The Crucible – Performance Review

The Crucible A joint cast from Melbourne High School and Mac. Robertson Girls’ High School were recently involved in a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. The cast, led by Gilbert Stalinsfield as John Proctor and Greta Nash as Elizabeth Proctor, was able to captivate the audience for an the entirety of the performer. Director Anne-Marie Brownhill’s interpretation of the play, while short, allowed for each actor to contribute his or her own ideas to the story without removing the overlying theme of the empowerment provided through lies and playing on people’s fears.Each actor showed a deep understanding of the plot and was able to convey the message about McCarthyism and the symbolism of the witch hunts for the way people were suspected and persecuted in the 50s when McCarthy was most influential. Miller’s work successfully illustrates the parallels between the series of events that occurred in the late 1600s known as the Salem Witch Trials a nd the events that had been occurring during the time that The Crucible was written in the 1950s. The combined cast from Melbourne High School and Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School were incredibly impressive in their demonstration of these issues and the effects that these situations can have. Leading the female cast was Year 11 Alexandria Liistro. A shock choice for the role, Liistro understood her character and was able to portray the vindictive Abigail Williams to perfection. The seduction of John Proctor and lying to the judges appeared to come naturally in this wonderful performance, which employed the technique of realism to enable the character to be understood by the audience.It was hard to find a member of the audience who, after seeing the play, didn’t feel a sense of disgust towards the way Williams had acted throughout the plot. Liistro seemed to play on this disdain shown towards her and her character by not only the audience but also the actors on stage. S he truly showed the manipulative nature of Abigail Williams. The gentle giant James Ness was very cleverly chosen to play Judge Danforth, the deputy governor of Massachusetts that presided over the Salem Witch Trials in this play. Ness’ giant stature and booming voice commanded attention as he delivered a pitch-perfect performance.The way in which Ness was able to control an entire act with his presence throughout the trials of Elizabeth Proctor, played by Greta Nash, made for very intense and enjoyable theatre. Ness was also able to convey the subtle compassion that Danforth has when he is offering Proctor the chance to save his own life by admitting to the heinous crime of devil-worshipping. The power in the delivery of every line by James Ness sent shivers through the audience and kept them interested from the first time he is seen on stage until the end of the play. The choice of costuming was very successful in portraying the true intentions of each character.Abigail Wil liams was dressed in a black with a red headband, showing the evil that litters her soul, while the rest of the girls that were testifying against ‘the devil’ in court were wearing black with green headbands, showing the confusion and sickness that dominated their understanding of what they were doing. The green of the headbands worn by the group of girls were matched with the green light used in the first act when Betty Paris has fallen sick due to the witchcraft that has been performed. Both John Proctor and Elizabeth Proctor wore lighter colours dominated by white and light greys.This choice of colour was to display the purity and innocence of these two people, despite what was happening around them. Secondary characters that cared only a little bit about the witch trials that were occurring but only for selfish reasons, like Giles Corey, were placed in costumes dominated by greys to show both the good and the evil in them. The set design and direction for this inter pretation of The Crucible was very well thought out. The early acts of the performance are dominated by a very crowded stage by both actors and props. This adds to the effect of the confusion that is intended displayed throughout the beginning of the play.As the acts continue, it appears as though there is more and more unoccupied space on the stage to allow for the real message of the play to be conveyed through the words of the story and the performance of the actors. The stage for the final act is completely bare and very few actors are on stage at once. This set being stripped for this section was so that the raw emotion delivered through the acting was more powerful and more easily observed and understood. The set appears to be a symbol for logic and altruism. As the play continues, so does the logic and altruism displayed by any of the characters.

