Popular, Fine, Folk: Making Do and Thinking Out of the Box Essay

Once upon a time, at the turn of the 20th century, Marcel Duchamp brought a urinal into the museum. As expected, it was banned from being shown in a major exhibition at that time. Today, the urinal is called a ‘found object,† a fine arts category that has become standard practice for contemporary artists, especially those who are working on media and techniques spawned by Duchamp’s rebellion: conceptual art, installations, and the readymade. One of the most famous latter day versions is that of Andy Warhol’s Campbell soup and Brillo boxes – those mass consumer items that found their way into the domain of the fine arts, and in their turn spawned another academic art historical category: Pop Art. Once upon a time, at the turn of the 19th century, the Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, who has not sold a single painting during his lifetime (with the possible exception of one work bought by his brother Theo), died a pauper. In the 1980s, his Sunflower fetched millions of dollars at an auction. Today, he is not only a bestseller; he is also considered one of the best artists of all times. Once upon a time, Madonna was just any other upstart, who with her limited vocal range was singing seemingly superficial songs like â€Å"Like a Virgin† and â€Å"Material Girl. † Today, she and her ‘bad girl’ image, as well as her numerous personas, is the subject of numerous academic papers on popular culture. This and examples from Charlie Parker, as well – Shakespeare, the Shaker furniture, the quilt, Amazing Grace, photography – tell us not only that values change through time, some for the better, others for the worse, depending on one’s point of view. The more important point is that, while terms like popular, fine and folk arts are valuable as terms of convenience, they are unreliable – perhaps even superfluous or unnecessary – as terms of judgment or standards, as in say, low and high art, good and bad art, truthful and false art, among many other boundaries. On one hand, these boundaries are important because they guard against extreme relativism, an intellectual indolence that results in people thinking that anything can be art, and that art is anything and everything that you can get away with. On the other hand, boundaries prevent us from looking at art forms more productively, or think out of the box. As Parker’s essay suggests, it is more productive to suspend our received judgments or templates – if only for a while – and analyze each art form on their own terms: as part of certain domains (popular, fine, folk and their combinations) with their own specific dynamics, gatekeepers, institutions, forms and contexts of production, reception, creativity and artistry and their own specific systems of producing and making meanings. These elements – domain (popular, fine, folk), field (gatekeepers and institutions), artistry (form, content, context) – clash and intersect with each other in an uneven world, characterized by unequal power relations. In this context, extreme relativism – that anything and everything can be art – is problematic. While it is true that anything – say, the urinal – can be art, its transformation required a movement from one domain to another: from the everyday to the museum, where it was lit and put on a pedestal, was signed and given a title (The Fountain) and in the process, became a candidate for appreciation, contemplation, and later, legitimation by the gatekeepers – the people (art historians, critics) and institutions (media, museums, schools) who had the power to rethink its meaning, and bestow on the urinal the term â€Å"art,† under the rubric â€Å"found object,† â€Å"readymade,† â€Å"conceptual art. Such legitimation was later confirmed by artistic, critical and curatorial practice: today, the Fountain, which started out as a rebellion against art and its definitions, is now ironically an academic, art historical and critical orthodoxy. Boundaries between domains are therefore simultaneously porous and self-contained. Everyday objects enter the fine arts, and vice versa. What used to be â€Å"folk† and popular, as in Shakespeare and Bob Dylan are now classics. When the urinal became The Fountain, it ceased to become a mundane object and entered the domain of the museum and the academe, subject to their terms and conditions. When elements of popular culture – the Brillo box, Campbell soup – crossed the boundaries, it became an art-historical category: Pop Art. And when Madonna crossed over from the Billboard charts to academe, her feminist radical potential was recognized, but at the same time, again quite ironically, tamed because her pop rebellion is now academic. Parker mapped the domains according to class – fine arts is a product of the elite, folk, of common folk and popular, of the masses. In real life of course, soap operas (popular) are viewed by different classes and sub-classes; jazz and hip hop, which started out in the ghettos were co-opted by American Top 40s; the Mona Lisa, the epitome of the Classic Masterpiece, found and continue to find its way into t-shirts and tabletops. Thus, instead of bemoaning that standards of excellence are being eroded, it may be more productive to chart these movements of objects and images, not only in terms of content, expression or truths that they contain, as question No. 3 leads us to suspect, but also in terms of how these truths are expressed (form), and the circumstances within which these truths are produced (context). Put another way, instead of persuading the â€Å"masses† that Hamlet is as entertaining as My Fair Lady, it would probably be better to find out why and how My Fair Lady ticks today and why and how Hamlet, which caught the imagination of royalties and subjects alike, clicked during the Elizabethan period and no longer does so today. I suspect this is not because standards of excellence have waned; it is just that each epoch, age, society and culture has its own way of defining, producing, valuing, consuming and receiving art. To be an intellectual therefore does not mean, being the kind of intellectual espoused by Arendt, one who imposes a top-down approach – imposing Hamlet on the masses, for instance. Instead, we need the kind of intellectual who will sit in front of the TV set, watch almost everything – from the seemingly most idiotic sitcoms to the most enlightening art film – and analyze and read the pictures, images and mediums, according to an oppositional and critical frame that works from and within, not from without and from the top. In other words, this is the kind of intellectual that challenges what is and sets out to suggest what is possible, not by imposing so-called alternatives (Hamlet instead of My Fair Lady), but by a process called bricolage – a process of thinking out of the box by making do with, pilfering, borrowing, and reconfiguring what is available, after a sensitive, critical and thorough analysis based on the parameters of form, content, context and domain, field and artist.

Floods in India Essay

India, being a peninsular country and surrounded by the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal, is quite prone to flood. As per the Geological Survey of India (GSI), the major flood prone areas of India cover almost 12.5% area of the country. Every year, flood, the most common disaster in India causes immense loss to the country’s property and lives. India Flood Prone Areas The states falling within the periphery of â€Å"India Flood Prone Areas† are West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam, Bihar, Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. The intense monsoon rains from southwest causes rivers like Brahmaputra, Ganga, Yamuna etc. to swell their banks, which in turn floods the adjacent areas. Over the past few decades, central India has become familiar with precipitation events like torrential rains and flash floods. The major flood prone areas in India are the river banks and deltas of Ravi, Yamuna-Sahibi, Gandak, Sutlej, Ganga, Ghaggar, Kosi, Teesta, Brahmaputra, Mahanadi, Mahananda, Damodar, Godavari, Mayurakshi, Sabarmati and their tributaries. Though the north-Indian plains prone to flood more, the â€Å"India flood prone areas† can be broadly categorized in three divisions: Besides the Ganga, rivers like Sarada, Rapti, Gandak and Ghagra causes flood in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh. The Yamuna is famous for flooding Haryana and Delhi. Bihar experiences massive dangerous flood every year. River Burhi, Bagmati, Gandak, Kamla along with many small rivers contribute to that. In West Bengal, rivers like Mahananda, Bhagirathi, Damodar, Ajay etc. causes floods because of tidal effects and insufficient river channels. * Brahmaputra and Barak Basins: The river banks of Brahmaputra and Barak gets flooded due to the Surplus water found in the Brahmaputra basin and the Barak basin. These rivers along with their tributaries flood the northeastern states like West Bengal, Assam and Sikkim. Jaldakha, Teesta and Torsa in northern West Bengal and rivers in Manipur often overflow their banks. * Central India and Deccan Rivers Basin: In Orissa, spilling over of river banks by Mahanadi, Baitarni and Brahmani causes havoc. The deltaic area formed by these three rivers is thickly populated. Even some small rivers of Kerala and mud stream from the nearby hills add on to the destruction. Southern and central India observes floods caused by Narmada, Godavari, Tapi, Krishna and Mahanadi due to heavy rainfall. Cyclonic storms in the deltaic regions of Godavari, Mahanadi and Krishna even floods the coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Tamil Nadu occasionally.

Focus Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Focus Report - Research Paper Example The philosophy of crime prevention that I wish to push is to solve the problem at its source. Homeland defense and illegal immigration are inextricably intertwined in that much of the Homeland Defense policy of the United States has targeted illegal immigration. In a Working Paper entitled â€Å"An Analysis of Migrant Smuggling Costs along the Southwest Border† (2010) by the Department of Homeland Security, it was found that stronger enforcement mechanisms led to a rise in smuggling costs, thus effectively deterring illegal immigration across borders. Homeland defense and illegal immigration are inextricably intertwined in that much of the Homeland Defense policy of the United States has targeted illegal immigration. Much debate has raged over immigration policies in the United States. In the past, the United States had reached out with open arms to immigrants coming from distant shores, who want to make this country their home. As a result of this, we have seen America become a melting pot of cultures, offering its embrace to the poor and downtrodden. In many instances, however, social controversies had arisen as a result of the influx of immigrants. This is the current situation at hand. Conservative Americans say that the government has coddled illegal immigrants far too long, and given the current bleak state of the US economy, this is prejudicial to ordinary Americans citizens. Those of immigrant heritage, on the other hand, particularly the Latinos, call for less stringent immigration measures and continue to go to the US to escape the poverty and desperation in their home countries. Immigration policies are hotly contested and draw divisive lines across the nation. Peak (2009) has colorfully described illegal immigration efforts by the US government: The UAVs use thermal and night vision equipment to spot illegal immigrants; they can detect movement from 15 miles of altitude, read a license plate, and even detect weapons. In 39 days of border surv eillance, the UAVs led to the apprehension of 248 illegal immigrants and the seizure of 518 pounds of marijuana. The vehicles are waist-high, weigh about 1000 pounds, have a 35-foot wingspan, fly faster than 100 miles an hour and can stay aloft for 20 hours at a time. A major problem that illegal immigration has created is the drug problem. Terrorism is not simply an assault on freedom and democracy; it can equally be an assault on the individual by creating drug dependence that leads to other pernicious social effects. According to Peak (2009), â€Å"more than half of all adult arrestees test positive for drug use at the time of their apprehension; their drug use prior to incarceration is typically chronic.† The problem of illicit drugs in the United States must be viewed against the backdrop of a well-oiled international drug trafficking network that has sustained the addiction of drug users and has lined the pockets of those who profit from this addiction. Indeed, in order to address illicit drug use at its core, it is imperative to understand the workings of the drug trade – the production, transport and distribution – that takes place before eventual consumption. Many Americans assume that illicit drugs in the United States come from Latin America, without really understanding the dynamics between the drug cartels and the relationships of the players with each other. In truth, Colombian drug organizations and Mexican drug organizati

