Featured Post

Scwamp Analysis Essay Example

Friday, November 29, 2019

Has the Gothic novel tradition influenced Jane Eyre Essay Example

Has the Gothic novel tradition influenced Jane Eyre Paper I believe that the gothic novel tradition has indeed influenced the novel that is Jane Eyre. Most gothic novels contain supernatural encounters, remote locations, complicated family childhood, ancient monad homes, dark secrets, suspense and a successful conclusion. The story contains the majority of these elements. The romantic section in the novel has a fairytale theme; this is quite common if the story is to follow the gothic tradition. We meet the Byronic hero Mr Rochester and therefore we expect a damsel in distress but Jane never presents herself in this manner. In fact, it is she who rescues Mr Rochester and Jane becomes the heroin. He laid a heavy hand on my shoulder and leaning on me with some stress, limped on to his horse. Soon afterwards, Mr Rochester and Jane fall deeply in love with one another, but due to the gothic tradition, there must be someone or something that must block Jane from achieving true happiness. According to the gothic tradition, good will overcome evil. We are not sure what evil Jane will have to overcome but it appears in the form of Bertha. Bertha is indeed a true gothic character. We will write a custom essay sample on Has the Gothic novel tradition influenced Jane Eyre specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Has the Gothic novel tradition influenced Jane Eyre specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Has the Gothic novel tradition influenced Jane Eyre specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The only place in Thornfield where Jane is forbidden to explore is the third floor of the mansion. This gives suspense and curiosity to find out what or who is in the third floor. At first, it seems that the servant Grace Poole is this person but soon afterwards, it is Bertha. The gytrash is in fact Mr. Rochester dog in the novel. This great northern -english loyal companion gives a supernatural theme. It was exactly one form of Bessies Gytrash The moon plays a key role in the whole novel as it is thought of as a mystical, magical creation and it seems to always appear when a chapter is about to open in Janes life. Before leaving Thornfield in order to seek a good education at Lowood, the moon appears. The moon was set, an it was very dark. The moon gives a very gothic symbol to the story. In the majority of Victorian, gothic novels there are usually frequent murder attempts on either the main character(s) or a meaningful person that gives hope and joy to the main character. In the novel the murder, attempts are on Jane. My wedding dress and veil stood open, Sophie? I cried. A form emerged from the closet: it took the light and observed my garments nd then my blood crept cold through my veins. Mr Rochester, this was neither Sophie nor Leah, it was not Mrs Fairfax: it was not even that strange girl Grace Poole. It was a great woman with long brown hair and I shivered just looking at her. The pair, Mr Rochester and Jane continue this conversation on how this strange woman had a dagger and how frightful her face and body looked. However, Mr Rochester gives repeated excuses on who this woman was. We are given a premonition that either Mr Rochester knows whom this women was or that he had some part in it. Most gothic novels also have remote locations that are full of unhappiness and great darkness/evil. In the story, we are given three examples of this, which are Gateshead, Lowood and Thornfield and at these places Jane find distress and heartbreak. While Jane is staying at Gateshead with her cousins and aunt, The Reed family she is mocked and punished for no reason whatsoever. This creates a permanent emotional scar throughout Janes life. At Gateshead, Jane is not accepted as part of the family but is tormented, as she believes happiness will never exist for her in her lifetime. This also tells us that Jane had an unhappy childhood Mr Brocklehurst takes advantage of Jane, as she is less powerful even tough she had more passion. He makes her isolated and to be made a fool of so her friendship with Helen Burns seems an unlikely event to happen. While at Thornfield working as a governess she and Mr Rochester are about to marry, however on the wedding it is interrupted by Mason and his solicitor. They both claim that Mr Rochester already has a living wife. This wife is the terrifying figure the Jane saw in her bedroom and who seemed to try to murder her. There is a lot of suspense as the reader is curious to find out whom this strange character is. This character is Bertha. Bertha stands in the way of love between Jane and Mr Rochester as long as she lives. In the Victorian age, someone who had an affair was seen as an evil spirit but divorce was also frowned upon so that was not an option either. It seemed as though the marriage and their love would never be seen through. There is frequent suspense in the story and there are two good examples of this. Bertha whom I have mentioned earlier and when Jane is locked in the red room as a child for a punishment. A ghostly figure stood before me here she seems to have seen her uncles ghost whom died before Jane came to live at Gateshead. This gives three main elements. Terror, the thought of seeing a ghost, Suspense what will happen next while the ghost is still in the red room and a super natural encounter for Jane. Blood acts as both a physical entity and a love entity in Jane Eyre. Why the obsession with blood? This is all due to the gothic style writing. There is another novel that is nearly entirely to do with blood. This novel is of course the famous story of Dracula. Perhaps Charlotte Bronte got the idea to use blood in Jane Eyre by seeing how successful it was in Dracula. This remains a mystery unsolved. The blow passage is taken from an English review of Jane Eyre: Blood acts as a physical entity and when spilled it indicates that a boundary has been crossed. When Jane is hit by her cousin with a book she bleeds from the head, her torment has endured to long so she fights back. While striking John Reed, she was caught and punished. In the red room, she fells primal feelings, jealousies, rages, deprivations and especially hatred towards the household members. Later in Jane Eyre, blood is a symbol of depravity; love craving out of control and it is spilled in the supposedly unnatural attempt of Bertha to assert her. Locked up in the attic of Rochesters mansion her lips full of blood, gives a symbol of sensuality ant twist, Bertha awaits the opportunities she fights for to express her carnality. She always does so by drawing blood. Compare these eyes with red blood eyes yonder. The clear eyes are Jane, the red eyes Berthas. This tells us that Jane with the clear eyes seems to be good but Bertha with the red eyes seems evil. This extract gives us a clear view of what blood is all about in the novel. For me the ending is quite childishly written, however most gothic novels end with harsh and difficult decision. Jane is torn between loves with St. John Rivers and Mr Rochester. With St John rivers she can live a happy life but it seems that Jane will never feel true love if she makes this decision. With Mr Rochester, she can experience true love but she will be restful at the fact she is being unholy by marrying Mr Rochester while Bertha still lives. It is St John Rivers Vs Mr Rochester. Conveniently, a fire kills Bertha but Mr Rochester survives at a cost of his eyesight, but Jane still feels love for him. This ending was rushed in my view. I believe there should have been a lot more thought put into the final stages of the novel rather than see this fairytale, happy ending which exists today.

