Sunday, November 10, 2019

In what ways did World War II end the problems of World War I Essay

In the days prior to World War Two, the First World War was referred to as â€Å"the War to end all Wars†. (Devine, 14) Despite this name, only twenty-odd years had passed before the nations of the world once again engaged in armed conflict. The treaty of Versailles and the conditions in Europe precipitated a second large-scale conflict in Europe. (Devine, 16) The conclusion of WWII ended the problems that derived from WWI by ending the Fascist dictatorships of Europe, ending European and Asian imperialism, and shifting military power out of Europe. The Treaty of Versailles created tremendous pressure on Germany, Austria-Hungary, and other nations who bore the blame for the conflict. (Morgan, 18) The economic depression in these nations that resulted from their attempts to pay reparations led to a political climate ripe for the rise of Fascism. (Morgan, 27) The people of nations such as Italy, Germany and Spain were willing to embrace this hyper-nationalist form of government, giving up their freedoms in exchange for the promise of better economic conditions and a return of their respective nations to international prominence. Morgan, 30) The rise of hyper-nationalism in Fascist Germany and Italy was one of the precipitating causes of the Second World War in Europe. Hitler’s Germany began to militarize and â€Å"reclaim† areas of Europe that Hitler declared to be part of the rightful German empire. (Morgan, 108) These regions included all of Austria, and part of the nation of Czechoslovakia, referred to by Hitler a s the Sudetenland (southland). When Germany invaded Poland to return the land to Germany, France and Britain declared war. The results of WWII ended the reign of fascism in Europe. ( Morgan, 117) The personalities around whom the fascist governments were built, Hitler in Germany, and Mussolini in Italy, were killed in the war effort, and their philosophies discredited when the atrocities they committed became public knowledge. (Morgan, 197) Of the Fascists of Europe, only Francisco Franco of Spain, which had remained neutral in the war, survived. (Morgan, 201) After WWII, Germany was divided into a Soviet-controlled Eastern half, and a Republican western half. Nationalist efforts were turned to reunification, rather than conquest. (Morgan, 203) The destruction of the German War machine was absolute, eliminating them as a future threat to stability in Europe. (Morgan, 205) Italy and Japan were similarly disarmed at the conclusion of WWII, making future threats to world stability from these powers unlikely in the extreme. (Morgan, 206) The end of WWII also marked the end of the naked Imperialism that characterized all the major European nations since WWI. Betts, 113) Britain, France, Germany, Japan and other nations granted independence, or protectorate status to their imperial holdings, making self-sovereignty the â€Å"new† goal of international foreign policy. (Betts, 127) Japan was forced to give up the Pacific Islands they had occupied, and withdraw their invasion of China. (Betts, 128) Germany similarly ceded their occupied territories and permitted free choice for the subsequent governments. Betts, 133) One of the world powers that emerged from WWII, the United States, embraced self-determination as the ideal for nations of the world, and began to fight against efforts to engage in imperialist activities on the parts of other nations. (Betts, 144) The conclusion of WWII marked a shift in the dynamic of world conflict. (Levering, 18) During WWI and WWII, dominance on the seas determined a large part of military control. After WWII, nations who had access to weapons of mass destruction became the powers of the World. Levering, 22) For the first time in modern history, the central conflict of the world was not between Britain and Germany or France, but between the United States and the Soviet Union. European powers became pawns in a worldwide power struggle between opposing ideologies. (Levering, 27) The United States used war reconstruction money as a lure to the nations of Europe to shun Communism in favor of republican government. (Levering, 34) After WWII, armed conflict was limited to third-party wars w here one side or the other effectively acted as a proxy for one of the Superpowers. Levering, 46) This was managed to avoid direct conflict between the Superpowers, which could have led to destruction of the entire world through nuclear annihilation. (Levering, 55) As a result, dozens of minor conflicts and a handful of major wars were fought after WWII by indigenous people with military and economic support from the USSR and the United States. (Levering, 58) This scenario played out in countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Cuba, Afghanistan, and many others. (Levering, 75) It is clear that the effects of WWII resolved many of the issues that resulted from WWI. WWII ended European Fascism, eliminated European and Asian imperialism, and permanently shifted the balance of World Power away from Europe. The Treaty of Versailles produced conditions in Europe that made Fascism an attractive and popular option, which played a great role in precipitating WWII. As a result of the unresolved issues of WWI, WWII became the latest â€Å"war to end all wars†. It is hoped by the nations of the world that conflict on the scale of WWII never be repeated in the history of mankind.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Biography of Edmonia Lewis, American Sculptor