Economics & Global Bus. Apps Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economics & Global Bus. Apps - Essay Example China on the other hand has a very hierarchical and formal social structure which stretches to family, business and institutional life. For instance, respect for elders it is expected of children and the eldest family member bids the highest respect (Dipak 59). Collectivism vs. Individualism In china, individuals consider ideas in a collective sense in that before making a decision, they frequently consider the effects of their actions on their friends, colleagues and neighbors. Usually, decisions are not made for individual gain but for the greater good. In America, it is normal to make personal motives and goals a priority over the collective ones. This attribute is frequently encouraged so as to induce drive and aspiration to attain personal and business success (Robert, Philip and Sarah 35). Business Relations Business relations are a reflection of the individual and collective nature of the two societies. The term 'guan xi' is commonly used in China and refers to emphasis being placed on the significance of building social networks so as to carry out business (Dipak 71). This is mirrored in the significance of socializing with counterparts and getting to know them before signing a deal. As a result, ensuring a business deal in china is frequently a long procedure. In the US on the other hand, business is a more cut throat procedure that emphasizes more on efficiency and speed rather than on building relationships. Morals and Values In America, individuals are comfortable about praising, playing up and talking about success openly with humility being considered a weakness by some. In the Chinese culture, respect and humility are very important. When talking about successes, it is expected of people to be modest and treat each other well, or not to talk about them at all (Robert, Philip and Sarah 39). Additionally, in America, there are grayer areas and the issue of morality is not set in stone but a matter of discussion. In china however there is a firm sen se of right and wrong. Freedom of Expression The people of china are bound sternly by protocol and believe it is better to honor and respect the opinion of others even if you don’t agree with them than to demand for other people to concur with your ideals. In American culture individuals are urged to argue on contentious issues regardless of whether they may lead to confrontation all (Robert, Philip and Sarah 42). U.S. business practices in China vs. USA The 4 P’s of marketing have both similarities and differences in China and USA. The Price of a product has a higher elasticity of demand in China than in USA. While moving to China, it is important to ensure that a company establishes competitive and stable prices if a product is to compete with the existing products. Price changes have a higher effect on sales in China than in USA due to lower purchasing power of the Chinese in comparison with Americans. Chinese buyers feel more exploited by western companies than by local ones thus making price elasticity for foreign companies in China higher than that of local companies. While considering the product, it is also important to build a strong brand in order to penetrate the Chinese market which is characterised by many popular brands. Use of Chinese name for a brand would be a plus rather than maintain the name the product uses in USA. Product quality is not as important as it is in USA.

Managed Services Provider Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managed Services Provider - Research Paper Example Companies outsource their IT based business processes to the managed service providers because it costs them very less as well as increases the reliability of the outsourced business processes. â€Å"A business will contract with a managed service provider to fill certain needs that are met more cost effectively by outsourcing than by purchasing and supporting equipment in-house† (White, n.d.). Managed service providers use the concept of cloud computing to provide reliable and cost effective services to the client companies. Schauland (2011) states, â€Å"Cloud computing is used to allow services used in everyday practice to be moved onto the Internet rather than stored on a local computer†. Cloud computing facilitates people and helps them perform their IT related tasks by eliminating the need of any specific place or a particular computer system. Some of the major tasks, which managed service providers, perform for the client companies include virtual private network , IP telephony, managed firewalls, messaging and call center, and monitoring or reporting of network servers. Unlike traditional business applications, managed service providers eliminate the problems of hardware and software installation and maintenance for its clients. In traditional settings, companies need to install, configure, test, and run every hardware and software application on their own. ... Computers, which are used locally, no longer need to perform heavy workloads because applications are kept online and the service providers handle the networks of such applications. Managed service providers assist companies in many areas. Some of those areas include network monitoring, network security, and information management. They also provide many other facilities, which may include alerts, data backup and recovery for different client devices, and patch management. For companies, some of the main advantages of using such services include no requirement of ease in running applications, ease of integration with proprietary systems, low capital investment, and intuitive interface of software applications. Some other advantages for the companies, which make them switch to such services providers include low security risk and improved organization of IT related business processes. Service providers make use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that use such security protocols, which do not remain the same forever rather they continue changing their protocols in order to ensure more protection against hackers. This feature of VPNs attracts a large number of companies towards managed service providers. Such companies find it easier to ensure network security by using the VPNs provided by the managed service providers. Some other benefits, which the companies gain by using the VPNs of managed service providers, include reduction in time and money consumption. Companies just need to pay for the virtual networks; they do not need to spend their precious tie and money to get the services of virtual networks. â€Å"The  managed service provider  assumes ongoing responsibility for monitoring, managing and/or problem resolution for

Inclusive Education, Boy's under-achievement Essay

Inclusive Education, Boy's under-achievement - Essay Example With reference to the term ‘inclusion’, it has long been regarded as the most important responsibility within education and society to ensure that children with special needs are included rather than excluded. Special educational needs (SEN) is the term currently extensively used in education and care setting to refer to the special needs of children who need an extra support in their life. It has been realised as one of the morally wrong and socially discriminating issue to isolate children due to their physical or learning needs compared to the majority of other children and the most approving endeavour by a practitioner in the area is to embrace the move towards inclusion and to promote this practice. â€Å"The term ‘special educational needs’ was used as an all-encompassing term to describe any child who needed some extra support. Children have special educational needs if they have a learning difficulty that calls for special educational provision to b e made for them.† (Tassoni and White, 4) Children with a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of children of the same age or those with a disability which hiders them from using the educational facilities are included in this special category. There have been several attempts to correct the term with which the special needs of these students are referred and the concept of inclusive education is the result of the long plea to change the education system in order to allow all children to enjoy fair and equal access to education. While focusing on the children with special needs, the campaign for inclusive education extends to a wider range of children who have been traditionally discriminated against. "The concept of inclusive education signals a significant mind shift. Instead of expecting children to 'come up to standard' or otherwise be segregated, the emphasis is on schools and settings to adapt and be flexible enough to accommodate each and every child." (Tassoni and White, 10) This paper deals with underpinning conceptual frameworks of inclusive education distinguishing between competing models of inclusion. As the term 'inclusive education' has become so widely used and abused, it has almost lost its great meaning. It has long been a topic of debate and the label and the language used to refer to the concept have become serious concern today. "Its application to everything from school effectiveness to civil rights to political manifestos renders it vacuous and susceptible to those critiques which accuse it of masking inadequacies. For the cynics, inclusive education means abandoning labelling and special resourcing for individual needs in order to cut costs in the name of equality." (Corbett, 10) Inclusion is not a new concept as the ideals behind inclusive education have deeper roots in liberal and progressive thought. Whereas the earlier school system focused on the segregation of students with special need, the current system is inclusive in nature. Following the works of the child welfare pioneer Elizabeth Burgwin, there was significant shift in focus where educationalists insisted on an inclusive strategy rather than segregation. Most probably, this inclusive thought of the early years prospered and provided the philosophical and organisational foundation for the school system of the contemporary period. "An inclusive philosophy has ultimately risen again and prospered. It has been able to succeed because it chimes with the philosophy of a liberal political system and a pluralistic culture - one that celebrates diversity and promotes

Clinical Research Informatics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Clinical Research Informatics - Assignment Example Clinical research informatics primarily derives its importance from the fact that it is the lynchpin which links the innovative technologies to their use in the patient care (Majumder, 2012). Clinical research informatics facilitates the ongoing dialogues among both practitioners and researchers in their constant surge to create a dynamic environment of clinical research. â€Å"The development of CRI†¦drives a growing pool of scientific literature based on original CRI research, and high-impact tools and systems will be developed† (Richesson and Andrews, 2012). Health care organizations benefit from the clinical research informatics as they unveil innovative treatment options for the diseases to improve the quality of health care. Clinical research informatics enhance the translational continuum on four levels; â€Å"basic research to clinical trials (T1), clinical trials to academic health center practice (T2), diffusion and implementation to community practice (T3), an d ‘real world’ outcomes (T4)† (Kahn and Weng, 2012). Hence, clinical research informatics make it possible for the health care organizations to apply the theoretical knowledge to practical

