The Portrayal of Women in the Odyssey Essays

The Portrayal of Women in the Odyssey Essays The Portrayal of Women in the Odyssey Paper The Portrayal of Women in the Odyssey Paper Essay Topic: The Odyssey Women play an important role in the epic, The Odyssey, written by Homer. Set in a period subsequent to the Trojan War, the accounts of Odysseus and his trials and tribulations feature four main types of women: the goddess, the seductress, the witch and the good wife. Each of these portrays the role of women in a different way, some in complete contrast to the actual civilization of the period. Ancient Greece was very much a patriarchal society. Men were regarded as of higher status than women, and were seen as the stronger gender. Sports were reserved purely for men, as were literature, politics and philosophy. Typically, a woman was judged, not by her own achievements, but by the wealth and status of her father or husband. A woman would be forced to be married at a young age, keep the house for her husband and have children. Usually, ancient Greek women were not educated, although in Athens, women were taught to read, at school or at home, simple facts on mythology, religion and occasionally musical instruments and as with most other places in ancient Greece, they learnt the basics of the household; spinning, weaving, sewing, cooking and other household jobs. The immortal goddesses contrast with the distinctive characteristics of an ancient Greek woman in the Odyssey. Athena, goddess of wisdom, for example, addresses the Gods, including her father, despite the traditions of status. By ignoring these traditions, Athena shows her strength and confidence. It seems she is outspoken, and is more a typical representation of a modern day woman than that of ancient Greece. Throughout the book, Athena shows considerable pity for Odysseus, despite the fact that men were supposedly the stronger gender: she used her persuasion to encourage the gods to reconsider their destiny for him, and set him free from Calypsos island, and she inspired thoughts for Odysseus when he is enduring the wrath of Poseidon on his journey to the island of the Phaeacians. At this point, Athena interrupts Odysseus negative thoughts of being colliding with rough rocks, to give him the idea of holding onto one of the rocks as the waves crashed against them. Not only does she stir notions within Odysseus, but Athena aids him more subtly by promoting thoughts in other people. For example, when Odysseus is washed up on Scherie, Athena appears in Nausicaas dream as one of her friends. She persuades her that she should go and wash her clothes in the river, which is where she first encounters Odysseus, and aids him in his ongoing quest by taking him to her parents for hospitality. The second of woman is the seductress. The Nymph Calypso saves Odysseus when he is washed upon the shore of her island, and keeps him as a sexual prisoner for 7 years, offering immortality in return for him staying with her. She is a perfect example of how women could be powerful against man, yet still be overruled. This is because when she keeps Odysseus captive on Ogygia, Odysseus has no power to do any different. However, it is Zeus final decision that he should be released from her island, and Hermes, messenger to the gods, who tells her. These are both men making her do something she doesnt want to, but she has to obey them, which is a reflection of the ancient Greek traditions. Additionally, Calypso is also seen as the model hostess, offering her guest ambrosia, nectar and clothes. She does this with ease and pleasure, as she even offers Hermes these things before asking why he had come to see her. She is seen to be immoral by sleeping with a married man, yet to simultaneously have good manners, portraying the complexity of women which wasnt recognised in ancient Greek society. Also a seductress, but concurrently a witch, Circe is firstly portrayed as deceitful and cunning. She lures Odysseus men into her house before turning them into pigs. Her trickery shows her to be independent and strong-minded, although she is then proven to be weaker than men when Odysseus arrives. Contrasted against his bravery in Book 10, Circe displays cowardice when confronted by Odysseus after he has eaten the drug of real virtue from Hermes to protect him from the witches black magic. Circe then tries to seduce Odysseus, but he abstains until he can secure an oath between himself and the witch. She, however, shows a complete disregard for men by turning them all into pigs, then putting her own desires before their freedom, and this shows that Circe also possesses completely contradictory characteristics from the ancient Greek women. On the other hand, when Odysseus demonstrates his power by pulling out his sword, Circe collapses to her knees and bursts into tears, proving that it is Odysseus who holds the authority at this point. Daughter of King Alcinous, Nausicaa, is presented as a mature person, as she is unmarried, therefore young, and yet she doesnt run away when she sees Odysseus naked by the river. She instructs her maids to give him clothes, and he responds to this by not hugging her knees and begging for help, like he first thought of doing. This shows that Nausicaa is well-respected. She also cares about her image as a virtuous woman, because when Odysseus travels to the palace with her, he has to walk behind her, so that people didnt think they were together. Also, when Nausicaa takes Odysseus to meet her parents so that he can receive help from them, she insists he meet her mother first as opposed to her father. This demonstrates her respect for her mother, and her understanding of the way in which the system should work, but the knowledge of how it actually does. Finally, the good hostess and wife are portrayed by Penelope. Even after 20 years, she has stayed loyal to Odysseus by stalling the suitors. This is also quite devious, as she leads them into thinking that once she finishes her weaving, shell marry one of them, except every night she undoes all that she achieved that day. This is the side of her which seems unlike that of the women of ancient Greece. However, parallel to the ancient Greek traditions of statuses between genders, Penelope is reprimanded by her own son. She is told to go to her room and stop making decisions because that was his concern as he was the man of t he house. Without any confrontation, she resigned as returned to her room. This shows that Penelope is contrasted with the other women portrayed in The Odyssey, because she is comparable to the ancient Greek society, whereas Athena, Calypso, Circe and Nausicaa are dissimilar. In conclusion, women in The Odysseus are mostly portrayed as strong-willed and open-minded people with their own thoughts and opinions. Although some are immortal, and supposedly free of human emotion, they feel loss, anger and fear, and can make love to mortal men. Their strength of character is displayed with their ability and willingness to differentiate from the periodic stereotypes of women, although in the end, they almost always surrender to the ancient Greek patriarchal culture. If these charcters were to be placed in the ancient Greek society, I think that they would be discarded from the civilization, except for Penelope who would integrate into the culture with her conceded attitude towards the men around her.

