Overview of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan

Overview of the Tokugawa Shogunate of Japan The Tokugawa Shogunate defined modern Japanese history by centralizing the power of the nations government and uniting its people. Before the Tokugawa took power in 1603, Japan suffered through the lawlessness and chaos of the Sengoku  (Warring States) period, which lasted from 1467 to 1573. Beginning in 1568, Japans Three Reunifiers- Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu- worked to bring the warring daimyo back under central control. In 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu completed the task and established the Tokugawa Shogunate, which would rule in the emperors name until 1868. The Early Tokugawa Shogunate Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated the daimyo, who were loyal to the late Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his young son Hideyori, at the Battle of Sekigahara in October 1600. In 1603, the emperor bestowed upon Ieyasu the title of Shogun. Tokugawa Ieyasu established his capital at Edo, a small fishing village on the marshes of the Kanto plain. The village would later become the city known as Tokyo. Ieyasu formally ruled as shogun for only two years. In order to ensure his familys claim on the title and to preserve the continuity of policy, he had his son Hidetada named shogun in 1605, running the government from behind the scenes until his death in 1616. This political and administrative savvy would characterize the first Tokugawa shoguns. The Tokugawa Peace Life in Japan was peaceful under the control of the Tokugawa government. After a century of chaotic warfare, it was a much-needed respite. For the samurai warriors, peace meant that they were forced to work as bureaucrats in the Tokugawa administration. Meanwhile, the Sword Hunt ensured that nobody but the samurai had weapons. The samurai were not the only group in Japan forced to change lifestyles under the Tokugawa family. All sectors of society were confined to their traditional roles much more strictly than in the past. The Tokugawa imposed a four-tier class structure that included strict rules about small details- such as which classes could use luxurious silks for their clothing. Japanese Christians, who had been converted by Portuguese traders and missionaries, were banned from practicing their religion in 1614 by Tokugawa Hidetada. To enforce this law, the shogunate required all citizens to register with their local Buddhist temple, and any who refused to do so were considered disloyal to the bakufu. The Shimabara Rebellion, made up mostly of Christian peasants, flared up in 1637, but was stamped out by the shogunate. Afterward, Japanese Christians were exiled, executed, or driven underground, and Christianity faded from the country. Arrival of the Americans Although they employed some heavy-handed tactics, the Tokugawa shoguns presided over a long period of peace and relative prosperity in Japan. In fact, life was so peaceful and unchanging that it eventually gave rise to the ukiyo- or Floating World- a leisurely lifestyle enjoyed by urban samurai, wealthy merchants, and geishas. The Floating World crashed down to Earth suddenly in 1853, when the American Commodore Matthew Perry and his black ships appeared in Edo Bay. Tokugawa Ieyoshi, the 60-year-old shogun, died soon after Perrys fleet arrived. His son, Tokugawa Iesada, agreed under duress to sign the Convention of Kanagawa the following year. Under the terms of the convention, American ships were given access to three Japanese ports where they could take on provisions, and shipwrecked American sailors were to be treated well. This sudden imposition of foreign power signaled the beginning of the end for the Tokugawa. The Fall of the Tokugawa The sudden influx of foreign people, ideas, and money severely disrupted Japans lifestyle and economy in the 1850s and 1860s. As a result, Emperor Komei came out from behind the jeweled curtain to issue an Order to Expel Barbarians in 1864. However, it was too late for Japan to retreat once more into isolation. Anti-western daimyo, particularly in the southern provinces of Choshu and Satsuma, blamed the Tokugawa shogunate for failing to defend Japan against the foreign barbarians. Ironically, both the Choshu rebels and the Tokugawa troops began programs of rapid modernization, adopting many western military technologies. The southern daimyo was more successful in their modernization than the shogunate was. In 1866, Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi suddenly died, and Tokugawa Yoshinobu reluctantly took power. He would be the fifteenth and last Tokugawa shogun. In 1867, the emperor also died, and his son Mitsuhito became the Meiji Emperor. Faced with a growing threat from the Choshu and Satsuma, Yoshinobu relinquished some of his powers. On November 9, 1867, he resigned from the office of the shogun, which was abolished, and the power of the shogunate was handed over to a new emperor. The Rise of the Meiji Empire The southern daimyo launched the Boshin War to ensure that power would rest with the emperor rather than with a military leader. In 1868, the pro-imperial daimyo announced the Meiji Restoration, under which the young Emperor Meiji would rule in his own name. After 250 years of peace and relative isolation under the Tokugawa shoguns, Japan launched itself into the modern world. Hoping to escape the same fate as once-powerful China, the island nation threw itself into developing its economy and military might. By 1945, Japan had established a new empire across much of Asia.