Comparison of Jewish Passover with Roman Catholic Last Supper and Essay

Comparison of Jewish Passover with Roman Catholic Last Supper and Easter - Essay Example On the other hand, the Easter holiday is celebrated by Christians to demonstrate the significance of the painful death of Jesus on the cross for the sake of sin redemption on humankind. The celebrations that are held to mark these events are usually in the accompaniment of beliefs, performance of rituals, and a recall of the history of the real happenings. The leadership in every Christian movement is charged with the responsibility to lead their congregations in conducting such events. The scriptures of the Bible containing relevant information in regards to the events are duly emphasized via repeated reading sessions during the commemoration seasons. Additionally, every aspect of the above issues has a comparison with another in another practice in the Christianity realms. The practices, in every form of Christian group, entail performance of reverent worship, whose conduction is similar in some groups and dissimilar in others, though all directed to the almighty God. Nevertheless, fervent connections are in existence between the Jewish Passover with Roman Catholic Last Supper and Easter, where every practice in the Old Testament is balanced and linked to another in the New Testament, making the celebrations to ultimately be intertwined (Cobb John and McAfee Ward 134). The discussion in this paper seeks to establish a comparison of Jewish Passover with Roman Catholic Last Supper and Easter. The comprehension of this discussion is motivated by investigating a variety of issues, the comparisons between the issues, as well as a critical analysis of the connection between them. Comparison of Jewish Passover with Roman Catholic Last Supper and Easter The Jewish Passover and the Canadian Roman Catholic last supper and Easter have significant similarities. They are both symbolic events used to commemorate an act that was conducted in the traditional times and was meant for today’s significance. The practices and believes are centered on worship for God becaus e of his redemption power for his people from suffering, which has a significance of demonstrating God’s mercy to his creation. The Jewish Passover portrays the mercies for redemption from slavery, while the Easter and last super portray the mercies in regards to offer of Jesus on the cross. The beliefs of these events are centered on the saving power of God, and that the commemoration of the events brings spiritual revival in the hearts of the believers. Moreover, the execution of the practices is only through the way of conducting worship in a tabernacle, conducting rituals and reverent reading of scriptures of relevance. All these celebrations are always celebrated following the appearance of full moon, especially in the month of March, April, or May. Nevertheless, the traditions have it that Easter and the last super cannot be celebrated before the Jewish Passover (Combier-Donovan et al 118). However, pronounced differences are identifiable in relation to rituals and hist ory of every practice. The Jewish Passover dates back to the Old Testament scriptural representation, when the Israelites were in slavery in Egypt. The sending of Moses by God and

The Composer Bela Bartok Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Composer Bela Bartok - Research Paper Example IV. Body Passage-III: This paragraph will contain a discussion about the people and their tastes during the times as well as the major influences in Bartok’s life and a comparison with other famous composers who lived during that period of time. V. Body Passage-IV: This passage will dwell on the composing style of Bartok, a discussion of his inspirations, a comparison with other musicians, his major innovations in composition etc. VI. Conclusion: The conclusion will recapitulate the major points included in the topic sentences of the body passages, restate the thesis, and sum up the essay. Bela Bartok Bela Bartok was born on 25th March 1881 in Baratian, a small town in Hungary. â€Å"Bela Bartok (1881-1945), the great Hungarian composer, was one of the most significant musicians of the twentieth century† (Hughes & Vetter 2007, 21). His father Bela senior belongs to a lower noble family of Hungary though his mother Paula hails from a Roman Catholic Serbian family in Serb ia. At the early stage itself, Bela started showing talent for music and often distinguished rhythms that his mother played on piano. This was before he could even properly speak. At the age of 4, he played 40 pieces on the piano and his mother recognizing his Calibre began teaching him formally.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bela was a sick child till the age of 5. He suffered from eczema. At the age of 7, he lost his father, and his mother shifted to Pozgony along with him and his sister Erzsebet. At Pozgony, Bela who was then 11 years, gave his first recital in public, that too his own composition which he did 2 years ago. Immediately after this, Laszio Erkel accepted him as his pupil.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bela graduated from grammar school in 1899. Up to 1903, he studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of music in Budapest. At this academy Bela met Zoltan Kodaly, who totally influenced him, and remained his life long friend and colleague. His first major orchestral wor k, a symphonic poem, ‘Kossuth’, depicting the hero of Hungarian Revolution of 1848, came out in 1903. â€Å"Bartok displayed his love for music when he was only a child. It is said that even before he started talking, he could distinguish between different tunes of dance rhythms his mother played on the piano† (Bela Bartok n.d.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He was influenced in his early work by the music of Richard Strauss whom he met him in 1902. Then in 1904, in a holiday resort, he overheard Lidi Doza sing folk songs and this marked the beginning of his life-long dedication to folk music. He was also influenced by Claude Debussy, the French Composer. Bela’s style of orchestral work resembled those of Johannes Brahmas and Richard Strauss. He wrote a lot of small piano pieces showing great interest in folk music. The first of such piece was the â€Å"‘String Quartet No.1’† (The String Quartets: Bela Bartok 2008) in 1908. He became a pian o professor at the Royal Academy in the year 1907. His famous pupils were Gyongy Samdor Fritz Reiner, Lili Knaus, Emo Balogh, Jack Besson and Violet Archer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In 1908, Bela and Kodaly jointly researched on old Magyar Folk Melodies. This collaboration coincided with the contemporary social interests in traditional culture. They discovered that Magyar Folk Music

Journal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Journal - Research Paper Example The first one, â€Å"Boys and Girls†, lets the reader know that Nenny is still too young to be a friend to her sister and yet, the unnamed older sister is already looking forward to the time when Nenny will be old enough to be her friend and enjoy each others company. The sense of sibling love is quite strong in this story because she feels protective of her younger sister and looks out for her because not all the kids in their neighborhood are nice children and she does not want her sister exposed to any bad influences. The end of the story makes one wonder what might have become of the sisters after some years had passed. That is why it was nice to see the relationship progression in the second story â€Å"Our Good Day†. In â€Å"Our Good Day†, the readers learn that Nenny is no longer a little child. She is already old enough to be the friend of her sister and that the relationship between them is one filled with trust and care. It also shows that the older sister keeps her younger sibling in mind and is very happy to be able to share any good fortune that she might come into in life with her. However, the story that shows us the greatest development in the relationship of the sisters can be seen in the story â€Å"Laughter†. Look at that house, I said, it looks like Mexico. Rachel and Lucy look at me like I am crazy, but before they can let out a laugh, Nenny says yes: Yes, thats Mexico all right. Thats what I was thinking exactly. This shows that the sisters have reached a point in their sibling-ship where they know each other so well that they trust that the other will know what the one is trying to say. Even more impressive, is that the sisters already think alike. Which is a sign that the siblings are quite in-tune with one another and share more than just a superficial relationship. I guess that is why I enjoyed reading about these stories so much. The short stories give a sense of character development and