Make Sure Your Website Gets an F

Make Sure Your Website Gets an F Make Sure Your Website Gets an F Make Sure Your Website Gets an F By Mark Nichol Do you have your own blog or Web site, or are you responsible for the site of another individual or an organization or company? If so, remember that the medium is (also) the message how the information is presented affects how it is received. So, to help site visitors engage with your content, consider the F not the letter f, but the online-design principle of the F-shaped pattern. One way people who study engagement with online content measure that engagement is by eye tracking: observing the eye movements of test subjects as they navigate within and between pages on a Web site. Research results have shown that most site visitors scan Web sites with eye movements roughly corresponding to the F shape. Because Western culture is, well, acculturated to engaging in text-based visual stimuli from the top left of a piece of content, Web designers have learned to put the most important visual information in that position on a Web page. (Quick what do you see at the top left of this page? That’s right, the logo form of the site name its brand.) And because readers of English (and all other Indo-European languages) read from left to right, it is natural for our eyes to move to the right from our first point of reference. That means that usually, our first eye-tracking movement is a line like the top horizontal line in the uppercase version of the letter f. Then, accustomed as we are to return to the left margin of a page, we backtrack horizontally or return diagonally to that location (as opposed to reading boustrophedon, or in a zigzag pattern). At this point, we skim from left to right again, as if forming with the movement of our eyes the letter f’s second horizontal element. A snapshot of an eye-tracking study (which often employs heat-mapping technology and connect-the-dots lines to record the ocular oscillations) may show multiple horizontal sweeps, but these lines generally extend less and less as the eyes travel downward, and a vertical line along or near the left margin of the page is also an almost invariable artifact of such studies, demonstrating that many site visitors scan down the page at about the same short distance from the margin. Variations occur, of course, especially when the page designer incorporates an arresting textual or illustrative element elsewhere on the page, but the F shape is the default setting for displaying written content online. (This pattern doesn’t necessarily apply when the home page features a block of text, but it’s typical on home pages dominated by a table of contents or a directory.) The take-away: As you’ll see from studying this site and many others, the F-shaped presentation of content is a pervasive and persuasive scheme of organization. There’s more to it than that, of course and I’ll share more tips in subsequent posts but this outline starts not with a, but with f. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, WhetherLatin Words and Expressions: All You Need to KnowHow to Treat Names of Groups and Organizations

Telecommunications companies' risks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Telecommunications companies' risks - Essay Example For a small business operating in a localized market, it is very easy to serve the market adequately, due to limited administration and maintenance costs for the networks. As the ventures increase size, and the market spreads geographically, the company should sustain operations in the risky global market by focusing on the cost effective technologies such as virtual private networks. Unprecedented growth is a key challenge that managers need to grapple with because it determines the strategic direction of a firm and as the pressure to remain competitive, they have to offer good services to the end user. There is paradigm shift where important functions such as finance, research and development, marketing and administration, becomes very demanding with growing market and hence the need for innovative strategies. Global strategy should be in line with the overall business strategy of the organization in order to avert risks that may arise. To a telecommunications firm the focus should be geared towards selecting the best strategy, and perhaps going own way is the only sure way to respond to opportunities or threats. As the firm increase market share and get up in the growth curve there is ever-growing demand for reliable services in order to take cultivate of business relationships, and exploit them to full. The firm needs to create their own telecommunication backbone infrastructure to avoid hassle of having to rely on unreliable companies. As for the case of, Metric Machine Parts and Supplies Corp, the number of customers is increasing rapidly. Numbers of catalogue orders is increasing, and hence the need for better distribution systems. The service to the end-users is overwhelmed and the trend is likely to continue. The management is in dilemma as to, search for another contractor to build and maintain the network, or create own infrastructure. The board is categorical that want to reduce costs. The chief information officer has recommended virtual private ne tworks, and that is likely to solve the business needs for the company. Nevertheless, there are challenges and risks accompanying this strategic move. Building own network infrastructure, not only lowers the costs but also increase service delivery. VPN can solve practical business problems by incorporating seamless technologies that allows experts, knowledge workers across various points to collaborate. The system promotes innovative arrangements such as outsourcing and telecommuting across the various branches, and can go a long way in forging linkages with business partners for proper management of the supply chain. As a network provider, Metric Machine Parts and Supplies Corp is likely to operate in a rapidly changing environment mainly due to digital convergence of wireless networks, for example, WIMAX and GSM mobile communications into 4th generation or LTE. The choices of systems for implementation of VPN to office, branches must be well commensurate with existing standards a nd practices. There are many options that the company can use, with numerous technology platforms existing. Each vendor proposed as set of solutions, and it is upon the company to choose what suits their business context. The technology infrastructure choice for data and communications should ensure that applications for the company are usable; these applications may include voice, video conferencing as well as collaboration tools. Executives have to reduce cost and have system flexibility, scalability, and increase productivity of information technology professionals that supervise the deployment. The range of applications of the internet can be of poor quality compared to the internet capability and