Monday, November 25, 2019

A Woman essays

A Woman essays For generations and generations there has been conflict over the duties of women. Since the beginning of time society and the media has portrayed women as passive individuals. In todays society not much has changed there are plenty of people (men and women), who feel a womans place is in the home. This is just one of the many value assumptions that people think women duties are. For many years, I considered my home to be a very liberal one. Coming from a single parent home I thought my mother, who raised me to be a strong individual, was an open-minded individual herself. However, I was wrong. As I grew older my views and values, although somewhat similar to those of my mothers, somehow were different. My mother, ever since I can remember has always worked and provided a decent home for my sister and I. She has always taught us to be independent and never depend on anyone, so you can imagine I was surprised when she stated in the same breathe that as a woman I am suppose to take care of my man. Someone I thought I knew I didnt know at all. My mother assumes that a woman is supposed to serve her man and the man controls everything in the home. She also feels a woman is not lady-like if she doesnt wear a dress, but what exactly is lady-like? Another value assumption that my mother makes is that a woman is determined by her profession. This assumption is often made by many people. For example, many feel if a woman decides to work outside the home, her chosen profession should be that of a secretary. So you can imagine my mothers opinion, when I stated to her that my desire is to learn to become an auto body mechanic. She stated with intense passion that women are not supposed to work in those types of fields. I questioned her statement and she ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Effects of Globalization and Economic Expansion on Russia Research Paper

The Effects of Globalization and Economic Expansion on Russia - Research Paper Example As a result of this, Russia obtained international acknowledgement as the sovereign successor to the Soviet Union. Russia was honored with a permanent seat to represent the Soviet Union in the United Nations Security Council, and various positions in regional and international organizations. 7 Russia sits on both Europe and Asia. However, it is neither Asian nor European in its standpoint and culture. Russia has remained the largest country in the world, even after the division of the Soviet Union in 1991. Ziegler points out that the nation â€Å"occupies about 6.6 million square miles of territory, and is nearly twice the size of the United States. From East to West, the country stretches over 5,000 miles and occupies 11 time zones† (1). After the breakup of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Russia abandoned much of its access to the Black sea. As a result of this fragmentation, Russia was left smaller, landlocked, and geographically isolated. The former Soviet Union w as the third-largest nation in the world with a population of approximately two hundred and ninety million people. Despite the fact that Russia is physically the largest nation in the world, its population has been declining over the years. In this regard, it becomes the ninth largest nation in the world following â€Å"China, India, the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria† (Ziegler 2) in terms of population. Over eighty percent of the population of Russia lives on the western side of the nation, while the rest of the population lives in Siberia and Russia’s Far East. 8 Western Russia is populated with majority of Russia’s roads, railways, and air routes. Ziegler asserts that â€Å"Siberia is extremely rich in natural resources-oil, natural gas, gold, diamonds, furs, and timber-but much of its wealth is virtually inaccessible or very costly to extract due to the country’s weak transportation system† (2). Today, Russi a is more ethnically united compared to the former Soviet Union and imperial Russia. This is because before the downfall of the Soviet Union, it had only fifty one percent ethnic Russians. However, the Russian Federation today comprises of eighty two percent ethnic Russians. Tatars are the second largest ethnic group in the Russian Federation; the group comes from Mongols descendants, who controlled the lands in Russia in the thirteenth century. Three percent of Russia’s population comprises of the Ukrainians, who are Russian’s Slavic cousins. Twelve percent of the population is made up of Jews, Germans, Belarusians, Turkic people, Caucasians, and small tribes form Siberia. The ethnic groups in Russia generally relate very well, but from time to time, outbursts of violence occur against non-Russians. 9 According to Ziegler â€Å"Russia as a whole lies much further north than the United States; in this sense it is more comparable to Canada† (2). Russia has a lot of fertile agricultural land, but its location in the north results in cold weather and very short growing seasons. As a result of this, most crops do not fare well on Russian soil. When it was part of the Soviet Union, Russia had great cropland. This was however lost when the Soviet Union was dissolved, great cropland located in Kazakhstan and Ukraine was lost. Crops grown in Russia include rye, winter wheat, potatoes and sugar