The Chinese Massacre of 1603 Essay Example for Free

The Chinese Massacre of 1603 Essay From a historiographic point of view, the incident of 1603 acquires special significance in the long and tragic history of Chinese massacres in the Philippines. For compared to all the rest, this has been the best chronicled, not only in Spanish, but also in Chinese sources. Moreover, both coincide in the presentation of facts and are alike in the ordering of events. When these sources—especially the Chinese—begin their account of the massacre, they refer to a remote, perhaps even unrelated, incident that is, nevertheless, significant. The tension started in 1593, when 250 Chinese were forcibly recruited to row the ships which Gomez Perez Dasmarinas, then Philippine governor general, sent to conquer the Moluccas Islands. Soon after they set sail, the Chinese in the flag ship staged a mutiny, assassinated Dasmarinas, and took over the vessel. Weeks later, the son of the murdered governor, Luis Perez Dasmarinas, then based in Cebu, sought vengeance to fall on the heads of the culprits. To do this, he asked for assistance from the Chinese authorities of Fujian, who welcomed the young Dasmarinas’ ambassadors and offered them their help as well. The second episode happened 10 years later, in the spring of 1603, when â€Å"three mandarins† arrived in Manila on a strange mission: to reconnoiter a mountain of gold abundant with trees that bore gold. This visit raised the suspicion of the Spaniards in the Philippines, already so accustomed to intermittent threats of conquest, particularly from the Japanese. They concluded that this was probably an advance party for a future invasion of Manila. At that time, the Chinese in this city were almost 10 times the number of Spaniards. The third event, the Sangley uprising, happened in autumn of that same year. The reasons for this uprising remain unclear. The motives range from the desire of the Chinese to dominate Manila, to their wanting to abort the Spaniards moves that seemed to lead to their elimination. After initial uncertainty as to who would eventually win out, the rebellion was quelled by the Spaniards who, together with Filipino and Japanese troops, massacred some 20,000 Chinese. Both our sources also point to a more or less common epilogue. After the Spaniards’ first attempts at reconciliation and China’s indignant reactions, both parties reached a new compromise and the agitation easily vanished as though nothing had happened. Former trade relations were resumed, allowing the Chinese to settle again in Manila, even if both sides harbored grudges against each other for what had happened earlier. What I now propose is to try to bring together reports on the massacre, both from the known Spanish sources and from the Chinese founts. The comparison may allow us to better understand the remote and proximate causes of the tragedy of 1603. Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 1 The sources The Spanish manuscript sources which document the massacre are found in their entirety in the General Archive of the Indies and were published almost completely in the â€Å"Colin Pastells,† that is to say, the new edition of the work of Colin, done by Pastells in 19001. Some of them were reproduced immediately afterwards and translated to English, in Blair Robertson,2 and again soon after by Pastells in his joint work with Navas. 3 These sources may be classified into two: those released during the event—which served as â€Å"news updates†Ã¢â‚¬â€or shortly after the incident, giving a global view of what had happened; and those that appear in the books that came out around that time, situating the incident within the general context of Philippine history, as Morga4 does in his book, or as part of the conquest of the Moluccas, as Argensola5 approached it in his. The letters and reports from the officers of the Royal Audiencia of Manila, and those of the superiors of the various religious orders belong to the first type. These documents intend to give personal viewpoints which, despite the fact that they contest each other, are not contradictory but rather complimentary. Of course, all deplore the massacre even if they deem it a justified, though exaggerated, measure. At the same time, they differ mainly in the analysis of the means that could have been taken to avoid it, or of the actions that indirectly provoked it. Argensola tries to consolidate all the information that reached the court during the years immediately after the massacre (he published his work six years after the event), and personal reports from the main players of the said event. Argensola may have had the Augustinian Diego de Guevara as his principal source, because this priest moved to Madrid to attend to some of his order’s concerns shortly after the incident. The work of Dr. Morga, eyewitness of the events, is briefer and simpler in tackling the topics and conclusions that were being formulated in Manila immediately after the uprising (Morga left Manila in 1606). The Chinese sources, on the other hand, are official and therefore anonymous. They are briefer than those of the Spaniards, and seem to be less defensive, even if they also seem to reflect partisan tendencies. 6 They usually acknowledge provocation on the part of the Chinese expatriates, and yet refuse to be judged by foreigners. These documents sometimes cite specific words or actions of an officer from Fujian, although they Francisco Colin, S. J. Labor evangelica, ministerios apostolicos de los obreros de la Compania de Jesus, fundacion y progresos de su provincia en las Islas Filipinas. Nueva edicion ilustrada con copia de notas y documentos para la critica †¦ por el P. Pablo Pastells, S. J. , Vol. II, Barcelona, Imprenta y Litografia de Henrich y Cia, 1900, pp. 418-441. 2 Blair Robertson, The Philippine Islands (vol. XII, pp. 83-97). 3 Pablo Pastells Francisco Navas, Catalogo de los documentos relativos a las Islas Filipinas (vol. 5, Barcelona, 1929, pp. LXXVI-CVIII). 4 Antonio Morga, Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, Mexico, 1609. We used here the version annotated by Jose Rizal, offset reprinting by the National Commission for the Centenary of Jose Rizal, Manila, 1961. 5 Bartolome Leonardo Argensola. Conquista de las Islas Malucas, Imprenta del Hospicio Provincial, Zaragoza 1891. 6 We have used the following references: Ming Shi (â€Å"The History of the Ming Dynasty â€Å"), Ed. Ding Wen, Taipei, 1975, Vol. 11 (pp. 8370-8375); Ming Shi Lu (â€Å"The True History of the Ming Dynasty†), prepared by the Academia Sinica, Ed. Zhongwen, Volumes 12 and 13, Taipei, 1961 (pp. 12090, 123030, 12371); Dong Xi Yang Kao (â€Å"Studies on the Eastern and Western Oceans†), Ed. Taiwan Shang Wu, Taipei, 1971 (pp. 57-60); Ming Ching Shi Wen Bien (â€Å"Anthology of the Official Documents of the Ming Dynasty†), Vol. 6, Ed. Zhunghua, Beijing, 1962 (pp. 4727-4728); Huang Ming Xiang Xu Lu; Guo Que (â€Å"National tolls†), Ed. Ding Wen, Taipei, 1978, Vol. 8 (p. 4917). I wish to thank Prof. Zhang Kai for his invaluable help in pointing out these sources, and my research assistant Lin Li-pin for his help in the translation of these materials. 1 Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 2 generally present themselves as part of an official investigation that was also transmitted officially. Also, since the events happened outside China, it is difficult for the imperial officers to verify them, which is why they put forward brief and detached explanations. Nevertheless, the massacre of 1603 happened during a period of stability in the Ming Dynasty; thus, their capacity to inquire into and annotate an event that happened outside their shores was much greater than, for example, the time when the massacres of 1639 or of 1662 took place. The former happened on the eve of the fall of the Ming Dynasty, while the latter was more associated with the Ming resistance—at that time, Koxinga7 was dying in his Taiwanese hideout—than with the Manchus, the new powers in China, who were still trying to establish themselves in the country. The incident of October 25, 1593 Let us now take a brief look at Argensola’s account in Chapter 6 of his book. 8 He states that Governor Gomez Perez de Dasmarinas prepared four galleys to attack the Moluccas but had difficulty finding soldiers to man them. When the flagship was the only one left to be filled, â€Å"he ordered that of the Chinese contract workers who were entering the Philippines, 250 were to be taken to man the flagship. The Royal Treasury was to pay each one two pesos a month and, in the best of cases, they were only to row in calm weather. † The Governor forced the governor of the Chinese to get these 250 men who set sail against their will. Finally, on October 17, the naval crew left for Ternate. However, as soon as the flagship moved a short distance off, and the Chinese oarsmen were put to work—unaccustomed as they were to the task and spurred on by brutal and menacing foremen—the said workers decided to stage an uprising, preferring to die in the attempt than to continue rowing for the Spaniards. The rebellion took place on the night of October 25, claiming the lives of the Governor himself and a great part of the 80member Spanish crew. The bad weather persisted, which was why the mutineers only went as far as the Ilocos region, where they were assaulted by the natives. They left behind the surviving Spaniards, among them, Juan de Cuellar, secretary of the Governor and the Franciscan Montilla, both of who managed to reach the coast. Afterwards, the Chinese decided to sail to China, but landed in Vietnam instead, where â€Å"the king of Tunquin seized their cargo and left the galley to sink in the coast. The Chinese were dispersed and they fled to the different provinces. †9 The Spanish survivors informed Manila of what happened. The rest of the navy based in Cebu under the command of the governor’s son, Luis Perez Dasmarinas, returned to Manila. There, he was appointed interim Governor of the islands. Then a strange thing happened in 1594. In retrospect, this incident seems to have served as a â€Å"rehearsal† for what was to happen next. That year, the Chinese presumed that the Spanish navy had left for the Moluccas Isles. As Argensola puts it, â€Å"There appeared in Manila a great number of ships from China, without the customary goods, but rather loaded with men and weapons. On board were seven mandarins, counted As regards this massacre and the problems of interpretation that arise from consulting and comparing Chinese and Spanish sources, see my recent paper â€Å"Consideraciones en torno a la imagen de Koxinga vertida por Victorio Ricci en Occidente. † Encuentros en Catay, n. 10, 1996. 8 There are discrepancies between Argensola and Morga, although these are more a question of details than of arguments. 9 Argensola, Conquista de las†¦, p. 210 7 Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 3 among the senior Viceroys or Governors of their provinces and they went to visit Don Luis with great pomp and an escort of men saying that they were on the lookout for Chinese who were going about those lands without license. †10 Dasmarinas welcomed them and gave each one a gold chain. In the end, he concluded that they had come either to conquer or to sack Manila, but changed their minds when they saw the presence of the Spanish armada. Argensola adds that since the Chinese who killed Dasmarinas’ father were from Quan Chou, he sent Fernando de Castro, a cousin of his, to that province to give an account of the mutiny. However, the trip was forestalled due to the bad weather. It is noteworthy that neither Argensola nor Morga says that the Dasmarinas took advantage of the situation to take up the matter with the mandarins (although it seems that he did, as deduced from the Chinese sources that we shall now see). For example, the Dong Xi Yang Gao is more exhaustive in this respect. It states that Luis Dasmarinas (called Maulin here), immediately after replacing his father, sent some priests to inform the Chinese authorities in Macao about the uprising. These priests bore a letter, the translation of which is conserved in the Chinese sources. It also adds that the magistrates of Fujian continued to send merchant vessels to bring back the Chinese who had been living in Luzon for too long. According to Argensola, this detail coincides with what the mandarins explained to Dasmarinas. The Chinese chronicle continues: â€Å"The governor of Luzon provided these ships with food and also gave them a letter (addressed to the Chinese government). He verbally aired his complaints about the way the Chinese treated the murdered governor, his father. And he gave them an edict, sealed in a gold box which, together with the abovementioned letter, was wrapped in red silk and sent to China on a merchant vessel. †11 The â€Å"three mandarins† arrive in Manila (May 1603) We have said that the abovementioned incident does not seem to have anything to do with the one that took place nine years later. However, the parallelism is great, as we shall now see. The events arising from the arrival of another group of mandarins are well documented in the Spanish sources. There are three types of information that are all complimentary. Those from the royal officials, that is, those from the Governor, Don Pedro de Acuna, as well as the listeners of the Audiencia, Jeronimo de Salazar and Tellez de Almazan, who show themselves to be hostile to and suspicious of the governor. The sources of the ecclesiastics, and in the third place, the information that the Chinese themselves give, and which they offer in consideration of the Spanish authorities. In particular, a letter written four days before in the sea by Chanchian, the head of the Chinese expedition, and which is submitted to the governor who sends it immediately for translation. Likewise, two more documents corresponding to some â€Å"petitions of Chinese to the Chinese emperor†, which ended up in the hands of Archbishop Benavides who translated them. He sent the king his own letter where—â€Å"enriched† after his own 10 11 Idem, p. 212. The Dong Xi Yang Kao contains the Chinese translation of Dasmarinas’ letter which he gave to the mandarins. Here, the same facts are given, except that the apparent motive of the uprising was more of greed (the ship was loaded with much gold and silver) than of the cruelty received in the hands of the foremen of the ship, as Argensola would have put it. Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 4 inquiries—he makes a very complete analysis of the situation12. Though actually we do not know if Benavides made them Public or not, and therefore if they have to be considered as part of the information that the Spaniards had then. Gathering together all the reports (Argensola’s and those of the two judges of the Audiencia, Jeronimo de Salazar and Tellez de Almazan, both hostile toward the governor, Pedro de Acuna), this series of events might have had taken place as follows: Friday, May 23. Three mandarins landed in Manila, displaying their insignias as judges. With great pomp and an entourage of 50, they sought an audience with the Governor and gave him a letter written four days earlier in the high seas. In the said letter, signed by Chanchian, military chief of Fujian, the mandarins expounded the reason for this trip. They wished to verify the existence of a fabulous mountain in Cavite, believed to yield 100,000 taeles of gold and 300,000 taeles of silver a year. They claimed that everyone could go and dig there and that the Chinese have already taken a great quantity of these metals back to China. Chanchian also indicated that he had with him a fellow named Tio Heng, the man who reported to the emperor of the existence of the said mountain, as well as a eunuch called Cochay, who received specific orders from the emperor to investigate the matter. Another mandarin was present, besides Cochay and the immediate chief of Chanchian. 