The Underground Railroad Essay - 1451 Words

The Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was one of the most remarkable protests against slavery in United States history. It was a fight for personal survival, which many slaves lost in trying to attain their freedom. Slaves fought for their own existence in trying to keep with the traditions of their homeland, their homes in which they were so brutally taken away from. In all of this turmoil however they managed to preserve the customs and traditions of their native land. These slaves fought for their existence and for their cultural heritage with the help of many people and places along the path we now call the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was a secret operation that began during the 19th century, and†¦show more content†¦He was a person who went to great lengths to show his help, however he was not secretive about it. He wrote a newspaper call the Tocsin of Liberty, in which he not only published the first names of the people he helped to freedom, but also the names of their slave masters. Because of this many slave owners had arrest warrants written for his imprisonment (Able Brown). Abolitionists helped slaves in their attempts to become free people. They helped to find homes for the slaves to hide in and were also active in many states (The Freedom Sympathizers and Fighters). Quakers also were a large part in the history of the Underground Railroad. They opposed slavery and it was said that almost half of all Quaker communities helped in the freeing of slaves. The Quaker communities had many hiding places for slaves and also many routes to freedom in the New York area. Quakers believed in independence and in supporting the law, but they were quick to take slave owners to court to pay for the injustices that slave owners caused to the slaves (The Role of the Quaker Community). Many slaves fought for their freedom, not just by running away, but also in the court system. For example Dred Scott was taken to a free state by his master and then later returned against his will to a slave state. He fought his master in the court system on the basis that he was a free man since he was in a free state. This court case was takenShow MoreRelatedThe Underground Railroad Is Not Like The Railroad1387 Words   |  6 PagesThe Underground Railroad is not like the railroads that we see today, they were not made of box cars and rails. They were routes that the slaves took to get to freedom, these railways were built or used in late 1786 to 1865. They went from as far west as Kansas, and Texas and as far south as Florida, they all were made to go north to Canada, or to Mexico, or the Caribbean Islands where slavery is illegal. This was an impossible task for the slaves to do on their own. There were many factors on howRead MoreHarriet Tubman And The Underground Railroad1416 Words   |  6 PagesHarriet Tubman did much to ameliorate, and later, abolish slavery. Harriet was a strong and courageous woman and a well-known conductor of the Underground Railroads, around the 1850s. Harriet Tubman personal experiences throughout her life have shaped her to become the stout-hearted woman who helped many slaves escape to freedom, by using the Underground Railroad—a network of secret routes. As described in the novel â€Å"In their own words: Harriet Tubman,† Sullivan introduces varies hard-ships that HarrietRead MoreHarriet Tubman And The Underground Railroad832 Words   |  4 PagesHarriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman was like a conductor on a train. Running the underground railroad to free innocent slaves from certain neglect. What do people think when they hear the name Harriet Tubman. some might think of her as a dirty black others might call her a hero, or moses. Harriet Tubman was a very brave, and courageous woman. In this paper we will explore the childhood, life of slavery, and how she came to be known as the women called moses. Araminta wasRead MoreUnderground Railroad - Original Writing1058 Words   |  5 PagesUnderground Railroad Junior Year in College Prep English they play this game called Underground Railroad. It is supposed to put you back when slaves had to go to safe houses and not be caught by the bounty hunters. I don t remember who all was on my team but each team had about 10 people, only 3 of us made it. It first started off with a puzzle that you have to put together in order to get an address. It said 108 S. Main St. We get to the house and ring the doorbell, no answer. The house looks vacantRead MoreThe Truth Behind The Underground Railroad1281 Words   |  6 Pages The Truth behind the Underground Railroad Ronald Payne Central High School November 9, 2015 2nd Period â€Æ' Abstract Many people know of the famous slave system called The Underground Railroad. Throughout this generations time in school this topic have came up numerous times in our history classes. They mostly talk about the surface of the system and how, the most famous conductor, Harriett Tubman freed the slaves. This essay is important because it will provide you with in depth knowledge andRead MoreThe Underground Railroad Movement Of The South855 Words   |  4 Pagesbefore they where stoped by the militia forces. the 1780 a movement had started called the underground railroad. The purpose of the underground railroad was to free slaves from the south. There were blacks and whits apart of the underground railroad. In the 1830 the underground railroad was moving, somewhere between 40,000- 100,000 slaves were set free. Harriet tubman was one of the leaders of the underground rail road. She would travel to the south to get the slaves and help led them to freedom. Read More The Underground Railroad: Escaping Slavery Essays818 Words   |  4 Pages The Underground Railroad was what many slaves used to escape slavery. It was not an actual railroad, although it could easily be compared to one. It was a route, with safe houses and many other hiding spots for the slaves to use. The paths had conductors telling you where to go and people who would drive you to the next safe house. You had to be quick, you had to be strong, and you had to be very courageous. The Underground Railroad led all the way to Canada. There were many people helping the slavesRead MoreThe Underground Railroad : The United States History1456 Words   |  6 PagesThe Underground Railroad is a popular topic in United States history, but many of the stories told about it are more myth than fact. Quilts have been often used as a symbol in children s picture books to further the understanding of one of the darkest periods of United States history: slavery. Parents and teachers have eagerly embraced these illustrated books as a way to understand and teach past turmo il. Many of these books suggest that people who participated in the Underground Railroad used quiltsRead MoreSigns, Symbols and Signals of the Underground Railroad Essay3216 Words   |  13 PagesSigns, Symbols and Signals of the Underground Railroad A journey of hundreds of miles lies before you, through swamp, forest and mountain pass. Your supplies are meager, only what can be comfortably carried so as not to slow your progress to the Promised Land – Canada. The stars and coded messages for guidance, you set out through the night, the path illuminated by the intermittent flash of lightning. Without a map and no real knowledge of the surrounding area, your mind races before youRead MoreUnderground Railroads And The Underground Railroad2187 Words   |  9 Pages Underground railroads were a network of secret routes and safe houses used during the 19th century slaves from African descent that were in the United States, and wanted escape to the free states and Canada. The safe houses located on these routes were run by abolitionists and people that were sympathetic towards slaves. The Underground Railroad reached its height during the 1850s and 1860s. It’s difficult to determine how many people actually traveled the routes and made it to freedom, but it is

Essay on A Story of a Spinster in Regret by Kate Chopin,

â€Å"So she was quite alone in the world, except for her dog Ponto.† Kate Chopin’s â€Å"Regret† is the story of an elderly spinster who is burdened with the task of watching her neighbors four kids. The story is said to take place in rural Louisiana some time around the nineteenth century. Through this story Chopin portrays how people find regret in the most unlikely of places. Katherine Chopin was born on February 8, 1850 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was bilingual and could speak both French and English. Unfortunately, her life was filled with misfortune. Before the age of eighteen, her father had died in a railroad accident, as well as her grandmother, and her half-brother of typhoid fever. By the age of thirty-two she was a mother of six and a†¦show more content†¦She even owns a gun â€Å"with which she shot chicken-hawks.† She did not have a single feminine trait and didn’t seem to be desire any. At the age of fifty she had â€Å"never been in love† and â€Å"never lived to regret† and other than her dog Ponto she lived alone and was satisfied with her life. This all changed when a neighbor who’s mother was ill had to leave her four children with Mamzelle Aurlie. At first Mamzelle Aurlie was unsure how to feel about the children since she had never had any of her own. She was baffled when she realized children need more than food and shelter. She treated them like a man, strategizing, â€Å"determining upon a line of action.† In a very withdrawn way as a commander leading troops. She ordered them to bed as she would â€Å"the chickens in the hen-house.† At first Chopin’s use of language is dry and simple but the longer the kids are there the softer the language becomes. Almost romantic as Mamzelle Aurlie describes Lodie breathing on her as â€Å"warm breath beating her cheek like the fanning of a bird’s wing. Her feminine side came out and she began to act like a mother to the children. She even brought out her sewing kit and read the kids bedtime stories. When the children leave Mamzelle Aurlie â€Å"let her head fall down upon her bended arm, and began to cry. Oh, but she cried!† For the first time she felt â€Å"regret† and loneliness. In the nineteenth century women held few powers, they were to be obedient to men and had little independence.Show MoreRelated The Importance of Human Intimacy in Chopins Regret Essay1235 Words   |  5 PagesThe Importance of Human Intimacy in Chopins Regret      Ã‚   The short story, Regret, by Kate Chopin is about a childless spinster who accepts the responsibility of caring for a neighbors four young children while their mother is away. The main idea of the story is that even though independent people like Mamzelle Aurelie become used to living alone, they still need affection and human intimacy.    Mamzelle Aurelie is depicted as a woman with masculine traits and a somewhat military