Mediated Modes of Communication and Its Impact to Society

As we bask into the Information Age, human communication is ongoing and transforming to become more interactive and accessible. As we all know, communication is dynamic, ongoing, ever-changing, and continuous. Simple communication entails the message being sent and the receiver perceives and accepts the message. Communication models find their origins in Greek antiquity. Aristotle recognized the speaker, speech, and audience as communication components. Five hundred years before Christ, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, observed that â€Å"a man (or woman) can never step into the river twice. The man (or woman) is different and so is the river† (Gortner et al. 1997, p. 36). Change and continuity are intertwined—as men or women step into the river—in a process of actions which flow through the ages. Communication is a process and flows like a stream through time. It is indubitable that technology has brought about gargantuan impacts to the past modes of communication, be it formal and informal. In an era of faxes, computers, and photocopying machines, communication challenges will emerge that are even more complex, demanding, and technical. Moreover, cell phones, e-mail, and telephone answering machines contribute to the narrowing of the gulf between formal and informal communication distinctions. Anthropologists already have researched on the relationship of conventional forms of verbal interaction and those mediated by new technologies such as the Internet, satellite transmissions, and cell phones. Crystal (2001) had revealed that the Internet constituted a new frontier in human social interaction on par with the inventions of the telephone and telegraph, and even print and broadcast technologies. Scholars of language use, language change, and ideologies of language must surely explore and interrogate the effects of these technologies on traditional modes of communication, the impact of our new capacity to communicate instantly anywhere in the world, and the meaning of language contact as it is taking place in cyberspace. Most of these technologies, notwithstanding constant new advances in computer-mediated graphics, are text or voice based. Thus, â€Å"if the Internet is a revolution, therefore, it is likely to be a linguistic revolution† (Crystal 2001, p. viii). Many observers allege that the Internet is changing society. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the novelty of the new digital media, there is little agreement about what those changes are. It is believed that it is important for sociologists to address these issues for three reasons. First, the medium’s rapid growth offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for scholars to test theories of technology diffusion and media effects during the early stages of a new medium's diffusion and institutionalization. Second, the Internet is unique because it integrates both different modalities of communication (reciprocal interaction, broadcasting, individual reference-searching, group discussion, person/machine interaction) and different kinds of content (text, video, visual images, audio) in a single medium. This versatility renders plausible claims that the technology w ill be implicated in many kinds of social change, perhaps more deeply than television or radio. Finally, choices are being made–systems developed, money invested, laws passed, regulations promulgated–that will shape the system's technical and normative structure for decades to come. Many of these choices are based on behavioral assumptions about how people and the Internet interact (Dimaggio, Hargittai, Neuman & Robinson, 2001, p. 307). As these technological innovations are revolutionizing information and entertainment delivery, these technology-mediated modes of communication have affected the transformation of people’s social lives and behaviors, even political institutions and the role of citizens within them. As people argue that the new technology of short messaging system (SMS), email, online discussions, on-demand information, and web-powered information diffusion and interest aggregation will lead to a more informed, engaged, and influential mass public. With this, will we live in a better informed and connected, more engaged and participatory society—or in a society of lonely ex-couch potatoes glued to computer screens, whose human contacts are largely impersonal and whose political beliefs are easily manipulated, relying on the icons of a wired or wireless society? Fact is that, Erbring and Lutz (2005) have indicated that when people spend more time using the Internet, the more they lose contact with their social environment. They cited a study that this effect is noticeable even with people using just 2-5 Internet hours per week; and it rises substantially for those spending more than 10 hours per week, of whom up to 15 percent report a decrease in social activities. Even more striking is the fact that Internet users spend much less time talking on the phone to friends and family: the percentage reporting a decrease exceeds 25 percent—although it is unclear to what extent this represents a shift to email even in communicating with friends and family or a technical bottleneck due to a single phone line being pre-empted by Internet use. Because of the accessibility of the new modes of communication, people have used these as tools to avoid confrontation that is emphasized in face-to-face communication. In fact, in   UAE and in Malaysia, cell phones have been used to end marriages by SMS-ing â€Å"Talaq, Talaq, Talaq† (â€Å"Divorce, Divorce, Divorce†). But then, this is not the first time technology has been used in officially terminating a relationship. Earlier, it was telephonic, postal and telegram divorces; now there are divorce via e-mail and SMS. Technology has changed the way people are courting, getting married and yes, also the way they are separating. â€Å"If people are meeting and dating on the Internet, why not divorces?† says Anuradha Pratap, principal of Al-Ameen Management College in Bangalore, India. â€Å"If weddings can take place using technology, why not divorce?† asked Ayesha Banu, a Bangalore resident. â€Å"There were telephone weddings nearly two decades ago. It’s only the technology that has changed, everything else has remained the same† (Kiran, 2 June 2003). On the other hand, Halliday (1990) noted that â€Å"when new demands are made on language †¦ [and when] we are making language work for us in ways it never had to do before, it will have to become a different language in order to cope† (p. 82). It is arguable that technology-based media present new demands which have the potential of promoting variations in language use Perhaps, the demands are not novel in itself, but it is rather the blurring, the amalgamation, of previous demands which may result in linguistic variations. Take, for instance, computer communication systems which have placed demands, often associated with spoken language, on the production of written language. This reassignment is most observable in synchronous computer-mediated communication such as MOOs (MUD Object Oriented), MUDs (Multi-User Domain), and Chat. While the language takes on a written form, it is constrained by temporal limitations which require immediate responses. Conversely, this type of synchronous communication, which can be considered an essentially oral language (Collot & Belmore, 1996), is also constrained by norms — including spelling and grammar norms — most often associated with written language. For example in SMS, people usually shorten their message to hasten the process. Like sending the message â€Å"Are you going to the party tonight?† would be shortened to â€Å"R U GOING 2 THE PARTY TONYT?† Indeed, grammar and spelling would be gravely affected, just to facilitate the convenience of a faster communication process. However, from a perspective of language change multimodal forms of communication, such as emails, text messages and chat rooms, are essentially new forms of communication. As used here the term ‘multimodal' refers to the way that texts use devices from a range of different communication systems at the same time. So, for example, you can send an email message to six of your friends simultaneously; previously you could only do this through speaking to them as a group. In other words writing takes on a characteristic which once belonged to speech only (Beard, 2004, p. 44). Emails are usually message exchanges between a pair of named individuals communicating on a single issue, chat-groups usually involve several people: they can be anonymous or use a pseudonym; their communication can be of an indefinite length; and they can cover a wide range of topics. Crystal (2001) uses the term ‘asynchronous' to describe groups where ‘postings' are placed on ‘boards' and ‘synchronous' to describe groups who ‘chat' in real time. The terms 'email' and ‘text message' both suggest a written form, but the terms ‘chat-room/ chat-group' suggest a form of talk; a form of talk – chat – that is traditionally seen as social rather than serious in its content. Although the terminology that labels new communication genres draws upon the traditional binary opposites of speaking/writing (mail/ chat), it is not very helpful to see such texts as products of these opposites. Instead each of the genres has its own unique methods of communication, and then each of the texts produced within the genre has its own specific context. So, for example, the idea of turn-taking, which is crucial to many kinds of vocalized talk, is achieved in very different ways in chat-groups. The acts of reading, thinking, replying and sending the reply, which is not necessarily received instantly, is being undertaken by each of the participants at the same time. This inevitably leads to a dislocation of the exchange in a way that does not happen with emails and text messages. Yet, participants within the process are well able to manage this complicated exercise in pragmatics. Another aspect of pragmatics involves the fact that whereas in face-to-face group conversation your presence is still registered, even if you are silent, this is more problematic in chat-groups. As Crystal (2001) notes: â€Å"in chatgroups silence is ambiguous: it may reflect a deliberate withholding, a temporary inattention, or a physical absence (without signing off)†. Indeed, technology is crucial in the development of the information highway that would link every home to a fiber-optic network over which voice, data, television, and other services would be transmitted. The internet’s architecture is determined by an informal group of U.S.-based software and computer engineers. The internet’s global scope and electronic commerce’s growth make its management an international policy issue. Analysts and government believe a hands-off approach is best (Cukier 1998, p. 39-41). People and organizations determine the course of the future, not computers. As a form of communication, the internet can be used by individuals, private corporations, and government agencies for good or bad, but it cannot influence the direction our society chooses to take. The internet only reflects the society that created it. The development and use of the telegraph and telephone provide a definitive pattern for how the newest form of networked communication, the internet, will be used in the future (Nye, Fall 1997). The lack of accountability and civility have increased as the anonymity in U.S. society has increased, states newspaper columnist Ellen Goodman. She cites the anonymous zones of talk radio and cyberspace among the fox holes for people who want to say anything and everything with impunity (Goodman, 5 September 1996). Despite the downside of the information highway, internet access has made communication between local government and citizens much easier nationwide. Public records access, personnel postings, permit applications, and legislative updates are available online in dozens of cities and counties (Bowser January 1998, p. 36). The technology of the internet may afford the masses access to much more information and many more options. So, internet technology is neither evil nor good. â€Å"Thanks to the internet and satellite TV, the world is being wired together technologically, but not socially, politically, or culturally,† concluded New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman (12 May 2001). â€Å"We are now seeing and hearing one another faster and better, but with no corresponding improvement in our ability to learn from, or understand, one another. So integration, at this stage, is producing more anger than anything else.† The new modes of communication educate people faster than any previous technology the world has known. However, the internet can just as easily infiltrate the minds of millions with lies, half-truths, and hatreds. Friedman (12 May 2001) deemed that â€Å"the internet, at its ugliest, is just an open sewer: an electronic conduit for untreated, unfiltered information.† The internet and satellite TV may inflame emotions and cultural biases, resulting in less understanding and tolerance. Government programs are built on political consensus. Legislation is enacted for the long term. Compromises are based on education, exchanges, diplomacy, and human interaction. However, due to the lack of face-to-face context and the lack of interactional coherence in e-mail and SMS, people need to be more explicit and concise in order to make their message as well as the purpose transparent to their audience, especially in initiated, not responsive, messages. If the message is not explicit enough, the receiver may not be able to provide an optimal response, or the message may turn into a lengthy sequenced exchange before a desired response is obtained. Thus, language use and structure are greatly affected but the intention remains the same. With the fear of the deterioration of language through these new technologies, it is only right that people should still be educated appropriately with regards to the correct structure and use language, so that they will not be confused when they utilize the normal modes of communication. Technology should enhance how society behaves and interact and not the other way around. Works Cited Beard, Adrian. Language Change. London: Routledge, 2004. Bowser, Brandi. Opening the Window to Online Democracy: www.localgovernment. com, American City & County 113.1 (January 1998): 36–38. Collot, M. and N. Belmore . Electronic Language: A New Variety of English. In S. C. Herring (Ed.), Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives (pp. 13-28). Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 1996. Crystal, David. Language and the Internet. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001. Cukier, Kenneth. Who Runs the Internet? World Press Review, 45.5 (May 1998): 39–41. Dimaggio, Paul, Eszter Hargittai, W. Russell Neuman, and John P. Robinson. Social Implications of the Internet. Annual Review of Sociology (2001): 307. Friedman, Thomas L. Global Village Idiocy, The New York Times, (May 12, 2002). Goodman, Ellen. Anonymity Breeds Incivility, Boston Globe, (September 5, 1996):17A. Gortner, Harold F., Julianne Mahler, and Jeanne Bell Nicholson, Organization Theory: A Public Perspective, 2nd ed. (Fort Worth, Tex.: Harcourt Brace, 1997), pp. 135–141. Halliday, M. A. K. Spoken and Written Language. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1990. Kiran, Jyothi. SMS Divorces, Women’s Feature Service. (June 2, 2003). Nie, Norman H. and Erbring, Lutz. â€Å"Internet Use Decreases Social Interaction.† The Internet. Ed. James D. Torr. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Nye, David E. Shaping Communication Networks: Telegraph, Telephone, Computer, Social Research, 64.3 (Fall 1997): 1067–1092.

Swimming class at school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Swimming class at school - Essay Example The students who were waiting waited much longer for the next activity to start than they do during transition periods. This is because the class is not running for only one student. Also, they all will learn how to be patient until everyone finishes each exercise. And the teachers need to provide equity in making every student involved in learning the methods of freestyle and diving in the class.The teachers administrated the management of the class, which was a very small portion of the total time. They were not trying to rush them while teaching freestyle and diving in right manner because all the students have their own pace of learning how to swim. The only problems they control are the ones that are a threat to their safety in the water. The students are pretty young, so they don’t need to be taught how to swim like skilled and professional swimmers. It is just when the teachers feel that the students are getting in trouble such as signs of overactivity, accident, injury or drowning in the water, then they will call for the student’s attention to tell them to behave or to stop doing their activity to deal with their issues.The longest portion among the categories is practice, which was given to the students by the teachers. They organized, prepared, and distributed freestyle and diving techniques, as well as drills such as individual or group practice and self-initiated skill practice or they, give a test to them. Finally, the teachers asked their students to do a 7-minute warm up at the beginning of the class.

Partnership and limited liability partnership in the United States Essay

Partnership and limited liability partnership in the United States - Essay Example Humans have since time immemorial been considered social beings making partnership between individuals a common concept. Partnerships can as well exist between businesses, interest based organizations, schools, governments allowing for their nature and structure to be varied. Under this type of arrangement, partners agree to share their profits and losses and this mutual understanding is what allows them to operate efficiently (Wood 21). People engaging in partnerships often have varied reasons for their union. Some partner with others in order to increase their likelihood of achieving their goals when the situation calls for1. Others may partner simply to pool resources together in order to be able to participate effectively in the business world. While profits may be the driving force for some, strategic positioning is a major underlying reason for the formation of partnerships especially amongst those who are actively engaged in the business world. And because each member brings a long their own set of reasons for forming the alliance, partnerships have been marred with special challenges and issues. It is because of the dynamic nature of partnerships that the concept of civil law was introduced in their formation (Smith 16). An agreement is a symbolic tool of understanding between partners in any engagement. These agreements define each individual's goals, the company's overall goal, roles and responsibilities of each partner, lines of authority and succession, how achievements and shortcomings are to be classified, and most important, how resources are to be shared within the company. And because of the detailed nature of these agreements, they are required to be written down on paper and appropriately signed by all members in the partnership. This is done for future reference and each party often advised to keep a copy of the agreement. Articles of partnership are often drawn by the partners who are members of the partnership in order to make the document legally enforceable by law. (Smith 17). The roles of partners are often quite defining as to the nature with which they interact with the organization. In a general partnership, all partners manage the business and are personally liable for any expenses that are incurred during the management of the business. In the United States, there have been established limited liability partnerships which have got different features as compared to other forms of partnership2. A limited liability partnership accords its owners limited personal liability which is suitable for use in professional groups like accountants and lawyers3. The nature of Limited Liability Partnership These partnerships are often preferred because one partner does not wish to be liable for the problems or mistakes made by other partners within the organization. This is often the case is malpractice claims that may prove detrimental to the company even if they are fully enforceable by law4. In the case of malpractice clai ms, LLP protects each partner from any costs or expenses arising from any malpractice lawsuits that may be leveled against one partner5. Overall, LLP's have similar advantages as those realized in limited partnerships. One can still take part in the management of the business in an active manner, without exposing themselves to personal liability for the decisions and actions undertaken by the other partners beyond the value of their investment in the arrangement.

