life easy, and at the same time bringing death and destruction in the form of weapons and military advancements. It is quite evident in both novels that knowledge acts a god, to be worshiped and studied, and as a god, chooses when to deal out good and bad deeds. Knowledge provided mankind with miracles and massacres. Knowledge itself is not lethal, mankind is the hand that directs the pathways of knowledge. Humans cause massacres, with the aide of knowledge. But if mankind is truly born evil, than it is only a matter of time for it to destroys itself. As mankind delves more deeply in the the endless mine of knowledge, it must take caution, as it has within its grasp to become gods†¦or demons.

Hawthorne, Brown and Poe Essay

The gothic component of the American Romantic Period of 1800-1860 produced several eerie and gothic works by talented literary minds. Three such pieces, â€Å"The tell-tale heart,† â€Å"The Birthmark,† and Wieland were written by Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Charles Brockden Brown. These works of fiction delve into the minds of seemingly unstable protagonists, and in so doing participated in the general Romantic theme of reacting against reason. These authors also adhered further to the Romantic notion of elevating the human spirit as persons in need not of salvation but of being aroused to a truer relationship with the self. Thesis: The main characters of each story defy the conventions of the time through gothic settings, anti-religious demonstrations and revolutionary psychological insights that lead to a better understanding of the dark side of human capabilities. A. Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown 1. Wrote extensively on an array of topics 2. Ushered in the ideas of the American Romantic Period 3. Strong psychological state of female character 4. Weak psychological state of male characters 5. External force having the power to awaken his true character B. â€Å"The tell-tale heart† by Edgar Allan Poe 1. Psychologically challenged character 2. More insight into the inner workings of the unsound mind 3. Takes the reader into uncharted territory 4. Narrator an exercise in self-knowledge 5. Death of a beautiful woman C. â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne 1. Death of a beautiful woman 2. Gothic tradition of darkness and mystery 3. Puritanical hypocrisy 4. Salvation through self knowledge Conclusion: The three authors Brown, Poe, and Hawthorne, along with their works Wieland, â€Å"The tell-tale heart,† and â€Å"The Birthmark,† demonstrate several aspects of the American Romantic Period in which they were written. They display the gothic preoccupation with the ghostly and/or mysterious qualities of the unknown. They also delve into the psychological mysteries of the mind and demonstrate the moral weaknesses of humans. Finally, they seek to bring humans into such contact with the self so that elevation and improvement of the mind and spirit can come about through a thorough knowledge of the self and its functions.

