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Finding Median Graphically Marks inclusive series| Conversion into exclusive series| No. of students| Cumulative Frequency| (x)|   | (f)| (C. M)| 410-419| 409. 5-419. 5| 14| 14| 420-429| 419. 5-429. 5| 20| 34| 430-439| 429. 5-439. 5| 42| 76| 440-449| 439. 5-449. 5| 54| 130| 450-459| 449. 5-459. 5| 45| 175| 460-469| 459. 5-469. 5| 18| 193| 470-479| 469. 5-479. 5| 7| 200| The median value of a series may be determinded through the graphic presentation of data in the form of Ogives. This can be done in 2 ways. 1. Presenting the data graphically in the form of ‘less than' ogive or ‘more than' ogive . . Presenting the data graphically and simultaneously in the form of ‘less than' and ‘more than' ogives. The two ogives are drawn together. 1. Less than Ogive approach Marks| Cumulative Frequency (C. M)| Less than 419. 5| 14| Less than 429. 5| 34| Less than 439. 5| 76| Less than 449. 5| 130| Less than 459. 5| 175| Less than 469. 5| 193| Less than 479. 5| 200| Steps i nvolved in calculating median using less than Ogive approach – 1. Convert the series into a ‘less than ‘ cumulative frequency distribution as shown above . 2. Let N be the total number of students who's data is given.N will also be the cumulative frequency of the last interval. Find the (N/2)th  item(student) and mark it on the y-axis. In this case the (N/2)th  item (student) is 200/2 = 100th  student. 3. Draw a perpendicular from 100 to the right to cut the Ogive curve at point A. 4. From point A where the Ogive curve is cut, draw a perpendicular on the x-axis. The point at which it touches the x-axis will be the median value of the series as shown in the graph. The median turns out to be 443. 94. 2. More than Ogive approach More than marks| Cumulative Frequency (C. M)| More than 409. 5| 200| More than 419. 5| 186| More than 429. | 166| More than 439. 5| 124| More than 449. 5| 70| More than 459. 5| 25| More than 469. 5| 7| More than 479. 5| 0| Steps involve d in calculating median using more than Ogive approach – 1. Convert the series into a ‘more than ‘ cumulative frequency distribution as shown above . 2. Let N be the total number of students who's data is given. N will also be the cumulative frequency of the last interval. Find the (N/2)th  item(student) and mark it on the y-axis. In this case the (N/2)th  item (student) is 200/2 = 100th  student. 3. Draw a perpendicular from 100 to the right to cut the Ogive curve at point A. . From point A where the Ogive curve is cut, draw a perpendicular on the x-axis. The point at which it touches the x-axis will be the median value of the series as shown in the graph. The median turns out to be 443. 94. 3. Less than and more than Ogive approach Another way of graphical determination of median is through simultaneous graphic presentation of both the less than and more than Ogives. 1. Mark the point A where the Ogive curves cut each other. 2. Draw a perpendicular from A on the x-axis. The corresponding value on the x-axis would be the median value.

Journal Entry Week One

The culture goes back through time. Assayer (2013) stated, â€Å"Egypt continuous cultural tradition?lasting over 3,000 years? Is history's clearest example of how peace and prosperity go hand in hand with cultural stability† (p. 28). There are many fascinating facets from the way Egyptians lived from the building of the pyramids to the burial of their leaders.It amazes me to know a society can build such structures without the modern day machinery that we have today. The passion they had for life and displaying that In the way they lived as written on the walls of heir pyramids. One of the Inaccuracies of these Images Is they are exactly the same. All the figures have the same body structure and build. Male and female resemble each other In such a way that the only way to tell them apart Is by their facial hair.All of the Images are depicted facing to the right or left and having the same size. This Is still a mystery as to why their depiction of their people Is of this natur e. The Egyptians went through droughts with the water system and developed and depended on an irrigation system that provided their society with water. This is just en of the many important aspects of the Egyptians that help to make them unique. The Egyptians also found uses for metals and were able to manipulate these metals into jewelry and amour.Their leaders were buried in tombs and the organs separated into jars made out of precious metals and Jewels. The heart was weighed as a part off balance system during the burial. The sun was an important part of their lives and even treated as a god. All these different aspects of the Egyptian culture made up who they were as a society thousands of years ago.

Shadow Banking Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Shadow Banking - Research Paper Example For instance, it is evident that the shadow banking in the U.S. rose to an index value of 162.5 in 2008 when her total assets were approximately $20.7 trillion. Currently, the index value of shadow banking in the U.S. is 72.2 which correlate with $9.2 trillion in assets. Although shadow banking has reduced significantly in the U.S. it is evident that some people are still indulging in insecure lending in the banks (Tracy 2014). It is also evident that the U.S. still licenses nonbank firms such as payday lenders as well as mortgage services. It is also evident that most of the financial lending are not supervised the ground in the U.S. additionally, it is evident that some of the banks in the U.S. are diverting their activities to nonbank financial institutions so as to avoid oversight. Unfortunately, such practices have the potential of causing a financial crisis. To combat the problems associated with shadow banking, â€Å"New York’s Department of Financial Services is probi ng large mortgage-servicing firms amid concerns about practices that could be unfair to consumers† (Tracy 2014). Just like in the U.S. shadow banking is also practiced in China. However, its rate is very high in China than in the U.S. This is as a result of the Chinese government barring local governments from borrowing money from the banks and also its support for the shadow banking through its structured financial system (Das 1). For instance, it is evident that China’s government forces most businesses to rely on shadow banking system by mandating only four banks to practice credit markets. It is also evident that China’s government takes part in the regulation of deposit interest rates, a practice that facilitates shadow banking. The curtailing of credit expansion by the China’s government through reducing loan quotas also catalyzes growth of shadow banking sector. Most banks in China have been forced to seek for alternative ways of making profits.

Database Design and Implementation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Database Design and Implementation - Assignment Example A major downside of this site is that it is very slow. The seller is not required to pay any fee for posting an item for sale. The sites has strong measures and applications installed that ensures that it is fraud proof and the sellers can list as many items as they want as opposed to most online purchasing sites. E-bay is one of the leading online shopping market place where buyers and sellers transact a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. It has become a multi-billion dollar company after it was founded back in 1995. It has included buy-it-now as a standard shopping, an expansion from its original auction format. A number of items, from cars to antiques, are listed by a seller who then chooses to only accept bids for the item thus enabling the buyer to purchase the item immediately. The first buyer eager to pay the sellers stated price gets the item on a buy-it-now option. All the three sites have five major entities that is; the auction, product, payment, seller and the buyer. Of the four entities only three are actively involved at any given time, mostly, the auction, product and the buyer. The three entities have major common attributes across the three sites most of which were identified as the generic attributes. The product id, seller/.buyer id and the product id alongside other attributes formed the major attributes across the three sites. The other attributes that were rejected were either irrelevant or less important and could be retrieved through the major attributes such as the auction, seller/buyer or product ids. Normalizing the possible tables consisting of the entities alongside their attributes led to the rejection or dropping off of some attributes to avoid data redundancy. The product name, product description, product prices and product image from the auction table can be compressed into a different table named product with a primary key being product id. The auction table therefore will be normalized

Do you agree with Dave Eggers that community service should be Essay

Do you agree with Dave Eggers that community service should be required for college students Why or why not - Essay Example As the saying goes, "get the leader and the masses will follow". I personally agree with Dave Eggers community development strategy, as it will not only benefit the community and the students but the nation as a whole. Students are like droplets of water and when gathered together to perform useful community activities they can be compared to enriching the ocean that surrounds them. These droplets should be used to enrich the community, for example even with a modest 9 hours a year requirement (the equivalent of less than two mornings a year), America would gain 54 million volunteer hours to invigorate the nation's nonprofit organizations such as churches, environment protection groups and college outreach programs; if the community service requirement is made compulsory for all private colleges. In other words, American is wasting 54 million precious volunteer hours a year. The next question to be answered is; would if the college students would like serve the community That is said to be the million dollar question, as they say, "you can take the horse to the water, but can't make it drink". I agree with this quote, but this statement is only true when the horse isn't thirsty. Using the "carrot and stick" method proposed by Dave Eggers, where the students are awarded up to three credits for community service, would get the majority of the students motivated. There are many advantages for the college students to become involved in community service, such as: Community service also helps enhance learning by allowing students to integrate course material with actual issues in a community setting. Community service also takes out the "curiosity" which many students have about the "real world" and would help the students gain valuable practical life experiences or even valuable history lessons, like meeting a World War II veteran. Another valuable ingredient for the idea of community service to be a long-term success that is needed is instilling patriotism amongst the students. Community service should be showcased as something to be proud of like when you high grades in the exam. This would remove the temptation to quit halfway through, which was the case for Dave Eggers. Prevention is better than cure; thus community service can prove to be the answer to many problems like drug addition, gangs, etc. Doing something constructive, like community services will stop the students from getting into destructive activities like drugs. Community service plays an important role in personality development. Volunteering will him the student be balanced and indulge in activities that will be to help others. Community service will also help the students develop and hone, "soft skills" that are very much in demand in today's job market. Community service can also act as an anti-depressant by being of service to others. At the same time, it is also important for the student to volunteer in that activity or activities that he or she likes, for example if a person is religious he or she should rather volunteer to help out at a church than at a conservation group. Programs such as the, President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, launched in 2006, recognizes institutions of higher education that support exemplary student community service and service-learning programs,

History of Baseball in America Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

