Effects of Acid Rain on Ecosystems essays

Effects of Acid Rain on Ecosystems essays In the past century, one of the greatest threats to North America's aquatic ecosystem has been the widespread acidification of hundreds of thousands of waterways. Acid rain has effected plant and animal life within aquatic ecosystems, as well as microbiologic activity by affecting the rates of decomposition and the accumulation of organic matter. What causes this poisonous rain, and what can be done to improve North America's water quality and prevent future catastrophes? To answer these questions, we must first examine the cause and formation of acid rain, as well as understand ways to decrease or prevent its formation. Acid deposition, more commonly known as acid rain, occurs when emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react in the atmosphere with water, oxygen, and oxidants to form acidic compounds. This mixture forms a mild solution of sulfuric and nitric acid which then falls to the earth in either wet (rain, snow, sleet or fog) or dry (gas and particles) form. Approximately one-half of the atmosphere's acidity falls back to earth through dry deposition in the form of particles and gases, and are then spread hundreds of miles by winds where they settle on surfaces of buildings, cars, homes, and trees. When acid rain falls, the dry deposited gases and particles are sometimes washed from buildings, trees and other surfaces making the runoff water combine with the acid rain more acidic than the falling acid rain alone. This new combination is referred to as acid deposition. Strong prevailing winds and public sewer systems into lakes and streams then transport the runoff water. Although some natural sources such as volcanic eruptions, fire and lightening contribute to the emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere, more than 90% is the result of human activities such as coal burning, smelting of metals such as zinc, nickel and copper, and the burning of oil, coal and gas in power plants...

The French-Indian War in America

The French-Indian War in America The French-Indian War was fought between Britain and  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Ã¢â‚¬â€¹France, along with their respective colonists and allied Indian groups, for control of land in North America. Occurring from 1754 to 1763, it helped trigger – and then formed part of ​the Seven Years War. It has also been called the fourth French-Indian war, because of three other early struggles involving Britain, France, and Indians. Historian Fred Anderson has called it the â€Å"most important event in eighteenth-century North America†. (Anderson, ​​The Crucible of War, p. xv).​ Note Recent histories, such as Anderson and Marston, still refer to the native peoples as ‘Indians’ and this article has followed suit. No disrespect is intended. Origins The age of European overseas conquest had left Britain and France with ​territory in North America. Britain had the ‘Thirteen Colonies’, plus Nova Scotia, while France ruled a vast area named ‘New France’. Both had frontiers which pushed against each other. There had been several wars between the two empires in the years preceding the French-Indian war – King William’s War of 1689–97, Queen Anne’s War of 1702-13 and  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹King George’s War of 1744 – 48, all American aspects of European wars – and tensions remained. By 1754 Britain controlled nearly one and a half million colonists, France around only 75,000 and expansion was pushing the two closer together, increasing the stress. The essential argument behind the war was which nation would dominate the area? In the 1750s tensions rose, especially in the Ohio River Valley and Nova Scotia. In the latter, where both sides claimed large areas, the French had built what the British considered illegal forts and had worked to incite French-speaking colonists to insurrection against their British rulers. The Ohio River Valley The Ohio River Valley was considered a rich source for the colonists and strategically vital because the French needed it for effective communications between the two halves of their American empire. As Iroquois influence in the region declined, Britain tried to use it for trade, but France began building forts and evicting the British. In 1754 Britain decided to build a fort at the forks of the river Ohio, and they sent a 23-year-old Lieutenant Colonel of the Virginian militia with a force to protect it. He was George Washington. French forces seized the fort before Washington arrived, but he carried on, ambushing a French detachment, killing French Ensign Jumonville. After trying to fortify and receiving limited reinforcements, Washington was defeated by a French and Indian attack led by Jumonville’s brother and had to retreat out of the valley. Britain responded to this failure by sending regular troops to the thirteen colonies to supplement their own forces and, while a formal declaration didn’t happen until 1756, war had begun. British Reverses, British Victory Fighting took place around the Ohio River Valley and Pennsylvania, around New York and Lakes George and Champlain, and in Canada around Nova Scotia, Quebec and Cape Breton. (Marston, The French Indian War, p. 27). Both sides used regular troops from Europe, colonial forces, and Indians. Britain initially fared badly, despite having many more colonists on the ground. French forces showed a much better understanding of the type of warfare North America required, where the heavily forested regions favored irregular/light troops, although French commander Montcalm was skeptical of non-European methods, but used them out of necessity. Britain adapted as the war progressed, lessons from early defeats leading to reforms. Britain was helped by the leadership of William Pitt, who further prioritized the war in America when France began to focus resources on war in Europe, trying for targets in the Old World to use as bargaining chips in the New. Pitt also gave some autonomy back to the colonists and began to treat them on an equal footing, which increased their co-operation. The British could marshal superior resources against a France wracked with financial problems, and the British navy mounted successful blockades and, after the Battle of Quiberon Bay on November 20th, 1759, shattered France’s ability to operate in the Atlantic. Growing British success and a handful of canny negotiators, who managed to deal with the Indians on a neutral footing despite the prejudices of the British command, lead to Indians siding with the British. Victories were won, including the Battle of the Plains of Abraham where the commanders of both sides – the British Wolfe and the French Montcalm – were killed, and France defeated. The Treaty of Paris The French Indian War effectively ended with the surrender of Montreal in 1760, but warfare elsewhere in the world prevented a peace treaty being signed until 1763. This was the Treaty of Paris between Britain, France, and Spain. France handed over all its North American territory east of the Mississippi, including the Ohio River Valley, and Canada. Meanwhile, France also had to give the Louisiana territory and New Orleans to Spain, who gave Britain Florida, in return for getting Havana back. There was opposition to this treaty in Britain, with groups wanting the West Indies sugar trade from France rather than Canada. Meanwhile, Indian anger over British actions in post-war America led to an uprising called Pontiac’s Rebellion. Consequences Britain, by any count, won the French-Indian war. But in doing so it had altered and further pressurized its relationship with its colonists, with tensions arising from the numbers of troops Britain had tried to call upon during the war, as well as the reimbursement of war costs and the way Britain handled the whole affair. In addition, Britain had incurred greater yearly expenditure on garrisoning an enlarged area, and it tried to recoup some of these debts by greater taxes on the colonists. Within twelve years the Anglo-Colonist relationship had collapsed to the point where the colonists rebelled and, aided by a France eager to upset its great rival once more, fought the American War of Independence. The colonists, in particular, had gained great experience of fighting in America.