13 He added that he did not believe in the existence of such a mountain, and presumed it to be a lie. Nevertheless, the Governor had nothing to fear, since it was his duty to look into the matter. Afterwards, the Governor had them housed in special lodgings inside the city. The fact that they flaunted their insignias as judges and that the Governor allowed them to do so, incurred the ire of the members of the Audiencia. From May 24 to May 26 (Saturday to Monday), the mandarins begin to mete justice on their countrymen. Meanwhile, Salazar, the fiscal of the Audiencia, carries out his own investigation. Within this period, the governor allows the mandarins to bring their entourage to Tondo, where the Christian sangleys live. May 27 (Tuesday). Salazar presents a report in a public session of the Audiencia. The report is approved and the governor requested to stop the operations of the mandarins so that the investigations may continue. The friction between the Audiencia 12 It does not remain clear how Benavides obtained the two documents, and if he made them known to the governor or not. The first (document) is similar in structure to the letter which the governor received from the mandarins, the translation of which he sent to the King, but much more extensive and detailed. Therefore the said document perhaps may be a different version from the letter, made by memory (since he possibly helped in the verbal translation of that thing) and completed a posteriori with his own investigations, since at the end of that letter he said: â€Å"I am a man who knows the language of these Chinese and I know a lot about their things and customs of China by having lived with them for many months and I made it also because I take up this business with suspicion and care as these can be advisors who advise badly on it because of not understanding it† (Colin Pastells, II, p. 415). The second document, different from the letter, is a remonstrance of the emperor by one of his officials. The mandarins presented it to the governor with the intention of giving more credibility to his own letter. Given that the Spaniards did not seem to take it into account, we will not deal with it now, but we will go back to it at the end of our study for its clarificatory value. 13 Note that the spelling of the names correspond to the free style of transcribing that the Spanish translator had of the Fujianese pronunciation of the names ( the translation of the document that appears on Blair Robertson, vol. XII, pp. 83-97, points out in the heading which was made by a Dominican). As will be seen later , the correspondence in mandarin is as follows: Chunchian seems to correspond to Gan Yi-chen, Tio Heng to Zhang Yi and Cochay to Gao Tsai. Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 5 and the Governor worsens. Moreover, the judges of the Audiencia complain of being relegated to the sidelines. In the following days, the Audiencia desisted its moves because the Governor finally published an edict prohibiting the mandarins from administering their justice and from flaunting their insignias. On the eve of their departure, they go to Cavite to see the said mountain. With them are Second Lieutenant Cervantes, as well as by the governor of the sangleys, Juan Bautista de Vera,14 who seems to have been around all the while. There, Tio Heng, unable to satisfactorily clear himself of the deception, had the Spaniards bearing down on him with threats of death. However, the mandarins intercede for his pardon. The Spaniards grow even more suspicious. On the day of their departure, the Governor receives the mandarins and honors them with some gifts. As he sends them off, they apologize for the mix-up they have caused and thus sailed back to China. We can better know the identities of these mandarins and further clarify the case by examining complimentary data from the Chinese sources. In this attempt to consolidate diverse information, we can conclude that the speaker of the group was the mandarin Gan Yi-chen (Chanchian in the letter), a centurion and was probably the military chief of Fujian. The second mandarin (not mentioned in the letter) was Wang Shi-ho, the magistrate of the Hai Cheng district, where many of the Chinese immigrants came from. The third mandarin must have been the eunuch Gao Tsai (who appears in the letter as Cochai). Accompanying these three dignitaries were Zhang Yi (Tio Heng) and Yang Ying-long, who were the ones who informed the emperor in Beijing of the said mountain of gold. Yang Ying-long was another centurion whom the Chinese sources accuse of collaborating with Zhang Yi (who probably used the former’s clout to get an audience with the emperor and consequently win his favor). The emperor actually allowed the said expedition despite opposition from various people in his court who not only thought it a ridiculous project, but which could also be a source of trouble. According to these sources, one might think that the two magistrates Gan Yichen and Wang Shi-ho were also of the same opinion. In fact, the latter was so vexed that he died soon after they arrived in Fujian. The other magistrates reported Zhang Yi’s behavior to the emperor, demanding that he be punished for trying to deceive the imperial government and for bringing about its humiliation in a foreign land. The role of Gao Tsai, on the other hand, is more difficult to interpret. Some sources picture him as the superintendent of the said Beijing expedition, while others show him as Fujian’s quartermaster general for taxes, who makes a living off the Chinese maritime trade. The Ming Shi Lu gives its version of the conduct of these three: â€Å"The diabolical Fujianese Zhang Yi, came up with an evil plan to propose the excavation of a gold mine in Luzon. But his real intention was to conspire with the eunuchs and provoke the barbarians. Yang Ying-long was his partner†¦Zhang Yi was beheaded and [his head] shown to the coastal provinces as a warning to people of his kind. † 15 Lastly, it is worth pointing out that the Chinese sources coincide with those Spanish ones in indicating that this entire trip had been the proximate cause of the Spanish suspicions and the subsequent massacre which took place four months afterwards. 14 A Chinese who arrived in Manila during the times of the pirate Limahon, whom he had served. At that time, he was appointed governor of the sangleys and was â€Å"respected by the Spaniards and loved by the sangleys† (Argensola, p.230. He was also known as â€Å"Eng Kang† (Rizal), â€Å"Encan† (Argensola) and â€Å"Encang† (Tellez de Almazan). 15 MSL, Chapter 404 (Vol. XII. P. 12090). Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 6 But, the question is if the dispatch had been an advance party or not, and if it came to study the possibility of invasion of Manila—whether it was piratical or in an organized form. At the moment, the Spaniards could not know it, although an excess of suspicions could turn itself into an untenable situation that might end up out of control. It was precisely what happened. The massacre of 1603 a) The preparation On December 18, 1603, once the incident that we are about to see had ended, Governor Pedro de Acuna wrote the king an account wherein he explained in retrospect his behavior during the whole event. He begins by saying that the arrival of the mandarins had made him suspect a possible invasion from China. This was why his eventual moves, preventive and defensive in nature, were limited to the following: 1. To create space, he ordered the demolition of the houses in the Parian that was adjacent to the walls of the city. This, at the same time, corrected some of the wall’s defects. 2. He asked the mayors of the district and the magistrates of the Parian to submit to him a list of immigrants under their jurisdiction and of the weapons in their possession. They were also asked to indicate whether these people were to be trusted or not. The order was fulfilled. 3. He carried out regular inspections of the artisans (blacksmiths, etc. ) in particular, and commissioned the manufacture of bows, arrows, pikes, etc. for the royal storehouse. At the same time, he ordered that all these weapons be collected and transported. 4. Just in case, he had provisions stored. 5. He hired sangleys to build a canal with the end of creating a moat for the city, if ever the need arises. Acuna also points out a distinction that is also mentioned in other Spanish sources: that between the Chinese merchants, who have settled for years in the Parian, and the recent arrivals who were vagabonds and troublemakers who had nothing to lose and who could not return to China due to the crimes they had committed. 16 Acuna hangs the blame of the succeeding events on these Chinese, since they were the ones who paved the way for everything, â€Å"in order to bring the merchants and the peaceful people to their side, convincing them that the measures that were being taken were meant to kill the Chinese. † 17 The Chinese sources, on the other hand, also echo some of Acuna’s positions, but presenting these under an offensive point of view, coloring the thing differently and relating these to what directly affected them. For example, the Huang Ming Xiang Hsu Lu shows that the Spaniards prepared for the massacre way ahead of time, since â€Å"they began to buy from the Chinese all the metal objects that they had. The Chinese, on the other hand, sold all the iron they found because they saw that they could profit from it. † (point 3 from Acuna). 18 This same idea is found in the Ming Shi, which also adds that â€Å"the Chinese were obliged to register their names and to be divided into groups of 300†19 (point 2 from Acuna). 16 To better differentiate the Chinese groups, see Edgar Wickberg, The Chinese in Philippine Life, 18501898 (Yale University Press, 1965), pp. 6-11. 17 Blair Robertson, vol. XII, p. 154 18 HMXHL, Chapter 5, Luzon. 19 MS, Chapter 323 (p. 8372). Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 7 b) The beginning: Sangley uprising or Chinese pogrom? Another interesting issue to consider is that of who started it first. The Spanish sources (Morga, Argensola, Acuna, etc. ) emphatically state: the Chinese staged an uprising. Benavides, the bishop of Manila, noted in a letter to the king that â€Å"the multitude of Chinese was so great, among them, base and vicious men who spread the rumor (which is absolutely false, but not for them) that the Spaniards were going to kill every one of them, which was why they provoked a rebellion on the night of the eve of St. Francis. They armed themselves and on that day killed several Spaniards who pursued them, among them, Luis Perez de Dasmarinas. †20 On December 18, when everything was over, Governor Pedro de Acuna told the king that â€Å"according to the investigations and what some of those involved had declared, it goes without saying that the uprising was instigated from China, and the stage set by all, if not some, of the mandarins who had been here. † 21 According to the Spanish sources (since the Chinese are silent about it), the Chinese had also been girding themselves for it. The Chinese Juan Bautista de Vera had been constructing a more or less fortified zone half-a-league from Tondo (which Argensola calls a â€Å"sugar refinery†), where some provisions and arms were stored. c) The unfolding of events The actual struggle is already well known because it is what was most interesting to relate to the Spaniards. To summarize, we basically follow Morga’s account: The evening of October 3 (Friday). The uprising was scheduled to take place on the last day of November, but realizing that they were going to be discovered, the sangleys move it to the third of October. On this day, at 11 pm, about 2000 men (or â€Å"according to the sangley who was under torture, 40 captains to 150 men†), begin to gather in the â€Å"fort† of Tondo. That night, Juan Bautista de Vera visits the governor to inform him of what was happening. Thinking that de Vera was in cahoots with them, the governor throws him into prison. The Chinese, noting de Vera’s absence, appoint another Christian sangley, Juan Untae, de Vera’s godson, to replace him. 22 That same night, Luis Dasmarinas secures himself in the monastery of Binondo with a small group of soldiers. The Chinese fly into action, burning some houses and then returning to their â€Å"fort. † The morning of October 4 (Saturday). The sangleys of the Parian (that is, the peaceful old-timers identified with the Spaniards, some of whom are Christian) are asked to enter the city, but they refuse to do so due to doubts as to who would be the victor in this conflict. They decide to remain in the Parian. Dasmarinas leaves Binondo for Tondo to fortify himself in the church with 140 harquebusiers. A thousand and five hundred Chinese rebels show up. There is a fight to take over the church. Five hundred Chinese die, while the rest retreat to the â€Å"fort†. Dasmarinas pursues them and dies in the attempt. The Spaniards are thrown into confusion. October 5 (Sunday). Realizing that de Vera was not going to come, the rebels kill Untae and coerce the Parian residents into joining forces with them. As they make for Manila, they ravage everything that comes their way. The city puts up a tough resistance and many men die. In the evening, they retreat to the Parian and to Dilao. The 20 21 Blair Robertson. Vol. XII, p. 143. Idem, vol. XII, p. 155. 22 Sangley general Hontay (Argensola), or Juan Ontal (Tellez de Almazan). Itinerario, vol. 23, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-39. 8 Spaniards likewise press the Parian residents to side with them. Overcome by this psychological stress, some Chinese—among them, a relative of de Vera—hang themselves. Both sides brace themselves for a second attack. October 6 (Monday). Another assault and renewed resistance. A Spaniard, with the help of a Japanese corps, launches an unsuccessful offensive. An armada of Pintados suddenly makes its way through the river and blasts the Chinese lines with canons. They divide themselves into three and penetrate the inland. One group makes for the Tingues of Pasig, another for Ayonbon [Bayombong] and the third, the most numerous, for Laguna de Bay, the mountains of San Pablo and the province of Batangas. October 8 (Wednesday) and the succeeding days: The Chinese abandon the city. The Spaniards are hot in their pursuit. It seems that the first two groups are easily annihilated, since nothing more is said of them. The third group, starving and unarmed, leave a path of devastation. Luis de Velasco with 70 of his men is at their heels, killing many each day. Finally, Velasco perishes at the hands of the Chinese who set up fort in San Pablo. Argensola adds that the native Filipinos, instead of siding with the Chinese, lent a hand in the massacre. October 20. A new detachment of Spaniards, Japanese and 1500 natives of Pampanga and the Tagalog provinces is formed in Manila. They soon finish off all the Chinese who secured themselves in San Pablo and Batangas. The rebellion is quelled. October 22 (Argensola’s date). Juan de Vera faces trial. In the succeeding days, other Chinese meet the same fate. Only 300 are pardoned, but the rest are sent to the galleys. The Chinese sources are less detailed in describing the operations, perhaps due to the handful of sangleys who survived. It is thus more difficult to establish a clear parallelism between the two accounts, since they cite actions that are not mentioned in the Spanish sources. Consequently, there is much discrepancy. The Ming Shi relates that when the Chinese discovered the Spaniards’ plot to massacre them, they â€Å"retreated to Tsai Yuen (which may be translated as â€Å"the plantation† and which may refer to Juan Bautista de Vera’s strategic â€Å"fort† and to Argensola’s â€Å"sugar refinery†). 23 Then, the Spanish â€Å"chief† sent soldiers to go after them (this may well refer to Luis Dasmarinas’ move or to the arrival of the army of Pintados). The Chinese were unarmed. Many were killed and the survivors fled to the Talun Mountain. 24 The Spaniards attacked the mountain once more, while the Chinese put up a desperate defense. The Spaniards suffered momentary defeat, which their â€Å"chief† (probably the captain of the expedition or the Governor himself) regretted, moving him to negotiate a truce. The Chinese, thinking that this was some trick, killed the messengers, thus driving the Spanish â€Å"chief† to exasperation. He abandoned their mountain camp and retreated to the neighboring town, simultaneously setting up ambush parties in the surrounding areas. The Chinese rebels were starving and so decided to go down the mountain and plunder the town,25 only to be ambushed by the Spanish troops. Twenty five thousand Chinese perished in the mas23 CHEN, Mattew.