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Annual Reports with Calculations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Annual Reports with Calculations - Assignment Example Various classes of financial ratios are analysed based on financial statements of the organisation provided in its annual reports of 2012 and 2013. These annual reports cover the financial performance of the organisation for 2011, 2012 and 2013. The classes of financial ratios analysed in this report include liquidity ratios, solvency ratios and profitability ratios. Liquidity ratios are used to measure the ability of the organisation to meet its short term debt obligations as they fall due. One of the liquidity ratios is the Quick ratio. This ratio measures the ability of the firm to pay its current assets using its more liquid current assets (Ryan, 2004). From the financial ratios calculate, the quick ratios of Woolworths Ltd were 0.29, 0.31 and 0.32 in 2013, 2012 and 2011 respectively. This means that Woolworths could pay for its current liabilities 0.29 times, 0.31 times and 0.32 times in 2013, 2012 and 2011 respectively before its more liquid assets are exhausted. Therefore, the company was able to meet its current short term liabilities using its more liquid assets in 2011 and 2012 more than 2013. The ability of the organisation to meet its short term debt obligations using more liquid assets reduced over the three years under analysis. The company needs to manage its more liquid assets more effectively to improve its liquidity so that it can meet its short term financial obligations as they fall due. The second type of liquidity ratio used in this analysis is the current ratio. This ratio measures the ability of the organisation to meet its short term financial obligations using current assets as they fall due. It indicates the number of times current liabilities can be paid using current assets before the current assets are exhausted (Gibson, 2012). In 2013, the current ratio of Woolworths was 0.91 while in 2012 and 2011 the ratio was 0.86 and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Criminal Justice System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Justice System - Essay Example One of the issues facing the justice system is the existence of a gap in terms of punishment to adolescent offenders, especially for extreme crimes such as murder. Scott and Steinberg argue that the adolescent cannot be punished as a juvenile delinquent as for this may be too lenient while punishing the adolescent as an adult maybe also be too harsh. The justice system is then faced with a difficult decision as both of these punishments is seems inappropriate. For example, in a recent case of Graham versus Florida, Graham, 16 years old was found to have violated his probation terms by committing other crime. In the hearing, the court found Graham culpable of the previous charges, revoked his probation and sentenced him to life imprisonment without an option of parole. In this case, the first ruling seems quite lenient in that the offender does not reform or cease to engage in criminal behavior but in fact seems to increase his engagement in crime. The second ruling of life imprisonme nt without parole seems to be too severe considering his was a non-homicidal crime and regarding his age, he would spend most of his life in prison. The fact that there is no national consensus on the punishment of criminal offenders between the ages of 14 and 18 years presents another challenge to the justice system in the US. For example, in the case of Roper versus Simmons, Simmons had planned and committed a murder at the age of seventeen. Such a violent crime cannot go unpunished. At the age of eighteen, he was sentenced to death which is the punishment for adults. Whilst the evidence presented was overwhelming, the fact that he committed the crime while he was still seventeen did influence the reduction of his sentence from a death penalty to life imprisonment.  

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Mongol Yoke Impact on Russias Development