Development & failure of Supranational institution and their influence Essay

Development & failure of Supranational institution and their influence on Economic Integration of Europe since World War II - Essay Example The rulings of the court have direct effect and supremacy within national judicial systems, even though these doctrines were never explicitly endorsed in any treaty. Treaty of Rome served as a backbone to all other established treaties and theories. The European Act and the Maastricht Treaty have provided for majority, but not unanimous, voting in some issue areas. It is due to the liberalism of Neofunctionalism and Intergovernmentalism theories, which has resulted in the accomplishment of EU. In one sense, the European Union is a product of state sovereignty because it has been created through voluntary agreements among its member states. But, in another sense, it fundamentally contradicts conventional understandings of sovereignty because these same agreements have undermined the juridical autonomy of its individual members. (Stephen D. Krasner) Sovereignty is the central organizing principle of the economic system either applied directly or indirectly, it is taken to mean the possession of absolute authority within a bounded territorial space. Until World War II (WWII), much of the international law was designed to reinforce sovereignty. However just after WWII much of the non-Western world had gained their independence in the decades by setting up a scenario in which many of the new states were not fully sovereign but later they gained recognition as sovereign states, by joining intergovernmental organizations (Eric Brahm). The European Union stands out as the most advanced example of a global economy followed by sovereignty, which is marked by unprecedented levels of economic interpenetration. The initial treaties relating the coal and steel sectors bounded a small group of six European nation states devastated by WWII, later expanded in the landmark Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, to incorporate all sectors of the ec onomy. Despite of all remarkable supra-national dimensions, European Union has not so much undermined member state sovereignty, as reinforced it by enabling a far greater degree of collective national control over the economy. (Jens Beckert) Today many organizations are state-based seeking to carve out additional authority for them and finding functional benefits in ceding authority to supranational organizations. (Eric Brahm) Schuman Plan Treaty of Paris, 1951 The Schuman Plan, created a supranational agency to manage aspects of national coal and steel policy, such as levels of production and prices. It was agreed that the six countries that signed the Treaty of Paris that were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, would pool its coal and steel resources. (Schuman) Member nations of ECSC pledged to pool their coal and steel resources by providing a unified market for their coal and steel products, lifting restrictions on imports and exports, and creating a unified labor market. Economically, the Coal and Steel Community achieved early success; between 1952 and 1960 iron and steel production rose by 75% in the ECSC nations, and industrial production rose 58%. When

The last days of dogtown by Anita Diamant Essay Example for Free

The last days of dogtown by Anita Diamant Essay Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The last days of dogtown is a novel written by Anita Diamant. The purpose of the novel is to express the level of morality of life in the American society during the 19th century. The author reveals life in the 19th century as sad but at the same time thoughtful. The last days of dogtown is a community set in an exotic landscape with a group of different and surprising characters. These characters are depicted as residents who are threatened or damaged by the ill wills of the outside world. Diamant portrays life in dogtown as cruel expressed through poverty and witchcraft. Residents in the last days of dogtown are oppressed by ignorance, poverty, illness and racial inequality. It is set in a dying town in Massachusetts during the 19th century. (Diamant Anita 52)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dogtown was a name associated with a roaming pack of wild dogs. The wild dogs roamed above the hills of a dying town in Massachusetts. The author portrays dogtown as a refuge place from cruelty and tragedies in the world. However, the decline of morality in dogtown presents other small tragedies which are set off by the residents. Dogtown which acts as a refuge from cruelty in the world presents a settlement space in which residents can live without being damaged or threaten. However dogtown does not fulfill its role since it is portrayed as an open prison where residents are faced by prejudice and other negative influences of the outside world. (Rossi, Mark, Howard 75). The roaming pace of dogs is used to illustrate the large number of people spreading rumor around the town about their townspeople. The spread rumours of presence of witches and whores in the town. Although the rumours are of factual their volume increases when more tongues wag around the town. Residents in this town have made it their business to express the most well hidden secrets of their town’s people. Diamant introduces the character in dogtown in a very confusing manner, creating complex relationships among them. These relationships are tested by the ill wills of the American society. The women in this society are presented as witches, whores or with weird behaviors. The man is depicted as brutal and cruel who shows no respect for the women. All the residents in dogtown have suffered different misfortunes from the brutal society. For example, the thwarted love of a free African woman by a local racist. Dog town’s poverty and misfortune pushes them into different destines. Slavery, alcoholism, poverty, sexuality, prostitution and racial tension have been used to create an immoral American society, in which residents are faced with brutal and cruel misfortunes. Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The authors major conclusion is that she expresses the possibility of loving even in the most brutal and cruel conditions. In this town, residents behave like a pack of wild dogs, by huddling together with a dedication to survive and live with hope. By coming together, they search for warmth and safety. Although comfort and kindness are hard to find, these people huddle together and are to survive. The author shows the great immorality depicted in the American society during the 19th century expressed in form of alcoholism, poverty, prostitution, racism, sexuality and canine behavior. The author tries to show that people can come together and outcome even the cruelest conditions in the world. The possibility of creating love in such an environment can create harmony by demonstrating kindness and affection. (Diamant Anita 107). Works Cited Diamant Anita. The last days of Dogtown. Simon Schuster, 2006. Diamant Anita. The Red tent: A novel: Tenth-Anniversary Edition. Picador, 2007 Rossi, Peter H, Mark W. Lipsey, Howard E. Freeman. Evaluation: Systematic approach, sage, 2004.