Products Safety Requirements of Woolworths-Samples for Students

Question: Find out the aspects Woolworths has included in the products safety requirements. Answer Background to the problem Woolworths is the largest retail industry in Australia and second largest organization in terms of annual revenue (Woolworths.com.au, 2017). In recent times, the concerned organization operates in over 1000 stores, 968 supermarkets and 19 convenience stores across Australia (Woolworths.com.au, 2017). Total of 111,000 employees are currently working under Woolworths and the organization is liable for earning annual revenue of AUS$ 39,588.8 million (Wow2016ar.qreports.com.au, 2017). The problem statement of this research will highlight the issue of the product safety at Woolworths that seem to be breached by Woolworths. The company has formulated some product safety requirements based on Australian Consumer Law (Woolworths.com.au, 2017). They also have a checking security process of clear and defined products approval that comprises of factory auditing, product testing and inspection of the products. The issue is that in spite of all these policies, the concerned organization made fals e or misleading representations on the safety aspects on their three products- Abode 3L Stainless Steel Deep-Fryer, Homebrand Safety Matches and Woolworths Select Drain Cleaner (ABC News, 2017). The issue was reported in the year 2016, when one of the customer suffered a nose bleed and burns from the product Select Drain Cleaner and three other customers burned by the drain cleaner (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2017). Apart from the mentioned 3 products, injuries are also reported from other two products that are padded flop chair and a folding stool (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2017). It was found that the padded chair could not reliably support more than 92kg and they claim that the product can bear the weight of 115kg (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2017). The first case of making false or misleading representations was found in the year 2014 against some home-brand products like- child-proof lid and self-igniting safety mat ches. However, the company continued to sell the faulty products even after injury reports. The Australian Consumer Law have found that Woolworths engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct and thus the organization have to pay total penalties of $3.057 million for the issue occurred in 2016 (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, 2017). This results in poor brand image and loss of customers loyalty and annual profitability. Thus, the issues that will be the major research aspects are: The gap between the existing product safety requirement policies developed by the organization and their actions Misleading products information that impacts the customers health and their loyalty towards the organization Management decision How can Woolworths re-build brand loyalty for their home products? How can the organization improve their products safety regulation to avoid such circumstances in future? Research question What are the factors that influence brand loyalty? What are the essential factors that can enhance the effectiveness of the existing products safety requirements? Research Objectives To find out the aspects the Woolworths has included in the products safety requirements To evaluate the effectiveness of these products safety requirements To explore the impact of false safety guidelines on organizations image and customer loyalty To identify the factors that can help Woolworths to improve their brand loyalty Reference List ABC News. (2017). Woolworths ordered to pay $3m over product safety concerns. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-05/woolworths-ordered-to-pay-3m-over-product-safety-case/7144442 [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. (2017). Woolworths misled consumers over product safety hazards Ordered to pay over $3 million in penalties. [online] Available at: https://www.accc.gov.au/media-release/woolworths-misled-consumers-over-product-safety-hazards-%E2%80%93-ordered-to-pay-over-3-million-in-penalties [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]. Woolworths.com.au. (2017). Shop-Discover-About-us-Product-safety. [online] Available at: https://www.woolworths.com.au/Shop/Discover/about-us/product-safety [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]. Wow2016ar.qreports.com.au. (2017). Woolworths Resource Report. [online] Available at: https://wow2016ar.qreports.com.au/xresources/wow16ar-financial-report [Accessed 13 Aug. 2017]

Biblical World View free essay sample

Genesis chapters 1-11 depicts four great events that explains the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. The creation and the fall of man. It explains how sin enters into human nature and man loses his relationship with the creator. It tells how God judges man because of sin, although sending a great flood to destroy His creation, He preserves a remnant because of His compassion for what He had created. In this essay I will explain my worldview on how these events have impacted the natural world, human identity, human relationships and civilization. Chapter one of Genesis tells us that the earth and all that is in it exist because God said â€Å"let there be†¦. † The earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the fish in the ocean, the animals on the land, the birds in the air, even down to the creepy crawling things God said â€Å"let there be†. We will write a custom essay sample on Biblical World View or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Then it tells us that God created man in His own image and gave him also a help mate and gave them dominion over all that He had created. The author tells us that God did all this in six days, and on the seventh day He rested and reviewed all His work and declared it to be good! As I look around and notice all the trees, the flowers, beaches, oceans, watch a sunset or the rising of a full moon, all the things nature has to offer, I must agree with God that it is good. In fact, as I look around me the explanation given in Genesis chapter one is the only one that makes sense. The Holy Spirit within me confirms this explanation. The author says that God made man in His own image. That means I am somewhat intelligent and a big bang theory or theory of evolution insults the intelligence that God has ingrained in me as a part of Himself. God has given us so much of Himself and we have allowed the enemy(satin) to deceive us to the point we are lost even with the specific instruction manual that God has given us. Chapter three of Genesis tells the fall of man from the grace of God because he was deceived by the serpent(satin) who knew that God had created man in His likeness and that meant he had free will to make choices and decisions. They were deceived by the twisting of God’s words and straight out bold face lies. They got played like monopoly with false dreams and hopes being tempted by the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh and the pride of life. The same way we are tempted to this day. God gave Adam and Eve specific instructions when He placed them in the garden, â€Å"do not touch the tree in the middle of the garden lest you die†. The serpent twists God’s words and tells them â€Å"you will not surely die, but become like Him†. He shows them how beautiful the fruit was (probably a big red juicy Georgia peach just ripe for the picking)lust of the eyes, he tells them how the fruit of the tree will make them wise(you want to be like God don’t you? )lust of the flesh, He does not want you to be like Him the pride of life. As I look at my own life everything that has kept me out of the will of God has been centered on this method of temptation. If it looked good I wanted it(lust of the eyes), if it felt good I did it(lust of the flesh), and there was nobody who could tell me I could not have it(pride of life). It is this very nature of sin that makes us not want to be told what we can and cannot do. It has been man’s downfall since the Garden of Eden. God confronts Adam and Eve about this choice of disobedience and they played the blame game because now they were wise and they knew what guilt and shame felt like. Adam blames the woman who You gave to be with me(ultimately he was blaming God), Eve blames the serpent for deceiving her. Whenever trouble arises everyone always looks for someone else to blame. It causes people to lose their jobs. It causes marriages and families to breakup. Wars are started and people even lose their lives playing the blame game. The same guilt, shame and fear that Adam and Eve experienced in the Garden of Eden has been passed down to every generation since. God dealt harshly with Adam and Eve casting them from the garden and imposing punishment on them and their descendants indefinitely. Because that sin would be passed down through their offspring man progressively became more and more sinful to the point Genesis 6:5 says Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. It goes on in verse 6 to say that The LORD was sorry that He had made man. He then made a decision to destroy His creation. But there was one that had found favor with God. Gen. 6:9 says Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God. God has great compassion for His creation, in fact John 3:16 says for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son. God spared Noah and his family to preserve the creation that He loved. After the flood God blessed Noah and said be fruitful and replenish the earth. He made a covenant with Noah that never again would He send the floods to destroy the earth. But in preserving Noah He also preserved the sin nature that had been passed down from Adam and Eve. God knows this and He puts stumbling blocks in our paths to slow us down as did He to the people of Babel confusing their languages and scattering them over the earth so that they could not be so quick to conspire together against the will of God. Genesis 1-11 teaches us who we are, how we came to be and whose we are. It teaches us who God is and what He expects from us. Micah 6:8 says, He has told you O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God. It also teaches us who the real enemy is and shows us his intent, the weapons that he uses and the end result. I am convinced in my mind and in my heart that if there were no consequence for sin and we could do what we wanted with no one telling us what we can and cannot do, we would not have atheist in the world. He shows us this in His word and in our hearts. The people want to have a god, but not one who has rules and punishment for disobedience. The lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life refuses to let us be completely obedient to a loving God that is just and sovereign.

Media and the Idea of Beauty free essay sample

Elizabeth Rosales Cultural Anthropology-A18: Yi,Zhou April 21, 2011 Response Paper: Killing Us Softly Who are we? Who am I? With the average American exposed to approximately 3,000 ads a day they all remind us of who we are not and who we should be. The images we are constantly bombarded with by the mass media don’t just sell products they â€Å"sell values, images, concepts of love, sex, and normativity†, standards to which we so often compare ourselves to. Ads reinforce gender binaries, all making a statement about what it means to be a woman in this culture of thinness stressing a particular importance on physical beauty. Jean Kilbourne’s film Killing Us Softly explores and exposes the detrimental effects of the objectification and dehumanization in the representation of women in the popular culture, specifically advertisements. With only less than five percent of women of the entire population that reflect the images of the women advertised, the majority of women are left to feel ashamed for not trying hard enough. We will write a custom essay sample on Media and the Idea of Beauty or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Women’s bodies are increasingly subjected to strict scrutiny under a magnifying glass by our superficial culture, these actions bring forth and further feed the shame and embarrassment women associate with their bodies, their sexuality, their size, and their weight. Spending self-conscious days, weeks, months, and even years in front of a mirror and scale, inspecting our bodies in front of a mirror comparing ourselves to the images spread over magazine covers as women we are repeatedly reminded that our bodies are home to imperfections and there is always room for improvement whether that be through exercise, plastic surgery, dieting, or over the counter â€Å"beauty and health† products. Rosales 2 Is this self-improvement or self-destruction? Today, 1 in 5 women are likely to develop an eating disorder and cosmetic surgery is more popular than ever before. More and more women each day are going under the knife for breast enhancements losing all sensation in their breasts. Such procedures dehumanize and objectify women transforming them from â€Å"subjects to objects†, all because as women we are conditioned by the dominant culture to want to feel desirable and seek the approval of men. The breasts, therefore, become a source of pleasure for the men and not the women who undergo the procedure. These internalized feelings drive many to strive to obtain an unattainable beauty and live up to certain impossible expectations whether it’s consciously or not. We fail to recognize that most of the images we are exposed to are computer generated, they are not real women they have been photo shopped and manipulated to look like that and yet we continue to perpetuate these images as the standards for beauty. Much more, the standards that women are expected to live up to is a paradox of ideas, we are to be both â€Å"innocent and sexy, virgin and experienced† child/doll-like and sex objects simultaneously. Can that be any more absurd? Gender is a performance that the mass media is largely responsible for defining, if we are not thin or beautiful enough then we are not feminine enough. The oppression and misrepresentation of women is not limited to gender though, race plays an active role in the representation of women. Asian women for example, are depicted as docile and passive lovers, whereas black and Hispanic women are hyper sexualized and portrayed as exotic promiscuous â€Å"creatures† dressed in animal prints. The perfect ideal woman was manufactured and it’s time we recognize this, she is an illusion that doesn’t exist outside of caricature. Instead of altering our Rosales 3 bodies to fit those Barbie doll like measurements we need to start portraying the large diversity of women accurately and stop condemning those who are not thin enough, tall enough, light enough, as not being beautiful because they aren’t trying hard enough to fit those categories.