Critical Appraisal of Business Planning Process Essay - 1

Critical Appraisal of Business Planning Process - Essay Example This report describes the importance of strategy, market research and analysis, financials, competitive strategy and generating ideas as fundamental outcomes of proper business planning. Idea generation and strategy External market conditions change rapidly in certain industries, thus driving a need for innovation in order to compete with other businesses operating in the same market environment. Products and services both from an entrepreneurial business and the competitive environment have a specific life cycle by which it generates profitability and consumer adoption patterns. A product or service will move from growth to maturity, a period where sales decline and thus new product development becomes a critical internal activity of the organisation. This is why generating new ideas becomes a paramount objective in the planning process, usually requiring the input of executive leadership and managers to determine how best to introduce a new product whilst still recognising costs. I n generating new product ideas, the business leadership must determine whether compromises will be made, opportunity costs or trade-offs, in order to launch a new product or service on the market. ... Innovations, however, are critical to maintaining a stable market position. Strategy formulation determines the objectives necessary to achieve a long-term market position. Strategy defines sustainability over the long-run or whether growth is an expectation related to revenue-building. An entrepreneurial dimension of strategy is persisting to find a better fit in the competitive market or developing a vision by which the organisation founds its values and organisational structure against (Majumdar 2008). Developing a long-term orientation is necessary in business planning as it determines the strategic direction the business intends to pursue and thus resources are allocated toward meeting this purpose. Market analysis and competitive strategy Michael Porter identifies five competitive forces that impact business success, including threat of new entrants, the availability of substitute products, supplier and buyer power in the market, and concerns over what types of competitive stra tegies are being developed by other businesses operating in the same market (Porter 2010). It is necessary to scan the external environment in order to understand what socio-economic and socio-cultural trends are observable in key target markets in order to develop a service or product plan designed to properly fit these attitudes or financial predictors. Market analysis identifies all of the fundamental hindrances or advantages that are linked to strategic intention and competitive strategy, thus the planning process must include market research. Businesses that are heavily reliant on consumer revenues must understand what drives buyer behaviour, and this is best performed through surveys, questionnaires or focus groups. Consumers either favour or disapprove of a particular

Fire Control Project Overview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Fire Control Project Overview - Essay Example This project arose from a report which the government commissioned having been raised by the management, engineering as well as development consultancy which was published in April 2000. The conclusion from the report was that maximum efficiency could be attained if the number of control rooms could be reduced from current 46 (as at that time) to only 9 regional control rooms. The objective of the project being to ensure community safety by providing strategic framework for the Fire and Rescue services (FRSs) as well as other agencies which would prevent and respond to emergencies as they arose. The benefits that would accrue from the project were increased resilience. In this case by using the resilient networked technology, staff in any RCC would be able to answer calls within any part of the country. Secondly, the project would integrate all services by use of new risk management tools which had the ability to deploy specialist equipments. This would necessitate introduction of a common call handling, process mobilization, technology and training which would guarantee consistency across various regions. The communication system would also be changed to be data based rather that voice which would be readily accessible through the MDTs. This would hence ensure greater fire and rescue services capabilities (Great 2010, p.30). Extent of Failure Originally, each FRS had its own local control room charged with the responsibility of handling its own emergencies. All the 46 control rooms were independent with each using different levels of technology, network capacities and also their own back-up arrangements. The challenge faced by the control rooms was the increased number of calls and levels that exceeded the local control room. This made the calls be transferred to a different FRS or police control room. By using the police control room, information would then be sent back to the local control room using telephone, radio or fax machine. Due to the fact that different control rooms employed different technology levels and variable quality, this made the transfer process difficult for the FRSs to effectively back each other up. This resulted to the local control rooms being flooded hence being hard to cope using the current technology to handle the high volume of calls which then resulted in long queues or even lost calls. This was another example of a Government IT project in which it was absorbing increasing resources but never achieving the objectives initially set. The essential checks and balances done at the early stages of the project were ineffect ive. This was due to the fact that approval of the project was done based on unrealistic cost estimates as well as under-appreciation of the IT complexity that was to be involved. This made the project be implemented in a hurry with poor management. The Communities and Local Government Select Committee after closely examining the project hope that the project should go live by mid-2011 if there is an agreement on a viable project plan. The realization of the above has been put on substantial risk as a result of the following. Reasons for failure Project Environment There are several issues that ultimately led to the downfall of the said project which if they had been handled before would have made the project a complete success and be completed on time. Failure by the Department to sufficiently incentivize Fire and Rescue Services The Fire and Rescue authorities were under no legal obligation to use the regional control centers once completed. Despite this, the department failed in its mandate by not communicating the benefits to be accrued by transferring to the regional structure. The Department charged with the

The Theoretical Foundations of the Old Diplomacy Are Outdated Essay

The Theoretical Foundations of the Old Diplomacy Are Outdated - Essay Example ..’ Its practice dates back to the earliest known civilizations, beginning, according to Hamilton & Langhorne (2011, p.7), when early human societies realized that it makes for much better peace and harmony to listen to a message rather than to eat the messenger. Political entities, even in those times, recognized the need to co-exist with one another, as well as to enter into unions and forge alliances - in defence or offence - against common threats and perceived enemies. Early diplomatic practice, which may have begun in the ancient Near East around the middle of the third millennium B.C. (Hamilton & Langhorne, 2011, p.8) provided the framework for this. The practice of diplomacy has evolved over time, with two broad classifications emerging: the ‘old diplomacy’, practiced up to the early part of the twentieth century and the ‘new diplomacy’, which succeeded it. Theoretical Foundations of the ‘Old Diplomacy’ The gradual evolution of ea rly political entities (clans, villages, tribes, etc.) over millennia gave rise to the birth of sovereign nation states. The need to maintain an orderly structure of international relations in order to secure the growing prosperity of the nation states, in other words, the necessity for diplomacy between expanding political entities with often competing interests saw the emergence in Europe of what has been loosely described as the ‘old diplomacy’. It had, according to Nicolson (1954, p.73-77), five principal features, as follows: 1. Europe was conceived as the most important of all the continents. The greatest nations of Europe (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, France and Britain) were regarded as the ‘Great Powers’ while other nations had to wear the toga of ‘Minor’ or ‘Small Powers’ No war, it was believed, could become a major global threat unless one of the five great European powers got themselves embroiled in it. Thus Europ e was seen as holding the balance between war and peace on a general scale. 2. The ‘Great Powers’ were seen as pre-eminent over the ‘Small Powers’, having wider responsibilities, holding more prominent and sophisticated interests and possessing greater resources, whether in money or armaments. The ‘Small Powers’ were ranked in order of their strategic importance and position, their value as markets or sources of raw materials and their relation to the balance of power. 3. The ‘Great Powers’ arrogated to themselves the common responsibility for exercising oversight functions in regard to the conduct of affairs between the ‘Small Powers’ and the preservation of peace and amity amongst them, considering themselves invested with the authority to intervene directly and by force of arms where necessary, in disputes and disagreements between these ‘Small Powers’. 4. To secure and uphold the hegemonic structure th us put in place, there was the need to establish in every country a professional diplomatic service and an associated diplomatic corps built on a more or less identical model, with common standards of professional conduct. This made it possible for Ambassadors of various countries to relate to each other with mutual respect and confidence, even when the nations they represented were engaged in acrimonious disputes or warfare. 5. Following from the above, the rule was also established that negotiations between states should be

Human Resource (Management) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Human Resource (Management) - Research Paper Example The organization should clearly state the dress code according to its public image. Even defining the casual dress code it is highly advisable for the organizations to specify which clothing is inappropriate for a professional environment. Employees should keep in mind that their dress should reflect their personal style as well as their organizational culture. Any changes in dress code policy should be made informed to the employees through memos. Dress code policy revolves around each and every single item that counts in shaping one’s personality such as shoes, dresses, jewelry (for females), dress colors (preferably the corporate colors) and bags (Bornman: 2007) Policy for Worker Pay: A pay policy structure defines the framework for the pay according to the grading criteria or jobs in an organization. A homogenous pay structure at all levels ensures a fair treatment to the employees by the employer. An employee should be paid justifiably according to his skills and experien ce. It is imperative for an organization to review their pay structure policies every after year. A balanced pay structure or a pay policy helps the organization to reduce the job discrimination as well as it also helps in increasing the flexibility.

