The American Civil War Causes and Outcomes

Introduction The American Civil War stands out as the most devastating conflict ever to have been waged on American soil. In this deadly war, the Northern States went into battle against the Southern States for the sake of preserving the unity of the Union of States. The Southern States had threatened to break apart from the union and establish their own independent states.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on The American Civil War Causes and Outcomes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This threat was acted upon when eleven Southern States seceded from the Union in 1860 and declared themselves independent. The Northern States, under the Lincoln Administrations, therefore reacted by taking up arms to go into battle against the Southern rebels. The American Civil War therefore began in 1861 and lasted for the next 4 years during which hundreds of thousands of lives were lost. This war had a lasting impact on the destiny of the USA and Americans continue to commemorate the events of the Civil War through an array of public events inducing reenactments. This paper will set out to describe the American Civil War with focus being given to the causes of the conflict and the main outcomes of the war. The paper will also highlight some of the reasons why the Union forces emerged victorious in this historical war. Causes of the Civil War The election of the strong Republican, Abraham Lincoln as the US president triggered the start of the Civil War. The seceding states explicitly stated that Lincoln’s election was the reason why they decided to pull out of the Union at that moment. During his rise to prominence, Lincoln had articulated a firm antislavery position (Ford 91). Lincoln held the opinion that the phrase â€Å"all men are created equal† uttered by the founding fathers applied to both White and Black Americans. His convictions and ideals led him to make a pledge that he would stop th e westward expansion of slavery that the Southerners were lobbying for and actively financing. Lincoln’s presidency marked a radical break with the past and it was seen as a break from the domination of the Slaveholders in State affairs. His election into the highest office in the land was therefore seen as a threat by the Southerners who were adamant in their will to preserve slavery and the norms of the white society dependent upon that institution. Lincoln’s inauguration as president was quickly followed by the secession of seven southern states and the formation of a Union of Confederate States of America. Within three months, four more states had joined the confederacy making the total number of seceding state eleven. The issue of the amount of power held by the States and how much was vested in the Federal government served as a primary cause of the Civil War. The Confederacy wanted power the greater amount of power to lie with the states since according to them, the United Colonies â€Å"†are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States† (Swindler 166).Advertising Looking for report on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, the Union supported a strong central government that would have more power than the constituent states. This division led to the Southern States moving towards secession since they were of the opinion that the individual states should be able to act independently on issues that affected them. The expansionist politics endorsed by the United States contributed to the breakout of the Civil War. Americans were engaged in an endeavor to expand further into the West, conquering territory until they reached the Pacific Ocean. Disagreements arose over what policies would be applied to the new territories. While the Northerners were interested in abolishing slavery in the new territory, the Southerners were keen to ensure that t his institution was preserved in the new lands. In an attempt to come up with a solution to the issue, politicians invented the Henry Clay Compromise of 1850. This compromise comprised of resolutions that would ensure that the interests of the North and the South were protected in the expansion. Ford observes that while these resolutions were able to strike a balance between the free and slave states for a while, the South did not fully honor the resolutions (255). Southern States continued to push for slavery in the new states and eventually succeeded, leading to the outbreak of the civil war. The issue of slavery was very divisive since the societies in the northern and southern states had different economic and social structures. Due to the economic and cultural background of the Northerners, this population took a firm stand against slavery. Renowned politicians from the North such as Abraham Lincoln called made their anti-slavery stand known and opposed expansion of slavery int o the new lands in the West. Southern leaders were pro-slavery and according to them, this institution was crucial to the economic well-being of the South. Slave ownership was â€Å"the cornerstone of Southern wealth, security, and well being† and protecting the slavery institution was a necessary step to guard the material interests of the Confederate whites. As such, the Confederate soldiers entered military service to defend the supremacy of white persons and property (Gallagher and Engle 311). On the other hand, the Union side saw the abolition of slavery as key to preserving the union of the State. Outcomes of the Civil War The most important outcome of the Civil War is that it led to a decisive victory by the Union Forces. With the defeat of the secessionists, the reunification of the United States under the Federal Constitution was achieved. The Confederacy idea was abandoned as the Southerners had to come back to the Union since they had been defeated in the war.Adver tising We will write a custom report sample on The American Civil War Causes and Outcomes specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As the victorious side, the Union was able to impose its vision of the country. A stronger union of the states was established and the states became â€Å"a United States† (Gallagher and Engle 311). The post Civil War government was highly centralized and it wielded great power. The federal government established its dominance over the states and it has continued to do so ever since. The war led to many deaths and casualties as soldiers and civilians made sacrifices for their sides. By the end of the war, the Confederacy had incurred a loss of more than 260,000 soldiers while the Union suffered from a loss of over 360,000 Federal soldiers. The higher number of Union soldiers’ deaths, was caused by the fact that the Union forces had to engage in the attacking while the Confederate forces simply d efended their territory. Ford reveals that the high number of troop deaths in the war was because the objective of the war was to weaken or destroy the opposing army and not to gain any geographical territory (132). The War imposed a huge financial burden on the country as resources had to be dedicated to war efforts by both sides. The Union dedicated its industrial efforts to aiding the war while the south also channeled money to the war efforts. Over the course of its existence, the war is estimated to have cost in excess of $20 billion. Ford notes that this figure was 30 times larger than the federal government’s budget in the year before the war (34). While both sides suffered from financial strain because of the war, the Southern economy received the greater damages. Before the war, the North already boasted of a stronger economy and a better-developed infrastructure. The war was more damaging to the South since the North had a larger and better-equipped army. The agricu lturally based economy of the South was devastated as Northern troops destroyed plantations during the war. Historians document that the devastation of the war on the Confederacy side was so great that it took six decades for the Southern states to get back to their pre-Civil War agricultural productivity (Woodworth 563). The War led to the disruption of the lives of citizens in the North and the South. While most of the war was waged by soldiers against their opponent soldiers, civilians sometimes fell victim of attacks. In some cases, unruly troops set fire upon plantations leading to great loss of property and even lives.Advertising Looking for report on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The lack of Federal protection to the people of the seceding states in the south made civilians vulnerable to opportunistic attacks from thugs. Troops often burned down buildings therefore destroying towns that they had conquered. The destruction of the war did not end with the official surrender of the Southern states. Many insurrections followed the defeat of the confederacy as rebels continued to wage war against the Northern States and generally devastate community life. The Civil War led to the official abolition of slavery in the United States. In 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves who were in the areas currently under Confederate military control. Through the emancipation policies, Lincoln effectively linked the preservation of the Union with the abolition of slavery. When the war ended in 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified therefore ensuring that the American Constitution would guarantee the freedom of all slaves (Wo odworth 568). The Southerners who had fought to preserve the slavery institution were embittered by this outcome since they had to set their slaves free. In spite of the black population achieving their freedom because of the war, the white society continued to prevent them from exploiting its benefits fully (Woodworth 568) The war led to the political dominance of Northern Republicans. Before the war, the Southerners had had the greatest influence in American politics. During the War, the Confederate states were out of the Union and this allowed the Northerners to pass a number of acts in Congress that had been considered before the war but were blocked by Southern economic and political interests (Woodworth 560). Without the Southerners, the Northern politicians were able to implement acts that promoted western expansion and the interest of the Northerners. Why the Union Won The states making up the Union were more industrialized and their army had military superiority to the less industrialized confederacy. Due to the higher level of industrialization, the North was able to produce weapons more efficiently that the South. Historians document that the north was able to purchase over 1.4 million artillery rounds and 260 million small-arms cartridges from Northern munitions makers in a year while the Confederacy produced only 150 million small-arms cartridges for the entire duration of the war (Gallagher and Engle 311). The Union had over 700 naval vessels engaged in the war efforts. Most of these vessels were ironclad, making them formidable machines of naval warfare. In contrast to this, the Confederacy had almost none, making it impossible for the South to wage any naval attack against the North. This overwhelming advantage in weaponry by the Northern army gave them a significant advantage over the Confederacy and contributed to their ultimate victory. The naval blockade by the Union contributed to the victory of the North. As an economy based on agricultur al products, the South was heavily reliant on the foreign exchange earned by exporting their products through the Atlantic and the Gulf Coast. The South was also dependent on goods from outside since the region was not as industrialized as the North or other European countries. During the Civil War, President Lincoln called for a blockade that was aimed at preventing the South from receiving supplies and arms. Gallagher and Engle state that this ever-tightening blockade was very effective and by 1865, it had succeeded in choking off imports to the Confederacy almost completely (311). As a result, the southern economy was crippled since ship operators were unwilling to have their ships confiscated by the Union Forces or destroyed. With little activity at the Southern ports, the Southern armies experienced a shortage of suppliers and ammunition as the war carried on. The Union was able to sustain its economic activities even during the duration of the war. The industrial capability of the Northern states ensured that they exhibited growth even during the war. These states were able to sell off surplus industrial products overseas and earn foreign currency (Ford 56). In contrast to this, the South experienced economic stagnation or even deteriorated during the period of the war. The economic realities of the South led to high inflation rates and a general negative attitude towards the war by southerners. The population of the warring parties also had some impact on the outcome of the war. Specifically, the Union had a larger population than the Confederacy. Some scholars argue that the Union won because of its overwhelming numbers. This argument is supported by the fact that while the Confederacy mustered close to 900,000 soldiers, the North was able to employ over two million soldiers (Gallagher and Engle 311). The impact that great human and military resources had on the outcomes of the war was acknowledged by the Confederate Leader General Robert E. Lee who de clared in his farewell address that â€Å"the Confederate Army has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers of resources† (Gallagher and Engle 311). By harnessing the vast resources that the North boasted, the political and military leaders of the Union were able to achieve the military might necessary to win the war. Conclusion This paper set out to provide a detailed discussion of the Civil War between the American North and South. It begun by nothing that the election of Abraham Lincoln triggered the secession that led to an outbreak of the war. Both sides were determined to win the war and due to this resolve, the war dragged on from 1861 to 1865. The war resulted in the victory of the Union and the abolition of slavery in the US. The paper has highlighted that the overwhelming resources in population, industrialization, and infrastructure, strong leadership and a great commitment to the war enabled the Union to win the war. Works Cited Ford, Lacy. A Companion to t he Civil War and Reconstruction, New York: John Wiley Sons, 2011. Print. Gallagher, Gary, and D. Engle. The American Civil War: This Mighty Scourge of War, Colorado: Osprey Publishing, 2003. Print. Swindler, Walsh. â€Å"Our First Constitution: The Articles of Confederation.† ABA Journal 67.1(1981): 166-169. Print. Woodworth, Steven. The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research, NY: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996. Print. This report on The American Civil War Causes and Outcomes was written and submitted by user Wayne L. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How and When to Bring Up Personal Issues When Applying for Jobs