History of Baseball in America - Assignment Example In the year 1942, he joined Brooklyn Dodgers and initiated a plan to transport a black player inside the team that would not only accelerate team’s performance but also delivers a socially aware message to the American society for its benefit. However, he was also skeptic that the inclusion of the black player will need to be more than a brilliant athlete with state wrong mental strength to restrain from being provoked by the unfriendliness and foul languages that might otherwise raise disagreements imposing negative effects on the team’s sustainability. After exploring many players from Negro leagues, Branch Ricky decided to involve Jackie Robinson in the year 1945. Jackie was an African American baseball player, who was then playing with Kansas City Monarchs, an important group in the Negro Leagues (The Library of Congress, n.d.). In that time many economic and other multifaceted problems forced and entertained the racial segregation in baseball. For instance, a number of major league teams used to give their stadiums on rent to the Negro Teams only when their own team was on a long journey; thus, hindering cross-communication between the two groups. Consequently, if integration would have been conducted in the sport, the Negro teams would have lost their best players and the Negro League would face difficulties to carry on as a result many of Negro players losing their source of revenue. Moreover, with such practices, the stadium owners would lose their rental profits (The Library of Congress, n.d.). Notably, the existence of these political and economic obstacles increased complexities in the integration process. To avoid these hazards, Branch Ricky proposed Jackie to be a part of a major league in March, 1945. In August, 1945, they met at Brooklyn Dodger’s office where Jackie was informed that Ricky would be starting a new team named Brown Dodgers. Subsequently, Jackie agreed to sign the bond with Brooklyn’s Triple-A minor league farm club, the Montreal Royals.

Bureaucracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Bureaucracy - Essay Example The characteristics of the work in bureaucracies may be defined as being impersonal, rule based, goal oriented and promotion of officials only on the base of merit and performance. The concept of bureaucracy goes down to a rich history coming from the Chinese and the Industrial Revolution. Despite the various changes that exist in the power and government forms throughout, the one word that has not lost its power and is still holding the authority to exercise power is ‘bureaucracy’. Even before the term came up officially, many countries followed the concept as it literally means to ‘rule by office’. The Confucianism has a certain philosophical element in the authority of the bureaucracy, as it adds to the early facets of the Chinese culture and social structure (Jacoby 53). In a more modern sequence, there was much from the bureaucracies that we saw in the social culture. The local labour problems had started to be solved by the unions as individual locals. Since the locals themselves lacked confidence and strength to negotiate with the corporations held nationally, the locals were compelled to affiliate nationally and in effect formed a parallel bureaucratic structure. The structure sooner became an entity of its own right as the voice of individual locals was diminished and taken over by the national body. Today, the bureaucracy is perceived as most closely associated with the government, and even lobbyists against excessive government red tape. Social scientists also argue that private bureaucratic development had been developed before the government. Traditionally there were hierarchies of offices defining their different areas of responsibility which was considered as a criterion for a bureaucracy. Another key component for the bureaucracy was to regulate and service other’s property rather than one’s own. With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, the concept of bureaucracy changed. The development took place and with a keen

Letter to dean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter to dean - Essay Example I believe that the highest level Economics class remains too complicated for me and any poor performance from the course would lower my overall GPA. Maintaining competitive GPA would be vital in enrolment for immediate masters’ degree. Besides the desire to maintain my GPA, my family currently faces financial constraints. My father’s company acts as the main source of income for the family and it currently faces detrimental financial challenges. The financial constraints have restrained family expenses especially my UM and apartment fee expenditures within the school. Moreover, my younger sibling would be beginning his studies in USA this year. Consequently, I would desire to graduate this semester to enable me ease the financial constraints in my family and assist my aging father in supporting us. Therefore, it is my modest plea that you grant me a permission number to enable me realizes my coveted

Nanotechnology and its use in the Military Essay

Nanotechnology and its use in the Military - Essay Example example Sun blocks containing micro level Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) give white color appearance on the skin due to the scattered reflection of the light rays. But Sun blocks containing Nano particles of Titanium Dioxide, which are evenly spread and thinner, do not scatter light rays, and provide much transparent coating enabling the skin color to appear. Cloths produced incorporating nanotechnology and containing tiny Nano fibers do not retain dust or dirt because the holes of the cloth are tinier than the dust particles. These beneficial changes in the characteristics of the physical matter manipulated at the nano scale can be used in many areas such as medicine, sport, chemical industry etc. The concept of â€Å"Nanotechnology† was first introduced by a physicist, Richard Feynman in his speech â€Å"Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom† delivered at a meeting of the American Physical Society in 1959 (Toumey, 16-23 & Taniguchi). In his speech he explained taking a human cell as an example for naturally existing highly effective, multi purpose nano scale machine and emphasized the usefulness of such small scale equipments. There are two approaches in the direction of handling materials and making products or equipments using Nanotechnology. The more conventional approach â€Å"Larger to smaller† or â€Å"Top to bottom† handling starts with larger physical materials and then shaped up or arranged to much smaller final product such as Nano particles of Titanium Dioxide, Nano fibers etc. The other approach â€Å"smaller to larger† or â€Å"bottom to top† starts with simple smaller molecules or atoms and then build up or assemble until the final expected product is achieved. The second approach, atomic assembly has many limitations and comparatively difficult than the first method because of the limitations in human ability to sense and handle materials of very small scale. Therefore sophisticated equipments are needed for the manipulation of these materials. Carbon

What are the main characteristics of a successful piece of academic Essay

What are the main characteristics of a successful piece of academic writing as submitted for a university assessment - Essay Example The extensive source of knowledge through acute reference to databases would be the only solution for the information mining. Once the information is gathered it is vital in the case of an academic paper to analyze the information so as to form scientifically justifiable observations and conclusions. A successful piece of academic writing however demands much in terms of style of writing and the research involved. The important characteristics of a quality academic paper are as following An academic paper will have to adhere with many benchmarks as set by the concerned academic authority. Compliance with academic standards, working in accordance with the objectives and properly formatted documentation would be vital in determining the quality of an academic paper. Considering the importance of an academic paper as key document in a particular reserach and taking into account the way this can affect the branch of science dealt with, much emphasis has to be paid on the quality of academic papers. However the difficulty level in the stipulations can differ among different academic authorities. The time management process so as to be able to finish the work within the stipulated deadline is also important. Different academic authorities demand the academic paper to be written in specified style of writing. This requirement however depends on the kind of paper to be written. The nature of science involved with the paper would determine the academic style in which the paper is to be written. The most common academic writing styles include Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago Manual of Style (CMA), Council of Science Editors (CSE), Turabian, American Sociological association (ASA), American Anthropological Association (AAA) and Havard style (CSU, 2006). These styles have been standardized by various organizations so that the papers written by experts across the

