Executive Summary for the Automated Banking System Essay

Executive Summary for the Automated Banking System - Essay Example This would result to increased transactions at a less time and avoidance of customers overcrowding in the banking hall. The management information system (MIS) of PNC if implemented according to the given attributes would solve their problem by increasing revenues, providing a reliable banking system and reducing operating expenses. It would solve real world problems because it would create convenience for their customers to transact without the need of visiting the bank. Furthermore, though all banks possess ATM services, theirs if implemented, could mean a total revolution of e-banking services. Their MIS does not exist but can be invented as they have stipulated that it is their future plans. The conclusion based on their future plans is concise and engaging. However, I think their plan is ambitious and requires mega investment. If I were an executive, I would read into their business plan because it is unique and for prosperity in business, one has to take risks. In conclusion, their executive summary is well stated and it has a new sense of adding what does not exist in the banking sector. If their MIS is well implemented, it would offer competitiveness to other banks at the same time satisfying their clients. Finally, it would give a new approach to how banking is carried

Proofread Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proofread - Essay Example The facility ensures that it preserves the resident’s dignity and respect. I had the privilege to collaborate with Wendy, who gave me a brief introduction of the facility and the rules and regulations that I had to abide to in the facility. During this time, Wendy who was the point of contact provided an updated plan which outlined the activities to be conducted. The first day’s activities included playing bingo, exercising, word games and cherry blossom sight seeing in Washington DC. Such activities helped with memory stimulation and social learning. My time at the facility was well spent through interaction with residents as we played varied games, and shared stories. Assessment As I entered the facility, I fell in love with the place. It was neat and well decorated, and there was a grand piano at the lobby. Some of the residents were sitting at the lobby reading newspapers and socializing together while others were still in the dinning room having breakfast. The smal l puppy started barking and jumping because it had seen a stranger. I observed that many of the residents were at risk of falling due to unsteady gait. Many of the residents used walkers or electronic wheelchairs. One of the residents approached me and asked if I needed any assistance. I kindly told him that I was a student from Stratford University and that I was there for clinical attachment, and I would like to see Wendy. The resident escorted me to Wendy without any hesitation. Wendy informed me of the various activities that will be taking place today such as word game, bingo, exercising and cherry blossom sightseeing in Washington D.C. These various activities helped the residents to socialize with the staff and other residents at the same time making them physically active. This is with the realization that cognitive activities help them stay physically and mentally strong. As for other residents, cognitive impairment and diminished mental status makes it difficult for some r esidents to enjoy the activities provided, thus, creating a distraction for other residents. The staff members were extremely pleasant and courteous to the residents, through interactions that were respectable and courteous. During the word game, I selected a couple of residents to spell certain English words. English being my second language was extremely challenging, but with their assistance the word game went on successfully. Some of the words spelt out were new to me as I had by no means used them before, but one of the residents educated me on the implication of the new terminology. At the end of the game, I thanked the residents and showed them how grateful I was to have the opportunity to interact with them. During the assessment, I noticed that most of the residents had memory loss making it difficult to perform daily activities. It was noted that the facility was well staffed to assist the residents that needed assistance with activities of daily living. Wendy informed me that some of the residents use the stairs to go up to their rooms. I found this idea unsafe for the residents since a majority of them have unsteady gait and balance making them prone to accidents and falls. Another potential problem observed was the risk of elopement since these residents were allowed to go and sit in the porch by themselves without any supervision. Strength The strength I observed in this community is that all residents

Accutane for Acne: An Analysis

Accutane for Acne: An Analysis Before the iron curtain fell any Information about acne was rare. But with growing advances in dermatology and medicine now understanding the cause of acne and its accurate treatment is available worldwide. Acne is one of the most common skin conditions in the world. Although it’s common but accurate information about acne can be scare. This makes it difficult to get clearer skin. Therefore the information in this document can help you understand acne and how to treat/ prevent it successfully. [1]Overview of acne: Acne, or acne vulgaris, is askinproblem that starts when oil and dead skin cells clog up your pores. Some people call it blackheads, blemishes, whiteheads, pimples, or zits. When you have just a few red spots, or pimples, you have a mild form of acne. Severe acne can mean hundreds of pimples that can cover the face, neck, chest, and back. Or it can be bigger, solid, red lumps that are painful (cysts). Acne is very common amongteens. It usually gets better after the teen years. Some women who never had acne growing up will have it as an adult, often right before their menstrual periods. How you feel about your acne may not be related to how bad it is. Some people who have severe acne are not bothered by it. Others are embarrassed or upset even though they have only a few pimples. Acne starts whenoil and dead skin cells clog the skins pores. If germs get into the pores, the result can be swelling, redness, and pus. Causes of Acne Acne can be caused or exacerbated by a number of different things, including: Changes in hormone levels (such as during puberty or menstruation) Cosmetics or hair or skin products Having a family history of acne Some medications Something rubbing on the skin (like a hat or helmet) Vigorous scrubbing of the skin Stress For most people, acne starts during the teen years. This is because hormone changes make the skin oilier afterpubertystarts. Using oil-based skin products or cosmetics can make acne worse. Use skin products that dont clog your pores. They will say noncomedogenic on the label. Acne can run in families. If one of your parents had severe acne, you are more likely to have it. Symptoms of acne : Acne commonly appears on the face and shoulders. It may also occur on the trunk, arms, legs, and buttocks. Other symptoms include: Crusting of skin bumps Cysts Papules (small red bumps) Pustules Redness around the skin eruptions Scarring of the skin Whiteheads Blackheads The good news is that there are many good treatments that can help you get acne under control. What is Accutane[2] [3]Accutane’s chemical composition resembles that of retinoic acid, a compound derived from Vitamin A. The primary application for Accutane is for nodular acne in patients that do not respond to topical applications (such as benzoyl peroxide) and standard antibiotic treatments.it is administered orally in pill form. It reduces the amount of oil released by oil glands in your skin, and helps your skin renew itself more quickly. People with severe cases of nodular acne can display red, tender and swollen bumps under the skin. These bumps can have a diameter of a quarter-inch or larger. Left untreated, these bumps can lead to permanent facial scarring and disfigurement. Accutane treats these bumps by slowing the rate of chemical production that leads to skin breakouts. It was originally recommended for people with severe acne that did not respond to other treatments,but has gained in popularity in the past 25 years and is prescribed more and more frequently for less severe acne How Accutane works Exactly how Accutane works on a cellular level is unknown but we do know that it affects all four ways that acne develops. 