Free Essays on Septemer 11 Casue And Effects

Throughout the course of a person’s life there are events that change the path of life and how the person will live and look at life in the future. As in my life I have witnessed and experienced events that have changed the way I live today. The events of September 11, 2001 not only changed my life but millions of people and how we all live today. As I was walking through the halls at the beginning of my senior year at Troy High I would never have thought that this great nation would be attacked and thousands of our friends and family would not be here the next morning when we awake. I was walking to my second period class at around 8:10am on September 11 when I looked into a classroom and saw one of the towers on fire. AT first I thought nothing of it and continued to class. When I arrived to my class the TV was not one and we started off the class as normal. However when a few of the late students came in they had looks of fear and terror. The teacher asked why they were late and the responded with â€Å"I was watching the twin towers burn on TV†. When the teacher questioned there response she turned on the TV soon enough the second plane hit a few minutes after that the Pentagon was attacked. As we watched with silence and tears the carnage that unfolded when the towers came down with thousands of people stil l trapped inside. At this time personally I did not know what to think but I did know that this was the most horrifying thing that I had ever seen. In the hours to come we would find out that our nation had been attacked by not another nation but a face less group of terrorist. Today one year and two months later our society has recovered somewhat and the huge piles of ruble from what were two gigantic towers is cleaned up. However inside of every American lives the fear of what might happen next. We are now taking the next step to make sure every American can live in a prosperous and free nation. The United ... Free Essays on Septemer 11 Casue And Effects Free Essays on Septemer 11 Casue And Effects Throughout the course of a person’s life there are events that change the path of life and how the person will live and look at life in the future. As in my life I have witnessed and experienced events that have changed the way I live today. The events of September 11, 2001 not only changed my life but millions of people and how we all live today. As I was walking through the halls at the beginning of my senior year at Troy High I would never have thought that this great nation would be attacked and thousands of our friends and family would not be here the next morning when we awake. I was walking to my second period class at around 8:10am on September 11 when I looked into a classroom and saw one of the towers on fire. AT first I thought nothing of it and continued to class. When I arrived to my class the TV was not one and we started off the class as normal. However when a few of the late students came in they had looks of fear and terror. The teacher asked why they were late and the responded with â€Å"I was watching the twin towers burn on TV†. When the teacher questioned there response she turned on the TV soon enough the second plane hit a few minutes after that the Pentagon was attacked. As we watched with silence and tears the carnage that unfolded when the towers came down with thousands of people stil l trapped inside. At this time personally I did not know what to think but I did know that this was the most horrifying thing that I had ever seen. In the hours to come we would find out that our nation had been attacked by not another nation but a face less group of terrorist. Today one year and two months later our society has recovered somewhat and the huge piles of ruble from what were two gigantic towers is cleaned up. However inside of every American lives the fear of what might happen next. We are now taking the next step to make sure every American can live in a prosperous and free nation. The United ...

Television Audiences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Television Audiences - Essay Example Since their time, the growth of the media has overwhelmed the world, the influences of film now specters of life creating needs within the public that are not truly relevant to the existence of life. Moreover, television has deteriorated in such a way that the boundaries between reality and fantasy are crossed injecting viewers with the belief that what they see is not a reflection through a medium of art, but the viewing of reality, the open door through which other lives can be lived vicariously. Reality television, a deception of the television media on the public, has now accomplished the fears that most plagued Adorno and his contemporaries - culture is fully infected with capitalism and the commoditized ideologies about life is not fully material. In a letter to Walter Benjamin on 3 March 1936, Theodor Adorno stated that both high art and the industrially produced consumer art are infused and burdened with the stigma of capitalism and as well are reflective of change. Adorno st ated â€Å"Both are torn halves of an integral freedom, to which, however, they do not add up† (Adorno and Bernstein 2). ... The goal of human philosophical framework has traditionally been for humanity to reach a state of enlightenment, free of the untruths which burden mankind from reaching a state of mastery over the world. Through disenchantment of the universe, mankind asserts authority and utilizes knowledge over myth as a means to navigate life. However, according to Horkheimer, Adorno, and Noerr, enlightenment has been a calamity. In the search to be freed from enchantment, man has become apathetic towards life. Bacon, who put forth the concepts of experimental philosophy, saw the search for knowledge as an active element towards the search for mastery. In conquering knowledge of the natural world, human beings are looking for a way to master nature and to master other human beings The violence of shattering myths has been caused by thought that is powerful enough to break apart cultures and to destroy belief systems.(2). What is left after the disenchantment of the universe is the master on his th rone, bored and waiting for something to make his blood boil with excitement once again. Gratification through consumerism has replaced the mythologies that once drove humans to seek answers. The culture industry creates false needs, replacing the true needs of the human spirit. Bougeois cultural production obliterates the possibility of art in either popular or autonomous creation (Thomson 79). The human mind has become so inundated with exterior stimulation that most people have become complacent, the space in between reality from which innovation and creativity emanates filled up with the insertions of the commodity fetishism from which the value of human interaction becomes seated within the

Frankenstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Frankenstein - Essay Example The question that begs to be answered now—with multiple narrators telling the story and with each narration being integrated into another’s story—is which one is to be believed? Although the story remains the same when it comes to the main points of the story, only with varying emotions and perspectives, the credibility of the narrator is still in question as it leads to different feelings and judgments that the reader will make after reading the story. In reading the story, I can see that each of the main narrators—Frankenstein, Walton and the Monster—presented some evidence to validate the truth of their stories. The Monster presented his own set of proofs to Frankenstein, letters between Felix and Safie, stating to Frankenstein: â€Å"Before I depart I will give them to you; they will prove the truth of my tale† (Wollstonecraft 146). However, it can be refuted that the Monster may have just found these letters somewhere and he just used them to tell a convincing tale of woe that will persuade Frankenstein to create a mate for him. Still, the fact that he has become so learned and eloquent in such a short time—as short a time as can be expected of a â€Å"newborn† creature to learn the language and skills the creature has acquired—may be construed as evidence enough of his tale. But then again, for a creature endowed with this innate intelligence, I believe it can also be said that he may have just fabricated everything and killed William with the cunning plan of making Frankenstein submit to his request in order to protect his other family members from the monster he has created. To illustrate the Monster’s innate intelligence or cunning, when he began his story, he admitted the confusion he felt upon being born into the world; yet when he recounts the story of the first time he felt hunger and thirst, he immediately foraged for berries and drank the water from the brook, which raises the question of how he knew that berries are to be

