A Digest on the 7cs of Written Communication Essay

Clarity, completeness, coherence, conciseness, credibility, correctness, and continuity – these are all the 7 C’s of communication – collectively, this is what is required to achieve more effective communication practices which eventually lead to a more effective learning process. Each C in itself is already an enormous task to maintain but more so when we consider they are not independent of one another, they all work together to help us communicate most efficiently. Clear is when we allow the reader to understand the meaning of our message, as you intended it to be understood. When it is said that it should be so even the dullest man should understand it, it means we should simplify our vocabulary. The message, more importantly, should be crisp and precise. That’s how it â€Å"brings the script alive† and â€Å"can bring flavor in the most arid and dry news story† as totally, it makes the difference between a write-up that satisfies and one that does not. Complete is when a complete picture and all the information required for a reader to take action and respond is all there. An adjective is also taken into consideration here: unified- in individual sentences, individual paragraphs, and the whole totality of the script. Also take into consideration the principle that each simple sentence must answer the who, what, when, why, where, and how questions as appropriate for each of your communication efforts. Coherent is closely related to clarity – easy to read and understand with a logical flow and sequence – it just means tying up several ideas in one topic.  Concise is omitting all that creates ambiguity. It means saying all that needs to be said and no more.  Credible is clarity, correctness and completeness added up to forceful and direct writing.  Correct is the gauge as when readers may refuse your write up because of inaccuracy. Communication should be in such a way that it includes making sure that the message you send is correct. Your assignments and correspondence should contain accurate information. Proofreading is also helpful to address correctness. Lastly, continuity may well serve as the final balancing act. Brevity is the magic word: it is the use of fewer words. It brings about continuity and grace in your writing. Learnings It is such a taxing task to read or listen as it takes so much effort and time. It is thus of utmost importance that the portmanteau of both principles (of unity, coherence and emphasis) alongside other essentials of effective communication (like language, planning and organization) all make the written communication effective. It then boils down to the 7 C’s considered here wherein I have been reminded once again that jargon has no place in a written report if your intention is solely to be effective and forceful. It irritates to read high sounding words from an article that was supposed to touch the common Juan. It has also stressed the great responsibility on a would-be writer to produce a thought-over, â€Å"meaty† script that should never mean to impress but to give insight. Opinions/Suggestions There are also other C’s that should be considered here like convincing, considerate, and courtesy and I am not certain why there should only be seven. â€Å"Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act.† — JAMES THURBER An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips. PROVERBS 24:26 7 C’s of COMMUNICATION Essence of the material Clarity, completeness, coherence, conciseness, credibility, correctness, and continuity – these are all the 7 C’s of communication – collectively, this is what is required to achieve more effective communication practices which eventually lead to a more effective learning process. Each C in itself is already an enormous task to maintain but more so when we consider they are not independent of one another, they all work together to help us communicate most efficiently. Clear is when we allow the reader to understand the meaning of our message, as you intended it to be understood. When it is said that it should be so even the dullest man should understand it, it means we should simplify our vocabulary. The message, more importantly, should be crisp and precise. That’s how it â€Å"brings the script alive† and â€Å"can bring flavor in the most arid and dry news story† as totally, it makes the difference between a write-up that satisfies and one that does not. Complete is when a complete picture and all the information required for a reader to take action and respond is all there. An adjective is also taken into consideration here: unified- in individual sentences, individual paragraphs, and the whole totality of the script. Also take into consideration the principle that each simple sentence must answer the who, what, when, why, where, and how questions as appropriate for each of your communication efforts. Coherent is closely related to clarity – easy to read and understand with a logical flow and sequence – it just means tying up several ideas in one topic.  Concise is omitting all that creates ambiguity. It means saying all that  needs to be said and no more.  Credible is clarity, correctness and completeness added up to forceful and direct writing.  Correct is the gauge as when readers may refuse your write up because of inaccuracy. Communication should be in such a way that it includes making sure that the message you send is correct. Your assignments and correspondence should contain accurate information. Proofreading is also helpful to address correctness. Lastly, continuity may well serve as the final balancing act. Brevity is the magic word: it is the use of fewer words. It brings about continuity and grace in your writing. Learnings It is such a taxing task to read or listen as it takes so much effort and time. It is thus of utmost importance that the portmanteau of both principles (of unity, coherence and emphasis) alongside other essentials of effective communication (like language, planning and organization) all make the written communication effective. It then boils down to the 7 C’s considered here wherein I have been reminded once again that jargon has no place in a written report if your intention is solely to be effective and forceful. It irritates to read high sounding words from an article that was supposed to touch the common Juan. It has also stressed the great responsibility on a would-be writer to produce a thought-over, â€Å"meaty† script that should never mean to impress but to give insight. Opinions/Suggestions There are also other C’s that should be considered here like convincing, considerate, and courtesy and I am not certain why there should only be seven. â€Å"Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create  as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act.†

Occupational Safety and Health Administration Essay

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is an agency of the United Stated Department of Labor. OSHA is governed by Occupational Safety and Health Act. The agency will issue rules and regulations to maintain the safety and health at work place. Accordingly the employer should comply the standards to avoid work-related injuries including illnesses, deaths. The employer should make a set up for which the employees to report work-related injuries/illness. It is also responsibility of the employer to guide the employees so that they will be able to report work-related injuries/illness. The employees or former employees or their representative have right to access the OSHA injury and illness records with certain limitations. (1904. 35 (b) (1). Under 1910. 120 (b) (1), the employers should develop a written safety and health program for their employees who will be involved in hazardous waste operations. The program should be aimed to identify, evaluate and control safety and health hazards with a conclusion of a proper response for hazardous waste operations. Such safety and health program should include the details like organizational structure, comprehensive work plan, medical surveillance program, employer’s standard operating procedures for safety/health etc. Besides, the employer should notify to the employees with respect to the chemical, physical, and other toxicological properties that can be present on site. The notification should be present before when the employee is expected to perform functions at the site. (1910. 128 (c) (8). The supervisors and management responsible to give proper training to the employees where the hazardous substances, health hazards or safety hazards may expose and the employees supposed to receive the training under regulation of 1910. 120 (e) (1) (i). The employees are permitted to be engaged at hazardous substances, only after receiving training for which management/supervisors responsible to provide the training. The employees should also be trained to give emergency response where the hazardous substances may exist.

Assessing The Strategic Human Resource Management Preferences Business Essay

Assessing The Strategic Human Resource Management Preferences Business Essay Number of growing organizations believes that Human Resource (HR) provides them competitive advantage. It was understood by many organizations that competitive advantage can be obtained by quality work force/employees and culture. Approach of linking Human Resource Management to Strategic objectives of an organization is called as Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) (Bratton and Gold, 2001). It was cited by Bratton and Gold (2001, p39) strategic management is defined as ‘that set of managerial decisions and actions that determines the long-run performance of a corporation’. Strategic HR ensures that employees/human capital of an organization contributes to its achievements with their skills and performance. Traditional HR is concerned with implementation of policies and techniques like recruitment, staffing, remuneration, assessment etc (Klabbers, University of Bergen). But linking the general HRM and the organization’s strategy gives HR department more sc ope to enhance the abilities of their workforce and concentrate on the vision and mission. This connection is made to improve the organization performance and develop organizational culture which in turn facilitates innovation and flexibility. Overall the key principle of Strategic HRM is to achieve organization’s vision and mission. Bratton (2001) describes SHRM as a continuous process that requires constant adjustment in three major areas namely Value of Senior management, the environment and the resources available. Fig 1: Three major poles in strategic planning (Adapted from Bratton and Gold, 2001) Some authors believe that Strategic HRM is an Outcome and some believe that it’s a process. It was cited by Bratton and Gold (2004) that authors like Ulrich (1997) and Snell et al had different opinion on Strategic HRM. Snell et al believed that it’s an outcome designed to achieve sustained competitive edge through quality workforce. Ulrich (1997) also stated SHRM as an outcome of mission, vision and priorities of HR department. HR strategies are more concerned about matching the Five Ps that stimulates the employee roles for competitive strategy (Bratton and Gold, 2004, p46 and Cerdin and Ashok Som, 2003). It was cited by Cerdin and Ashok Som (2003) that Strategic HRM is identified in three levels namely Strategic, Managerial and operational level. Strategic level looks to the long term future, Managerial level looks at the mid term and the operation level looks at the short term focus. Different models and approaches were discussed in this assignment to understand the functionality of strategic HRM and how far the organization able to implement it. Models and Approaches There are several approaches and models by which Strategic HRM can be applied but basic strategic HRM model is widely accepted by many authors, researchers and even critics as well (Kane and Palmer, 1995). This basic model is based on the external and internal environment a nd basic organization strategies. Fig 2 Basic Model of Strategic Human resource Management (Adapted from Kane and Palmer, 1995) Strategic HRM models demonstrate how an organization links its business strategies and HR function to achieve it goals. Though SHRM adopts resource based philosophy, there are three different models defined by authors (Bratton and Gold, 2004, p49). These models are Control based, Resource based and Integrative model.

Quantitative Decision Making-Transportation Essay

Quantitative Decision Making-Transportation - Essay Example An innovative approach namely the dual-matrix approach will be used to address the transportation problem. This approach will judge the transportation model beginning from a good realistic solution and using a matrix in order to get the subsequently improved solution until the most advantageous solution is attained. In this approach, the linear form of algebra will be adopted in order to work out the transportation problem. There will be the introduction of an innovative concept known as virtual cells in this approach (JI and CHU, 2002). This approach will attempt to be functional on both unbalanced and balanced transportation problems. There will no need to convert the unbalanced transportation problem to a balanced transportation problem as in the case of other approach named as stepping-stone method. In addition to this, the method of dual-matrix does not imply the problem of degeneracy. Furthermore, this approach entails the characteristic of no tracing of the path. On the contrary, it also absorbs a disadvantage that is, it requires an (m+n)x(m+n) matrix. However, this problem is not considered to be serious enough towards the enhanced computers of today and for a big level of transportation problem (JI and CHU, 2002). With the purpose of testing the effectiveness of the dual- matrix technique, numerous numerical instances will be performed. When these examples will be compared to the stepping-stone technique, the consequences will always determine and signify dual-matrix to be better relative to the stepping-stone. The degeneracy and tracing of path perhaps prove to be serious for a major transportation problem (JI and CHU, 2002). Major logistics companies have increasingly devoted their attention towards transporting issues of their businesses. This is mainly due to two aspects which include a reduction in cost and enhancement of customer service. There is a remarkable example of FedEx which offers a variety of logistics solutions to its customers. These services are categorized on the grounds of numerous kinds of customer requirements.  