Evaluating Supply Chain Management in the Volkswagon Brazil resende

Evaluating Supply Chain Management in the Volkswagon Brazil resende The RESENDE factory of Volkswagen company in BRAZIL brought revolution in the automobile industry around the globe the factory has totally unique supply chain model and was first of its kind. The resend plant was also known as the rebirth of Volkswagen company as after the Auto Latina was ended between Volkswagen and ford as Volkswagen company has no factory to manufacture its trucks and buses so resend was built in Brazil in 1995. The Volkswagen has around 400 suppliers who use to supply different spare parts for the manufacturing of trucks and buses the Brazilian market was famous for Volkswagen trucks and buses, Volkswagen company cut their suppliers to 8 and then had contracts with them, the whole theme of Resende factory was a Modular consortium, the eight suppliers would be coming in with the supplies and then fixing that is assembling it up, it was like a mini shops they own inside the factory that is they were the producer and as well as the assembling was done by them, this model was very new to supply chain that was implemented there, no worker of Volkswagen company was there except the quality control as it is one of the important factor to check. The supply chain model helped them to cut their labor cost and give them advantage to sell their buses n trucks at lower price that how they made their customers and the competitors were not able to lower their prices as they were manufacturing the parts as well as assembling them the good thing about Volkswagen Resende plant was that they were hiring labor at cheap costs which helped them to cut their cost. Just as the factory started operating the most important person was forced to leave the organization as the Jos Ignacio Lpez de Arriorta was working with gm and left gm joined Volkswagen. As when they started with the resend factory the claim did by Volkswagen was lawfully accepted ant Volkswagen paid a good amount for it as gm had did the claim that lopes left gm with some important documents missing a nd data as they said he spy us and the resend factory was more like their idea which Jos Ignacio Lpez de Arriorta started their so just at the beginning the big question mark was with this factory, more over Jos Ignacio Lpez de Arriorta was forced to resign and had left the company leaving the post of operation management which was a loss to the factory and have the big importance to the resend factory. VWs supply chain strategy according to Michael Porters strategic framework: The Resende factory of Volkswagen company known as the rebirth of Volkswagen company established in Brazil known as modular consortium was very unique in sense of supply chain as totally new frame work was being applied to it as it was a junction where all suppliers of different companies come and make up the whole product (trucks and buses) that is they work in a way that there were different suppliers who were bringing up the parts of trucks and assembling them up that is suppliers were also the labors and was responsible for the production as well as assembling the trucks and buses they come and work in the factory. Discussing about supply chain model used by Volkswagen company in their Resende factory was a totally new supply chain strategy and if we talk about it in the light of Michale Porter ¿Ã‚ ½s strategic frame work it would be as follows: The threat of the entry of new competitors: The Resende factory of Volkswagen company was the first one in entire automobile industry having this kind of supply chain model that is a modular consortium model. The main point of attraction to the automobile world was the management of operations in the plant as the plant was first of its type more over one can take it as an experiment so at that point of time the threat of a new competitor to enter was up to 0%. As the concept has bring revolution in the traditional supply chain strategies in automobile industry so at the beginning the competitor was not at all the threat but the execution of the supply chain model could create threats as just at the beginning the company ¿Ã‚ ½s operation manger left so the competitors are always looking for something which they can use as an advantage to its competitor. The intensity of competitive rivalry: The intensity of competitive rivalry was there in the form of General Motor for Volkswagen Company because of their lawsuit. the operation manger Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a left so at that time things become difficult for them but Volkswagen mange it efficiently moreover the suppliers which was the main theme of this Resende factory the modular consortium was all about the supplier which was cut down to eight from four hundred they have to be a good and strong bonding with them as if any one of them left the trucks and buses would be hard to finish as the company has no plant to produce the products after their joint venture with ford ended so the suppliers were very important to Volkswagen. The another competitive advantage competitors of Volkswagen had was that the suppliers with Volkswagen was due to the relationship of Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a as in general motor he was the director of Latin America state so he use his referen ce in Volkswagen company so he was forced to resign from the company the suppliers can also leave but fortunately this never happened and the Resende factory known as rebirth to Volkswagen give a new life to Volkswagen company indeed. The threat of substitute products or services: The threat of substitute was there in Brazil as it was the largest market of all and Volkswagen company ¿Ã‚ ½s the Resende factory was a totally new thing in the industry of automobile industry more over the supply chain strategy they used was the first to be used in any factory the unique idea they applied worked for them as they didn ¿Ã‚ ½t had any employee of Volkswagen company to work in the plant it was totally outsourced plant as the suppliers was also the labor not only responsible for supplying the parts more over fixing them up as it was a solely new strategy of supply chain implemented by the Volkswagen company. The only people by Volkswagen company were the quality control departments they were responsible to give the perfect quality so that their trucks and buses be the strength to the company not the strength of the competitor this model of supply chain worked and helped Volkswagen to cut its labor cost which help them to lower their prices compared to its competitor s so the threat of a substitute was around 0% as the competitors were manufacturing their trucks and they cannot lower their prices so Volkswagen company was going good. The bargaining power of customers (buyers): The Resende factory of the Volkswagen company was a revolutionary factory for the world the plant was using a supply chain strategy that really help them in generating revenue as they cut their suppliers from 400 to 8 and they were the suppliers as well as the assemblers for the trucks and buses and if any part for not perfectly fitted or had a problem the loss would be barred by the supplier the Volkswagen company were generating revenues out of the supply chain strategy they have implemented in the plant moreover if we talk about the barging power of the customers we can say that the factory was saving a lot to Volkswagen company as their cost have lower down a lot so they can give the trucks and buses at lower cost which was the thing that its competitors cannot compete as they were making up the product by themselves and buyers were getting advantage for it they don ¿Ã‚ ½t need to bargain as the trucks and buses were already at lower costs. The customer were getting at good adv antage on buying Volkswagen trucks and buses so the bargaining power of the buyer didn ¿Ã‚ ½t affect much on the Volkswagen company. The bargaining power of suppliers: As they cut down their suppliers from four hundred to eight the suppliers working with them in the Resende factory would be having good relations with the Volkswagen company and more over they would be having some advantages to be the part of the Resende factory as they were suppose to produce the parts and assemble them up for Volkswagen company so there would be some interest of their also as they were the part of the Resende factory and making up the trucks and buses for Volkswagen company and that was giving a benefit on cost to the Volkswagen so their trucks and buses were less in cost compared to other companies in the Brazilian market, Volkswagen company had planned about it, as they were dealing with a good number of suppliers and above all they don ¿Ã‚ ½t own any plant for making the parts of the truck as they were totally out sourcing them and the operations as well as the assembling were done by the suppliers, they have been critises by one of the worker on just outsourc ing everything, therefore they have to be very good at it and have to implement the supply chain strategy very well more over there were no employee of Volkswagen company working there, so everyone working there under one roof would be wearing same uniform having same salary packages and more over they don ¿Ã‚ ½t want any labor union to be made up as they were catering the whole of brazil and the trucks were very famous around brazil. Analyze the ways in which VW could employ technology across the different supply chain processes. As the Resende factory of Volkswagen was something really innovative and more unique was the supply chain model implemented on the factory which was assembling of the trucks as well as the production was the duty of the suppliers, Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a designed it in such a way that no labor cost was to be incurred from Volkswagen company as there were no Volkswagen workers involved in the factory except the quality control supervisors as the suppliers were bounded for putting up the parts of trucks and buses the factory is producing the technology they used or we can say that the supply chain strategy they implies in this factory was really working for them as they have cut their cost in sense of labor cost more over the assembling was no more there issue as now it was the problem of the suppliers. The Volkswagen company c use to hire the labor through lowest bidder and the new technology was working so good that they planned to apply this strategy of supply chain to their other factories in different parts of world and the benefit from this supply chain strategy is for the developing countries as they can use the idea the modular consortium as it is the game of suppliers who are producing as well as assembling the trucks and busses for them and Volkswagen company is decreasing its labor cost at good. The main idea was like the contractors which were suppliers was totally responsible for making up the part which is required and fixing it perfectly as if the part fitted or purchased not sit right than the company which was responsible for putting the part bare the loss the Volkswagen company were really generating revenues with the factory, in the factory there were around eight suppliers who were operating there mini shops in the factory the company was able to get supplies in low rates so they can sell the busses and trucks at low price and attract the customers towards them and the other competitors of Volkswagen company was no t able to compete as they were producing everything by them self which was hard for them to cut the costs and therefore cant lower the prices and that helped Volkswagen company to generate their revenues, and this supply chain strategy was a success for Volkswagen. Evaluate current global supply chain challenges to this VW supply chain model. Global Supply Chain Challenges: At the Resende plant of Volkswagen totally new model of supply chain was implemented which was a risk because the Resende factory was first in nature to its own moreover it was more important to Volkswagen as it was a rebirth to the Volkswagen company as their Auto Latina was ended so their factory at Brazil that is Resende was the only hope as they did not had any factory to produce trucks and buses, the supply chain model was a totally new idea in the industry of auto mobile  ¿Ã‚ ½Modular consortium ¿Ã‚ ½ just at the starting it faced a challenge to its survival in the form of its operation manger Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a left because of some lawsuit between Volkswagen and General Motors. Just in time inventory. various supply chain strategies can help a business minimize their costs and focus on their main business that is there core competencies and more over it cut the time waste on waiting for the suppliers and sometimes not perfect supplies can make company suffers a lot and bear losses moreover they can take away your customers from you, can give the competitive advantage to the other company that is your competitor. There are several strategies for supply chain practiced by many organizations. More over there are several global supply chain challenges. The first challenge to the resend factory was to stand having totally new model of supply chain as the modular consortium was about the suppliers would be working as the labor in the factory no Volkswagen employee would be there and they were suppose to perform the activity of suppliers as well as labor for the company this method reduce the cost of labor to the Volkswagen company moreover manufacturing all the parts were more costly than to just buy them up. As the world is moving so rapidly technology is changing with respect to time so as the new threats are there supply chain has a good growth in coming future as many industries working around the world is not making up all its products there are things they supply and get supplies to make up their end product which plays an important role in the companies having their branches all around world have to look for suppliers and the supplies they would be getting should not increase their cost or reduce their core competence as the competition is very tough so therefore the supply cost should not exceed as your revenue decrease. As the VW supply chain model was based on suppliers as if they lose any of the supplier their truck was impossible to construct as they them self was not producing to that scale as it was just like a junction where different suppliers were bringing up the part they manufacture and assembling them which helped VW to cut their cost more over to sell their trucks and buses at low rates as compared to its competitors VW was facing some supply chain challenges as they were supplying all the parts and the suppliers were responsible for fixing them moreover in case of damage they have to bear it if any there were no blue collar worker of VW at the factory except quality control as it was a point at which its competitor can have advantage so the whole idea was a supply chain game. Economic challenges was their more over in case of natural disaster they were the one who have to faced it all as the factory was not producing anything so it was a challenge to maintain a good relations with their suppliers so they don ¿Ã‚ ½t stand against them. CONCLUSION: the supply chain model faced difficulties in the starting as the main operation manager Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a was forced to leave the company because General Motor claims that Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a has left the organization with some very important documents more over the resend factory was somewhat similar to a new project general motor was working so Jos ¿Ã‚ ½ Ignacio L ¿Ã‚ ½pez de Arriort ¿Ã‚ ½a was forced to leave the company, just at the beginning the Resende factory faced a loss but the supply chain model fits right and Volkswagen generated good revenue out of it and give out its trucks and buses at low cost compared to other automobile companies in brazil as the model helped them to cut their labor cost out of all the conflicts and issues the Resende faced it was a success at the end and the rebirth of Volkswagen succeeded.