How and When to Bring Up Personal Issues When Applying for Jobs So you’re applying for jobs, but you have some serious needs based on personal considerations: you’re pregnant, or have kids, or require a particular kind of flexibility in order to maintain your work/life balance. Or perhaps you’re moving across the country, or you need to have a position somewhere close to your partner. You name it, you’re probably struggling with finding the right time to bring it up. Here are three stages in the job process and an outline of how and when to bring up personal issues when applying for jobs. Happy hunting!In Your Resume Cover LetterSay the company has boasted about their super-casual work culture and flexible hours. You’re allowed to work at a beanbag and take three-hour lunches as long as you get your projects done. Or they have a fantastic family leave package and you’re planning to have a kid soon. You’re secretly doing a happy dance, but you really shouldn’t show it. At least not yet.Sayin g how important flexibility and leave and casual scheduling might be to you could be interpreted by a hiring manager as a red flag in a cover letter. â€Å"Ahoy! This guy is lazy and doesn’t really want to do the job!† Save it for much later in the process. Or just be glad you found this opportunity and keep the celebration to yourself.During an InterviewThe good news is they’re already interested. The bad is that you could easily blow it by asking about any of the above with too much eagerness or glee. It’s still not the time to say, â€Å"Hang on†¦ how many personal days do I get?† Or: â€Å"So I get how many weeks off for maternity leave?†Stick with convincing them that you’re the most qualified candidate for the position and an asset to the company. Render yourself indispensable and then take advantage of the sweet perks this company can offer. When you get to the point in the interview when you’re invited to ask quest ions, you can casually inquire about the work atmosphere or culture, but that’s about it.During NegotiationYou got the offer! Yes! Now is the time. If you’re, say, pregnant, or moving in a year, or in need of Friday mornings off to watch your kids, this is the ideal stage to broach the subject. There’s no right time, really, and you’ll probably be dreading it. But take a deep breath and say how delighted you are about the offer, then say you just have one small complication you wanted to make sure you addressed up front.If you get to such an advanced stage, however, you should make sure you’ve got the right read on the company. You won’t make any friends by asking for things the company just can’t or won’t provide. Pick your marks and shoot straight and steadily for them.

