Collapse of Civilizations Essay - 1292 Words

The factors that lead to the â€Å"collapse† of civilizations are almost directly related to those that created it. Archaeologists characterize collapse by a number of elements, some of which we have evidence for, others we do not. Most archaeologists are unsure of exactly what caused the decline of most civilizations in the ancient world, yet there are many clues to some of the events that could have contributed. The collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, the Mesoamerican Mayan, and the Egyptian cultures will be discussed in the following paragraphs, with a focus on the uniqueness of each. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"Collapse† is in quotations because its definition when applied to civilizations is often debated. Merriam-Webster’s†¦show more content†¦Around 800 AD, population densities were at their peak. The population had gotten so high that it led to social malfunction and agricultural exhaustion. The land had been so overworked that it did not have a chance to remain fertile. Core borings and pollen samples revealed prolonged drought cycles. (Scarre 1997:372) As in the southern Mesopotamian culture, long term irrigation and salinization of the soil led to decline productivity. When irrigation water dries, it leaves salt. Additional water is needed to wash it out; the salt water rises towards the roots of plants and kills them. However, the Mayan civilization was in a very damp rainforest area, which excludes drought as an explanation for its â€Å"collapse.† (Sanders: video) David Webster, a Copan archaeologist, found obsidian knives at various farming sites. These knives are very important because they can be tested as to the date in which they originate. Anne Freter, an obsidian tester, revealed that the majority of them dated to around 1200 A.D. She thought there was something wrong with her data because it had always been assumed that the culture ended around 800 A.D. This data shows a slow decline instead of a sudden â€Å"collapse.† nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Archaeologists had assumed that there was a sudden collapse. They considered peasant revolt, loss of legitimacy ofShow MoreRelatedCollapse of Civilizations1323 Words   |  6 PagesThe factors that lead to the collapse of civilizations are almost directly related to those that created it. Archaeologists characterize collapse by a number of elements, some of which we have evidence for, others we do not. Most archaeologists are unsure of exactly what caused the decline of most civilizations in the ancient world, yet there are many clues to some of the events that could have contributed. The collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, the Mesoamerican Mayan, and the Egyptian culturesRead MoreThe Collapse Of The Western Civilization994 Words   |  4 Pagesancient civilizations. From 551-479 B.C. with the Chinese, to the nineteenth and early twentieth century with western civilization. Ranging from the collapsing of the Roman and Mayan empires, to the ending of the Byzantine and Inca empire s. Historians and architects use ancient readings left behind on stone and walls to gain knowledge about these civilizations. To comprehend these civilizations that were once there and the culture behind them. The virtue and values of these civilizations have hugeRead MoreCollapse Of The Mayan Civilization1024 Words   |  5 PagesPatricia Licea-Chavez 10/27/14 History 2 Collapse of the Mayan Civilization There were multiple reasons for the collapse of the Mayan civilization. Some of these reasons are environmental damages/overpopulation, natural disasters, and warfare.(The) Out of these the most likely reason for their collapse was war. (Cartwright) Within this war there were also the battles that were going on within its civilization, the offerings that they made to their gods, and the campaigns to resist the Spanish conquestRead MoreMaya Civilization Collapse1311 Words   |  6 PagesThe example of societal collapse in which I will be making reference to throughout this essay is the Maya civilization. The Maya civilization is, â€Å"probably the best known of all early American civilizations.† (Fagan, 1995) It was at its strongest point between AD 300 AND 900. Around AD 900 was the time of its collapse. This civilization was developed in a densely, tropical forest on either highlands or lowlands. Today to visit a Mayan site, people would go to the modern Mexican state, capi tal cityRead MoreWhy Did the Mayan Civilization Collapse?2267 Words   |  10 Pagescauses that set in motion the collapse of the Mayan civilisation in the 10th century. I will examine particular elements in their history such as warfare and conquest, inherent difficulties in the areas of sustenance, resource management and environmental degradation. My goal is to formulate a more in-depth understanding of how such a complex and powerful people fell and what triggered their demise. BACKGROUND AND AGRICULTURE Initially the Mayan civilization prospered throughout the lowlandsRead MoreEssay on Did the Mayan Civilization Collapse as a Result of Drought?1016 Words   |  5 PagesEver since the collapse of the once powerful Maya civilization, people have been trying to find out what caused it. Authors of the article, “Climate and the Collapse of Maya Civilization”, which include Gerald Haug, Detlef Gà ¼nther, Larry Peterson, Daniel Sigman, Konrad Hughen, and Beat Aeschlimann propose a theory that the Mayans collapsed because of an extended dry period between 760 and 910 A.D. These scientists set out find the answer as to why the Maya civilization collapsed. ThisRead MoreIs The Classic Mayan Civilization?1558 Words   |  7 Pagesof Anthropology, a collapse is defined as â€Å"†¦a drastic decrease in human population size and/or political/economical/social complexity, over a considerable area, for an extended time.