Love, Fear, Sexuality and Society Essay Example for Free

Love, Fear, Sexuality and Society Essay The dawn of the 16th century, brought with it the evolution of great knowledge, an era of enlightenment, with not only the new growing social lifestyle of people but also the evolution in their thinking. The idea of love and fear therefore was the one established and molded into a new sculpture by the revolutionist and philosophers; and how we know the right and wrong today is what was established through the writings of these intellectuals’ years ago. Founder of political sciences of the 15th century, Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was an Italian born writer, philosopher, and politician; who through the strength of his pen and intellect was able to give the world a new perspective of the never dieing entity, love and hope. As a man of Renaissance, while holding a high political position, his writings are also a combination of his deep political thought and insight. He is most famous for his short novel, The Prince, which is his realistic approach towards the political discourse of that time period, exhibiting the advance towards power. â€Å"The Prince,† originally written in 1513 (however got published in 1532), is known as a political treatise, for its formal exposition of the ideology of political affairs. It is usually alluded to being called as a piece of act which represents the word â€Å"Machiavellian,† which refers to the playing politics in a ruthless way in order to retain power and position; moreover many critics have also states the story to be satire. The novel is a form of guide for a ruling or an expected prince, of how he can attain his throne, and then make sure that he remains in power and control. The idea of attaining the power is placed as crucial and primary to all, even where principality comes secondary to its approach, which he does so by dictating old examples of rulers, and making his own generalizations and hypothesizes upon them. According to Machiavelli, the first moral of ruling is to have an economically and politically stable country, and then it is upon the ruler as to how he would protect it even if the ways used by him were cruel, they remained justifiable as long as they kept her power sustained. The main purpose of the book was to explain Machiavelli’s ability and knowledge in politics, not promoting love and prosperity between powers, but rather working by conquering people’s fear and force. There are various themes discussed by the author in the book such as military and defense, which are the prerequisites of a firm state, having a fortified and well protected area, with no help being taken from allies as that would be a burden of favor, and stand brave in the battlefield. The book quite rigidity states that attributes such as mercy, religiousness, and principality, are good virtues too possess, but are not for a prince to adapt, as he at times has to work against them in order to defend his land. Also that a prince is better at being known as a miser than as a generous ruler, as it would weaken his economic status as well as bring grief upon people with larger taxes, thus having a bad reputation would be better than rather ending up with nothing. In answering to the idea of love and fear Machiavelli states that â€Å"it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. † (Machiavelli, Chapter 17, pp 60) He believes that commitments made under fear, are always kept firm; while a prince should also be careful that he is not feared to the point of hatred. Creating fear within the commandment of an army is necessary in order to gain their respect, and it should be brought upon the garrison even if the prince has to turn towards cruelty. Through the book the author emphasizes the fact that the only power which kept a prince from winning over his land and also his people is actually his ability to rule, rather than his fortune. He dictates the examples of Hannibal and Scipio Africanus; Hannibal who maintained a strong fear throughout his army, which consisted of soldiers of various races, and it was this fear of his which kept the army sturdy and united through out his reign; while Scipio, no matter had great abilities but is famous for the mutinies and trouble he had to face from the side of his own army. Virtue for Machiavelli did not carry a moral tone but it was rather based upon skill, courage, physical and mental capacity. However, in chapter of 8 of his book, the author mentions that no matter cruelty is important for governance but it should be properly utilized to attain a goal, but if it is made repetitive and arouses constant fear amongst the citizens then the prince does not contain any ability. It is not necessary for him to be loved, but he should be close enough to his people that he is not even hated, and thus requires both wisdom and courage; and above that the peripheral point should be established by which the prince is feared but not hated. And who could understand the complexities and the queries of life in a more powerful than the searcher of the nature, Plato, one of the greatest Greek philosophers. Born in 427 BC in Athens, Plato was the student of Socrates, and had his theories as an explanation and an elaboration of those presented by his master. Most of his writings are found in the form of a dialogue between him and Socrates, discussing numerous fascinating topics. Gorgias, is one of the most famous dialogues written by Plato, in which he defines a man’s virtuously right and proper nature. (Plato, 1994) It is believed to be a transitional dialogue, in which Plato represents Socrates teachings towards him in an indirect manner. This dialogue is seen to be carried out between Socrates, Gorgias and Callicles who are both rhetoricians, Pollus and Chaerephon who are both philosophy students; and the dialogue begins from Socrates side to prove the rhetoricians for being only people of sheer words. This dialogue is famous for the themes which it carries such as that of morality, philosophy and spirituality; forms into a debate between truth and falsehood. Socrates in his dialogue proving refutation explains that it is worse to inflict evil upon somebody rather than being an innocent victim of it and the most, unhappy man of the world would be the one who doesn’t meet his just punishment. While the best cure for an evil man would be when he meets his justice; paying for his sins. He believes that a wrong doer should be left on his own, his body to rot in the pain of his own guilt; and only with time when he realizes his guilt would his sins be forgiven and he move towards becoming a better and stronger person; no matter the rhetoricians disagree with his thought, as they believe that such treatment would be doing more evil than benefiting for good. Socrates ends the dialogue by explaining that on the Day of Judgment, man would be scrutinized and judged naked so that there are no hindrances for what he truly is. He believes that the evil doer’s body would be brandished by their sins, and they would be identifiable. According to Socrates, in the dialogue a mans virtue should be his ultimate goal, which should be based upon principles, and truth; while those who tend to love their own self alone and indulge in self pampering, are the selfish ones, as their self gratification would never cease but would only continue to get bigger with hunger of power and indulgence. Creating fear and causing pain to others is the greatest evil, as identified by Plato; and becomes the most significant theme of most of Plato’s writings because of the unjust and evil death of his teacher Socrates; which destroyed his vision of the truth and its enhancement in nature. The dialogue however, concludes by declaring virtue as the â€Å"good life,† which can only be attained via the compliance of principles and correct behavioral methods. Both the books â€Å"Prince† and â€Å"Gorgias,† believe in the achievement of power, not only to gain a greater control but also to satisfy and pamper one’s own self; and agree to the fact that once in power. An individual might stray from principality and truth for long term benefits seen at a larger scale; but should refrain from evil as it would create hatred as well as lead to god’s in the life of Hereafter. However when Machiavelli describes the attainment of power as man’s vital goal, Plato believes into its attainment but to a certain level alone could one sacrifice his principles to achieve it; after which he would be nothing but an evil dweller, increasing his part of sins. Both the writings show the difference between the thought of a politician, who take s the world in more of a materialistic manner, and that of a philosopher who takes a deeper look into things and does not talk about an individual alone or his unitary life; but talks about all the third parties affected by his actions and his spiritual life which would also be affected by his balance of truth and falsehood. Compare and describe the relationship between