Looks Might Be Deceiving

Looks Might Be Deceiving Free Online Research Papers In our daily life, we face many life-changing events, some of which might be meeting new people we never knew before, going through a certain experience, or even simply discovering things that have always been there around you but you never learned about earlier. Let’s start off by people. Millions of people live around us daily, but who do we get to know? Only the ones that we work with or in my case, the people who study at my school. Why is that? We are afraid that if we got to know new people, they might disappoint us, or even break our hearts in certain cases. Every one of us has his own â€Å"bad† characteristics, but in some people these might show more than others. For example, you might be at the grocery store one day and as you reach your queue at the cashier, you realize you forgot your wallet at home. To your surprise the guy behind you in-line unhesitatingly offers to pay for your goods. You eventually get to know the guy and then one day you mistakenly find out that by day he’s your average every-day accountant, but by night he is a highly wanted car thief. This might be really disappointing for you, as it will also leave a bad impression on you that will make you think in certain way such as: ‘Why sh ould I meet new people? Maybe they turned out to be murderers, alcoholics, drug addicts, thieves etc’ On the other hand, life isn’t just people, who we know and who we don’t. It’s also our surrounding environment that could contain physically deceiving material. One model that might be focuses upon is the ocean. The ocean, according to scientists, makes up about 70% of the earth’s surface. Looking at the ocean we would be stunned by the amazing reefs, different sizes and colors of fish, sea plants. But if we took a closer, deeper look, we would be surprised to find out that those gentle and harmless waves on the top were deceiving us and hiding from us what lies beneath. Fish eating each other, sharks attacking harmless small sea creatures, octopi squirting there dark blue ink around, or even rich divers diving around in search for trophies to take back home and boast in front of other friends. â€Å"Where Dreams Come True†, â€Å"Where Friendship is the Largest Jackpot!†, â€Å"Where players win†, â€Å"Your road to Riches!†. Weren’t those attractive? Well I wouldn’t like to disappoint you but those were famous casino slogans. As my concluding point I would like to mention casinos as you can see. Casinos, also known as places where you would most probably destroy your life or if you were surprisingly lucky, be able to score the jackpot and win loads of money. But what are the odds of that happening? Nobody actually knows. People go there with one aim, mainly to have fun and gain some extra cash, while they actually return home disappointed to the fact that they almost got broke. As a conclusion I’d like to state a well known saying, â€Å"NEVER judge a book by its cover†. No matter how attractive the physical appearance is, you can never know what actually lies beneath unless you experience it, which can sometimes have harsh consequences. Research Papers on Looks Might Be DeceivingThe Hockey GameThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsGenetic EngineeringThe Spring and AutumnStandardized TestingThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationHip-Hop is ArtHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayPersonal Experience with Teen Pregnancy19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

A Brief History of Kosovo Independence

A Brief History of Kosovo Independence Following the demise of the Soviet Union and its domination over Eastern Europe in 1991, the constituent components of Yugoslavia began to dissolve. For some time, Serbia, retaining the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and under control of the genocidal Slobodan Milosevic, forcefully retained possession of nearby provinces. History of Kosovo Independence Over time, places such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro gained independence. The southern Serbian region of Kosovo, however, remained part of Serbia. The Kosovo Liberation Army fought Milosevic’s Serbian forces and a war of independence took place from about 1998 through 1999. On June 10, 1999, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution which ended the war, established a NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, and provided for some autonomy which included a 120-member assembly. Over time, Kosovo’s desire for full independence grew. The United Nations, the European Union, and the United States worked with Kosovo to develop an independence plan. Russia was a major challenge for Kosovo independence because Russia, as a U.N. Security Council member with veto power, promised they would veto and plan for Kosovo independence that did not address Serbia’s concerns. On February 17, 2008, ​the Kosovo Assembly unanimously (109 members present) voted to declare independence from Serbia. Serbia declared that the independence of Kosovo was illegal and Russia supported Serbia in that decision. However, within four days of Kosovo’s declaration of independence, fifteen countries (including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Australia) recognized the independence of Kosovo. By mid-2009, 63 countries around the world, including 22 of the 27 members of the European Union had recognized Kosovo  as independent. Several dozen countries have established embassies or ambassadors in Kosovo. Challenges remain for Kosovo to obtain full international recognition and over time, the de facto status of Kosovo as independent will likely spread so that almost all of the world’s countries will recognize Kosovo as independent. However, United Nations membership will likely be held up for Kosovo until Russia and China agree to the legality of Kosovo’s existence. Kosovo is home to approximately 1.8 million people, 95% of whom are ethnic Albanians. The largest city and capital are Pristina (about half a million people). Kosovo borders Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, and the Republic of Macedonia.