Information Processing and Learning Disabilities Essay

The body gathers information through five senses of sight, smell, hearing, taste and touch. However, in order to use the data or information that has been gathered by these senses one must constantly put the senses into constant use. After the body has collected information through the five senses it is taken to the brain, which in turn recognizes it, interprets it, understands it, responds to it and stores it. This is a continuous process which can be repeated even a thousand times in any given day. Newell (1990)] Information processing is responsible for the coordination and performance of the tasks that we carry out in any given day, from taking a shower to learning in school or participating in a sport. Discussion Within the field of cognitive psychology, information processing is the thinking and reasoning about mental processes, envisioning them, in the same way as a computer software runs on a computer machine. According to Ulric Neisser, who also goes as the father of the term ‘cognitive psychology’ human beings can be compared to dynamic information processing systems with mental operations that are identical to those of computer machines and that can be described in computational terms. [Neisser, 1967] The mind is the software while the brain is the hardware. The human mind processes information through the application of logical rules and strategies, that like a computer, the human mind has got a limited capacity for the amount and even the nature of information it can process, and that just as the computer can be made to process more information through the change or overhaul of its hardware and software, learners can become great thinkers if changes can be made in their brains through the use of authentic rules and strategies of learning. [Hetherington & Parke, 199] According to Atkinson and Shriffin in their ‘stage theory’ model, the human memory processes and stores information in three stages. Information is processed in a serial and discontinuous manner as it transits from one stage to the other. [Atkinson & Shriffin, 1968] Craik and Lockhart in their ‘levels-of-processing’ theory posit that learners make use of various levels of elaboration as they process information. This is achieved through a succession of levels beginning from perception, through attention, to labeling, and lastly meaning. Craik & Lockhart, 1972] Another theory posits that information is processed simultaneously by several different parts of memory system as opposed to sequential processing. [Goleman, 1995] Lastly, Rumelhart and McClelland in their ‘connectionic’ model propose that information is stored in multiple locations in the form of network connections in the brain. It is grounded on the wisdom that the more connected an idea is the more the chances of it to be remembered. Rumelhart & McClelland, 1986; Scientific American, 1999] In a learning situation, the measure of receiving and organizing information, remembering it, and expressing it will obviously differ from one learner to the other. There will always be discrepancies in reading, writing, comprehension, and reasoning among the learners. Those learners who experiences difficulties in organizing, remembering, and expressing information will definitely experience difficulties in reading, writing, comprehension, and reasoning. Such learners are considered as having learning disabilities: they tend to experience difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning or mathematical abilities. They face difficulties in learning new skills, they have poor memory, and they tend to confuse basic words, experience difficulties in connecting letters and sounds, among other difficulties. Lerner (2000)] Since the process of information gathering occurs through the application of logical rules and strategies learners without disabilities are bound to organize, remember, and express information with great ease than those with disabilities. Learners with disabilities will experience difficulties in making use of various levels of elaboration as Craik and Lockhart reasons. They will experience snags in transferring information from one stage to another. In a nutshell the process of information processing is complex and therefore it requires proper learning strategies to make it a success. It requires the best learning strategies that are tied to the needs and interests of students and that are based on varied types of learning styles to enhance maximum learning. [Ekwensi et al, 2006] For instance, before the process of learning begins, a teacher should always aim at gaining the learners attention by using cues to signal when you are ready to begin and keep moving around the class while using voice variations. Always remember to bring to the mind of the learners prior learned content that is relevant to present content. This can be done through a brief discussion or a brief question and answer session aimed at forming a link with the present lesson content. This should be followed by a brief discussion of the main points of what is about to be learned. Learners may also be provided with handouts to get a deeper glimpse of the content. The teaching/learning process should now progress from what is already known to what is not known, from simple to complex. Bransford et al, 2000] The teacher should present the content in chunks while giving the learners opportunities to connect new information to information already known. In order to enhance maximum retaining of the learned content the teacher should also show the learners coding tips, e. g. , through the use of acronyms, simple songs, construction of silly sentences using the first letter of each word in the list and mental imagery techniq ues such as the keyword method. The teacher should also provide repetitive teaching and learning: by stating important points many times using different methods; this helps to build Short Term Memory (STM). [Miller (1956)] Include item on each day’s lesson from previous lesson or even periodically review previously learned skills for building Long Term Memory (LTM). The teacher should also provide enough opportunities for learning and over-learning of important concepts and skills; methods such as daily drills may be applied for arithmetic facts. Huitt (2003)] The teacher should aim at building both STM and LTM. The STM will help to increase the amount of time the learners pay attention to external stimulus and form some meaning out of it. According to Miller (1956) individuals can process up to 7 plus or negative units at any given time, therefore the teacher should aim at helping the learners to identify the most important information to learn at any given time. This can be achieved through proper organiza tion and repetition. To achieve organization the concept of chunking can be applied whereby information will be presented in bits representing units that can be easily remembered. To achieve repetition, the teacher should try to making the learners repeat what they have learned, especially after some time – few minutes (when forgetting begins). The process of learning should also be made sequential, relevant, and transitional. On the other hand, the LTM helps in the recalling of information learned long time ago particularly when such information is arranged and organized using the declarative, procedural, and imagery structures. The declarative memory will help in storing information about things that are talked about in classroom; [Stillings et al, 1987] the procedural memory will store information that touches on ways of doing things practically while the imagery memory will store information inform of images. This program helps to build ‘higher-order-thinking’ and self esteem. In order to build LTM the teacher should apply the ‘Direct Instruction’ method of teaching that provides constant interaction between the students and the teacher. Nonetheless, teachers should make sure that they teach small amount of material in sequential steps, they should make it possible for the learners to use as many of their senses as it is practically possible and that the content material should seek to build on, and enhance the learners’ prior knowledge. The teacher should also make the instructional language more simple but not the content by reinforcing on the main ideas through paraphrasing, repeating, and the use of stimulating learning aids such as charts, maps, and pictures. If possible, the use of technology should be encouraged as learners have been noted to feel free and productive particularly when they are working independently in front of a computer, rather than in crowded classrooms. [Singleton, & Terrill, 1995/96] Conclusions In order to address information processing problems among learners with disabilities, a teacher should understand the common difficulties that they face so as to be able to employ the appropriate learning strategies. Learners with disabilities they experience the inability to manage their time well, they have spelling problems, they cannot follow if the teacher speaks too fast, they are slow readers, they have difficulties in recalling mathematical symbols, and sometimes they may portray impulsive behavior. This calls for a lot of patience on the part of the teacher when dealing with them. To achieve this, the teacher should watch, listen and talk to the learners to establish their strengths and weaknesses, and to use interest-arousing stimulus in the instructional process because learners are more likely to be attentive when the teacher uses a stimulus