sexuality and society in the authors read so far. Writers since centuries have talked about how sexuality and society work together, complimenting each other, which evolve gradually with the society giving more leverage and promotion at an open arena to sexuality, as it grows wider and is able to compensate more liberal point of views openly. â€Å"Don Juan,† is a classic story which has been told and retold since centuries; its legendary tale being changed and evolved with the evolution of time, it has seen changes according to the prevailing circumstances and the notions of the writers who dwelled with its story line. Don Juan, as announced by the Spanish or Don Giovanni as told by the Italians, is the tale of a social libertine, an individual who has given of all the norms and rights of the society, such a person who does not believe into the limits of religion or morality. The legend of Don Juan talks about such a person who indulges himself into the pleasure of seducing women and enjoys winning over them. One day, Don Juan meets the dead spirit of the father of a girl he has seduced; casually and not knowing it he invites him to his house for dinner. In return to this compliment, the father invites Don Juan to his graveyard for dinner, when he accepts the invitation and extends his hand to the spirit, pulls him into the grave and takes him into the bottomless pit of hell, where he is to burn in the redemption for his unforgivable sins. The oldest version of Don Juan to be placed in writing is believed to be written by Tirso de Molina, by the name El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra. Later a revised edition was written by Moliere, in 1665; who was also made to make continous ammendments by the critics, who took as a largely shameful act; and was not until 1185, that the orignal play was allowed to be acted without censorships. However, the society at that time failed to accept the play, as they found it too liberal and outspoken, which broke the barriers of religion and offended the prestiege of the king. Thus it laid down as least cost effective, and as the protagonist himself is portrayed as a catholic, thsu it further offends the teaches of the church by portraying them as hypocrates and evil doers. On the other hand, the representation of Don Juan in that era represents how sexulaity was missed used even in those times, but hardly any writteen record is seen because of the fact that the rulers didn’t want any such tales to be spoken of openly; theey were then brought under the case of adultery. Don Juan, also is the symbol of evil, a womanizer who cannot attain his forgiveness, he has sined so much in his life that even his good deeds are shadowed by his hypocrite nature. Every action of his holds insincerity and cannot be forgiven, and when eventually it is symbolised that he has been taken into the hell, it shows that the world did not contain any less painful avenge for him; and his death brought peace to all the woman who had suffered because of his flimsy character. Therefore by the story of Don Juan, conceived in the early 17th century, it can be seen that sexuality was miss used even in that time period but the society perferred to keeep it hidden and secretive, burrying such evil facts and tales which spoke against the religious and moral norms of the ruling powers. Evil of the society was thus only a hushed talk in those times. â€Å"The Prince,† a guide for the rulers of the world written by a government official of Florence, Italy, Niccolo Machiavelli, in the 16th Century; helps us know today of how gravely was the impact of politics and the attainment of power and prestige in the lives of people of that era. As the book states different tips and ways in which a prince could govern his kingdom in thee most efficient way winning both his commandment upon army and his position. Machiavelli also believed that gaining love from his people was not the most important part of ruling; a prince could never be too generous and lenient with his folk; however it was of vital importance that he managed his fear upon them so that he would respect him and treats him with the power and gratitude that he deserves. A ruler was not always successful through his inheritance or his economic strength; but he was turned into a symbol of esteem through his ability; which not only shined in his character but also was represented by the society which he ruled. Thus the prince held great responsibility for his own self and the lives of all those, whose protection was sworn onto him. To take even a deeper analysis into the lives of the people of the 16th century, we might take a look into the analysis of the book â€Å"Leviathan,† written by Thomas Hobbes in 1660. After looking through the time via the perspectives of a story teller, and then a politician, we take into the account of the era through the notions formed by a political philosopher; this book did not only establish a political thought in the minds of thee people but was also significant enough in influencing and establishing the entire Western political philosophy and laying down the perspective for the social contract theory. The book was first written by Hobbes at the time of the English Civil War, where he saw chaos and trouble through out the society. In such times Hobbes believed that the only thing which could keep the community together would be a strong unified governing system which would act as a central body in decision making, keeping away the evils of chaos and civil misbehavior. The theory represented by Hobbes believes that if man is left without a government to live in a free market, operated by no restrictions, then he lives the life of nature, whereby everything is free for anybody, which in the long run would lead to war, poverty, frustration and hatred. To prevent this, a social contract needs to be established which would establish a civil society, and distribute the scarce resources in a much more efficient way. This is a form of a commonwealth, which would help establish a protected civil society. The book can be divided into four parts, whereas the one which represents the society and its relation to sexuality is book one, â€Å"of Man. † Chapter 6 of this book discusses the theme of the involuntary emotions which arise inside a human being, over which he holds no control, known as passions. He describes these motions of man as animal instincts, categorizing them as â€Å"vital,† and â€Å"voluntary. † Vital being those which formulate the metabolism and are innate, while the later are those which man learns with the course of his life. He by this formulates the idea that human nature is actually a by product of his metabolism. His innate motions form desires known as endeavors, which raise love and hatred in man, which then form an aversion in a human being. While some of these desires are born with man, while some re learnt so with time and experience, and it is then from these appetites and aversions that passions arise which are known to be specific to human nature, of which those which qualify to be his appetite are those things that he likes, while those which fall into his aversions formulate his hatred and are evil. Then Chapter 11 and 13 of the book describe how manners differ in human beings and how he would respond to his conditions of misery. Hobbes further here describes how power in man could be self created and that which is instrumental attained from his society. However a man may differ from another due to his different manners which come from his ability to negotiate between power and fear; and it is through this knowledge that the society can in the end attain peace; when fear originates from ignorance and a person’s lack of foreseeing the future. Hobbes then concludes this part of his book with the thesis that when a human being lives in a society without any social contract, at that time he is living in a â€Å"state of nature,† and when a society is bent into such a living then it is nothing more than just a flake of imagination having no true existence. As Thomas Hobbes states: â€Å"In such condition, there is no place for industry . . . no Culture of the Earth; no Navigation . . . no commodious Building; no instruments of moving . . . no Knowledge of the face of the Earth; no account of Time; no Arts; no Letters; no Society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; And the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short. (Chapter 13) References Fort, A. ,B. and Kates, H. , S. 1935 Don Juan or The Stone Death. Minute History of the Drama. New York: Grosset Dunlap. p. 47. Retrieved on Nov 27, 2007 from. http://www. theatrehistory. com/french/donjuan001. html Hobbes, T. (1651) The Leviathan. London: Andrew Crooke. Chapter 13 Machiavelli, N. (1908). The Prince, (1513). ed. W. K. Marriott. London: J. M. Dent and Sons, Pp 60. Plato. (1994) Collected Dialogues. eds. Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Plagiarism and the Casual Plagiarist Essay -- Exploratory Essays Resea