Relegion - Islamic studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Relegion - Islamic studies - Essay Example al Mundhir's vision of "a commander (amir) from among us and a commander from among you."1 and the combination of Umar b. al-Khatab's oath of allegiance and the beating of the Khazraji leader Said b. Ubaida resolved the dispute.2 Despite the general baya that took place in the main mosque shortly after this event, several sahabi from Bana Hahim and al-Shams refused to give Aba Bakr the baya for six months. A significant reason for this delay may have been Abu Bakr's confiscation of the Prophet's significant revenue producing lands and the subsequent denial of the right of inheritance to his relatives on the basis of a purported prophetic saying that prophets "do not bequeath [to heirs." Ali, Al Abbas, Abu As b. Abi Rabia, Aban b'Said and Khalid b. Said are all reported to have delayed giving Abu Bakr the baya until after the death of Fatima, who was buried secretly without the knowledge of the caliph. Ibn Ubaida, the beaten Ansari, who was one of the prestigious twelve nuqaba who fac ilitated the emigration of the Prophet to Yathrib in his time of need, never gave the bya to Abu Bakr and may have been the only sahabi who withheld his allegiance to Umar.3 The second major conflict among the sahaba was the ridda wars whose execution was justified again on the basis of a prophetic hudith over the objections of Umar. These battles pitted Abu Bakr and his Muslim armies against tribes that ranged from advocates of the self-proclaimed prophet Musaylama to Muslims who did not wish to pay the alms tax to the caliph in Medina. Iba Said identifies six men of the fourth tabaqa of sahaba, namely those who embraced Islam after the conquest of Mecca, who participated in the ridawars against Abu Bakr's fiscal policy. Only one of these men, Malik b. Nuwayra. is reported to have been killed, despite his claim that he was not an apostate. All of the remaining five men were captured and pardoned by Abu Bakr, and two of them later played a role in the victory at Qadisiya against the Sasanids. Abu Bakr even married his sister Umm Farawa bint Abi Quhafa to the powerful Yemeni rebel al-Ash-ath b. Qays. who later served with distinction at the battle of Niha vand. Qays b. Makshub, who killed at least two Muslims in the riddo wars, was forgiven by Abu Bakr over Umar's objections. 'Uyayna b. Hisn. who had lied to the prophet during the campaign against Al Taif was "brought back to Islam" by the words of Abu Bakr despite having joined Tulayha's prophetic challenge. The third episode of intra-Moslem violence involved various members of the "pious opposition" Uthman's policies and the Egyptian delegation, some of whose partisans ultimately murdered him. The most flagrant confrontations include the beating of Abdallah b. Masud and Ammar b. Yasir, as well as the banishment of Abo Dharr al Ghifarri to Ribadha. Uthman's harsh treatment of these early sahaba was publicly condemned by Aisha; other sahaba who stirred up protests against the caliph included Talha b. Ubayd Allah and Amr b. As.4 Abdel al Rahman b. Awf, the sahabi on the shura who essentially appointed Uthman as Umar's successor, stipulated that Uthman was not to lead his funeral prayers, a request that was later honoured in

Anything free style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anything free style - Essay Example Taking pictures and video-recording used to be two different jobs but now a digital camera performs a number of functions at the same time. It was quite costly when new but now prices have come down as a number of manufacturers are in the business. So, mostly all families have a digital camera. Purchasing a digital camera is not easy as a wrong decision can result in outdated purchase that has no guarantee of its parts. To save one from this error, one should buy a device which is quite costly than the average market price so that all latest features are there in that digital camera. One should look out for the price, the image resolution, size of the memory card, the LCD display, the interface, and the weight & size of a digital camera while purchasing. One important quality feature of a digital camera is its resolution, which technically is based on the number of pixels. A camera with higher pixels is known as better than lower number of pixels. Before buying a digital camera, it is important to know for what purpose you are buying it. For a big photo, using the zoom function on a small resolution camera will not provide a bigger picture. Zoom function can save money but the quality of picture is not good. It is better to select a better camera with a lesser memory. LCD- display is must to remove unwanted images and perform other functions related with LCD. Other features of digital cameras are creating a slide show, a digital photo album, and presentation on a computer, TV or multimedia projector. You can get images printed without using a computer. One can send images using email via the Internet. This is the most worthy feature of a digital camera. Digital cameras come in the price range of $300 to $9000 but don’t expect many features from a camera of $300. The popular brands selling digital cameras are: Sony, Canon and Nikon. Others include Casio, Fuji, HP, Kodak, Konica, and