gas prices :: essays research papers

Your paycheck is buying less for several reasons. For starters, if you plan on going to the gas station these days you better bring along the checkbook. Gas prices have been on the rise since it bottomed out back in May of last year when we were only paying $0.64 a gallon compared to today’s $1.54.9 per gallon. So that raise you received, just throw it right out the window because it is not doing anything for you now. Not only can you not drive anywhere, but flying is more expensive these days too. My theory is, that the oil companies are preparing for the mass amounts of money they are going to lose in the future, because oil will soon be exhausted from our mother earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we arrived, we were surprised at the wedding being quite traditional. The church, set in the back of their small community. Followed by the reception, which took place at a hall near by. Not like the previous wedding I went too, which was outside right along Lake Michigan, and the reception took place inside the mansion that stood near by. But I guess some people like to be traditionalists and that will do the job as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before a player can be considered â€Å" Most Valuable† in his or her league, some basic areas are to be considered. Did that player lead the league in goals, points per game, home runs, or any major category that would lead his team, if not the league? Was that person on a winning team, or was he the triple crown winner, which is having hit the most homeruns, R.B.I.’s, and base hits. These are all things to consider when choosing an MVP. Since there are so many great athletes these days picking an MVP can be quite difficult, and that is why they look at so many different areas of the game to choose the â€Å"Most Valuable Player†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Home† is not an easy term to define. Most of us being community college students, look at it as being a place for comfort and familiarity. gas prices :: essays research papers Your paycheck is buying less for several reasons. For starters, if you plan on going to the gas station these days you better bring along the checkbook. Gas prices have been on the rise since it bottomed out back in May of last year when we were only paying $0.64 a gallon compared to today’s $1.54.9 per gallon. So that raise you received, just throw it right out the window because it is not doing anything for you now. Not only can you not drive anywhere, but flying is more expensive these days too. My theory is, that the oil companies are preparing for the mass amounts of money they are going to lose in the future, because oil will soon be exhausted from our mother earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When we arrived, we were surprised at the wedding being quite traditional. The church, set in the back of their small community. Followed by the reception, which took place at a hall near by. Not like the previous wedding I went too, which was outside right along Lake Michigan, and the reception took place inside the mansion that stood near by. But I guess some people like to be traditionalists and that will do the job as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before a player can be considered â€Å" Most Valuable† in his or her league, some basic areas are to be considered. Did that player lead the league in goals, points per game, home runs, or any major category that would lead his team, if not the league? Was that person on a winning team, or was he the triple crown winner, which is having hit the most homeruns, R.B.I.’s, and base hits. These are all things to consider when choosing an MVP. Since there are so many great athletes these days picking an MVP can be quite difficult, and that is why they look at so many different areas of the game to choose the â€Å"Most Valuable Player†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Home† is not an easy term to define. Most of us being community college students, look at it as being a place for comfort and familiarity.