1. It dramatically reduces the size of the skinsoil glands(35%-58%) and even more dramatically reduces the amount of oil these glands produce (around 80%). 2. Acnebacteria(P. acnes) live in skin oil. Since oil is dramatically reduced, so is the amount of acne bacteria in the skin. 3. It slows down how fast the skin producesskin cellsinside the pore, which helps pores from becoming clogged in the first place. 4. It hasanti-inflammatoryproperties. Researchers have published several studies attempting to gauge whether people with mild to moderate acne can achieve long term remission of acne with lower dosages of Accutane. Initial data is showing that people with mild to moderate acne may be able to achieve long term remission with significantly lower dosages, and thus suffer fewer side effects, including lower incidence of scarring. Relapse rates with lower dosages do not seem to increase, leading some researchers to posit that it is not cumulative dose that brings about permanent clearing as much as it is the length of time that the oil glands are suppressed. Intermittent dosing (taking Accutane only 1 week of every month) appears to work less well, producing significantly poorer outcomes for more than half of the patients studied. Why is Accutane better Only solution for severe acne Effective than antibiotics Quick results as compared to other remedies Easier to consume and continue , just an oral pill Long term results Lesser scares left after complete course Dosage:[4] Accutane should not be consumed unless prescribed by your physician, and its dosage should be as prescribed by the physician. Please refer the table below to get a glimpse of the approximate dosage of Accutane. [5]Precautions: Before starting Accutane treatment, make sure you tell your doctor about any other medications you are taking (including prescription, over-the-counter, vitamins, herbal remedies, etc.). Do not take vitamin A supplements. Vitamin A in high doses has many of the same side effects as accutane. Taking both together may increase your chance of getting side effects. Do not receive any kind of immunization or vaccination without your doctors approval while taking accutane. Inform your health care professional if you are pregnant or may be pregnant prior to starting this treatment. Pregnancy category X (accutane may cause fetal harm when given to a pregnant woman. This drug must not be given to a pregnant woman or a woman who intends to become pregnant. If a woman becomes pregnant while taking accutane, the medication must be stopped immediately and the woman given appropriate counseling). Because of the extremely high risk that a deformed infant can result if pregnancy occurs while taking accutane in any amount even for short periods of time, for both men and women: Do not conceive a child (get pregnant) while taking accutane. Two methods of effective contraception are recommended for women of childbearing potential, unless absolute abstinence is the chosen method. Discuss with your doctor when you may safely become pregnant or conceive a child after therapy. Do not breast feed while taking this medication Side effects of Accutane: [6] Doctors prescribe Accutane when other acne treatments fail. Because serious cases of acne can be such a physical and social burden, patients may be willing to tolerate some of the common side effects that come with Accutane use, including dry skin, headaches and cold-like symptoms. A less-common side effect of the drug is pseudotumor cerebri – benign intercranial hypertension. This is a condition in which the brain acts as though there is a tumor when there is not. It can lead to blindness. Early signs of pseudotumor cerebri include headache, nausea, vomiting and visual disturbances. About half of Accutane users are women of childbearing age, making birth defects associated with Accutane use a significant concern. Unfortunately,Accutaneis linked to a series of serious side effects, including bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease, liver damage, depression, and miscarriage and birth defects if taken during pregnancy. Apart from these excessive dose of Accutane can lead to hypertension, suicidal tendencies, depression , liver damage, gastrointestinal problems , hearing impairment etc, there for as a matter of fact it is higly recommended to consume Accutane under medical supervision only. [1] American Academy of Dermatology (2007). Guidelines of care for acne vulgaris management. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 56(4): 651–663. Also available online: http://www.aad.org/education-and-quality-care/clinical-guidelines/current-and-upcoming-guidelines. [2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1349820/ [3] http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00982 [4] http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00982 [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotretinoin [6] http://www.drugwatch.com/accutane/side-effects.php The Fall Of Rome | Essay The Fall Of Rome | Essay The debate about the fall of Rome and the way it happened is a centuries-old one and its vitality has been undiminished over the years. The traditional theory has the Roman Empire being violently overturned by barbarian Germanic tribes who started invading en masse during the last years of the fourth century. That wasn’t the first time that the Empire had to deal with pressure on its borders, but this time it eventually collapsed because it had already declined as a civilization due to internal problems. The first scholar to support this line of thought was Gibbon in the late eighteenth century. His great, multi-volume, work goes by the title ‘The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire’, which speaks for itself as for its writer’s thoughts (?). He argued that the most important cause which brought about the end of the Roman Empire was the expansion and gradual predominance of Christianity. First, the new religion and the structures that came with it (such as the church and the monasteries) interfered with the distribution of wealth inside the Empire, by accumulating it in institutions that were inaccessible by the state. Second, its pacifist ideology reduced the army’s will to fight and its theology corrupted the classical ideals through the spread of superstition. Another scholar arguing along the same lines was Rostovtzeff. He states the Late Empire was in retrogradation?, a sad and decadent remnant of its former self, partly because of the increase in absolutism during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine and the emperors who succeeded them. Together with Gibbon, his arguments form the core of the ‘traditional’ theory, which puts stress especially on the issue of ‘decline’ as the main reason which made the disintegration of the empire, as a political entity, eventually inevitable. Due to the work of these two scholars, the ‘Fall of Rome’ has ended up being seen as something like the platonic idea of decline. Along with the traditional theory, we should consider the work of a more recent scholar. Following the same methodological path as Rostovtzeff, Jones credited the barbarians with the destabilization and collapse of the Roman Empire. Their invasions, he argues, should be seen as a destructive agent which placed strain on