Foundations of finance Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Foundations of finance - Math Problem Example The above table shows the steps used to generate the best alternative. Six 200 sq. meter area alternatives were chosen. Next the required â€Å"borders† (2 meters, 1.5 meters, 1 meter) were respectively deducted from each side of the alternatives. Next, the perimeter of the lawn perimeter was generated. The alternative with the biggest perimeter is the correct answer. As expected, alternative B generated the biggest lawn perimeter fence. Alternative B shows the correct length, â€Å"L†, should be 100 meters. Likewise, alternative B shows the correct width,† W†, should be 2 meters. The above tables 2 and 3 show the computations for the cable lengths needed for both the 6 meter tower and the 15 meter tower. To reduce total cost, the above table 3 shows that as the junction box should be placed in the middle of the two towers (ten meters width for each of the two towers), total cost =  £ 15.60 million. When the junction box is moved 1 meter to the left (Alternative C), the total cost increases to  £19.36 million. When the junction box is moved 1 meter to the right (Alternative B), the total cost increases to  £19.38 million. Alternative E and F shows as width of either tower is pegged at 1 meter, the total cost reaches more than  £ 21.00 million. Based on the above table on the total cost of the different alternatives, alternative A generated the minimum (lowest) total cost,  £16.50 million. To reiterate, the junction box should be strategically placed in the middle of the two towers in order to generate the minimum (lowest) total cost. The steps taken arrive at the above answer is shown in the excel file. The math formula, C2 = A2 + B2, was used to arrive at the required cable length of each tower (Wheater, 2012). The â€Å"C† variable represents the cable length of each cable. The â€Å"A† variable represents each tower’s height. The â€Å"B† variable represents each tower’s width. After getting the cable length, the cost of

Individual summary report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Individual summary report - Essay Example The research also revealed that there was a robust demand for sweets in the university, chocolates being the most preferred item, followed by hard-boiled sweets. More imporatantly, majority of the respondents said that they would visit a sweet shop weekly, followed by x% who said they would visit daily! The average consumer expenditure on sweets was determined to be between one and five pounds. Therefore, the market seems to be buoyant and MM would like to cash in on the prevailing demand and the consumer’s willingness to spend. A set of well-defined objectives is paramount for any organistion, irrespective of the scale of operations.Oraganizational and individual objectives must be integrated, and endeavored to be accomplished within a finite time. Clearly spelled objectives, enable devising of appropriate means for the realization of those ends. Thus, strategies and policies can be formulated accordingly. Offering quality products and good customer service are the inherent goals of any organization. It ensures sustainability for a business, and helps in winning consumer’s confidence and brand loyalty. Enhancement of individual experience is also stated, thereby integrating personal and organizational goals. Improving profitability is the most important aspect of any corporate activity. It is an economic index to measure success. However here it is also proposed that how the profit shall be used, ie; charity.Keeping in mind the above objectives, the mission statement was made: â€Å"We endeavor to offer best possible range of confectionary to our consumers conducive to the creation of lasting memories and magic moments.† An analysis of this statement reveals the overriding importance given to consumers and giving them not only quality products but memorable experience as well. Key competitors for Magic Moments are the Students Shop on