Beethoven Vs. Mozart essays

Beethoven Vs. Mozart essays Ludwig Van Beethoven and W.A. Mozart are the two most important musicians of their time. Their pieces are everlasting and will live on forever. Their styles are so unique and uplifting that they could never be matched. These masterminds played in the same time period but their lives differed tremendously. There are some similarities and many differences between these two but one fact will remain: They are the central and most vital part of all music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the most prolific and important musical innovators we have ever seen. His style of music helped re-shape music and the Classical period. Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. Mozart was a child prodigy, claiming most success as a youth. At the age of six, Mozart could play the harpsichord and violin, improvise fugues, write minuets, and read music perfectly. At the age of eight, he wrote a symphony and at eleven, an oratorio. Then amazingly, at the age of twelve he wrote an opera. Mozart's fathe r was Leopold Mozart, a court musician. Both Mozart and Beethoven had help from their fathers in different ways. Mozart's father helped him travel around as a young musician and with this he traveled many places and seen many well-known people and aristocrats. With Mozart's early successes came many challenges to his life. He had greater expectations from the community and from his father. Unlike, Beethoven, Mozart was a bit spoiled as a youth and because of this he would not tolerate to be treated as a servant. He completely relied on his father to help him and would not work with the archbishop. This would become a problem when Mozart did not develop enough initiative and could not make decisions on his own. Then, at age 25, Mozart broke free of Salzburg and became a freelance musician in Vienna. This is where Mozart found some success. He wrote, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, a German opera in 1782. Mozart earned a living giving lessons and holding conc...

APUSH spring terms unit 10 Flashcards Example for Free (#10)

APUSH spring terms unit 10 the transfer of certain powers from the United States Government back to the states; name of President Ronald Reagan’s economic program signed by the US, Canada, and many of the European states in an attempt to improve relations between the Soviet bloc and the West a law intended to check the President’s power to commit the United States to an armed conflict (such as the Vietnam War) without the consent of Congress The United States supported this country’s deposed shah, and its inhabitants retaliated by taking American hostages A communist republic originally led by Josef Stalin; improved relations with the US came with Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev the setting of a partial nuclear meltdown in Pennsylvania; the worst accident in US commercial power plant history a revolutionary government in Nicaragua that allied themselves with the USSR and Cuba a Multinational force was sent here in 1982 to oversee the withdrawal of the Palestine Liberation Organization; in 1983 two truck bombs killed 299 French and American servicemen invaded by the Soviets in 1979 and occupied for 10 years; the invasion caused President Carter to withdraw the Salt II Treaty a country who led by Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and the US retaliated with Operation Desert Storm which basically consisted of massive air strikes against Iraqi targets proposed by Ronald Reagan to use ground and space based systems to protect the US from nuclear missiles the setting of student-led popular demonstrations in Beijing that led to troops invading the square with assault rifles and tanks that inflicted thousands of casualties (also known as the June 4th massacre) served as secretary of state under Presidents Nixon and Ford; pioneered the policy of detente with the Soviet Union; opened relations with the People’s Republic of China; negotiated the Paris Peace Accords which ended the Vietnam War; received the Nobel Peace Prize Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1969-1986; ruled against Nixon in his attempt to withhold tapes during the Watergate Scandal; also determined the legality of abortion in Roe v. Wade an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the moon released the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times in 1971; a study of top-secret government documents about information withheld from the American people during the Vietnam War presided over the trial of the Watergate burglars; ordered President Nixon to turn over his recordings of White House conversations two journalists that uncovered a system of political â€Å"dirty tricks† and crimes that eventually led to indictments of forty White House and administration officials, and ultimately to the resignation of President Richard Nixon (The Watergate Scandal) the first special prosecutor for the Watergate Scandal; indirectly fired by Nixon for demanding that he release his recordings of the conversations in the Oval office Special counsel to President Nixon; one of the â€Å"Watergate Seven†, those who pled guilty to obstruction of justice for defame Daniel Ellsberg the 37th president of the United States who was the only president to resign from office became Vice President under Richard Nixon after Spiro Agnew resigned; became president after Nixon resigned; only president to serve as both Vice President and President without being elected by the Electoral College; criticized for pardoning Nixon; served under a weak economy and wanted to â€Å"WIN† (Whip Inflation Now) created the Department of Energy; oversaw the signing of the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt; failed to recover hostages during the Iranian Hostage Crisis applied the theory of supply-side economics (if corporate taxes are reduced, those corporations will earn greater profits and then hire more employees, called voo-doo economics by Bush); lobbied Congress for a tax cut for all Americans; greatest success was with American-Soviet relations with Mikhail Gorbachev (â€Å"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall†) campaign focused on â€Å"Read my lips: no new taxes†; criticized for eventually raising taxes as part of a budget agreement with Congress in 1990 President of Egypt; assassinated by fundamentalist army officers in 1971 evangelical fundamentalist Southern Baptist pastor, televangelist, and a conservative political commentator; cofounded the Moral Majority a Marine Corps colonel and National Security Council Staff member who was involved in the clandestine sale of weapons to Iran in order to encourage release of hostages held in Lebanon (Iran-Contra scandal) Secretary of State under George W. Bush; first African-American secretary of state he co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc’s first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland Gerald Ford’s running mate in 1976 and the Republican nominee in 1996 against President Bill Clinton established NAFTA, also impeached for perjury during the Lewinsky scandal spent 27 years in prison for â€Å"sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government† in South Africa, and upon his release, he began negotiations with President F.W. de Klerk which led to the removal of apartheid; then elected President of South Africa in 1990 We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy We will write a custom sample essay on APUSH spring terms unit 10 specifically