The Spine - Angels in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Spine - Angels in America - Essay Example The setting is in America and the backdrop of greed, conservation, sexual politics and the discovery of an appalling new infection (AIDS) characterize it. Millennium Approaches and perestroika are well-illustrated using specific situations (Kushner, 23). The reconstruction of the American identity is based on the deliberate recycling of traditional American myths and elements of American culture. Gay characters envisage numerous themes, which include the American history, politics, religion, social policies and lifestyle, lead the play. Some of the characters in this play include, Prior Wlter, Louis Ironson, Harper Pitt, Joe Pitt, Roy Cohn, Ethel Rosenberg, Hannah Pitt, Belize and the voice or angel (Kushner, 34). The play remains the most adored and honored in America. Some critics term it as a political drama while others call it a gay drama. The pay is made up of two parts namely, the Millennium Approaches and the Perestroika (Kushner, 12). In essence, a fantasia refers to a piece of musical thought sinuous from another with diminutive regard for set forms or standards. Kushner makes the play flow by allowing overlapping scenes in a contraptual manner, where characters move in and out in simultaneous dialogues. The settings from offices to house to parks and hospitals rapidly change to align with the thematic change. The spine of this play is fundamentally the history of America and politics. The people’s history outlines fundamental features that characterize a typical American person (Kushner, 40). The social element that sees characters like Prior Walter and Roy Cohn practice and support are a fundamental feature of the American social fabric. However, it is imperative to note that, diversity is expressed in sundry ways by the characters. For instance, the Cohn develops the theme of politics (Kushner, 39). Cohn vividly reveals a political aspect portrayed by self-repugnance, power hungry hypocrite. American history develops with the author’s sense of employing the Brechtian epic mode and form. The play is immensely influenced by the use of numerous points of perception and a dialectical hallucination of history. Kushner succeed to describe the angel of history of America as looking as though moving away from something he is steadily contemplating. The like to stay and awaken the dead. The eyes are staring, and the wings are wide spread. The face is turned towards the past. However, the storm is blowing from paradise. This storm propels him into the future to which his back is turned. The storm is called progress (Kushner, 257-58). It is noticeable that, the listed features characterize the angel of history. They depict the people‘s desire to remain with the past historical practices, but it seems not possible due to the strong storm that blows. The storm is symbolically used to indicate the intense sense for a change in the social, economical and political patterns. Kushner’s hallucination transcends and a nswers numerous of the multifaceted contradictions we grapple. Art deposes politics. In spite of Louis’s scrutiny on the absence of angels in America, only political supremacy existed, Kushner seem to say that art, love and vision, alongside the power of muddled human rendezvous and forgiveness, can outshine the static solution of the angels. Angels cannot grapple our world. It is moving too swift for them. They do not visage the choices and dilemmas that influence humanity. They cannot

Race relations in the United States explained Anthropologically Research Paper

Race relations in the United States explained Anthropologically - Research Paper Example for explorative studies and in the modern times the studies are continually expanded to decipher the complexity of understanding how and why each race came to exist. When it comes to the American anthropology, the studies conducted towards race have existed for many centuries. This is mainly because; the American society not only has a long history when it comes to the resistance and acceptance of different racial societies, but also because the native American people did present a new race for the new inhabitants in America. The European and Englishmen could classify themselves as white people whereas; Native Americans are red skinned, Asians are yellow skinned, Latinas are brown skinned and Africans are dark skinned. All this clear insight differentiation of skin colors did merge a greater need to further understand how each group of racial populations did come into existence and how their skin color have always been inherited from one generation to another. With the white skinned population having taken the lead in declaring their superiority among the other races, it was inevitable that racial conflicts would not only merge, but also persistently exist for many decades. Historically, the acceptance of different racial individuals was never conducted with open arms. If anything racial discrimination was the norm of the society and this has greatly impacted our modern society. Several populations in the United States live among their own races, for example, there are some neighborhoods where you will only find African American plebeians in the states, the same goes for Asian and Latina populations in the US. They all believe in keeping up with each of their cultures and in preserving them well enough to not have their identity robbed by the western ways of living. On the other hand, conflict has emerged for several decades when two individual from two different racial backgrounds are getting married. None of their neighbors or friends approves of this act and