Art Under Napoleon Essay Example for Free

Art Under Napoleon Essay In 1794 Jacques-Louis David barely escapes death, due to his connections in the revolutionary war. He stood trial and went to prison. After his release he worked hard to reconstitute his career. The highlight of his career is when Napoleon asked Jacques-Louis David to work for him. Of course David accepted. Napoleon knew that David was a very accomplished artist, whom style was Neoclassical-Idealist painter. Napoleon favored painting of the classical times and of the Roman renaissance masters (Kleiner 2006). In reading, we will compare paintings by David, The Oath of Horatti and the Coronation of Napoleon. He also conquered enlightenment, so each subject matter to be of a moral, noble standing and conflict. David was born in Paris on August 30, 1748. His well to do parents sent him to school with the rococo manner, his eminent painter Francois Boucher, to whom David was apparently distantly related. Perhaps because of his own advancement David study under Joseph Vien, a painter who had been attracted by the new wave of interest in antiquity while study in Rome. In 1771 David won second place in the Prix de Rome completion. It was not until 3 years later and after some severe mental frustrations that he won the first prize for the painting Antiochus Dying for Love of Stratonice (Anonymous, 2011). David went to Rome in 1775 in the company of Vien; David studied the ancient architectural monuments, marble reliefs and freestanding statues. In addition, he strove for a clearer understanding of the classical principles under laying the styles of the Renaissance and baroque masters Raphael, the Carracci, Domenichino, and Guido Reni. He was admitted to the French academy in1783 with his painting, Andromache by the Hector (Anonymous, 2011). When the French war broke out in 1789, David threw in his lot with the Jacobins, the radical and militant revolutionary faction. He accepted the role of de facto minister of propaganda; He arranged political pageants, and ceremonies that included floats, costumes, and sculptural props. David believed that art could play an important role in educating the public and that dramatic paintings emphasizing patriotism and civic virtue would prove effective as rallying calls. However, rather than continuing to create artworks focused on scenes from antiquity, David began to portray scenes from the French Revolution itself. David intended Death of Marat not only to serve as a record of an important event in the struggle to overthrow the monarchy but also to provide inspiration and encouragement to the revolutionary forces. A writer friend of David’s was tragically killed; he depicted his friend’s death into that portrait (Kleiner, 2006). His friend was named Charlotte Corday (1768-1793) a member of a rival political faction, stabbed him to death in his medicinal bath. (He suffered from a painful skin disease. ) David presented the scene with directness and clarity. The cold neutral space above Marat’s figure slumped in the tub produces a chilling oppressiveness. The painter vividly placed narrative details-the knife, the wound, the blood, the letter with which the young woman gained entrance-to sharpen the sense of pain an outrage and to comfort viewers with the scene itself. Death of Marat is convincingly real and yet David masterfully composed the painting to present Marat as a tragic martyr who died in the service of the revolution (Kleiner, 2006). The following year David returned to Rome to paint Oath of Horatti, a work in which immediately acclaimed a masterpiece both in Italy and in France. There are more to come within the next five years. With the French revolution in full swing, David for a time stopped painting with his classical approach and began to paint scenes describing contemporary events. David began to paint martyred heroes in the fight for freedom (Galitz, 2004). Napoleon hired Jacques-Louis David to paint for all his empire desires and aspirations. These paintings were emotional works of art, not only did David portray the feelings of the characters inside the paintings perfectly, and he was also able to create deep emotions with his audiences as well. Unfortunately David’s paintings showed wars and the results of them were brutal. David’s most famous paintings of the time were the Oath of Horatti and Coronation of Napoleon, and they were obviously painted for political propaganda purposes because of their content. Napoleon Bonaparte was born in France in the year of 1769 and grew up to over throw the Monarchy. In 1799, after serving in various French army commands, including major campaigns in Italy and Egypt, Napoleon became first consul of the French Republic, a title with clear and intentional links to the ancient Rome Republic. In May 1804, he became the King of Italy. Napoleon was very aware of David’s talents. He knew David had a sharp â€Å"understanding of cult of political personality and the sophisticated craft of shaping public image† (Anonymous, 2001). The Coronation of Napoleon was the name of the painting done for the new Emperor of France. The celebration was held at the Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral on December 1804 (Kleiner, 2006). In the painting, David, has painted the Pius lifting his hands in a half-hearted blessing gesture. He also lowers the Popes chair so that Napoleon’s would appear relatively larger, with his back symbolically turned towards the dwarfed and older man. It also included 150 guests from pomp and pageantry, to help in celebration. In this painting Napoleons mother was late arriving in Paris (in time to miss it) but Napoleon, instructed David to paint her in. David painted Josephine (Napoleons wife) with her kneeling to receive her crown. David does make other adjustments to the paintings to make her look better for his works. David conceptually divided the painting to reveal polarities. David painted the pope, priests, representing the Catholic Church on one right, contrasting with members of the Imperial court on the left. For the painting commemorating the occasion, the emperor insisted that David depict the moment when, having already crowned himself which create more tension between state and church Napoleon placed a wreath upon his wife’s head, further underscoring his authority even more (Galitz, 2004). This focus on Josephine’s crowing, some historians believe, was also away to highlight the future of Napoleonic Empire. This was the woman after all, who would (theoretically) bear Napoleon’s heir. To that end, David painted the 41 year old Empress to appear much younger than she does in a far more sensitive, intimate pencil sketch. When a visitor to his studio noted that David had made Josephine look in the final painted version-where she loses the double chin from the tender drawing-the painter retorted: â€Å"Eh bien, allez le lul dirre! (Yeah? Go tell that to her that) (Anonymous, 2011). Others in attendance of the festivities and the painting was, besides Napoleon and his wife Josephine and Pope Pius VII others were Joseph and Louis Bonaparte, Napoleon’s ministers, the retinues of the emperor and empress, and a representative group of clergy, as well as David himself, seated among the rows of spectators in the balconies. Despite the artist’s apparent fidelity to historical fact studies show that David made adjustments to his drawing at Napoleons request. An example, he had David paint the pope’s hand in a blessing position, and his mother to be painted in the center background when in fact she was not in company (Kleiner, 2006). Although David had to incorporate numerous figures in lavish pageantry in his painting, he retained the structured composition central to the Neo-classical style of painting. Like his Oath of the Horatii, David presented the action as if it were on theater stage, which in this instance it is literally the case, even if the stage Percier and Fontaine constructed was inside a church. In addition, as he did in his arrangements of men and women in the Oath of Horatii. David conceptually divided the painting to reveal polarizers (he divided them into sections. ) The pope, prelates, and priests representing the Catholic Church appear on the right, contrasting with members of Napoleon’s Imperial court on the left. The relationship between church and state was one of this period’s most contentious issues. Napoleon’s decision to crown himself, rather than to allow the people to perform the coronation, as was traditional, reflected Napoleon’s concern about the power relationship between church and state. For the painting commemorating the occasion, the emperor insisted that Napoleon places a crown on his wife’s head, further underscoring his authority. Thus the painting represents a visual document in the tradition of history. It is also a more complex statement about the changing politics in Napoleonic France (Kleiner, 2006). Artists also will use devices to help in the development of a painting. Some use dramatic, mythology, poetry, and situations for ideas. When painting, no one model (figure) is dominate. They will even hire models to pose for them; it may take hours maybe even days of sitting in the same place in the same pose before the artist is finished. They will make their own props; by sewing clothing or hats to make a scene complete. David having had experience with the military and now working with Napoleon had the tools and experience for his first place painting the Oath of Horatii which brought him much fame and fortune (Haggo, 2010). David’s painting of the Oath of Horatti was completed in 1784. David embodies the neo-classical style in this painting as well as the Coronation of Napoleon. The Oath of Horatti illustrates the event written in the Livy’s history of Rome. This painting was an instant success and was proclaimed â€Å"the importance of reason and the intellect over and above feeling and sentiment, and it defended the ideals of male and self- sacrifice in the interest of one’s country† (Tate, B. 2011). In the painting of the Oath of Horatti, we look upon a scene in ancient Rome, In a Roman families’ dispute. David presents the sons individuals by stressing differences in facial features and uniforms. But the threat to their country demands the suppression of individually. To underline the son’s solidarity, David gives them almost identical poses. We come to the house of Horatti, with three brothers are standing together hulled in a group silent and calm (neoclassic) muscular, and toned, and instructed with the belief that State First, the three brothers arms stretched out and fingers are just millimeters way from the blades that are held out by their father to ready for war, they are about to fight the Curiatii Family to decide war between the nations (Haggo, 2010). The bearded father stands in the middle in a red cloak, legs flexed to keep his balance while holding the massively sharp swords, facing his three sons. He stands with authority and pride. Then our eyes naturally move to the next focal point, which being the next large group of huge swords that the Horatius Father holds in his expansive arms. Horatti address his sons independently stressing their facial features and uniforms that each wore. But a threat to their country demands the suppression of individually to underline the son’s solidarity. David gives them almost the same position and one brothers hand on the others waist (Kleiner, F. 2006). In the front to the left of the painting is a groups of women huddled together these women are dressed in silken garments seemly melting into tender expressions. Their despair is partly due to the fact that they may lose one or all their men in battle. One of the Horatti men was married to a Curiatii women sitting on the bench, a sister was engaged to the Curiatii man. Then in the back in the dark a woman is sitting in the dark and tries to hide a child’s face from what would be happening with just one word. The woman behind in the corner with the young child is said to be the mother to the three men, and the grandmother to whom she holds a small child in a protective manner, suggesting fright of the present surroundings. Unlike Horatti who is willing to sacrifice his family in exchange for state (Haggo, 2010). There was scarcely a young painter of the following generation who was not influenced by David’s style, a style which had within it such diverse aspects as classicism, realism, and romanticism, and humanism among his foremost pupils, each of whom developed various different facets of his style, was Antoine Jean, Baron Gros, Pierre Narcisse Guerin, Francois Gerard, Girodet de Roucy-Trioson, and perhaps most important, Jean-Auguste-Dominique. In portraiture, the carefully molded and polished surfaces of works by Gerard, Gros, and Girodet-all students of David reflect the legacy of their master. In his 1823 portrait of Madame Reizet, Girodet, whose portraits were in great demand, convincingly renders the varying textures of fur, velvet, lace, and flesh, creating a smooth surface with no visible brushwork. Yet another Davidian, Ingres, who was briefly in David’s studio in the late 1790’s, would transform his master’s neoclassical portrait model in the nineteenth century. While the precise draftsmanship of his portrait drawings attests to his training under David, the stylized contours and anatomical distortions characteristic of his painted portraits subvert David’s Model. In his pair of portraits of the LeBlanc’s, Ingres flattens forms and elongates limbs; such stylized abstractions counter the almost hyperrealism of such fabrics as the cashmere shawl and tulle sleeves. He creates a similar dialogue in his portrait of the princess de Broglie of 1853 the virtuoso rendering of the multiple folds of her silk skirt, the tufted damask chair, and the marabou feathers of her hair ornament counters the mannered elongation of her arms, her seemly boneless fingers, and her idealized face (Galitz, 2004). By the 1820’s the new romantic style, with its free handling of paint and expanded repertoire of subjects, offered an alternative to Davidian neoclassicism. David himself has been exiled to Belgium in 1816, where he died in 1825, and his studio was run by his loyal pupil Gros until his own death in 1835. In pursing the stylistic alternative that Romanticism offered, French, artist looked beyond their borders, emulating British prototypes, particularly in landscape and portraiture. In addition, the boundaries between Neoclassicism and Romanticism blurred, as evidence in the works of many of David pupils. By 1840, then, the emergence of an artist such as Theodore Chasse Riau, whose hybrid style fuses Davidian classicism-which he learned in Ingres’ studio-with the Romantic painterliness and exotic subjects of Eugene Delacroix, captures the contradictory stylistic impulses of his generation (Galitz, 2004). With Bonaparte’s defeat at waterloo and the subsequent restorations of the Bourbons, aid tried to retreat into quiet seclusion, but his earlier politician affiliation and more particularly, his actions during the heat of the Revolution were not calculated to warm his relations with the new rulers. He was declared persona non grata and fled. After short time he settled in Brussels, where he continued to paint until his death on Dec. 29, 1825. His family’s urgent request that his ashes returned to France was denied. To the drawings, fans of all things shinny will enjoy the display of regalia, swords, and scepters used in the actual ceremony. Most of these the heavily symbolic objects were supposed to have belonged to the emperor Charlemagne himself. This was another politically expedient, if not entirely accurate link to the past. The whole event with its carefully elaborated references to both past and to the future-took five hours and demanded several costume changes by the Emperor. The white satin tunic that Napoleon wore while the pope anointed his head and hands in oil (the part of the ceremony to which Le Sacre actually refers) is here, but the Imperial robes and gold Laurel wreath depicted in the painting were intentionally destroyed in1819. Only one leaf from the original crown remains, encased like a saint’s relic. In 1819, the cult of personality that Napoleon had masterfully created was too dangerous for his Bourbon successors to have his holy relics lying around. But 200 years later, we can marvel as its creation from safer – and enormously edifying distance (Anonymous, 2011). As we come to the end of our journey looking into some of the works of Jacques-Louis David, we find that he painted, and sketched over hundreds canvas. The two masterpieces that that are here in these few pages were those painted under royal patronage and for his country. Even though it would be two years before the revolution, his painting Oath of the Horatti became semiofficial voice of the French Revolution because the painting shows country before family. The voices of France say Napoleon â€Å"He is a symbol of France and the origin of our law†. His reign did not last, but not without many men who lost their lives. David, as a craftsman of his trade he used different devices and techniques to accomplish his works. David went on to be a phoenix-like recovery and become Napoleons image maker. David painted both painting with state before family, he became something even with the mistakes he made in 1794, and Jacques-Louis David barely escapes death, due to his connections in the revolutionary war. He stood trial and went to prison and almost lost his mind. After his release he had to work hard to reconstitute his career. That is exactly what he did, and he will be forever History for his fine works of Art.