Starbucks Coffee Essay Example for Free

Starbucks Coffee Essay Starbucks has more than 17,000 stores in over the world ( following the information in 2010) including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, and over 700 in the United Kingdom Follow the the information of BusinessWeek. com. in 2010. The Brand Value of Starbucks is 3339 million U. S Dollar. Rank 97 in over the world http://www. interbrand. com/en/best-global-brands/best-global-brands-2008/best-global-brands-2010. aspx Employees 137,000 (2010) Website Starbucks. com Currently Starbucks is present in more than 55 countries. But until 2011, Starbucks still have not come to VN. Our group think that Starbucks should come to VN through franchising method Why choose Viet Nam 1/ A suitable model of development: In recent years, Vietnam has favorable conditions for business activity * GDP growth averaging over 8% * The economic situation is stable * The purchasing power is rated highly in the world VietNam became officially the 150th member of WTO. It opens up a lot of opportunities for not only VN’s entrepreneurs but also other countries’ ones 2/ Policies from VN government. VN government encourage investments VN Laws allowed foreign enterprise operate comfortably in VN which it didn’t occur in the past 3/ Others Vietnam population is 82 million, among whom 2/3 are young people In Viet Nam, people spend 70% their income for consuming, especially in food ( Follow the data from The General Statistics Office) Why choose franchising What is franchising? - Starbucks chooses Franchising as its international entry strategy. A franchise is a business arrangement where the developer/owner (the franchiser) of a business concept grants others (the franchisees) the licensed right to own and operate a businesses based on the franchisers business concept, using its trademark. For complete franchising model, the franchisor share and transfer of at least four types of products include: * Systems ( Strategies, model, management process, marketing support †¦ ) * Trade or business secrets * Right to operate under the Starbucks brand * Products and services Franchising in Viet Nam With Vietnam’s entry into the WTO, it is expected that franchising activity in the country will increase markedly over the next few years. There are presently a handful of major franchises operating in the country, including Kentucky Fried Chicken, Lotteria, Jollibee, Pho 24, Gloria Jean’s Coffees, Buntamita and Cartridge World. In the past, Vietnamese law did not provide a clear basis for franchising arrangements, groundwork for franchising to develop in Vietnam. Reasons which Starbucks should choose franchisng In fact, with the economy situation in VN, franchising brings a lot of advantages to both franchisor and franchisees Franchisor * Franchising reduces the risk of investment into a new market for Starbucks. * Starbucks don’t need to have a huge capital. Capital is always one of the biggest problems of any company. But with franchising system, the franchisors don’t need to worry about it because franchisees have to use the capital of them to expand business, not franchiser. * Franchising help Starbucks access the new market quickly and make rapid expansion over broad area. In Vietnam market, especially coffee market, you have to find the way to develop and grow continuously to compete with others. No development means that going back. It’s lucky that franchising system can help you expand, develop your business quickly. * Promote the brand promotion strongly. With the expansion quickly of franchising system, it also helps Starbucks to advertise Starbucks’s image widely when hundreds of Starbucks’s stores appear everywhere. Beside that, the advertising cost will be shared for all stores, so Starbucks don’t have to spend much money to launch their huge advertising campaigns * Maximize income. In franchising system, franchisor can earn a lot of money from franchisees; from copyright cost, the cost for the right to operate under Starbucks’s brand, the profit of franchisees to raw materials which franchisees have to buy directly from Starbucks * Most importantly, franchisees are motivated operators to do a good job. Franchisees have to use the capital of them to operate business. So, it will be a great motivation for them to work well Franchisees * Franchising primary benefit is risk minimization. Starting a new business is risky. Most studies show that over 90 percent fail within three years. The primary reason that the failure rate is so high is because the owners have to do many things. They have to have a plan to introduce their new products or service, beside that they have to do operating plan, marketing plan †¦ to achieve their goal. All of them contain many risks. And the retailer often don’t have a lot of experiences when they start a new business, they have to spend a lot of time to learn characteristic elements of each industry. Franchising reduces risk for these things. When you join a franchising system, franchisee will be trained, taught from experiences to successful secrets which franchisor has to spend a lot of time to know. * Another benefits of franchising is the franchisee don’t have to go through beginning step when you have to do a lot of things, and spend a lot of money to survive, to build an image in consumer mind. * The next benefit, the well known brand names of franchisers are another reason of franchising to franchisees. Nowadays, there’re a lot of same products in different brands in market. Therefore, building a famous brand which everyone know and trust is a key to survive and success with any business. With franchising system, franchisee is allowed to succeed a brand which have a stable position in market, it is really a big advantage for retailer * Maximize manpower: the franchisee only have to focus on business operations. The rest like strategies, marketing process†¦ will be built and transferred to franchisee by franchisor * Easy to borrow money from banks: Because franchise system was proven to be the safest business system. Therefore, it is easier for franchisees to ask money from banks Objectives Short-term: Assert brand of Starbucks coffee in HCM city area. Try to lead Starbucks to become a familiar brand in customer mind Long-term: Create a unique coffee culture of Starbucks in VN. Lead Starbuck brand become a standard for coffee in Vietnam Target market and location Target market Based on our franchising strategy, our objectives in long term and short term, Starbucks will target consumers between the age of 18-50, with a specific concentration on officers and businessman. Demographic Age: 18-50. Gender: Male and Female Income: Average to high income Occupation: Businessman, officers, students, intelligentsia Psychographic: Life Style: For those who have deep experience about coffee People who want to choose for themselves some products that have brand name that show their levels. For people who value quality and service above money People who want to enjoy Starbucks coffee’s culture Location Follow our objectives in short term and long term. Starbucks’s stores have to occur densely in Ho Chi Minh City, especially in: Main streets and main districts where have high living. Plazas and buildings Big universities, especially international universities through Starbucks’s stalls (Most of them serve take-away coffee only) Analyze Environment in VietNam Social and Cultural Environment General View On the basis of study and observation of the rapid development of Vietnamese societal life in recent decades, this text tries to suggest a global view on the cultural environment in Vietnam – the country which is still poor, but which nonetheless has got rather high indexes of life expectancy and education. Cultural environment in Vietnam nowadays is fine, fair, and healthy. However, the cultural environment in Vietnam is now unprecedentedly rich, complicated, and fraught with plenty of implicit problems. Vietnam has three main advantages: Firstly, a suitable model of development; secondly, political and social stability; and thirdly, a nationwide strong will for progress, with 82 million inhabitants, among whom 2/3 are young people. 3. Business Environment in Vietnam a. Macro Environment in Vietnam Economic Factors. Ho Chi Minh City’s per capita income has doubled the figure of the whole country; a recent survey by the HCMC Institute for Development Studies has showed. The first-ever survey on the income and living standards of HCMC households was conducted in 12 districts, with 720 questionnaires released. The survey revealed Ho Chi Minh City’s per capita income has increased over the past years to US$2,500, compared to the whole country’s $1,200. However, the average income of the rich is seven times higher than that of the poor in Ho Chi Minh City, according to the survey. HCMC is now home to 80,000 poor households, a Wednesday conference co-hosted by the HCMC Institute for Development Studies and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) was told. A poor household is defined as having the per capita income of VND12 million ($650). Only 24. 3 percent of Ho Chi Minh City residents feel â€Å"satisfied† with their income, according to the survey. Ho Chi Minh City dwellers spend half of their income on food, and 20 percent of their income on education, the survey says. There an average 4. 6 members in a household in HCMC; the number of people of working age makes up around 70 percent of the total population, the survey says. Vietnam defines a person of working age as aged between 18 and 60 for males and 18 to 55 for females. The southern hub’s unemployment rate is 4. 5 percent, according to the survey. It also says only around half of HCMC households have been living in the city for less than 25 years; meanwhile, the number of migrants within the past 10 years is increasing.