Should juvenile offenders be tried and punished as adults Annotated Bibliography

Should juvenile offenders be tried and punished as adults - Annotated Bibliography Example The practice of trying and punishing juvenile offenders as adults is not consistent throughout all criminal justice systems as some systems still believe that juveniles should be tried in the juvenile courts no matter how grievous the crime might be. The perception in some justice systems is that trying children in adult courts would have an adverse effect on the children as they could likely have some sort of psychological problems. This paper would try to establish whether or not juvenile offenders should be tried and punished as adults. People that would likely benefit from this paper are lawyers, prospective lawyers (law students) and the public at large. It should also be pertinent to note that people that are interested in the case of juvenile delinquency would also gain a lot from the details of this paper and the research work. This study would try to accomplish the fact that a child is considered an adult for the purposes of administering justice when the crime committed is not a case of juvenile delinquency, but a very serious criminal act and this underlines the importance of the study as it would be helpful for cases of juvenile delinquencies. Books, internet sources and other relevant sources would be used for this work. Some of the questions that would form the basis of this paper are: Why are some children considered adults for the purpose of administering justice and are transferred to adult courts? What kind of crime would a child commit for the offence to be qualified as an adult crime?

Jesus, Antigone and Augustine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Jesus, Antigone and Augustine - Essay Example This paper shall seek to look at the figures of Antigone, Jesus Christ and Augustine. These three figures fought against established forms of authority. What is significant about this collection of revolutionaries is that all three of them adopted methods that were not violent. All three of them were however, practitioners of very different methods and controversies remain as to the reasons as to why these three employed the methods of resistance that they employed. Antigone is a fictional character created by the great playwright Sophocles. His characterization of Antigone was meant to evoke strong reactions. On the other hand are Jesus and Augustine, both of whom are historical characters about whom most information is present, however, in the form of legends. Augustine is more of a historical character than Jesus, since information regarding him survives in the form of his writings. Jesus Christ was a person who lived during the times of the Roman Empire was a Jew who was consider ed to be the messiah of the Jews. The Jews in the Roman Empire lived under the control of the Roman Empire and were resentful of the control of whom they considered to be foreigners. Jesus, according to the Bible, was the Messiah (Mark 8: 27-32). He claimed to be the son of God and thus divine. He, according to the Bible, was the person who had taken on the form of man in order to wash off the sins of mankind and provide him with redemption. According to writers like John Milton, he was to be considered to have volunteered to save man from eternal perdition by laying down his own life voluntarily. By voluntarily undergoing a gruesome death at the cross, Jesus would act the role of the sacrificial lamb and thus free mankind from the original sin. Milton talks of the beginning of this story in his great work Paradise Lost (Milton). This account of the life of Jesus is however, not a strictly historical one. Historically, he is considered by many to have been a member of the Jewish com munity that was oppressed by the Roman Empire. He was a religious leader who sought to change the dynamics of power as they existed between the Roman officials and Empire and the Jews and the other original inhabitants of what is known today as Israel. Jesus’ contribution to the liberation of the people f Israel is considered to be seminal and this is considered by some to be the reason as to why he was deified by some. Antigone, on the other hand, is an almost completely fictional character. She is present in the work Antigone, by Sophocles. The importance of the character can be gauged from the fact that she is the titular character in the play. She also is the character who provides the play with its thematic thrust with an emphasis on the resistance to the established powers of the state. She is the daughter of Oedipus, who was once the king of Thebes and Jocasta, who was also the mother of Oedipus. The Oedipal tale is one of how man is unable to change his own fate. The tale of Antigone is however, that of one who makes an effort despite this knowledge, to change her fate. The very existence f Antigone is a challenge to the traditional social structures of her time, since she is the product of incest. Hers is a situation where her mother and her grandmother are the same person. This situation is according to conventional understandings of events, an unnatural one and Antigone is thus, a challenge to the

This is my final essay so it has to be good Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

This is my final so it has to be good - Essay Example However, the major challenge was on how to put down this information in written form so as to communicate it to the intended readers. I always found myself making several drafts before giving a final paper. This made me spend a lot of time to come up with a piece of writing that effectively communicated what was intended. One of my major challenges at the beginning of the course was grammar. Being an international student, I did not have adequate knowledge on grammar rules in English. Particularly, tenses were very difficult to understand. Because different words have different ways of how to change their tenses, I always found myself making mistakes. I mixed different tenses in my writings which confused readers. Additionally, determining the right preposition to use in different situations was difficult. It was difficult to determine when to use by, on and in. Even more challenging was using these prepositions to correctly come up with phrasal verbs. From this course, I learned that passive sentences are used in academic writing. I had difficulties changing active sentences into passive sentences. Wrongfully mixing active and passive sentences in my writing made me fail in academic writing. Secondly, ensuring coherence in writing was a challenge. It was difficult to connect sentences and even words together to come up with an appropriate text. I learned about conjunctions and how they are used for this function. Each of the conjunctions learned have different purposes and can only be used for the specific purposes that they should meet. Some like and, also and additionally are used to show addition while others like however and but show that the argument is opposing what was stated earlier (Gangal 53). Selecting which conjunction to use in a given context was challenging at times, especially when they were to be placed at the beginning of the sentence. Therefore, I always found myself using conjunctions used to contrast when I intended to use

Leading by Example Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Leading by Example - Assignment Example Steve Jobs has not only made Apple to become a leading company in the technology industry but he was a good decision maker. His success and the success of his company have resulted from his ability to make accurate and precise logical decision. For example, his decision to make Apple a family brand has enabled the company to become a market leader in the high-tech industry. I have also admired the leadership style and strategies of Mike Duke the president of Wall-Mart. Although his organization has the highest number of employees, Mike Duke has enabled it to become a leading retail outlet in Europe and America (Kalb, 1993). Other than his leadership strategies, Mike is a motivational leader. He acknowledges that the success of his business lies in the company’s employees. Thus, he has great interests in employee satisfaction strategies. Mike Duke considers the company employees to be his first priority. This has not only enabled him to contribute to the success of the company but it has enabled him to contribute to skill development among his employees. Mike is among the business leaders who consider company employees as assets of the company (CBS,

Manufacturing of Porous Steel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Manufacturing of Porous Steel - Essay Example The new industrial methodology for manufacturing and producing Porous Steel is a relatively new invention and was patented only recently in 2006-2007 through its Korean inventors Rin-soon, Yongsang, Wonjong-dong, Ojeong-gu, and Bucheon. (WO/2007/018403) Porous steel is a special type of steel which requires a method of manufacturing steel through special preparation of the metallic bodies with plural cores which are coated and then rearranging them in contact with each other in a certain position which allows the pores to be formed there between, and thus the arranged metal bodies are heated to be point welded. (WO/2007/018403) The above mentioned Porous methodology allows the pores formed in the porous special steel to be flexible enough to be able to change according to the size of the metallic bodies. This further allows other special steels to be manufactured with ease and flexibility according to the kind of cores and coating metals. (WO/2007/018403) Porous Steel manufacture relates to a method of manufacturing the special steel in diverse shapes and sizes due to its flexible pores. This is a novel invention in a time of heavy industrial development whereas the improvement in life environment necessitates an increasing need in the Steel industry for flexible raw materials. Porous steel is different from the traditional metallic steel products in the sense that they are found in powdery or other solid forms but the porous special steel with its flexible shapes and sizes has appeared in the various industrial uses and works better than ordinary steel by securing sufficient pores therein. This property of the metal allows to also serve a filtration purpose which having a function of filtering particles contained in gas or liquid can then be utilized as a highly efficient heat resistant material due to its qualities of excellent air permeability and conduciveness to heat. There is however a problem which can technically hinder the use of the porous steel. The conventional method of making Porous steel consists of a number of steps for example it will include the salts to be welded to each other and placed in a press die ,where as the raw metal will have lower fusion points. (Lee et al 2007) However the problem is that not only does this require a heavy use of equipment (like the use of magnanimous press dies in order to permeate the salts and metal into the raw metal) but the welding process can prove to be a nuisance in itself. (Lee et al 2007) However the inventors have also presented a new methodology to get around these complications with ease by the arrangement of metallic bodies in which a plurality of cores thereof is coated with metal. Such a method warrants better achievement of the dexterous task of manufacturing porous special steel, which is capable of manufacturing even complex-shaped special steel with ease. This will involve the coating of the cores of the metallic bodies with ferromagnetic metal. Then these metallic bodies will be magnetized to allow the arrangement to build a magnetic force between the metallic bodies. (Molin et al 2008). The method allows for the provision of easily manufacturing special steel alloys based on various cores and coated metals which are then capable of changing the