Free Essays on A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol Written by: mr krabs â€Å"Humbug!† was Scrooge’s favorite answer to any question and any question was an inappropriate question to the grumpy old covetous man. Depicted in the ethical story, The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Scrooge’s fowling manner transformed his once passionate heart to a black hole, which pulled in all hope and happiness as if it were a powerful magnet. Nevertheless, the jar of hatred shattered and Scrooge’s impaired spirit rose again. Love and happiness permeated his body, and the once ignorant Scrooge developed into an irresistible congenial fellow that everyone now knew. Scrooge found that he had the ability to alter his behavior and realized that spreading Christmas was more rewarding than any given amount of money. Scrooge’s capability to transform himself from a wrenching, disgruntled man to a blithe, amicable friend was surprising to the inhabitants of the small city. For instance, Charles Dickens wrote, â€Å"Some people laughed to see the alteration in him [Scrooge], but he let them laugh, and little heeded them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (page 112). Scrooge didn’t mind the giggles and laughs directed at him because he believed in himself for the first time in a very long time. His confined spirit was freed at last and it allotted happiness and joy around from mysterious turkeys on the doorstep to charity donations. Scrooge sought to make the people of the city cheerful and in doing so, people enjoyed watching an old jolly man hop around delivering gifts. Thus, Scrooge did not heed to the snickers in the crowd. The joy of spreading Christmas was Scrooge’s indirect gift to mankind and it rewarded him with long-lasting friends, which could never compare to any wealth. For example, Charles Dickens wrote,† He [Scrooge] became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world â€Å" (page 112). Thi... Free Essays on A Christmas Carol Free Essays on A Christmas Carol A Christmas Carol Written by: mr krabs â€Å"Humbug!† was Scrooge’s favorite answer to any question and any question was an inappropriate question to the grumpy old covetous man. Depicted in the ethical story, The Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, Scrooge’s fowling manner transformed his once passionate heart to a black hole, which pulled in all hope and happiness as if it were a powerful magnet. Nevertheless, the jar of hatred shattered and Scrooge’s impaired spirit rose again. Love and happiness permeated his body, and the once ignorant Scrooge developed into an irresistible congenial fellow that everyone now knew. Scrooge found that he had the ability to alter his behavior and realized that spreading Christmas was more rewarding than any given amount of money. Scrooge’s capability to transform himself from a wrenching, disgruntled man to a blithe, amicable friend was surprising to the inhabitants of the small city. For instance, Charles Dickens wrote, â€Å"Some people laughed to see the alteration in him [Scrooge], but he let them laugh, and little heeded them†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (page 112). Scrooge didn’t mind the giggles and laughs directed at him because he believed in himself for the first time in a very long time. His confined spirit was freed at last and it allotted happiness and joy around from mysterious turkeys on the doorstep to charity donations. Scrooge sought to make the people of the city cheerful and in doing so, people enjoyed watching an old jolly man hop around delivering gifts. Thus, Scrooge did not heed to the snickers in the crowd. The joy of spreading Christmas was Scrooge’s indirect gift to mankind and it rewarded him with long-lasting friends, which could never compare to any wealth. For example, Charles Dickens wrote,† He [Scrooge] became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the good old City knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough in the good old world â€Å" (page 112). Thi...

Freedom of Expression Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Freedom of Expression - Case Study Example It becomes more difficult when the right to free speech competes with another right as will be elucidated on more fully later, the right to privacy. All that should be done is look through jurisprudence until one finds the applicable case with similar facts. In â€Å"hard† cases with novel facts, the role of the judge becomes infinitely more difficult. This is evident, for example, in a case wherein a judge determined that the right to privacy is trumped by the fact that there were legitimate aims to be pursued, as in the case of A v. The United Kingdom, where a Member of Parliament, after identifying the applicant and giving her exact address, proceeded to describe her as a neighbor from hell. In recent times, particularly given the public’s voracious appetite for information on the private lives of celebrities and the entertainment media’s eagerness to satisfy such an appetite, the tension between the right to free speech and the right to privacy grows sharper. Article 8 of the Human Rights Act states that â€Å"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.† It must be underscored that â€Å"although the object of Article 8 is essentially that of protecting the individual against arbitrary interference by the public authorities, it does not merely compel the State to abstain from such interference: in addition to this primarily negative undertaking, there may be positive obligations inherent in an effective respect for private or family life. These obligations may involve the adoption of measures designed to secure respect for private life even in the sphere of the relations of individuals between themselves." It is cause for reflection that three of the recent famous cases involving privacy and free speech were decided in favor of privacy. This paper will discuss first the case of Princess Caroline of Monaco, which was resolved with finality in the European Court of Human Rights. After which, the case of Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Ok! Magazine against Hello! Magazine will be discussed. Last would be the case of Naomi Campbell. In the first case, Von Hannover v. Germany5, Princess Caroline invokes her right to privacy against several entertainment magazines that published pictures of her in her private moments. A few of these photos showed her with actor Vincent Lindon, and such photos were captioned "these photos are evidence of

Agglutination of bacteria Thesis Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Agglutination of bacteria - Thesis Proposal Example The bacterial typing tests are based on serology and they rely on antibodies that recognize given specific bacterial strain. Antibodies are proteins and they are secreted by plasma B cells. B lymphocytes are white blood cells which respond to antigen epitopes and after antigen recognition they differentiate into plasma B cells and secrete antibodies which recognize specific antigen epitopes. The antibodies have at least two binding sites and they non-covalently bind with specific antigen epitopes (Burry). Agglutination reactions can be described as direct or passive assays. Direct assays involve interaction of antibody or lectin with cellular antigen and example for direct assays is bacterial agglutination which are used to type strains of bacteria and to diagnose infection. For agglutination between antigen and antibody, the antibody and antigen epitope must be combined in the proper proportions and it is called zone of equivalence. During agglutination, the antibody molecules bind to epitopes on two or more antigens and form a â€Å"cross-linked network† (Bacterial Agglutination Protocol 6). If the number of antigen and antibody is more, the mass of agglutination becomes visible to naked eye in the form of clumps. Bacterial agglutination is the serological identification of bacteria. Apart from the specific antigen antibody reaction, there are other substances which lead to agglutination of bacteria. Certain chemical and physical properties of the medium in which the organism is suspended influence the degree of dispersion of the cells like in acid agglutination. Some â€Å"variant† forms of bacteria are also seen to agglutinate on addition of electrolytes (Shrigley). Gram positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus is the causative agent of wide range of acute and chronic infections including bacteremia. Staphylococcus bacteremia can lead to sepsis and

Marketing a New Service Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 13750 words

Marketing a New Service - Case Study Example The service thus conceived has the potential to generate revenue from two channels- the insurer and the medical centers. This is explained in greater detail in the section titled "The Proposed Service". Targeting the ideal customers delineated as those who would need minimum financial outlay for the sale to close. These could be customers who are already buying from the company and would therefore be receptive to new ideas This paper begins with a review of literature which explores the key marketing concepts and principles that can be applied to the marketing of a new product or service. The review focuses on marketing of services, how the marketing of service differs from that of product and how the environment impacts marketing strategy and marketing efforts. The section reviews the 4 Ps of marketing, SWOT analysis, McKinsey's 7S model, stakeholder analysis, PESTLE analysis and BSC model. The next section of this paper explains in detail the service being proposed, and analyses its profitability and feasibility. It discusses in detail about the marketing environment and gives background on the company that will launch this service. The section explores how marketing concepts discussed in the review of literature apply to this innovative service. 2. Review of Literature Traditionally, marketing is explained as anything that creates business or keeps a customer. Blanchard (2003) states that customers are the reason for a company to stay in business and thus customer input and customer preferences must shape almost all aspects of work. It is also said that Marketing consists of the strategies and tactics used to identify, create and maintain satisfying relationships with customers that result in value for both the customer and the marketer. This definition can be explained further. Strategies refer to the direction that marketing effort will assume over a period of time, while tactics are specified steps or decisions made in order to follow the strategies established. Strategic and tactical planning