Arguing for Authenticity: A Comparison and Contrast of Two American Mod

â€Å"[F]uture commentators on American poetry and political issues will not be able to ignore [historical context of the author]† argues Barry Ahearn, author of the article â€Å"Poetry: 1900 to the 1940’s,† which discusses the importance of the â€Å"authentic voice of the region† in poetry that gives each work legitimacy (Ahearn 373). The author uses criticism regarding various authors and responds to each with a different argument, such as the mentioning of alcohol in female poetry versus using the â€Å"cultural clichà © †¦ of Appalachian moonshine† in female poetry (Ahearn 372-373). Ahearn discusses writers such as: Sterling A. Brown, Langston Hughes, H.D. (Hilda Doolittle), Robert Frost, Robinson Jeffers, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen, John Crowe Ransom, Charles Rezikoff, Muriel Rukeyser, Gertrude Stine, Wallace Stevens, Sara Teasdale, William Carlos Williams, and Louis Zukofksy. The purpose of mentio ning so many others, so claims Ahearn, is to gather a survey of works between 1900 and the 1940’s. The author talks more about some writers more than others; for instance, Ahearn points out William Carlos Williams and Wallace Stevens differing qualities to the point of describing them as so opposite that they are, in fact, almost dependent on each other. For the purposes of this paper, however, I will be examining how the author discusses Langston Hughes and Robert Frost; both of which he describes in great detail. The discussion of these writers creates a wide range of Modernist authors that influenced each other and the people who read their works. The author claims that it is the authenticity of the writer that creates a more accurate work of literature, and the life experiences of these authors, that adds to th... ...thesis statement. The individual sections of this article were well written and each seemed to have its own thesis statement. Each section could be expanded and turned into a very interesting paper on its own. Though it seems that the author wanted to talk about too many authors at one time, creating an article that gives many ideas, but not as much connectivity or flow. Works Cited Barry Ahearn. "Poetry: 1900 to the 1940s." American Literary Scholarship 2008 (2008): 365 386. Project MUSE. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. . Works Cited Barry Ahearn. "Poetry: 1900 to the 1940s." American Literary Scholarship 2008 (2008): 365 386. Project MUSE. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. .