Pakistan Case Study Research Paper Essay Example for Free

Pakistan Case Study Research Paper Essay The subordination of women is a prevalent issue in many middle-eastern cultures today. The absence of women in the labor force, community and decision making positions in these middle eastern societies is a detrimental drag on their economic and environmental welfare. Longstanding beliefs and traditions in the muslim culture are geared toward oppression of women and minimal civil rights. Such traditions have held these countries back from keeping up with progressive countries around the globe. Saima Muhammad, a young woman featured in Half the Sky lives in the outskirts of Lahore, Pakistan, a country which epitomizes this previously mentioned gender disparity. Gender disparity was a formidable obstacle for Saima in her goal to pay off her husband’s three thousand dollar debt. When Saima would simply take the public bus to a local marketplace in order to sell goods for her family, she was scorned by her neighbors as a loose woman. Loose women contradicted these middle-eastern values, also making life much harder for them. Saima’s house was falling apart to the point where she was forced to send her daughter to her aunt’s house just for safety. Amidst these changes, Saima was constantly beaten by her husband out of pure frustration. Following the birth of Saima’s second girl, Saima’s mother-in-law suggested her husband find somebody else to marry because she wasn’t going to have a boy. These are just a few examples of the environment that Pakistani women, or women in the muslim culture are forced to live in. Widespread poverty in Pakistan was a driving factor in Saima’s financial inability to maintain her house. Such a debt left by her husband was more of a hardship in these impoverished countries than anywhere else. This is because the means of acquiring goods to start a business are scarce due to minimal economic activity. This economic activity being primarily dominated by men is also considerably unfavorable to women, this is to be examined later on. One obvious result of widespread poverty is a drought of capital. Lack of capital was one of the most detrimental characteristics of her impoverished country. With entrepreneurial spirits, Saima needed financing if she was going to support her family. the Kashf foundation made this possible by lending Saima small amounts of money at a time. Demand for saima’s bracelets were exceeding supply. Following her entrepreneurial successes, she was met with respect from friends and family. Saima’s story is unfortunately a rare one. With gender disparity existing in a structural and foundational form, most women of Pakistan and other middle-eastern countries don’t get the opportunity to work outside of their house. Exploitation of women in Pakistan often occurs in many different forms through human rights, education, labor and many other life necessities. Due to longstanding beliefs in this culture, women are responsible for strictly household maintenance. When women are working actual jobs within agriculture or other fields, they are often exploited. Female has always been accompanying male participation within the rural agriculture sector, strictly short-term work available at the time of implant and yield of crops. In Pakistan’s case, women in rural areas are primarily unpaid workers. Women now participate in the political sector but are restricted from any high authority positions in politics due to their low literacy rate which is a result of their subordination. (ESWP) The exploitation of women for free labor, in addition to the restriction of any access to high positions or the decision-making positions is an example of gender disparity in the labor force. The dominance of men in all decision-making positions includes the allocation of natural resources. Women have shown through their agricultural work that they are capable of caring for crops and the environment in a sustainable fashion but they aren’t given the opportunity. The methods of which the men of pakistan have decided are appropriate for their country include overgrazing. With a cow population that is higher than that of its people, resources are diminished through this exploitation. When there is drought along with over-exploitation, it results in poverty. Poverty in turn leads to overexploitation which worsens the problem of desertification, It is a vicious cycle. (Voice of America News) This environmental exploitation is arguably a result of the dominance of men throughout decision-making positions, and the lack of interactive opportunities given to women. Women’s roles in the awareness and education of environmental dangers throughout Pakistan are rare. This is partially a result of an enormous lack of women’s education investments. Increasing women in the workforce is a challenge as well as an opportunity for Pakistan to develop as a country. Clearly Pakistan’s low rate of female literacy is an obstacle to increasing female workforce participation. As education levels rise, labor force participation must also rise for Pakistan to capture fully its return on investment in girls education. (Coleman Pg.1) How can a Pakistani Woman teach her country about their environment, when their country doesn’t teach them how to read? Lack of women’s education throughout these cultures is detrimental to the future of their own economy and environment. With limited opportunities for women, it becomes difficult to enlighten your community about the environment when they won’t listen to you. Opportunities have recently arisen for women in Pakistan in terms of work. These opportunities are aimed to give women in Pakistan a voice, literally. The report is aimed at creating awareness among media managers and working journalists about the importance of women’s role in the media and radio stations in Pakistan essentially giving women a voice which could be seen as a big step for their country.(BBC) This recent opportunity for women could be the next step towards voicing their opinion about environmental matters and having a role in the decisions of society. The environmental health of Pakistan is among the worst in the entire world as a result of ignorant methods of waste disposal and poor allocation of resources. The exploitation of resources has led to deforestation, desertification, and drought. The careless disposal of waste resulted in air pollution, gas emissions, toxic fertilizers, and borderline poisonous water. Pakistans environment is in ruins. The mayor of Karachi, Pakistans largest city, recently announced the citys water and sewer system on the brink of collapse. Air pollution here as well as in other Pakistani cities is estimated to be 20 times higher than World Health Organization standards consider to be average. The countrys percentage of forested land is among the lowest in the world, and the rate at which it is disappearing among the highest. (Kambler Pg.1) The men in control of environmental operations, operate quite unfavorably towards women. The health of women and children are neglected in most development programs involving the widespread distribution of pesticides or fertilizers. Users are not alerted about the mandatory safety precautions, there is now enough evidence to show that peasant and other poor women share the experience of living in an ever degrading environment. (RCOWE) women naturally possess a more caring and conservative nature of work and it’s shown through their duty in agriculture. The Sindh Rural Women’s Uplift Group helped Pakistani women by allowing ten to fifteen on the farm at a time, under the guidance of female farm supervisors. Paying them the same wages as men and giving them the same responsibilities as men, there was an opportunity for comparison. The women’s agricultural output was greater than that of men’s, women also had an advantage in Mowing, Grasses for mulch, collecting farm leaves etc. Essentially, the policy instrument of which is being implemented in this situation can be seen as charity or gender equality. Charity is what the Sindh Rural Women’s Uplift Group is doing by giving these women an opportunity to be involved . Gender Equality is shown in the allocation of resources towards women for once instead of being put under the control of Pakistani men. The policy instrument of gender equality could be implemented towards economic development whether they sound related or not. In pakistan’s case, gender equality would result in an efficient allocation of resources through the implementation of females in authoritative environmental positions. The allocation of resources is better left in the hands of women for the good of the economy. Gender equity can be a determinant of just distribution of resources and income by allowing the female population of pakistan to rise to autonomy level, for once in history evenly distributing resources and income among women and men. An ecologically sustainable scale of the economy would come in time with the progression of women’s authoritative roles in not only agricultural or environmentally based occupancies, but half of Pakistan’s economy. Works Cited Council on Foreign Relations. (n.d.). Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from http://www.cfr.org/asia/gender-disparities-economic-growth-islamization-pakistan/p7217 Full Text Electronic Journal List. (2012, November 11). Full Text Electronic Journal List. Retrieved from http://db6fj4sr6x.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004 Kambler, M. (2001, November 27). Pakistans Environmental Nightmare. Page 1. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.villagevoice.com/2001-11-27/news/pakistan-s-environmental-nightmare/ M. (2012). Employment situation of women in Pakistan. ProQuest. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/821115923 anhwar, F. (1998, June 15). WOMEN AND ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN PAKISTAN. World Conference on Horticultural Research. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.agrsci.unibo.it/wchr/wc5/panhwar.html 2 The regional conference on women and environment. (n.d.). Embracing the Earth. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0173E/x0173e03.htm V. (2006, July 31). Pakistan Combats Growing Environmental Menace. ProQuest. Retrieved November 11, 2012, from http://search.proquest.com/docview/190519623