Restructuring in business portfolio or its financing Essay

Restructuring in business portfolio or its financing - Essay Example This company has more than 70 establishments in more than 150 countries worldwide. (gsk.com, 2009) The restructuring of the company’s portfolio or capital structure can be attributed to the strategic priorities it seeks to undertake. As of 2008, the CEO of this company, Andrew Witty, stated that the GlaxoSmithKline Company had three main strategic priorities. The aim of these was to achieve sturdy growth rates, reduce the level of risk as well as improve the performance (financially) in the long-term operations of the business. According to the CEO, the industry of pharmaceuticals is set to encounter big challenges since there will be an unpredicted number that will lose their patent protection. This, thus, will call for the company to work even harder to fulfill the client demand for brand new types of medicines and those which are better to use. As he states it, the loss of patenting will lead to a number of payers wanting an apt cost-effective kind of healthcare. This pharmaceutical company is therefore setting out to improve the consumers and patients’ lives, which is in line with the shareholders’ requirements. He did not go without noting that the industry is faced with a lot of risk and a lower rate of growth to counter the same. Therefore, the companies in context need to seek greater levels of return from their R&D investments. Unique to the expansion of the GlaxoSmithKline Company is its balanced healthcare business-group as well as an overall lesser profile of risks. The aim is, thus, to ensure a better level of discipline in the provision of capital components across the various areas of the company’s businesses. This company has a future goal of generating sales revenue growth by way of supplementing strength focused on the main small-molecule business of pharmaceuticals. This will also be through new investments in the vaccines area, which is considered to be fast growing, and also the