Margin Review Questions Essay

†¢ If they had continued, Chinese maritime voyages could have had a profound impact on the course of world history. China was the richest, most prosperous, and most technologically advanced civilization in the world at that time, and it would be reasonable to think that, if the Chinese had aggressively competed with their European counterparts, they likely would have prevailed as the preeminent maritime power in the world. This would have had profound implications for the course of world history, most likely limiting the influence of Western Europe and of Christianity on other regions of the globe and increasing Chinese cultural, economic, and political influences beyond East Asia. †¢ The usefulness of counterfactual questions is debatable. They do allow one both to highlight the role of contingency in the course of human history and to highlight the difficulty of predicting the future because of contingency. Moreover, counterfactual questions go beyond mere speculation, because they encourage students to think of what was possible in light of known historical facts. Thus a good â€Å"what if† question can help scholars think their way into historical reality and to hone their analytical skills. Still, no one can fully predict what the consequences of a change in events would have been, and in any case, the reality of the situation as it happened is the subject of history. 2. †¢ This chapter organizes societies in two ways. First, it organizes them into Paleolithic peoples, agricultural village societies, herding peoples, and established civilizations and empires. It then organizes those civilizations by region. †¢ There are other alternatives, including organization by cultural region— Chinese, Indian, Islamic, Mesoamerican, and Christian. Another possibility would have been organization through webs of connections, starting with a single society and radiating out to an exploration of its nearer and more distant contacts. 3. †¢ Several changes would undoubtedly have surprised a knowledgeable observer, including the emergence of Islam; †¢ the revival of China and Western Europe; †¢ the collapse of the Byzantine Empire; †¢ the emergence of Russia and the spread of Christianity into that region; †¢ the emergence of states in Southeast Asia; †¢ the emergence of Japan; †¢ the emergence of powerful empires in West Africa. †¢ However, some features would still be recognizable, such as the persistence of Paleolithic, agricultural village, and herding societies; †¢ the continuance, albeit at a more intense rate, of long-distance commerce and exchange; †¢ the persistence of broad cultural traditions, especially in the Mesoamerican, Andean, Chinese, European, and Indian civilizations. 4. †¢ A global traveler of the fifteenth century might have predicted that Islam, Buddhism, and perhaps Christianity would continue to spread; †¢ that the established cultural regions of China, India, the Islamic world, Christian Europe, the Andes, and Mesoamerica would continue to develop and expand; †¢ that long-distance commerce and exchange would continue to have an important impact on the development of civilizations; †¢ that empires would continue to have a growing influence on world history; †¢ that the regions occupied by Paleolithic, agricultural village, and herding societies would continue to shrink. †¢ Precisely when these predictions were made would make a difference. Before 1492, the huge impact of Western European influence on the Americas would have been difficult to predict. †¢ Before 1433, the relatively modest impact of Chinese overseas exploration would have been difficult to predict. 5. †¢ The gathering and hunting people of the northwest coast of North America possessed permanent village settlements with large and sturdy houses, considerable economic specialization, ranked societies that sometimes included slavery, chiefdoms dominated by powerful clan leaders, and extensive storage of food; none of those features were part of Australian gathering and hunting societies. 6. †¢ In West Africa, three distinct patterns of political development were taking shape among agricultural village societies, with the Yoruba people creating city-states; the kingdom of Benin taking shape as a small, highly centralized territorial state; and the Igbo peoples relying on other  institutions—title societies, women’s associations, hereditary ritual experts serving as mediators, a balance of power among kinship groups—to maintain social cohesion beyond the level of the village. †¢ In addition, the Yoruba, Bini, and Igbo peoples traded actively among themselves as well as with more distant peoples and changed from a matrilineal to a patrilineal system of tracing their descent. †¢ In the Americas, in what is now central New York State, an increased level of conflict among Iroquois peoples triggered a remarkable political innovation—a loose alliance or confederation among five Iroquois peoples based on an agreement known as the Great Law of Peace. The Iroquois League of Five Nations kept peace, adjudicated disputes, and operated by consensus. It also gave expression to values of limited government, social equality, and personal freedom. †¢ The Iroquois developed a system that gave women unusual authority. Descent was matrilineal, married couples lived with the wife’s family, and women controlled agriculture. While men were hunters, warriors, and the primary political officeholders, women selected and could depose those leaders. 7. †¢ In Central Asia, the Turkic warlord Timur constructed a significant empire that retained control of the area between Persia and Afghanistan during the fifteenth century. †¢ Timur’s conquests, however, hid a more long-term change for the pastoral peoples of Central Asia, because his was the last great military success of nomadic peoples from Central Asia; in the centuries that followed, their homelands were swallowed up in the expanding Russian and Chinese empires. †¢ In West Africa, pastoral peoples retained their independence into the late nineteenth century. †¢ Groups like the Fulbe, West Africa’s largest pastoral society, generally lived in small communities among agricultural peoples; †¢ as they migrated gradually eastward after 1000 C.E., they maintained their distinctive way of life and a sense of cultural superiority that became more pronounced as they slowly adopted Islam. †¢ Some Fulbe dropped out of a pastoral life and settled in towns, where they became highly respected religious leaders. †¢ In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the Fulbe were at the center of a wave of religiously based uprisings (jihads) that greatly expanded the practice of Islam and gave rise to a series of new states ruled by the Fulbe. 