Diversity in Sports Essay Example for Free

Diversity in Sports Essay Diversity in sports simply means equal opportunities for every athlete irregardless of gender, color, race, or origin. This is what the true spirit of competition should be all about. Sports should not only involve the white race, Americans, or men but also other races and sex(Jackson 2007). Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. , in his report to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said that in recent years, diversity in sports has become very evident. In the world of American football, the Indianapolis Colts, coached by an African-American, won a Super Bowl. In baseball, the Chicago White Sox, a multi-racial team managed by Ozzie Guillen, a Latino, and Ken Williams, an African-American, won the World Series in 2005. A year later, the New York Mets, who is managed by a Latino manager and an African-American general manager, almost duplicated the White Sox’ feat, losing only in Game 7 of the National League Championship. This goes to show that moves to diversify sports are moving forward(Jackson 2007). The National Basketball Association (NBA) has led the way in terms of sports diversity by opening its doors to other races. Long ago, the NBA was dominated by Americans or Canadians. Recently, however, one can see the teams drafting players from Europe and recently Asia. The Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) are likewise starting to provide opportunities for other races which is why spectators would get to see the likes of Alfonso Soriano and Sammy Sossa hitting homeruns here and there(Jackson 2007). Diversity in Sports 4 The NBA: Taking the Lead In Diversity Leading the way as far as diversity in professional sports is the National Basketball Association (NBA). For more than twenty years, the NBA has become the leader in promoting equal opportunities to all races. Here are some NBA diversity facts and figures as reported by The Institute for Diversity in Ethics and Sports(Spears, 2007): 15% of team vice presidents in the NBA are held by colored people, which is the highest in all of professional sports. 79% of NBA players have colors. In 2007, the number of African-American players increased to 75% which is higher than the 73% recorded in 2006. Employment opportunities for colored people at the League offices were at 34 percent, which is 2% higher than the previous year. 39% of professional positions in the League Office are occupied by women. 12 teams in the NBA are handled by African-American coaches. The NBA’s total of 40% still tops all of professional sports. With 53 African-American head coaches, the NBA has more than doubled the number of colored head coaches in any other professional sports. Next in line is the MLB with 25 colored managers. 41% of assistant coaches in the NBA are colored which is the highest so far in the history of the league. Diversity in Sports 5 There are four African-American CEO/Presidents in the league and two other presidents of basketball operations. To date, they are the only people who have held such position in all of professional sports. In 2006, there were eight African-American general managers in the NBA, which tops other professional sports league. By the end of 2006-07, the NBA had 64 percent white referees, 32 percent African-American, 3 percent Latin Americans, and a single black referee in Violet Palmer. Diversity in College Sports While professional sports is heading towards diversity, such is not the case in college sports. According to a report by the University of Central Florida, diversity has not been progressing in collegiate leagues. Here are the facts(Belew, 2006): In Division I schools, only 25. 2% of head coaches are African-American which is higher by 2% than the previous year. In Division IA, out of a total of 119 football head coaches, only six are African-American and zero percent are women. In college basketball, only 4. 1% of head coaches come from the minority group with 2. 6% being Latin Americans. The enforcement of Title IX did not help the cause of women in college sports as not a single one of them is represented. Diversity in Sports 6 In sports involving women, most Division I, II, and III coaching jobs are occupied by 89. 6%, 90. 9%, and 92. 9%, respectively. In the men’s division, the breakdown was 90. 6%, 89. 5%, and 93. 4%, respectively, served as head coaches. Diversity in the Olympics The Olympic Games is one of the many sporting competitions that practices diversity in sports. Once every four years, athletes from various nations converge in one venue in order to have a shot at sports excellence(Guttmann, nd). There are two varieties of this international sporting event namely Winter and Summer Olympics. Contemporary Olympics started in Athens, Greece in 1896, a couple of years after Pierre de Coubertin proposed the holding of an Olympic Games to push for peace in the world. The inaugural Games only had about 300 athletes from less than 15 countries taking part in 43 events in nine disciplines. When the Olympics returned to Athens in 2004, the number of participants had ballooned to 10,000 athletes representing 202 nations vying in 28 various sports(Guttmann, nd). Women In The Olympics During the inaugural Olympics, there were no female athletes who took part in the Games. Four years later, however, golf and tennis allowed the participation of women. In 1912, swimming and diving became available for women athletes as well. Sixteen years later during the 1928 Games, gymnastics and track and field had female athletes likewise. Since then, the number of women competing in the Olympics have considerably increased. At present, fifty percent of all teams are comprised by women, with the exception of the Muslim countries, where female participation is minimal(Guttmann, nd). Diversity in Sports 7 The Paralympics Games In the true spirit of diversity in sports, disabled people can have an opportunity to experience competitive spirit and sports excellence with their own version of the Olympic Games. Introduced in 1960, in conjunction with the Olympic Games in Rome, the Paralympics, as it is called, highlights male and female athletes representing six various disability groups. The emphasis of the Paralympics Games is not on the disability but on individual achievements. Since then, the growth of the event has become steady. From the initial 400 athletes that took part in 1960, a total of 3806 athletes representing 136 nations took part during the 2004 Athens Paralympics Games. Beijing, China will be the cite of the next Paralympics Games(International Paralympics Committee, nd). Conclusion When it comes to sports, not a single nation can dominate all the events. While host nations of the Olympics choose the events where they have the advantage, chances are other nations will beat them in other fronts. This is what diversity in sports is all about. Fairness and equality in the light of competition. References Belew, B(2006 December 17). Diversity in College Sports – Coaching. The Biz of Knowledge. Retrieved July 14 2008 from http://www. thebizofknowledge. com/2006/12/diversity_in_college_sports_co_1. html Guttman, A(nd). Olympic Games. Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 14 2008 from http://www. encarta. msn. com