Admission Essay To Athabasca University - Master of Arts

Admission To Athabasca University - Master of Arts - Essay Example Another reason I am applying for this integrated program is the kind of teachings the students are offered. The students in the program are taught to reason and think critically, holistically, and reflectively and to give much focus on the points of overlap and articulations between the generalized and specialized knowledge. Furthermore, I believe that exposure of the students to a wide variety of interdisciplinary methods and disciplines will prepare me to envisage and look for innovative solutions to different problems in my area of expertise. Similarly, another propelling reason for my application to this degree course is the belief that the degree will teach me to contextualize and situate practices and knowledge on a wide intellectual continuum which integrates methods, practices and theories of humanities, arts and social sciences. As an educator, this is significant for me in my profession as I will be able to apply what I have learnt in practice. Another primary reason why I chose to apply for the integrated course at Athabasca University is sufficient and adequate cost of education compared to other universities. Furthermore, the assigned texts and reading files are very informative and relevant. From the university newsletter and website, I learnt that the instructors are competent, qualified and responsive to the academic needs of the students. I believe this will be helpful for me during my studies. I have high expectations on what I want to achieve after going through the integrated program in Athabasca University. From the degree program, I want to join one of the top institutions in the country and do a profession that will provide adequate resources for my family. Furthermore, I aim to do exceptional coursework that I will be proud of always. Moreover, I have great hope and belief to innovate an idea or solution that will bring

Native American Land Rights Essay Example for Free

Native American Land Rights Essay As the Native population continues to grow and create an abundance of resources such as casinos, the White Man has found ways to take the land needed to sustain such growth away. The Native American population always has inhabited the land we now live on and we the Americans have come on to that land pushing them into reservations and controlled situations. With the growing flow of residents the American government has forced the American Indians to uproot themselves repeatedly causing the loss of several lives, as well as the loss of land that they had possessed for centuries. Over the years this tribulation caused friction between the American Indians and the American government to the extent that one tribe, the Sioux Indians hosted the invasion of Wounded Knee. Over the years the White Man has come onto Native lands and gradually pushed them out, using the land for whatever they have need to. In the 1800’s the White Man has taken several rights from the American Indians and tried to keep them under control under the guise of creating harmony, and putting them on reservations as an act of control. With the creation of the Dawes Act American Indians the American government gave land to the Indians on the reservations and noted it as creating harmony, but without the knowledge of Native Americans. In the mid-1900’s with the growing populations and the continuing need the American government came into reservations and took youth off the reservations and placed them in homes to educate and intergraded them into the civilized world creating less on the reservations to be responsible for. With the idea of work and a new life away from the hardships of life on the reservations the government offered to help integrate them into city life by giving them housing and education as well as the opportunity to work. When the Indians who chose to accept this offer arrived in the big cities they were surprised to find that they would be placed with several others in rundown motel rooms. They would be treated like the foreigners who had come from other countries, and they would have just as much luck as well. As a result of all the hardships caused by the American government and the control enforced by them, the American Indians grew increasingly upset and chose to rise up against the government to take back lands originally belonging to them. After years of being mistreated the Sioux Indians made the decision to take back Wounded Knee site of the last American and Native war resulting in the Siege at Wounded Knee in 1973. In the early 1800s and during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, Americas policy had been to allow Native Americans to remain east of the Mississippi as long as they became assimilated or civilized. [ (Remini, 2001) ] The native peoples who chose not to be assimilated were forced to move into camps and to prepare to make the journey to the western side of the Mississippi. Congress came up with an idea to trade lands with the Indians from the east to the west, and then the ones who chose not to transition into the â€Å"civilized† way would be moved. Those who chose not to conform were taken from their homes and moved to camps, to begin a journey to a new and different land. This Journey would be later deemed the Trail of Tears, for the thousands upon thousands of lives that would be uprooted from their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. During the journey More than two thousand lives would be lost as a result of illness and disease. When the journey was over land was allotted to the tribes, this was called the Dawes Act of 1887. As part of this act Families would get 160 acres, individual adult males would get 80 acres, and single minors would get 40 acres each. At this point Native women were ineligible to receive land. By 1891 the Dawes act was amended to dole out the land equally to all adults, but in doing so the amount was cut in half. Nearly a hundred years later after dealing with the Five Civilized Tribes and ongoing problems on the reservations the American government came up with the Indian relocation Act of the 1950s and 60s. This time the government came on to the reservations promising a college education and work for anyone willing to leave the reservation and come to the big cities and make their lives there. Several of these Natives agreed to leave, and were put on busses and taken places such as New York and Boston. When they arrived they were placed in run down motels with several others after the same thing. What these people were not tell was that they would have just as much chance of getting a job as any other foreigner coming from other continents. The gradual takeover of the native youth led to the Incident at Wounded Knee, witch began on February 27, 1973. â€Å"Founded in 1968, the American Indian Movement (AIM) is an organization dedicated to the Native American civil rights movement. Its main objectives are the sovereignty of Native American lands and peoples; preservation of their culture and traditions; and enforcement of all treaties with the United States. (Free Online Law Dictionary) The battle of Wounded Knee was in its self a part of the American Indian Movement in witch several tribal peoples banded together with one thing in mind. The take over at historical Wounded Knee began as a peaceful takeover, and ended in a 71 day full-on occupation of the area. The Sioux Indians were fighting for the return of land that they belived belonged to them. The take over was intended to raise awareness, and made the news and brought on a full scandal. Tribes from all over came to Wounded Knee to aid in the support of the tribes plea to get their land back. The siege was carried out much like that of the days of old with guns, and individuals riding around patrolling the borders on horse back. The incident began in February 1973, and represented the longest civil disorder in the history of the Marshals Service [ (United States Marshals Service) ]. The end result would be a long difficult process with the loss of two lives and several wounded on both sides, all this going on at the same time as the Watergate Scandal. The American government has been taking back the land of the Native peoples for years, some temporarily in deals with local tribes, others permanently. As stated in Wikipedia’s article on the Indian reservations,† With the establishment of reservations, tribal territories diminished to a fraction of original areas and indigenous customary practices of land tenure sustained only for a time, and not in every instance. Instead, the federal government established regulations that subordinated tribes to the authority, first, of the military, and then of the Bureau (Office) of Indian Affairs. † So then Not only has the government told Indians were they could and could not live they have also taken over the ownership of law on these reservations allowing for tribal laws to fall second to the American government. Are Native Americans, currently living in the same way? In research done by Edward Blakemore of the University of Dayton School of Law, he researches the use of land taken back from the Native American inhabitants. He states in part of his research this, â€Å"What little portion of land theyve been permitted to inhabit by the US government is being reacquired for use as toxic waste sites†(Blakemore, 1998). What Blakemore is trying to say is that the land that the government is taking back from the Native peoples is going towards sites that have a negative effect on the land, and that by doing so we are taking the land that they need and essentially throwing it away. Further research with this topic states that the government has looked at the Native American communities as synonymous with poverty, and yet we need to be helping the natives Americans in their long going quest for self-determination and sovereignty. Though America struggles to find room for its expanding population the Native American population seems to grow and yet the land they have seems to be decreasing. Why is it that some Americans have become so negative towards the native communities around them when they are the ones who lived here long before us. Through history the Native American population ahs fought with the white mand in an effort to remain as a equal party in the rights regarding land occupation. Through many wars and protests the people have shown that Native Pride is strong and that they will never give in, these are a people with a strong cultural tie to the land that we the white man now occupy, and call our own. Is it right what we have, and continue to do with the land we now reside on? Maybe, maybe not that is a question for each and every individual on there own, no one man can say. Blakemore, Edward, Native Americans, and Land 1998, http://academic. udaton. edu His90 History Channel, Indian Relocation Act of 1890, http://www. history. com Remini, Robert V. Indian Removal Act, 2001, http://www. freebase. com United States Marshals Service, The siege at Wounded Knee, 9/17/05, http://www. usmarshals. gov American Indian Movement Legal definition, Free online Law Dictionary, a href=http://legal-dictionary. thefreedictionary. com/American+Indian+MovementAmerican Indian Movement/a.

The Role of Intuition and Improvisation in Project Management Essay Example for Free

The Role of Intuition and Improvisation in Project Management Essay Improvisation consists of a combination of intuition, creativity, and bricolage. Intuitions are rapid, affectively charged, holistic judgements arrived at without the apparent intrusion of rational thought. Improvisation and intuition represent two important and related aspects of management in general and of the management of projects in particular. There have been few, if any, studies that have examined the relationship between intuition and improvisation in the context of the management of projects. In this research we used a model of the relationships between project managers’ intuitive decision making behaviours, their use of improvisation and project outcomes in order to examine whether or not intuition is used in the management of projects, how it relates to improvisation and how intuition and improvisation are linked (if at all) to project outcomes. The research employed a cross-sectional survey design (N = 163) administered in two waves. Mediated multiple regression analyses revealed a number of statistically significant effects (p 0.05), namely: (1) there is a positive relationship between the use of intuitive judgements and improvisation; (2) there is a positive relationship between experience and improvisation; (3) there is a positive relationship between the use of intuitive judgements and experience; and (4) the use of intuitive judgements is related to externally focused project outcomes. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the following: role of intuitive judgements and improvisation in the management of projects; the ways in which both intuition and improvisation are conceptualised; and the training and development of project managers.