Keeping Appointments Essay

Doctor’s appointments are missed each and every day by people who either forget to show up or choose not to call and cancel their appointment. This article will look at some of the reasons why it is important to try to and keep doctor’s appointment and what to do if you must cancel. At my previous doctor’s surgery (office) in the UK, the surgery would regularly post the latest numbers of people who had not shown up for their doctor’s appointments. I was amazed at the staggering amount of people who failed to show up for their appointments. It was not just a few individuals who did not show up. A large number of people regularly missed their scheduled doctor’s appointments. If you are a receptionist it can be very frustrating to work under these conditions. You will have to call patients when it is their turn to see the doctor and be left standing when no one appears. Then you must inform the doctor that the patient did not show up. One of the reasons why it is best to try and keep your doctor’s appointment is because it is the polite thing to do. Would you arrange a job interview with a company you were serious about working for but then fail to show up? It is highly unlikely. Yet, members of the medical profession routinely have to deal with patients who do not show up for their appointments. It is also important to keep your appointment if you will be receiving the results of blood tests, and other test results that will determine your medical condition. This in turn will help doctors see what the next step should be in your courseof treatment. If you miss the appointment, you are not only wasting your doctor’s time. You could also place your health at risk if you do not start your treatment as quickly as possible. Sometimes, it is just not possible to keep a doctor’s appointment. It may clash with a business meeting at work or your child’s emergency visit to the dentist’s. If you can, try to inform your doctor’s surgery of the cancellation 24 hours in advance. But if that is not possible, let them know as soon as you can. That way, your appointment slot can be given to someone else who may be in need of a last minute appointment. Keep in mind that breaking an appointment without first calling to cancel can prevent someone else from being seen and it wastes the time of doctors and the rest of the team.

Muriel Spark’s “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie”

The film and novel pairing I have chosen is Muriel Spark's ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'. I have chosen this because of the large number of references made in the text that can be compared to occurrences that were happening in that period, and that have happened in Sparks own life. Spark was born in Edinburgh in 1918. She was educated at ‘James Gillespie's Girls School', which was in Edinburgh also. After finishing school, she left Edinburgh and moved to Africa where she met her husband. Spark then moved back to England, after divorcing her husband Oswald. Shortly after the war she became involved in the literary circles of London. She was then kicked out because she was described as â€Å"too adventurous†. She was interested in poetry and in 1952 her first book, a book of poetry, was published. Then, in 1961, ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' was published. In the novel ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' the plot involves a young, slightly eccentric in her thinking, complex schoolteacher at an Edinburgh girls' school, ‘Marcia Blaine'. The text is set between the periods of World War I and World War II. Brodie's teaching methods include giving ‘her girls' self-indulgent lessons on ‘life'. These lessons involve teaching about love, art and politics. Her aim is to produce a generation of ‘Jean Brodies' who experiment with sex and society. This can be reinforced by Brodie's quotation † Give me a girl at an impressionable age and she will be mine for life.† But, as the plot thickens we see Jean Brodie becoming romantically involved with two of the male teachers. With bemused horror she finds herself fighting to keep her job, or otherwise face destruction (this can be related to Muriel Spark getting kicked out of the London Literary Circles). Brodie believes that she can always count on her ‘favourite pupils' for support, but as the girls are no longer swayed by Jean Brodie, she begins to learn about love and life herself. The reason I chose this ‘pairing' in conjunction with the question is that within this novel I can see an exceptional amount of comparisons and issues referring to the period in question outside of the book, and to occurrences within Muriel Spark's life. For example, the novel is set in the 1930's. This was a patriarchal period where men dominated. Also many men had died in the war, so there was less choice and the men were more sort after. But, it is not obvious that men dominated in this period because the text is written from a women's point of view; a spinster at that. But we can see a high interest in the infamous male ‘art teacher' who both Sandy and Brodie lust after. There were images of fascism within this period of time too, with the rise of world leaders such as Benito Mussolini. We see this in the book as it reflects post-war life and brings up political issues. It also warns about the dangers of fascism. Fascism is defined as â€Å"a tendency toward strong autocratic or dictatorial control †¦ by forcible suppression of opposition.