Metal Casting Process

Metal Casting Process Materials and Design Pressure Die Casting Process Executive Summary Since the discovery of the earths minerals, metal casting process has played an important role in society. An integral part of every technological advance, castings have allowed us to build equipment to feed our people, fight for democracy, build infrastructure and manufacture cars, trains and airplanes. In general, castings have been and will continue to be the key ingredient in the recipe for a better way of life. There are various types of casting process, such as sand-casting, permanent-mould casting, investment casting and die-casting. Due to the words limitation, in this investigative study, only the development, technical challenges, recent findings, future direction, range of applications and shortcomings of pressure die-casting process will be discussed. Introduction Pressure Die-casting is similar to permanent mold casting except that the metal is injected into the mold under high pressure of 7-350Mpa (1,000-50,000) psi. This high pressure will not be removed till the solidification is finished. It is called die-casting, because the molds in this casting operation are called dies. Metal is forced into the die cavity by the pressure is the most notable feature that shows this process is different from others in the casting category (Long et al., 2008). In this technique, the mould will not be destroyed after each cast but is permanent, being made of a metal such as cast iron or steel. There are two types of pressure die casting processes, High pressure die casting and low pressure casting. High pressure die casting is the most widely used, representing about 50% of all light alloys casting production. Low pressure die casting currently accounts for about 20% of production and its use is increasing. Rests are gravity die casting, vacuum die casting and squeeze casting process (AZOM, 2008). Literature Review High pressure die casting process In high pressure die casting process, the liquid metal is injected at high speed and high pressure into a metal mould. A schematic view of high pressure die casting is given in Figure 1. Above equipment contains two vertical platens on which bolsters are located which hold the die halves. One of the platen is fixed and the other can move to open and close the die. A measured amount of metal is poured into the shot sleeve and then introduced into the mould cavity using a hydraulically-driven piston. Once the metal has solidified, the die is opened and the casting removed (AZOM, 2008). For high pressure die casting process, special precaution must be considered to avoid too much gas inclusions which cause blistering during the subsequent heat treatment or wielding of the casting product. Since the casting machine and its dies are quite costly, only high-volume production will use the pressure die casting process for economical reason (AZOM, 2008). Low pressure die casting In Figure 2, the die is filled from a pressurised crucible below. Low-pressure die casting is especially suited to the production of components that are symmetric about an axis of rotation. Light automotive wheels are normally manufactured by this technique (AZOM, 2008). Benefits of the process development Over the last three years the biggest improvement of die casting process is the development of material property data and interfacial hear transfer coefficients. Material property thermal data is the essential part of any simulation program, which has been developed for various mold materials, feeding system and metal alloys, such as aluminum, steel and compacted graphite iron. Furthermore, the work done to understand the fluid mechanics of filters is another development of the die casting process, which include the developed pressure drop data for pressed, extruded and reticulated foam filters and these data is easily available in the industry literature (ALLBUSINESS, 2008). There are types of the casting defects occur during production of pressure die casting process such as insufficient pouring, cooling separated, crack and shrink. They are formed in the mold filling and solidification processes, which contributed to the final casting performance. The processes of mold filling and solidification are developed in time sequence while the casting defects are forming, which can be reflected by its numerical simulation in order to predict the locations of the casting defects (Minaie and Voller, 1998). Numerical simulations of mold filling and solidification processes include numerical analysis, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, solidification theory, engineering mechanics, computer aid graph analysis etc. The mold filling process can be described very precisely and the reliable initial temperature field is provided for the next solidification process by using the advantage of numerical simulation on temperature and fluid fields, which benefits to elevate the simulation accuracy of solidification process. Numerical simulations of mold filling and solidification processes, which play the key function in the casting production, are the world known leading area, widening and promoting the development of casting subject by using the advance computer technology. And it also initiates a new way to improve the casting quality (Baicheng and Houfa, 1998). Technical Challenges Details The molten metal flow is the major issue that relates to the mold filling process, heat and mass transfer flow process at changeable temperature accompanied with heat loss and solidification. This process can be presented by the continuity and momentum equations. In addition, the energy balance equation can describe the heat exchange between the molten metal and the casting chamber. The consideration of position and movement of the free surface is the key for the calculation of unstable flow. Also, it is essential to deal with the boundary conditions of the free surface. There for, the mathematical equations can be expressed as follows [1], [2], [3], [4] and where à Ã‚  is the density and u is the velocity The numerical simulation is a non-linear instantaneous thermal analysis in the solidification process. The casting form changes gradually with the decreasing of temperature from liquid state to semi-solid and solid states, in which many physical process and phenomenon played an important role for the casting quality take place, and the temperature field of the casting varies with the time. Therefore, the shrinkage cavity and slack can be predicted with the numerical simulations of the filling and solidification processes (Laurent and Rigaunt, 1992). Range of Applications CAD/CAM/CAE is now as an essential part to keep pace with growing technology and demand for quality, low cost, precision and faster delivery in tool engineering. The followings are the few latest methods, which are being used today in die making industry: Scanning of product to be die cast. CAD/CAM (Computer added design and manufacturing) CAPP (computer added process planning) CAI (computer added inspection) 2D drawing to 3D modeling 3D model to 2D drawing Black-box designing (conceptual base designing) Analysis Simulation (stress, Strain, thermal analysis etc.) Analysis for Gate, runner, ejector pins and cooling line etc. NC data generation Rapid prototyping Concurrent engineering Pressure die casting process is widely used in resource producing company, such as world class Aluminum company Alcoa and NALCO, and copper alloy giant Kennecott. Drawbacks The formation of blow-holes in the die casting is a major drawback, which is resulting from the turbulence produced by the high velocity when the liquid metal alloy is injected. Another major drawback is inevitable shrinkage of the casting as it solidifies, and which is proportional to the temperature at which the alloy is injected. Though cheap to make, the poor quality of current die cast components therefore makes the use of finer quality alloys unfeasible (Moschini and Renzo, 1998). Recent finding Future direction In the world of computer simulation time, the pressure die casting process improvements move very fast in the foundry industry today, a lot has changed in the last few years, for example, three years ago the computers that industry companies using to process the die casting process simulation were based on Unix workstations, which was more than $30,000 and the only way to analyze the filling of a mold cavity was using NavierStokes equations, which was extremely slow. Nowadays, the personal computer (PC) conversion is finished, some of new machines can run 20-30 times faster than the one in three years ago. For example, a very complicated filling and solidification work that used to run days and days can be completed in one hour (ALLBUSINESS, 2008). The concurrent development of optimization techniques have been capitalized on and incorporated by the software companies into their programs. At first glance, this allows the user to let the computer help optimize such things as riser placement and size and chill locations. However it isnt hard to imagine that this is just the beginning, and that we are about to get on a journey in which die casting process simulation programs soon will perform what is unthinkable today (ALLBUSINESS, 2008). Conclusion Die casting molds tend to be expensive as they are made from hardened steel-also the cycle time for building these tend to be long. Also the stronger and harder metals such as iron and steel cannot be die-cast in the past. However, by the developing of the numerical simulations system and optimization techniques, these issues are no longer impede the pace of progress in the modern world. Numerical simulations and optimization techniques can help foster the success and viability of the foundry industry for many years to come. The more capability and accuracy that is built into our simulation tools, the better and more efficient casting can be produced. Reference ALLBUSINESS 2008, Solidifying castings future: process simulation software round-up, http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing/fabricated-metal-product-manufacturing/244509-1.html [Accessed 2 May 2008] AZOM 2008, Aluminium Casting Techniques Sand Casting and Die Casting Processes, http://www.azom.com/work/gmQ9Dmtd0mw9jnoTHN6z_files/image008.gifimgrefurl [Accessed 2 May 2008] B. Minaie and V.R. Voller, Comprehensive numerical models for die casting process, Model. Cast. Weld. Processes IV (1998), pp. 513-525. J, M. Long, N. Deshpande, C. Ferguson, M. Kwok and H. Briggs, Materials and Design: Module 2 Introduction to Manufacturing Processes, Deakin University. 2008, pp. 229-230. L. Baicheng and S. Houfa, Progress in numerical simulation of solidification process of shaped casting, J. Mater. Sci. Techol. 11 (1995) (5), pp. 312-324. Moschini and Renzo 1998, Die casting process for producing high mechanical performance components via injection of a semiliquid metal alloy, http://www.freepatentsonline.com/EP0513523.html [Accessed 2 May 2008] S.M. Xiong, F. Lau and W.B. Lee, Numerical methods to improve the computational efficiency of thermal analysis for the die casting process, J. Mater. Process Technol. 1-3 (2003), pp. 457-461. S.P.SHARMA 2008, Upgraded Technology and Application in Die Casting, http://www.creativecadcam.net/die-casting.pdf [Accessed 2 May 2008] V. Laurent and C. Rigaut, Experimental and numerical study of criteries functions for predicting microporosity in cast aluminum alloys, AFS Trans. 100 (1992), pp. 647-655.