Plagiarism and the Casual Plagiarist It is a random Thursday night on the first floor of Brewster Hall and the Campus of State University when a frazzled young girl wanders into the room of a fellow student inquiring about The Stranger by Albert Camus. She needs to have a three page paper completed by tomorrow and cannot find a kick start on the essay writing process. Since her peers are on the level of the common doormat concerning Camus, she was left without any further help. However, had she just typed â€Å"the stranger, camus† into Google, three of the first ten sites listed would have directed her to either free or paid essay sites. While this student simply sat down and worked on her paper, the option to find a pre-made research paper was dangerously accessible to this time strapped student. However, it is these emotions that paper sites play up along with a general apathy towards plagiarism among students that make a stressed student deciding whether to plagiarize or not more inclined to go forward with the plagiaristic activity. One of the sites that the aforementioned student could have found a Camus essay on is megaessays.com. This site boasts a four page paper about freedom and death in The Stranger. However, upon signing up for the site, one must register and accept the terms and acceptable use policy, but this policy is a separate page that is not shown when the essay abstract comes up. So, the site that claims â€Å"immediate access to thousands of high quality papers and essays† on its main page also has the following in its acceptable use policy (note the spelling of plagiarism on this website): You acknowledge and agree that the license granted under these terms does not pe... ...ttp://libwww.syr.edu/research/ej/index.html>. â€Å"Questions† and â€Å"Acceptable Use Policy.† Megaessays.com. 19 September 2004. 2001-2004 Mega Essays LLC. â€Å"School Sucks: Download Your Workload (homepage)† 19 September 2004. 1996-2004 School Sucks. . Schoolsucks.com. â€Å"School Sucks- Info-Students.† 19 September 2004. 1996-2004 School Sucks. . Rosenfeld, Jesse. â€Å"Students Turned off by Turnitin.† The McGill Daily. 8 September 2003. The Daily Publication Society. . Witherspoon, Abigail. â€Å"This Pen for Hire.† Harper's. June 1995: 49-57. WilsonSelectPlus. E-Journals. State University. 19 September 2004. .

Difference between functional and dysfunctional conflict Essay

Functional Conflict Susie Steel is a vice president in a real estate development firm called Hearts Development. She has spent enormous amounts of energy cultivating a relationship with a local town regarding an available plot of land. Susie would like to purchase the land to build townhomes for sale. She has developed an excellent relationship with the town politicians and community members. An issue has developed over the planned usage of the land, though. The town will sell the land to Susie’s company but feels that townhomes would be bad for the overall community. They’re concerned with the additional cost and burden of kids that the townhomes would bring into the community. Susie understands the community’s concern and wants a win-win situation to occur. She feels that this issue will be a functional conflict due to the fact that the disagreement will bring a positive end result to both parties. Positive results of functional conflict include: Awareness of both sides of issues Improvement of working conditions due to accomplishing solutions together Solving issues together to improve overall morale Making innovations and improvements within an organization In Susie’s case, constructive criticism and discussion resulted in a compromise and a solution between the parties. Susie understood the town’s concern but needed to find something to build that would bring revenue for the company. Through their joint meetings, the end solution was for Hearts Development to build a retirement community, which would only have citizens 55 and over living in the town. This would eliminate the issue of having more young people come into town and burden the school system.