the Roman administration. At the same time, in a well-known passage, he speaks of a large part of the population that was consuming without producing anything, such as senators, soldiers and the clergy. These ‘idle mouths’, as he calls them, partly a result of barbarian pressure again, at least as far as the army was concerned, was the main reason for the economic waning of the Late Empire. Jones’ contribution was twofold. To begin with, he proposed a new chronological period, extending further than 476, the date traditionally considered as signaling the moment of death of the Roman Empire. His ending date was 602, the year of the emperor Maurice’s death as he strongly believed that the Roman Empire continued its existence, albeit geographically diminished, in the East, at least until the advent of the Slavic tribes in the Balkans at the end of the sixth century. This way, he managed to provide a connection between late- and post-Roman societies, hinting that there might have been a causal relation between the two. Secondly, he breathed new life in a period that was all but put aside by his contemporaries as of not much particular interest and after him scholars gradually started to perceive the Late Roman Empire in its own right. This was countered by ‘traditionalists’ in 2005 with the publication of a book under the title ‘The fall of Rome and the end of civilization’. In this book, the author Bryan Ward-Perkins is arguing fervently that the fall of Rome was a violent experience for the people involved, which involved much bloodshed and catastrophe. It was centered more on radical change than gradual transformation and was characterized by decline and resulted in a decline in civilized values which actually that a number of Roman cultural achievements were lost. Although this view has its merits and should not be discredited without consideration, it needs to be examined carefully because it conceals the danger of oversimplification. First, it can be argued that the author has gone too far with his emphasis on violence and catastrophe. Violence, no matter how hard on a society, is not by principle an agent of radical change which rules out any chance of transformation. Human history is full of violence and it would be surprising if the fourth and fifth centuries did not involve any at all. Despite Ward-Perkins vivid depictions, much of what was considered Roman did not disappear with the Empire. Roman qualities, such as a literate culture, can be shown to have survived as late as the seventh century, proving that the devastating barbaric invasions did not actually have such a devastating effect after all. Stemming from that, we should examine if there was a specific moment in time when Rome actually ‘fell’. If we cannot point out such an instance, then we should regard it as a more gradual process. Italy, for example, shows that society was able to maintain its order in the face of much devastation. And if, as Ward-Perkins himself admits, ‘there was no single moment, not even a single century of collapse’, then we should discard catastrophist theories as inadequate and try more. We should also keep in mind that the author comes from an archaeological milieu and, as a result, most of his proof comes from the study of material evidence. Archaeologists of the period tend to be advocates of the notion of decline more often than historians, mainly because such a decline is much more evident in the material remains of the Late Roman era. In addition to that we have to be careful with the origin the evidence. In the case of Ward-Perkins, he doesn’t hesitate to support his theory on data from Britain, but Brittania (i.e. the part of Britain which was conquered by the Romans) had never been the archetypal Roman province. So Britain is far from being the typical example of what happened after the Romans had left the island, particularly given the fact that we can find other provinces of the Roman Empire, which shared a completely different fate, such as Egypt and Syria. When talking strictly about the west, one has to be extremely cautious when trying to combin e both the archaeological data with historical sources that might give the impression of continuity. One way approaches, such as the one only just discussed, will not do. Late Antiquity With good reason one might ask what the need of such a dramatic reassertion of the traditional view on the fall of the Roman Empire. The word traditional itself implies the existence of an opposite, neoteric theory. In 1971, Peter Brown published a book which defied all the assumptions of the traditionalist school. His book ‘The world of Late Antiquity: from Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad’ argues about continuity, transformation, cultural and religious renewal. The enthusiasm that the book was met with in academic circles, especially in the United States, resulted in the banishment of terms as catastrophe, change, crisis and decline. Brown was influenced by the views of an earlier scholar, Henri-Irà ©nà ©e Marrou, who argued that late antique art had not deteriorated and that it should be looked at in its own terms. Brown was influenced by the work of Henri Pirenne. In his works the Belgian scholar supported that there was continuity to be found in terms of long-distance trade in the Mediterranean which was not affected by the barbarian invasions but collapsed with the great Arabic conquests of the seventh century. Brown placed a new stress on the period resulted in a recent rethinking of Pirenne’s views through the prism of the newly proposed notion of continuity. Finally, Brown could also be considered an influence because, as we saw earlier, he was the first to propose a causal connection between the Late Roman Empire and the post-Roman era. Thus, given the entailed predominance of continuity which was easily detected in themes such as art and religious belief, a new historical period has been founded with its own characteristics, that of Late Antiquity, in which â€Å"some of the basics of classical civilization still survived†. Its boundaries stress from the third to the eighth century, but they are still unfixed, with every writer proposing different dates, according to the issues they deal with. Brown relied heavily on the methods of historical psychology and psychoanalysis. This methodological innovation is a general trend among scholars of Late Antiquity, particularly those in the United States. They have more or less identified themselves with the kind of history that falls outside the scope of socio-economic history. For example, the history of Christianity has proven very fertile for studying Late Antiquity, especially the effects it has had on different aspects of human life, such as death, sexuality and the family. Thus, this school of thought has made astonishing contributions in such fields as gender and culture history, the history of mentalities and of popular belief. Such methods, however, often tend to function with no respect to periodization and as such they lead to fragmentation. Indeed, the work of these scholars shows more emphasis towards individuals and their perspectives than to the society they live in. As a consequence, post-modernist theories concerning source analysis have relied heavily on the works of scholars after Brown, while, in the meantime, the old philological approach has been largely abandoned. Ancient texts are dealt with not so much for their narrative value, but as agents the mentality of their authors. Of course, works exclusively focused on different authors have a lot to offer to the ongoing discussion of the period, but dogged commitment to them might create a handicap for our understanding of the period as a whole. Furthermore, partly as a response to the traditional view of catastrophe, scholars of Late Antiquity have been particularly keen on seeing continuity and transformation. But this attitude can be harmful in two ways. First, the notion of continuity seems to have