NMR Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

NMR - Lab Report Example Hydrogen bonding stabilizes the enol form in polar solvents contrary to the non-polar solvents that lack hydrogen bonding. Stabilization of the enol form is attained by intramolecular hydrogen bonding. The HNMR spectrum for compound CH3OH display two peaks with a chemical shift of 4.9287 and 3.3721 and integration of 1 and 3 respectively. The computed equilibrium constant for acetylacetone in CCl4 is higher than the equilibrium constant for acetylacetone in CH3OH. The equilibrium constant for acetylacetone in CCl4 is higher than that in CH3OH because it is a non-polar solvent. The equilibrium constant is a ratio of the quantity of enol form to the quantity of keto form. Therefore, the quantity of keto form is inversely proportional to the equilibrium constant. The keto form increases with increase in solvent polarity because keto is favored by hydrogen-bonding solvents. The CH3OH compound used in this experiment display only two peaks in the NMR spectrum. The spectrum lacks the OH peak thus gives a slightly lower keto form than expected. The main factor in stabilizing any form is the intermolecular hydrogen bond. From research, the polar solvent has the capability of establishing two intermolecular bonds in one molecule and the non-polar solvent establishes only one intermolecular hydrogen bond. (Malcolm). However, in this case, the polar solvent only establishes one intermolecular hydrogen bond. The temperature affecting the equilibrium constant is related to the equilibrium change in enthalpy to that of

The Conglomerates, the Lovers, the Spies and the Outcast Essay

The Conglomerates, the Lovers, the Spies and the Outcast - Essay Example The conglomerates arrange parties, treats and keep looking for occasions of celebration. They are life long friends. They may go to different places after school, yet call one another daily. Mostly, they land in the same profession and in the same country.The lovers are groups of two. A third one is not allowed. The two are inseparable. Their academic performance may differ significantly. Lovers may have different interests, but they are attached emotionally. Many lovers are totally opposite to each other in nature, yet they make a perfect match. The effect is magnetic, just like north and south poles of the magnet attract each other. The lovers remain together full time at the school and frequently meet each other outside as well. In class jokes, the lovers are referred to as gays, but the lovers don’t care. However, their future is quite unexpected. Usually, people expect lovers to be life-long friends, just like conglomerates, but it hardly ever happens. Most lovers depart after the school is over, never to see each other again.The spies are individuals. They have no association with any group, but their social skills are quite enhanced. They survive individually. Spies have good oratory skills, so make excellent part-time friends. They have no permanent friend. One day, they can be seen with one person, the next day with another. They offer a temporary company. People suspect the spies whenever their secrets leak out. They are generally the most untrustworthy and at the same time, they are the most interesting class-mates around. The spies are witty and cunning.The outcast is also individuals, but with very poor social skills. They are not allowed entry into any group. They are hated and mocked. The outcast are objects of fun for others. The outcast fear the class-mates and hardly ever raise their voice against the injustice they are offered. They kill the time sitting around a corner in the classroom. Surprisingly, many outcast class-mates are excep tionally good in studies, perhaps because they seek refuge in books. The outcast have the most boring personalities and can’t handle mockery.  

Creation Myths Around the World Essay Example for Free

Creation Myths Around the World Essay There are many commonalities between creation myths from around the world. Two items most creation stories have in common is that the god(s) improved the earth, and people generally view themselves as the center of reality. Human beings tend to liken themselves to the gods they worship. The theme of God(s) improving the earth in mythology can be noted in the bible when God keeps making improvements to the earth because He â€Å"saw how good [they] were† (New, 4). The creation story of the Aztecs is similar in that the gods kept replacing the world because each world’s people had moral flaws (World, 146). In essence, the world was being bettered for the human race. This theme is also incorporated into Greek mythology. The Greek approach is that at first there was only Chaos, but gradually, things like Love and Light and Day developed, making the world a less hostile place (Hamilton 65-66). While the gods did not necessarily contribute to this, the principle is the same. Humans imagine gods being on their side, fighting for them because gods are associated with human traits such as empathy and love. Another motif in creationism is that humans have a very human-centric perspective of the world, just as Americans tend to look at early civilizations from a Euro-centric perspective. One example of this is the bible. God â€Å"created man in His own image, in the divine image he created him†(New, 4). God creating the man in His own image shows that humans personify gods. God is viewed as human. A second specimen is not just Greek creationism, but Greek culture. Greek culture revolved around the appreciation of the basic human form, as evidenced by the Greek gods, whose human form is the very essence of their importance. The Aztec myth is similar to the biblical creation story because they believed that the man and woman were made from the blood and bones of gods, which shows that the Aztecs personified their gods. The theme of gods being created in the human image ties into the idea that humans view themselves as the center of reality. Yet another supporting detail is that in most creation stories, humans are divine. In the bible (New, 4-5), God lets man name the animals because he was above them and they were there to keep him company. This feeling of our race being at the center of everything we know is part of what makes us unique, but more importantly, what makes us human. These commonalities in creation stories that had no influence on each other tell a lot about humans as a whole. The grandest truth about human nature revealed by creationism is that humans think of their species as the center of their worlds. This is evident by the gods we worship, how we view other species, and how we take in our environment. Through our eyes, it seems as though everything is here for us.