New Media Technologies Adoption Challenges Information Technology Essay

New Media Technologies Adoption Challenges Information Technology Essay Latest advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) have continued to be a major factor that is catapulting modern society to a high technology one. With cutting edge and far-reaching developments in science and technology in the late twentieth century, Ipad, ipods, new video games, cellular phones, electronic banking, and satellite television are just a few of the ICT innovations that have taken our modern life by storm. The Information and Communication Technologies in this study is operationalised to mean the new media technologies, including satellites, telephony, the Internet, the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM), other components of computer- assisted reporting and multimedia systems. These are new improved technological facilities that facilitate the creation, storage, management and dissemination of information by electronic means. No doubt, this wave of new media technologies within the fabric of todays globalised village has continued to pressure everyone to adopt ICTs as the whole world is being shrunk into one small entity and computing, telecommunications, broadcast and print media continue to converge on common digital-based techniques. Since the great inroad of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) into the global scene at the dawn of the 21st century, significant changes have been recorded in the way man does things. In virtually every profession, the traces of the ICTs are clear, bringing radical changes and improvement. Specifically, media practice the world over has witnessed a great change; and traditional journalism has been replaced with hi-tech journalism (Obe 2008). The use of the facilities of the New Information and Communication Technologies has given birth to the components of Computer-Assisted Reporting (CAR) which are commercial online databases, CD-ROM, Electronic Bulletin Boards (BBS), Electronic morgue, in-house topical databases, electronic public records and the Internet (Davenport et al, 1996). Besides, the use of ICTs facilities to disseminate news and information at jet speed, as in Electronic News Gathering (ENG) and Satellite News Gathering (SNG), have really taken journalism practice by storm. Evidences suggest that in no distant time, virtually every practice of the media will be carried out with the use of ICTs. Very soon, if not now, media practitioners will have no other option than to search the web, use e-mail attachments, navigate newsgroup, setting up list servers, downloading of web files and analysis of databases and so on. With these new communication technologies, interpersonal communication has been greatly improved upon with facilities like fax machines, communication satellites, e-mails, personal digital assistants, cellular phones and the Internet. These days, everybody is within the reach of everybody else. The emergence of the computer and its interlinked network the Internet, has ushered in a new opportunity for the ICTs-induced communication. The real motive behind the communication is to create a virtual global village where information flow cannot be disrupted. When ICTs are fully adopted and used, the socio-economic and developmental lives of the people will be greatly enhanced. The aim of this paper is to track the adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM Most developing nations of the world are confronted with socio-economic problems ranging from poverty to corruption with no solution in sight. The assumption is that one of the safest routes to escape from the problem is for most developing nations of the world to adopt and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). That is why most developing nations are trying to subscribe to the modern day developmental magic with a view to transforming their societies for good. The argument as to whether Africa can actually utilize ICTs for her development in the face of the prevailing circumstances is gaining robust dimension. In their UNESCO-sponsored pilot study on adoption of ICTs in Africa and Asia-Pacific, Obijiofor et al submit: In Africa, ignorance is far more major obstacles and those aware, mostly the educated and literate people in the private sector, say as much as they appreciate the need and importance of ICTs, the economic situation in their countries and general poverty make it difficult for people who need these ICTs to acquire them. In Ghana, for example, the per capital income is US$400 and the average cost of a computer (plus modem and telephone line etc) is US$1500. Also in Nigeria, to acquire a computer/modem, ISP subscription and telephone line would require the total annual income of a graduate. Considering the above statement by Obijiofor et al, there is arguably a concern over the general poverty mentality on the part of media professionals which could tend to make them see acquisition of computers as luxury and as status symbols or statement of ones hierarchy in society, as such, consider purchasing ICTs as purchasing a diamond or gold. For instance, a longitudinal study aimed at tracking the adoption of computer-based information sources by Nigerian newspapers conducted in 2004 reveals that there is a zero or near-zero use of most of the components of computer-assisted reporting (CAR). For example, no Nigerian newspaper is currently using electronic morgue and electronic public records. There is also very little use of CD-ROMs and commercial online databases (Okoye, 2004). This however calls for a serious concern on whether the journalists can appreciably use ICTs to really deliver developmental and investigative journalism required to sanitise the society. Hence, the st udy sought to address this concern by examining how media professionals use ICTs to deliver their task. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The specific objectives of the study are: To track the level of adoption of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria To determine specific ICTs tools that is in use among Nigerian media professionals. To determine the challenges surrounding the adoption and use of ICTs by Nigerian media professionals. SCOPE OF STUDY The study narrows down to media professionals working with selected media organizations in Lagos, Nigeria as respondents. The study location is adopted because there is a high concentration of media professionals and their organizations in Lagos, the nerve centre of the Nigerian Press. Besides, Lagos is today regarded as the city with the most developed, vibrant and dynamic media industry in Africa (BBC poll). The media professionals include staff of major ICTs-driven print media (Newspapers and magazines) organizations that are registered by Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the broadcast media outfits licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The media professionals in each of the media organisations are the reporters at all levels (including freelancers), editors, newscasters, studio engineers and prepress staff. The respondents were limited to these categories because those are the people believed to be leading in media technology in Nigeria media industry. RESEARCH HYPOTHESES Two research hypotheses were raised for this research. Research Hypothesis 1 H1: There is an inverse relationship between the cost of acquisition of ICTs and adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria. Research Hypothesis 2 H1: Use of specific communication strategies is dependent on the income level of media professionals in Nigeria. Brief Review of Literature Previous studies on the rate of adoption and use of communication technologies in Africa had been slow and gradual and couldnt match up with the sporadic rate of adoption of ICTs which was unprecedented in world history. For instance, it took radio thirty-eight years; television took thirteen years, while cable took ten years to hit the mass medium status, whereas it took the Internet only six years to reach the fifty million users mark (Kaye and Medoff, 2001). In Nigeria, it did not take up to three years for the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) to hit appreciable number of adopters and users. The universal adoption of Internet is revealed through universal access data in various countries in the region. Topping the list of countries with high internet access are Korea 56% and Singapore (44%). In the median section are Malaysia with 14% and Brunei Darussalam (11%). Further down the line are Philippines (6%), Thailand (4%), and Indonesia (1%). Countries like Cambodia and Myanmar are at the bottom of the heap with less than 1% Internet diffusion. Among countries in the Caucuses and Central Asia, the internet is primarily accessible in the largest urban centres and technical services and support are often slow and expensive (Asian Womens Resource Exchange 2001: 36). Theoretical Orientations A concept that was employed in this study is Technological Determinism which assumes that changes in communication technology inevitably produce profound changes in both culture and social order. The concept holds further that technology inevitably causes specific changes in how people think, in how society is structured, and in forms of culture that are created. Marshall McLuhan who is a chief proponent of this concept staunchly believes that all social, political, economic and cultural change is inevitably based on the development and diffusion of technology. These and many other theories related to the work shall be fully explored in the main report. The concept of critical mass theory as it applies to the adoption of new communication technologies is desirable and would be used. The term comes from physics, where critical mass refers to the minimum amount of material needed to trigger and sustain a radioactive chain reaction. The term has been loosely applied to communication and refers to the minimum number of people needed as adopters before a new communication technology can have a permanent place in the society (Kaye and Medoff, 2001). Williams, Strover and Grant (1994) corroborate: An interesting aspect of the critical mass perspective is that widespread use appears to have a snowball effect. Once a perceived critical mass is using the technology, those without it are strongly motivated to adopt it. The reasoning here is that despite the drawbacks, such as cost or difficulty in using the technology, people (and institutions) are pressured to adopt the technology because failure to do so may exclude them from existing communication networks (p34). Before any medium can be considered a mass medium, a critical mass of adopters must be reached. Generally, critical mass is achieved when about 16 percent of the entire population has adopted an innovation, although in the case of mass media, fifty million users seem to be the milestone (Markus,1990; Neufeld, 1997 cited in Kaye and Medoff, 2001). Researches have shown that the rate of radio adoption crawled along for thirty-eight years before hitting the magic fifty million users; television took thirteen years, while cable took ten years to hit this mass medium status. In less than six years of its existence as a consumer medium, Internet has reached the fifty million users mark. Between 1995 and 1997, the estimated number of US online users ranged from 51 million to about 58 million. (About One in Four Adults, 1996; American Internet User Survey, 1997; CommerceNet and Nielsen Research, 1995; GVUs seventh www user survey, 1997; Hoffman, Kalsbeek, and Novak, 1996a; McGarvey, 1996; MIDS, 1995; OReiley Survey Sets, 1995; Taylor, 1997). In 1998 and 1999, between 57 million and 64 million people in the United States used the Internet (Decotis, 1999; Relevant Knowledge Rank the Sites, 1998). In 1999, Jupiter Communications claimed that in the United States alone, there were as many as 90 million Internet users (Guglielmo, 1999). The Computer Industry Almanac claims that the use has topped 100 million people 40 percent of the population (US tops, 1999). More alarming is the Data monitors claim that by year 2003 about 545 million Internet users will be around the world (Data monitor: 545 users, 1999). The BBC has greatly adopted the new media technology in its operations. Its new media division, the BBC online, has become one of the UKs most popular website, with over 190 million page impression requests per month. Besides, it has also introduced the BBCi meaning, the BBC interactive that takes in computers and interactive digital television across Sky, ITV Digital and the cable companies. CNN and other leading broadcast stations in the world are following. Various arguments have been advanced for and against the adoption of ICTs. Stevenson, Burkett and Myint (1993) argue that the new communication and information technologies can strengthen the centralized, industrial, command economy or decentralize empowerment for finding creative solutions to local and global problems through new social technologies. Other pro ICTs scholars point out that new technologies lead to speedier, more accurate, and improved outcomes that increase our capabilities and make us more efficacious (Dickson, 1974; Florman, 1981) In terms of the Internet, we are able to communicate far more effectively, with more people and in more ways, than before (Rowland, 1997). The advancement in the production and availability of sexual material can be viewed as a function of technological advancement (Durkin Bryant, 1995; Lane, 2000). It is arguable that all media technologies, from print to the Internet, have been used for sexual purposes (Noonan, 1998). In their argument against ICTs, Inayatullah insists that ICT causes further cultural impoverishment by continuing the one-way communication between North and South and much more that ICTs create information based economy and not a communicative society (Inayatullah, 1999). Lerner and Schramm (1976) throw more weight: Throughout the less developed regions, people have been led to want more than they can get. This can be attributed in part to the spread of the mass media, which inevitably show and tell people about the good things of life that are available elsewhereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦As people in the poor countries were being shown and told about goodies available in developed countries, they were also being taught about their own inferiorityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦at least in terms of wealth and well-being. Recognition of the disparities between the rich and poor countries produced among some a sense of aggressiveness. Both apathy and aggression usually are counter-productive to genuine development efforts (Lerner and Schramm, 1976:341-342) METHOD OF RESEARCH This study employed survey research method. This involves design of questionnaires which were administered to the respondents. Pertinent questions that bother on the adoption and usage of ICT constitute the bulk of the questionnaire design. The methodological procedure established includes the study population, sample size, the sampling procedures, the research instruments, the data collection exercise, problems of data collection, data preparation and entry as well as the analytical techniques adopted. STUDY POPULATION The study population comprises media professionals working with selected media organizations in Lagos. The media professionals are mostly journalists believed to be using ICTs to enhance their work. The media professionals fielded questions on their adoption and usage of ICTs tools. The media professionals include staff of major ICTs-driven print media (Newspapers and magazines) organizations that are registered by Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and the broadcast media recognized and licensed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). The media professionals in each of the media organisations are the reporters at all levels (including freelancers), editors, newscasters, studio engineers and prepress staff. The respondents were limited to these categories because those are the people who use ICTs facilities in the media industry. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE The simple random sampling technique was used to select the required media organisations for the study. Within the selected media organizations, the simple random sampling technique was equally used to select respondents within the media organizations under study. This was desirable as it rules out bias and subjectivity in the choice of respondents. STUDY SAMPLE As at the time of conducting this study, 47 print media organisations were registered by Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) and out of the 47, only 18 Lagos-based print media houses weer still in circulation. Out of the 18 functioning, six print media organisations were selected for this study. The selected six media houses consist of four newspapers and two magazines (for the print media). Out of the existing broadcast stations licensed by NBC, four were selected which consist of two television stations and two radio stations. This made the total number of media organizations studied to be ten in number. The print media organizations selected are: Punch Nigeria Limited (publisher of the Punch Titles); Leaders and Company Limited. (Publisher of ThisDay Titles); The Sun Publishing Limited (Publisher of The Sun Newspaper); Financial Standard newspaper; Independent Communications Network Limited (Publisher of TheNEWS magazine and Newswactch Communication Limited (Publisher of Newswatch magazine). In the broadcast media, the four media stations selected are African Independent Television, Lagos (AIT) and Nigerian Television Authority, Lagos (NTA Channel 10) (Television) and Raypower 100.5 FM, Lagos and FRCN, Lagos (Radio Nigeria). SAMPLE SIZE Among the ten media organizations selected for this study, 200 communication professionals were chosen as respondents. The 200 consists of twenty respondents from each of the ten media organisations. Some of the media organizations studied do not have up to two hundred journalists, except for NTA and FRCN which are government owned. Nevertheless, it was estimated that 20 of the existing number of journalists in each of the organizations should be representative enough for generalization to be drawn. RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The main instrument for this research is the questionnaire. The questionnaires were designed using both the open-ended and closed-ended approaches. The first section of the two questionnaire schedules contained questions on respondents background, socio-economic and other demographic characteristics. These include questions on respondents sex, age, marital status, monthly income, educational attainment of respondents. The second section of the questionnaire dealt with information on adoption and use of ICTs. Respondents were asked to state their area of media practice and name of their media organizations and the department of the media organization in which they work. Specific questions about the time of their adoption of ICTs and that of their media organizations were raised. The questionnaire equally sought to know what specific ICTs tools are commonly or easily in use by the media professionals. The second section also probed into the adoption of the components of computer-assisted reporting. It used likert-like scale to really ascertain the degree of their adoption and use. The section of the questionnaire did not stop there, it tested the adoption of database journalism as well as the practice of computer-assisted investigative reporting. The questionnaire also probed into the economic aspect of ICTs, where questions that link cost and other economic considerations to the use and adoption were raised. VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS As a way of validating the instruments used for this research, face validity check was carried out by two senior university academics. Besides, a pilot study was conducted by the researcher in 2007. The pilot study aimed at tracking the adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria. The study was a follow up to an initial study conducted by Okoye (2004) at the University of Lagos. The success of the pilot study is an indication that the research instrument was tested with positive results. Problems Encountered A study of this magnitude cannot be completed without challenges, especially during data collection. The first problem was created by the corporate affairs manager of Daar Communications Plc, owner of AIT/Raypower who ordered the security operatives to usher the researcher out of the premises when the researcher had started administering the questionnaire copies to AIT staff before realizing that such must first pass through the corporate affairs manager for scrutiny. The managers seemingly rude approach at correcting visitors annoyed the researcher which led to minor altercations. This was later settled, but the researcher had to drop copies of the questionnaire to come back for it three days later, thereby making the wait-and-get approach unworkable in AIT. One major problem is the lackadaisical attitudes of media professionals towards academic research. Most of them claimed they were very busy to attend to us while others complained that the items on the questionnaire design are too many to answer. Some of them would ask us to wait till he finishes his report which could take an hour or two. There were instances of refusals, especially when the receptionist had to confirm the willingness of the respondents. The brown envelope mentality of the press was equally expressed here, although with few journalists when they openly requested for gratification or bottle of coke before filling the copies of questionnaire. Since this was anticipated by the researcher during the training, the field assistants were asked to use their initiatives and parley the respondents by creating much needed rapport. This eventually yielded positive efforts. Another major problem encountered is that few of the respondents, especially the senior staff had the propensity to lie about their adoption and use of ICTs for one major reason: they want to impress the researcher that their organization is standard and ICT-compliant, so in cases where they have not adopted a particular component of ICTs, they tend to say they have. The researcher and field assistants overcame this problem by demanding to see and probably take a photo shot of such facilities for the archive. For instance, in Punch, the Chief Librarian claimed they have adopted electronic morgue but when the researcher requested to see it and take a photo shot, she mellowed down and said their electronic morgue is still under construction. Data Preparation and Data Entry Having returned the survey data from the field, the data were carefully edited by the researcher himself to ensure completeness, legibility, clarity and consistency. After these internal checks, a total of 172 copies of the questionnaire were adjudged usable for analysis out of the 181 that were completed and returned. After this, data were entered and the statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for programming and analysis after the data entry. The SPSS and data entry were done by a database administrator with the assistance of the researcher. Discussions of Findings The data elicited from media professionals show that there are more male media professionals than their female folks as respondents in the research work and that majority of the respondents are young persons who are within the age range of 30-49 years. Besides, there is preponderance for married persons. Majority of the respondents have first degree/higher diploma as highest academic qualifications. The monthly salary of most of the media professionals falls between the range of N10,000 and N39,999. This shows most media professionals in Nigeria earn below N40,000. Most media organizations in Nigeria adopted the tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their operations between 1999 2000 and 2001-2005. This period coincided with the time Punch newspaper house sacked all its photographers and abolished the use of film development process in the production of photographs. Instead, they adopted the use of digital camera which no longer requires the use of tedious traditional dark room film development processes. Of all the tools of ICTs available to media professionals, the Internet was mostly in use. In other words, the respondents use Internet more than any other tools. This confirms the findings of the pilot study conducted to validate the questionnaire for this study which revealed that out of the tools of ICTs, the Internet has the highest adopters. The respondents are however, divided about the description of their current state of adoption and use of ICTs. While some indicated that the current state of adoption and use among them is high, another good numbers do not share the high belief but rather describe the adoption and use as moderate. From the data gathered, the greatest challenge militating against the use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria is the cost of acquiring the facilities. This was followed by lack of base infrastructure like electricity. Only very few attributed why they do not use ICTs to unfavourable government policies. More importantly, majority of the respondents hold that the cost of acquiring ICTs tools is high. Although, respondents gave different opinions on cost of ICTs , but what remains clear is that there is a preponderance for respondents who see the cost of acquiring ICTs as being on the high side. Another important finding is that the income level of the respondent is a barrier to their acquisition of ICTs, The data had earlier established the fact that a greater portion of the respondents earn between N10,000 and N39,999 monthly. However, the bulk of the respondents opined that the benefits inherent in the use of ICTs are enormous. The data reveal that very appreciable number of the respondents are quite aware of Electronic Newsgathering and Satellite newsgathering (ENG and SNG), Very few numbers of the respondents unaware of ENG and SNG. The respondents are again divided on their level of agreement of the fact that ENG and SNG are needed in every contemporary media organization. Very many of them strongly agree while only few strongly disagree. Highest percentage of the respondents equally opined that ENG and SNG are the best in performing news gathering functions. In the same vein, the respondents indicated that ENG and SNG have done the following good to media organizations: betterment of broadcast production quality; great improvement in broadcast media practice in Nigeria; attraction of more audience to media organizations; positive change in the news processing and techniques. To cap it all, most of the respondents indicated that the benefits derived from ENG and SNG outweighs the challenges therein. Summary of findings and Conclusion Most media organizations in Nigeria adopted the tools of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in their operations at the dawn of the millennium and of all the tools of ICTs available to media professionals, the Internet was mostly in use. Data showed that the monthly salary of most of the media professionals falls between the range of N10,000 and N39,999. This means that most media professionals in Nigeria earn less than N40,000; the average income is N25,000 ( £130). The media professionals were mostly reporters, newscasters and prepress staff, a handful were editors and top management staff. The greatest challenge against the use of ICTs by media professionals in Nigeria is the cost of acquiring the facilities. This is compounded by lack of base infrastructure like electricity. Only very few attributed why they do not use ICTs to unfavourable government policies. More importantly, majority of the respondents held that the cost of acquiring ICTs tools is high. This study concludes that the adoption of ICTs by Nigerian media professionals is relatively low, though its use is noticeable but relatively insufficient. It is low and insufficient because there are prevailing circumstances militating against the adoption and use of ICTs by media professionals. One of the most fundamental challenges that media professionals are being faced with is the cost and affordability of ICTs tools. The research is of a strong conclusion that the income level of the media professionals could not match the cost of acquisition of ICTs. This means that what the media professionals earn as income cannot enable them to afford buying ICTs tools without sweat. In contemporary Nigeria, to buy a digital camera, computer laptop, with modem and payment for Internet subscriptions costs around two hundred and fifty thousand naira ( £1000) depending on the sophistication and configuration of the ICTs tools. With the average monthly income of media professionals put at Tw enty five thousand naira ( £120) monthly and three hundred thousand naira ( £1200) annually, one could infer that it takes close to the total annual income of media professionals in Nigeria to buy a digital camera, computer laptop, with modem and payment for annual Internet subscriptions. This research is in agreement with a UNESCO-sponsored research on impact of ICTs on Socio-economic development of Africa and Asia Pacific where it was found out that it takes the total annual income of a graduate in Ghana, to be a computer-assisted journalist (Obijiofor et al 1999). The case among freelance journalists who do not receive specific salary and live on brown envelope is even worst as they survive on gratification offered by newsmakers. The implication of this is that journalists who should be maximizing the benefits inherent in ICTs do not see computers as useful compared with vehicle or calculator. In other words, these journalists see computers as luxury tools that could only be acquired when one is economically comfortable. To them, it is a question of scale of preference: if you have to feed and if you have to think of having a computer laptop, you will want to feed first, because if you dont feed, you are not likely to survive. Another challenge to the use of ICTs is the non-availabilty of Infrastructural support and one of the infrastructural facilities that constitute a barrier is inadequate supply of electricity/power. In Nigeria, the power generating authorities have been changing their names from NEPA to PHCN. When the name was NEPA, Nigerians, out of frustration gave their own coinage of NEPA as Never Expect Power Always as against the official name of National Electric Power Authority. As it is, most telecommunications base stations run on generators because electricity is a very scarce commodity in Nigeria. This hampers smooth telecommunication networks. Most places in Lagos do not have electricity for a week or more, and when there is, the supply comes in an interrupted way. This makes one to be switching from NEPA to generator which resultantly could damage the computer system and hampers the server and Internet network connections. Supporting this position of electricity challenge are Baffour Kojo, Asiedu and Lu, Song Feng (2003) in their work published in the Pakistan Journal of Information and Technology and titled Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Internet as a Tool in the Developing World, Challenges and the Way Forward submit: The main problem with an e-mail system for most of the developing world (and much of Africa) is the unreliability of electricity and telephone lines, which are often out of order for days on end. Even when they are workin