Analysis of HMs Vietnam Expansion

Analysis of HMs Vietnam Expansion HM is a Swedish multinational clothing retail store that caters to young adults and children. Since its inception, the brand has evolved to include accessories, footwear, cosmetics and home furnishings. HM is one of the top retail stores in the world and has positioned itself as a low cost- quality clothing supplier. HM and its competitors occupy a niche segment of the retail clothing industry known as fast-fashion, characterized by the ability to serve consumers who demand the most up-to-date styles at an affordable price. Retailers must meet several specific customer expectations to remain competitive in this segment, as well as maintain a highly efficient internal operation to meet the requirements of the industry. HMs expansion into Vietnam is part of the companys larger overall global expansion strategy to open stores with a target of 10-15% sales growth coupled with an introduction of online retail to emerging and unexploited retail markets (HM Group, 2016). Vietnam has seen recent increased growth in foreign direct investment and expanding retail market. Consumers in Vietnam have a demand for large Western brands and have increased disposable income to spend in the market(Deloitte, 2014). In Vietnam, barriers to entry remain low for HM and other industry competitors. HM and other foreign retailers have the capability of opening their initial retail spaces in Vietnam without extreme difficulty (Deloitte, 2014).ÂÂ   In 2016, Zara, HMs largest competitor opened a retail store in Ho Chi Minh City signaling an increase in foreign retail investment in the country (Zara Enters Vietnam, 2016). It appears that the landscape in Vietnam is changing in the favor of foreign retail firms and governm ent policies are being shaped to attract more foreign investors. Industry Requirements and Expectations HM and its competitors occupy a niche segment of the retail clothing industry known as fast-fashion, characterized by the ability to serve consumers who demand the most up-to-date styles at an affordable price. Retailers must meet several specific customer expectations to remain competitive in this segment, as well as maintain a highly efficient internal operation to meet the requirements of the industry. Expectations within the fast-fashion industry have become increasingly more customer-focused and demanding with the success of retailers such as HM, Zara, and Forever 21. Because the industrys core market is highly sensitive to changes in trends and seasonality, retailers need a keen awareness of the fashion landscape to proactively update their inventory at locations worldwide. Successful players in the industry must also have an in-depth understanding of the local markets of their varying locations to serve their customers specific tastes. Fast-fashions most dedicated consumers also depend on the affordability that retailers offer to allow them to keep their wardrobes stocked with the latest styles. Highly efficient supply chain management is the cornerstone of the fast-fashion industry, and is the key requirement for any retailers success. Demands for rapid turnover and affordable prices hinge on the retailers ability to keep internal costs to a minimum to avoid passing on costs to the consumers. The industry requires retailers to keep an extremely low product life cycle (PLC), which is typically achieved through the combination of a just-in-time inventory system and a strategic distribution and fulfillment network within the countries of operation. Location is also a critical requirement when operating in fast-fashion, both for retail stores and proximity to distribution centers. In order to capitalize on the benefit of operating within this industry retailers must secure locations for their retail stores that are both highly visible and densely populated, while distribution and fulfillment centers require central location to serve the maximum number of retail locations as quickly as possible. Low Trade Barriers In 1986, Vietnam created an open-door policy with reforms in three essential areas: i) the right to foreign trade, ii) trade instruments and policies iii) liberalization of foreign trade. Since then, the Vietnamese economy has been growing at a rapid pace. Since Vietnams inception in WTO in 2001, Vietnam removed many non-tariff barriers including quantitative restrictions on imports, quotas, bans, permit requirements and licensing requirements. (U.S. Department of State, 2014). However, there are still some existing industry specific trade barriers in Vietnam. For example, price stabilization and restriction is implemented by the Vietnamese government when prices are too high or low for essential goods. Other examples of trade barriers include import taxes on automated products and services, permits on foreign investment in cinema construction only through local joint ventures and land use rights. Vietnamese land, a property of the state, cannot be owned by investors nor any Vietnamese nationals (U.S. Department of State, 2014). To HMs advantage, the retail industry in Vietnam has very few trade barriers and restrictions for foreign investment. Thus, being one of the fastest growing countries in the ASEAN economy along with liberal retail policies, Vietnam is an obvious country of interest for EU business expansion. The countrys openness to foreign investment has been the cause of many trade reforms and lower trade barriers. For example, Vietnam provides investment incentives to foreign investors such as exemption from import taxes on necessary materials required for manufacturing that cannot be found in Vietnam. Policies supporting FDI in Vietnam Since November 1, 2015, Vietnam has allowed foreign retailers to set up 100 percent foreign-owned enterprises under its commitments to the World Trade Organization. This gives them access to supply sources and ideal business locations to operate from. Most international brands are opening stores in Vietnam through franchising or the granting of rights to a local partner, as franchisees are required to have a zero-loss business record and must be able to present their business development plan to the franchisor during the bidding process, which increases the likelihood of success for foreign investors in Vietnam. (VN Express Retail market share,2016). These policies make expanding to Vietnam attractive for HM. Franchising their retail stores in Vietnam is safer for HM now because of these policies. FDI As Vietnam is becoming increasingly accessible to foreign investments, FDI inflows have seen a steady and strong increase over the previous years. In 2016, FDI inflows climbed to US$24.4 billion with a 9% increase from 2015. Out of these, US$15.1 billion flew to 2,556 newly registered projects, US$5.76 billion came from 1,225 existing projects adding to their capital, and US$3.4 billion flew in from foreign investors purchasing stakes in 2,547 companies. Vietnams rapid pace of integration into global commerce is likely to yield great opportunities for foreign investors. So, this is the right time for HM to invest and expand into Vietnam. (Vietnams FDI Outlook for 2016) In January 2017, foreign investors invested in 16 sectors in Vietnam, out of which Wholesale and retail ranked third with total registered capital of US$ 88.75 million, accounting for 5.6% of the total foreign direct investment. Relative high investment in Wholesale and Retail market bodes well for HM. HM is planning to open up its first retail shop in Ho Chi Minh City, where FDI investments are high. (Ministry of planning and Investment of Vietnam, 2017) Vietnams retail industry has witnessed healthy growth rates of 8 10 percent annually in recent years. To continue, the industry is forecasted to reach $109 billion by 2017. With the population of more than 90 million, Vietnams retail market is growing rapidly, making it highly attractive for foreign investors. The country is currently ranked top 5 and 11 in Asia and globally respectively in terms of retail growth. (VN Express Vietnams rapidly growing retail Industry, 2016) Ease of doing business The countrys ease of doing business while still leaving room for improvement is developing, Vietnam ranked 82nd out of 190 countries, up nine positions from 2016. Government of Vietnam is actively privatizing its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on top of its trade agreements and foreign direct investment policies. Since 2015, nearly 170 companies have been privatized and this trend will continue in the coming years. This creates many opportunities for foreign investors. (Vinkenborg, M. (2017). Vietnam in 2017: Spotting opportunities for FDI) Policies restricting FDI in Vietnam One complication for FDI in Vietnam is Vietnamese authorities have different definitions of a foreign invested enterprise. In practice the level of foreign investment that qualifies an entity as foreign differs from province to province. Unlike other countries in the region, such as China or some of the other ASEAN member states, Vietnam does not maintain a Negative List of industries with foreign equity ownership caps. (Restrictions on Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam, 2015) With the enactment of the Law on Investment and the Law on Enterprises however, the country is moving in the direction of such a Negative List system. The two laws, in addition to various other laws and regulations are applicable to industries that are termed conditional. When investing in conditional industries, the government examines the investment proposal and may choose to impose additional requirements. Distribution sector such as retail is considered conditional in Vietnam and may prone to additional requirements from government of Vietnam. (Restrictions on Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam, 2015) Works Cited Deloitte (2014). Retail in Vietnam. Retrieved: http://www.iberglobal.com/files/2016/vietnam_retail.pdf Hong, A. (2016). Vietnams rapidly growing retail industry partially offsets economic slowdown. Retrieved:http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-rapidly-growing-retail-industry-partially-offsets-economic-slowdown-3448240.html HM Group. Retrieved: https://about.hm.com/en/about-us/markets-and-expansion.html Indiaretailing Bureau. Retrieved: http://www.indiaretailing.com/2016/09/27/fashion/zara-enters-vietnam-first-store-vincom-center/ Ministry of Planning and Investment. (2017). Retrieved: http://www.mpi.gov.vn/en/Pages/tinbai.aspx?idTin=35921idcm=122 Shira, D. (2015). Restrictions of Foreign Direct Investment on Vietnam. Retrieved: http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/restrictions-foreign-direct-investment-vietnam.html/ SwedenÂÂ   and Vietnam Boost BUsiness and Investment Cooperation (2016). Retrieved: https://nsnbc.me/2016/10/08/sweden-vietnam-boost-business-and-investment-cooperation U.S. Department of State (2014). Retrieved: https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/229305.pdf Vietnams FDI Outlook for 2016: Trends and Opportunities. Retrieved: http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnamese-fdi-2016-outlook.html/ Vinkenborg, M. (2017). Vietnam in 2017: Spotting opportunities for FDI. Retrieved: http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/vietnam-2017-spotting-opportunities-fdi.html/ http://www.eightyquartier.com/hm-announces-first-store-in-vietnam/ Ministry of planning and Investment of Vietnam, 2017 Retrieved: http://www.mpi.gov.vn/en/Pages/tinbai.aspx?idTin=35921idcm=122 VN Express Vietnams rapidly growing retail Industry, 2016 Retrieved: http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/vietnam-s-rapidly-growing-retail-industry-partially-offsets-economic-slowdown-3448240.html VN Express Retail market share,2016 Retrieved: http://e.vnexpress.net/news/business/markets/foreign-invasion-threatens-domestic-retail-market-share-3406399.html Restrictions on Foreign Direct Investment in Vietnam, 2015 Retrieved: http://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/restrictions-foreign-direct-investment-vietnam.html/

Elijah McCoy :: essays research papers

Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario Canada on May 2, 1844, the son of former slaves who had fled from Kentucky before the U.S. Civil War. Educated in Scotland as a mechanical engineer, Elijah McCoy returned to the United States and settled in Detroit, Michigan. He began experimenting with a cup that would regulate the flow of oil onto moving parts of industrial machines. His first invention was a lubricator for steam engines, U.S. 129,843, which issued on July 12, 1872. The invention allowed machines to remain in motion to be oiled; his new oiling device revolutionized the industrial machine industry. Elijah McCoy established his own firm and was responsible for a total of 57 patents, the term â€Å"real McCoy† refers to the oiling device used for industrial machinery. His contribution to the lubricating device became so popular that people inspecting new equipment would ask if the device contained the real McCoy, This helped popularize the American expression, meaning the real thing. His other inventions included an ironing board and lawn sprinkler. Elijah McCoy died on October 10, 1929 after a year in the Eloise Infirmary, Eloise, Michigan, suffering from senile dementia caused by hypertension. He was buried in Detroit, Michigan. Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario Canada on May 2, 1844, the son of former slaves who had fled from Kentucky before the U.S. Civil War. Educated in Scotland as a mechanical engineer, Elijah McCoy returned to the United States and settled in Detroit, Michigan. He began experimenting with a cup that would regulate the flow of oil onto moving parts of industrial machines. His first invention was a lubricator for steam engines, U.S. 129,843, which issued on July 12, 1872. The invention allowed machines to remain in motion to be oiled; his new oiling device revolutionized the industrial machine industry. Elijah McCoy established his own firm and was responsible for a total of 57 patents, the term â€Å"real McCoy† refers to the oiling device used for industrial machinery.