The Role of Marketing Research at Nike :: Business Management Studies

The Role of Marketing Research at Nike This essay answers the following six questions concerning Nike. Q1.) Should Nike switch from a focus on celebrities to a focus on its products in its advertising? Discuss the role of marketing research in helping the Nike management to make this decision. What kind of research should be undertaken? Q2.) Discuss the buying behavior of consumer with respect to athletic footwear. Q3.) What is the management decision problem as it attempts to retain its leadership position? Q4.) Discuss marketing research problem facing Nike, given the management decision problem you have identified? Q5.) Develop two suitable research questions and formulate two hypotheses for each. Q6.) How can internet be used to help Nike in conducting marketing research and in marketing its product. Q1.) Should Nike switch from a focus on celebrities to a focus on its products in its advertising? Discuss the role of marketing research in helping the Nike management to make this decision. What kind of research should be undertaken? Answer:- Yes, it should change its focus from celebrities to its product as we can see that the Nike Shox was a run away success in U.K and U.S. Marketing research will help Nike management to find out eh effectiveness of celebrities focused adds to product feature adds. Descriptive research should be undertaken as it gives a conclusive result. Q2.) Discuss the buying behavior of consumer with respect to athletic footwear. Answer: - People buy things for obvious and hidden reasons. The importance of the product determines the amount of thought and effort into the purchase. For instance buying behavior of athletic footwear will be different for serious sports athletics and different for other consumers. Athletic footwear can be categorized into 3 types: Athleisure = Casual athletic styles, canvas, suede, etc. Recreational Boots = Hunting, Fishing. Waterboot etc. Sports based = Golf, Basketball, Soccer etc. There are essential factors that consumers take into consideration before purchasing a new pair of Athleisure shoes. Stability?the shoes should have a balanced and secure feel throughout range of motion. Flexibility?the shoes should allow for a good degree of give at the base of the toes, providing smooth motion. Comfort?walking shoes should comprise contours and padding conformed closely to the feet, providing a snug fit at the heel and midfoot, with ample room in the forefoot. There are essential factors that Athletics take into consideration before purchasing a new pair of Sports based shoes. Heelcounter?the area of the shoe that holds the back of the heel, just