8. †¢ Under the Ming dynasty, China recovered from the disruption caused by Mongol rule and the ravages of the plague to become perhaps the best-governed and most prosperous of the world’s major civilizations; †¢ it also undertook the largest and most impressive maritime expeditions the world had ever seen. 9. †¢ Political consolidation occurred in both China and Western Europe, but in China this meant a unitary and centralized government that encompassed almost the whole of its civilization, while in Europe a decidedly fragmented system of many separate, independent, and competitive states made for a sharply divided Christendom. †¢ While both experienced cultural flowering, Europe’s culture after the Renaissance was rather more different from its own recent past than Ming dynasty China was from its pre-Mongol glory. †¢ While both sent out ships to explore the wider world, their purposes in doing so were very different. 10. †¢ Chinese exploration was undertaken by an enormous fleet composed of several hundred large ships, while European explorations were undertaken by expeditions made up of a handful of small ships. †¢ European motivations for exploration included the desire for wealth from trade, the search for converts to Christianity, and the recruitment of possible Christian allies against the Muslim powers. China, by contrast, needed no military allies, required little in the way of trade, and had no desire to convert foreigners to Chinese culture or religion. †¢ The Europeans sought to monopolize by force the commerce of the Indian Ocean and violently carved out empires in the Americas; the Chinese fleet sought neither conquests nor colonies. †¢ China ended its voyages abruptly after 1433; the European explorations continued and even escalated. †¢ In terms of why China’s explorations were so different from their European counterparts, the fragmentation of political authority in Europe, unlike China’s unified empire, ensured that once begun, rivalry alone would drive Europeans to the end of the earth. †¢ Much of Europe’s elite, including merchants, monarchs, the clergy, and nobles, had an interest in overseas expansion; in China, by contrast, the emperor Yongle was the primary supporter of the Chinese voyages of exploration, and after he passed from the scene, those opposed to the  voyages prevailed within the politics of the court. †¢ The Chinese were very much aware of their own antiquity, believed strongly in the absolute superiority of their culture, and felt that, if they needed something from abroad, others would bring it to them. The Europeans also believed themselves unique; however, in material terms, they were seeking out the greater riches of the East, and they were highly conscious that Muslim power blocked easy access to these treasures and posed a military and religious threat to Europe itself. 11. †¢ The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires had Turkic origins, while the Songhay Empire did not. †¢ The Ottoman and Safavid empires ruled over the heartland of the Muslim world, where a majority of their subjects followed Islam; the Mughal and Songhay empires ruled over regions where Islam was a minority faith. †¢ The rulers of the Safavid Empire were the only ones to impose a Shia version of Islam as the official religion of the state. 12. †¢ The Inca Empire was much larger than its Aztec counterpart. †¢ The Aztec Empire controlled only part of the Mesoamerican cultural region, while at its height the Inca state encompassed practically the whole of the Andean civilization. †¢ In the Aztec realm, the Mexica rulers largely left their conquered people alone, and no elaborate administrative system arose to integrate the conquered territories or to assimilate their people to Aztec culture. The Incas, on the other hand, erected a more bureaucratic empire. †¢ The Aztec Empire extracted substantial tribute in the form of goods from its subject populations, while the Incas primarily extracted labor services from their subjects. †¢ The Aztec Empire had a system of commercial exchange that was based on merchants and free markets, whereas the Inca government played a major role in both the production and distribution of goods. †¢ The authority of the state penetrated and directed the Incas’ society and economy far more than did that of the Aztecs. 13. †¢ The ideology of state that gave human sacrifice great religious importance shaped the techniques of Aztec warfare, which put a premium on capturing prisoners rather than on killing the enemy. †¢ Priests and rulers became interdependent, with human sacrifices carried out for  political ends. †¢ Massive sacrificial rituals served to impress enemies, allies, and subjects alike with the immense power of the Aztecs and their gods. 14. †¢ The emperor was an absolute ruler and was regarded as divine.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ In theory, the state owned all land and resources.  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Subjects were organized, at least in the central regions of the empire, into hierarchical units of 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000, and 10,000 people, each headed by local officials, who were supervised by an Inca governor or by the emperor. †¢ An imperial office of â€Å"inspectors† checked on provincial authorities. †¢ Births, deaths, marriages, and other population data were carefully recorded. †¢ A resettlement program moved one-quarter or more of the population to new locations. †¢ Leaders of conquered peoples were required to learn Quechua, and their sons were removed to the capital of Cuzco for instruction in Inca culture and language. †¢ Subject peoples were required to acknowledge major Inca deities, although once they did so, they were largely free to carry on their own religious traditions. †¢ The Inca Empire played a major role in the production and distribution of goods. 15. †¢ They interacted through webs of empire, large-scale political systems that brought together a variety of culturally different peoples; †¢ through webs of religion that linked far-flung peoples; †¢ and through long-established patterns of trade among peoples occupying different environments and producing different goods.