Roman History Essay -- essays research papers

Death In Rome when you died it was very important that you were buried properly and the correct procedure was followed. If something didn’t go right the funeral would start again. The Romans believed in life after death, and the souls of the dead could help the living or make life hard for them. To insure that the souls of the dead rested in peace a gold coin would be placed under the tongue, this was to pay the ferryman Charon to cross the river Styx. If you didn’t have a coin or you drowned you had to wait for 100 years. Once across the river your soul would be judged. If you had a good life you would be sent to Elysia or the Elysian Fields. If you didn’t you would be sent to Tartaurs where you would be tortured for all eternity. The bodies of the dead were cremated. The cremations were held outside the city. The body would then be placed into the ground. The rich were put into sarcophagi. Some people would have an epitaph on there tomb. This was a brief description of the person how they lived and died. On the birthdays of the dead the family would have a meal in there honor. Most tombstones had a chute where food could be dropped into, this was thought to nourish the soul. Some Mausoleums had kitchen facilities and eating areas for these occasions. Most Romans belonged to a funeral club. These were clubs that a Roman would join and pay into over there life to pay for there funeral. The only class that had trouble paying into it were the unskilled plebs, they were usually...

Personal Narrative- Soccer State Championship Essay -- Personal Narrat

Personal Narrative- Soccer State Championship On February 28, 2005, I experienced one of the most exciting events that anyone could ever experience – winning a State Championship. The day my soccer team made history is a day I’ll never forget. However it is not just that day we won the title, but the whole experience of the preceding season that got us there. From start to finish, my team’s 2004-2005 season taught me that the platitude is true. You can do anything you set your mind to. From before day one, all our minds were set. This was the year to win a State Championship. I can’t exactly explain it, but right from the start I knew we were going to do it. I was never so sure about anything in my life and I never doubted it once. Yet it was a silent confidence, which I kept to myself. Though each of us was confident about winning state, we had much to work through before we made it there. The first few weeks of practice were full of bad attitudes and laziness. As a sophomore, I, along with the other underclassman, kept my mouth shut and put effort into practices. It was t...

Innocence and experience in Blake’s Songs Essay

A Romantic as he was, William Blake created his rather simple songs as an opposition to the poetry the eighteenth-century poets tried to impose, the so called ornated word,poetry of beautiful words saying very little. Songs of Innocence and Experience are about the â€Å"two contrary states of the human soul† as Blake put it. To confirm this he wrote some of the poems of Innocence with their pairs in Experience. Such a pair is â€Å"The Lamb† from Innocence and â€Å"The Tyger† from Experience. â€Å"The Lamb† consists of two stanzas, each one of them based on simple rhyming scheme like the children’s songs. The first stanza poses the questions while the second one is left for the answers. The questions are for the lamb, the speaker, presumably a child, asks the animal who has made it. The whole description of the animal supposes a meek and good one, the use of soft vowels makes the perception stronger. The second stanza gives the answers, although obvious, they are given in the form of a child’s puzzle, showing a bit of naivete. After a bit of a puzzle-playing the answer is crystal clear, the creator of the lamb is God. With the lines â€Å"For he is called by thy name/For he calls himself a lamb† Blake reminds the reader of the Bible and more specifically of Jes us, who after his Crucifixion becomes the Lamb of God. Following this, the lamb is a symbol of naà ¯ve innocence, also suffering one. â€Å"The Tyger† is the â€Å"experienced† poem of the pair. The lines â€Å"Did He smile His work to see?/Did He who made the lamb make thee?† may be considered a symbolic centre of the poem. The persona asks the tyger if his creator is the one who created the lamb. The questions are seeking an answer and at the same time are showing deep disbelieve, how can God who created the meek lamb create also the fierce tiger and frame his â€Å"fearful symmetry†. If innocence is naà ¯ve and suffering then experience, according to â€Å"The Tyger†, whose eyes have burnt in â€Å"distant deeps or skies†, should be dark and fierce having collected all the darkness â€Å"in the forests of the night† as is presented the life of the grown-up people in â€Å"The Tyger†. If â€Å"The Tyger† from Experience is the opposite poem to â€Å"The Lamb†, â€Å"To Tirzah† doesn’t have a particular opposite in Innocence, it may be considered as a single poem opposing the whole of Songs of Innocence. Tirzah is one of the five daughters of Zelophehad, also the name of the capital of  Israel, which is in opposition with Jerusalem, the city of God. The first stanza begins with the well-known fact that â€Å"Whate’er is born of mortal birth† dies. And ends with the question â€Å"Then what have I to do with thee?†, it seems it is directed exactly to that mortal part of humans. The second stanza is a reminder of Genesis, the fall of Adam and Eve when looking for knowledge and their curse when drown out of Heaven, men to work with sweat on their foreheads and women to cry of pain while giving birth to their children. In the third stanza Tirzah proves out to be the mother of the â€Å"mortal part† of humans and thus mother of death. The persona of the poem seems to be a young man who is angry with his mother for giving him life that inevitably ends in death. The young man may also be afraid to break the bond with his mother and live in the world of experience on his own. The last stanza opposes life on earth whose â€Å"tongue is made of clay† and life in heaven whose symbol is Jesus and his crucifixion. Experience understands the simple rules of life that what is born dies and can’t accept them, while innocence accepts and amuses in everything even in perceiving experience. The bond between innocence and experience when judged from â€Å"To Tirzah† seems to be the bond of a blissful student to his desperate teacher. Such blissful innocence is presented in the â€Å"Introduction† of Songs of Innocence. The poem begins with a piper’s song, the persona sees a child on a cloud, an ordinary symbol of blissful innocence, the child/angel is enjoying the piper’s song, which in Blakean times is considered to be the purest of all. The child nearly orders the piper to â€Å"Pipe a song about a Lamb!†, innocence enjoys the song about another blissful innocent creature – the lamb. Experience in the form of the grown-up piper praises and at the same time amuses innocence. The bond between â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul† is a mother-child relationship. Experience teaches innocence as the piper writes down in a book the songs he knows so that â€Å"Every child may joy to hear.† But the mother also protects her child, so does experience as is clearly seen from the poem â€Å"Holy Thursday†. Children, the most common symbol of innocence, are walking two by two and â€Å"grey-headed beadles† are leading them to St. Paul’s cathedral, experience protects innocence and leads it to a place where God will guide and protect it. In the second stanza of the poem innocence is a multitude, children are like â€Å"flowers of London town†, â€Å"multitudes of lambs†, innocence is being united with nature. Following the flow of thought innocence seems to glow with its divine image as is presented in â€Å"The Divine Image† from Songs of Innocence. The first stanza of the poem states that Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love are the four most important virtues that every man prays to. The second stanza reveals that the virtues symbol of innocence and purity are God and human â€Å"His child and care†. Reading on the poem shows that man is made up of virtues and possesses the human form divine, the purest and Godly innocence. If innocence is â€Å"the human form divine† then what is experience and what have they to do with one another? Does â€Å"London† from Songs of Experience give the answer? â€Å"London† is symbol of fallen humanity, symbol of the dark face of the industrial revolution that Blake’s contemporaries so much prided on. The persona’s journey begins with â€Å"I wander†, he walks through â€Å"each chartered street†, in Blakean times charters were given to rich people as a permission to rule given city. A city, in our case London, may be chartered, but Blake uses irony when defining the river Thames as chartered because a river cannot be put under human rules. The whole city, even the river, look like prisoners that’s why the persona can observe â€Å"marks of weakness, marks of woe† on every face he meets. From the first stanza his journey seems to be a sad walk through experience. In the second stanza the poet uses repetition in order to make the impact of his words stronger. He mentions manacles that were an ordinary thing to be seen on the hands of prisoners that were sent to Australia. But Blake’s manacles are ‘mind-forged’, a symbol of moral rules and laws that restrict â€Å"civilized† people. This image is also an allusion to Rousseau’s statement that â€Å"Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains.† The third stanza gives more specific examples of weakness and woe. The image of the child chimney-sweeper crying is a symbol of the unlawful use of child’s labour; the second – the blackening church appalls every one, the church is blackening as a symbol of stagnation, injustice, wrongly used power of not helping those that most need its caress – the poor. And last but not least the sound of the hapless soldier’s sigh; Blake  uses hyperbole in this particular image when describing that the sigh â€Å"Runs in blood down palace walls†. Being a reminder of the French revolution the poet warns the king and the people who rule the â€Å"chartered streets† and â€Å"the chartered Thames† that the misfortunate British may rise following the example of their soul mates – the French. The action in the last stanza takes place at midnight, the time when all monsters come out to haunt the living, this is the time of full darkness, symbol of impurity. At midnight the young harlot is forced to sell her body in a society where money is God. Blake uses a rather strong oxymoron to outline her image, â€Å"marriage hearse†, there can never be such a thing or it can in a London with â€Å"chartered streets† and â€Å"blackening church†; her curse damns lost innocence that can never be returned. â€Å"London† has a simple AB rhyming scheme that is typical for nursery rhymes, its innocent representation is in ironic opposition with its content, exactly like London of Blakean time, it was considered the peak of civilization while from the inside it was rotting away. From â€Å"London† it looks like that the bond between innocence and experience is very narrow, to enter experience one just has to be aware of evil. Experience is also understanding and accepting death, most fearful of all experience. â€Å"The Fly† from Songs of Experience proves it. At first sight the poem’s theme is about destruction, the persona kills the fly; but as the speaker identifies with the fly in the third stanza he is also vulnerable to â€Å"some blind hand† that may brush him away, the hand of the inevitable, of blind providence. The perspective of the persona killing the fly is turned a bit sideways with the act of the speaker’s identification with the fly; his act of killing may be not aimed to the fly but to himself. The last two stanzas are the most enigmatic and at the same time most universal ones. The forth stanza toys with the idea that if â€Å"thought is life† meaning that knowledge is life and â€Å"the want of thought is death† – an allusion to the Bible, when Adam and Eve are repelled from Heaven for seeking knowledge, when leaving Heaven they leave innocence behind and enter experience where they learn of death. But the poet shows death as the lack of thought, the lack of life, he teaches us that the price for gaining experience is losing innocence but death may be the gate to achieving regained innocence, because if death is the lack of thought then it is the lack of experience meaning  that it is regained innocence. Experience also has its own unique form according to the â€Å"Introduction† of Songs of Experience, its voice is the voice of the ancient bard who â€Å"present, past and future sees†, its ears have heard the Holy Word that is symbol of Jesus who â€Å"walked among the ancient trees† more than 2,000 years ago. The form of Innocence is presented in â€Å"Holy Thursday† from Songs of Innocence. The most well-known symbol of Innocence is the child, on that ground children are presented in the first stanza of â€Å"Holy Thursday†, children are walking two by two and beadles are leading them to St. Paul’s Cathedral, Experience is guiding Innocence to the cathedral were Innocence is to be protected by God himself. In the second stanza the children are multitude, they are like lambs and exactly then and there Innocence is united with nature. In the last stanza the children raise their voice to Heaven and the aged men, Experience, are still there to protect Innocence. Innocence is also symbol of new life being born as is presented in â€Å"The Echoing Green† from Songs of Innocence. â€Å"Spring† in the first stanza of the poem is symbol of the new life, of new Innocence being born. The colour of Innocence, as is easy to be guessed, according to the poem is green. The second stanza presents happy old people, sitting under an oak tree, and laughing at the youths’ games. They remember their own children’s games and their Innocence returns on the echoing green. The last stanza is no more cheerful, youth is tired and everyone is returning to their homes â€Å"like birds in the nests†; the echoing green is no more, it is darkening, like a haunting experience, like a date on which Innocence will come for the last time and be gone forever. Interesting connection between innocence and experience provide also the pair of poems â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Innocence and the one from Songs of Experience. â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Innocence is Blake’s most ironic poem if he ever intended to write such. In 18th century England the chimney-sweepers were little children, most often orphans or  from poor families. Such is the case with the persona of the poem, when his mother dies his father sells him to be a chimney-sweeper and dooms him to sure early death because the chimney-sweepers from that time lived until they were seven or eight years old and died most often of respiratory problems caused by the soot. That is the story of the child-persona told in the first stanza while he walks the streets and cries â€Å"Sweep, sweep, sweep† as a kind of commercial for his job. But the misspelling of the word is not by chance, the author chose to write â€Å"Weep, weep, weepâ €  because misery is the true occupation of the child – chimney-sweeper. The story goes on in the second stanza with little Tom Dacre. His head is â€Å"curled like a lamb’s back† and that is allegory to another poem from Songs of Innocence â€Å"The Lamb†, like the lamb Tom is meek and innocent and he cries when his hair is shaved. The child-persona consoles him that when shaved the soot cannot spoil his white hair; so far innocence blinded Tom when it is â€Å"shaved† he could see the real world. So in the third stanza he is quiet and has a dream that thousands of sweepers are â€Å"locked in coffins of black†. Knowing the hard lives of England’s 18th century child-chimney-sweepers the â€Å"coffins of black† are the chimneys that buried the children. The forth stanza is left for the angel with the bright key who comes and sets all the chimney-sweepers free. But the only Angel who has such a key is the Angel of Death. Tom dreams that all are running down a green plain, washing in the river – all these are symbols of innocence. Later on the Angel tells Tom that if he is a good boy and does his work well he’ll have God for his father, meaning that he’ll return to innocence but only after his death. The children chimney-sweepers are doomed to have entered experience and the bad part of it too early and innocence is for them only a dream. â€Å"The Chimney-Sweeper† from Songs of Experience opposes the one from Songs of Innocence. â€Å"A little black thing† enters the scene, the child-chimney-sweeper has become one with the soot, he has even obtained its colour. As in Songs of Innocence the perssona cries â€Å"weep† instead of â€Å"sweep†, it sound is part of a melody whose notes are â€Å"the notes of woe†. The second stanza begins with â€Å"Because†, the child-chimney-sweeper feels that because he was happy upon the heath and smiled his parents have given him the clothes of death and give him to it. The persona is angry, he is no  longer innocent because anger is feeling of experience, so he enters experience angry. His parents think they have done him no injury and are gone to praise the Lord who cannot save the child from singing his â€Å"notes of woe†. In the last line of the poem God is frankly accused of being an alliance with church and state who â€Å"made up a heaven of our misery†. Heaven is no more a consoling place for the child-chimney-sweeper who has entered experience it is a place made up of the misery of his fellow â€Å"black things†. Blake’s Songs prove his statement that innocence and experience are â€Å"the two contrary states of the human soul†, the relationship between the two is always opposition: innocence is meek and suffering while experience is fierce and dark but experience accepts and understands life as it is while innocence amuses in everything, it is united with nature. The Godly innocence is the human form divine. Sometimes the bond between innocence and experience is very narrow, to enter experience one has to be aware of evil, experience is also understanding and accepting death. The most well-known form of experience is the grown-up while innocence is the little child, the colour of innocence is green, while those of experience is black. And last but not least the relationship between innocence and experience is that they are both states of the human soul but to the first one is given the blissful life, to the second – the angry existence.