Ulysses S. Grant Essay -- essays research papers

Ulysses S. Grant lived an interesting life. He gave so much to this country. His life was exciting and he lived in many different places, from small houses to a house given by people to the white house. From saving the blacks from more slavery to giving the U.S. bad years from presidency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and the 18th president of the U.S. (Williams 53).Grant was born in point pleasant, Ohio, on April 27 ,1822, the son os Hannah Simpson and Jesse Grant, the owner of a tannery (Williams 52). In 1839, under the name of Ulysses Simpson, instead of his original Hiram Ulysses, he was appointed to West Point (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Graduating 21st in a class of 39,loosing to Robert E. Lee, who came 1st (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). There he met Julia Dent, whom he married after the Mexican war (â€Å"Grant†314). During the Mexican war, Grant served under both General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott and distinguished himself (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). In 1854, while stationed at Fort Humboldt, California, Grant resigned his commission because of loneliness and drinking problems, and in the following years he engaged in generally unsuccessful farming and business ventures in Missouri(Williams 19- 59). He moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1860, where he became a clerk in his father's leather store (Williams 21).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Civil War, after an indecisive battle raid on Belmont, Missouri, he gained fame when in February 1862, in conjunction with the navy; he succeeded in reducing Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, forcing General Simon B. Buckner to accept unconditional surrender and earned him the nickname Unconditional Surrender Grant (Williams 52). In 1863 he established his reputation as a strategist in the brilliant campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, which took place on July 4 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After being appointed commander in the west, he defeated Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant's victories made him so prominent that he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and in February 1864 was given command of all Union armies(â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant accompanied the army of the Potomac in its overland assault on Richmond, Virginia.Grant continues to press the drive against General Robert E. Lee's army (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After... ...p;After retiring from the presidency, Grant took a long trip around the world. Returning in 1879, he became an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination, which went to James A. Garfield (Williams 58). In 1881 Grant moved to New York City, Where he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Grant and Ward; he was so close to ruin when the company collapsed in 1884 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). To provide for his family, he wrote his memoirs while fighting cancer of the throat; he died at Mount Gregor, New York, on July 23,1885 (Williams 52-59).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gave so much to this country and we never had a chance to thank him, not by giving stuff to him like the memorial but to say it up close and shaking hands with him. He was a great   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 General by giving the slaves freedom and fighting for them, if he hadn’t fought for us think about where we would be right know. From the best General of the U.S. Army to 1 of the worst Presidents he still did good for this country. Ulysses S. Grant Essay -- essays research papers Ulysses S. Grant lived an interesting life. He gave so much to this country. His life was exciting and he lived in many different places, from small houses to a house given by people to the white house. From saving the blacks from more slavery to giving the U.S. bad years from presidency.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses S. Grant was an American general and the 18th president of the U.S. (Williams 53).Grant was born in point pleasant, Ohio, on April 27 ,1822, the son os Hannah Simpson and Jesse Grant, the owner of a tannery (Williams 52). In 1839, under the name of Ulysses Simpson, instead of his original Hiram Ulysses, he was appointed to West Point (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Graduating 21st in a class of 39,loosing to Robert E. Lee, who came 1st (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). There he met Julia Dent, whom he married after the Mexican war (â€Å"Grant†314). During the Mexican war, Grant served under both General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott and distinguished himself (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). In 1854, while stationed at Fort Humboldt, California, Grant resigned his commission because of loneliness and drinking problems, and in the following years he engaged in generally unsuccessful farming and business ventures in Missouri(Williams 19- 59). He moved to Galena, Illinois, in 1860, where he became a clerk in his father's leather store (Williams 21).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Civil War, after an indecisive battle raid on Belmont, Missouri, he gained fame when in February 1862, in conjunction with the navy; he succeeded in reducing Forts Henry and Donelson, Tennessee, forcing General Simon B. Buckner to accept unconditional surrender and earned him the nickname Unconditional Surrender Grant (Williams 52). In 1863 he established his reputation as a strategist in the brilliant campaign against Vicksburg, Mississippi, which took place on July 4 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After being appointed commander in the west, he defeated Braxton Bragg at Chattanooga (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant's victories made him so prominent that he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and in February 1864 was given command of all Union armies(â€Å"Ulysses†Online). Grant accompanied the army of the Potomac in its overland assault on Richmond, Virginia.Grant continues to press the drive against General Robert E. Lee's army (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). After... ...p;After retiring from the presidency, Grant took a long trip around the world. Returning in 1879, he became an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination, which went to James A. Garfield (Williams 58). In 1881 Grant moved to New York City, Where he became a partner in the Wall Street firm of Grant and Ward; he was so close to ruin when the company collapsed in 1884 (â€Å"Ulysses†Online). To provide for his family, he wrote his memoirs while fighting cancer of the throat; he died at Mount Gregor, New York, on July 23,1885 (Williams 52-59).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He gave so much to this country and we never had a chance to thank him, not by giving stuff to him like the memorial but to say it up close and shaking hands with him. He was a great   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3 General by giving the slaves freedom and fighting for them, if he hadn’t fought for us think about where we would be right know. From the best General of the U.S. Army to 1 of the worst Presidents he still did good for this country.

Conflict Theorists

Conflict theory was developed from the concern that the structural functionalism theory neglected conflict in society and was politically conservative. This conflict theory also addressed the perceived failure of structural functionalism to account for change in society (Ritzer, 1992, p. 61). This theory has evolved to include elements of structural functionalism and traditional Marxist focus on dominant and subordinate groups.Conflict theory often depicts a: polarization of the forces of â€Å"law and order† on the one hand and left wing political activists and minority group members reacting to what they saw as excessive police repression of political protests and urban riots on the other (Giffen, et al. , 1991, pp. 8-9) This aspect of conflict theory assumes, however, that the dominant and subordinate groups are more or less homogenous in nature.Most research in the field of drug policy recently, however, deals with power being located in â€Å"institutional structures in society such as economic, governmental and religious institutions (Giffen, et al. 1991, p. 10)† that do not presuppose homogenous groups. An example of this would be the comment of Riley after attending a conference on drug issues in the United States, where he remarked that â€Å"many researchers felt the real reason for the war on drugs in that country was that it helped to suppress blacks and minorities. (Riley 1994b)† One of the failings of conflict theory becomes apparent when researchers in the history of this legislation find little in the actual discussion of the laws that pertains to race.Giffen, et al. (1991) write that the early legislation's principle proponents had the â€Å"altruistic aims of supporting the international anti-opium movement† despite the anti-Chinese sentiment of the times (p. 525). The fact that the laws were used solely against the Chinese at first is indicative of this anti-Chinese sentiment, and not the creation of the laws thems elves. Later legislation was driven mainly by enforcement officials, as there was little in the way of public outcry for more rigorous anti-opium legislation (p. 525).Johns (1991) under the heading â€Å"Race: The Creation of an Enemy Class,† writes bluntly: â€Å"The enforcement tactics of the War on Drugs are focused on minority populations† (p. 155). In her paper, Johns (1991) posits that the War on Drugs takes attention away from the factors which underlie the problems of drugs and trafficking, partly because the â€Å"more powerful segments in society† (p. 150) do not want attention focused the poor job they are doing to cure the ills of society. Johns also expands the group being oppressed to include the poor, who have been hit with massive housing and health care cuts under the Republican Presidencies.The dichotomy between those in power and minorities and the poor is self-perpetuating, in that these groups have a limited upward mobility (and, therefore c rimes like trafficking in illicit drugs becomes appealing), and when they do try to increase their wealth through illicit means, those in power see that as justification for minorities and the poor being in the position they are in. The conflict theory is problematic in describing why there is a war on drugs. It may help to explain (as Johns (1991) successfully does) why a War on Drugs continues in the U. S. , but leaves unanswered questions when applied to other situations.

Free Essays on Gandolf In The Lord Of The Rings

Geoffrey Chaucer began the Canterbury tales in 1387. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories set within a framing story of a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral, the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket. The poet joins a band of pilgrims, vividly described in the General Prologue, who assemble at the Tabard Inn outside London for the journey to Canterbury. There were approximately 30 pilgrims going to the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket. These pilgrims ranged anywhere from a knight, a miller, to a priest. Each pilgrim was supposed to tell 3 to 4 tales, Chaucer only wrote 22 tales. The two tales that will be compared and contrasted in this paper are the Knight’s tale and the Miller’s tale. When the two tales are compared and contrasted we will be looking at the characters, the theme, and the different endings of each tale. In the Knight’s tale, a great conqueror and duke named Theseus ruled the city of Athens. Theseus conquers Thebes, but finds two wounded enemy soldiers lying on the battlefield, nearing death. Rather than kill them, he mercifully heals the Theban soldiers' injuries, but condemns them to a life of imprisonment in a tower in Athens. The prisoners, named Palamon and Arcite, are cousins and sworn brothers. Both live in the prison tower for several years. They both fall in love with a woman named Emeyle. They argue over her but realize that they will never get out of the prison they are in. One day, a duke named Perotheus, friend both to Theseus and Arcite, petitions for Arcite's freedom. Theseus agrees to let Arcite go. Arcite returns to Thebes jealous at Palamon because he can still see Emeyle everyday, and Palamon is scared that Arcite will try and take Athens by force to have Emeyle. Arcite returns to Athens to be closer to his beloved. He enters the city disguised so t hat he cannot be recognized. Arcite takes on a job as a page in Emelye's chamber under the pseudonym Philostrate. This puts hi... Free Essays on Gandolf In The Lord Of The Rings Free Essays on Gandolf In The Lord Of The Rings Geoffrey Chaucer began the Canterbury tales in 1387. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories set within a framing story of a pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral, the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket. The poet joins a band of pilgrims, vividly described in the General Prologue, who assemble at the Tabard Inn outside London for the journey to Canterbury. There were approximately 30 pilgrims going to the shrine of Saint Thomas a Becket. These pilgrims ranged anywhere from a knight, a miller, to a priest. Each pilgrim was supposed to tell 3 to 4 tales, Chaucer only wrote 22 tales. The two tales that will be compared and contrasted in this paper are the Knight’s tale and the Miller’s tale. When the two tales are compared and contrasted we will be looking at the characters, the theme, and the different endings of each tale. In the Knight’s tale, a great conqueror and duke named Theseus ruled the city of Athens. Theseus conquers Thebes, but finds two wounded enemy soldiers lying on the battlefield, nearing death. Rather than kill them, he mercifully heals the Theban soldiers' injuries, but condemns them to a life of imprisonment in a tower in Athens. The prisoners, named Palamon and Arcite, are cousins and sworn brothers. Both live in the prison tower for several years. They both fall in love with a woman named Emeyle. They argue over her but realize that they will never get out of the prison they are in. One day, a duke named Perotheus, friend both to Theseus and Arcite, petitions for Arcite's freedom. Theseus agrees to let Arcite go. Arcite returns to Thebes jealous at Palamon because he can still see Emeyle everyday, and Palamon is scared that Arcite will try and take Athens by force to have Emeyle. Arcite returns to Athens to be closer to his beloved. He enters the city disguised so t hat he cannot be recognized. Arcite takes on a job as a page in Emelye's chamber under the pseudonym Philostrate. This puts hi...