Historical Relationship Between Art and Music

Historical Relationship Between Art and Music Referring to key examples, identify and discuss the historical relationship between art and popular music, using key examples to support your argument. Some people would think that art and popular music have no combined points of reference, and that each is a completely separate unit, with each subject trying to achieve several different goals. However my intentions are to prove that this is not true. I believe that they have linked many times in the past particularly during the creation of the Dada movement in 1916. Hugo Ball composed sound poems and performed them at Cabaret Voltaire, a club he opened that consisted of an artists club, exhibition room, pub and theatre all rolled into one, it showed several styles of artistic performances. He believed others like him were interested not only in enjoying their independence but also giving proof of it. On July 23rd 1916 Hugo Ball recited his sound poem Karawane. It contained seventeen lines of text, which have no meaning but was successful for the resonance of the tone and in the manner it was performed. The visual version is also congratulated for the several styles of font used to decipher different emotions. For example, a sort of undulatory motion is produced by the alternative use of italics and roman type, while the left column produces a soothing effect. Cabaret Voltaire and founder Hugo Ball were the main creators of the Dada movement in Zurich 1917. The Dada movement is believed to be the co-founder of contemporary art. Contemporary art a s we know it could not have come into existence without Dada. It was breaking down and merging the differences between the several art forms as a response to World War 1. Richard Huelsenbeck was a close friend of Hugo Ball, who also recited on the 30th March at Cabaret Voltaire and was also associated with the Dada movement. Although he believed Dada needed to be stronger and more political and in 1919 set up his own club, Club Dada in Berlin. He was regarded as arrogant, and thats how he looks. His nostrils vibrate, his eyebrows are arched, and was not liked by the public. His work and several of the Club Dada creators were more political than the other Dada-groups they released convincing magazines to illustrate their beliefs through photomontages and manifestos. His works include The end of the world and Don Inigo de Loyola, which were more obviously political than that of Hugo Ball. Louis Armstrong was one of the first jazz musicians to experiment with his vocal techniques. By improvising the original composed music, and creating sound on the spot, he created skat singing. He is still well known as one of the greatest jazz musicians today for his spontaneity, and amazingly quick, inventive musical mind. I believe this is a good example of the kind of performances that would be shown at the Cabaret Voltaire, although he did not. I believe it is possible that, through horizontal and vertical lines constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm, these basic forms of beauty, supplemented if necessary by other direct lines or curves, can become a work of art, as strong as it is true. Piet Mondrian Piet Mondrian was influenced by music, particularly the style that surrounded him whilst in New York. In particular his piece Victory Boogie Woogie 1942 44 (which was not named by him but based on his original piece Broadway Boogie Woogie 1942-43) was based on a title for a song and type of dance, which was extremely popular at the time and still heard of today. Among his collection of records, was the album Boogie Woogie from 1942, the inspiration behind two of his most famous works. Set in the Jazz period the piece represented the short melody lines that were interrupted by open rhythmical patterns as seen and heard in Jazz music. He would use plastic and bits of paper to illustrate and create new rhythms across the canvas, and create a busy, fast work to reflect the upbeat music and the bustling environment of New York. Jazz music played a big role in Mondrians work both as jazz music and modern art depend a great deal on improvisation. Like jazz where an artist will never play the same thing twice, Mondrian also would rely on instinct and natural ability to present his work. It presents a sense of randomness and how the artist was feeling at that particular time, which is found throughout many other artist movements. Jakob van Domselaer was a composer of the works Proeven van Stijlkunst (Experiments in Artistic Style) and a close friend of Mondrian. His work was inspired by Mondrian and the art movement De Stijl, which represented using simplicity, limited colours and using horizontal and vertical lines. Walter Gropius was the founder of Bauhaus school of art and design in Germany 1919. It revolutionised the art industry by replacing the traditional pupil-teacher relationship with the idea of a community of artists working together. It combined artists from all creative industries and allowed people to be creative and meet creative people. It was very influential and housed several well known artists including Kandinsky and Klee. Walter Gropius was a lover of art and music, therefore inspired art students to start musical groups and blend with people from other creative industries, which was important for the progression of art to inspire new, creative ideas from both sides. The Bauhaus Jazz Band in 1927 played the Charleston on the Bauhaus Roof which originally inspired this link of art and music, and was the main reason for starting the trend of artists creating bands. Bauhaus, Dancing on the Roof focuses only on that exhilarating moment when utopian dreams, uncertain ties, and fresh visions. The sixties was a massive decade for both art and music, with great pieces of work being produced from both the fine arts and the performance arts. The Beatles are one of the main well known music group that connect art to music, as most of the members were artists before creating the band. Also Stuart Sutcliffe, a previous bass player for the Beatles, dropped out and started doing art. (Stuart Sutcliffe Untitled 1961-62). When the Beatles first began 50% of the fans that would see them perform were art students including Astrid Kirchherr a photographer that would take pictures of them. George: Astrid was the one, really, who influenced our image more than anybody. She made us look good. She was the one who had the lather kecks and the Beatles haircut.. Sam Walsh used to jokingly call themselves jazz artists rather than pop, believing that their art owed more to the free-form improvisation of American artists During this time, music and art formed together like never before, with bot h artists and musician practising together. Adrian Henri statement : to the cataclysmic effect of the Beatles and Merseybeat in general; yet the visual arts (and poetry) benefited from the sheer headiness, the excitement of the time, as well as the attention generated by the music. In the late 1960s the musicians, clubs and pubs surrounded the school of art, creating a bond between the two creative areas. With John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe being pupils of the art school, they were exposed to the musical talent surrounding them. The Beatles revolver album was released on the 5th of august 1966 which reached number 1 in both the UK and the USA. The cover illustration was created by German-born bassist and artist Klaus Voormann. The image is mainly a simplistic line drawing but also using very recognisable aspects of each member of the band. It is also done in a collage style where a lot of images are placed in between them which consist of more detailed images of characters taken by Robert Whitaker. It was stated to be a part of the phycodellic era, you also perceive this sense from the other albums that they have done in the sixties, by the way in which the surrealist art comes through. The infamous butcher cover Yesterday and Today has now become famous in the album art subject matter because of how controversial it was and has been called the Beatles album of all time. Shot by photographer Robert Whitaker, (who had also done other covers with the Beatles), the image shows the band sat down smiling while covered in decapitated baby dolls and pieces of meat while the four of them are dressed in butchers aprons this image proved to be too strong and was quickly banned, some DJs even refused to play it. Which, if you compare it to some of the art of today, it would be seen as acceptable, as freedom to a subject matter is an asset to the modern art world. Not only was their album art banned, but also some of their music, on the grounds that it could encourage a permissive attitude towards drugs, which also connects to the era, in which drug taking was popular. Their other album covers consisted of many modern artists including Robert Fraser, Robert Blake and Peter Blak e. Although Peter Blake, may be well known for his cover St Pepper, in fact his wife Jan Howarth created this design with him. John Lennon enjoyed experimentation with sound along with artist and wife Yoko Ono. They would create tape loops and use the technique Musique Concrete, a technology that allowed tapes to be cut and edited. Musique Concrete is defined as a musiclike art form composed directly on magnetic tape by the electronic manipulation, distortion, or transformation of natural sounds and noises, as of musical instruments or rain. The Piece Revolution 9 appeared on The White Album released in 1968. This was made by layering tape loops over the basic rhythm of revolution. Lennon called it The music of the future and whilst it was loved by many people who appreciated and understood sound art, it was also hated, particularly by producer George Martin who tried to keep it off the album. Paul McCartney, a member of the Beatles and Yoko Ono opened an art gallery, in the basement off a bookstore. Indica was opened during the late 1960s. It was where John Lennon met Yoko Ono on Novermber 9, 1966. During the exhibit His famous retort : an imaginary five shillings to hammer in the imaginary nail made them inseparable. This was the start of the experimentation with sound and art. In 1968 they released an album with this inspirational sound Unfinished Music No1: Two Virgins which was also famous for its controversial cover, that was slated and not appreciated by the public. Exploding Plastic Inevitable consisted of organised sound and lighting events constructed by Andy Warhol in 1966. His favourite group Velvet Underground performed there along with the showings of Warhols films and Nico. Victor Bockris said January to April 1966 was the golden period for the Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol. After the psychiatrists convention, Warhol shot a scintillating film of the band rehearsing at the Factory, symphony of sound, which remains the single best visual record of the Velvet Underground. They also recorded sound tracks for two of Warhols best movies shot at the beginning of the year, hedy and more milk yvette.. Andy Warhol was inspired by the times music particularly this group and filmed them. Using these as inspiration he created many current day artworks, which celebrated the popular culture, exactly what the musical groups wanted to achieve. Exploding Plastic Inevitable was said to be very heavy on the emotions, as it was loud and bright with stro be lights, colours exploding and the light-show could be blinding at times. Another example of a more modern link is the punk scene, which was said to have two causes. The first being a response to the environment and current trends, the second coming out of art schools. Malcolm Mclaren stated that he was responsible for starting the Punk movement in Britain and was also heavily involved in forming The Sex Pistols, and became their manager. The Sex Pistols were the first Punk band in Britain and formed the punk scene, along with the fashion and political values that came with it. Malcolm McLaren was also a fashion designer and an art student in the sixties; it was this that led the movement in its uniqueness of clothing and style. After The Sex Pistols and the punk scene, he became more involved in his burgeoning art career; he wants to be taken more seriously as an artist and calls them musical paintings. Malcolm McLarens video piece Shallow has been given great credit to his anticipation of becoming a more recognised artist. His work on erotica and music was becoming more popular with the public. Since I was an art student in the Sixties Ive been interested in the foreplay in sex films, Im not sure why intrigued by the blandness, the stupidity and the kind of innocence of these people who couldnt act but who would be paid to have sex. Sex films became more hardcore, and lost a lot of charm in the Seventies. Somehow this was allied to my feelings about a disappearing world of pop culture the images were how I imagined pop music to look. The feeling was the same as when I was 13 imagining a world of sex you might imagine or never possibly have, and listening to pop music. This is a perfect example of the link between art and music, I feel at this time it was stronger than it has ever been, with artists considering music as a topic for their work, or even having or creating music to enhance their art. Jamie Reid created the cover album art for The Sex Pistols; he was involved with the situationist movement and a strong believer in anarchy. The situationists ideas were very hard to accumulate, as there were several ideas about the movement, Situationists focus on their cultural ideas, particularly in relation to detournement and the development of punk. They believed in looking at real life, instead of false truths. Jamie Reids famous cover God Save The Queen was known as one of the single most iconic image of the punk-era. His work involves the cutting from newspapers and combining graphical work that has and always will be recognized for it anarchistic feel. It was loved and hated at the time and some of his work has been banned in the past. Brian Eno studied at art school, but became involved with the glam rock group Roxy Music, even though he had no musical background or playing experience. After leaving this band he became more experimental with his music creation, taking the idea of chance with lyrics and sounds, he started to see his work as art not music and called it visual art. He used sound in an abstract expressionist way, in the same way as Jackson Pollock. His work 77 Million Paintings was created in 2007, and is a constantly evolving sound and imagescape which continues his exploration into light as an artists medium and the aesthetic possibilities of generative software. This involves the combination of image and sound working together. He is known as one of the most important people to combine the art and music worlds, and is still continuing to do so today. In a more modern perspective, an example of the link between music and art is the group, Franz Ferdinand. Having come from an artistic background (Hardy graduated from Glasgow School Of Art, and Thompson also posed as a life model there) they would rehearse in The Chauteau, they were known to have rave-like events incorporating music and art. In their recent career they have been known to have artists and art references throughout their careers, including music video Do You Wanna, where several artists or art works are within the gallery where it is set. Although I feel this was to attempt to put them in an art music group, they wanted the public to know they were previously from an art background, making them more popular. Another example is their album art covers, which are obviously inspired by the pop art movement, as the techniques and overall appeal is similar. Graffiti is part of the hip hop culture that has been split up into various different art forms such as Graffiti, Writing, Dj-ing, MC-ing and break dancing. There is a very close culture between graffiti art and some of the big hip hop artists such as Dr Dre, 50 Cent and The Game Grafitti art has changed dramatically since its origins, with the likes of Bansky, a famous British artist. Not much is known because he hides his identity, (WHY) but he had start his rise to fame during the great Bristol aerosol boom of the late 1980s most of his art are cover such topics such as ethics culture and politics, Banksy successfully combines graffiti writing and a stencilling technique that stands out from all of the others. Graffiti has also been used on a wide range of album covers which shows a direct link from art to music such as Blur, a Britpop band who have used more than one of Banksys piece of artwork. This album Think Tank, has been said that it inspired some of Blurs music. They have also used Banksy artwork on another cover, Crazy Beat, which was taken from one of Banskys original artworks. This graffiti was destroyed soon after Blur used it for their single cover, the council simply painted over it. The image was on the side of a privately-owned building in Londons Stoke Newington, featuring a cartoon version of the Royal Family waving from the top of a balcony, the council thought that they were cleaning the building, branding that the graffiti was unclean. The image was on the side of the building for 8 years before they decided to do anything about it. I find the history of art with combined music to be fascinating. My favourite example being Charleston on the Bauhaus Roof because i feel the teachers influenced the students to start these art bands, if not for this i feel art would have not developed as successfully as it did. I also think that art and music have a strong bond because they are both very personal subjects, in that one person may like the work and another wont. Both industries have high demands to get out to the public and show their work, and hope that people appreciate what they have created. I feel the use of experimenting and combining all of the creative fields is expanding and artists and musicians will continue to use the creative minds of each other in both fields in the future.