†(AOC) With Mr. Tainter’s definition of collapse, I will be focusing on one specific civilization, what led to their falling as a society and elaborate on some theories as to why collapses may occur. The development that I am going to be discussing is the Classic Mayan civilization. The civilization was located in MexicoRead MoreAmericas Oh Sh*T Moment by Niall Ferguson Essay1097 Words   |  5 PagesFerguson, a historian who teaches at Harvard University, in 2011, explores why civilizations collapse, and how America can avoid this. He does not focus only on America, but many civilizations in the past that have collaps ed. Niall Ferguson is the author of Civilization: The West and The Rest. The article is creatively and cleverly written using the metaphor of modern technology to describe the way in which the societal collapse occurs. This shows that the article was written for adults who are highlyRead MoreEnd of Mayan Civilization1143 Words   |  5 PagesEnd of Mayan Civilization Samuel Nathaniel H. Stansbury HUM 111 11/3/2012 The mystery concerning the fundamental explanation for the collapse of the Mayan Civilization has been a major focus for researchers in the fields of anthropology and archeology for a considerable period of time. At the very core of this mystery of the Mayan collapse was the question of how could such a strong, stable civilization that had flourished for approximately twenty-seven hundred years disappear without a clearRead MoreEssay on Factors Leading to The Collapse of Past Societies1693 Words   |  7 PagesAt present day, our worldwide civilization of the human race continues to surpass many achievements of other past societies. Everyday, new technological advances are being achieved and the population is growing faster than it ever previously has. We must look back at past civilizations and analyze them to understand what is in store for us in the future. In the pursuit of progress, human societies create problems they do not have the resources or political motivation to solve , for fear of short term

Organizational Behaviour the Pros and Cons. - 1634 Words

Elements of successful organizational diversity Management. Why is organizational diversity important? Historically, diversity in the workplace has been recognized as an employment equity issue. Now, however, diversity in the workplace is being recognized as a benefit that will contribute to an organizations bottom line. Increased employee and customer satisfaction end up as increased productivity, all of which are measurable outcomes (Goff, 1998). Diversity goes beyond employment equity to nurturing an environment that values the differences and maximizes the potential of all employees, one that stimulates employee creativity and innovativeness (U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (U.S. MSPB), 1993). To create an†¦show more content†¦Education is a building of awareness and creating a base of general understanding. At the administrative and management levels, educational efforts can spawn interest and an awareness of need, which can then extend the change process throughout the organization (Baytos and Delatte, 1993). Education provides a setting to define issues, develop consistent language and to discuss the nature and source of biases that hinder our ability to perceive others clearly. Training involves activities designed to build usable skills. Training targets in on specific issues to develop the skills necessary to effectively and sensitively deal with an issue. For example, training might teach managers how to conduct performance appraisals with employees from a different culture. By using the information gathered during the needs analysis, an organization can target in on the specific diversity issues they need to address with training. What has worked well for many organizations is to hire outside trainers for a short period of time to train the trainer and assist with the initial training workshops. Outside trainers tend to be more objective and are more likely to receive respect from employees, which is valuable in the initial diversity training effort. Before an organization hires an outside trainer, it should thoroughly review the trainers credentials. AskShow MoreRelatedVetements Ltee Mini Case1152 Words   |  5 PagesEvidence: motivated to stay by door to get to customers first because of more commissions. OB issue: Equity Theory Evidence: Sales reps believe some reps are getting better locations to sell in or are â€Å"wasting time† doing inventory. OB issue: Organizational Behavior Modification Evidence: Employees are not working inventory management as much as they should (lack of punishment) B. External Analysis 1) Brief industry analysis Và ªtements Ltà ©e is a chain of men s retail clothing storesRead MoreKeeping Suzanne Chalmers1433 Words   |  6 Pagesfeeling of disconnect from their families. * The M.A.R.S. model outlines the four major factors in determining individual behaviour and results which could be a key for API: motivation, ability, role perception, and situational factors. * Motivation represents the forces within a person that affect his or her direction, intensity, and persistence of voluntary behaviour. Suzanne no longer has the drive (intensity) and desire (persistence) to stay at API. Mr. Chan was unsuccessful with hisRead Moreworkaholism971 Words   |  4 