The Debate on Austerity

The Debate on Austerity The adoption of austerity post the financial crisis in 2010 by the UK government is heavily debated. This essay evaluates the arguments for and against this fiscal contraction deliberating on the applied and possible fiscal policy measures and the limitations of monetary policy after the fiscal stimulus provided in 2008. When the housing bubble burst and Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008, the subprime mortgage crisis magnified into a global financial crisis. Governments had to rush in and save banks. If not, the fall of public confidence in the banking system would have made the problem far more severe. Large fiscal stimulus packages were rolled out to cushion the blow. But for how long would a government be willing to take further debt for expansionary fiscal policy? They could have continued to increase public expenditure to compensate for the fall in private expenditure in accordance with the Keynesian theory. Or increase savings, let the wage rate drop and have the demand rise due to a price advantage in the long run (Hayek, 2006). By 2010, United Kingdom’s national debt reached 75.6% of its GDP (Eurostat). Had bond yields increased due to falling market confidence, the fiscal situation would have been worse off. It would imply that the risk associated with government bonds is higher and have negative implications about the government’s credibility, all raising the cost of public debt in the future. Thus, in the 2010 elections, the campaigns of both the Conservative and Labour parties suggested reducing the fiscal deficit. No one spoke in favour of further stimulus and austerity was adopted. The UK government feared a Greek-style meltdown. A country having borrowings in its own currency and a friendly central bank may not have to fear public debt as much. It could always keep a control on interest rates or postpone repayment by issuing new bonds. However, then governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, appeared to favour austerity. It remains uncertain if he would have sanctioned further quantitative easing. Typically, central banks reduce interest rates to stimulate the economy in such conditions. Lower interest rates promote consumption which would have decreased due to lower fiscal expenditure. The drop in interest rates from 5.5% in 2008 to 0.5% generated  £350 billion to inject into the economy (Giles, 2018). But with interest rates at an all-time low of 0.5% since 2009, there wasn’t much that could be done on the monetary policy front (Bank of England). The drop in interest rates from 5.5% in 2008 to 0.5% generated  £350 billion to inject into the economy. the Value Added Tax (VAT) was raised to 20% and public expenditure was cut to bring down the deficit (Finch, 2010:1). The combination of additional revenue and a lower deficit would cut down the need for further debt and help service the existing. Austere spending decisions lowered the welfare expenditure. The employment level decreased because of lower government expenditure. As a result, demand plunged and so did the gross domestic product. High uncertainty had lowered the public confidence. The GDP growth rate was insufficient to counter the shrinking in the economy caused by austerity. International Monetary Fund (2012) warned that the country might face permanent damage to its productive capacity if the same policies were continued. The government’s tax revenues took a hit owing to lower output. This resulted in a higher debt to GDP ratio as the budgetary deficit grew. As real wages of public sector workers and local council budgets fell, homelessness and reliance on food banks rose. Social care for the elderly was negatively impacted and help from Red Cross was called in to shoulder the increased pressure on the NHS (Gillett, 2017). Mark Blyth (2013) noted that there was disparity in the impact of austerity across different levels of society. He pointed out that the consequences were felt more severely by the larger share of public service users who didn’t have enough wealth to counter the cut in welfare spending.   In theory, falling deficit would result in lower taxes in the future. This should increase consumer confidence in the economy. However, critiques of austerity blame the government for the plummeting consumption levels. They believe the government should have continued with quantitative easing when the private spending shrank. Wage rates fall with falling public expenditure. This gives the economy a cost advantage as compared to its competitors in the global markets. To benefit from this, it is necessary that foreign demand for the domestically produces goods increases. But many Eurozone were implementing austerity themselves and thus, there was no substantial increase in foreign demand for British goods. Moreover, countries like China had induced a fiscal stimulus in their economies despite not having been impacted as greatly by the crisis. Hence, there was already enough supply in the market for any country to benefit from rising demand.   There was perhaps not once cause to the declining consumer spending in the UK. While UK’s own fiscal policy changed in 2010, the economic environment globally was also impacted by several countries introducing policy changes. The commodity prices changed and the Federal Reserve was keeping global rates low, all of which had some impact on the UK economy (Buttonwood, 2015). In spite of the falling consumption, there was a need to reduce government expenditure to reduce the deficit. Further fiscal stimulus, after what was introduced during the financial crisis, would have led to a sharp increase in government debt. Such a high debt level would make fiscal policy unsustainable and repayment challenging (Emmerson, Keynes and Tetlow, 2013). In terms of real total spending, the cut wasn’t as much from 2010 to 2015. Britain’s general total disbursements as a percentage of national income were the third highest amongst the G6 nations between 2007 to 2009 and remained so in 2013 (OECD, 2014). Annualised average real increase in spending on social security and health rose and real spending on working age and pensioner benefits grew between 2010 and 2013 (Keynes and Tetlow, 2014: 16-17). The economy’s recovery in 2013-2014 sparked another debate. Had austerity worked or was it the result of policy alteration in 2012? Klein (2015) asserted the growth was a result of a reversal from austerity. Smith (2015) refuted, stating that the government was still austere in spending decisions with the fiscal tightening being larger than 3% of GDP. Krugman (2015), however, maintained that abandoning further fiscal cuts after two years of austerity led to the economic growth. Whether the economy would have been in a better position without austerity will remain unknown. What can be concluded though is that austerity was not an economic necessity then. But with UK’s ageing population, welfare expenditure will only increase in the future. Such a welfare cap will become necessary for better policy decisions as the pressure on NHS and public services escalates. Continued quantitative easing in 2010 would have made public finances more unsustainable and fiscal austerity in future more drastic. Spending cuts or higher taxes, no matter when, will always be met with heavy criticism. Hence, a developed country with ageing population could aim at increasing sources of income, reducing income inequalities and reducing the dependence on welfare expenditure. Bibliography Bank of England [online] Available from: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/boeapps/iadb/Repo.asp (Accessed 24 April 2018) Blyth, M. The Austerity Delusion. Foreign Affairs [online] Available from: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2013-04-03/austerity-delusion (Accessed 15 April 2018) Buttonwood (2015) What is austerity?. The Economist [online] Available from: https://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2015/05/fiscal-policy (Accessed 15 April 2018) Emmerson, C. & Keynes, S. & Tetlow, G. (2013) Public finances: outlook and risks. The IFS Green Budget: February 2013. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available from: http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/gb2013/GB3013_Ch5.pdf Eurostat [online] Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=sdg_17_40&plugin=1 (Accessed 24 April 2018) Finch, J. (2010) Budget 2010: VAT rise to 20% ‘could cause double-dip recession’. The Guardian [online] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/jun/22/vat-rise-recession-fears (Accessed 15 April 2018) Giles, C. (2018) Bank of England defends response to financial crisis after criticism. Financial Times [online] Available from: https://www.ft.com/content/4231c5a0-3caf-11e8-b9f9-de94fa33a81e (Accessed 24 April 2018). Gillett, F. (2017) NHS calls in Red Cross volunteers and staff amid humanitarian crisis. Evening Standard [online] Available from: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/nhs-calls-in-red-cross-volunteers-and-staff-amid-humanitarian-crisis-a3434901.html (Accessed 15 April 2018) Hayek, F. A. (2006) The Paradox of Saving. [online] Available form: https://mises.org/library/paradox-saving (Accessed 15 April 2018) International Monetary Fund (2012) United Kingdom : Staff Report for the 2012 Article IV Consultation. [online] Available from: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2016/12/31/United-Kingdom-Staff-Report-for-the-2012-Article-IV-Consultation-26083 (Accessed 15 April 2018) Keynes, S. & Tetlow, G. (2014) Survey of public spending in the UK. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available from: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/1791 Klein, M. W. (2015) Eurozone Recovery and Lessons About Austerity. The Wall Street Journal [online] Available from: https://www.blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2015/05/16/eurozone-recovery-and-lessons-about-austerity/ (Accessed 15 April 2018) Krugman, P. (2015) The case for cuts was a lie. Why does Britain still believe it? The austerity delusion. The Guardian [online] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/business/ng-interactive/2015/apr/29/the-austerity-delusion (Accessed 15 April 2018) The Organisation for Economic Co-operation (2014) Economic Outlook No 95 May 2014 OECD Annual Projections. [online] Available from: https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=EO95_INTERNET (Accessed on 24 April 2018) Smith, D. (2015) The Myth of Abandoned Austerity. [online] Available from: http://www.economicsuk.com/blog/002094.html (Accessed 15 April 2018)

Symbolism in Fuentes Aura Essay -- Carlos Fuentes, Aura Essays

On the surface, Fuentes' Aura is a very strange and eerie book. It draws you in and keeps you there, forcing you to read the book to its very end. Just below the surface, a world of symbolism, words and parallels lead to a greater understanding of what is happening throughout this captivating tale. Skimming the surface of the story, an abundance of symbols can be signaled out, but a recurrence of symbols is very important. One of the most prevalent symbols found in this story is the darkness of Senora Consuelo's old colonial mansion. The house is so dark the characters must learn to maneuver by sound and touch. The darkness sets the tone for the whole story. Senora Consuelo's room is not bathed in light but filled with "perpetual shadows". Of course darkness and shadows are a staple of the Gothic, but darkness could also be suggestive of the unknown or not being able to think clearly. Shadows could be interpreted as that which is clouded, hard to grasp, or just beyond clear vision. Did the darkness and shadows contribute to Felipe?s state of mind and make him more susceptible to Senora Consuelo's will? The rooms where the action of a story takes place are also very important. Some the rooms used in the book are bedrooms, the dining room, the parlor, and the enclosed garden patio. The first room we see inside of this old house is the garden patio. This room is interesting because the smell from the patio is always associated with the title character. Felipe looks for her in this garden; he smells the patio plants in her hair. Symbolically, the garden can be associated with the mind, with the unconscious, or it may give you clues to your own inner state. The plants, flowers, and fruit found in the garden may also enhance t... ...book. These symbols and recurrences are not coincidental or superficial, but upon investigation, give deeper insight into how deeply the mindset of our main character was affected. We now know that Felipe had almost no choice and was lulled into this household. Then there is a plausible explanation about the true relationship between Aura and Senora Consuelo. This book turns out to be a very strange life/death cycle that still leaves questions that need to be answered. Work Cited Fuentes, Carlos. Aura. Trans. Lysander Kemp. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1981. Fuentes, Carlos. "Worlds Apart." Modernism/Postmodernism. Ed. Peter Brooker. London: Longman, 1992. 244-46. Gillespie, Kathleen " A literary Legend Speaks ? Carlos Fuentes at the Askwith Education Forum" 1 de Diciembre de 2003 http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/featrures/fuentes12012000.html