Biography of Edmonia Lewis, American Sculptor Edmonia Lewis (c. July 4, 1844–September 17, 1907) was an American sculptor of African-American and Native American heritage. Her work, which features themes of freedom and abolition, became popular after the Civil War and earned her numerous accolades. Lewis depicted African, African-American, and Native American people in her work, and she is particularly recognized for her naturalism within the neoclassical genre. Fast Facts: Edmonia Lewis Known For: Lewis was a sculptor who used neoclassical elements to depict African-American and Native American people.Born:  July 4 or July 14, in either 1843 or 1845, possibly in upstate New YorkDied: September 17, 1907 in London, EnglandOccupation: Artist (sculptor)Education: Oberlin CollegeNotable Works:  Forever Free  (1867),  Hagar  in the Wilderness  (1868),  The Old Arrow Maker and His Daughter  (1872), The Death of  Cleopatra  (1875)Notable Quote: I was practically driven to Rome in order to obtain the opportunities for art culture, and to find a social atmosphere where I was not constantly reminded of my color. The land of liberty had not room for a colored sculptor. Early Life Edmonia Lewis was one of two children born to a mother of Native American and African-American heritage.  Her father, an African Haitian, was a gentlemens servant. Her birthdate and birthplace (possibly New York or Ohio) are in doubt. Lewis may have been born on July 14 or July 4, in either 1843 or 1845. She herself claimed her birthplace was upstate New York.   Lewis spent her early childhood with her mothers people, the Mississauga band of Ojibway (Chippewa Indians). She was known as Wildfire, and her brother was called Sunrise. After they were orphaned when Lewis was about 10 years old, two aunts took them in. They lived near Niagara Falls in northern New York. Education Sunrise, with wealth from the California Gold Rush and from working as a barber in Montana, financed his sisters education that included prep school and Oberlin College. She studied art at Oberlin beginning in 1859. Oberlin was one of very few schools at the time to admit either women or people of color. Lewiss time there, though, was not without its difficulties. In 1862, two white girls at Oberlin accused her of attempting to poison them. Lewis was acquitted of the charges but was subjected to verbal attacks and a beating by anti-abolitionist vigilantes. Even though Lewis was not convicted in the incident, Oberlins administration refused to allow her to enroll the next year to complete her graduation requirements. Early Success in New York After leaving Oberlin, Lewis went to Boston and  New York to study with sculptor Edward Brackett, who was introduced to her by abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. Soon, abolitionists began to publicize her work.  Lewiss first bust was of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, a white Bostonian who led black troops in the Civil War. She sold copies of the bust, and with the proceeds she was eventually able to move to Rome, Italy. Move to Marble and Neoclassical Style In Rome, Lewis joined a large artistic community that included other women sculptors such as Harriet Hosmer, Anne Whitney, and Emma Stebbins. She began to work in marble and adopted the neoclassical style, which included elements of ancient Greek and Roman art. Concerned with racist assumptions that she wasnt really responsible for her work, Lewis worked alone and was not part of the community that drew buyers to Rome. Among her patrons in America was abolitionist and feminist Lydia Maria Child. Lewis converted to Roman Catholicism during her time in Italy. Lewis told a friend that she lived within the city of Rome to support her art: There is nothing so beautiful as the free forest. To catch a fish when you are hungry, cut the boughs of a tree, make a fire to roast it, and eat it in the open air, is the greatest of all luxuries. I would not stay a week pent up in cities, if it were not for my passion for art. Edmonia Lewis most famous sculpture: The Death of Cleopatra (1876). Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Famous Sculptures Lewis had some success, especially among American tourists, for her depictions of African, African-American, and Native American people. Egyptian themes were, at the time, considered representations of Black Africa. Her work has been criticized for the Caucasian look of many of her female figures, though their costuming is considered more ethnically accurate. Among her best-known sculptures are Forever Free (1867), a sculpture commemorating the ratification of the 13th Amendment and which depicts a black man and woman celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation; Hagar in the Wildnerness, a sculpture of the Egyptian handmaiden of Sarah and Abraham, mother of Ishmael; The Old Arrow-Maker and His Daughter, a scene of Native Americans; and The Death of Cleopatra, a depiction of the Egyptian queen. Lewis created the The Death of Cleopatra for the 1876 Philadelphia Centenniel, and it was also displayed at the 1878 Chicago Exposition. The sculpture was lost for a century. It turned out to have been displayed on the grave of a race track owners favorite horse, Cleopatra, while the track was transformed first into a golf course and then a munitions plant. With another building project, the statue was moved and then rediscovered, and in 1987 it was restored. It is now part of the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Death Lewis disappeared from public view in the late 1880s. Her last known sculpture was completed in 1883, and Frederick Douglass met with her in Rome in 1887. A Catholic magazine reported on her in 1909 and there was a report of her in Rome in 1911. For a long time, no definitive death date was known for Edmonia Lewis. In 2011, cultural historian Marilyn Richardson uncovered evidence from British records that she was living in the Hammersmith area of London and died in the Hammersmith Borough Infirmary on September 17, 1907, despite those reports of her in 1909 and 1911. Legacy Though she received some attention in her lifetime, Lewis and her innovations were not widely recognized until after her death. Her work has been featured in several posthumous exhibitions; some of her most famous pieces now reside in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Sources Atkins, Jeannine.  Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis.  Simon Schuster, 2017.Buick, Kirsten.  Child of the Fire: Mary Edmonia Lewis and the Problem of Art History’s Black and Indian Subject.  Duke University Press, 2009.Henderson, Albert.  The Indomitable Spirit of Edmonia Lewis: A Narrative Biography.  Esquiline Hill Press, 2013.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Essay on Chapter 2 Terminology 3