Labour Law Assignment Essay Example

Labour Law Assignment Essay Example Labour Law Assignment Essay Labour Law Assignment Essay INTRODUCTION:- 1) Definition of Industry As per Section 2(j) of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 â€Å"Industry† means any systematic activity carried on by co-operation between an employer and his workmen (whether such workmen are employed by such employer directly or by or through any agency, including a contractor) for the production, supply or distribution of goods or services with a view to satisfy human wants or wishes (not being wants or wishes which are merely spiritual or religious in nature), whether or not,- Definition of industry before amendments in 1982:- Industry means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture or calling of employees and includes any callings, service, employment, handicraft or Industrial occupation or avocation of workmen. ) any capital has been invested for the purpose of carrying on such activity; or ii) such activity is carried on with a motive to make any gain or profit, and includes- a) any activity of the Dock Labor Board established und er section 5-A of the Dock Workers any activity relating to the promotion of sales or business or both carried on by an establishment, but does not include- b) Any agricultural operation except where such agricultural operation is carried on in an integrated manner with any other activity (being any such activity as is referred to in the foregoing provisions of this clause) and such other activity is the predominant one. Explanation:- For the purposes of this sub-clause ,† agricultural operation† does not include any activity carried on in a plantation as defined in clause (f) of section 2 of the Plantation Labour Act,1951 1) hospitals or dispensaries 2) educational, scientific, research to training institutions 3) institutions owned or managed by organizations wholly or substantially engaged in any charitable ,social or philanthropic service, any activity of the Government relatable to the sovereign functions of the Government including all the activities carried on by the departments of the Central Governments dealing with defense research , atomic energy and space 4) any domestic service ) any activity ,being a profession practiced by an individual or body of individuals ,if the number of persons employed by the individuals or body of individuals in relation to such profession is less than ten 6) Any activity , being an activity carried on by a co-operative society or a club or any oth er like body of individuals , if the number of persons employed by the co-operative society ,club or other like body of individuals in relation to such activity is less than ten 2) Definition of Industrial Dispute As per Section 2(k) of ID Act, 1947 â€Å"industrial dispute† means any dispute or difference between employers and employers ,or between employers and workmen, or between workmen and workmen , which is connected with the employment or non-employment or the terms of employment or with the conditions of labour , of any person Industrial dispute means any dispute or difference between – Three ingredients are:-  ¦ Any person who is a workman employed in an industry can raise an industrial dispute. A workman includes any person (including an apprentice) employed in an industry to do manual, unskilled, skilled, technical, operational, clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward.  ¦   It excludes those employed in managerial or administrative capacity. In dustry means any business, trade, undertaking, manufacture and includes any service, employment, handicraft, or industrial occupation or avocation of workmen EXAMPLES:- 1) While Tata Motors has decided to move its Nano factory out of Singur after violent protests by farmers, this isnt the first time that there has been a standoff between industry and farmers unwilling to surrender land. )   In August, the Supreme Court gave South Korean steel firm POSCO the use of large swathes of forestland in Orissa for a $12-billion plant that protesting farmers said would displace thousands of people. The protests delayed the start of construction on the plant, which could be Indias single biggest foreign investment to date. 3) In the same month, the Supreme Court allowed Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite in hills considered sacred by tribal people in Orissa. The mining would feed an alumina refinery, part of an $800-million project that has been widely opposed. Environmentalists say the open- cast mine will wreck the rich biodiversity of the remote hills and disrupt key water sources vital for farming. 3) Definition of Workman As per Section 2(s) of ID Act, 1947 workman† means any person (including an apprentice) employed in any industry to do any manual ,unskilled ,skilled ,technical ,operational ,clerical or supervisory work for hire or reward ,whether the terms of employment be express or implied ,and for the purposes of any proceeding under this Act in relation to an industrial dispute ,includes any such person who has been dismissed ,discharged or retrenched in connection with ,or as a consequence of ,that dispute ,or whose dismissal ,discharge or retrenchment has led to that dispute ,but does not include any such person- i) who is subject to the Air Force Act,1950 (45 of 1950),or the Army Act,1950(46 of 1950), or the Navy Act,1957(62 of 1957) ii) who is employed in the police service or as an officer or other employee of a prison iii) Who is employed mainly i n a managerial or administrative capacity iv) Who being employed in supervisory capacity, draws wages exceeding Rs. 1600

Should Abortions Be Legal Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Should Abortions Be Legal - Research Paper Example According to the American Heritage Dictionary (2011), abortion is defined as the induced termination of a pregnancy, achieved via the destruction of embryo or fetus. Abortion, therefore, refers to ceasing the process of childbirth before the child is born. Opting for an abortion is not an easy decision, but there are many unfortunate circumstances where women find themselves with no other choice. Several reasons for opting for an abortion may include rape pregnancies, accidental pregnancies, divorce, illness of the mother or the mother being underage etc. Abortion has for long been viewed unfavorably by most societies. In America, abortion was legalized only in five states in 1970 and in all states in 1973 (Levitt & Donohue, 2001). Women who do opt for abortion to avoid giving birth to unwanted babies face many difficulties in areas where abortion has not been legalized. If a woman is too young or unhealthy to bear a child, or if the baby is unwanted, she should have the right to terminate her pregnancy before bringing the child to life. This will not only save an unwanted or abandoned baby from being born but will also give the woman a chance to live a healthy life and make a career after attaining whatever education she may seek chances of which would be rare if she gave birth to a baby while being in her teens. Unprepared couples or those not wanting another baby do not prove to be good parents and it is not fair for any child to be born in a home where he or she is not welcome and where his or her parents cannot support the baby. In worse cases where abortion is not an opportunity and the baby is not given for adoption either, the baby is either abandoned, or is brought up very poorly by the parents or parent.     

Fashion Brand - FCUK Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fashion Brand - FCUK - Assignment Example The paper "Fashion Brand - FCUK" discusses the cause of FCUK’s current financial crisis and propose methods that can help the company re-strategise their branding and market position. French Connection or popularly known as ‘FCUK’ is a fashion-led clothing retailer and wholesaler business that was founded and based in the United Kingdom. Its retail and wholesale business operates mainly in the UK, in other parts of Europe, in the U.S., and other licensed stores around the world carrying several products such as its own French Connection/FCUK brand, a designer label called Nicole Farhi, a popular UK whole sale brand called Great Plains, and the mail-order business known as Toast. Aside from their clothing lines, French Connection has also expanded its product range by producing what they call ‘complimentary products’ to their fashion collections. These complimentary products are in the form of eyewears and various fragrances. The company was founded in 1972 by its current chairman and chief executive Stephen Marks. FCUK had eventually made its mark in the fashion industry by introducing fashionable clothes at very affordable prices catering primarily to the middle-market customers with ages ranging from 18 to 35 years old (News, 2006). For so many years, FCUK have managed to put up a competitive brand against its High Street counterparts; however, just recently, FCUK had been continuously incurring noticeable decline in its sales and profits. There were actually several reasons. behind this high turnover for the company's revenues, primarily it is due to the soaring up of its prices which seems to have become quite expensive for their High Street target market to afford; another reason would be the company's effort of changing its image - trying to level it with competitors of bigger labels in an attempt to improve its market share and position thus resulting to pricing themselves out of the High Street competition; and finally, the recent advertising tactics of the company simply did not made an impact to its target market, not only in Europe but in other parts of the world as well which even contributed to driving its customers away from the brand. FCUK Current Situation Since 2002, FCUK's annual reports on its sales and profits all over the world have been progressing positively; it only means that the company has been performing well on the High Street market competition. However, due to recent events, it would really be alarming to know that the company this year has been continuously issuing warnings to investors that profits would surely be lower than expected (News, 2006). French Connection has reported a substantial pre-tax loss of 3.6 million in the first half of the year which ended on the 31st of July 2006 compared with the 5.1 million pre-tax loss it incurred the previous year; group revenues had also fallen by 6% from the previous year to 112.2 million (Interim Statement French Connection Group PLC, 2006). The problem of these declining figures originated mainly from a range of smaller problems that the company must resolve in order to hopefully gain back its losses in the future. It was found that one of the problems is that the company gravely needs to rethink of the prices it is setting on the range of their clothing lines in relation to their target market - which is

Ethics in Information Technology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ethics in Information Technology - Case Study Example For this case analysis, we will be employing Reynolds' seven-step process (Reynolds). But we will be starting from the options and analyze them one by one. The plausible courses of action that we're going to analyze are: b. The government to directly pass a law prohibiting the uploading of files, videos, photos and anything by employees that tarnish the credibility of its current employers while prohibiting employers to use the internet as a basis for hiring. The cases mentioned can be simply summarized to the use of the internet specifically the social networking sites such as Face book, YouTube and MySpace to publish videos that have tarnished the credibility of the companies. Now the question is are employers justified in monitoring their employees' posts in the social networking sites and make decisions about hiring, disciplining and discharging based on these posts The stakeholders in this case are current employers, current employees, potential employees and potential employers. In the case of hiring, the people at stake are potential employers and employees. On the part of potential employers, this will give the much needed information more than what interviews and resumes can provide. Here the truth about the potential employee can be mined. Option #3 then would not be good. On the part of the employers this is like an invasion into their privacy and their personal life. Hiring on the basis of facts gathered from networking sites can then be negative. They would support option #3. On the issue of employers uploading files that ruin he credibility or salability of the employers and their products, there are two options. Either that the government makes a direct law against that would be observed in all institutions(Options#2) or they allow the employers to make their specific rules (option #1) regarding this. The employers would find option #1 more favorable while the employees would most probably be indifferent between the two, depending on the weight of the rules and the weight of the consequences. Considering the Consequences of Your Decision Option #1 would profoundly benefit the employers. It will help them design rules that specifically fit their situation. If the government allows them to make their own rules and gets approved by the government, it means that whatever decisions they have, it will be backed by the latter. Negative publicities that actually ruin both the employers and other employees will now be eliminated thus contributing to the common good. Option #2 will also benefit the employers although the rules set by the government may not suit their specific needs. Thus, employers are better off with Option #1. On both options, the employees will feel restricted or may even feel violated although those who really do not intend violate it will be indifferent. As to option #3, potential employees will greatly be benefitted as they will have the right not to disclose information about themselves to their employers.