an overshadowing effect on the particularity of issues in a certain period. If everything is proven to carry on from the past not changed in the least, then historical periods will automatically lose their individual tone, by which it is defined. Simultaneously, by relying to heavily historical sources (as they provide ampler evidence for continuity) we may be overturned by the findings of archaeological research (in the way Ward-Perkins was). Second, emphasis on continuity and transformation is the expulsion of their opposites from contemporary history books. Terms such as â€Å"crisis† and â€Å"decline† seem to have been anathematized in modern research and this has started to raise objections, even by scholars who are not polemicists of continuity itself. Powerful words like these falling into disuse can only be detrimental for historiography. These terms are usually avoided because of their moral implications, and it is somehow assumed that if there is decline someone needs to be charged with it. But we always have to bear in mind that history is a science and historians should concentrate purely on the facts of their research. Nevertheless, Late Antiquity’s impact shouldn’t be confined within strict scientific limits. Continuity along with transformation, apart from being objects of historiographical debate, is also too powerful of terms to be overlooked by contemporary politicians. From 1993 to 1998 a large research project, funded by the European Science Foundation (ESF), brought together scholars from across Europe. Its title was â€Å"Transformation of the Roman World† and its aim was to provide a widely accepted interpretation of the fall of Rome, along the lines of a smooth passage to what was to become today’s Europe. Two thousand years after Augustus history is being repeated: the European Union is commissioning its â€Å"poets† to create its own foundation myth. Late Antiquity is a new period that has had to carve its way bravely into powerful, deep-rooted views of modern historiography, much like the barbarians who had to carve their kingdoms fighting against the mighty Roman Empire. But unlike the former, somewhere along the way it had to make sacrifices which rendered it less effective as a means of interpretation and more limited in its scope. Also, it came to associate itself with â€Å"allies† with political agendas, who might have promoted it, but in the long term damaged somewhat its credibility in terms of objectivity. After all that, it is not surprising that Avril Cameron, a great advocate of the Brown school, herself admits â€Å"‘Late Antiquity’ is in danger of having become an exotic territory†, just before suggesting that it should be tested also in the fields of economic and administrative history. Pekepersonal thekerkerethoughts-synthesis/LA+med west Thus far, we’ve witnessed in brief a powerful debate: Ward-Perkin’s book came as a vivid reaction to a whole school of thought formed around Brown’s work, which itself was another dramatic response to an older tradition. But extremism is inherent in violent reactions, because only through opposition one side can define itself and stand out in relation to its adversaries. Naturally, the existence of opposition itself should not lead us to believe that one side is absolutely right, while the other is absolutely wrong (and in most cases they are not). Rather, it should direct us towards an evaluation of the new conclusions that emerged from the conflict and setting the problem on a new base. However, it should be noted that both books have something in common: they are heavily focused on different geographical areas, where their conclusions seem to be more frequently affirmed. This way, Brown was able to find plenty of continuity in the eastern part of the Empire, while Ward-Perkins discovered a great deal of catastrophe in its former western provinces. As Jones had underlined long before those two, historians often tend to forget that only a part of the Roman Empire actually fell to the barbarians. So, nothing would be amiss if things were so well defined, but they are not. And although it seems that Late Antiquity is better suited for early Byzantine history, there are also those medieval scholars who deem it rewarding to try their hand at the concepts that this new approach brought with it. Late Antiquity and early medieval history One of these was jean claude van dam (‘the muscles from brussels’) mouahahhahahaha Late Antiquity and the barbarians The exclusion of notions of violence and catastrophe from the debates concerning the fourth and fifth centuries, which Late Antiquity scholars promoted, created a historiographical vacuum and a way had to be found for depicting the relations between the Roman Empire and the new arrivals. If violence could not be used to describe them, then the sources had to be searched for a different sort of evidence. The subsequent reexamination of the sources gave birth to the notion of accommodation. The first scholar to do that was Walter Goffart. In a well-known book, published in 1980, he described in detail the way that the barbarians were settled on Roman lands. According to Goffart a fairly straightforward arrangement between the late Roman administration and the barbarian tribes can be derived from the sources. The critical feature of this arrangement was that the Empire relinquished its rights on the taxation of the region in which a group of barbarians were settled and instead those taxes would be collected by the barbarians. However, according to this theory, there was no expropriation of land, no partition of it to smaller units to be apportioned and no need for extra money from the tax payers. The only one who had something to lose in the process would be the central administration and this definitely helps explain the fact that there is no sign of any noteworthy resistance from the local population in the regions where the barbarians were settled in this way. The aforementioned theory was further elaborated by Durliat. After analyzing the sources rigorously, he managed to take Goffart’s theory one step further. He argued that land tax in the Late Roman Empire amounted to no more than 20% of the harvest and it was collected and administered by the curiales. They split it in three and kept one third for their city’s expenses. The other two thirds were then sent to Rome to be used for the needs of the army and the central administration. With the advent of the barbarians, this system was very conveniently transformed to accommodate them: the curiales no longer sent anything to Rome but instead conferred the appropriate amount to the barbarian group that happened settle in their city’s administrative region. Furthermore, he argued that this modus operandi continued unaffected after the fall of the western Roman Empire, in the different successor-states, until the collapse of the Carolingian Empire. This theoretical synthesis was attractive to scholars, not only due to its clarifying simplicity and astonishing applicability, but also because it served to explain the lack of any negative sentiment in the sources. The importance of it becomes clearer, if we take under consideration that actually there were complaints on the part of the sources, wherever the barbarians had not settled peacefully but by force. As we saw earlier, the curiales were unconcerned if two thirds of the land tax changed recipients, as long as they were still obtaining their part undiminished. One can easily imagine the effect that this argument had on the debate on continuity, especially since it was centered on Western Europe. Of course, this theory didn’t fail to raise some eyebrows. Liebeschà ¼tz criticized Durliat’s arguments on a twofold basis. First, he doubts that late Roman cities actually collected for themselves any part of the imperial taxes and second, he argues quite convincingly that such an agreement would eventually provide little actual security to the settling barbarians, as security