Essay on Chapter 2 Terminology 3 Essay on Chapter 2 Terminology 3 Briefly describe the following terminologies: 1. Chemical changes The changes that occurs in the structure and composition of the matter is known as the chemical change. It is irresible and one directional. 2. Compound The chemical substance that is formed by the composition of two or more than two elements combined in fixed proportion. It is result of the chemical change between the elements. 3. Element Element is the purest form of matter that can neither be created nor can be destroyed. 4. Atomic Number The number of electron or the number of protons in aen electrically neutral atom is known as the atomic Number. It is usully denoted by A. It is typical number that helps to determine the chemical and physical properties of an atom. In an neutral atom, Atomic Number(A)= Number of electron= Number of the Proton 5. Mass Number Mass number of an atom is the sum of the mass of the sub-atomic particle of an atom, particularly neutron and electron ( the mass of electron is negligible). Thus, mass number is the mass of the nucleus of an atom. It is usually denoted by the letter Z. Mass Number= Mass of Proton+ Mass of Neutron 6. Isotopes Isotopes are the different form of the elements with atomic number but different mass number. It usually differ in the number of the neutrons. Example, Chlorine-36 and Chlorine-37 are Isotopes. 7. Mole Mole is the quantity of any matter that contain the Avagardo number of it. Avogadro Number= 6.023*10^23 For example: 1 mole of Carbon atom=