Gender Roles in Thailand

Gender Roles in Thailand Thailand is located in South East Asia where it is one of the oldest countries full of history and rich in culture and has been sustained for a long time, until the new globalization, it never has been colonized to other countries and has been affected by things such as religion, the senility system making younger people believe and listen to older people in the old principle and teachings. In the past Thai families have a lot of members and have very close relationships, most of the men are commonly known as a leader, working outside the home, but women are known as a follower, taking care of children and household chores. Even if nowadays the western culture makes Thai women have more freedom in human rights, working more outside the home and getting more opportunities in education, being more powerful and influential in politics and economics but because of the old cultures and Thai society men still have more effect and power and still have more advantages than women. First of all, if mentioned in Thai society as Thailand still keeps old cultures and traditions from the ancient time men went out because of the war women would stay home look after their children and families, responsible for all kinds of work on the farm as Thailand mainly produces from Agriculture. Also the senility is very important in Thailand, younger people listen to older people, child listen to their parents. Thai women still listen and believe in old principles that make Thai women stereotypes, and are very good at motherhood, love to take care of their children and families, good manners and follow their husbands as an old Thai saying, men are the front legs of the Elephant and women are the back. But according to this reason and in wedding ceremonies, the groom needs to prepare a bride-price as a gift to the brides parents in the ceremony as it has been hard work for looking after his future wife and shows the parents he has a good financial life, and can take care of the ir daughter in the future. In my opinion it seems parents sell their daughters, Thai guys are more concerned about making money rather than taking care of his wife and end up with men who possibly have several wives and still believe they can support or take care of all their wives and according to Ane (2004, p..130) The practice of keeping major wives (mia luang) and minor wife (mia noi) still exist today and when it comes to the wealthy, powerful or famous. On the other hand it will not be acceptable for women to have many husbands or even if some women remarried after divorce or the husband died, it is still unusual. In religion, most of Thai are Buddhist, a temple is the center for all activities of the Thai communities, Buddhist is very influential and dharma principle is very strict in Thai society for example women are forbidden to touch and stay privately with a monk or even if standing higher. All Thai men need to be ordained to learn Bhuddhist as a monk from the belief that they will get good virtue and via it show gratitude to their parents as well, because of Buddhist principles as explained, almost all activities in the temple driven by men and women will be responsible only in preparing foods and some cleaning, same as if they are in the house. From these reasons it makes some Thai men still believe they are a higher level than Thai women in addition to Ane, (2004, p.130) who gave an opinion that Buddhism is often blamed for inequalities women in Thailand endure. At the center of Thai culture, it is seen by some as a kind of framework for male domination. The Second mention in education. From the past, education begins from temples as there is a center of Thai culture and is taught by monks and Thai girls could not have education opportunities as boys because of the old culture and that Thai girls should learn households at home, but the system was changed after King Rama VI had studied from abroad and came up with the idea that Thai women should get education and human rights same as western women to help men develop the country. The king supported and built up schools and drove all issues necessary for example free education for children in primary schools both for male and female. Also the support from the government helps Thai people have free education in higher levels both in genders and Thai parents have more concern about the important things for getting good education as their children will get a good job and good life. Refer to Liza (2012, pp.54-55) have shown the figures from the world bank website, school enrolments for me n and women in percentage, the gender gap in primary and secondary school is decreasing rapidly from the past year 1971 to 1978 and almost the same percentage in year 1991 to 2009. On the other hand the percentage of women in the tertiary school is higher than men between year 1993-2009, that means Thai women can get education equally with men and have abilities to study higher level same as men. In the third mention in Economics and Careers, women become more influential in Economics and get more opportunities in the work place because they have more opportunities in education than they have more capacities and are able to work outside home higher than they would in the past, whereas men are more involved in the household chores and look after children instead. And also from the changing of Thai Economics, having more investments and industries effect to Thai people migrate to the big cities, women tend to work far from home than before, leaving their children with grandparents and believe they can better afford a life than staying home or working in upcountry. The women roles in the past still occur in some areas of Thailand where as Western culture still is far away but controlling family business and finances is always the common roles for Thai women even from the past until now, big or small families and even in the big city through upcountry that means Thai women are very influential in Thai Economics, more than men. In industry fields, Thai Men normally do more physical work or in heavier industries than women for example in construction, automotive and electronics but for Women more often work in the light industries for example in tourist, food production and textile industries. Because of Thai culture, religion believes and practice and also the Physical human body make most of Thai men still believe that they are higher, has abilities and work harder than women. Discrimination in working place still appear in some career according to the website the Nation news (June 27, 2012) has comment on unequally system between Thai men and women in the police and military officer. Thai women is still bad known in sex-trafficking even though its illegal in the country but still appear by some reasons such as from women immigration to the big city but too difficult to find normal job then it directs them get involved in this business. By another reason is some women go straight to do this business as they want to get easier money and Thai and Foreigner men still satisfy to pay. In my opinion, it same as normal market, it has demand and supply if dont have both then business cant be survive. Final mention in Politics, Thailand is a Democracy country with strong believe in Royal family. Thai women can vote and get in a politics position same as men and nowadays from more opportunities in higher Education, Thai women have more space and powerful in politics roles. Thailand has changed politics history and will have changed in Thai women roles following to Yinglak Shinawat is the first women Prime Minister, boost government and create a lot of campaigns to support and develop Thai women roles all over Thailand for example setting up women fund to every cities to help any activities and improve women life especially women in South of Thailand where as more Muslim culture. But other point of view, Yinglak Shinawat still get some comments about her abilities and the way to get into this power as she is a sister of Taksin Shinawat, ex-prime minister of Thailand. In conclusion, Thailand is still unequal between men and women from the reason of culture, religion and old practical, that make Thailand hard to change in the gender roles in short term. Also the new globalization effected to Thai women, need more education, more abilities and more responsibilities. It is hard thing for Thai women now that they need to be a good mother, good taking care of their family, working in households, control family financial and need to work outside home in the same time to be acceptable in Thai society and apply in new world effected from Western culture.

As Gass To Cars :: essays papers

As Gass To Cars As gas to cars, food is human’s source of energy. If there is no food there is no energy,If there is no energy the body cannot work, in other words, dies. But the concept of food has changed throughout history. In fact, the concept of food in one period differs from one place to the other and from one class to another. Food serves from a surviving necessity, to a luxury, to a consolation of the soul. Personally, I think that people today have forgotten about the main function of food, and instead of eating to live they live to eat. A lot of people today say that they only eat to survive. They justify their opinion by saying that they eat when they are hungry and hunger is a signal from the body saying that it is in need of energy. I do not agree with them. For example, I think that people today are answering the call of cravings rather than that of hunger. Also, I think that a lot of people today eat to sooth their souls rather than their bodies. Furthermore, considering what people are putting in their bodies as a source of energy makes you expect a chemical explosion. Firstly, if people were eating to satisfy true hunger, then they would settle with anything that they could put in their mouths and fill their tummies with. But no, today their body is calling for chocolate, yesterday their body was in need of a source of energy imported from China, and who knows what will happen next? Maybe tomorrow their body won’t function with anything less than Italian gas. Secondly, today a lot of people seek comfort in food. When people feel empty inside, they try to fill up that emptiness with food. On a personal level, when I’m feeling down I always think that a chocolate bar or a couple scoops if ice cream would pick me up. When I’m feeling excited or hyper, I look for potato chips or salted crackers. And when I feel tense or under pressure, I feel the need of a combination of both sweets and salties. Thirdly, sometimes you are just shocked at what people eat and the amounts they take. Come on, nobody needs all that energy even if they are going to jog all around the world.

CHIEF EVENTS IN FRANKLINS LIFE :: essays research papers

Ending, as it does, with the year 1757, the autobiography leaves important facts un-recorded. It has seemed advisable, therefore, to detail the chief events in Franklin's life, from the beginning, in the following list: 1706 He is born, in Boston, and baptized in the Old South Church. 1714 At the age of eight, enters the Grammar School. 1716 Becomes his father's assistant in the tallow-chandlery business. 1718 Apprenticed to his brother James, printer. 5 1721 Writes ballads and peddles them, in printed form, in the streets; contributes, anonymously, to the "New England Courant," and temporarily edits that paper; becomes a free-thinker, and a vegetarian. 1723 Breaks his indenture and removes to Philadelphia; obtaining employment in Keimer's printing-office; abandons vegetarianism. 1724 Is persuaded by Governor Keith to establish himself independently, and goes to London to buy type; works at his trade there, and publishes "Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain." 1726 Returns to Philadelphia; after serving as clerk in a dry goods store, becomes manager of Keimer's printing-house. 1727 Founds the Junto, or "Leathern Apron" Club. 10 1728 With Hugh Meredith, opens a printing-office. 1729 Becomes proprietor and editor of the "Pennsylvania Gazette"; prints, anonymously, "Nature and Necessity of a Paper Currency"; opens a stationer's shop. 1730 Marries Rebecca Read. 1731 Founds the Philadelphia Library. 1732 Publishes the first number of "Poor Richard's Almanac" under the pseudonym of "Richard Saunders." The Almanac, which continued for twenty-five years to contain his witty, worldly-wise sayings, played a very large part in bringing together and molding the American character which was at that time made up of so many diverse and scattered types. 15 1738 Begins to study French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. 1736 Chosen clerk of the General Assembly; forms the Union Fire Company of Philadelphia. 1737 Elected to the Assembly; appointed Deputy Postmaster-General; plans a city police. 1742 Invents the open, or "Franklin," stove. 1743 Proposes a plan for an Academy, which is adopted 1749 and develops into the University of Pennsylvania. 20 1744 Establishes the American Philosophical Society. 1746 Publishes a pamphlet, "Plain Truth," on the necessity for disciplined defense, and forms a military company; begins electrical experiments. 1748 Sells out his printing business; is appointed on the Commission of the Peace, chosen to the Common Council, and to the Assembly. 1749 Appointed a Commissioner to trade with the Indians. 1751 Aids in founding a hospital. 25 1752 Experiments with a kite and discovers that lightning is an electrical discharge. 1753 Awarded the Copley medal for this discovery, and elected a member of the Royal Society; receives the degree of M.