Family Communication Plan for Parents of Deaf Children

Family Communication Plan for Parents of Deaf Children There have been many studies conducted concerning children who are born into deaf families who can hear. These studies identify how parents manage this change in life and how they can make the best decisions that can positively impact their children and family. However, a limited number of studies have actually been conducted for children who are born into deaf families who can hear. Moore Lane (2010) state that 90% of deaf parents have hearing children, unfortunately these children have the same amount of attention compared to those who are deaf in hearing families. Purpose The purpose of this review is to establish a plan for children born into deaf families that can best help them and their parents, identify other studies and articles that have researched this, and to identify key gaps that are missing from the research. This study will explore family communication with emphasis on expressiveness, family satisfaction, and motivation. It will also identify how these concepts relate to the roles of interpreting and protecting. Research The research was conducted using the Cornett Library database online, which includes the CINHAL and MEDLINE databases, along with others. We limited our search to scholarly journals only and searched within a five year window so all data would be up to date and accurate. I searched for â€Å"deaf adults† â€Å"children with deaf parents†, and â€Å"nursing and deafness†. I chose the selected articles based on familiarity of ideas, and consistency of information, along with the minor disagreements that each article had. Themes Communication: There are many different theories that try to explain and solve the issue of communication of children and their deaf parents. Koerner and Fitzpatrick (2012) established a communication model by using relational observations. These analyzations created a theory that addressed the level of â€Å"conversational orientation.† Families with a high degree of conversational orientation tended to be able to freely communicate about any topic. This kind of communication led to high satisfaction within all family members. This theory states that every family is unique, so it is up to each separate family member to contribute to how they best like to communicate so their satisfaction is higher within the family, or environment. Olson (2011) used created the Circumplex Model of Marital and Family Systems and established a model that stated that communication, cohesion, flexibility, and family relationships are key to creating a healthy family balance. Expressiveness: With both theories, it is important for family members to express themselves with their own opinions and ideas to continue positive communication. Schrodt (2015) conducted a survey that questioned young adult children about their family communication. Schrodt (2015) states that the â€Å"perceptions of family expressiveness have a sizable, direct association with perceptions of family cohesiveness and flexibility†. Schrodt also voiced the when family members communicate effectively, it lowers stress within the family structure, and it also helps to lower the stress levels of members outside the family unit as well (Schrodt 2015). Cohesiveness is formed when family members commit to the idea that they are going to converse with each other about both the negative and the positive things that are happening to them as well as the other people within the family. It is also important that the flexibility within the family happens. This can only occur when each family member learns how to properly deal with the information that is being discussed. Family Satisfaction: The satisfaction family members have towards one another directly relates to the type of communication they have with each other. Burns Person (2011) conducted an online survey where two family members answered questions related to three categories: relationship talk, joking around, or summarizing their day. The study concluded that the three categories were predictors of the family’s satisfaction towards one another. A sense of unity was formed when family member discussed one of these three topics, and this led to a higher family satisfaction. Caughlin (2013) states that â€Å"a family’s satisfaction rate can be measured only by the family members’ standards they have set for themselves and their family as a unit.† This emphasizes that all families are different and although satisfaction can be generalized through the previously mentioned studies, these situations should be recorded and investigated more thoroughly, as every family communicates differently. Motives: Children communicate with their parents for many different reasons. Barbato, Graham Perse (2013) identified two key variables when children communicate with their parents: inclusion and control. Children will learn how to properly communicate with their parents because the main thing they truly want is to be included in their family’s conversations. Children should learn how to communicate with their parents so they can explain their ideas, ask questions and feel a sense of belonging. Also, children communicate to gain certainty with what is going on around them to feel more in control of their environment. Barbato, Graham Perse (2013) concluded that children are influenced by how their parents communicated. In the study, many children embraced the same communication habits as their parents. Limitations and Gaps All research studies have limitation that need to be considered. In the Burns and Pearson (2013) article they state that â€Å"future research should begin looking at families individually as units and then making comparisons with other family units to have a more accurate interpretation of ‘‘families’’ and not individuals. Complimenting these results with observations may also provide more validation.† Also in the Schrodt (2015) article, they state that the sample size that they used was too limited both in ethnic diversity and in number. This could have been easily corrected by expanding the number of individuals that participated and the different ethnic family that were included as well. Finally, Barbato, Graham, Perse (2013) states in their article that certain fundamental gap was noted after their study was performed with the age group of 12-16 year old females. There were only five female girls aging from 12-16 years old, compared to 20 childr en from every other age group tested, making this the weakest point in their study. Method Method Choice: In order to conduct my own inductive study, I would use a qualitative method throughout because I would be concerned about the effect family communication is impacted as a whole, not just only how the parent’s deafness impacts the family. Also, I would look for a similarity between the parents’ deafness and the family communication. I would study this by analyzing real participants it affects and in the actual environment with the communication occurs. To guarantee credibility, I would use three methods to form my data. The three methods I would use would be personal interview, focus groups, and ethnographic research. The ethnographic research would enable authentic reactions within a real life environment and provide a unique opportunity to view this interaction between a child and parent. Personal interviews could help better understand a person’s motives and feelings, and focus groups could help new ideas form. Sample Selection: For selecting a sample, I would use the Texas Association for the Deaf and receive a list of families that are living with hearing children and deaf parents. I would contact these families and explain my study and ask if they wanted to be a part of it. I would then choose a nonrandom sample of the participants that meet three criteria. First, they must be between 10 and 18 years old in order to answer all questions asked in the study. Secondly, they must live within a 20 mile radius of the Dallas Fort Worth area so I can properly and personally contact them all. Finally, both parents of the children chosen must be deaf. The minimum amount of families I would want to observe would be five. Overall, I would like to interview between 20 and 30 children Procedure: In the ethnographic research, I would only be an observer. I would witness applicants both in a public setting and at their personal home, knowing that the participants might act differently because of my presence. For personal interviews, I would have a pre-determined list of questions and would give opportunity to ask new questions depending on the direction of the interview. The interview is estimated to last between 45 minutes to an hour, depending on the extent of the participant. One question that I would ask would be, â€Å"Do you use regularly use voicing or sign language when you communicate with your parents?† In the focus group, I would use a facilitator who could both speak and use sign language. I would also take record the answers the participants stated and any other comments that could be useful concerning their communication within their family. After the data is collected, I would draw conclusions from it once it is interpreted and analyzed. Discussion and Conclusion The goal of this literature review was to establish a plan for children born into deaf families that can best help them and their parents, identify other studies and articles that have researched this, and to identify key gaps that are missing from the purposed research. Its intent was also to discuss family communication with emphasis on expressiveness, family satisfaction, and motivation. Overall, children with deaf parents can and do communicate with them every day. The goal, however, is to support and help them and their parents better communicate with each other in order to create a healthy and happy family dynamic. This will help within the nursing community by improving communication with deaf patients and will greatly help in healthcare service areas throughout the world. Though this is seen differently with each family because every family is unique, the goal is the same, and with more work and improvement in this field, we can make a difference and see lives changed. References Barbato, C., Graham, E., Perse, E. (2013). Communicating with the family: An examination of the relationship of the family communication environment and interpersonal communication motives. The Journal of Family Communication, 3(3), 123-148. Burns, M., Pearson, J. (2011). An investigation of communication atmosphere, everyday dialogue, and family satisfaction. Communication Studies, 62(2), 171-185. doi: 10.1080/10510974.2010.523507 Caughlin, J. (2013). Family communication standards what defining excellent family communication and how standards associated with family satisfaction? Human Communication Research, 29(1), 5-40. Koerner, A., Fitzpatrick, M. (2012). Toward a theory of family communication. Communication Theory, 12(1), 70-91. Moore, M., Lane, H. (2013). For hearing people only. Rochester: Deaf Life Press. Olson, D. H. (2010). Circumplex model of marital and family systems. Journal of family therapy, 22(2), 144-167. Schrodt, P. (2015). Family strength and satisfaction as functions of family communication environments. Communication Quarterly, 57(2), 171-186. doi: 10.1080/01463370902881650