Water Quality and Contamination

Water Quality and Contamination Abstraction The quality of H2O is indispensable to our ecosystem and all life animals. In this study I will reexamine three experiments in which I performed. The first experiment was of the effects of groundwater taint, the 2nd experiment was H2O intervention procedure and the last was imbibing H2O quality. The intent of first experiment is to demo the effects of when ordinary family points such as oil, acetum and laundry detergent are mixed into our H2O supply and foul our H2O system. The consequences of this experiment were that the H2O became oily, smelly and unserviceable. The intent of the 2nd experiment is to demo how our planet of course filtrates drinkable imbibing H2O. The method used required potting dirt, sand, wood coal and crushed rock to of course filter the H2O. The experiment resulted in drinkable H2O. The last experiment is to prove the quality of regular pat H2O compared to bottled H2O. The trial consequences showed that the quality of tap H2O is equal to, and in some instances were better than, commercialized bottled H2O. The purpose of all three of these experiments is to raise consciousness of the necessity of holding quality H2O supply. Introduction Water is one of the most of import resources on Earth. Water covers about 70 % of the earth’s surface and the human organic structure ranges from 50 to 70 % of the human organic structure. The quality of H2O is really of import to our environment and for our ingestion. We use H2O for many things like irrigation, medical intents and to cleanse. Therefore, the quality of H2O is of import because it plays a critical function in our ecological system. If our planet does non hold acceptable H2O quality it would destruct our flora, ocean population, carnal life and/or human life. The absence of quality H2O in our universe would impact our manner of life and interrupt our ecological system. In this category we conducted many three different H2O experiments. The intent of the experiments was to larn about functional H2O, land H2O, surface H2O, H2O contaminates, H2O intervention and the quality of different imbibing Waterss. The intent of my survey is to raise consciousness to the readers of this survey the importance of quality H2O for our environment. â€Å"Surface H2O quality has increasing importance worldwide and is peculiarly relevant in the semiarid North-central Chile, where agribusiness and excavation activities are enforcing heavy force per unit area on limited H2O resources† ( Espejo & A ; et al. , 2012 ) . One experiment was to larn the effects of groundwater taint. These contaminations are points that we use in our places every twenty-four hours, but we ne'er realize what effects they have on our H2O system once they are assorted in to our H2O supply. Another experiment was conducted to demo the assortment of common pollutants that enter our H2O supply system because of mundane human activity. The experiment used similar processs that wastewater intervention workss use to filtrate and handle and sublimate H2O so that it is drinkable. The intent of the last experiment was to prove the quality of tap H2O compared to two separate name trade name bottled imbibing Waterss. Tap H2O is believed to be merely every bit safe as bottled imbibing H2O. â€Å"Bottled H2O is n't any safer or purer than what comes out of the pat, † says Dr. Sarah Janssen, scientific discipline chap with the Natural Resources Defense Council in San Francisco, which conducted an extended analysis of bottled H2O back in 1999. â€Å" In fact, it ‘s less well-regulated, and you ‘re more likely to cognize what ‘s in tap H2O. † Bottled and tap H2O come from basically the same beginnings: lakes, springs and aquifers, to name a few. In fact, a important fraction of the bottled H2O merchandises on shop shelves are tap H2O — albeit filtered and treated with excess stairss to better taste† ( Conis, 2008 ) . My hypothesis for the effects of groundwater contaminated with oil, acetum and laundry detergent is that the H2O would be oily, smelly and bubbly but that the filtering system would be able to keep the soil contamination. My hypothesis for the H2O intervention experiment is that the intervention procedure in relationship to the natural filtering system would ensue in useable H2O. My hypothesis for the last experiment, proving imbibing H2O quality, is that I believe that tap H2O will hold the most contaminations compared to that of bottled H2O. Materials and Methods The type of stuffs that were used in the effects of groundwater taint experiment consisted of eight beakers in which 100 milliliter of tap H2O was used to make full four of the eight beakers. I numbered each beaker 1 through 8. After make fulling the beakers with H2O, I added 10 milliliter of vegetable oil to beaker # 2, so added 10 milliliter of acetum to beaker # 3 and 10 milliliter of liquid wash detergent to beaker # 4. Beaker # 1 contained merely H2O, no contaminations. After adding the pollutants to beakers 2 through 4, I stirred the contents with a wooden stick to guarantee that the H2O and the pollutant were assorted together good. Each beaker that contained a pollutant, I recorded the odor and or visual aspect of it when assorted with the H2O. Then I placed cheesecloth into a funnel and added 60 milliliter of potting dirt. I poured the contents of beaker # 1 ( apparent H2O ) through the dirt-filled funnel into an empty beaker, beaker # 5, and allow the H2O drain for about 5 proceedingss. I so recorded what I observed from the filtered H2O that was poured into beaker # 5. After entering my findings, I discarded the dirt and cheesecloth from the funnel. Finally, I repeated the old stairss for beakers # 2, # 3 and # 4 ( beaker # 2 was filtered into beaker # 6, beaker # 3 was filtered into beaker # 7 and beaker # 4 was filtered into beaker # 8 ) . In the H2O intervention experiment, I used 100 milliliter of potting dirt, two 250 milliliter beakers, two 100 milliliter beakers, a 100 milliliter graduated cylinder, 40 milliliter of sand, 20 milliliter of activated wood coal, 60 milliliter of crushed rock, one wooden splash stick, alum, a funnel, cheesecloth, bleach, a stop watch and regular pat H2O. Using one of the 250 milliliter beakers, I poured 100 milliliter of dirt and so filled it with mater to the 200 mL grade of the beaker. Then, utilizing the 2nd 250 milliliter beaker, I poured the contents of the first beaker back and Forth about 15 times between the two beakers to blend the solution, making contaminated H2O. Then take about 10 milliliter of the new mixture into a clean 100 milliliter beaker. I used this sample at the terminal of the experiment to compare it to the filtrated H2O. Then I added 10 gms of alum to the 250 milliliter soil-solution, stirring it with the wooden stick for no more than two proceedingss so I all owed the solution to sit for about 15 proceedingss. Meanwhile, I took a piece of cheesecloth and lined the funnel. Then utilizing one of the 100 milliliter beakers, I poured 40 milliliter of sand, 20 milliliter of activated wood coal and 40 milliliter crushed rock into the funnel that is lined with the cheesecloth. I so to indurate the filter, I poured fresh pat H2O through the filter four times ( throwing out the rinse after each fill ) . I allowed the funnel to sit over the beaker for 5 proceedingss to run out. I so poured about 3/4Thursdayof the contaminated H2O into the deposit ( hardened sand/charcoal and crushed rock ) . After about 5 proceedingss of filtering, I added a few beads of bleach to the filtered H2O and stirred it for about a minute utilizing the wooden stick. The concluding experiment, imbibing H2O quality, I used Dasani bottled H2O, Fiji bottled H2O, ammonia trial strips, chloride trial strips, 4 in 1 trial strips, phosphate trial strips, Fe trial strips, three 250 milliliter beakers, a lasting marker, a halt ticker, Parafilm, pipettes, three foil packages of cut downing pulverization and tap H2O. First I labeled each beaker, one as pat H2O, the 2nd as Dasani and the last as Fiji. Then I poured 100 milliliter of each type of H2O into its corresponding beaker. I took an ammonia trial strip, and one at a clip, I placed an ammonium hydroxide strip into the H2O, traveling it up and down for about 30 seconds while doing use the strip does non come out of the H2O. After the 30 seconds, I shook of the extra H2O and leveled the strip with the tablet side up for 30 seconds. After about a minute, I matched the trial strip with one of the colourss from the Color Test Strip Key Chart and recorded my consequences. ( I repeated the exact same stairss for the staying two water-filled beakers and recorded those consequences ) . With the chloride trial strip I wholly immerged the trial strip into the H2O guaranting that each reaction zone of the strip has made contact with the H2O for one second. I shook off the extra H2O and after about a minute compared the strip the Color Test Strip Key Chart and recorded my consequences. ( I repeated the same stairss for the staying H2O filled beakers ) . The 4 in 1 trial strip, I dipped the trial strips ( one at a clip ) into each