Revenge and Hatred in Sylvia Plaths Daddy Essay -- Sylvia Plath Daddy

Revenge and Hatred in Plath's Daddy The power of Plath's Daddy to threaten, shock and move the reader remains undiminished, years after it was written. To the unsuspecting reader, the experience of first reading "Daddy" is a confusion of discomfort, excitement and guilty pleasure, for the pleasures of revenge are said to be sweet, and this is a revenge poem of the first rank. Revenge upon whom? Father? Perhaps, more likely, upon her husband. And her aim was true, for if anything Plath wrote damaged Ted Hughes for posterity, "Daddy" is it. From this poem, we gather our indelible impressions of Hughes as a brute, a wife beater, a vampire, even an implied racist and murderer (if we extend the Hitler metaphor to its fullest implications) . . . on and on. The controversial Holocaust imagery can be directly linked to the period in which the poem was written. In 1961, the entire world was riveted by the Jerusalem trial of Nazi SS Lieutenant Colonel Adolph Eichmann (who was executed in 1962, a few months before "Daddy" was written). This was the first televised trial in history, an...

Essay --

Executive Summary Before adopting the euro as the official currency in 2001, Greece was one the stable European economies. The early stages of the currency transition worked very well for Greece. However, the state later fell into financial crisis, which has not only affected Greece’s government, but also the entire European countries and their trading partners, such as the United States. Therefore, the Greece financial crisis has become a global concern with the United States Congress, making it a continuous concern brought about by trading partnership, United Banks exposure, and the involvement of the International Monetary Fund institutions. The Greece financial crisis could have been controlled, had it not been for the malicious acts by countries such as Germany and France, which were already using more than the limit at that time. Several nations have both supported and opposed the financial support towards responding to the Greece financial crisis. Nevertheless, it is clear that withdrawi ng from the Eurozone or defaulting the debt would have had many devastating effects on the Greece market investors, the European Union, the European Central Bank, and the European trading partners. The Greek Prime Minister Papandreou has been under great pressure from the opposition, as his parliament passed the austerity measures, which have contradicted his campaign manifesto. However, the search for a lasting solution to help Greece regain its economic stability have continuously formed debate agenda in different political and economic platforms in European and global forums 1- Introduction The Eurozone is facing a serious severing debt crisis. Several member states of the European community have high, potentially unsustainable levels of... ...ded with the correct measures. The debt continued to pile to amounts that Greece could no longer afford to repay on its own. Several response strategies have been employed to help reestablish the Greece economic conditions to levels before the crises. However, these efforts have only achieved helping the Greece government to avoid the default. These response strategies include Fiscal Consolidation and Economic Reforms in Greece. Banks also aided Greece in getting out of the crises. The European Union Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund gave loans to Greece market investors. The Federal Reserve (Fed) also supported the response to the crisis through the establishment of temporary reciprocal currency arrangements referred to as swap lines with several central banks in the Eurozone in a bid to increase the liquidity of the dollar in the global economy. â€Æ'

Free Essays - A Psychological Analysis of Hawthornes Young Goodman Brown :: Young Goodman Brown YGB

My first thought when I read the story is that there's a psychological aspect to this. This aspect comes to life when Brown begins to accept the reality that he seems to repress. Which reality is this? As imperfect humans, we've occasionally used poor judgment on issues in our everyday lives, but what is most important is how we deal with these experiences that will become forever frozen in our minds. I feel that this is the major cause of anguish for Brown. When you look at his society and the beliefs of the townspeople, one can understand how Brown's conscience can be very overbearing. So overbearing that it causes him to have delusions concerning the welfare of his soul. I believe it is a dream or nightmare for Brown, one that he will never be able to deal with. One wonders how Brown's townsfolk deal with their sins. Do they repress them or just keep them hid from others? Through time, Brown learns he is not alone when it comes to dealing with good and evil. Isn't he just dealing with good? Or is it the connection between good and evil that bugs him? His own wife, Faith, is bothered with symptoms: "a lone woman is troubled with such dreams." Brown mentions, "She talks of dreams, too," which is a somewhat reassuring statement for him. This seems to confirm the notion that his "journey" is a fabrication of his unconscious (a dream) and that his wife has similar problems. It's quite ironic that her name is Faith, which seems to be the very thing that she is lacking. Also, Brown is caught offguard when he sees the "journeyman" mingle with Goody Cloyse. He comments: "that old woman taught me my catechism"; such a respectable woman is talking to evil. We are also told of how Brown's family wasn't as wholesome as he believed. His grandfather lashed a Quaker woman while his father set fire to an Indian village. How did these men deal with their actions? I can remember reading about Puritans who used to whip themselves for their sins. This torment can exhaust you to a physical numbness but the sin is still in your mind. Through it all, I wonder about all the hell people were put through, during this time period, for acts that were deemed unacceptable I really like the symbolism in this story.