Educational Paradigms Essay

Paradigms are ways of thinking or getting things done. As time passes and new concepts evolve, the way things are being done or implemented begin to undergo significant changes. Paradigms are continually shifting and this is unavoidable. For example, prior to the beginning of the information age, education could only be achieved by physically seeking admission and going through manual registration processes before one could be considered a student. The situation has changed today. Most of these processes may now be achieved online, as is the case with American Intercontinental University (AIU). A new educational paradigm has been ushered in as a result of technological advancements (Riegle, n. d. ). Which paradigm best describes your current learning organizational environment? Why? Provide an example. The ideal paradigm is the one that favours the emergence of standard practices, improved methodologies, and a range of resources that help to establish benchmarks and develop instructional strategies that give students the opportunity to learn properly and reap the benefits of education optimally. American Intercontinental University (AIU) provides an online educational system that offers increased accessibility to students from the convenience of their homes. This is accomplished through the use of up-to-date technological devices, software programs, internet connection, and computers. Since technology has turned the world into a global village, the educational paradigm is gradually shifting from the use of traditional classrooms to an online learning system. This learning platform has necessitated the need for an interactive method of learning to supplement the lecture materials, sample essays and the numerous resources that are made available to students to facilitate their learning process. For example, Instructional strategies that involve the use of chat rooms, discussion groups, emails, forums or message boards are employed to achieve learning. How does your organizational paradigm affect your assessments and measurement of student learning? AIU strives to balance learning strategies by adopting principles of various learning theories and applying them to instructional design and students’ assessment. The University presents materials to students in formats that they can easily understand, usually in the form of video, audio, presentations, and other related methods. Measurement of student learning is achieved through the evaluation of students’ participation in group activities, discussion groups, learning teams, chat rooms, and ability to use concept maps, mnemonics or organizers to reflect their knowledge of concepts. This is in support of the Cognitivism theory which states that it is important to understand how the human mind works so that we can understand how students learn (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2008). Assessment of learning is also done by giving students home work, assignments or group projects so that they can learn through their own activities and personal experiences. This is a very important paradigm at AIU since most of the learning activities take place online. Students are encouraged to learn through simulation, exploration and active participation in message boards and various projects assigned to them. This method of assessment is in agreement with the constructivism theory which states that knowledge is imbibed through active participation and engagement of the learner. The theory asserts that for knowledge to be retained, it is important to link new concepts with familiar concepts (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2008). On a personal level, which paradigm do you feel most represents your own views of education and assessment? Even though technology has its numerous benefits and offers students various opportunities of convenience and ease of use, traditional learning methods should also be sustained because each style of learning has its own benefits. It’s important to maximize the advantages of each learning style so that optimal results may be achieved. In consonance with the theory of behaviorism, good performance should always be rewarded with praise, awards or any other form of recognition to encourage the students, while the undesired behavior (bad performance) may be rewarded by holding back such rewards (Learning Theories Knowledgebase, 2008). This ensures that individual performances in learning are immediately observed and weak points are focused on for possible improvement. By balancing the learning theories and employing the use of best practices in administering lectures to students, learning can indeed become an enhanced and exciting experience. References Learning Theories Knowledgebase. (2008). Index of Learning Theories and Models. Retrieved September 25, 2008 from http://www. learning-theories. com Riegle, R. P. (n. d. ). Educational Paradigms. Visionary Leadership for the Information Age. Retrieved September 26 from http://people. coe. ilstu. edu/rpriegle/wwwdocs/paradigm/welcome. htm