H2O filled beaker for approximative 5 seconds. Then I shook off the extra H2O, waited about 20 seconds and so matched the consequences with the Color Test Strip Key Chart to the pH. Alkalinity, Cl, and hardness. ( I repeated the same stairss for the staying H2O filled beakers ) . The phosphate trial strip, I dipped it into one of the beaker filled Waterss no more than five seconds. Then, without agitating the extra H2O off, I placed it in a horizontal place for about 45 seconds. Then I compared the consequences to the Color Test Strip Key Chart and recorded my consequences. ( I repeated the same stairss for the staying H2O filled beakers ) . The before I performed the concluding trial, the Fe trial strip, I removed approximative 70 milliliter of the H2O from each beaker go forthing merely 30 milliliters each type of H2O in at that place labeled beakers. I poured the power from the defeated package into the first H2O filled beaker, covered the beaker with the Parafilm and shook it up for approximately 15 seconds. Then I tipped the Fe trial strip ( traveling it about ) into the H2O for about 5 seconds. Then I shook off the extra H2O and waiting about 10 seconds, so matched the trial strip to the Color Test Strip Key Chart and recorded my consequences. ( I repeated the same stairss for the staying H2O filled beakers ) . Consequences The undermentioned tabular arraies were used to document the consequences of the experiments: Experiment 1: Effectss of Groundwater ContaminationTable 1: Water Observations ( Smell, Color, Etc. )BeakerObservations1100 milliliter ( field ) H2O is clear2Water looks oily due to adding the 10mL vegetable oil.3Water appears clear but has an olfactory property due to adding the 10 milliliter acetum4Clear H2O with little bubbles due to adding 10 milliliter of liquid wash detergent5Water is brown with little atoms of soil on the underside6Slightly brown H2O with minimum soil residue on the underside7Discolored H2O with acetum olfactory property and minimum soil residue on the underside of beaker8Very dark brown colored H2O with soil residue on the underside of the beakerExperiment 3: Drinking Water QualityTable 2: Ammonia Test ResultsWater SampleTrial ConsequencesTap Water0Dasani ® Bottled Water0Fiji ® Bottled Water0Table 3: Chloride Test ConsequencesWater SampleTrial ConsequencesTap Water0Dasani ® Bottled Water0Fiji ® Bottled Water0Table 4: 4 in 1 Trial ConsequencesWater Sam plepHEntire AlkalinityEntire ChlorineEntire HardnessTap Water74.0800Dasani ® Bottled Water3000Fiji ® Bottled Water910.000Table 5: Phosphate Test ConsequencesWater SampleTrial ConsequencesTap Water25Dasani ® Bottled Water0Fiji ® Bottled Water100Table 6: Iron Test ResultsWater SampleTrial ConsequencesTap Water0Dasani ® Bottled Water0Fiji ® Bottled Water0The consequences of the first experiment, the effects of groundwater taint ( Table 1 ) , resulted in the contaminations oozing through the filtering system. â€Å"Levels or tendencies in H2O quality that may be hurtful to sensitive H2O utilizations, including imbibing, irrigation, and farm animal lacrimation have been noted with mention to well-established guidelines† ( Quagraine & A ; Adokoh, 2010 ) . The consequences of the 2nd experiment, the H2O intervention procedure ( Table 2 ) , was that the H2O intervention processed appeared to work in the same manner/process that is used by the big H2O filtrating companies. The H2O looked, smelled and visibly appeared drinkable. The consequences of the concluding experiment, the imbibing H2O quality ( Table 3 ) , required testing of tap H2O versus bottled H2O, which determined that tap H2O is equal if non better than bottled H2O. Discussion The first experiment proved my hypothesis incorrect. The H2O was non merely oily, smelly and bubbly it was besides contaminated with soil. The filtering system did non keep parts of the soil from oozing into the H2O system. The 2nd experiment, the H2O intervention procedure, proved my hypothesis right. I expected the filtering intervention procedure, which emulated the procedure of a intervention works, would ensue is useable H2O. The concluding experiment proved my hypothesis incorrect. My outlooks were that tap H2O would hold more contaminations compared to bottled H2O. In fact, tap H2O measured equal if non better than that of bottled H2O. While carry oning the first experiment, I did non recognize that some of our H2O is filtered through a natural procedure. When the H2O is in a watercourse or a lake, the workss and water-creatures around it filters the H2O for us. â€Å"Consider the predicament of wetlands—swamps, fens, fens, bogs, estuaries, and tidal flats. Globally, the universe has lost half of its wetlands, with most of the devastation holding taken topographic point over the past half century. The loss of these productive ecosystems is double harmful to the environment: wetlands non merely shop H2O and conveyance foods, but besides act as natural filters, soaking up and thining pollutants such as N and P from agricultural overflow, heavy metals from excavation and industrial spills, and natural sewerage from human settlements† ( Turk & A ; Bensel, 2011 ) . What impressed me most about these experiments were that tap H2O is merely every bit good, if non better, than expensive bottled H2O. Whether you are a tenant or a householder, you have to pay a monthly measure for the usage of tap H2O. Alternatively of passing 1000s of dollars on bottled H2O it would do more sense to utilize tap H2O because it goes through a really strict filtrating procedure in order to do it drinkable. â€Å"Sales of bottled H2O have increased dramatically in recent old ages, with world-wide gross revenues of more than $ 35 billion, mostly because of the public perceptual experience of pureness and safety and public concern about the quality of pat water† ( Raj, 2005 ) . Tap H2O is required to run into the EPA imbibing H2O criterions. Decision In decision, land H2O taint experiment displayed what happens when our H2O system is contaminated. With points that we use on a day-to-day footing, our system can easy go contaminated if we are non cognizant of what we pour down the drain or pollutants that enter into our oceans. Everyday activities like rinsing down an oil private road, run outing pool H2O, which contains Cl, into the public sewerage and even giving your house pet a bath outside and leting the detergents to come in our H2O supply, which will do injury to our H2O supply. But with todays engineering there are big H2O filtrating corporations. Water treating workss can take contaminated H2O and turn it into drinkable H2O. There are assorted types of trial and needed ordinances that each province must stay by refering public imbibing H2O. So alternatively of purchasing these expensive bottled H2O, we can imbibe tap H2O because it is no different, if non better, than most bottled H2O. â€Å"The ends of environmental stat ute law and associated ordinances are to protect public wellness, natural resources, and ecosystems. In this context, supervising plans should supply seasonably and relevant information so that the regulative community can implement statute law in a cost-efficient and efficient mode. The Safe Drinking Water Act ( SDWA ) of 1974 efforts to guarantee that public H2O systems ( PWS ) supply safe H2O to its consumers. As is the instance with many other federal environmental legislative acts, SDWA monitoring has been implemented in comparatively unvarying manner across the USA† ( Brands, Rajagopal, 2008 ) . Mentions: Trade names, E. , & A ; Rajagopal, R. ( 2008 ) . Economicss of place-based monitoring under the safe imbibing H2O act, portion III: Performance rating of place-based monitoring schemes. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 143 ( 1-3 ) , 103-120. Department of the Interior: hypertext transfer protocol: //dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9961-2 Conis, E. ( 2008, October 13 ) . Bottled versus pat: Which is safer? The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/13/health/he-nutrition13 Espejo, L. , Kretschmer, N. , Oyarzun, J. , Meza, F. , Nunez, J. , Maturana, H. , Oyarzun, R. , et al. , ( 2012 ) . Application of Water Quality Indices and Analysis of the Surface Water Quality Monitoring Network in Semiarid North-Central Chile. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 184 ( 9 ) , 5571-88. Department of the Interior: hypertext transfer protocol: //dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2363-5 Quagraine, E. K. , & A ; Adokoh, C. K. ( 2010 ) . Assessment of Dry Season Surface, Ground, and Treated Water Quality in the Cape Coast Municipality of Ghana. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 160 ( 1-4 ) , 521-39. Department of the Interior: hypertext transfer protocol: //dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0716-5 Raj, S. D. ( 2005 ) . Bottled Water: How Safe Is It? Water Environment Research, 77 ( 7 ) , 3013-8. Retrieved from hypertext transfer protocol: //search.proquest.com/docview/216066348? accountid=32521 Turk, J. , & A ; Bensel, T. ( 2011 ) . Contemporary Environmental Issues. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc

History of Plato Essay

Plato was born around the year 428 BCE into an established Athenian household with a rich history of political connections — including distant relations to both Solon and Pisistratus. Plato’s parents were Ariston and Perictone, his older brothers were Adeimantus and Glaucon, and his younger sister was Potone. In keeping with his family heritage, Plato was destined for the political life. But the Peloponnesian War, which began a couple of years before he was born and continued until well after he was twenty, led to the decline of the Athenian Empire. The war was followed by a rabid conservative religious movement that led to the execution of Plato’s mentor, Socrates. Together these events forever altered the course of Plato’s life. The biographical tradition is unanimous in its observation that Plato engaged in many forms of poetry as a young man, only later turning to philosophy. Aristotle tells us that sometime during Plato’s youth the philosopher-to-be became acquainted with the doctrines of Cratylus, a student of Heraclitus, who, along with other Presocratic thinkers such as Pythagoras and Parmenides, provided Plato with the foundations of his metaphysics and epistemology. Upon meeting Socrates, however, Plato directed his inquiries toward the question of virtue. The formation of a noble character was to be before all else. Indeed, it is a mark of Plato’s brilliance that he was to find in metaphysics and epistemology a host of moral and political implications. How we think and what we take to be real have an important role in how we act. Thus, Plato came to believe that a philosophical comportment toward life would lead one to being just and, ultimately, happy. It is difficult to determine the precise chain of events that led Plato to the intricate web of beliefs that unify metaphysics, epistemology, ethics and politics into a single inquiry. We can be certain, however, that the establishment of a government by Sparta (after the chaos of Athens’ final defeat in 404), and the events that followed, dramatically affected the direction of his thinking. Following the turmoil of the war, a short eight month oligarchical tyranny known as the Thirty Tyrants governed Athens. Two of Plato’s relatives, Critias (his mother’s uncle) and Charmides (his mother’s brother) played roles in this regime. Critias was identified as one of the more extreme members and chief advocate of the government, while Charmides played a smaller role as one of the Eleven, a customs/police force which oversaw the Piraeus. The oligarchy made a practice of confiscating the estates of wealthy Athenians and resident aliens and of putting many individuals to death. In an effort to implicate Socrates in their actions, the Thirty ordered him to arrest Leon of Salamis. Socrates, however, resisted and was spared punishment only because a civil war eventually replaced the Thirty with a new and most radical democracy. A general amnesty, the first in history, was issued absolving those who participated in the reign of terror and other crimes committed during the war. But because many of Socrates’ associates were involved with the Thirty, public sentiment had turned against him, and he now had the reputation of being profoundly anti-democratic. In what appears to be a matter of guilt-by-association, a general prejudice was ultimately responsible for bringing Socrates to trial in 399 on the charges of corrupting the youth, introducing new gods into the city, atheism, and engaging in unusual religious practices. During his trial, which is documented in Plato’s Apology, Socrates explained that he had no interest to engage in politics, because a certain divine sign told him that he was to foster a just and noble lifestyle within the young men of Athens. This he did in casual conversations with whomever he happened to meet on the streets. When Socrates told the court that if set free, he would not stop this practice, claiming that he must follow the voice of his god over the dictates of the state, the court found him guilty (though by a narrow margin), and he was executed one month later. This final sequence of events must have weighed heavily on Plato, who then turned away from politics, somewhat jaded by the unjust behavior of the Thirty, disappointed by the follies of the democracy, and forever affected by the execution of Socrates. At this point Plato left Attica with other friends of Socrates and spent the next twelve years in travel and study. During this period, he sought out the philosophers of his day. He met with the wise-men, priests, and prophets of many different lands, and he apparently studied not only philosophy but geometry, geology, astronomy, and religious matters. His exact itinerary is not known, but the earliest accounts report that Plato left Athens with Euclides and went to Megara from where he went to visit Theodorus in Cyrene. From there he went to Italy to study with the Pythagoreans (including Philolaus and Echecrates mentioned in the Phaedo), and then after Italy he went to Egypt. Whether or not Plato began to write philosophical dialogues prior to Socrates’ execution is a matter of debate. But most scholars agree that shortly after 399 Plato began to write extensively. Although the order in which his dialogues were written is a matter of strong debate, there is some consensus about how the Platonic corpus evolved. This consensus divides Plato’s writings into three broad groups. The first group, generally known as the â€Å"Socratic† dialogues, was probably written between the years 399 and 387. These texts are called â€Å"Socratic† because here Plato appears to remain relatively close to what the historical Socrates advocated and taught. One of these, the Apology, was probably written shortly after the death of Socrates. The Crito, Laches, Lysis, Charmides, Euthyphro, Hippias Minor and Major, Protagoras, Gorgias and Ion, were probably written throughout this twelve year period as well, some of them, like the Protagoras and Gorgias, most likely at its end. Plato was forty the first time he visited Italy. Shortly thereafter, he returned to Athens and founded the Academy, located nearly a mile outside the city walls and named after the Attic hero Academus. The Academy included a nice grove of trees, gardens, a gymnasium and many shrines — including one dedicated to Athena herself, the goddess of the city. Plato created his own cult association, setting aside a portion of the Academy for his purposes and dedicating his cult to the Muses. Soon this ‘school’ became rather well-known on account of its common meals and sympotic lifestyle, modified, of course, to suit a new agenda. Indeed, Plato’s Academy was famed for its moderate eating and talk as well as all the appropriate sacrifices and religious observances. Overshadowing all of that was, of course, its philosophical activity. It seems that over the next twenty six years Plato’s philosophical speculation became more profound and his dramatic talents more refined. During this period, what is sometimes called Plato’s â€Å"middle† or transitional period, Plato could have written the Meno, Euthydemus, Menexenus, Cratylus, Republic, Phaedrus, Symposium and Phaedo. These texts differ from the earlier in that they tend toward the grand metaphysical speculation that provides us with many hallmarks of Platonism, such as the method of hypothesis, the recollection theory and, of course, the theory of ideas, or forms, as they are sometimes called. In 367 Dionysus of Syracuse died, leaving his son as the supreme ruler of a growing empire. Dion, his uncle and guardian, persuaded young Dionysus II to send for Plato, who was to serve as his personal tutor. Upon arriving, Plato found the situation unfavorable for philosophy, though he attempted to teach the young ruler anyway. In 365, Syracuse entered into war, and Plato returned to Athens. (Around the same time, Plato’s most famous pupil, Aristotle, entered the Academy. ) In 361, Dion wrote Plato begging him to return. Reluctantly, Plato did so, setting out on his third and final voyage to Italy. But the situation had deteriorated beyond hope. Plato was soon spirited out of Syracuse from where he went back to Athens. We know little of the remaining thirteen years in Plato’s life. Probably sick of his wanderings and misfortunes in Sicily, Plato returned to the philosophical life of the Academy and, most likely, lived out his days conversing and writing. During this period, Plato could have written the so-called â€Å"later† dialogues, the Parmenides, Theatetus, Sophist, Statesman, Timaeus, Critias, Philebus and Laws, in which Socrates plays a relatively minor role and the metaphysical speculation of the â€Å"middle† dialogues is meticulously scrutinized. Plato died in 347, leaving the Academy to Speusippus, his sister’s son. The Academy served as the model for institutions of higher learning until it was closed by the Emperor Justinian in 529 CE, almost one thousand years later.