Oppositional Defiant Disorder

Oppositional Defiant Disorder: Case Study and Research Samaritan L. Carlo Suffolk County Community College SYS 213, Exceptional Child Able Keller is an English-speaking and physically healthy four-year-old boy. He lives with his mother and eighteen-year-old sister, and attends preschool during the week. Babel's mother works seven days a week and he is supervised on the weekends by a nanny. His current nanny began working for the family fairly recently; the two nannies prior to her both worked for less than two months before quitting.Babel's parents have been divorced for two years. His mother is his primary care-giver and is father sees him infrequently. Lately, Babel's mother and preschool teacher have been unable to cope with his disruptive and distressing behaviors. Babel's teacher estimates that his disruptive behaviors began at the beginning of the school year, which was approximately eight months ago; his mother says that the behaviors began roughly one year ago and have been i ncreasing in severity and frequency since then.Babel's sister has also voiced concerns regarding her brother's spiteful actions towards her due to the strain his recent behaviors have put on their relationship (PAP, 2013). Babel's mother reports that Able cannot go more than two days without becoming extremely irritated with necessary daily tasks. Once, Babel's mother requested that he go wash his hands before dinner. Able became irrationally frustrated, blatantly refused to wash his hands, and began lashing out in a manner which she describes as â€Å"one of his tantrums. Babel's mother also describes an instance in which their last nanny was on the receiving end of Babel's disruptive behavior. The nanny took away Babel's toy at his refusal to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, and later found her toothbrush in the toilet boil. After further acts of blatant defiance by Able, the nanny resigned and Babel's mother was forced to find a new nanny. Able exhibited a similar behavior towards his sister when she asked him if he could grab her a pencil for her homework. Able was instantly irritated at this request and yelled â€Å"Don't tell me what to do! He then proceeded to rip up her homework and run to his room. According to his mother, destruction of property in such an aggressive manner has been very infrequent in Babel's behavior. However, his spitefulness resulted in the loss of a nanny and his sister's increasing emotional sisters that her â€Å"sweet baby brother† has taken on such a resentful attitude towards her (PAP, 2013). Babel's preschool teacher told his mother that his behavior will no longer be tolerated and recommended that he be assessed. His teacher explains his behaviors in class as â€Å"defiant and disruptive. Almost daily, he actively ignores class rules, such as not talking during reading time, and becomes even more defiant when his violations are addressed by the teacher. His teacher has paused class multiple times to stop hi m from distracting either the whole class or individual students. She ports that the most troublesome aspects of Babel's behavior are the frequency of the disruptions and his responses to being reprimanded. Once, when a classmate went to the teacher after Able ignored her plea that he stop poking her arm, Able became outwardly more motivated to continue poking her relentlessly.When his teacher explained why his behavior is unacceptable, Able accused the classmate that he had been poking of initiating the incident and provoking him by being â€Å"annoying. † Babel's teacher reports that he has yet to accept blame or responsibility for any of his misdoings and that he is often ostracizes by his peers. Classmates have called him â€Å"annoying† and † a tattle-tale. † Teachers discourage this taunting behavior, but the discrimination has led to further emotional distress within Able which has been exhibited by more frequent moods of frustration and irritability at home (PAP, 2013).Babel's behavior has been extremely distressing at home and in school over a duration of at least eight months, but has not presented a problem elsewhere thus far. His teacher has felt stress due to her inability to get him to obey rules, a lack of time to address his disruptions, and phone calls from parents whose children claim to have en harassed in some way by Able. His sister has become distraught over his behavior and his mother has been put under enormous pressure to maintain a trustworthy and reliable nanny.Due to the duration of his irritable, defiant, and occasionally vindictive behaviors, which have occurred at home and at school, have had negative consequences in his academic, social, and emotional functioning, and have caused distress for several people in his life, Able has been diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder of a moderate severity. Babel's defiant, argumentative, ND vindictive symptoms put him at risk for developing Conduct Disorder, and his increasing emotional distress due to peer issues at school increases his risk of developing an emotional disorder (PAP, 2013).Recent research of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is characterized by the emergence of two themes: developmental precursors to the disorder and the dimension of irritability. The study of precursors to ODD are discussed by Tinfoil and Malta (2013) in their research study which examines the relations between interpretative understanding, moral emotional attribution, and sympathy with the ability to predict ODD symptoms.Burke, Babylon, Rowe, Duke, Steep, Hippies, and Walden (2014) discuss varying dimensionality models of ODD, the identification of irritability by certain symptoms, and the implications of the results for further research on ODD. Tinfoil and Malta (2013) suggest that the limited success of current ODD treatments may be attributed to the lack of empirical research on the disorder's developmental antecedents. Their research responds t o this insufficiency by assessing supposed key components in the genesis of antisocial behaviors: social-cognitive development and moral emotions (Tinfoil & Malt', 2013).The study analyzes a sample of 128 four- and eight-year-old children with ODD and investigates the links between the symptoms of ODD and interpretative understanding, or theory of mind skills, in children (Tinfoil & Malt', 2013). The research of Tinfoil and Malta (2013) also analyzes ODD symptoms in relation to sympathy and moral emotion attribution (MEA), and examines the mediating role that each of these may have on each others' development. The participants of the study include 128 English-speaking children and one caregiver each parent assessments (Tinfoil & Malta, 2013).The only exclusion criterion is a hill with autism spectrum disorder, and the ethnicities of the participants vary (Tinfoil & Malt', 2013). Symptoms of ODD in the children are rated by caregivers using ADSM-oriented scales, interpretive understa nding ratings are obtained by professionals using the Landed and Chandler's puppet activity, sympathy is measured by caregiver and child self-reports, and MEA is evaluated using each child's negative or positive responses to the presentation of hypothetical vignettes of varying lapses in morality (Tinfoil & Malt', 2013).The procedure of the research study involved each child and their caregiver attending one session at the research ABA, the parent providing written consent and the child providing oral agreement, and the child being interviewed for a duration of approximately forty-five minutes by psychology undergraduate students (Tinfoil & Malta, 2013). The caregiver for each child filled out the symptom questionnaires outside of the interview room during the process (Tinfoil & Malta, 2013). Tinfoil and Malta (2013) find that interpretive understanding, sympathy, and MEA all influence ODD symptoms.Ratings of child sympathy by the caregivers play a mediating role on the effect of in terpretive understanding on ODD symptoms, and MEA strength significantly influences interpretative understanding in the domain of rule violation (Tinfoil & Malt', 2013). The research of Tinfoil and Malta (2013) indicates the necessity of further research on social-cognitive and affective-moral factors that could potentially precede ODD and help with early prediction, and highlights a possible origin of the rule-violating behavior so prevalent in Babel's case as a deficit in MEA.Recent research on ODD also focuses on the importance of irritability and on reaching a consensus regarding which symptoms best identify irritability (Burke et al. , 2014). Burke et al. (2014) introduces the study by explaining how existing data purports that symptoms of ODD represent a unidirectional assembly and are distinct from those of other disorders. Recently, studies have found conflicting evidence regarding the dimensions ODD symptoms are categorized by, which questions the reliability of assessment using the existing ODD model (Burke et al. 2014). Also, inconsistencies exist concerning which symptoms of ODD comprise which dimensions (Burke et al. , 2014). Burke et al. (2014) suggests that a factor model of the disorder may help solve these conflicts surrounding the concept of diagnostic irritability. The study tests single and multi- dimensional models of ODD including factor and competing models, analyzes various elements of measurement within symptoms, and aims to identify the extent to which specific dimensions relate to each other and general ODD symptoms (Burke et al. 2014). The study also attempts to determine if there is a distinguishing dimension of irritability within ODD, if one model of ODD is superior to all other models, and if there is an additional general dimension of ODD (Burke et al. , 2014). ODD symptom data of five community samples of five- to eighteen-year-old boys and arils is evaluated by Burke et. Al (2014) using assorted measurement scales and care- g iver reports.Methods of assessing symptom presence, frequency, and severity are the Revised Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Parent Version, Child Symptom Inventory-4, Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Scale, Developmental and Well-Being Assessment, and Emory Diagnostic Rating Scale (Burke et al. , 2014). The data is analyzed using five models of ODD dimensionality and two models of irritability, which identify irritability as either touchy, angry, and spiteful, or touchy, angry, and frequent loss of temper (Burke et al. 2014). Burke el al. (2014) concludes that the best model for symptoms of ODD is a general factor model in which irritability and oppositional behavior factors exist alongside a general ODD factor, and in which irritability and oppositional behaviors significantly correlate with each other (Burke et al. , 2014). This model is consistently better across multiple samples and is made up of eight general ODD items, each correlated with either an irritabilit y or an oppositional behavioral dimension (Burke et. Al, 2014).The irritability mission includes temper, touchiness, and anger; the oppositional behavior dimension includes argumentativeness, defiance, annoyance, balefulness, and spitefulness (Burke et. Al, 2014). Burke et. Al (2014) also finds that irritability is most accurately characterized by touchiness, anger, and temper loss. The implications of the results are the emergence of strong evidence for a multidimensionality within ODD, and support for an identification of irritability characterized by loss of temper, touchiness, and anger (Burke et al. , 2014).Although the research is unable to answer attention questions regarding the existence of a third dimension, the initial questions are addressed concerning the underlying structure of symptom dimensions and provide evidence for a superior set of characteristics of irritability (Burke et al. , 2014). Lastly, Burke et al. (2014) addresses that possible limitations in the study were due to the variability of the questionnaires, the variability of the scaling systems, and the different research structure for boys and girls in the samples. References American Psychiatric Association. (2013).Section II: Disruptive, impulse-control, and induct disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th De. ). New York: PAP Press. Burke, J. D. , Babylon, K. , Rowe, R. , Duke, E. , Steep, S. D. , Hippies, A. E. , & Walden, l. D. (2014). Identifying the irritability dimension of ODD: Application of a modified factor model across five large community samples of children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1-11. Tinfoil, M. & Malt', T. (2013). Interpretive understanding, sympathy, and moral emotion attribution in oppositional defiant disorder symptomatically. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 44, 633-645.