Big Bang Theory :: Big Bang Theory Science Religion Creation Essays

Big Bang Theory Fifteen billion years ago, give or take five billion years, the entirety of our universe was compressed into the confines of an atomic nucleus. Known as a singularity, this is the moment before creation when space and time did not exist. According to the prevailing cosmological models that explain our universe, an ineffable explosion, trillions of degrees in temperature on any measurement scale, that was infinitely dense, created not on fundamental subatomic particles and thus matter and energy but space and time itself. Cosmology theorists combined with the observations of their astronomy colleagues have been able to reconstruct the primordial chronology of events known as the big bang. Quantum theory suggests that moments after the explosion at 10 -20 second, the four forces of nature; strong nuclear, weak nuclear, electromagnetic and gravity were combined as a single "super force" (Wald). Elementary particles known as quarks begin to bond in trios, forming photons, positrons and neutrinos and were created along with their antiparticles. There are minuscule amounts of protons and neutrons at this stage; approximately 1 for every one billion photons, neutrinos or electrons (Maffei). The density of the Universe in its first moment of life is thought to have been 1094g/cm3 with the majority of this being radiation. For each billion pairs of these heavy particles (hardens) that were created, one was spared annihilation due to particle-antiparticle collisions. The remaining particles constitute the majority of our universe today (Novikov). During this creation and annihilation of particles the universe was undergoing a rate of expansion many times the speed of light. Known as the inflationary epoch, the universe in less than one thousandth of a second doubled in size at least one hundred times, from an atomic nucleus to 1035 meters in width. An isotropic inflation of our Universe ends at 10-35 second that was almost perfectly smooth. If it were not for a slight fluctuation in the density distribution of matter, theorists contend, galaxies would have been unable to form (Parker). The universe at this point was ionized plasma where matter and radiation were inseparable. Additionally there were equal amounts of particles and antiparticles. The ratio of neutrons and protons albeit small is equal. When the universe aged to one hundredth of a second old neutrons begin to decay on a massive scale. This allows for free electrons and protons to combine with other particles. Eventually the remaining neutrons combine with protons to form heavy hydrogen (deuterium).

Family Portrayal in the Film The Castle Essay -- essays research paper

The Castle is a movie primarily about a family sticking together and their fight for the right to live in their own home. The Castle’s portrayal of family is both positive and negative. The Castle depicts many positive images of the family throughout the movie. From the very start of the film, it is easy to see that the Kerrigans are a very close knit family. They always eat their dinner together, with the TV turned ‘down’, and talk about their day. Around the dinner table the family shows support for each other, and recognizes anything a family member may have achieved, like when Darryl beams with pride telling the family about how Dale dug a hole. The family also sets aside time after dinner for the family to watch TV together. Although only small things, these simple actions portray a positive image of the family. Another aspect of the film that depicts a positive image of family is the family’s support for Wayne. Although Wayne is serving an eight year prison sentence for armed robbery, Darryl, Sal, Tracey, Steve and Dale are still proud and supportive of him. Dale regularl...

What gave rise to urbanisation in the mediterranean Essay -- essays re

â€Å"What gave rise to urbanisation in the Mediterranean region?† What is urbanisation? To ‘urbanise’ is to ‘make (a rural area) more industrialized and urban’ , urban meaning ‘of or living in a city or town’ . Marja C.V. Vink argues that â€Å"The word urbanization was used for the first time in Spain a little more than one hundred years ago† to show the â€Å"quantitative and qualitative growth if cities† . The degree of urbanisation is quite different when comparing towns or cities of antiquity to the modern understanding of an urban centre; however, essentially it is the same process. When talking about the rise of urbanisation in the Mediterranean region 3 main civilisations spring to mind, firstly the Greeks who were inspired by advanced civilisations of the Near East. Secondly, the Etruscans who ruled central Italy from the eighth century to the third century B.C. when the last Etruscan cities fell to Rome. Etruria was bordered to the south by the River Tiber and to the north by the River Arno. City states developed in Etruria in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., and â€Å"by the last decades of the eighth century B.C. the centres which had undergone the process of urbanization and social diversification had acquired some of the status of cities.† Etruria flourished until the Gauls invaded in the fourth century B.C. From 616-509 Etruscan kings ruled over Rome. Finally, the Romans dating back to 753 B.C. with the founding of Rome by Romulus. Urbanisation is synonymous with cities. It seems impossible to consider a civilisation ‘urbanised’ if it does not have urban centres. So what is an urban centre? And why were these urban centres needed? Looking at what the cities consisted of can help one answer these questions. In Greece the most obvious choice for studying the process of urbanisation is Athens. I have chosen Marzabotto as the example of an urban centre for Etruria and finally, for the Roman Empire I have chosen Rome. These three cities all adapted to the needs of their population and the one thing common to all three is a cult centre. The first urban centres were certainly not Roman, however once urbanised Rome surpassed any of the Greek or former Etruscan cites in terms of monumentalisation. The Neolithic & Dark Age sees the beginning of domestication of plants and livestock, as well as the emergence of weaponry. With cultivation now possible peopl... ...biliography. Andersen, D., Urbanisation in the Mediterranean, 1997, Museum Tusculanum Press, University of Copenhagen. Barker, G., and Rasmussen, T., The Etruscans. 1998, Blackwell Publishers. Boitani, F., et.al. Etruscan Cities. 1973, Cassell and Company, London. Camp, D.M., The Athenian Agora, 1986, London. Easterling, P.E., and Muir, J.V., Greek Religion and Society. 1985, Cambridge. Lassus, J. The Early Christian and Byzantine World, 1967, Paul Hamlyn, London. Owens, E.J., The City in the Greek and Roman World. 1991, Routeledge, London and New York. Rykwert, J., The Idea of a Town. 1999, The MIT Press, London and Cambridge. Tomlinson, R., From Mycenae to Constantinople: The evolution of the Ancient City, 1992, Routeledge, London and New York. Ward-Perkins, J.B., Cities of Ancient Greece and Italy: Planning in Classical Antiquity. 1974, George Braziller, New York. Collins New Pocket English Dictionary, Harper Collins Publishers, 1992 Websites http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/classics/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/22.html#8 http://www.anistor.co.hol.gr/english/enback/e992.htm http://www.localcolorart.com/encyclopedia/Minoan_civilization/ http://www.cedarland.org/trade.html