Monday, November 4, 2019

The impact of Internal and External Business Environment on Essay

The impact of Internal and External Business Environment on organizational performance - Essay Example The paper has given an insight into the internal conditions of the organization and external environment, which contributes through elements of task environment. The paper has explored the internal environment in terms of the organizational culture, through focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This section also focuses on the healthy and unhealthy aspects of the organization, ways through which the organization adapt to different conditions in the environment. The report also focused on the entrepreneurial aspect organization and their operations, whereby animals are used as metaphors. In the other section, the paper has conducted an environmental analysis of the conditions, by focusing on the characteristics of the environment. The next section has sought to determine the effects of the organization by focusing on the competitive forces through Porter’s Five Competitive Forces. The last section has focused on identifying ways in which an organization can adapt and respond to the influence of the environment. The recommendation of the report will focus on the things that an organization should concentrate on their environment through recurrent testing. The organizations are recommended to focus on the external environments in order to be in the position of acquiring loans from the bank and financial institutions. Other recommendations relate to focusing on the positive or negative impact of technology that can facilitate to increasing the level of productivity of the organization.

Friday, November 1, 2019

History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

History - Essay Example This is one of those moments that redefined the status of the country as one of the biggest economic powerhouses of the world. It also brought into existence, a large number of fiscal and monetary policies that have been a guiding light for the other economies. During the period of 1920’s, there was a period of great turbulence as the growth among the various sectors was uneven. The period was marked by fall of the farm prices, whereas the industrial profits grew. There was an inflated stock market, which led to the Great depression of 1929. The unemployment increased from three percent in the year of 1929, to almost twenty five percent by 1925. The production fell by one third. These led to large scale reforms in the American economy in the form of a lot of new path breaking laws (the social security Act, Works progress Administration Act, The emergency Banking Act and the Economy Act) (Bordo et al, 1998). World War II The World War II was one of the most defining moments in the history of the United States. Categorically, America had always tried to stay away from the war and had tendered its ideological support to the allies. The main contribution of the US to the war was resources, men, money, and ammunition. That actually triggered to the rise in the GDP.

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

I want a....( something) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

I want a....( something) - Essay Example Your dog will never go out with other dogs (or what is worse, women) unless you ask your dog about this. However, even if you ask your dog to spend a little while with somebody else, it will probably prefer to refuse. Your dog is devoted to you with all its doggy soul – nobody else in the world would be as loved as you. Your dog will never leave you at home even if his buddies are waiting for him. You are your dog’s best buddy, so what is the sense? Your dog will never tell that it wants to go fishing without you. Your dog will never be late from work and it will never drink too much alcohol. It will not spend a part of your family budget for a new car detail. You dog will love you despite the way you look. Can you imagine the reaction of your boyfriend who sees your smeared-out make-up and messy hair when you wake up? It is of no importance for your dog. Your dog will never panic if you forget to shave your legs. Your hairdo, make-up, and outfit are not important too. You do not need to spend hours in front of your mirror in order to delight the eye of your dog. Even more, a few extra kilos will not frighten your dog. It does not matter at all. This lovely creature may appreciate your inner world. It doesnt happen very often that you find someone so sensitive and emphasizing. Besides, your dog may help you keep fit. You both will enjoy going for a walk twice a day. A breath of fresh air will always keep cheerful and healthy. Finally, if after all you decide you need to find a boyfriend, your dog may be helpful. Statistics shows that men may use your dog as a reason to get acquainted with you. A man who has a dog may turn to be a worthy, adequate candidate. It is better to escape men who do not like dogs or at least cats. It is hardly possible to find any disadvantages of dogs. Many people say that dogs are better than people. It may be true. Nowadays it is hardly possible to find