is usually better ensured through direct property of the land, than through any fiscal rights. Whats more, it seems perfectly reasonable to assume that it was exactly this security that the barbarians were looking for and of course, their position of power during the last centuries of the Roman Empire made sure that they were not likely to settle for anything less. Moreover, Durliat’s theory was commented on further in an article in 1998. There, Wickham analysis Durliat’s arguments and dismisses them one by one. Initially, he disagrees that the strict fiscal meaning which the latter ascribes to terms such as possessors and fundus is actually the one intended by the legislators of the fourth and the fifth century and in so doing he undermines the theory from the beginning. But he goes on to challenge other aspects such as the idea that Church constituted a part of the state administration in the post-Roman kingdoms (and thus church property consisted only of fiscal lands) and the view that servus is the term used to suggest a free landowner. By providing hard evidence following the chronological order (Late Empire, Romano-Germanic Kingdoms, Carolingian Empire), Wickham manages to discredit convincingly the arguments about fiscal continuity throughout this period. But, it should be noted that in the end of his article, where he dis cusses briefly the issue of continuity, he states that while he is not averse to it himself, it should not be considered tantamount to complete absence of change. However, the predominance of continuity does not sit well with terms like ‘barbarian invasions’ and ‘Germanic immigration’. So, historians had to find ways to circumvent this problem; they started by looking at the ethnic identities of the Germanic peoples, because it could be argued for example that there was no clear-cut sense of common identity between barbarian groups, such as the Goths, or some common characteristics that defined ‘Germanic’ then it would be possible to downplay the importance of the aforementioned terms. This way, Late Antiquity affected another heated debate (and in the meantime was affected by it); that of European national identities. The contribution of Walter Goffart has been essential at this point. Apart from fiscal continuity, in his Barbarians and Romans, he was also arguing about against the existence of definite ethnic identities among the barbarians. Another centuries-old historiographic tradition before him interpreted the movements of the Germanic tribes according to contemporary political ideas. For example, before the Second World War, Kossina had argued that there was a separate, identifiable culture to be associated with every Germanic tribe we come across in the sources and in 1961 Wenskus had maintained that there was a core of tradition carried by the elite of each barbarian group, according to which the whole mass of the tribe was defined. But, according to Goffart ‘migrations have served as the factual underpinnings of early Germanic unity’. Thus, if he could prove that no such unity actually existed, the migration and invasion theories would lose all sense. Indeed, he argues for a ‘short history’ of these peoples oblivion was a result of translocation. The common past of these peoples at any point stressed as back as the time before their last migration. He refuses to use sources of the sixth century such as Jordanes because, in his opinion, they only reflect the ideas of their own times and cannot be trusted for their evidence of the distant past. Finally, after taking under consideration also the deductions of archaeological research, he thinks that, if one wanted to look at the discontinuity provoked by the advent of the barbarians, he should definitely put the emphasis on Rome and its security. It was the appeal that the Empire had on the barbarians and not their own expansionist agendas that brought about the fall, in an ‘imaginative experiment that got a little out of hand’. It is therefore clear that Late Antiquity has given historiography of ethnic identities new areas of research to explore. This process gets even more complicated with the interference of modern international politics and historians of the Early Middle Ages recently find themselves and their research at the center of contemporary political debates. One can discern a pseudo-history in the making, which serves political and nationalistic purposes in the sense that it tries to define distinct nations that were created centuries ago once and for all. Another assumption is that by right these nations should form separate political entities, according to their defined ethnicity and territory. To sum up, the search for continuity of the Late Antique scholars might not have been successful in the field of fiscal policies and accommodation but it ascertained the fact that we cannot presume long histories and ethnic identities of the Germanic peoples. This certainly confirmed transformation instead of catastrophe and crisis for some aspects of the fourth and fifth centuries but it surely proved that there was much discontinuity and heterogeneity concerning the notion of identity. And since the Early Middle Ages are of such a great importance in the international political stage, scholars of the period should benefit from the results of research in this field in order to prevent their academic field from becoming a plaything in the hands of international politics. (†¦Projecting their own experiences on another period of time (as historians often do) Bibliography A = Heather, P., The fall of the Roman Empire: a new history of Rome and the barbarians (London and Oxford, 2005) B = Ward-Perkins, B., The fall of Rome and the end of civilization (Oxford, 2005) C = Cameron, A., The Mediterranean world in Late Antiquity 395-600 (London, 1993) D = Marcone, A., â€Å"A long Late Antiquity? Consideration on a controversial periodization† Journal of Late Antiquity, 1 (2008), 4-19. E = Jones, A.H.M., The Later Roman Empire, 284-602 a social, economic and administrative survey (Oxford, 1964). F = G = Wickham, C., The inheritance of Rome: A history of Europe from 400 to 1000 (London, 2009). H = Innes, M., An introduction to Early Medieval Western Europe, 300-900 (London, 2007). I = Brown, P., The world of Late Antiquity: from Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad (London, 1971). J = Liebeschà ¼tz, W., â€Å"Cities, taxes and the accommodation of barbarians. The theories of Durliat and Goffart† in Noble, T. F. X. (ed.), From roman provinces to medieval kingdoms (New York, 2006), 309-323. K = Wickham, C., â€Å"The fall of Rome will not take place† in Rosenwein, B. H., Little, L. K. (eds.), Debating the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1998), 45-58. L = Goffart, W. A., Barbarians and Romans A.D. 418-584: the techniques of accommodation (Princeton, 1980) M = Goffart, W. A., â€Å"The barbarians in Late Antiquity and how they were accommodated in the West† in Noble, T. F. X. (ed.), From roman provinces to medieval kingdoms (New York, 2006), 235-261. N = Wood, I., â€Å"Barbarians, historians and the construction of national identities† Journal of Late Antiquity, 1 (2008), 61-81. O = Heather, P., â€Å"Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval West† in Bentley, M. (ed.), Companion to historiography (London, 1995), 69-87. P = Noble, T. F. X., â€Å"Romans, barbarians and the transformation of the Roman Empire† in Noble, T. F. X. (ed.), From roman provinces to medieval kingdoms (New York, 2006), 1-27. B, 40. A, 14. C, 3. D, 7. E, 1027. Also in other instances, such as 1039 and 1067. E, 1045-47. E, 1026. H, 6. C, 4. B, 13-14. B, 182-3. G, 8. H, 126. B, 123. B, 3. For example, in Chapter V, he is arguing for a drop in living standards mainly by looking at the quality and distribution of ceramics, B, 87-121. B, 87, G, 9. Especially in Chapters V and VI, B, 87-137. G, 9. Brown, P., The world of Late Antiquity: from Marcus Aurelius to Muhammad (London, 1971). B, 3-4.