Free Essays on Hamlets Madness

The â€Å"Big Bang† at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Downtown Gainesville, Florida is the opening play of the season. It went off with out a hitch and was raved about by a couple of friends of mine who told my girlfriend and me that we needed to attend it; so we did. â€Å"The Hippodrome State Theatre is North Florida's only professional regional theatre. Celebrating its 30th year of artistic excellence, the Hippodrome is designated as a Cultural Institution and a State Theatre of Florida† (Hippodrome website). The audience that I shared the pleasure of attending this outrageously funny version of history telling was a very diverse group. I saw people there of all ages, shapes, sizes, colors, and of course sexes. Being that it is a College town there is always going to be more people from the age bracket of 18 – 25 at an event like this. Some events this may not be the case, but in the case of a comedic play down town this is approximately normal. It is a story of history, a recreation play of all the major events in history. It has a very comedic view of how the world has lived and evolved over the centuries all the way up to what we know as today. The play begins with the two off Broadway creators, â€Å"Jed† and â€Å"Boyd†. These men are in the borrowed Park Avenue penthouse of Mrs. Sidney Lipbalm to perform their new creation, an epic musical that spans the history of the world from the Big Bang to the present, for potential backers. Their play is budgeted for $83.5 million with a cast of 318 performers and 6,428 costumes. The average running time is 12 hours. Lucky for the backers, the people in the audience, the creators will only be performing â€Å"highlights† of the impending extravaganza. The two creators accompanied by a third actor on the piano perform eighteen side splitting musical numbers, singing, dancing, narrating, and portraying every major figure in world and pop history from Adam and Eve, Attila the Hun, J... Free Essays on Hamlets Madness Free Essays on Hamlets Madness The â€Å"Big Bang† at the Hippodrome State Theatre in Downtown Gainesville, Florida is the opening play of the season. It went off with out a hitch and was raved about by a couple of friends of mine who told my girlfriend and me that we needed to attend it; so we did. â€Å"The Hippodrome State Theatre is North Florida's only professional regional theatre. Celebrating its 30th year of artistic excellence, the Hippodrome is designated as a Cultural Institution and a State Theatre of Florida† (Hippodrome website). The audience that I shared the pleasure of attending this outrageously funny version of history telling was a very diverse group. I saw people there of all ages, shapes, sizes, colors, and of course sexes. Being that it is a College town there is always going to be more people from the age bracket of 18 – 25 at an event like this. Some events this may not be the case, but in the case of a comedic play down town this is approximately normal. It is a story of history, a recreation play of all the major events in history. It has a very comedic view of how the world has lived and evolved over the centuries all the way up to what we know as today. The play begins with the two off Broadway creators, â€Å"Jed† and â€Å"Boyd†. These men are in the borrowed Park Avenue penthouse of Mrs. Sidney Lipbalm to perform their new creation, an epic musical that spans the history of the world from the Big Bang to the present, for potential backers. Their play is budgeted for $83.5 million with a cast of 318 performers and 6,428 costumes. The average running time is 12 hours. Lucky for the backers, the people in the audience, the creators will only be performing â€Å"highlights† of the impending extravaganza. The two creators accompanied by a third actor on the piano perform eighteen side splitting musical numbers, singing, dancing, narrating, and portraying every major figure in world and pop history from Adam and Eve, Attila the Hun, J...

Mass Extinction

Mass Extinction Definition: The term extinction is a familiar concept to most people. It is defined as the complete disappearance of a species when the last of its individuals dies off. Usually, complete extinction of a species takes very long amounts of time and does not happen all at once. However, on a few notable occasions throughout Geologic Time, there have been mass extinctions that totally wiped out the majority of species living during that time period. Every major Era on the Geologic Time Scale ends with a mass extinction. Mass extinctions lead to an increase in the rate of evolution. The few species that manage to survive after a mass extinction event have less competition for food, shelter, and sometimes even mates if they are one of the last individuals of their species still alive. Access to this surplus of resources to meet basic needs can increase breeding and more offspring will survive to pass their genes down to the next generation. Natural selection then can go to work deciding which of those adaptations are favorable and which are outdated. Probably the most recognized mass extinction in the history of the Earth is called the K-T Extinction. This mass extinction event happened between the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era and the Tertiary Period of the Cenozoic Era. This was the mass extinction that took out the dinosaurs. No one is completely sure how the mass extinction happened, but it is thought to be either meteor strikes or an increase in volcanic activity that blocked out the suns rays from reaching the Earth, thus killing the food sources of the dinosaurs and many other species of that time. Small mammals managed to survive by burrowing deep underground and storing food. As a result, mammals became the dominant species in the Cenozoic Era. The largest mass extinction happened at the end of the Paleozoic Era. The Permian-Triassic mass extinction event saw about 96% of marine life go extinct, along with 70% of terrestrial life. Even insects werent immune to this mass extinction event like many of the others in history. Scientists believe this mass extinction event actually happened in three waves and were caused by a combination of natural disasters including volcanism, an increase of methane gas in the atmosphere, and climate change. Over 98% of all living things recorded from the history of the Earth have gone extinct. The majority of those species were lost during one of the many mass extinction events throughout the history of life on Earth.

Ethical Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethical Leadership - Assignment Example Using good leadership skills to show good business ethics can greatly contribute to building of a team culture of the business. It also provides a good measurable benchmarks for business employees to follow as the make independent decisions relating to the business duties. Every individual has an equal right to basic liberty and that there are some freedoms and rights that are very much important than others. This concept of justice is developed from the perspective that every individual is free and equal (Huhtala, Kangas, Là ¤msà ¤, & Feldt, 2013). Their freedom is characterized by their possession of moral powers that is a capacity for a sense of justice and for a conception of the good. The sense of justice is the ability to understand the applications of fairness from the public conception of justice which characterized the fair term of cooperation. This sense demonstrates the willingness to act in relation to others in a way that they can also publicly endorse. Huhtala, M., Kangas, M., Là ¤msà ¤, A.-M., & Feldt, T. (2013). Ethical managers in ethical organisations? the leadership-culture connection among finnish managers. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 34(3),

Business Communication High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Communication High School - Essay Example This will be a truly blessed opportunity to see the developmental work we have successfully achieved with your invaluable help in the past years. It will also be a wonderful opportunity for our kids to show off their skills and their gratitude. While it has been said that "it takes a village to raise a child", nothing can be truer for our kids at inner city New York, where much work still remains to be done to make our city safer, and our kids more fully aware of the emerging issues that concern everyone, even them. Now, there are a couple of ways wherein you can truly participate: one is to drop by and read our special stories for the day to the kids, stories that will highlight the little things they can do to help the community; or you can send a check with the enclosed business reply mail form. So please mark the 20th of May 2009 off your calendar and let us get together at the Seniors for Kids Day Care Center beginning at 10 in the morning. And remember, whatever little helps-after all the kids of inner city New York are your kids too.