Mongol Yoke Impact on Russias Development The principalities of Russia had a long history of clashes between those on the Russian frontier and nomadic peoples. The existing equilibrium of attacks between the principalities and the nomads was disturbed altered by the emergence of the Mongol empire. The Mongols unified the large groups of nomads creating a large united force and empire that stretched across Asia, to the loose border of the Kievan Rus. By 1237 Batu Khan, ruler of the Mongols, turned his sights to the Rus and launched the Storm of the Mongols. In only three years Kiev had been captured and destroyed and the Russian lands conquered. Rather than subjugate the Russian principalities the Mongols implemented a system of suzerainty in which the Russian princes would pay tribute[1], and Russia would act as a vassal state. The rein of the Mongols over Russia for almost two centauries had some positive impact on Russias development and has had a lasting influence on Russian culture and identity. With the freshly conquered Russia under their control, the Mongols needed to implement the administrative system for collecting the tribute that they demanded from the Russian people. The Mongols decided on using the existing system of principalities to require that each prince collect the taxation from the land which they controlled. Princes were incentivised to cooperate with their Mongol occupants as those that did were given greater powers and control to reign over their principalities. The Mongols pursued a policy of divide and concur, as due to the competition for Mongol favour the Kievan Rus disintegrated further as principalities communicated less. The competition and struggle for power was particularly great between the principalities of Moscow and Tver as both competed to become the most influential Russian principality and for the yarlyk. In the 13th century the Principality of Tver was less dependent on the Golden Horde, and as a result its people grew frustrated at the t axation and subjection and started to rise in rebellion in 1327. Prince Ivan I of Moscow saw this as an opportunity to gain further favour of the Mongol rulers and to defeat Tver, taking his Muscovite forces to quash and put down the rebellion, restoring order. In reward for his loyalty the Khan bestowed to Prince Ivan I the yarlyk, and to Moscow the sole responsibility for tax collection across the lands[2]. This decision has a dramatic impact on the balance of power in Russia and its development that is evident still today. Due to its role as main tax collector Moscow grew ever wealthier, which was aided by the screwed and skilled ruling of the Muscovite Princes. With their increasing wealth the Moscow began a process of gathering of the Russian lands in which it bought up and subjected other principalities allowing them more access to resources taxes and consequently more power. This progression continues and by the 15th century the Moscows power has expanded to most principaliti es being under Muscovite control. Therefore the Mongol decision to grant the yarlyk to the Muscovite Prince Ivan I had a great impact on the development of Russia as it led to the unification and consolidation of its lands under the rule of Moscow. No longer was Russia to be ruled be divided and competing Princes and their principalities. This was to be highly beneficial to Russias development as the principalities led to a state of constant turmoil as Princes warred with one another, which is highly costly in resources and manpower, hindering development. The consolidation of power under Moscow created the relative stability needed for Russia to develop and flourish. Additionally the impact of favouring Moscow has been incredibly long lasting as Moscow is still the capital and largest city in Russia today. The Mongols had a significant impact on the forming of the administrative structure that developed in Muscovy. This was not as a result of the Mongols imposing these systems upon the Russian rulers, but rather the Muscovite princes deliberate attempt to adopt and modify the Mongol administrative structure as a model for their own[3]. The Muscovite princes gained a first-hand understanding of these political and administrative structures during their numerous visits to the Khan, as well as many of their sons being kept within the Mongol Empire to ensure the cooperation of the ruling princes. These institutional reforms were to be highly beneficial to Russias development, as the number of principalities that fell under Muscovite control increased so did the need for administration of these territories. Muscovys princes turned to the Mongol legacy for inspiration as it was necessary to implement a full scale administrative bureaucracy as they needed a system to govern over their growing lands and to maintain control over their acquired principalities[4]. The princes naturally adopted and modified institutions that they had seen work well for the Mongols and applied it to their lands. Perhaps most important of the institutions was the system of daruaga, the territorial subdivision of Russia and the greater Mongol Empire. The governing of these territories was the responsibility of the darughachi who were the main administrators, and primarily the tax collectors. This system was developed and implemented by Ivan Kalita and future princes as the structure of tax collection and control in their territories. Consequently the Mongols had a significant impact on Russias development as the daruaga was a Mongol invention, and the wealth amassed by Muscovy through taxation was vital for its expansion and consolidation of Russian lands. However the Mongol influence in the development of taxation should not be overstated. The Mongols did not need to make major changes or alte rations to the existing Rus institutions as the surviving principalities already contained their own hierarchical structures and tributary networks[5]. Nevertheless, it was the levying of tributes upon Russia by the Mongols which led to these systems being formalised and strengthened by adopting Mongol institutions that resulted in the daruaga. The Mongol influence and impact on finance and trade in Russia has been lasting and is evident still today as the Russian word for money, dengi originates from the Tatar word denga as the first paper money to appear in Russia was issued under Mongol rule. Additionally many words concerning trade and banking are of Mongol origin including tamozhnya (customs), kazna (treasury), tovar (good or merchandise)[6]. To enable taxation to be efficient and as effective as possible the Mongols gave great priority to census tabulation and had performed the first census of the Rus by 1257, just 17 years after its conquest. Census recording was conducted by the darugi and served to ensure that taxes were being paid by all and of the purpose of conscription. Moscow continued this practice of collecting census data for centuries after the fall of the Mongol Empire. Russia was one of the earliest adopters of census tabulation as it would not become prevalent in Europe until the early 19th century, and not to the level of thoroughness and detail achieved in Russia. The impact of the Mongol rule on the development of Russia is apparent and extensive as it helped the Russian princes to create a strong and central government needed to govern a vast and populous territory, and later empire. In addition to aiding the expansion of Muscovy, the Mongols brought with them the institutions needed to maintain a growing territory. The Mongols had much experience ruling great sprawling empires, and had developed the institutions needed to rule vast land masses. One of these important development was the yam. The yam was a system of posts which was developed to provide to messengers and leaders; food, bedding and horses[7]. Each post ensured riders with rested horses and a place to retire exhausted horses, allowing riders to travel faster and further. The local people were responsible for the sustaining of these posts and caring for the horses. The yam enabled the Mongols to communicate quickly between the Khan and local leaders as a form of a fast postal service, but also dispatch elites between the various cities and principalities across the large Mongol Empire. The system was fast and efficient with a Hapsburg emissary reporting that the yam had allowed him to travel 500 kilo metres in only three days, much faster than anywhere else in Europe[8]. The yam system was important to the Mongols being able to maintain a tight control over its empire, and its usefulness was noticed by the Muscovite princes. Towards the end of Mongol control over Russia, Prince Ivan III continued to use the Mongol invention as the established method of communication as it gave to the price all the same benefits it did to the Mongols. By adopting the yam Muscovy had greater control over its citizens and was able to operate more effectively. The Mongols therefore had some impact on the development of Russia as whilst the yam does differ to the contemporary postal system we have today, it continued to be operated by Russian princes long after the Mongol Khans lost their control of the region and remained largely unchanged until the early 18th century. Whilst the Mongols Yoke did bring some positive aspects to Russia, much of the impact of the Mongols was negative and detrimental to Russias development. During the invasion of the Rus by the Mongol armies looted and razed cities and slaughtered the people, devastating whole regions. It is believed that around half the population of the Kievan Rus died during the Mongol invasion[9] which has given the Mongol Empire and its rule over Russia a reputation of brutality. This sense of Mongol brutality and Russian victimhood has had a lasting impact on Russian national identity and Russian culture. As a consequence the Mongols were blamed for the destruction of the Kievan Rus and from this was born the idea of oriental despotism and an unwillingness to attribute improvements to the Mongol Yoke. However it seems that whilst the initial invasion by the Mongols was certainly bloody and destructive, they were no solely responsible for the turmoil, rather warring principalities continued to bat tle one another in quasi civil wars. Additionally, Russian chronicles have very limited records of the rule of the Mongols following their assault and their immediate consequences. Whilst it is possible that a sense of national pride resulted in the monks responsible for chronicling the events choosing to omit the Mongols from their records out of shame of being dominated by a foreign and non-Christian force, it is also possible that the Mongol Yoke simply did not have that great of an impact on normal Russians. As the Mongols utilised some of the existing hierarchical power systems their control over the Rus was indirect and therefore less noticeable. Furthermore the violence between Russian principalities was more noticeable and striking at the time, allowing for the impact of the Yoke to be ignored. This suggests that whilst the initial invasion of the Rus certainly had a negative impact on Russias development as it resulted in the deaths of so many, but also the destruction of c ities such as Kiev that would take centauries to recover. Additionally the tribute in the form of taxes placed on the people would have been a burden on the Russian people, particularly for the peasantry and serfs[10], but they were not a new phenomenon for the Russian people as they would have been expected to pay tribute to their prince before the Mongol invasion. Therefore the negative impact that the Mongols had on Russias development has likely been exaggerated as beyond the immediate invasion the Mongols avoided creating significant changes to the ruling of Russia and adapted existing structures. In conclusion, beyond the initial devastation that the Mongols inflicted upon Russia it would seem that overall the Mongol Yoke had a moderately positive impact in the development of Russia. By giving favour to the Muscovite princes and granting them the role of tax collectors enabled the principality to flourish and grow. The unifying and gathering of the Russian lands that was possible with this wealth has had an enormous impact on Russias development as it allowed for the creation of a strong centralised government that still exists as the capital today. Furthermore the creation of the yam system had a positive impact on Russias development, as the Russian princes continued to utilise the Mongol invention long after their Empire collapsed as they benefited from fast communication. Overall the impact of the Mongol Yoke is only moderate as some of the institutions credited to their rule although certainly beneficial, were improvements upon existing Rus systems, such as the use of ce nsus tabulation to improve taxation. Additionally if their impact was more significant it would be expected for there to be greater mention of the Mongol Yoke within Russian documents of the time. Bibliography Dmytryshyn, Basil. A History of Russia. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1977 Goldfrank, David M. Muscovy and the Mongols: Whats What and Whats Maybe. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 1.2 (2008): 259-266. Halperin, Charles J. Russia and the golden horde: the Mongol impact on medieval Russian history. Vol. 445. Indiana University Press, 1987 Hosking, Geoffrey. Russia and the Russians: A History. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2001 Hosseini, Dustin. The Effects of the Mongol Empire on Russia, Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studie 2005. Ostrowski, Donald. Muscovy and the Mongols: cross-cultural influences on the steppe frontier, 1304-1589. Cambridge University Press, 2002. Ostrowski, Donald. The Mongol Origins of Muscovite Political Institutions. Slavic Review (1990): 525-542. Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia. Sixth ed. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. 2000. The Moscow Times,. Was Tatar Yoke Really All That Bad? | News. N.p., 2015. Web. Apr. 19 2000. Vernadsky, George. A history of Russia. Vol. 5. Yale University Press, 1969. Wittfogel, Karl A. Russia and the East: A Comparison and Contrast, Slavic Review, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 1963: 627-643. [1] Ostrowski, Donald. Muscovy and the Mongols: cross-cultural influences on the steppe frontier, 1304-1589. Cambridge University Press, 2002. [2] Hosseini, Dustin. The Effects of the Mongol Empire on Russia, Vestnik: The Journal of Russian and Asian Studie 2005. [3] Ostrowski, Donald. The Mongol Origins of Muscovite Political Institutions. Slavic Review (1990): 525-542 [4]Halperin, Charles J. Russia and the golden horde: the Mongol impact on medieval Russian history. Vol. 445. Indiana University Press, 1987. [5] Goldfrank, David M. Muscovy and the Mongols: Whats What and Whats Maybe. Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 1.2 (2008): 259-266. [6] The Moscow Times,. Was Tatar Yoke Really All That Bad? | News. N.p., 2015. Web. Apr. 19 2000. [7] Hosking, Geoffrey. Russia and the Russians: A History. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2001 [8] Wittfogel, Karl A. Russia and the East: A Comparison and Contrast, Slavic Review, Vol. 22, No. 4, December 1963: 627-643. [9] Vernadsky, George. A history of Russia. Vol. 5. Yale University Press, 1969. [10] Stearns, Peter. Russia in Bondage, World Civilizations: The Global Experience