Improved Rewards at Work: Compensation and Benefits Packages Essay

Compensation and benefits packages are the talk of the century. Whether it is benefits offered by the government, an insurance company, the local supermarket, a fortune 500 company, a logistic firm, retail, or even being the owner of a business, this topic is wide spread. Employees want to know what they will get in exchange for their working for a company. The cost of dental, vision, and health benefits are increasing higher than ever before and having a great benefits package will surely have employees or future applicants beating the path down to work for an organization that has offers competitive benefits. These are the benefits that most organizations offer and are pretty standard. However, if organization include in their compensation package 401 K, retirement insurance, disability insurance, and life insurance, it makes the organization more attractive. Oftentimes, most employees don’t have a life insurance policy and their loved ones are stuck trying to come up with the money to give the deceased a decent burial. This can be a less stressful task if the person is covered by a life insurance policy. Organizations who offer this plan to their employees are definitely a benefit. The rate is usually cheaper as a group company rate, than it is to purchase it privately. Another benefit that comes in handy for employees is a retirement plan. Although this is often not enough money for seniors to retire and have to end up going back to work part-time just to continue the lifestyle they are accustomed to, it gives them some sort of cushion. It’s even better if they pay more into it to better plan for the future. If the plan also includes a 401 K package, then the employee gets a better cushion for retirement. Since insurance is needed in this age, it is more likely than not, that employee’s who are pursuing new work ventures and opportunities with a better organization; they are looking for these types of benefits. For example, McDonald’s offers their employees competitive wages, free uniforms, free discounted meals, flexible work hours, medical insurance, prescription drug coverage, 24-hour nurse line access, vision discount, short-term disability, term-life insurance, 401(K), paid holidays, vacation and educational assistance (McDonald’s, 2013). Having said this, college students who start out working at McDonalds may go on to pursue careers with McDonald’s because they offer an excellent compensation package, especially since they offer educational assistance/tuition reimbursements/scholarships. For someone who has the education and experience in a field such as Logistics or Human Resources, the benefits may be slightly different, because it is a larger organization in a different field. With McDonald’s, the vacation, sick pay and personal days may be more structured, whereas with the government, the days may increase with the hours worked. With that said, businesses are getting more creative with the compensation packages they offer to remain competitive and retain employees. To determine the ways innovations in employee benefits can improve the overall competitive compensation strategy of the organization we must look at what employees really want. Some suggestions would be: (1) Allow employees to have flexible work schedules. This will allow them to have personal time with the family, attend schools functions or field trips, meet scheduled dr. ’s appointments, or even relax and recuperate so that the employee can come with a fresh renewed mind. The next suggestion is (2) Give out achievement (such as employee of the month with parking privileges or gift card), appreciation of service awards, or letters of appreciation from an immediate supervisor/manager. This type of reward lets employees know they are appreciated for the hard work they have accomplished for the company; they are being noticed and acknowledged by the top of the chain and sends a message to the employee that they are being watched, so keep of the good work. It could also let the employee know that in the event of promotion or if raises go out, they may be a good candidate for receiving it. By the same token, if they are slacking in any way, they may be coached or forfeit being considered for a raise or promotion. An example is that our company writes love notes to the student (which is a form of appreciation letter). They basically address them for doing a good deed for someone, excelling in their classes/grades, moving on to the next level/phase of their education, or how well they performed a service on a guest. Our managers and the owner write love notes to us and sometimes reward us with gift cards, movie tickets, bracelets, and necklaces or some sort of prize. Often we do receive raises according to our performance reviews, but sometimes if we meet service and take home goals, get raises. Another thing that is incorporated is student and employee of the month. These rewards often come with free passes to events and front row parking. Aside from that, another innovative benefit is (3) Make the work environment exciting and fun. No one likes to come to work in a stuffy environment where everyone is on edge and way pass serious about everything. Creating a fun environment sets the tone for success, drives employees to not want to miss a day of work because they enjoy going, is an incentive for staying with the company and remaining loyal, makes employees feel they are part of a family away from family and motivates them to perform better. It is somewhat double fold, because it is also a winning situation for the employer as it makes the work day more productive when employees perform at their peak. Employees meet or exceed service or product goals when they are happy with their employer. Next, (4) Allow employees to work from home if it is feasible. Sometimes when there is no one to interrupt when projects or deadlines have to be met, being in the comfort of your home environment allows the quiet time needed to gather the information for the plan that needs to be implemented, cuts down commuting time that could be spent on working, offers a change of scenery so creativeness is allowed to flow and best of all, there is no need for dressing the part, it can be done in comfortable clothing. Last but not least, (5) Allowing employees to be a part of a team or project where they can implement ideas and suggestions on how to accomplish the project effectively and efficiently. Employees feel like what they think is important and their opinions count and are valuable to their employer. It gives them a sense of responsibility, accountability, and belonging. Most of the time, employees acquire the confidence to eventually want to step out and lead projects (Tynan, 2013). Such as with innovative benefits improving an overall competitive compensation strategy, the same applies with tying benefits to those specific jobs. Performance appraisals are normally tied to raises and wage compensation. The scenario usually goes something like this: The employee has an evaluation on the job performance they have carried out during the evaluation period. The manager conducting the assessment usually has a check list with the duties and rates each section with excellent, good, needs improvement, or poor. The raise is usually based on how well the employee scored (in other words, if they will be rewarded the maximum allowance, receive a portion or nothing at all). The same goes for tying innovative benefits to specific jobs. For example, if an employee receives a recognition award for high performance and meeting company goals (such as employee of the month), the benefit will be attached to that specific job. Another example is salary and wages. Salary and wages are connected to specific job duties. If a receptionist has duties that include filing, setting appointments, greeting guest, answering phones/taking and dispersing messages, booking meeting, making travel arrangements for managers, and running errands, when evaluation time comes, the amount of wages or salary is dependant on how well the employee performed their duties. This is also in line with pay for performance. When it comes to a rewards system, there are some things that have to be fulfilled in order for the system to work. Some of the criteria are to ensure employees understand what their job duties include. If employees don’t know what they are suppose to be doing then they will not be able to perform their jobs according to how managers expect them to. Another thing is there must be value placed on this system. If everyone can receive a raise/pay increase or incentive whether or not they are a high performer or a poor performer then there really is no since in incorporating this award. It will not be fair to the outstand performers. It will send a message that it doesn’t matter how well you do, you will still be rewarded. For the ones who strive to do their best, it lowers their morale and causes them to not want to perform their best. This will also cause a decrese in productivity. Once the high performers stop meeting goals, the organization suffers. An assessment must be conducted on a regular basis and evaluations must include feed back so the employee knows if and where they are lacking and excelling. There should also be team meetings if feasible or an individual meeting to ensure the employee(s) are on track with what needs to be accomplished in order to make company goals happen. The effectiveness of an equity-based rewards program as apposed to a more creative one is that first, an equity-based rewards program may include stock options in the company. It is also and incentive for being able to retain employees and may contirbute to the success of the company. When employees have stock in a company they anticipate on it doing well in the future so they can cash it in or receive dividends on it when they are paid out. It also doesn’t hurt if the employee feels like they are an important part of the organization. This may also play a role in employees sticking around. Stock may also be an incentive to employees so they know how valuable of an employee they are. Not all companies offer stock to their employees, so it is a big deal if an organization trusts its employees to participate in owning a portion of the company. Employers have a hard task of making sure their employees motives for wanting to own stock is in the right place. The reason for this is, say for instance the employee wants to see how much the stock is worth in 5 years. For one, this sends a red flag that they only wanted to invest to see if they could get lucky quickly, in hopes of leaving the company or even earning quick cash. Another motive for the organization to give employees stock in the company is to get employees to commit to the company for the long term. The organization can also look forward to the employee feeling like they are part owner of the company and will therefore give their all to see that the organization is successful. The employees who have stock will also advocate for the company, ensure they are looking for like employees (high potential), and make sure everyone is on the same page with organizational goals. On the other hand, managers should be aware that this could completely go the other way and the employee can feel as if they should be able to make suggestion and have them implement them, allows them some sort of power to make decisions and afford them the opportunity to make do what they want. Stock can definitely be a motivator if employees commit for the long haul, show an interest in the organization and perform their best (Robbins, 2004). As for the more creative approaches, they offer a wider variety of options such as child care benefits/discounts, retirement benefits, elder care benefits and educational assistance to name a few. The difference is that the creative approaches include benefits that are very useful to employees. Having stock in a company is a great motivator, however, it is even more motivating being able to receive benefits that are usually more expensive to employees on their own. It frees up the amount of money that the employee will have to shovel out. According to the article â€Å"Driving Success: How You Innovate Determines What You Innovate†, there is a few key components that can be implemented when incorporating traditional benefits with innovation benefits. These are known as the seven innovation rules: (1) Line up the variety of innovations to the organizations industry. Innovation may or may not be the key to success for the company’s overall business strategy; It may be determined by the types and amounts of innovation needed to support the business strategy. (2) Deal with the expected pressure concerning creativeness and worth. A company needs strength in both. Creativity without the ability to translate it into profits (for example, execution and value capture) can be fun but it is unsustainable; profits without creativity is rewarding but only works for a short time. (3) Reduce the effect of organizational antibodies. Innovation necessitates change and change stimulate explicit routines and cultural norms that act to block or negate change. (4) Recognize that the basic unit or fundamental building block of innovation is a network that includes people and knowledge both inside and out of the organization. A successful organization excels at fusing its internal resources with selected portions of the vast resources of the worlds capitalist economy. (5) Create the right metric and rewards for innovation. People react to positive and negative stimuli, and a company’s innovation is no exception. It will never achieve the level of innovation that is needed if people do not have the proper reward (Devila, Shelton, and Epstein, 2005, retrieved from: www. ftpress. com /articles).