† In the novel we see Jean Brodie almost taking on a fascistic role and fascist ideology by dictating to her girls her opinions on life and what she thinks is right and wrong. † She is the absolute creed of right and wrong † She expects them to take on board the ‘Brodie ideology'. And comparable to individuals conforming to their leader in a fascist environment, in the beginning we see the girls practising all that Brodie preaches. Also, the girls have an unquestionable loyalty to Brodie, as do individuals to their leaders in their own fascist, tyrannical societies. Within her favourite pupil sect we see her searching for her â€Å"crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½me de la crà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½me† in a way which fascist leaders searched for their strong, pure race e.g. Adolph Hitler searched for his pure Aryan supremacy, and stopped at nothing to achieve it. She aspired to be seen as a leader, and this can be backed up by the showing of the Mussolini screen showing to her pupils in the classroom. However, this only occurred in the video of ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and not the actual text in novel form. So, in relation to themes of the period, I think fascism is a very good example because we see the rise of many fascist leaders post World War I and pre World War II, which was when it was set. Also, we see Jean Brodie fall from power, like many of the fascist leaders did. This suggests that the author, Spark, is against fascism. She portrays the fascist ideology as not ending happily. It is hardly surprising that she takes this point of view because Muriel Sparks father was a Jewish engineer during World War II, when Hitler was in control, and Hitler was an anti-Semitist. Muriel Spark's resentment for fascist leaders is shown in the character of Brodie. She rises and she falls. Also in the text, we see her as having a very middle class attitude. Referring to the period in which the novel was set I can see a strong relationship between her attitude and the attitude of those within the ‘Bloomsbury Set'.The Bloomsbury Set was the name given to a literary group that made the Bloomsbury area of London their centre of activities from 1904 to World War II. If we consider the actual names firstly, we see very strong similarities to the name of ‘The Bloomsbury Set' and ‘The Brodie Set' which is our first clue. One of the main members was a woman can Virginia Stephen Woolf who was interested in defining qualities specific to the female mind, a bit like Brodie. Woolf was also interested in things of the natural world, such as rocks and plants, because of their solitude and self-sufficiency; we see that Miss Jean Brodie possesses both characteristics. They were known as a social clique. There were a few Cambridge graduates and they would assemble on a weeknight for drinks and conversation. Members were committed to a rejection of taboos of Victorianism on religious, artistic, social and sexual matters. They remained a tight knit group for many years. The group were involved in many tangled relationships within the set. By the 1920s their reputation as a cultural circle was established. Their mannerisms were parodied and ‘Bloomsbury' became a connotation for snobbish, snotty, inward-looking or narrow-minded behaviour. The group were of high popular interest amongst scholars. Like those of the Bloomsbury set, Brodie as a character has the notion that she is better than everybody else. This is typical of ‘her class'. This is typical English middle class philosophy. It seems like Spark is poking fun at this attitude. It is like Spark uses Jean Brodie as a metaphor for the English middle class society with her snobbish aestheticism and her tight knit group (her favourite pupils) as her main characteristics. Spark is poking fun at this. Also, a major contributory clue to this theory is that Spark was a secretary to a poetry society within the London Literary Circles and was kicked out for being â€Å"too adventurous†. Her view of the middle class ideology, the ‘Bloomsbury Set', and alike is expressed in her text and the views themselves act like revenge against those of that class. In relation to Spark herself we see many similarities between the novel ‘The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' and Muriel Spark's own life. Muriel Spark attended a school for girls just like the girls attending ‘Marcia Blaine School'. Spark describes her days at her school happy as do the Brodie Set, † The first years with Miss Brodie, sitting, listening to all those stories and opinions which had nothing to do with the ordinary world, had been the happiest time of her life†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pg 15) . Muriel Spark, like Brodie, had a great love for the arts. â€Å"Art and religion first; then philosophy; lastly science. That is the order of the great subjects of life, that is their order of importance.†(Pg 25) In the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Spark models Brodie on one of her ex-teachers, Miss Kay. Miss Kay loved the arts, and she too admired Mussolini and hung a picture of him on her wall. Miss Kay like Miss Brodie would describe her exotic travels to her class. Also many of the extra-curricular activities that we see Miss Brodie doing with her set were also done with Miss Kay's students and used in the book. Miss Kay took the girls to the theatre and concerts. Miss Kay, like Brodie, feared that the pupils were not receiving enough of a cultured background from their parents. Both Kay and Brodie wanted a hold over the pupils. It is interesting to see also that a ‘Miss Brodie' used to read to Spark as a young child. Another striking similarity to actual event and fictitious plot is that Spark had a young friend who died quite suddenly and tragically, much like the death of Mary in the book. Muriel Spark has successfully blended in facts from the time the novel is set and facts and experiences from her own life into a very creative and expressive novel. She is clever in the way she has made them all blend together and we get an insight into the author's own life for a change instead of just reading a straight forward novel. Through the novel we can understand her beliefs and comprehend her opinions. In answering the question ‘ how successful is the author in articulating the themes of the time into the novel?' I would say very successful. With fascism, the Bloomsbury set, and Sparks own experiences we see a vast array of political issues, questioning of society and an insight into the authors past. We could call this a political novel, but in a curious way.