Monday, October 28, 2019

Perception and Reality in Existenz Essay Example for Free

Perception and Reality in Existenz Essay For me, eXistenZ is a film that is fairly confusing at best. If I’m not mistaken the film was released before The Matrix and had the same concept for the world the characters resided. A computer generated world inside the real world. In eXistenZ the protagonists start off in a room, they are about to beta test a revolutionary computer game called â€Å"eXistenZ†, the scene is set in such a way that we are led to believe that video games have finally reached the ultimate goal of becoming fully immersive and utterly real, not so much virtual reality but complete reality. Each actor is given a role that, in the game, they may or may not complete without knowing. This is where things already start to cross over. We as the audience are transported into a fictional world, viewed through a mechanical/computerized object (the camera) that is itself populated by fictional characters whom are just about to do the exact same thing. â€Å"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe. † 1 berger We are told to believe that computerised realities identical to our own are now possible, and that these people will be â€Å"porting† into one. Nobody today, at least that I know, believes that our reality is computerised, simply because in our reality†¦a computer generated reality that is indistinguishable from our own has not been created. But if we all believed that, would we see this world differently as in eXistenZ? â€Å"An image is a sight which has been recreated or reproduced. It is an appearance, or set of appearances, which has been detached from the place and time in which it first made its appearance and preserved – for a few moments or a few centuries. † 2 berger. Once we are â€Å"ported† into the computerized reality of their reality, we realise that what we are viewing is not what we are seeing for ourselves, possibly not even in the same time or space. The camera is providing us with a series of still images that were captured by a â€Å"mechanical† eye (this alone provides us with a view of the world which is unlike our own i. e. widescreen, resolution, perspective etc). These images are producing a world that is similar to ours but unreal and from the viewpoint like that of a ghost or an angel (called â€Å"free cam† or â€Å"death cam† in the video game world†. The ability to view events from anywhere in the world whenever you want. ). This world then takes us into another world inside that one which is viewed the same way, except this world is supposed to be the false reality. I sometimes think this can be part of the explanation for the oddities we see†¦. like placing the lens of a camera next to the viewfinder of another camera and taking a picture. As your eye, a natural camera in itself sees through the first lens, the image is distorted via that lens and then the other lens. What is it you will really be seeing at the end? In the film we are always viewing the events through three mediums, our eyes, through the camera, which views those events through a virtual camera in the game. We can never be totally sure that the images we see represent the corresponding knowledge that we assign to it in our reality. Everything in eXistenZ looks exactly the same as our reality but doesn’t have the same meaning†¦. several tiers over. But whose eyes are we actually viewing these whole series of events from? A spectator. But who is this spectator? Are there testers ported into the game as mere observers? Are they developers or publishers? Or simply joe public who has no direct connection with the corporate mechanics of eXistenZ? In our reality, when you play a multiplayer game such as this and you die, you become a spectator†¦a ghost, until the end of the game, where you â€Å"respawn† (get another chance). Quite simply, whose interpretation of the events are we watching? Two quotes relating to music and technology but I believe are relevant; â€Å"†Liveness,† in short, whether defined in social or physiological terms, is not essential to musical meaning. On the other hand, it is equally clear that to record a work is just as much to interpret it as to perform it in any other way. † 3 Simon Firth â€Å"I don’t believe the engineer should intrude between the composer, or performer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  4 Goddard The â€Å"music† is the game, the â€Å"performer† being the people in the game, the â€Å"composer† is the game itself, the story and the â€Å"engineer† is the person or entity who is controlling our view of the final score (In game mechanics this could be referred to as the â€Å"Game Engine†, this decides what happens, how, why, when and where. ) The above quote can only exude one outcome, that the game should be viewed from each and every person by their own means in order to absorb the complete truth. Right now we are watching the events through someone else’s interpretation, each cut and angle change being a splice of the composition†¦a rewrite of the events. By the end of the film we find out unequivocally that because of this we have only half of the story. But we do realise that no matter what, the composition remains the same†¦. it’s just the way we hear it that is different. eXistenZ has what’s called a â€Å"linear† plotline but a â€Å"non linear† game play mechanic, there is only one outcome but the way in which you reach that outcome can have infinite possibilities, much like our lives. Existence is linear, but life is not. We will all die eventually, but how we die will have an infinite number of possibilities. A composer can write a piece of music that is the story, which never changes, but it is the performer and engineer that tell this story, depending on them both, the end will always be the same but the way in which the story is told will always be different. One thing that was mentioned