Type-B PDL

Type-B PDLs are particularly common in pregnant women among various forms of PDLs classified since Matzumoto first described PDL in 1913 (3). Initially, PDL was classified into four types A to D by Miura (7) and twenty-four years later another class E was added by Selmanowitz et al. (4) Facial PDL has also been well documented and were classified into F, G, and H among the Indian population (8,9). Type-B PDL can coexist with type-A in a few number of patients (10). It can also occur in the absence of pregnant (2,4). In this cross-sectional study of 220 primigravidae and 220 controls, the age group ranges between 18 to 40 years for both cases and controls. The mean age of the cases and controls were respectively 27.61 Â ± 3.928 (SD) and 26.83 Â ± 4.069 (SD). The highest proportion of participants, more than 75%, recruited for the study belong to the age less than 30 years. The pattern of age distribution in this study is similar to that reported by Kumar et al (11) and Rathore et al (12) in their study of cutaneous changes in pregnancy. This may reflect higher pregnancy rate among the younger age population possibly due to higher fertility rate in this age group. Pigmentary changes in pregnancy is the commonest physiological cutaneous changes witness by pregnant women (13). As many as over 90% in some studies developed one form of pigmentary changes or the other with lots of cosmetic concerns to the patients (13). However, the prevalence of pigmentary demarcation lines (PDL) are low in this studies (11,13)The prevalence of pigmentary demarcation lines in this study varies with increasing gestational age. Type-A PDL was not observed among the pregnant women studied but was noticed in 0.5 percent of the controls group. The proportion of patients with type-B PDL in second trimester was 1.8%, this figure was however doubled 3.6% by third trimesters suggesting the fact that PDL tend to occur more as pregnancy advances attributable to neurogenic inflammation from compression of peripheral nerves S1 and S2 by enlarging uterus (14). This result is similar to 2% earlier reported by Kumar et al (11). However, other researchers have documented lower prevalence than our study. Rathore et al (12) reported 0.25%, Kumari et al (13) 0.3% and Singh et al (6) 0.32% among pregnant population. The higher prevalence observed in this study compare to these previous studies may be due to the fact that our patients were followed up to the third trimester, some of which could have been missed in earlier trimesters without follow up. Besides, type-b PDL are observed to develop more in later part of pregnancy probably as a result of increasing pregnancy hormones. Other possible reasons for discrepancies is the skin phototypes and racial differences of the studied populations as it has been observed to be commoner among Negroes (4). Type-B can also co-exist with type-A PDL although this is an infrequent phenomenon (15). This pattern was evident in this study as one patient had type A and B PDL together for the first time throughout her pregnancy and another one only develop type B co-existing with type-A only in third trimester. This pattern is similar to the findings by Nakama et al (16) and Arunachalam et al (17). The pathogenesis of type B pigmentary demarcation lines is largely unknown (18). The influence of pregnancy hormones such as beta-melanocyte-stimulating hormone, eostrogen and progesterone has been suggested as one of the possible explanations for the development of pigmentary demarcation lines (19,20). The hormonal theory appeared plausible when the cases in our study are compare with the controls, this was however challenge by the fact that type-B PDL has been reported in amenorrhiec Chinese woman with low estradiol (2) This should further prompt more research to unravel the pathogenesis of PDL.Other types of pigmentary demarcation lines C, D, E and facial PDL F, G, H were not observed in this study. This may probably be due to the fact that skin of negroid pregnant woman present with darker generalized hyperpigmentation that make this types of PDL difficult to discern. Other possible explanations is the close resemblance of facial PDL to melasma, exogenous onchronosis, periorbital hyperpigmentation and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation, naevus of Ota or Ito (9,21,22). The pathogenesis of PDL remains controversial with many theories been propounded to explain the enigma. Even though PDL is well classified and accepted, there is no consensus yet on the pathogenesis, possibly multiple mechanism are interacting together to explain the aetiology of PDL. Among these theories are:Familiar clustering – genetic and racial predisposition play a role in the development of PDL as it has been reported to occur among family members and relatives in up to 22.2% of cases (23). Although PDL occurs in all races and skin types it is however commoner among the blacks than Caucasians (24). It is postulated that PDL is dominantly inherited (9). However, none of our patients could give family history of PDL.Atavistic remnant phenomenon- this is an evolutionary throwback in which there is reappearance of a primitive characteristic. This characteristic is an adaptive mechanism in which the more pigmented dorsal surface protects against the effect of ultraviolet radiations and for temperature regulation (9,25).Pigmentary mosaicism- mosaicism occurs when two or more genetically distinct population of cells occur side by side in an individual (26). This is a consequence of structural or functional genetic mutation (27). A classic pattern of cutaneous mosaicism is depicted by lines of Blaschko which has been described in many pigmentary disorders. Krivo proposed cutaneous mosaicism as the possible aetiology of type-b PDL (28). Mosaicism has also been ascribed to familiar clustering and preponderance in females with facial PDL (9).Axial-neural theory- Maleville et al (29) in an attempt to explain this enigma opined that the pathogenesis of PDL is better explained by virtual axial lines of Sherrington described by Miura (7) other than the clonal-Blaschko theory proposed by Krivo (28). Blaschko lines correspond to distribution of linear nevoid conditions, or dermatomal lines.(30,31) The axial lines of Sherrington coincide with subsets of Voigt's line and cutaneous nerve distributions that divide dermatomes when noncontiguous dorsal root give rise to two contiguous dermatome (7,29). Additionally, melanogenesis are under neural control, and nerve endings may be different in their sensitivity to neural stimulation resulting in dual population of melanocyte with subtle variation in pigmentation in-between dermatomes given rise to PDL (6).