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway :: essays research papers

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Ernest Hemingway "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" by Ernest Hemingway is a story which emphasizes on three age groups that each have a different view of life. By analyzing the three different points of view, we see Hemingway’s perspective of an old man. The short story is about an old man that sits in a very clean bar every so often who drinks away at two o’clock in the morning and is the last one to leave. There are three waiters: one is a young man, one is an older gentleman, and the last is a very old man. All the waiters see him in a different way based on their age. The young waiter was in a rush to close the bar an hour earlier because there was only the lonely old man in it. It was two a.m. and the bar is supposed to close at three. This young man throws the old man out of the bar just so he can go into bed with his wife. The young man has absolutely no respect for the older man who is deaf. He yelled at the old man saying, "You should have killed yourself last week." The waiter treats him like an obstacle as if he is slowing down his life. The second waiter introduced is a middle-aged man. He does not say much, but it seems as though that this is because he does not want to get in a fight with the younger waiter. All he does is ask the young waiter questions, as if the middle-aged waiter was sort of stuck in a catch twenty-two. The middle aged man felt for the old man but could not express his feelings to the younger waiter. Lastly, there is the old waiter. He is some where around the age of the old man that sat at the table. He definitely feels for the man at the table because he knows what it is like to be old and lonely. The waiter says, "I am of those who like to stay late at the café, with all those who do not want to go to bed. With all those who need a light for the night." The waiter knows that the café/bar is a very nice place for people at night, especially the old, because it is clean and well lit. He says, "Each night I am reluctant to close up because there may be someone who needs the café.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Logarithmic functions