Who was responsible for the origins of the Cold War Essay Example for Free

Who was responsible for the origins of the Cold War Essay The breakup of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) brought an end to the Cold War with victory for the capitalist countries principally United States. The Cold War did not involve direct confrontation between the two rivals, Soviet Union and United States, and it has always been difficult to claim who was really responsible for setting up the Cold War in motion. Historians on both sides have blamed the other side for starting the Cold War reflecting the antagonisms on both sides. Now that the Cold War has been declared over, we can perhaps look dispassionately on who was responsible for the origin of the Civil War. From a historical perspective the question, who was responsible for the origin of the Cold War is important for historical accuracy. As [MacDonald, 1995] points out that historical accounts and their relative plausibility directly influence social science theories and helps us learn from historical examples and utilize them as illustration and evidence. These questions are the subject of this essay to find who started the Cold War. My thesis is that: 1. The conflicting ideologies of Anglo-American Capitalism and Soviet Communism were the most important cause of the Cold War 2. United States and its Western European Allies were the originator of the Cold War and 3. USSR was forced to match the US measures and to build its own sphere of influence to counter-balance those measures to protect Soviet Union. The theses seems to be biased in favor of Soviet Union but when we analyze the relationship between pre-war Russia and United States and Britain we find that the 2nd World War only brought Russia and United States into an alliance to counter the common enemy, Germany. The lessons Russia learnt from the 2nd World War, with more than 20 million deaths can logically be expected to result in a desire to secure its borders by having friendly countries as buffers. After the end of the 2nd World War the Soviet Union was in no position to enter into competition with United States that had come out of the War relatively unscathed. The development of post War era indicate that the responsibility of originating the Cold War can be put on the shoulders of United States and Britain. The mistakes and misunderstanding generated by both sides only intensified the Cold War that kept the entire World divided into the two camps and has left problems in its wake that are haunting various regions of the world to this day. Economic and strategic rivalries often create disagreement even among allies but the ideological philosophies of both sides Soviet Communism on one side and Anglo-American Capitalism on the other, and the determination on both sides to ensure that their ideologies were protected and flourished only intensified the Cold War. United States and Britain were strong advocates of capitalistic, free-trading liberal democracy and many advocated turning the whole world into their form of capitalist economies. The Soviet Union policy makers also dreamed of seeing Marxist-Leninism spread throughout the world. After the destruction of the 2nd World War, with their economy and infrastructure devastated and more than 20 million dead, Soviet Union would have been more than happy to protect communism at home and was not in a position to export it. United States however was still strong and had come out of the War even stronger, and was in a position to strengthen its sphere of influence. The responsibility of originating the Cold War thus fell in the lap of United States and Britain and Soviet Union was not much far behind as discussed below. It is also important to recognize that due to the vast differences in the operating systems of the Soviet Union and United States, the Cold War was inevitable and tracing its origin to prevent a future Cold War is not the lesson we can possibly learn from the history. Even the end of the Cold War has not meant peace and tranquility for the world, and it seems that until one power can have total supremacy with subjugation to the desire of the almighty superpower, wars of one kind or other will continue.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas: Book and Film :: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, John Boyne

The book The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne is about a young boy, Bruno, whose father is a soldier in the German army during WWII. Bruno lives with his parents and his older sister, Gretel. They live in a five story house in Berlin. He goes to school and has three best friends that he goes on adventures with. One day he comes home to find their maid packing his things. They move to a three story house in Germany because his dad was promoted and needs to be closer to his work. Bruno is getting really upset that he can no longer see his friends or his grandparents. He is stuck in his house and can’t explore as much as he would like because there is no one to explore with. He notices something out his window one day, a large fenced in area with little tiny dots moving. He asks his sister and maid Maria what they are but they don’t know. He decides one day that he is going to explore the fenced in area, so he leaves when no one is looking and explores it for about two hours walking up and down the fence looking for something. Finally he comes across I boy about the same size of him so he goes up and talks to him. The boy’s name is Shmuel and they are the same age. Bruno learns that he is stuck behind the fence and has nothing to wear but the striped pajamas. Bruno doesn’t understand why he is there but is told how awful it is behind the fence. One day when Shmuel gets sent to shine glasses at his house him and Bruno start talking. A soldier see them and Bruno told him he didn’t know who he was, and the soldier beats the boy, Bruno feels terrible and want to make it up to Shmuel. Bruno wants to understand why the life behind the fence is so awful and why Shmuel isn’t happy. Bruno thinks it’s not better, but interesting because there are other kids to play with. They form a strong bond that can't be broken by anything and it makes him realize that his friends in Berlin weren't as special as Shmuel is and their friendship. The two boys have been talking and have been friends for about a year and decide that Bruno wants to go on the other side of the fence to see what its like and help him find his papa.

What Is A Hero? Essay -- essays research papers

When one thinks of heroes, names such as Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa often come to mind. These individuals have all helped society tremendously through their determination and unselfish deeds. However, we may not notice some of society’s other heroes. One such heroic person that comes to my mind is Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many people perceive Arnold as only a blockbuster movie star and not as the hero he truly is. People see the glittery and glamorous fascade of the actor but not the truly heroic acts of the humanitarian. Through his charity work, Arnold has truly touched the lives of those who are less fortunate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a growing concern in the United Sta  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  tes, where health problems are increasing at an alarming rate. The diets of many men, women and children are unhealthy, and lead to high blood pressure strokes, diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, and mental health problems. The poor state of America’s health is a serious concern for Arnold, and he is constantly striving for ways to improve it. Arnold is an advocate of health and fitness as displayed by his own lifestyle. He uses his celebrity status to showcase himself as a living example of health, which encourages a healthy lifestyle in the general population. The fact that â€Å"a quarter of a million deaths each year can be attributed to physical inactivity† (Modern Maturity) is utterly shocking. I firmly believe that Arnold’s relentless motivation to educate and teach people the benefits of a healthy lifestyle can reduce these horrific numbers dramatically. Arnold was the chairman of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and is the author of many books that promote health and fitness. Arnold began a fifty-state tour to encourage health and fitness by going to schools, meeting with governors, legislators and various community leaders. This tour took a tremendous amount of his own time and money. Nevertheless, he undertook this task to improve the health of people he did not even know. Arnold’s three goals for his tour were to â€Å"improve fitness of American children by returning a regimen of daily physical activity to the school, to increase parental involvement in their children’s fitness, and to promote community based fitness programs.† (Schwarzenegger) His extraordinary effort shows his genuine concern for the greate... ... a program of sports training and athletic competition for over one million kids and adults with physical and mental disadvantages. Arnold played a key role in developing the weightlifting program for the Special Olympics; he has worked with countless special Olympians and inspired them to participate to the best of their abilities. He said, â€Å"when you train with Special Olympics athletes, you go in thinking that you are there to inspire them. But the fact is, you feel inspired by what they can do with all those obstacles.† (Schwarzenegger ) If a hero is defined by his or her selfless contributions to society, and through their positive influences on other people, then Arnold Schwarzenneger is truly an unsung hero. Through Arnold, the general population of America is more informed on health issues, inner city kids have been given a chance to succeed, and the mentally or physically handicapped are truly made to feel good about themselves. A real hero doesn’t care if they are noticed for their work, as the knowledge that they have helped somebody is reward enough. Arnold has unselfishly given his money, but more importantly, his time and dedication to improve the lives of others.