Dell Computers: a Case Study in Low Inventory

When managers discuss low inventory levels, Dell is invariably discussed. Hell, even I've mentioned Dell on this site. So why all the commotion? Has their low inventory Really  helped out that much? In short, yes. This article is primarily going to discuss how much it helped. This article will not discuss how they achieved such high inventory turns using a state of the art just in time inventory system. Reasoning behind need for lower inventory The first thing that needs to be discussed is why low inventory has such a great effect on Dell's overall performance. The reason is quite simple: computers depreciate at a very high rate. Sitting in inventory, a computer loses a ton of value. As Dell's CEO, Kevin Rollins, put it in an interview with Fast Company: â€Å"The longer you keep it the faster it deteriorates — you can literally see the stuff rot,† he says. â€Å"Because of their short product lifecycles, computer components depreciate anywhere from a half to a full point a week. Cutting inventory is not just a nice thing to do. It's a financial imperative. † We're going to assume that the depreciation is a full point per week (1%/week) and use that to determine how much money high inventory turns can save Dell. This means that for every 7 days a computer sits in Dell's warehouses, the computer loses 1% of its value. Ok, now that we know how much Dell loses for each day, let's take a look at some of Dell's data over the past 10 years that I pulled from www. hemanufacturer. com What I got from this was the inventory turns. An inventory turn, as this website successfully describes it, is â€Å"cost of goods sold from the income statement divided by value of inventory from the balance sheet†. Typically, this is turned into a value showing how many days worth of inventory a firm has by dividing inventory turnover by 365. I divided the inventory turnover by 52 in order to show how many weeks worth of inventory Dell holds. Key point to notice here is that Dell was carrying over 10 weeks worth of inventory in 1993. By 2001, Dell was carrying less than 1 week's worth of inventory. This essentially means that inventory used to sit around for 11 weeks and now it sits around for less than 1 week. So what does this mean for Dell? Remember, computers lose 1 percent of their value per week. This isn't like the canned food industry where managers can let their supplies sit around for months before anyone bats an eye. Computers aren’t canned goods, and as Kevin Rollins of Dell put it, computers â€Å"rot†. The longer a computer sits around, the less it is worth. That said, due to depreciation alone, in 1993 Dell was losing roughly 10% per computer just by allowing computers to sit around before they were sold. In 2001, Dell was losing less than a percent. Based on holding costs alone, Dell reduced costs by nearly 9%. Since 2001, Dell has continueed to lower inventory. Looking at their latest annual reports, day's inventory has dropped by approximately a day. Hopefully this article provided you with a practical example that demonstrates the positive effects lower inventory can have on a firm's overall costs. For more information regarding lawyers in the Texas area, check out Dallas Fort Worth trucking accident attorney. For more basic information regarding holding costs, please read A Simplified Look at the Pros and Cons of Inventory.

Adolf Hitler3 essays

Adolf Hitler3 essays I am writing this report on Adolf Hitler, who would one day lead a movement that would change the world. Adolf Hitler was born in the small Austrian village of Braunau Am Inn on April 20, 1889. Adolfs father, Aolis, was born in 1837. Aolis had always used the last name of his mother, Schicklgruber. After some years his uncle convinced him to change his last name to Hiedler, to continue the family name. When it was time to write the name down in the record book it was spelled Hitler, so in 1876, at age 39, Aolis Schicklgruber became Aolis Hitler. In 1885 at the age of 48, Aolis married Klara Polzl, age 24. On April 20, 1889, Adolf was born and baptized Catholic. Hitlers father was then 52 years old. Eleven years later, the Hitler household consisted of Adolf, Edmund, Paula, Aolis Jr., and Angela. At age 7 Adolf and his family moved to Lambach, Austria. This would be the first of several moves the family would have to take. In Lambach, Adolf attended a school where the ancient monasteries were decorated with many different signs, one of which was a swastika. Later on in Adolf became very interested in German Nationalism. Also during this time, both of Adolfs parents died, his father of a lung hemorrage and his mother of natural causes. He dropped out of school in 1905 at age 16. Eight years later, Hitler fled to Vienna to escape arrest as a deserter from the Austrian army. He lived in Munich until the outbreak of World War I, when he volunteered for service in the German army. During the war he served as a dispatch runner on the western front. He also was promoted to corporal, was wounded twice, and was awarded the Iron Cross, both for first and second class, for bravery. After the war ended Hitler became increasingly and vocally anti-semitic (against jews). This began the Development of the Nazi party in 1919. In the beginning, he was assigned to spy on political parties. On Septemb...