John Napier is the man credited to have contributed hugely to the fields of science, philosophy and mathematics. Many believe that he is the brainchild of the modern computer science since he helped in making multiplication, division and root extraction much easier especially for very large numbers. In the world of mathematics the genius of a man, John Napier is credited to have invented the logarithms as early as 1614 and states in his book The â€Å"Descriptio† that he started contemplating the idea of logarithms twenty years earlier which was in the year 1594. Using Napier’s table in his book, calculations were made using the logarithm identities. These are the present first and second laws of logarithms: Log XY = Log X + Log Y as well as Log X / Y =Log X – Log Y. In his book â€Å"the Descriptio†John Napier defined logarithmic function as a differential equation. When the base is â€Å"b† and the variable is â€Å"x† the logarithm to the base â€Å"b† of the variable â€Å"x† can be defined as the â€Å"power to which you would raise â€Å"b† to get â€Å"x†. Other scientists define logarithm as â€Å"the exponent to which the base must be raised to produce a given number†(Standler, B.R 1990). That is expressed as: if Logbx   = n the bn = x or if Y = bLogx = by = x. there are three laws of logarithm that scientists use in interpreting logarithm: These laws are: The product to sum rule – This law expresses that the product of a logarithm is equal to the sum of the individual logarithms and is expressed as: Log bXY = Log b X+ Log b Y The second law – The quotient of different rule: states that the logarithm of a quotient is the same as subtracting the logarithm of the denominator from the logarithm of the numerator; Logbx/y = Log bx – Logby The third and final law – The power rule; states that logarithm of x equals to the exponent of that power multiplied to the logarithm of x Log bXn =nLogb X Common logarithms As earlier identified a logarithm to be valid must contain a base and a variable. Logarithms are classified into two: Natural logarithms and Common logarithm. In common logarithms the base of the logarithm is assumed to be 10 when not indicated in a function, that is â€Å"log 100 = 2 if the base is not indicated† since if log 10100 = x therefore 10x = 100 hence x = 2. Common logarithm is more prevalent when using arithmetic series as opposed to geometric series. Natural logarithms In the common logarithm system the base is expressed as b whereas in natural logarithms the base number is expressed as â€Å"e†. This number â€Å"e† comes into use after the great mathematician from Switzerland by the name Leonhard Euler. Currently â€Å"e† is the base used in calculus and has since been named as â€Å"natural base†. The value â€Å"e† Can be calculated from a series of factorials starting from one (1) This is; â€Å"e† = 1 + 1/1 +  ½ +1/3 +  ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ and from this, the value of â€Å"e† is approximately 2.71828182845904. Currently, when Mathematicians calculate the natural logarithm of a number they indicate it as (log x) whereas physicists and engineers denote natural logarithms as lnX. Therefore log eX=ln X(Olds, C.D.1963) Logarithms make multiplication and division easier especially when using very big numbers, very small numbers and those with decimal points. Scientists use of the 1st and 2nd laws of logarithms when adding the logarithms of the numbers the result is the logarithm of the product of those numbers whereas. Subtracting the logarithms of two numbers gives the logarithm of the quotient of the numbers. These arithmetic properties of logarithms make such calculations much faster and less laborious. Although logarithm table are slowly becoming obsolete due to the invention of calculators and computers, logarithms themselves are still very useful. However, for manual calculations which also require a great degree of precision the logarithm tables are easier since one only needs to look up in the logarithm table and do some summation which are faster and easier than performing multiplication (Weisstein, E.W 2007). Other than making calculations less labor intensive and much faster the use of logarithms also increases the accuracy of the results of calculations. This is because the use of logarithms allows minimal errors as the values in the table are approximations of the actual values and thus the error is spread. The Keplers Rudolphine table that was published in 1627, made use of the logarithms and this resulted in more accurate values of latitudes of stars. They also together with Napier’s Analogues made it cheaper and easier to calculate angles and sides of spherical triangles. The importance of this new technique is evidenced by the development of logarithmic methods based on logarithmic scales enables multiplication to be quick and easy since there is decreased long multiplication. Logarithms are very essential in the work of astronomists, navigators, mathematicians and all other scientific fields like chemistry and physics. Logarithms for chemists Chemists use logarithms to calculate chemical reactions that are ever occurring in the world that we are living in. for instance the measure of acidity of a substance is made easier when using logarithms. In the PH scale substances have PH ranging from 0 –7. A juice with PH of 4 is 10 times more acidic that the one with a PH of 5. This PH scale is logarithmic and when there is a PH change of 1 unit the acidity changes by factor of 10. As identified by students of chemistry the strength of the acidity changes towards the negative direction that is the higher the PH, the less acidic the solution. This was calculated by use of very small numbers such as 0.00001 that is written in logarithmic form as (1 x 10-5) where –5 is the logarithm of the number (Standler B.R.1990). As we all know acidic solutions contain hydrogen ions H+(aq) and the pH is found by measuring the logarithm of the concentration of these ions and since many people would be confused by negative numbers, the PH is written assuming the negative sign and this not withstanding, the PH is a logarithmic scale and the acidity of a solution with a given PH is different from that of the next pH number not by 1unit but by factor 10. Electrical and Electronic engineers use decibels and bels as units of measurements. The bell is devised in a convenient way to measure power loss in a telephone system wiring rather than giving in amplifiers – originally, the bel used to represent the amount of signal power loss due to resistance over a standard length of electrical cable, however, it is presently defined in terms of logarithms of base 10. The Richter scale that is used to measure the earthquake intensity is a perfect analogy of the bel scale. The 6.0 Richter earthquakes are 10 times more powerful than a 5.0 Richter earthquake. This means that an advantage of using a logarithmic measurement scale is the tremendous range of extension affordable by a relatively small span of numerous values. Reference: Strandler, R.B 1990 â€Å"Editorial†: Mathematics for engineers. The journal of Undergraduate mathematics and its application vol II, pages 1-6, spring Olds, C, D, 1963. Continued fractions, Random House New York Weisstein, Eric W. â€Å"Natural logarithm† from math world a wolfram web resource Accessed online on 23/09/07   