Eartquakes Essays - Seismology, Earthquake Engineering, Free Essays

Eartquakes Essays - Seismology, Earthquake Engineering, Free Essays Eartquakes Earthquakes: Why They Occur And How To Prepare For Them An earthquake is one of the most powerful natural disasters known to man. Earthquakes are so powerful that they can knock down buildings and bridges as well as change river routes and cause landslides. With all the damage earthquakes cause the only way to protect oneself from them is to be prepared and well educated about them. Since they cannot be predicted one must always be prepared for them. Strict building codes in earthquake prone areas also help to minimize the property damage caused during an earthquake. Earthquakes throughout history have caused several millions of deaths as well as severe property damage. Earthquakes are more complex than one may think they are. Earthquakes most often occur near plate boundaries because that is where the tectonic plates meet. As tectonic plates slide past each other they cause tension on one another. After a while there is so much tension on these rocks that they just snap. The sudden break of these rocks send vibrations out in all directions. Soon after the first vibration is sent out a second vibration is sent out called the After shock. Humans can also cause earthquakes in many ways. Injecting fluids into deep well for waste disposal, filling reservoirs with water, and firing underground nuclear test blast, In limited circumstances lead to earthquakes. All these activities increase the strain within the rock near the location of the activities. So that rocks slip and slide along preexisting faults(Microsoft Encarta 2000). Earthquakes can cause a lot of damage. They are strongest near the epicenter. The epicenter is directly above the point that the earths crust snaps. The farther from the epicenter the weaker the vibrations of the earthquake are. That means the area close to the epicenter are going to receive more damage and areas farther from the epicenter are going to receive less damage. As well as distances from the epicenter the type of area an earthquake occurs in has effect on how much damage is caused. Under developed countries seem to suffer much more damage than a developed country. Underdeveloped countries have less strict building codes and are not prepared for natural disaster as well as developed countries are. In underdeveloped countries earthquakes cause much more deaths also. After earthquakes conditions often lead to widespread disease outbreaks. Damage to hospitals, water supply lines, sewage lines, and lack of housing all contribute to the widespread of disease. Developed countries have the same problems but thier strict building codes, emergency forces, and preparedness seem to minimize the damage and death caused by earthquakes. No matter if a person lives in developed or underdeveloped country earthquakes still cause damage. A tsunami is probably the effect of an earthquake. A tsunami is a group of giant sea waves that get bigger and bigger as they get closer to the coast that usually strike without warning. As these giant sea waves come crashing down on the coast they cause servere flooding that drowns a lot of people instantly and cause a lot of property damage. Along with flooding from tsunamis rivers are often rerouted during major earthquakes and flood whole town. After most major earthquakes there are fires. The worst part of fires after an earthquake is that usually broken gas mains cause the fires. If the gas mains are broken usually the water mains are also broken so firefighters have a hard time finding water to put out the fires. Another effect of an earthquake is landslides. Landslides are very dangerous if they occur because most of the time anything in the path of a landslide is destroyed. Earthquakes are very dangerous for a few reasons. First of all they cannot be predicted and second they cannot be stopped. If an earthquake occurs all that can be done is wait it out. That is why everyone must be prepared for an earthquake. The first item that must be learned about an earthquake is that they can occur at any time and any place. Two procedures that must be done in order to prepare for an earthquake is make an earthquake kit and prepare ones home for an earthquake. The basic earthquake kit should include food