The Myths of the Founding of Rome

The Myths of the Founding of Rome By tradition, the city of Rome was founded in 753 B.C.* The stories  about the founding of Rome are conflicting, but there are two main founding figures to look out for: Romulus (after whom the city may have been named) and Aeneas. It is also possible that Evander of Arcadia founded Rome. Much of the information on the founding of Rome comes from the first book of Livys history of Rome. Aeneas as Founder of Rome The Trojan prince Aeneas, an important figure linking the Romans with the Trojans and the goddess Venus, is sometimes credited with the founding of Rome as the culmination of his post-Trojan War adventures, but the version of the Roman foundation myth that is most familiar is that of Romulus, the first king of Rome.   The Romulus and Remus Myth Romulus and Remus were twin brothers, the sons of a vestal virgin named Rhea Silvia (also called Ilia) and the god Mars, according to legend. Since vestal virgins could be buried alive if they violated their chastity vows, whoever forced Rhea Silvia to enter the equivalent of an ancient convent assumed that Rhea Silvia would remain childless. The grandfather and great-uncle of the twins were Numitor and Amulius, who between them divided the wealth and kingdom of Alba Longa (a city founded by Aeneas son Ascanius), but then Amulius seized Numitors share and became sole ruler. To prevent retaliation by the offspring of his brother, Amulius made his niece a vestal virgin. When Rhea became pregnant, her life was spared because of the special pleading of Amulius daughter Antho. Although she kept her life, Rhea was imprisoned. Contrary to plan, the virgin Rhea was impregnated by the god Mars. When the twin boys were born, Amulius wished to have them killed, and so bid someone, perhaps Faustulus, a swineherd, expose the boys. Faustulus left the twins on the river bank where a she-wolf nursed them, and a woodpecker fed and guarded them until Faustulus took them into his care again. The two boys were well educated by Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia. They grew up to be strong and attractive. They say that his name was Faustulus; and that they were carried by him to his homestead and given to his wife Larentia to be brought up. Some are of the opinion that Larentia was called Lupa among the shepherds from her being a common prostitute, and hence an opening was afforded for the marvellous story.- Livy Book I As adults, Remus found himself imprisoned, and in the presence of Numitor, who determined from his age that Remus and his twin brother could be his grandsons. Learning of Remus predicament, Faustulus told Romulus the truth of his birth and sent him off to rescue his brother. Amulius was despised, and so Romulus drew a crowd of supporters as he approached Alba Longa to kill the king. The twins re-installed their grandfather Numitor on the throne and freed their mother who had been imprisoned for her crime. The Establishment of Rome Since Numitor now ruled Alba Longa, the boys needed their own kingdom and settled in the area in which they had been raised, but the two young men couldnt decide on the exact site and started building separate sets of walls around different hills: Romulus, around the Palatine; Remus, around the Aventine. There they took auguries to see which area the gods favored. On the basis of conflicting omens, each twin claimed his was the site of the city. An angry Remus jumped over Romulus wall and Romulus killed him. Rome was therefore named after Romulus: A more common account is that Remus, in derision of his brother, leaped over the newly-erected walls, and was thereupon slain by Romulus in a fit of passion, who, mocking him, added words to this effect: So perish every one hereafter, who shall leap over my walls. Thus Romulus obtained possession of supreme power for himself alone. The city, when built, was called after the name of its founder.- Livy Book I Aeneas and Alba Longa Aeneas, son of the goddess Venus and the mortal Anchises, left the burning city of Troy at the end of the Trojan War, with his son Ascanius. After many adventures, which the Roman poet Vergil or Virgil describes in the Aeneid, Aeneas and his son arrived at the city of Laurentum on the west coast of Italy. Aeneas married Lavinia, the daughter of a local king, Latinus, and founded the town of Lavinium in honor of his wife. Ascanius, son of Aeneas, decided to build a new city, which he named Alba Longa, under the Alban mountain. Alba Longa was the hometown of Romulus and Remus, who were separated from Aeneas by about a dozen generations. Aeneas was hospitably entertained at the house of Latinus; there Latinus, in the presence of his household gods, cemented the public league by a family one, by giving Aeneas his daughter in marriage. This event fully confirmed the Trojans in the hope of at length terminating their wanderings by a lasting and permanent settlement. They built a town, which Aeneas called Lavinium after the name of his wife. Shortly afterward also, a son was the issue of the recently concluded marriage, to whom his parents gave the name of Ascanius.- Livy Book I Plutarch on Possible Founders of Rome ... Roma, from whom this city was so called, was the daughter of Italus and Leucaria; or, by another account, of Telephus, Herculess son, and that she was married to Aeneas, or ... to Ascanius, Aeneass son. Some tell us that Romanus, the son of Ulysses and Circe, built it; some, Romus the son of Emathion, Diomede having sent him from Troy; and others, Romus, king of the Latins, after driving out the Tyrrhenians, who had come from Thessaly into Lydia, and from thence into Italy.- Plutarch Isidore of Seville on Evander and the Founding of Rome There is a line (313) in the 8th book of the Aeneid that suggests Evander of Arcadia founded Rome. Isidore of Seville reports this as one of the stories told about the founding of Rome.   A banishd band,Drivn with Evander from th Arcadian land,Have planted here, and placd on high their walls;Their town the founder Pallanteum calls,Derivd from Pallas, his great-grandsires name:But the fierce Latians old possession claim,With war infesting the new colony.These make thy friends, and on their aid rely.- Dryden translation from Book 8 of the Aeneid. Points to Note About the Roman Founding Legend Rome was founded on 21 April 753 B.C., according to tradition. It was celebrated in Rome with the festival of Parilia.Because a woodpecker tended to the twins, the woodpecker was sacred to Rome.In some versions of the story, Rhea was drowned and then married the river god Tiber.When Faustulus first let the twins go, they floated into the river and then washed ashore at the base of a fig tree. This was the site where they built their city.In some versions, Acca Larentalia was a prostitute.The stories of the founding of Rome are just that, stories. The legends, as a whole, are not confirmed by tangible evidence although they can be used to help interpret some bits of archaeological data. * 753 B.C. is an important year to know since some Romans reckoned their years from this beginning time (ab urbe condita), although the names of the consuls were more commonly used to pinpoint a year. When viewing Roman dates you may see them listed as xyz year A.U.C., which means xyz years from (after) the founding of the city. You might write the year 44 B.C. as 710 A.U.C. and the year A.D. 2010 as 2763 A.U.C.; the latter, in other words, 2763 years from the founding of Rome.