Friday, November 8, 2019

7 Common Spanish Pronunciation Mistakes

7 Common Spanish Pronunciation Mistakes Few things are more frustrating for someone learning a foreign language than to not be understood by a native speaker. If you want to make a good impression when speaking Spanish, here are seven common pronunciation mistakes English speakers make that you can avoid. You can learn to avoid these common errors, and your Spanish-speaking friends  will know that at least youre making an effort. Turning the R Into Mush Lets get the most difficult letter for English speakers out of the way first! Heres the basic rule: Never pronounce the Spanish r as if it were English. Think of it as a different letter of the alphabet that just happens to be written the same as the English one. Spanish has two r sounds. The simple r sound, which youll hear more often, is close to the dd sound in paddle or the tt in little. So the common word mero (mere) sounds much like meadow, not marrow. That wasnt hard, was it? The other r sound, often called the rr sound because rr was once considered a separate letter of the alphabet, is used for rr and when r appears at the beginning of a sentence or a word by itself. The rr sound is a brief trill and does take some effort to master. You might think of it as the front of your tongue flapping against the roof of the mouth in a strong breeze, or perhaps the sounds of a cat purring or a motorboat revving. Once you figure it out, it can be a fun sound to make. Turning the U Into a Different Vowel The u sound is never like the u in fuse, but, or push. When it doesnt come in combination with another vowel, its like the oo sound in moo, which appropriately is spelled mu in Spanish. So uno (one) sounds something like OO-noh and uniforme (uniform) sounds something like oo-nee-FOR-meh. Like the other Spanish vowels, u has a pure and distinct sound. When the u comes before another vowel, the u glides into the following vowel and ends up sounding something like the English w. Thus cuenta (account) sounds something like KWEN-tah, and cuota sounds fairly close to the cognate quota. And that brings up another point: After the q, the u is silent unless a dieresis is added to make it à ¼. Thus quince (the number 15) sounds like KEEN-seh. But with the dieresis, the u carries the w sound. Thus pingà ¼ino (penguin) is pronounced something like peeng-GWEEN-oh. Giving the G and J Their Sound in ‘Judge’ In English, the g generally has the j sound when g is followed by e or i. The same pattern is true in Spanish, but the j sound also used in the ge and gi combinations is much different. English speakers usually approximate it with the English h sound, although native Spanish speakers in most regions often give it a harsher, more guttural sound. Youll be perfectly understandable if you pronounce gente as HEN-teh and jugo (juice) as HOO-goh. Buzzing the Z The z of Spanish isnt pronounced with the z sound of words such as buzz and zoo. In Latin America, it generally sounds like the English s, while in most of Spain its like the th in thin. So if youre headed to the zoo, think soh in Latin America and thoh in Spain. Pronouncing the B and V as Different Letters Once upon a time, Spanish had distinct sounds for the B and V. But no more - they sound exactly the same and thus often pose a spelling challenge for native speakers. The sound is something like a buzzing sound with the two lips when b or v comes between two vowels and something like a soft English b at other times. You may look at words such as tubo (tube) and tuvo (a form of tener) and think of them as sounding different, but in fact they sound alike. Sounding Out the H How do you pronounce the h? In a word, dont. Except in a very few words of foreign origin such as hmster and hockey, the h is silent. Failing To Keep the L Distinct Listen carefully, and you may notice that the first l of little has a different sound than the second l. The first is formed with the tongue against the roof of the palate, while the second one isnt. The key rule in pronouncing the Spanish l is that it has sound of the first l in little. Thus the l has the same sound in mal as it does in malo and mala (all of them meaning bad). In other words, mal does not sound like mall. The doubled l or ll used to be considered a separate letter of the alphabet. Although its pronunciation varies with region, you wont go wrong to give it the sound of the y in yet. Thus calle (street) sounds similar to KAH-yeh. Key Takeaways When pronouncing Spanish words, remember that the pronunciation rules of English dont always apply.Among the letters that Spanish pronounces much differently than English does are g (sometimes), h, l (sometimes), r, u (usually), v, and z.The repeated letter pairs ll and rr have pronunciations that are distinct from the same letter appearing individually.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

650 Assingment 5 Example

650 Assingment 5 Example 650 Assingment 5 – Assignment Example 650 Assignment 5 Answer The major proportion of the investments related to the mutual funds comes from al investors including foreign institutional investors, banks and corporate. Apart from the equity schemes of the investors the highest participation is made by the institutional investors. However, retail participation is more towards the equity. From the graphical representation of the mutual fund investors it can be inferred that at the initial stage in 1986 the performance of actively managed equity funds were better than Vanguard 500 Index which took a major dip in 1998. At this point of time the performance of Vanguard 500 Index Fund performance tends to be better. Again within a span of 7-8 years the actively managed equity performance kept Vanguard 500 Index Fund way behind. Thus it can be said that the performance of actively managed stocks has been portraying better rates of return over the years than that of Vanguard 500 Index Fund. Answer 2 Efficient market hypothesis of any company is difficult to test. The consistency of the company can be judged on the basis of the three forms of efficiency, i.e., strong, semi-strong and weak. The strong form of efficiency hypothesis results in fewer evidence of inconsistency. However, the intense of inconsistency grows with semi-strong to weak form of efficiency hypothesis. From the graphical representation it can be assessed that inconsistency prevails over the year. Since the company has not been successful in projecting similar kind of return over the year. But depending on the area where the company has shown strong form of efficiency hypothesis there the extent of consistency prevails. Thus overall both the elements of consistency and inconsistency are observed based on the performance of the company (Jensen, 1978, pp.1-5). Answer 3 The best way of deciding on the equity investment of the 401(k) plans relates to the assets of the company. Initially the company should work towards the contribution plan resulting in paying more emphasis on the asset allocation responsibility of the company. The increase in the defined contribution plan of the company would take care of the supplemental coverage. The asset allocation pattern of the company helps in the estimation of the taking investment decisions. However, the pattern of investment is highly depended on factors like the age and income of the person; as to the investor is willing to concentrate on a equity based portfolio or is keener on the debt based portfolio. Since the investor here is having an equity of around 70%, hence the investment decision has to be taken very tactfully depending upon the companies where the investments has been made. The debt-equity ratio of the comp-any is an important element in assessing the company efficiency and depending on which the decision should be taken. The investment should be made on various sectors so that the stocks of the company are negatively correlated thus yielding higher returns for the portfolio (Uccello, 2000, p.1-6). Reference Jensen M. C., (1978). Some Anomalous Evidence Regarding Market Efficiency. Retrieved from: . Uccello C. E., (2000). 401(k) Investment Decisions and Social Security Reform. Retrieved from: .