Gagadon - Facts and Figures

Gagadon - Facts and Figures If youre announcing a new genus of artiodactyl, it helps to come up with a distinctive name, since even-toed mammals were thick on the ground in early Eocene North America (about 55 to 50 million years ago). Enter Gagadon minimonstrum, aka the Lady Gaga-toothed mini-monster, the lower jaw of which was discovered in Wyoming in 1988, but which wasnt announced to the world until May of 2014- presumably when paleontologists Richard K. Stucky and Herbert H. Covey deemed the roster of high-powered pop stars to be suitably impressive. (See a slideshow of 10 Real-Life Dinosaurs Named After Celebrities) The most notable feature of Gagadon was the unique accessory cusps on its teeth, which was doubtless an adaptation to its preferred grass diet (though presumably Lady Gaga herself enjoys a more varied menu). Described by Stucky and Covey as a dramatic departure from the other ungulates of early Eocene North America, these teeth were clearly a speedy evolutionary development, as early hooved mammals rapidly adapted to the changing conditions on earth a mere 10 million years after the dinosaurs went extinct. In fact, small, inoffensive mammals like Gagadon were fated to evolve, tens of millions of years down the line, into such varied creatures as elks, camels, deers and giraffes- rather the way Lady Gaga herself has spawned countless imitators, idolaters and high-powered pop stars. Name Gagadon  minimonstrum  (the Gaga-toothed mini-monster, after pop star Lady Gaga); pronounced GAH-gah-don  mih-nee-MON-strum Habitat Plains of North America Historical Epoch Early Eocene (55-45 million years ago) Size and Weight Undisclosed, but small Diet Grass Distinguishing Characteristics Petite size; quadrupedal posture; unique tooth structure