Symbolism In The Veil Essay -- Nathaniel Hawthorne

Symbolism In The Veil The veil that the minister wears in "The Ministers Black Veil", by Nathanial Hawthorne represents the emphasis on man's inner reality, and those thoughts and feelings which are not immediately obvious. As Hawthorne explored this inner nature, he found the source of dignity and virtue, and certain elements of darkness. When the minister first walks out of his home wearing the veil, everyone is astonished. This one man in this village decides to be a nonconformist and wear this veil without explanation. No one understands why the minister would wear such a veil for no reason at all. This is where all the assumptions begin to linger. All of the villagers have a story for why the veil is there. These people are not trying to understand it. These villagers are just trying convince themselves that the veil is hiding something, like a deformation of the ministers face. Others think that Mr. Hooper is hiding something else, like a secret no one is supposed to know about. This black veil conflicts with everyone in the village in some way. Is this veil a problem only because everyone is afraid of what they might be hiding? Perhaps this veil is a symbol of the mistrust Mr. Hooper has to those people closest to him or maybe he is trying to show this society that there is a greater lesson to be learned from this black veil than just an apparent one: That mysterious emblem was never once withdrawn. It shook with his measured breath as he gave out the psalm; it through its obscurity between him and the holy page, as he read the scripturesÂ… Did he seek to hide it from the dread Being whom he was addressing? (1281) After seeing the black veil upon the face of Mr. Hooper, every person in the villag... ... tremble at me alone? Â…Tremble also at each other! Have men avoided me, and women shown no pityÂ…only for my black veil? What, but the mystery which it obscurely typifies, has made this piece of crape so awful? When the friend shows his inmost heart to his friendÂ…when man does not vainly shrink form the eye of his Creator, loathsomely treasuring up the secret of his sin; then deem me a monster, for the symbol beneath which I have lived, and die! I look around me, and lo! On every visage a black veil! (1288-89) The black veil is a symbol, something that Hawthorne uses to stand for the blocked wall between all human souls. Hawthorne is simply suggesting that every person wears his own "black veil". On the other hand, if people are willing to acknowledge the darkness in themselves, there will come a time when everyone shall set aside their veils.

African American Korean American Conflict Essay

â€Å"So they watch every damn move that I make. They hope I don’t pull out a Gat, try to rob†¦ † so goes the words to a rap song by a famous Black American musician as portrayed by Anthony choe (www. hcs. harvard. edu). These lines are a clear representation of the enormity of the ever-escalating ethnic tensions between the African American-Korean American. The universal declaration on human rights believes in the equality of all humanity and posits to condemn and abhor discrimination based on any form or kind, be it gender, race or creed. These are the values that are to bind all persons and ensure the rise and preservation of self-determination with no prejudice against any group. This however is theoretically oriented and a sharp contrast of the ever grim situation on the surface. Prejudice and discrimination has always defined relations amongst humanity world over; the near future does not look promising either, these prejudices shall continue to persist unless urgently addressed by all the parties involved. This paper seeks to focus at brief history of the origin and nature of this conflict, its impact and incidences of violence and to a greater extent the solutions to a situation that day in day out is escalating to a bloody level. This conflict has rather a brief history unlike the traditional prejudices. The first instant of recorded public scuffle dates back to 1986 in a much publicized boycott of a Korean merchants, led by a black American reverend after one of the Black American had been allegedly mistreated in a shop. Since then, these boycotts and hostilities have been rather predominant and continue to sour relations among the blacks and Koreans in America. The bases of these tensions thrive on both economic and cultural factors fuelled by retrogressive stereotypes held by both groups against each other. It largely stems from trader-consumer dynamics where majority of Blacks accuse the American Koreans of exploiting their community, by high-pricing their consumer goods and general mistreatment of the black shoppers. The American Korean community has established businesses in areas predominantly regarded as blacks territories, the riots and the looting has considerably affected their financial and psychological status with some even contemplating leaving U. S. The socio-cultural aspect of the conflicts has been over-portrayed by the media who posits the ethnical tensions to have a predominantly social origin. (Kim, I, p 36) The solutions to these conflicts should be multifaceted, ensuring that they are all encompassing and embracing all the ethnic groups involved. A solution to the blacks Korea situation cannot be left to the two communities alone, the government has also to play a big role. According to In-Jin (1998): †¦more(government) funding should be allocated for dispute-prevention and resolution centers in areas where there is a high probability of inter-group conflict. The past years indicate that the government has abdicated their role as key players in this conflict resolution and appear to take a backseat as the events unfold. These dispute resolution centers will have a sole duty of initiating medication between the blacks and Korean. This group should also carry out counseling to the affected persons. The membership of this group should entail all persons from all walks of life from the affected persons; ranging from scholars, government agents, local residents and politicians. It should also ensure that it incorporates permanent staffs to initiate coalition buildings amongst the different interracial groups. Koreans have over time decried low police protection and lack of timely police response. The arrested criminals too are accorded lenient penalties. Whether or not these claims are valid, measures should be taken to ensure that a crime-fighting unit and justice system are re-enforced to cope with the special case of inter-racial crimes that may arise. It will also enable both groups to report incidences confidently with no fear of a vengeful mission. Another key problem identified as fuelling the conflict is the communication barriers existing between the two. Blacks are known to look down to the Koreans as far as their fluency in English is concerned. With most Koreans being of modest English communication skills, their non-responsiveness is sometimes interpreted as a sign of rudeness by the blacks. Programs should be rolled out to encourage English lessons to Koreans to ensure that they understand the language beyond the transactional level. Bilingual government agents and law enforcers should be employed to improve the interactions between the police and the Korean community and bridge the gap that currently exists. The Black-Korean Alliance has made bold steps towards achieving this. It has an objective according to Edward and Angie (1998,p16): †¦of developing a model for facilitating dialogue and improving tensions in target areas (Los Angeles) and the replicate this in other areas with similar problems. Forums should be arranged to encourage these alliances. Although BKA could not achieve the set goals it is an indicator that of the potency of such inter-racial organizations towards conflict resolution. The Koreans attitudes and practice towards proper trading and business largely differ from Blacks and misunderstandings arising from the behaviors towards each other have led to bloody confrontations. The Blacks claim that Koreans look down upon them and are overly suspicious and vigilant whenever a Black person is shopping in their premises. Koreans on the other hand have a problem with the Blacks foul loud language, and tendencies such as shoplifting (Hicks J, 1994 P. 79). There is a widespread belief amongst the Blacks that their Korean counterparts see them as lazy and fatalistic as most of them are poor and largely depend on government programs, a sharp contrast to the Koreans belief in business ethics based on discipline and hard work. Any understanding of the Black-Korean conflict should find its rooting from this and the solution to this conflict should also seek to