Monday, November 4, 2019

Evluation of narrative work of art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evluation of narrative work of art - Essay Example "Once upon a time" is viewed by some as a warning; as though this preamble was set up as the pre-cursor to today's "Rated PG-13" (Liquori). The release of the semi-biographical film, "The Brothers Grimm," helped to bring the traditional fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers into the 21st Century while offering a dramatic glimpse into their lives (Fisher). The film, a fantasy-based description of the lives of the Grimm Brothers, ties several elements found throughout their most famous tales. The film offers the audience a unique perspective into the personalities and demeanor of the Grimm Brothers. Their themes, prevalent throughout their tales, were emphasized by their use of mystery, intrigue, and violence. The film begins towards the end of the 18th Century in a small house (Times), presumably the house that Will and Jacob Grimm grew up in. In the film, the sister is dying, and Jacob has been sent to sell the family's cow to pay for a doctor to help her. Instead, he returns with a handful of beans and a story that they were magical. "Will is furious with Jake, and it is implied that their sister died as a result of his mistake" (Times 1). Of course, in one of the brothers' most famous tales, "Jack and the Beanstalk," a young boy sold the family cow to obtain the money they needed (Stauffacher); when the beans were thrown from the window, a giant beanstalk grew leading Jack on a magical adventure. Throughout the film, the death of their sister proves to have a profound effect on the lives of both Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm. In reality, the boys' father died when they were both very young (Baxter, Lindquist and Mauck, Grimm Brothers: Biography). This traumatic event thrust the Grimm family into poverty; and the Grimm brothers resigned themselves to follow in their father's footsteps: attending college and acquiring degrees in law and eventually becoming renowned professors (Baxter, Lindquist and Mauck, Grimm Brothers: Biography). The film also portrayed these two boys as scholars, and made several references to their high intelligence (Damon and Ledger). Additionally, the film portrayed the Grimm brothers as travelers. Although, during their real lives, the brothers traveled both together and individually to collect stories (Cooper) whereas in the film they were portrayed as traveling con artists (Damon and Ledger). As con artists, rather than collecting fairy tales from storytellers, they would create the stories by vanquishing fake ghosts, ghouls, and witches, until they were inadvertently caught up in a conglomerate of some of today's most recognizable stories: complete with the "Big Bad Wolf," the evil queen hidden away in a tower, and enchanted forest, and even a pile of several dozen mattresses. Terry Gilliam, the film's director, was very excited to do a film in which she could rewrite some of her favorite childhood fairy tales and "make a fairy tale out of the Grimm Brothers" (Miramax 1). Some people believe that the Grimm version of these fairy tales are very dark-possibly too dark for children. Terry Gilliam, the film's director, expressed dismay that the film was rated as a "PG-13" (Damon, Science Fiction Weekly). As an avid reader of Grimms' Fairy Tales, actor Matt Damon comments on the dark nature of these stories: "maybe it was just being a child, or maybe my mother didn't read all of them, but going back and reading them, yeah, they were very dark. I

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Political Environment Case Study Analysis Research Paper

Political Environment Case Study Analysis - Research Paper Example It encourages a series of revenge by the wrong doer to the society and thus crime is not stopped (Honderich, 1969). I would, therefore, try to show the sense in my program and its benefit in the long run when the inmates are incorporated in the society as rehabilitated. This way, the governor may understand it and convince, through his political power, his followers who might be tempted to be against the current program. This will be easier for him since the project has already won the hearts of the citizens. The programs for providing educational, vocational and treatment opportunities have not only gained national attention, but have led to the reduction of recidivism by 30 percent. My department will attempt to convince the governor that, this way, he will gain his political mileage even if it means associating the program with him. 2. Is there any room to negotiate with the governor? As a trade-off, would you offer to put in place some programs that are known to be tough on inmat es? If so, what kind? There is room to negotiate with the governor since the programs cannot be implemented without his support. The difference, between the governor’s ideology and the ideology behind the programs being implemented, is that the governor wants retributive justice while the program is working on restorative justice. In restorative justice, the main concern is making the victim whole and reintegrating the offender into the society through education, vocational training and humane treatment (Duff & Garland, 1994). This way, the offender is treated like other citizens and is given a chance to rehabilitate and understand the effect his offense has done to the victim. This approach does not satisfy legal principles, but the victim takes an active role in the process while offenders repair the harm they have done by being rehabilitated (Konow, 2003). Effort will be made to convince the society on the effectiveness of the preferred theory of justice. Therefore, enough mechanism will be put in place to ensure correct protocols are used to approach the politician. This way, there will be no need of a trade off by reintroducing tough programs for the inmate. This is because; these tough programs will not work well with restorative justice approach, which is meant to treat inmates as leniently as possible when it comes to punishment. Since the program has some ends to achieve, they will desire, just like the offenders to do so â€Å"through cooperation with others on mutually acceptable terms† (Rawls, 1999, p. 266). 3. Before dismantling your policies and programs, would you attempt to see how much internal and external support you have for them? If yes, whom would you contact and how? Incase the worse get to be worst, and the program requires to be dismantled, we will give a chance to public opinion. Since the program in place has already won some support from the public, it will be significant to assess the internal and external support. Th is will be done with the hope that the governor will be convinced, and if he is a democrat, he will go by public opinion. For this case, I will contact institutions like media and others which conduct opinion polls to assess the public opinion on the programs.