Comparing the Role of Women in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Go Tell

Role of Women in Their Eyes Were Watching God and Go Tell It On the Mountain Literature is a reflection of the community from which it comes. Understanding the role of women in the African-American community starts by examining the roles of women in African-American literature. The portrayal of women in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937) and James Baldwin's Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952) provides tremendous insight into the role of African-American women. Their Eyes Were Watching God examines the relationship between Janie and her grandmother, who plays the role of mother in Janie's life. It also looks at the different relationships that Janie had with her three husbands. Janie's grandmother was one of the most important influences in her life, raising her since from an infant and passing on her dreams to Janie. Janie's mother ran away from home soon after Janie was born. With her father also gone, the task of raising Janie fell to her grandmother, Nanny. Nanny tells Janie "Fact uh de matter, Ah loves yuh a whole heap more'n Ah do yo' mama, de one Ah did birth" (Hurston 31). Nanny's dream is for Janie to attain a position of security in society, "high ground" as she puts it (32). As the person who raised her, Nanny feels that it is both her right and obligation to impose her dreams and her ideas of what is important in life on Janie. The strong relationship between mother and child is important in the African-American community, and t he conflict between Janie's idyllic view of marriage and Nanny's wish for her to marry for stability and position is a good illustration of just how deep the respect and trust runs. Janie has a very romantic notion of what marriage should be. "She saw a dust-bearing... ... the children.    Works Cited and Consulted Baldwin, James. Go Tell it on the Mountain (1952). New York: Bantam-Dell, 1952. Bourn, Byron D. â€Å"Women's Roles in Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and James Baldwin's Go Tell It On the Mountain† Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). : Urbana, Ill.: U of Illinois P, 1937. Kubitschek, Missy Dehn. " ‘Tuh de Horizon and Back': The Female Quest in Their Eyes Were Watching God.† Modern Critical Interpretations: Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Pondrom, Cyrena N. "The Role of Myth in Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God." American Literature 58.2 (May 1986): 181-202. Williams, Shirley Anne. Forward. Their Eyes Were Watching God. By Zora Neale Hurston. New York: Bantam-Dell, 1937. xv.

The Ira

The Irish Republican Army or IRA is Northern Ireland’s most notorious terrorist organization. Like many other groups, the IRA is a militant nationalist group with Marxist tendencies. They use violent attacks such as bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, extortion, and robberies that they used . to send their message. The ultimate goal of the IRA is to use militant behavior to make British rule in Northern Ireland obsolete, thus letting Northern Ireland become an independent republic, instead of two separate countries with different governments.The IRA was founded in 1919 as a successor to the Irish Volunteers, a militant nationalist organization that was founded in 1913. One of the alias’s for the group is Direct Action Against Drugs, or DADD. The IRA operates independently of any political control or party, and† in some periods actually took the upper hand in the independence movement. †(Britannica) Unlike some terrorist groups, the IRA does not carry out attacks on countries that are not in close vicinity of Northern Ireland. The majority of their operations are based out if Great Britain, and Ireland.Some of their most favored targets were senior British Government officials, British military and police in Northern Ireland, and Northern Irish Loyalist paramilitary groups. By attacking these individuals they hoped to demoralize Great Britain to the point of turning Ireland over to the people. The IRA did not want to overthrow the government and run it themselves, they simply wanted to see a change in the government so that it would benefit the people of Northern Ireland. The IRA is organized into small, tightly knit cells under the leadership of the Army Council.While they only have a few hundred members, they have thousands of sympathizers who contribute by donating money, supplies, shelter, and even weapons. â€Å"The IRA Is suspected of receiving funds, arms, and other terrorist-related materiel from sympathizers in the United S tates. †(Britannica) the IRA also received a large amount of support at one point from the PLO, a â€Å"freedom fighter† group from Libya. Not only do they receive aid from other terrorist groups with similar agendas, but in 2002 three suspected IRA members were arrested in Colombia on charges of assisting the FARC to improve its explosives capabilities.The IRA was in their prime during the late 1950’s and 1960’s, though they did play a big part in the Irish Civil war of 1922. As a result of this war, the IRA became more closely related to Sinn Fein, which is the Irish Nationalist party. â€Å"In December 1969, the IRA divided into â€Å"Official† and â€Å"Provisional† wings. Although both factions were committed to a united socialist Irish republic, the Officials preferred parliamentary tactics and eschewed violence after 1972, whereas the Provisionals, or â€Å"Provos,† believed that violence— particularly terrorism—w as a necessary part of the struggle to rid Ireland of the British. (Global Security) This was a result of a Sinn Fein conference that had taken place in August.After 1970, the IRA was slowly slipping into the darkness, as they had stopped attacking as much, and was not as big of a concern anymore. Because of â€Å"Bloody Sunday’, when thirteen innocent Catholic protestors were killed by British soldiers, the IRA gained support from the Catholic Church, which gave them their reputation back for a while. Eventually though, they were back where they had left off before Bloody Sunday. The IRA reorganized in 1977 into detached cells to protect against infiltration† and their arms dealing was back in full force. It was said that â€Å"in the late 1990s that the IRA had enough weapons in its arsenal to continue its campaign for at least another decade. †(Britannica) For a long time the IRA tried to use peaceful methods to gain equal treatment for the Catholic minority in the Protestant Northern Ireland. But they were were met with resistance. The Protestants and the British government met the peaceful attempts of the IRA with violence i. e. Bloody Sunday.The IRA had no other choice but to employ violent methods to gain equality and civil rights for the Catholic Minority in Ulster. The IRA began implementing methods such as Bombings, sniper attacks, and assassinations on British citizens. (www. CFR. org) The afore mentioned Sinn Fein, which means â€Å"We Ourselves† first emerged in the early 1900s. It is the oldest political party in Ireland’s history. It was a â€Å"federation of nationalist clubs and eventually, all nationalists to the left of the Irish Parliamentary Party at Westminster came to be popularly known as Sinn Feiners. (SinnFein. org) The party, like the IRA, was based on the demand for an Irish Republic. It won the 1918 election by a landslide and set up Dail Eireann which is translated to â€Å"Assembly of Ireland. † Following three years of war, led by an underground republican government, the party split in 1922 on the issue of the Treaty which partitioned Ireland into two separate provinces. The leader of Sinn Fein left the party in 1926, causing the party to lose a lot of credibility.However, its fortunes recovered and flourished in the late 1950s and early 1960s with its new association to the IRA and their border campaign. During this time the group experienced a substantial amount of electoral success. In present day, Sinn Fein is split into two parties, Sinn Fein and Republican Sinn Fein. The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) was formed in 1969 as the covert armed wing of Sinn Fein. The members of this group, called, â€Å"Provos† were formed from the Official Sinn Fein and the Official IRA.The Provisional IRA was the largest of the three republican armed resistance groups (Sinn Fein, IRA and PIRA). The policies of Sinn Fein under the new leadership of Gerry Adams led to a split in the Provisional Irish Republican Army in 1997. One side accepted the new â€Å"Good Friday Agreement† and the New or Real IRA continuing armed resistance against the British. The PIRA has at this point accepted the ceasefire and is still most commonly confused with the real IRA because of their similar connections and name.The IRA and PIRA are not totally different groups, but they are actually two groups that used to function as one. It is my opinion that the split of the IRA into two factions is one of the major reasons why their goal was never accomplished. The army was in need of a way to make money and fundraise to support their cause. They became adept at raising money in Northern Ireland through â€Å"extortion, racketeering, and other illegal activities† and they policed their own neighborhoods through mock trials and beatings.As a result of this Mafia like enforcement, Sinn Fein began to play a more prominent role in trying to end the arms pr oblem that the IRA was causing. â€Å"Sinn Fein leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuiness, together with John Hume, head of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), sought ways to end the armed struggle and bring republicans into democratic politics. They were successful in doing so, and in 1994 the IRA declared a cease fire with Britain so that Sinn Fein was able to legally engage in politics with the Irish Parliament.This ceasefire was shortly ended in 1996 when a bomb that was suspected to be from the IRA killed two civilians. However it was reinstated the following year, returning things back to being civilized between the IRA and Great Britain. Technically the IRA is still a functioning terrorist group, but due to the ceasefire they have been dormant since around 2002 when the final ceasefire was laid out and agreed upon. The IRA has a very important place in Irish history, as well as the history of terrorism because of their prominence in the 1950’s and 1960â€⠄¢s.