The Battle of Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing), was known to be a major battle in the American Civil War. It was fought on April 6 and April 7, 1862 in southwestern Tennessee, where forces under Confederate Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard staged a surprise attack against the Union Army troops of Major General Ulysses S. Grant and almost defeated his military units. The Battle of Shiloh was also regarded as the costliest military engagement within the American Civil War.The American Civil War stemmed from the convoluted issues of slavery and clashing perspectives on federalism, party politics, expansionism, sectionalism, economics and modernization during the Antebellum Period, or the turbulent years prior to the American Civil War. The Antebellum Period saw the emergence of the Industrial Revolution in America. Much of the nation's growth was brought about by technological advancements, a large British demand for cotton and a wave of Mid western settlement that created opportunities for regional specialization and trade.However, the Industrial Revolution in America also institutionalized black slavery. Large cotton plantations were labor-intensive, creating a huge need for slave workers. At the height of cotton production in the United States, about 40% of the Southern population consisted of black slaves. The percentage of slaves rose as high as 64% in South Carolina in 1720 and 55% in Mississippi in 1810 and 1860. All in all, more than 36% of all the New World slaves in 1825 were in the southern United States.These slaves were subjected to abysmal working and living conditions such as starvation, poor housing inadequate clothing allowances, overwork and physical and sexual abuse from their masters. Many Northerners, especially the leaders of the Republican Party (established in 1854), considered slavery a grave social ill and believed that owners of large Southern plantations were responsible for its promotion. Bu t Southerners were instead worried about the relative political decline of their region because the North was more progressive in terms of population and industrial output.As the North and the South's societies diverged, so did their regional identities. The North enjoyed a rapidly growing economy brought about by family farms, industry, mining, commerce and transportation, with a fast-growing urban population (fed by a high birth rate and large numbers of European immigrants) and no slavery outside the Border States. Meanwhile, the South was dominated by the settled plantation system operated through slavery, with a rapid population growth based on high birth rates and low immigration from Europe.Overall, the Northern population grew much more quickly than the Southern population, which made it increasingly difficult for the South to continue its dominance of the national government. Although slave owners controlled the region's politics and economics, two-thirds of the Southern wh ites who were elected into public office did not own slaves and were usually engaged in subsistence agriculture. Hence, it was unclear if they would support the plantation owners in perpetuating slavery.Both the North and the South were influenced by the ideas of Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. The South emphasized the states' rights (from the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions) and the right of revolution (from the Declaration of Independence), while the North emphasized Jefferson's declaration that all men are created equal. However, the coexistence of a slave-owning South with an increasingly anti-slavery North made conflict unavoidable.The Compromise of 1850 was enacted as an attempt to resolve the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Although the Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state (a state in the antebellum United States where slavery was either prohibited or eliminated over time) due to the California Gold Rush of 1849, it ruled that the status of the rest of the territories acquired from the Mexican-American War (Utah, Nevada, Texas and parts of Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona) will be determined through popular sovereignty.Hence, debates over sectionalism and the Fugitive Slave Laws (at set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of slaves who escaped from one state into another or into a public territory) became prevalent. In 1845, the Kansas-Nebraska Act dictated that each new state of the Union will decide its stance on slavery. This proved to be disastrous for Kansas, as it was home to both pro- and anti-slavery factions, with the former emerging victorious on the slavery debate.The tension between the two parties had already escalated to the point that the admission of Kansas into the Union in 1861 led to the surfacing of numerous ant i-abolitionist movements that espouse racist sentiments that are still prevalent up to this day. Abraham Lincoln, an outspoken opponent of slavery in the United States, was elected president in 1860. After he assumed the presidency, 11 Southern states seceded from the Union between late 1860 and 1861 and established a rebel government, the Confederate States of America, on February 9, 1861.On April 12, 1861, Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard opened fire upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina, marking the start of the American Civil War. However, with the loss of Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862, Johnston disengaged his demoralized Confederate forces into west Tennessee, northern Mississippi and Alabama to reorganize. As a response, Grant transported his 58,000-strong Army of West Tennessee into southwest Tennessee from March 1 to April 5, 1862. He then settled at Pittsburgh Landing and waited for Major General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio from Nashville.According t o instructions from Union Major General Henry W. Halleck, Grant and Buell’s forces will merge in a joint offensive to seize the Memphis-Charleston Railroad. It was the Confederacy’s most reliable supply route, linking the lower Mississippi Valley to cities on the Confederacy's east coast. In order to defend the Memphis-Charleston Railroad, Johnston and Beauregard transported 55,000 Confederates to Corinth as early as March 1, 1862. Corinth was the western Confederacy's most important rail junction, as it was strategically located where the Memphis-Charleston crossed the Mobile-Ohio Railroad.Realizing that Buell would soon reinforce Grant, Johnston advanced towards Pittsburg Landing on April 3, 1862 with his newly-christened Army of the Mississippi. However, rain and bad roads delayed his advance. Johnston launched a surprise attack on the Federals on the dawn of April 6, 1862. Being unfortified, the Federals were easily surrounded. By mid-morning, the Confederates mana ged to overrun one frontline Union division and capture its camp. But Johnston's brigade met stiff resistance from the Federal right, which resulted in a savage fight around Shiloh Church.Johnston's army battered the Federal right all throughout the day. Although the Federal right did not give in, numerous casualties ensued. Johnston died at mid-afternoon after he was struck down by a stray bullet while directing the action on the Confederate right. Meanwhile, Johnston's contiguous assault was mired in front of Sarah Bell's peach orchard and the dense oak thicket the Confederates labeled as the â€Å"Hornet's Nest. † For seven crucial hours, Grant's left border endured Confederate attacks before being forced to yield ground later in the afternoon.The Confederates only drove Grant towards the river, instead of away from it, despite inflicting heavy casualties and seizing ground. By dusk, the Federal survivors have established a solid front before Pittsburgh Landing and revolte d the last Confederate charge. The Union finally got the upper hand on April 7, 1862. The night before, General Buell's Federal Army of the Ohio reached Pittsburgh Landing and positioned itself on the Union left. The Federal Army of Ohio joined forces with a reserve division from Grant's army, led by Major General Lewis Wallace. This merger added over 22,500 reinforcements into the Union lines.Despite being caught unprepared, Beauregard still managed to rally 30,000 of his badly-disorganized Confederates and stage an obstinate defense. Although Beauregard's troops temporarily halted the determined Union advance, strength in numbers provided Grant with a decisive advantage. As waves of fresh Federal troops swept forward by mid-afternoon, the exhausted Confederates were pressed back to Shiloh Church. Realizing the peril his army was facing, Beauregard ordered a retreat. The greatly disorganized Confederates withdrew to their fortified stronghold at Corinth. But the Federals still succ eeded in conquering Corinth.The Battle of Shiloh led to the defeat of the Confederate Army and the failure of Johnston's plans to prevent the joining of the two Union armies in Tennessee. Union casualties were estimated to have reached 13,047 (1,754 killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 missing); Grant's army alone led to 1,513 killed, 6,601 wounded, and 2,830 missing or captured soldiers. On the Confederates' side, casualties reached up to 10,699 (1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing or captured). This total of 23,746 fatalities was estimated to be greater than those of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Mexican-American War combined.The Battle of Shiloh was very crucial to the American Civil War in the sense that it secured the Unionists' position on the Western front. After winning the Battle of Shiloh, Grant was able to continue his drive towards Corinth and take control of the Memphis-Charleston Railroad. The Union takeover of the Memphis-Charleston Railroad p aved the way for their victory in the American Civil War. However, this victory came after three more years of bloodshed and eight larger and bloodier battles. The Battle of Shiloh also influenced the Civil War and the way it was fought in the years to come.It imparted that weighing the accomplishments of the victors equally with the lost opportunities of the defeated was an important part of any criteria for military decisiveness. Simply put, what makes a battle decisive is not only what historically happened, but also what became historically unfeasible as a result of the event. For instance, the Battle of Antietam (fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign) was significant not only because it led to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.Rather, it was also because Confederate General Robert E. Lee's forces did not remain outside Virginia long enough to affect the elections in the North or to relieve the draining ma npower reserves there. Furthermore, the outcome of the 1862 Maryland Campaign failed to elicit support for an independent Southern Confederacy from politically-conscious countries such as Britain and France. In the succeeding campaigns, the Unionist soldiers applied a tactic that was very useful in the Battle of Shiloh – the seizure of locations that are indispensable to the Confederates.In the Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 – July 4, 1863), Grant and his Army of the Tennessee attacked souther forces at Jackson, where Vicksburg's reinforcements were located. As a result, the Confederacy gave the Union total control of the Mississippi River, except for the western states (Arkansas, Los Angeles and Texas). In the Atlanta Campaign (May 1864 – September 1864), Grant and Major General William Tecumseh Sherman defeated the Confederates by destroying their strategic, economic, and psychological capacity for warfare.They then ordered the Union troops to burn crops, kill liv estock, consume supplies, and destroy civilian infrastructure along their path. The Atlanta Campaign eventually led to the hastening of the end of the American Civil War in 1864. What is saddening about the Battle of Shiloh is that it is a war that could have been prevented in the first place. In fact, the entire American Civil War was a war that could have been prevented in the first place. But then, they both happened due to oppression, or the philosophy that a person can subjugate another because of race, creed or social status.Out of profit and a misplaced sense of racial supremacy, the whites enslaved the blacks. The end result was the American Civil War, a hostility that claimed millions of innocent lives at its wake. But what is more saddening is that people never seem to learn the mistakes of the past. Nowadays, despite advances in education and reason, discrimination and racism are still very rampant. People are still persecuted due to their beliefs, the color of their skin or their religion. Those who promote the status quo are called â€Å"freedom fighters,† while those who deviate from it are labeled â€Å"terrorists.†But they just end up waging senseless wars that kill millions of innocent people and turn the oppressed of today into the tyrants of tomorrow. Indeed, those who do not study the past are bound to repeat it.Works Citedâ€Å"Slavery. † 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica's Guide to Black History. 20 December 2007 .â€Å"The Battle of Shiloh, 1862. † 2004. EyeWitness to History. 20 December 2007 .† The Battle of Shiloh Official Records and Battle Description. 20 December 2003 . â€Å"Timeline of the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing).† The Battle of Shiloh Official Records and Battle Description. 20 December 2003 .Beason, W. Keith. â€Å"Understanding Shiloh: The Death Knell of the Confederacy (Part 3). † 1999. KeithStuff Homepage. 20 December 2007 .