English Language Larners Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

English Language Larners Case Study - Essay Example For example, we are told that Elsa does not have enough people around her with whom she would practice the speaking of English language when she goes home. Worse of all, there are not as many English language learning materials around her at home as there are Spanish learning materials. Meanwhile, learning through literacy development brings out the idea that practice is one of the best ways to master the learning of English language (Smiley and Salsberry, 2007). This is because as people practice what they have learnt, they get the opportunity to make mistakes and also correct these mistakes. Constant practice also speeds up the process of gaining proficiency as it makes the learner have the luxury of devising personal methodologies of learning the language. Again for Elsa, what is happening is that she is suffering interference in her attempt to learn English as a second language as in school, she gets the opportunity of speaking Spanish with other colleagues who are Hispanic. Inde ed, if English had been the only language she spoke in school, the need for her to take her English lessons seriously would have gone up because that would have been the only way by which she would have had people to communicate with. As far as those happenings that we are not particularly certain about are concerned, mention can be made of the fact that Elsa is not receiving much parental support as far as the learning of English as a second language is concerned. This assumption is made against the background that in the case of Elsa, we read of no drastic attempts being made by the parents or other relations at home to get the little English learner motivated to learn English at the fastest rate possible. It is said that motivation are different and comes in different forms. The two generalized types of motivation that can be applied to a young English language learner like Elsa are intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Presently, any of these forms of motivation seem to be absent at home for Elsa. If intrinsic motivation was available for Elsa, we would have read of her parents trying to motivate her by trying to speak English with her, getting her as extra class teacher, praising her on her attempts and efforts in learning the English language, and planning special holidays for her for efforts she puts up at school. If extrinsic motivation were also available, we would have read of parents of Elsa buying English language learning materials like wall charts, books and films for Elsa. Indeed, motivation is an important element and reinforcement that speeds up the rate of learning for any new English language learner like Elsa. Four different relevant issues Judging from the readings, there are number of important issues that come up to describe the type of English language learner that Elsa is. Most of these issues also help us in knowing precisely what is wrong with the progress rate of Elsa and how this problem can be corrected or minimized. The first issue that is directly related to the type of English language learner Elsa is has to do with the issue of a learner who lags behind when it comes to English language learning experience. This was made manifest when she was presented with the chapter to read. It is a good sign that Ms Smith also identified this and started thinking of ways of helping Elsa to get more out of the reading experience. The second issue