Dove Case

Describe the evolution of the dove brand? The origins of the Dove brand lay in the U. S. In 1957 the first dove product was launched that was called the beauty bar. This product claimed that it was different than soap and that it would not dry out your skin. The advertising campaign for this launch was created by the Ogilvy and Mather advertising agency. The main message of this advertisement was that Dove soap does not dry out your skin because it contained a quarter of cleansing cream. The message that Dove does not dry out your skin was expressed in billboards, television and print. As time passed by minor changes were made to the slogan. For example, the term cleansing cream was replaced with the term moisturizing cream. The Dove beauty bar was endorsed by dermatologists and physicians for the treatment of dry skin in the 1980s. In the year 2000 Dove was approached to become a Masterbrand. This meant that Dove would lend its name to Unilever entries in the personal care categories. Next to the beauty bar category there would also be other categories where Dove would have an active name. For example, deodorants, hair care products, body lotions, facial cleansers and hair styling products. Now that Dove became a Masterbrand it was no longer sufficient to communicate functional benefits. Just because now there were different categories and functionality has a different meaning throughout the different categories. It was important that Dove would stand for a point of view. Having this in mind, research led to â€Å"The campaign for Real Beauty†. The ideas for this campaign started in the year 2002. There was a search for an alternative view of the goal of personal care. The findings of the research of this campaign showed that only 2% of the respondents worldwide described themselves as beautiful. Following this research the first exploratory advertising executions were initiated. In these advertisements ordinary people were used in supermodel contexts. This was called the Tick-Box campaign. In 2005 the next series of Dove ads were known internally as the Firming campaign. Firming campaign because a cream was promoted that would firm the skin. The goal was to change the way how beauty is viewed by society by provoking discussions and debates about â€Å"real beauty†. However this campaign was rather risky because they did not knew whether consumers would be inspired to buy a brand that focuses on real beauty and that does not promise to make you more attractive. The risk for Dove was that it would be perceived as an ordinary brand and would not stand out among the other brands for beauty products. In 2006 Dove ran an ad in the broadcast of the Superbowl football game. The next stage in the Real Beauty campaign of Dove was developing a film concerning self-esteem. Unilever defined a mission statement for â€Å"The Campaign for Real Beauty†. Namely, â€Å"Dove's mission is to make more women feel beautiful every day by broadening the narrow definition of beauty and inspiring them to take great care of themselves†. Later that year, Dove announced a contest where consumers were aspired to come up with their own ads for Dove Cream Oil Body Wash. This was a new product that would be launched in early 2007. Dove came a long way and was now seen as a brand of great value. Dove had grown a lot and was identified as one of ten brands with the greatest percentage gain with regards to brand health and business value for in the previous three years. How do you asses Unilever's branding strategy (i. e. reducing the number of brands and building masterbrands)? When looking at Unilever's branding strategy the focus lies on building masterbrands. This is a good strategy because the number of brands is reduced. Hence the focus lies on one larger brand instead of several smaller brands. This is good because it makes the decision making process a lot easier for the consumer. On the other hand it is also easier for Unilever because it now can put its energy on one larger brand. This means that the developments around the brand can be more specific. Meaning that you could create brand awareness more easily because there are less choice alternatives available for the consumer. Secondly, because of the masterbrand different products belong to one brand. This means that consumers can buy different products from one brand. The brand is no longer specific for one product category. Therefore if a consumer is loyal to a brand it will also buy more products that belong to that brand and will not go to competitors. For example, if the consumer knows that Dove offers a good quality moisturizing cream the consumer is more likely to perceive other products of Dove as good quality. Furthermore, if Unilever would not pursue the branding strategy of masterbrands it would lead to competition among the several smaller brands. You could say that each brand of Unilever would operate as a separate business, meaning that it would compete with its fellow brands as well as with brands of other firms. The previous would only lead to a division of Unilever which is not good for brand development. Instead the brands should work together because they all are a part of Unilever. Finally, the branding strategy of Unilever also provides possibilities of growth for the brand. By reducing the number of brands which are for example not profitable enough. The focus lies on the masterbrands and this reduction in costs can be used for the more promising masterbrands and therefore lead to growth by expanding product lines and so on.

To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Essay Example

To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Essay Example To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Paper To what extent was the United States responsible for the collapse of the Grand Alliance at the end of the Second World War Paper to complete the formation of a bloc of several European countries hostile to the interests of the democratic countries of Eastern Europe and most particularly to the interests of the Soviet Union. 8 (italics original). Some historians since have been sympathetic to this view; W. A. Williams argues that the postwar atmosphere degenerated into hostility in large part because of American insistence on an open-door policy of total free trade between nations, rather than, offer[ing] the Soviet Union a settlement based on other, less grandiose, terms. 9 However, this argument is predicated on the assumption that eastern Europe was already in economic isolation from the west, whereas in fact this was a state of affairs forcibly created by the USSR. Therefore, if the Marshall Plan did increase postwar tensions this was only because of the actions already taken by the Soviet Union; without communist domination of east Europe, a plan to revive shattered economies in former warzones would not have had the degenerative effect on international relations which it evidently did have. In this sense, the Marshall Plan was a response to the Soviet aggression which had caused Cold War tensions to increase, rather than an ipso facto cause of antipathy itself. There are other examples given of where the west was responsible for an increase in superpower hostility following 1945 however. One episode deserves special mention: US interference in the Italian general election of 1948. American and British officials were concerned that in the war-ravaged countries of France and Italy, economic hardship might result in communist parties coming to power through free elections; by 1946 such organisations already seemed poised to become the largest single political forces within those countries. 0 These worries quickly disappeared in the case of France, but when an election was scheduled for April 18th 1948 in Italy, the Italian communist party, at two million members the largest outside of the Soviet bloc, was poised certainly to win a large enough share of the vote to make it impossible to keep them out of a governing coalition, and possibly an outright majority. The United States decided to intervene. A massive letter-writing campaign was organised, resulting in some ten million letters being sent by Italian-Americans to relatives in Italy arguing against a vote for the communists, and the CIA in conjunction with the Catholic Church ran a huge anti-Marxist propaganda campaign. In addition, some $2-3 million was distributed by the CIA to various anti-communist political parties in Italy. When election day came the communists were humiliated, their share of the vote halved from what they had achieved in the 1946 local elections. 1 This is not the place to discuss whether American actions were justified, but undoubtedly the precedent set by the Italian effort, and its resounding success, resulted afterwards in the United States being far more willing to engage in anti-Soviet activities elsewhere, and this case is therefore cited as an instance where the actions of America contributed to the breakup of the Grand Alliance. Another reason sometimes given is the American monopoly on nucl ear weapons in the aftermath of World War Two. On July 16th 1945, the largest man-made explosion in history took place at the Alamogordo test site in New Mexico,12 and the United States was immediately catapulted into a position of total military superiority. Though the Soviet Union had ended the war with colossal conventional armed forces, the atomic bombings of Japan in August of that year left the Russians in no doubt that their on-paper ally had become indisputably the most powerful military force in the history of the world. It has therefore been argued that this obvious fact caused Stalin and his government to feel threatened and bullied by the United States, and that this was the reason for the antagonistic nature of postwar negotiations. Williams again writes: Particularly after the atom bomb was created and used, the attitude of the United States left the Soviets with but one real option: either acquiesce in American proposals or be confronted with American power and hostility. 13 Undoubtedly the US was sometimes guilty of flaunting its nuclear dominance: American officials evidently thought that the Paris Peace Conference of July 1946 would be far more productive were it to be immediately preceded by two nuclear weapons tests. 14 On the other hand, it is quite possible that considerations of American nuclear power did not factor significantly into Soviet thinking. At the Potsdam conference (July-August 1945), more than one western official observed Stalins surprising calmness, even nonchalance, when told by President Truman that the US was in possession of a new weapon of unusual destructive force. Only later did it transpire that not only did the USSR have an atomic weapons programme dating back to 1942 but that, due to the laxness of the Manhattan Projects managers respecting its wartime ally,15 the Soviets had spies passing nuclear secrets to Moscows scientists. 6 Stalin was therefore fully aware that the United States monopoly on atomic weapons would be only temporary, and therefore that this need not be factored into long-term Soviet strategic thinking. Furthermore, the aggressive actions taken by the USSR in the postwar period (see below) show no signs of restraint by Russian leaders on account of the destructive capability of the Americans nuclear arsenal. The Berlin Blockade (June 1948-May 1949) took place and concluded before the Soviets successfully tested a nuclear bomb of their own on August 29th 1949. 7 The USSRs leaders seem to have calculated, probably correctly, that the United States wanted to avoid war with the Soviet Union at almost any cost; after August 1949 this only became more true as MAD thinking began to gain widespread acceptance. The more orthodox interpretation of the postwar period is that the alliance collapsed primarily because of the actions taken by the Soviet Union after the defeat of Germany, especially concerning the areas of Europe occupied by soldiers of the Red Army. At the Yalta conference in February 1945, only months away from the defeat of Germany, major disputes arose over the fate of European nations such as Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia which had been liberated from German control by the troops of the Soviet Union. The western leaders, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, wanted Stalin to conduct free and fair elections with the aim of establishing self-governing sovereign entities, but were under no illusions that the Soviet leader intended to turn them into friendly buffer states, and probably totalitarian one-party regimes at that. With respect to Poland especially, Stalin had already shown his contempt for national democracy movements by allowing the Wehrmacht to crush the Warsaw uprising in August-October 1944, and had a pro-Soviet puppet government ready and waiting to take over from the German authorities. 18 Previous Soviet treatment of Finland and the Baltic states gave every indication needed of how Stalin would react to attempts made at installing democracy in other countries. Section V pledged all of the allied powers, including the Soviet Union, to the earliest possible establishment through free elections of Governments responsive to the will of the people, and asserted the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they will live. 19 It does not need to be repeated that Stalin never had any intentions of carrying out the requirements of this passage. Immediately after the war the leaders of national communist parties, many of whom had spent the pre-war and wartime years in exile in Moscow and had long been subdued under Stalins whip, began their gradual accumulation of power. Invariably, the communists would contest a free-ish election under the auspices of the Red Army, win a minority of the vote (as little as 17% in Hungary and never more than 38%, in Czechoslovakia), and then agree to take part in a coalition government. Under pressure from Stalin, their rivals would agree to give communists control of ministries of justice and of the interior, which would then be used to disappear political opponents. In Poland the Soviet puppets methods were less subtle: a massive campaign of violence and intimidation preceded the first postwar elections in 1947, and the communists claimed 80% of the vote. 20 Despite assertions by some historians that western leaders handed over Eastern Europe to the Soviets at Yalta, short of a full-scale war with the USSR there was little if anything Roosevelt and Churchill could have done to prevent Stalin from turning eastern European countries into satellite states. Nevertheless, the dictators flagrant violations of the USSRs promises at Yalta created a chasm between the former Allies even before V-E Day, and is therefore frequently cited as the primary reason for the collapse of the Grand Alliance. As Roosevelts biographer Conrad Black has written, The issue of whether the British and Americans (and Frances) foremost ally would be Germany or Russia would be determined by whether Stalin could resist the temptation of enslaving Eastern Europe. 21