address these misunderstandings. It should seek to strike a dialogue between the two groups and elimination of the factors that led to the birth of the conflict initially. The Los Angeles riots of 1992 were an eye-opener to the intensity of the conflict and mostly to the Korean merchants who had established their business in America. Most had been ignorant of the American social history and culture opting to devote their time and money while clinging to their emotional attachment back at home (Min, P. p 22There are organizations that have sprung as a consequence of the Los Angeles riots to try and pave way for increased interaction between the blacks and the Koreans living in America. The religion-based organization called Black-Korean Christian alliance is a good example. As a fore mentioned the tensions thriving between the Blacks and Koreans are predominately based on a general misunderstanding and ill-advised perceptions regarding the cultures and norms of each group. Any solution to the conflict should be aimed at focusing on the erasure of these social misconstructions. The Blacks generalization of Koreans merchants is a people out to squeeze extra dime from them through high prices. The Koreans are highly paranoic of the Blacks who they term as very prone to shop lifting tendencies. There should be increased efforts to establish more organizations to act as bridges between these two groups, with an aim of fostering more mutual understanding. An increased interaction will see the quelling down of these ethnic tensions and be a gate way to higher level of ethnic harmony not just limited to the two groups but also to others like Hispanics who over time have been engaging in street fights in the name of protecting their gang territories. Any activity or project with an intention of bringing the two communities to a better level of understanding should be embraced. The Korean and American human relations council is meant to contribute towards this. One of the key ingredients in resolving human conflicts is through the emphasis and initiation of dialogue. The past incidences in the black Korean conflict have escalated due to the reluctance of both parties to give dialogue a chance both opting to resort to violence. While the Koreans may be blamed for their prejudice against the blacks, on the other hand equal castigation should be leveled against the blacks for the violent reactions. Intense dialogue between the two groups has never before been given much chance. The blacks have been reacting explosively when they are mistreated in addition to boycotting the Korean stores. It is this fact that exacerbates the situation further. While Koreans are fighting to stay afloat in their businesses and their livelihood they cross the blacks war path of dignity preservation, a cause passionately embedded in Black populations’ heart. Dialogue if embraced will be a major step in truing to resolve any conflict that might arise. Dialogue will see the smoothening out of any generalization and blanket branding of the Korean merchants as looking down upon Blacks and they (Blacks) being ill perceived as shoplifters. The past years have seen these understandings being developed especially amongst religious organization. Tensions will now be detected early before they escalate and trigger a repeat of the Los Angeles, 1992 riots. Past records indicate very few interactions amongst the two groups with their relations purely being based on merchant-client relation with no other interactions at another level. Most of the immigrants from Korea have a history in America that only dates back a few decades and are unaware of the Blacks poverty situation and its connection with the past discriminatory tendencies, economic and political marginalisation that has been practiced for years by the white population with the government’s full blessing. An interaction between the two groups should open each other’s understanding of the different economic-social backgrounds and motivations. The media has played a great role in escalating and connecting otherwise unrelated stories and branding them as racially oriented. Although highly ambitious, the media should play the key role in solving the Korea store that later sparked a major out roar and boycott could have been addressed as an isolated criminal case of violence involving two citizens and not blown out of proportion to encompass the woes of racism. Media especially in the United States plays an enormous role in informing the public of the intricate happening in America. In so doing it provides linkages to various other events. It plays a role in shaping peoples preferences, tastes and even stereotypes. Most of the isolated incidences sometimes end up being branded as racial oriented often when there is small or no connections at all. It is this generalization that many a times re-awakens deeply concealed resentments and emotions and leads to community finding a common ground in solidarity against the now perceived enemy. The Black Americans print and audio media have been seen to be vocal in rallying them behind a certain cause in the name of fighting for their rights. These fights more often than not end up turning bloody and end up creating more resentment between the two communities. The media should be at the forefront in urging for the peaceful co existence of the two groups in the understanding that both are mutually beneficial to each other. A lot of Korean hate music done by the Blacks contains lyrics that are inciting and often praise violence in the name of â€Å"Black Brotherhood†. The change towards erasing prejudices can effectively be championed by the media stations and the key personalities in the Black population. Hate campaigns should have no room in today’s world. General consensus is in the agreement that poverty and illiteracy that is widespread amongst the black population is largely to blame for the violence that exists. The much touted â€Å"middle man minority theory† explains this aspect thoroughly well and its commonality in America. Immigrants whenever they may be, often face stiff opposition from the natives in the belief that they are consuming and exploiting their local resources (Yu, et al, 1982 pg 75). That is the perception characterizing the black Americans view of their counterparts the Korean Americans. Economically the blacks are rated among the poorest populations in America, together with the Hispanics. One of the reason or excuse fronted for this is due to the discriminatory practices meted against the black population for ages, right from the days of slave trade to the most recent times of civil right activist. Most of the population that lives in slums continues to wallow in a miasma of poverty and surviving merely from the government’s welfare handouts. Some of these people are a disgruntled lot that have a fatalistic and timid view of the world believing they are where they are as a result of exploitation. On the other hand the Koreans are endowed with both economic power unequalled by the slum dwelling African Americans and business niche. They are in the hot pursuit of the American dream believing that most blacks are poor as a result of their own sluggishness and not the prevailing economic and political system. The conflict hence is unavoidable as blacks seek to preserve the only thing left in them; Dignity and the Koreans carrying out the business practice as they have been brought up to do: Conservatively. To resolve this conflict hence requires addressing the issue of economic imbalance that exists among the various racial and cultural groups existing in the American society. It is advisable for the government to come up with an elaborate plan of stemming out rampant disparities in the society. The riots maybe the blacks’ natural way of striking back against an establishment they believe has been working against their cause, only this time the target of their fury is the Koreans. Illiteracy continues to thrive in the blacks’ population, education may be one of the key ways toward economic empowerment, and although majority of the black population weild more political participation and sensitivity then the Koreans economic level puts them at a disadvantaged position. Structures, schemes and policies should be erected to uplift the economic status of the black population; this probably will see their more involvement in economic activities and their consequent uplift to their living standards. The 1994 efforts by the Korean government to provide an international solution should be hailed as an important step towards reconciliation. This is where some African American youths form Los Angeles were sponsored to attend cultural festivities in Korea. This was an important gesture that would show the