Informative Essay Sample on Sartre and His Background

Informative Essay Sample on Sartre and His Background Jean Paul Sartre was born in Paris in 1905. He was the first child of a marriage between his parents of about over a year. His father, Jean-Baptiste, had died from an infection contracted while he served in the French navy when his son was still very young. Jean Paul grew up in the home of his grandfather, Karl Schweitzer along with his mother, Anne-Marie in Paris. Other circumstances, other than the death of his father also made Sartre’s childhood difficult. He was noticeably small in stature and visibly cross-eyed besides being over-intelligent and bookish. Sartre found it very hard gaining acceptance, and so he turned to writing. With the help of his grandfather’s tutoring, he wrote a book entitled Les Mots (The Words) which related the experience of himself and his mother in the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris in search of buddies to play around with. Another upsetting moment in Sartre’s life was his mother’s re-marriage to Joseph Mancy, after this event Sartre started acting up in school and became a bad behaved pupil. As Sartre grew up and went to a university, he studied at the Ecole Normale Superieure from 1924 to 1929 and became professor of philosophy at Le Havre in 1931. From 1931 to 1945 he worked as a teacher and traveled in Egypt, Greece, and Italy. In 1933-34 he received some money from the Institute Francais, and studied in Berlin the writings of German philosophers, Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. During World War II, Sartre was drafted into the French military. He was given a job in the meteorological section in charge of the management of weather balloons. He was later captured in June 1940 and imprisoned for nine months by the Germans. In 1941 he was released on the basis that the German’s did not think he was physically fir for military service. However, for a short time while he was captive, he lost his freedom, which he valued above all. He was later active in the French resistance movement. Sartre gave up teaching after the war and devoted all his time to writing and political activity. Sartre’s first novel La Nausee’ (Nausea) was published in 1938. This novel expressed under the influence of German philosopher Edmund Husserls that human life has no purpose. Sartre has always admired Husserl’s beliefs and he took ideas from his ideology of existentialism. While he was a prisoner of war, Sartre came out with the philosophical work, Being and Nothingness. He wrote that humans create their own world by rebelling against authority and by accepting personal responsibility for their actions; no higher power guides them through life. Sartres existentialism explains that in man, and in man alone, existence preceded essence, basically that man must create his own essence. Jean Paul Sartre was a French novelist, playwright, literary critic, political journalist, and an existentialist philosopher. Sartre was awarded the Noble Prize for literature in 1964, but he refused to accept the award, saying it would limit his achievements as a writer. Many events in Sartre’s life led him to become an existentialist. He believed that a man is thrown into the world, suffers and struggles there and then gradually defines himself. This is exactly what happened to him. He had a difficult life to begin with, starting with his father’s death, his mother’s remarriage, his war experience and more, yet in the end he realized that there was nothing he could do about it and he must accept everything that comes his way. Jean Paul Sartre damaged his health by smoking and drinking heavily and on April 15, 1980 he died of a smoking related complaint. More than 25,000 people lined the streets of Paris for the funeral procession on April 19, 1980. Sartres ashes were buried at the Montparnasse Cemetery.

About Florence Knoll, Architect of Corporate Interiors

About Florence Knoll, Architect of Corporate Interiors Trained in architecture, Florence Margaret Schust Knoll Bassett designed interiors that transformed corporate offices in the mid-20th century. Not merely an interior decorator, Florence Knoll reconfigured space and developed many of the iconic furnishings we see in offices today.   Early Life Florence Schust, known as Shu among her friends and family, was born on  May 24, 1917 in  Ã‚  Saginaw, Michigan. Florences older brother, Frederick John Schust (1912-1920), died when she was only three years old. Both her father, Frederick Schust (1881-1923), and her mother, Mina Matilda Haist Schust (1884-1931), also died when Florence was young [genealogy.com]. Her upbringing was entrusted to guardians. My father was Swiss and emigrated to the United States as a young man. While studying to become an engineer, he met my mother at college. Unfortunately, they both had short life spans, and I was orphaned at an early age. One of my strong memories of my father was when he showed me blueprints on his desk. They seemed enormous to a five year old, but nonetheless, I was enchanted by them. When my mother became seriously ill, she had the foresight to appoint a banker friend, Emile Tessin, as my legal guardian....[A]rrangements were made for me to go to boarding school, and I was given the opportunity to make the selection. I had heard of Kingswood, and we went to check it out....As a result my interest in design and future career began there.- FK Archives Education and Training 1932-34: Kingswood School, Cranbrook1934-1935: Cranbrook Academy of Art; studies under architect and furniture designer Eliel Saarinen, father of Eero Saarinen1935: School of Architecture, Columbia University, NYC; studies town planning1936-1937: Cranbrook Academy of Art; explores furniture-making with Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames1938-1939: Architectural Association, London; influenced by Le Corbusiers International style; left England as WWII spread1940: Moves to Cambridge, Massachusetts, and works for Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer; influenced by the Bauhaus school and Marcel Breuers steel-tubed modern furniture.1940-1941: Illinois Institute of Technology (Armour Institute), Chicago; studies under Mies van der Rohe New York City 1941-1942: Harrison and Abramovitz, NYC ...being the only female, I was assigned to do the few interiors required. That was how I met Hans Knoll who was beginning his furniture business. He needed a designer to do interiors and eventually I joined him. This was the beginning of the Planning Unit.- FK Archives The Knoll Years 1941-1942: Moonlights on special projects at Hans G. Knoll Furniture Company. Hans Knoll, the son of a German furniture-maker, came to New York in 1937 and established his own furniture company in 1938.1943: Joins Knoll Furniture Company full time1946: Establishes and becomes Director of the Knoll Planning Unit; company reorganized to become Knoll Associates, Inc.; Post-World War II building boom begins and old Cranbrook friends are enlisted to design furniture; Hans and Florence get married.1948: Mies van der Rohe gives Knoll exclusive rights to manufacture the Barcelona chair1951: H.G. Knoll International formed1955: Hans Knoll killed in automobile accident; Florence Knoll named President of company1958: Marries Harry Hood Bassett (1917-1991)1959: Resigns as President of Knoll International; remains as design consultant1964: Last major project, the New York City interiors for the CBS Headquarters designed by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961) and completed by Kevin Roche and John Dinkeloo19 65: Retires from the Knoll company; private design practice My principal work as director of the Planning Unit encompassed all visual design- furniture, textiles and graphics. My role as interior designer and space planner naturally led to furniture to meet the needs of varied projects from domestic to corporate. I thought of these designs as architectural pieces that defined the space as well as meeting the functional requirements, while designers like Eero Saarinen and Harry Bertoia created sculptural chairs.- FK Archives Major Awards 1961: AIA Gold Medal for Industrial Design, being the first woman to win the Industrial Arts Medal. Inscription begins: You have abundantly justified your training as an architect as well as the rare fortune of being a protà ©gà ©e in Eliel Saarinens family, and also a student under Mies van der Rohe.1962: International Design Award, American Institute of Interior Designers; Knolls most notable design is the elliptical table-desk, the archetypal boat-shaped conference table most of us have frequented.2002: National Medal of Arts, the highest award given to artists by the United States government Mentors Rachel de Wolfe Raseman, the art director of Kingswood and a graduate architect from Cornell University. She guided me into the world of architecture and design. I learned the basics of planning and drafting and my first project was to design a house.The Saarinens befriended me and took me under their wing. They asked my guardian for permission to accompany them to Hvitrask, their home in Finland for the summer....One summer at Hvitrask Eero decided to give me a course in architectural history. He talked and drew these sketches simultaneously on sheets of stationery beginning with Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods. He discussed each detail as the drawings appeared on the paper.Mies van der Rohe had a profound effect on my design approach and the clarification of design. Learn More: Florence Knoll The Planning Unit by John Engelen, Dedece, January 29, 2014American Women Tastemakers: Florence Knoll Bassett, Archives of American ArtMid-Century Modern StyleThe book Women Designers in the USA, 1900-2000: Diversity and Difference, ed. Pat Kirkham, Yale University Press, 2002 Knoll Websites: Knoll InternationalKnoll Home Design ShopKnoll Furniture for Kids Sources: Biographies of the Artists, Design in America: The Cranbrook Vision, 1925-1950 (Exhibition Catalogue) by New York Metropolitan Museum of Art and Detroit Institute of Arts, edited by Robert Judson Clark, Andrea P. A. Belloli, 1984, p. 270; Knoll Timeline and History at knoll.com; www.genealogy.com/users/c/h/o/Paula-L-Chodacki/ODT43-0281.html at Genealogy.com; Florence Knoll Bassett papers, 1932-2000. Box 1, Folder 1 and Box 4, Folder 10. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. [accessed March 20, 2014]