Understanding How Detergents Actually Work

Understanding How Detergents Actually Work Detergents and soaps are used for cleaning because pure water cant remove oily, organic soiling. Soap cleans by acting as an emulsifier. Basically, soap allows oil and water to mix so that oily grime can be removed during rinsing. Surfactants Detergents were developed in response to the shortage of the animal and vegetable fats used to make soap during World War I and World War II. Detergents are primarily surfactants, which could be produced easily from petrochemicals. Surfactants lower the surface tension of water, essentially making it wetter so that it is less likely to stick to itself and more likely to interact with oil and grease. Additional Ingredients Modern detergents contain more than surfactants. Cleaning products may also contain enzymes to degrade protein-based stains, bleaches to de-color stains and add power to cleaning agents, and blue dyes to counter yellowing. Like soaps, detergents have hydrophobic or water-hating molecular chains and hydrophilic or water-loving components. The hydrophobic hydrocarbons are repelled by water but are attracted to oil and grease. The hydrophilic end of the same molecule means that one end of the molecule will be attracted to water, while the other side is binding to oil. How Detergents Work Neither detergents nor soaps  accomplish anything except binding to the soil until some mechanical energy or agitation is added into the equation. Swishing the soapy water around allows the soap or detergent to pull the grime away from clothes or dishes and into the larger pool of rinse water. Rinsing washes the detergent and soil away. Warm or hot water melts fats and oils so that it is easier for the soap or detergent to dissolve the soil and pull it away into the rinse water. Detergents are similar to soap, but they are less likely to form films (soap scum) and are not as affected by the presence of minerals in the water (hard water). Modern Detergents Modern detergents may be made from petrochemicals or from oleochemicals derived from plants and animals. Alkalis and oxidizing agents are also chemicals found in detergents. Heres a look at the functions these molecules serve: Petrochemicals/Oleochemicals: These fats and oils are hydrocarbon chains which are attracted to the oily and greasy grime.Oxidizers: Sulfur trioxide, ethylene oxide, and sulfuric acid are among the molecules used to produce the hydrophilic component of surfactants. Oxidizers provide an energy source for chemical reactions. These highly reactive compounds also act as bleaches.Alkalis: Sodium and potassium hydroxide are used in detergents even as they are used in soapmaking. They provide positively charged ions to promote chemical reactions.

IMPACT OF MORE ACCOUNTING INFORMATION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

IMPACT OF MORE ACCOUNTING INFORMATION - Essay Example The impact of more accounting information will be discussed in relation to the users of the financial statements such as the shareholders, suppliers, customers and creditors. Likewise, the impact of more accounting information when used by the competitors (Molloy and Molloy, 1996) or employees will also be discussed. Considerations of future situations tend to affect conventional accounting, although using elements of the future forms an essential component of the accounting structure. The financial standard of decision relevancy of accounting (Weston and Brigham, 1993), generally agreed to be a primary factor that gives societal value to accounting, may be weakened by the search for a more trustworthy accounting procedure. One of the best techniques in accounting would be to incorporate aspects of future values without leaving too many degrees of freedom for manipulating the data. The aim is thus to keep accounting credible, and yet predictable and even if more accounting informatio n becomes available, all aspects of the information will have to be considered, before any final conclusion is drawn on the advantages or disadvantages of the accounting information. ... The financial statements are audited by external auditors (Whittington and Pany, 1995) either chartered accountants or certified public accountants in order to give credibility to the statements. All companies are required to give financial statements to its shareholders, suppliers, creditors, employees, managers, board of directors, government regulating bodies and the like in order to ensure that the company does not violate any corporate laws and that they remain accountable to their stakeholders and financiers. The financial statements are important tools for decision making and determine company management policies and thus accounting forms the basis of any corporate management decision making. There have been arguments on incorporating additional estimates or forecasts of the future into financial statements and providing estimates of future cash flows. This may in turn be considered alongside some sensational corporate scandals, for companies located in the US, which have been focused on reducing the power of managers which could engage in fraudulent behavior and accounting manipulation of assets, liabilities and capital. A more reliable and validated or trustworthy figures on the balance sheet is expected and income statement accounts have been implemented by new and more complicated monitoring and inspection processes. As to how far this can be achieved can be studied by using market values in accounting reports. The Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAPs) in a number of countries contain elements of the market values of assets and liabilities. To illustrate, International Accounting Standards (IAS), U.K., and U.S. GAAPs require financial investments that are not long-term investments,

Investigate shear transfer in bolted members Essay

Investigate shear transfer in bolted members - Essay Example Similarly, â€Å"the stresses at the yield point of the thread, based on the area at bottom of thread, when nuts were screwed on without tightening down by spanner against the bolts tightened by spanner, had reduction of 20 percent†. It is important to understand that the failure of bolt is the characteristics of the minimum residual stresses of the bolt material. During an exercise, consistent stresses were derived for ordinary black, and turned and fitted bolts upon their respective failure. As per Peter (1950) experimentation, â€Å"the yield point of thread, however in the case of the black bolts was approximately 30 percent, which is lower than yield point obtained for turned and fitted bolts†. It is important to specify that in all the failures the damage initiated from the root of the thread, however there were instances when the threads stripped. It has been experimental proven by Peter (1950) that the â€Å"strength of a bolt in direct tension is greatly affected by the amount of initial tension induced when the nuts were made spanner tight; this is a factor which is uncontrollable from design perspective. The strength is dependent upon resistance of the threads against stripping†. It is practically concluded that, â€Å"most of the stress on the threads will be shear as the tendency in screwing up will be to force the threads off the bolt or nut in a direction parallel to the axis i.e. circumferential due to the friction between the adjacent threads†. Peter (1950) has noted that â€Å"when considering the allowable unit stress which may safely be adopted the probability that some of the stock bolts may be wrought iron, instead of mild steel† must not be ignored. The bolts which assist in the hanging of the runways are exposed to direct tension. It is therefore recommended that conservative approach shall be adopted, with specific reference to the determination of the safe loads for these bolts. We shall