Fahrenheit 451 Novel Profile Essay

Fahrenheit 451 Novel Profile Essay Fahrenheit 451 Novel Profile Essay Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Copyright 1953 159 pages Fahrenheit 451 Novel Profile 1. Although it was written in the 1950s, the novel is set in a futuristic dystopian world sometime in the twenty ­fourth century in an undisclosed city. The tone of the book is poetic and menacing, while bitterly satirical. 2. The main character, Guy Montag is a fireman who burns books in a futuristic American city. In Montag’s world, firemen start fires rather than putting them out. The people in this society do not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations. After an encounter with seventeen year old, Clarisse McClellan, Montag begins to question every choice he has made, including his career. He then encounters hardships, including his wife, Mildred, suicide attempt by overdose and an old woman with a stash of hidden books chooses to be burned alive along with her books. Distraught by the unhappiness in his life, he seeks the help of Professor Faber to save these burning books. Eventually, he returns to work on to respond to an alarm on his house, where he is forced to burn it to the ground himself. In rebellion, Montag refuses and kills Captain Beatty with the kerosene hose, becoming a fugitive. On the run, he meets a group of retired professors, who came together in hopes of find lost literature and encourage others to read again. While a war is raging and a bomb just hit, he novel ends with them walking together in the distance in hopes of finding another city to rebuild a proper civilization in. 3. Guy Montag  ­ A fireman who suddenly realizes he is unhappy with his life and starts to search for meaning in the books he is supposed to be burning. He is determined to break free from the oppression of ignorance. He befriends a young teenage girl, who opens his eyes to his ignorance, as well as an old English professor named Faber. With these new found friendships, he is able to break the mold and become a new man. Captain Beatty  ­The captain of Montag’s fire department. Although he is well ­read, he hates books and people who insist on reading them. He is cunning and devious. He almost seems to have the ability to read Montag’s mind. Professor Faber  ­ A retired English professor whom Montag had talked to a year before. Faber admits that society is due to the cowardice of people like himself, who would not speak out against book burning when they still could have stopped it. He hates himself for being a coward, but he redeems himself when he acts with great courage when in the face of danger. Clarisse McClellan  ­ A seventeen ­year ­old girl who opens Montag to the world’s potential for beauty and meaning with her gentle innocence and curiosity. She is an outcast from society because of her odd habits and always asking questions, but she seems genuinely happy with her life until she was killed by a speeding car. 4. Through the novel, the protagonist, Montag goes through many life changes. In the beginning of the novel, he takes pride in his work with the fire department. In the last two years, however, a growing discontent has grown in Montag, a "fireman turned sour" who cannot yet name the cause of his emptiness and disaffection. He characterizes his restless mind as "full of bits and pieces," and he requires sedatives to sleep. His hands, more attuned to his inner workings than his conscious mind, seem to take charge of his behavior. Through his friendship with Clarisse McClellan, Montag perceives the harshness of society as opposed to the joys of nature in which he rarely partakes. When Clarisse teases him about not being in love, he experiences an epiphany and sinks into a despair that characterizes most of the novel. Montag's moroseness reaches a critical point after he witnesses

Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Company - Essay Example Since its inception in the United States, TiVo has penetrated to the Canadian, Australian, Mexican, New Zealand, Puerto Rican, Sweden, Spanish markets among others. Essentially, what TiVo offers is exclusive and unlimited entertainment to its users. TiVo pioneered recording programs concurrent with household viewing habits. In this program as opposed to the others, users can rate programs from three â€Å"thumbs up† to three â€Å"thumbs down† profiling. These ratings are combined to create a recommendation for its viewers. TiVo has also increased its broadband features. This has included and been facilitated by Amazon Video on Demand, Jaman.com and Netflix Watch Instantly. The advantage of this is that it provides users with unlimited access to thousands of movie titles and television shows from their homes. Perhaps the greatest contribution to the viewer’s society and the television industry is by having parental features. This way, the rate of pornography and violent co0ntent is greatly reduced as the parents get to choose what shows their children will watch. In a way therefore, TiVo is actively involved in raising a re sponsible generation. TiVo recently announced its intentions to acquire Digital smiths, a leading cloud-based content discovery service. The service which allows Pay TV operators to deliver an advanced user experience integrating search, discovery and browsing across a variety of devices will only mean more subscription to TiVo (Daft 120). Economically, these will translate to increased returns to scale for this market pacesetter. The devices include Android, Roku, Xbox, Playstation, Kindle and multiple other set-top boxes. TiVo also announced that it has increased its stock repurchase authorization by $100 million and intended to repurchase its $100 million in the first quarter of the 2015 fiscal year. In spite of having gained 234000 subscribers in the last quarter

Personal and Professional Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Personal and Professional Development - Essay Example HSBC was recognized in the Asia-Pacific region as the institution that provides finance to the increasing trade between China and Europe. The HSBC group was first opened in Hong Kong and then in Shanghai. HSBC group’s UK banking has been developing and improving from 1836. Acquisition of Midland Bank in Europe in 1992 has brought lot of pride, honour and reputation to the bank and this made the HSBC group grow as one among the leading banks in the world. Imperial Bank of Persia, which was also known as Bank of the Middle East was acquired by the HSBC group in 1959 along with its 26 branches. This entry of HSBC group into the Middle East provided the group to enter into the wider, and quickly varying financial markets in the world (hsbc.co.uk). HSBC group has well established markets in the South America as well as the emerging markets in the South and Central America. The HSBC group is categorized into four business groups. These include Commercial banking, Global banking and markets, retail banking and wealth management (hsbc.co.uk). The HSBC group provides HSBC Premier bank account for everyday banking accounts and services. The group aims at providing exclusive service in banking. Relationship manager helps the customers and gives tailor-made advices in wealth management, money management, preferential rates and terms, and globally linked-up online banking (hsbc.co.uk). Other facilities offered include internet banking, telephone banking, branch banking, and mobile. Through internet banking, a customer can have access to his/her account 24 hours a day (hsbc.co.uk). HSBC group provides wide range of products for accounts having personal banking. It provides insurances of home, travel, car, premier car, life, critical illness & income cover, and student insurance (hsbc.co.uk). Special feature of planning is rendered regarding health & family, home & lifestyle, work & retirement, and planning tools. HSBC also obliges its customers through online customer support centre that clears their doubts. Security centre assists HSBC’s customers to have a secured transaction while operating online. It helps by providing security downloads, and secure key (hsbc.co.uk). Task 1: a. Examine the benefit of self-managed learning to individuals and organizations and evaluate the various approaches involved. Self-managed or self-directed learning involves encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their own learning needs, either to improve performance in their present job or to satisfy their career aspirations (Armstrong, p. 560). According to Armstrong, self-managed learning has the process of recording achievement and action planning where the individuals can review what they have learnt, their achievement and their goals and action plan to achieve their goals and new learning which is to be acquired by them. The principle behind self-managed learning is that people learn, understand and retain the things they find out and helpful i n improving their skills (Armstrong, p. 560). HSBC group must provide chances for its workers to learn new things so that they can acquire new skills for effective job performance. Self-managed learning helps the people working in an organization to find various methods of learning things which are from the society or at the workplace. Learners are to be provided with proper guidance, proper material and information and help they make use of it to a maximum extent. Personal development plans must be