Study skills Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Study skills - Term Paper Example Mind, body and the environment plays an important role in the learning process. Apart from the facts stated above learning can be affected by the study skills like note taking, reading, comprehension, time management, preparing for and taking exams, learning styles etc. Recent brain based researches has shown that our ability to generate new brain cells accounts for the brains plasticity or its ability to continue to learn and update its database. Moreover, body and mind work together to help us pay attention, solve problems, and remember solutions (Weiss). A sound mind is important for the proper learning purpose. An agitated or restless mind cannot concentrate on studies and effective learning will never take place in such minds. For example consider a student coming from a restless family; he cannot concentrate on his studies even at schools since his bitter experiences at home will haunt him even at schools. Same way sound health or body is also important for learning. A sick person or a handicapped person may not be able to concentrate on his studies because of his bad health. Most of the times the body needs may dominate his study needs and he cannot concentrate on studies. Moreover our physical health and mental status are connected each oth er. Generally, a sound mind will rest on a sound body. Environment has an important role in memory retrieval as per the studies conducted by University of Toronto. The above study also concluded that animals absorb information about their environment and modulate their behavior accordingly (Bio-medicine) Heredity and environment are the two main parameters which affect learning. A positive environment is essential for effective learning. It is foolishness to think that effective learning may takes place even if the school is situated in a market place. Calm and quiet atmosphere and healthy atmosphere are essential for learning and that is why most of the schools and colleges are located in isolated regions away

Research and argument Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

And argument - Research Paper Example This harassment of the LGBT community extends to higher learning institutions like universities and colleges. Students belonging to this community face verbal and physical violence from fellow students thus making their academic environment horrible (Andreatta 197). The society sees this community as immoral and their security becomes an issue. LLC, living learning community, intends to support this community by introducing housing that recognizes unity among the LGBT members. It aims at bringing together this community and helps them achieve recognition from the society. It also aims at providing them with a safer environment where they can interact, share, and understand their surroundings better. LLC believes that the housing issue will succeed. They hope to make housing arrangements where students of the same identity will stay together regardless of their gender. This will only be successful if students put their efforts in implementing the idea. This housing idea has led to man y arguments for and against the emerging model of LGBT housing on U.S. campuses. There are groups supporting the idea but others who are against it. LGBT housing is a good idea because it recognizes the LGBT community. The housing idea will bring together the LGBT community and promote their self-esteem. The community members have low self-esteem because the society seems not to accept them thus humiliating them and their feelings. When they are staying together, they are able to share some challenges they face and work on the solutions to that. Sharing of their experiences in campus and the society will strengthen their togetherness and behavior. They will be able to fight for their rights in the campus and spread the same spirit to other members in the society. LGBT community is real and it is growing at a high rate in US and in the world. If the members do not raise their voices and fight for