African Americans back home of the importance of racial co-existence. The cultures and history of black Americans and Koreans through the varying greatly have some instances of semblances. Koreans had for a long time been under the leadership of the Japanese and undergoes a lot of suffering under their leaderships. The blacks have also had a share of their hot soup through the discriminations and servitude undergone for any decades in the U. S. There are some of the points that should be emphasized instead of over blowing the differences that exist between the two groups. Exchange programs between the two groups should be encouraged mostly at the cultural and educational levels to help open up the two communities in understanding each others cultural, political, economical and ideological elements. Advanced interactions can be initiated through the audio-visual tapes to be distributed to both these groups. For a long time many Koreans immigrations to American had been of the nature of U. S culture and the diversifications existing among the racial and ethnic groups. It would be imperative if civil societies and Korean American social groups would carry out, intense lessons about the nature of the American Socio-cultural organization and compositions aimed at enlightening them on the things to expect in the United States. The level of ethnic escalating evidenced was aggravated further by Korean Americans merchants’ aloofness of the special needs and interests of the African American community, their differences in culture not with standing. The Los Angeles riots and the subsequent scuffles that have taken place in America have left and portrayed the Koreans as a discouraged lot especially considering the amount of their efforts and capital that went up in flames, in the end it emerges the American Koreans are the ones that have lost in these conflicts. This brings out one point clearly; while it would be foolhardy and an act of timidness for the Koreans to withdraw their investmetn from their African Americans inhabited territories, one point is clear that they need to consolidate thir political suppport behind the formation of a single political force that would see them empowered enough to withstand such onslaughts. The government has been accused of reacting in a lucklustre manner towards the Korean Americans plight even as it watched their investments go down the drain. The reason behind this is the political sensitivity of any issue with anyting to do with the blacks. Due to their large numbers compared to the Korean Americans, they hold more political power than the Koreans and it would have been imprudent for the government to emerge to be supporting the Korean Americans at the expense of the blacks. Political empowerment of Korean American would see them acquire the full recognition and authority in the political arena ensuring that their economic rights are catered for. Political and empowerment will also level the ground of social interaction and dialogue with the black community. In conclusion, the conflict between the African American and the Korean American communities since its start at around 1986 has seen lots of lives lost and property worth millions of dollars gone to waste. This water down the internationally held nortion that America is an epitome of social justice and excellece. The root cause of these conflicts has been found to be emanating from the cultural, political and economic disparities that exist within the society. It represents with a loud voice, the need for the American government and the society in general to address the societal imbalances. The African American society living in the slums is faced with a lot of social problems ranging from drugs and crimes. Their fighting the American Korean society is explained along those lines. The solution hence is in tackling the causes of economic imbalances. The past years have seen the income disparities among the Americas rich and the poor grow wider and wider. African Americans and the Hispanics are the worst hit in this. These are the two communities most involved in major insecurity cases in the neighborhoods they predominantly live. Dialogue is another solution among others that has been identified as key to quell down the raging animosity between the two communities. Interaction between the two communities should be improved through the formation of organizations that would act as a link between the two communities and be in a position to resolve conflicts as they arise. WORKS CITED. H. K Ryoo. Achieving friendly interactions: a study of service encounters between Korean shopkeepers and African American customers. Discourse society, January 1, 2005. 79-105 Anthony Choe, Ice Cube? â€Å"Black Korea† Racially charged rap. Yisei Magazine. From 1991 Album. Retrieved on 3/09/07 from http://www. hcs. havard. edu/yisei/issues/spring-92/ys92. 6. html Hicks, J. Rebuilding in the wake of rebellion: The need for economic commension in E. Y Yu edited Black Korean Encounter: Toward Understanding and Alliance. Los Angeles: Institute for Asian American and Pacific Asian Studies, 1994. 79-82. Yu, Phillips Yang, Koreans in Los Angeles: Prospects and Promises, Los Angeles: Koryo Research Institute, California State University, 1982: 75-98 Min, P. Minority Business Enterprise: Korean Small Business in Atlanta. Staten Island, NY: The Center for Migration Studies, 1988. Kim, I. New Urban Immigrants: The Korean Community in New York. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1981 Edward Tachan Ching, Angie Y. Chung. Social Justice: From Third World Liberation to Multiple Oppression Politics: A Contemporary Approach to Inter ethnical Coalitions. 1998,Vol. 25,p16. In-Jin Yoon, Who is my Neighbor? : Koreans Perceptions of Blacks and Latinos as Employees, Customers, and Neighbors. Development and Society. Korea University. June1998. Vol. 27, 72

Q: Steve Jobs, the Founder of Apple, Was Asked to Come Back as Chief Executive in 1997 When the Business Was Making a Loss. Jobs Was Appointed to Provide a Clearer Vision for the Business and to Improve Its

Many companies throughout the world have suffered from bad leadership decisions or have not adapted well to business cultures brought in by new leaders. This can cause a spread of problems, both internal and external and often the new leader brought in has to make large changes to the way the business is run. The success of this change of leader often depends on their ability to find the shortcomings of the current business structure and to transform it into a competitive force in the future.Steve Jobs founded Apple as a computer company in 1976 and ran it alongside founders Steve Wozniak, Ronald Wayne and investor Mike Markkula. He was a strong minded visionary and often went against other workers ideas. Many rifts were created within apple because of the disagreements he had with other people about the way projects were being run within the company. Eventually, in 1985 Jobs left Apple after being removed as manager of the Mac project, something he had put together and built up.He a cquired Lucasfilm’s animation department Pixar and funded this whilst working on his ‘NeXT’ computer project. He worked at NeXT for a number of years until, in 1995 Apple were convinced by Jobs to buy out his computer company. He then returned to Apple in an informal advisory role at a time when Apple was making the biggest losses since it was founded. In early 1997 after 500 days in the job and over $1 billion in losses the, then CEO was sacked. Jobs agreed to become interim CEO and to take on the responsibility of getting the company back onto the right path.His first move was to dramatically cut the number of products being produced by Apple and focused on a simple matrix structure. He made a laptop for consumer users and a laptop for professional users and the same for desktop computers. This distinctly different structure cut costs and made Apple seem a lot more customer friendly as a company. The next step was looking towards preparing their products for th e future, through development and predictions. The result was a modern line of products that turned around Apple’s fortunes and made them a player in the personal computer market once again.His next focus was creating a media hub, this included the iPod and iTunes and proved extremely successful for Apple and showcased Jobs’ ability to see future trends and lifestyles. Jobs managed to completely transform Apple from a company making giant losses to one of the most valuable companies in the world by stripping it down and completely rebuilding the structure and culture. His critical decision making skills alongside his vision of the future allowed Apple to reconcentrate on innovating and staying ahead of competition.