by Walter Benjamin is that, â€Å"For the film, what matters primarily is that the actor represents himself to the public before the camera, rather than representing someone else. † 5 benjamin This maybe true, but the very nature of this film throws this ideal into chaos. The actors are playings actors in a film that has them playing actors in a game†¦that by the end of the film, has them playing actors of actors in some other situation. This quote I simply don’t agree with, it also seems to me that this is the complete opposite of what a method actor tries to accomplish on stage, which is to embody and represent someone else completely without thought. This goes against what Berger said about us relating what we see to what we know. If the actors on stage all represented themselves completely to the audience other than the camera before the part they were playing, then what we as an audience know about the character in relation to the actor playing the character conflict and ruin the immersion, it is easier to become someone else in front of the camera, that doesn’t know anything, than the audience that knows everything. The whole point of eXistenZ is to make you believe that these average people believe they are someone else who in turn believe they are someone else. At the end of the day this is what the object of the game was, to embody the character of someone else that has been thrust into a plot in a world that you have no knowledge of. This is the reason that people play video games. To escape the mundane trials and tribulations of everyday life and become a part of something that is out of the ordinary. Computer Generated Imagery, or CGI (CGI is a term that I find horrible, to me it is either Digital Animation or Digital Modeling, together Digital Media. CGI has connotations of the low tech ‘80’s to many people. ) is the main ingredient in this, where as the original way to escape was to either read a book, act in a play or hear a tale†¦now we are heading towards the era where you can become part of a tale that is ultra realistic. Where you can enter a virtual world that can fabricate the ends of your imagination and beyond. eXistenz is where the digital industry wants to end up, the applications of fabricating a reality that is false for individuals that cannot cope with the â€Å"real† thing are endless. If youre bored at work, why not become Bruce Willis during you’re lunch break? Want to experience terror? Port in and visit Silent Hill after a hard day at work. It all sounds simple enough, but right now we are at a point where we know for definite within our reality, where the line is between virtual and real. The day that our technology reaches the levels depicted in eXistenZ is the day that the troubles will start. This I think is one of the main lessons to me in this film. When do we say â€Å"enough† to technology? When do we stop? Or do we stop in one avenue and continue developing in others? A revolutionary game such as eXistenZ could wreak havoc on people who do not have the capacity to discern their reality from that of the software or hardware. It even has the possibility to blur the lines and boundaries you already have defined, or destroy your mental health completely. At the very end of the film we are enlightened to the fact that eXistenZ is not real, that it is a product of the game â€Å"tranScendanZ†. It is a game within a game within a film. The final line of the film â€Å"Are we still in the game† relates to how we see the world, relative. Who knows if that was the real reality or just the game, to me it looked very much like the two protagonists didn’t know either, or even questioned it. Perhaps they weren’t even â€Å"real† participants of the game, but mere NPC’s (non player characters). But this is where Digital Media is taking us, it’s job is to create the world as accurately as it can within the realms of it’s software, ironically designed by entities that are bound by laws of a universe not completely understood by the aformentioned but with none of the rules that limit our existence (The Matrix for example, identical reality, but the rules could be bent or broken by those who knew how to). For instance, if I wanted to walk through a wall right now I couldn’t, however, in a game it is as simple as typing a code into the console (usually â€Å"noclip 1†, 0 being false, 1 being true). But who is to say that I couldn’t walk through that wall now? Maybe it is as simple as being enlightened to the truth like Neo from The Matrix? In our lives we are exposed to images from the past, present and future that hold no bearing on our existence at that present time we experience them. But these images, performances or experiences can affect us in ways that we cannot perceive. The photographer, camera operator or composer does not know this either. But at the time of them creating these art works they are fabricating a reality and set of circumstances for others that have a multitude of meanings. There can be one definitive interpretation, but this will change depending on who is viewing it and how. Right now this essay almost makes sense to me, it may not make sense to you, but how do you make sense of things that have several meanings unless you were the person who conceived the premise in the first place? The answer is that you cannot. A picture taken one century for one purpose and meaning can translate as something else in another century. An actors affect in film during one era can mean something different on stage in the same era and an music studio can completely rewrite the meaning and feel of music without changing the notes or instruments. It is all down to perception. eXistenZ, Vanilla Sky, The Matrix, The Machinist, Gozu and many others all rely on images that are perceived as in any other art forms. Our own experiences colour the original â€Å"thought† of the creator, regardless of that creators perception.