Macroeconomic Analysis: Russia

Since the financial crisis in 1998, Russia has been experiencing impressive economic growth due to the collaboration of monetary and fiscal policies that stabilized the performance of major economic indicators up to this day. Many economists regard the impressive performance of Russia as part increase of the volume of investment in the said country. On the other hand, some says that the notable growth of Russia should be attributed to the increase of oil prices in the international market (Traveldocs.com 2008: 1). Despite of the various claims on what really was the foundation of Russia’s economic stability for the past nine years, it would be better to examine first what are the performances of some major economic indicators like GDP Growth, Balance of Trade, Inflation Rate, Unemployment Rate and Interest Rate of the said country for the past four years. GDP Growth Rate In 2004, Russia experienced 7.76 percent growth on their GDP from 1.4 billion USD of 2003 to approximately 1.5 billion USD of 2004 (Alcarastore.com 2008: 1). This increase in the GDP growth rate was triggered by the improvement of consumer demand from 2003 to 2004. On the other hand, by the end of 2005, Russia experienced sluggish improvement on the growth of GDP from 7.76 to 6.93 percent primarily due to the instability happened on the investment component of the economy caused by unclear limit and conditions non foreign investment, obsolete infrastructure as well as delayed economic reforms of the government. But in general sense, the GDP of Russia still increased by around 150 million USD. By 2006, Russia once again performed robust increase on their GDP growth rate from 6.93 to 7.8 percent as the economy starts to recover from the adverse effects of unstable investment climate caused by delayed fiscal policies. Last 2007, the Russian GDP already reached its 2 billion USD level which caused their GDP growth rate to achieved 8.3 percent growth level as the investors and consumption continues to improve in the domestic market of Russia. Trade Balance Another major economic indicator of Russia’s economic performance would be the Trade Balance. For the past four years, the trade balance of Russia has been performing remarkable as this economic indicator continues to increase from 2004 to 2007 due to the strong consumer demand and fixed capital formation growth of the Russian economy. In 2004, the trade balance of Russia reached around 85.8 billion USD as the consequence of the increase of their non-oil exports by the end of 2003. The improvement of non-oil exports of Russia continued to positively influence the trade balance of the said country for the succeeding years like in 2005, the trade balance increased by 23 billion USD while it increased by 22 billion in 2006 (The Federal State Statistics Office Service 2007: 1). Though there was a slight growth in the trade balance of Russia during 2007 due to the significant excess of growth rates of import above the growth rates of exports. Nonetheless, the Russian economists is still optimistic regarding the performance of the trade balance of the Russian economy this year as their monetary and fiscal policies starts to combat the said issue on trade balance. Inflation Rate Prices of goods in Russia has been experiencing sluggish growth rate since 2003 as the result of the fiscal policies of the Russian government despite of the fact that they also have to lower down their unemployment rate. Theoretically, if unemployment rate decreases, inflation is being expected to increase based from the Philips Curve, but with the fiscal policies of the Russian government such as the bilateral market access agreement with the United States as a prelude to their possible entry to WTO, prices of domestic goods starts to decrease thereby creating a force for the inflation rate to decline since 2003 (Indexmundi.com 2007a: 1). In 2004, the inflation rate was equivalent to 13.7 percent while it reached 11.5 percent in 2005 (Indexmundi.com 2007c: 1). Though it increased again to 12.7 percent in 2006, inflation rate still managed to continue its good performance in 2007 by reaching 9.8 percent as the policies on regional monopolies and trade regulation of the Russian government starts to work on their economic system to stabilize the domestic prices of goods and services (Russiatoday.ru 2007: 1). Unemployment Rate As the number of job opportunities in Russia continues to increase for the past years plus the effort of the Russian government to attract more foreign investors to their economy, unemployment rate starts to decline since 2004 with 8.5 percent unemployment rate. By the start of 2005, the Russian government already felt the positive impact of their rigorous action to provide more job opportunities to the Russian labor pool which resulted to the further deterioration of unemployment rate from 8.5 percent of 2004 to 8.3 percent of 2005 and then from 7.6 percent in 2006 to 6.6 percent of 2007 (Indexmundi.com 2007b: 1). This only means that the Russian government has been successful for the past four years in combating the unemployment rate of their country which could further contribute to their impressive economic growth in the next coming years. Interest Rates One of the most concerns of foreign investors, interest rate on borrowing in Russia exhibits good investment condition as it continues to decreases annually due to the stable financial sector of Russia for the past years after the financial crisis in 1998. The loan rate or the interest rate on borrowing on Russia in 2004 was equal to 11.4 percent and decreased to 10.7 percent by 2005 as the Russian government started to implement economic reforms on their financial institutions in order to make their economy more attractive to foreign investors. As a result, with the stable financial sector and fiscal policies to attract more foreign investors, interest rate on borrowing continues to decline from 10.4 percent in 2006 to 10 percent in 2007 with accordance to Ordinance No. 1660 dated in February 17, 2006 (The Central Bank of the Russian Federation 2005: 1). Economic Strengths and Weaknesses Based from the given performance of Russia’s major economic indicators, it is clear that the business environment in Russia is very much attractive and provides a better outlook in the next couple of years. Like for instance, the impressive growth of their GDP, it only signifies how active is the domestic consumption and investment level in the Russian economy and gives the investors a bird’s eye view of the possible return to investment that the Russian economy could give to them. Moreover, despite of the fact that there were some periods wherein the Russian economy performs badly, but the point is, with the proper action of the Russian government, almost all of the economic problems was resolved and put the market back into its equilibrium condition. Another example of the strengths of the Russian economy would be the cheap borrowing in Russia as their interest rate on borrowing continues to declines for the past years in order to attract more foreign investors to their economy. This would provide further improvements on the investment sector of the Russian economy plus the possibility of increase in the number of job opportunities for the Russian labor pool. As a result, economic activity in Russia is expected to boost alongside with the improvement in the investment and labor sector of the economy. Most of the time, investors prefer countries that can offer cheaper loans in order to finance their business expansion especially those multinational companies that aggressively finds more countries which could give them competitive advantage either in a form of cheaper labor, loans, technologies, favorable government subsidies and other factors of production to name a few. Furthermore, the effort of the Russian government to become less dependent on their oil exports in order to attain impressive economic growth by increasing the volume of their non-oil exports goods and services. This would provide an avenue towards the attainment of sustainable growth on their trade balance. The fact that the Russian oil exports already provides large chunk on the total GDP of the country plus the improvement on the volume of their non-oil exports reflects the increasing trend of their trade balance for the past years. Maybe this is one of the results of attracting more foreign investors in Russia which establishes manufacturing plants in Russia and then export the finished products to the international markets. The last but not the least strength of the Russian economy would be the increase in the number of job opportunities for their labor sector. This provides enough room for the Russian consumers to have more disposable income which reflects to the increasing domestic consumption of their consumers in the recent years. As a result of the increase in disposable income of the consumers, domestic investment becomes more profitable thereby attracting domestic investors to establish or expand their business. At the end of the day, both the foreign and domestic investors in Russia works hand in hand in order to utilize the Russian labor sector; while on the other hand, it also provides an avenue towards the improvement per capita income of the Russians. One of the major weaknesses of the Russian economy would be the dependence on the foreign direct investments which could cause major damages on their economic stability once the financial sector in Russia becomes unsuitable to foreign investment. What the Russian government should do is to intensify their domestic investments in order to provide enough room for their domestic investors to utilize the improvement made the foreign investors on the economic environment in Russia through rapid expansion and regulation of regional monopolies in order for other domestic investors to enter various industries. Evaluation of the Government Policy The Ordinance No. 1660 which provides the further decrease of the interest rate on borrowing since 2006 serves to be one of the effective policies of the Russian government in order to make the Russian economy more attractive to foreign investors. Furthermore, this policy only provides an impression to the foreign market how stable the Russian financial sector is since they manage to offer lower interest rates on borrowing to foreign investors. The Russian government is very much confident that they can sustain such policy since they possesses large amount of foreign reserves that can easily be liquidated in case of money shortages in the economy (Ignatiev 2007: 1-2). The bilateral market access agreement with the United States as a prelude to their possible entry to WTO of Russia is also a good policy in further improving the stability of the Russian economy since this provides an avenue towards the attainment of lower inflation rate in the domestic market as cheaper goods from other country starts to enter Russia. At the end of the day, the domestic prices of goods and services in Russian domestic market, especially those from the regional monopolies, would be forced to lower down their prices in order to compete to imported products coming from other countries thereby creating enough room for the inflation rate of Russia to depreciate for the past year. Works Cited Alcarastore.com (2008). Russia GDP PPP and GDP Growth Rates 2003-2007 [online]. Available: http://www.alacrastore.com/country-snapshot/Russia. [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Ignatiev, Sergey (2007). The Macroeconomic Situation and Monetary Policy in Russia [online]. Available: http://www.bis.org/review/r070608d.pdf [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Indexmundi.com (2007a). Russian Economy Profile 2007 [online]. Available: http://www.indexmundi.com/russia/economy_profile.html [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Indexmundi.com (2007b). Russia Unemployment Rate [online]. Available: http://www.indexmundi.com/russia/unemployment_rate.html [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Indexmundi.com (2007c). Russia Inflation Rate (Consumer Prices) [online]. Available: http://www.indexmundi.com/russia/inflation_rate_(consumer_prices).html [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Russiatoday.ru (2007). Russia to miss 2007 inflation target: Economic Minister [online]. Available: http://www.russiatoday.ru/business/news/15319 [Accessed 2 April 2008]. The Central Bank of the Russian Federation (2005). Interest Rates in 2004 [online]. Available: http://www.cbr.ru/eng/statistics/credit_statistics/print.asp?file=interest_rates_04_e.htm [Accessed 2 April 2008]. The Federal State Statistics Office Service (2007). Foreign Trade of the Russian Federation [online]. Available: http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/2007/b07_12/25-02.htm [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Traveldocs.com (2008). Russian Federation: Economy [online]. Available: http://www.traveldocs.com/ru/economy.htm [Accessed 2 April 2008]. Â