Pages2001; Salmela-Aro Nurmi, 2004). This essay is going to discuss the impact that workaholism have upon the individual in three dimentions: outcomes of work, quality of social relationships and perceived health. It is also going to demonstrate the pros and cons of being workaholic as an individual and the influences that resulted by workaholism. It will finally reach a conclusion about how workaholism impact on the individuals. Before to start the discussion, there is one thing to notice about, whichRead MoreCorporate Social Responsibility: A case study of The body shop1223 Words   |  5 Pagesenvironment. Furthermore, the focus of CSR has changed the behavior of organizations, not the role of leadership anymore. It created a debate about what companies should do for society. Subsequently, the structure of CSR places less stress on organizational behaviours and more on the responsibility (Blowfield and Murray 2011, p.7). However, the most well-known and accepted model of CSR is Carroll four-part model, which he defined as â€Å" CSR includes the economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic expectationsRead MoreHuman Resource Practices And Policies983 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent backgrounds. I was appointed to setup and organize a charitable organization to focus working with a professional team from the LVCS. I gained vital firsthand experience in the functions of organizational memberships, in which, I contributed in the writing the constitutions and organizational objectives, involving policies, and aspects of human resources. I wanted to furthermore develop my proficiency and understanding of human resources a management to enable and encourage myself to exploreRead MoreA Brief Note On The Individual Career Management1040 Words   |  5 Pagesin the environment in terms of careers’ nature and unstable employment, there is an increasing idea that career progression is a responsibility of individuals not organization (Enache, et al., 2013). However, as any other approach ICM has its pros and cons. On one hand, ICM encourages young and fresh employees to remain employable and marketable not only in one career in particular organization, but also to develop lifelong transferable skills in the jobs market. And then they will be able and capableRead MoreThe Need For Peer Review Evaluation System1371 Words   |  6 Pagesthrough which the scores would be evaluated for different students (Haberyan, 2007). Pros of the system Some of the advantages of such a system are as follows – a. It provides fair and equal chance to every student to work towards finding the facts about the project b. There are no setbacks for the opinion that has been presented by the group or team members. However, it has to be backed up with reliable resources. Cons of the system ï  ¶ In some cases, the peer overall grade is not considered at theRead MoreMcgregor Theory X1067 Words   |  5 Pagesformulated a theory that has changed the path of management thinking and practice. He proposed two sets of assumptions about employee s attitude and behaviour, so the manager will be in a better position to manage the workers and achieve organizational goals. McGregor named these assumptions as Theory X and Theory This essay would examine the pros and cons of this theory of employee motivation, followed by writer s opinion. (McGregor, 1960) Theory X: According to Theory X, Managers assume that theRead MorePlastco Packaging Compensation Case3884 Words   |  16 Pagesdepartment to incorporate more intrinsic rewards. By changing its reward strategy, the goal is to add the greatest possible value to their organization and yet remain cost effective. Management is also open to changing its managerial style and organizational structure to improve employee relations, the quality of its products, creditability with customers, and boost profitability and market share to ensure long-term viability. Background Information: CURRENT OPERATING ENVIRONMENT Contextual FrameworkRead Moreinternal hiring vs external hiring.1166 Words   |  5 Pagescompany already working in another position or externally by somebody who is new to the business. For this firms need to consider different methods of hiring and try to create a pool of potential candidates with relevant skill level. There are pros and cons to both internal and external hiring. In the current economic scenario, companies look cut costs by hiring within their four walls rather than from the outside. it has been estimated that cost on finding and hiring someone externally is 1.7 times

Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational System †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational System. Answer: Introduction: The sources along with capacities pertaining to Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International have greatly increased in the present age. A large number of the companies have deviated from focussing the effort in production planning and they have adopted a demand-driven focus. It lays focus on managing the field of demand in a more efficient manner. Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International should rationalize on the area at which the company is best at selling and it can align the sales force with such a mindset (Bmmigroup.com 2018). The changes can be brought about in the organization can help in the creation of a customer-focussed mindset that can help the organization in its growth. The innovation strategies can help in uncovering data and identification of trends in the information system of the company. The companies that have dedicated resources can focus on the arena of demand planning and it can help in forecasting strong result and drive value for that of the company (Bur ke 2017). The improvements in the field of communication has enabled the growth of globalization. There are some companies that are thinking about rerouting the inbound shipments to that of the alternate posts. The arena of business that is most affected by the global business environment relates to that of supply chain. The manufacturing along with distribution has been impacted on account of integration of supplier base and there are many companies which are not flexible to adopt to the new kind of business environment. Re-positioning of the inbound container shipment can have an overall negative impact. The leading companies in the arena of retail reflect the nature pertaining to modern supply chain. Intellect along with technology can help in transforming the value proposition of the customer (Hale and Held 2018). The young should be communicated about the innovations so that they can adjust to the changes taking place. The barriers that are perceived pertaining to supply chain management is in relation to internal external turf protection and the inadequate information system. Poor collaboration in between the chain partners also act like a barrier for Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile I nternational. Product innovation along with brand equity are no longer thought to be sufficient in commanding high price within that of the market (Bryson 2018). Overcoming the barriers pertaining to change The distribution leaders do not get sufficient amount of time and the resources with the help of which they can address the challenges in the modern age. Highly engaged and productive workers should execute well-designed process that can help in overcoming the barriers pertaining to change in Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International. The workers should be well-directed and coached by the supervisors for attaining the goals. Appropriate focus should be laid in the field of consistent productivity improvement (Camisn and Villar-Lpez 2014). The training budgets should be sufficient that can help in providing proper training to the warehouse supervisor. Integrated e-commerce that is linked to the back-end of the business process can help in delivering the products to the customer on time. This can prove to be an effective step in overcoming the barriers in relation to change. Modern services are dependent to a great extent on technology and the right software can help in dealing with the changes. The changes taking place in Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International can be tackled with the help of SAP Business by Design that can help the elements in working together (Cook 2017). The planning along with monitoring of the review techniques of Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International can be done by making use of reports against the annual operational plan. It can help in reviewing the process of progress and check whether it has been able to meet the strategic objectives (Hale and Held 2018). Appropriate records should be kept that can help in assessing the progress being made. During the time of reviewing the progress, Management Committee should see to it whether the activities are within the bound of agreed strategic objectives of Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International. Different distribution software like Net Suite, Fish Bowl, Vers Accounts and Systum can be made use of by Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International so that it can help in consolidation of data related to finances, revenue and costs (Scott and Davis 2015). The cloud-based management solution can help in managing e-commerce store. With the help of these system, orders along with sales can be managed across that of different channels. It can help in tracking of the revenue and profitability pertaining to the products. Significance of communication pertaining to innovation Innovation is similar to that of change. One of the reason why organisations fail is on account of vagueness pertaining to communicating change. The innovation of the internal process along with organizational re-structuring should be communicated to the employees in Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International so that they can work successfully along the new direction (Greenwood et al. 2017). Every aspect in relation to change should be communicated to the personnel of the organization and the benefits of the project should be properly co-ordinated to the employees working in Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International. Intersection pertaining to emerging technology along with innovative employees can help in improving the business performance. The new generation of the employees of Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International being more comfortable with the aspect of technology can help in driving of better results (Burke 2017). It can help in the process of driving process that is more efficient and ear better profit margin on account of the innovation. The wholesalers can uncover the best practices with the help of innovations brought about in the organization. The changes will make it easier for the new generation of the employees to do the jobs and it can support the ability of bringing change. New generation of the employees in Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International can improve the business performance of the company. The employees will be able to exceed the performance expectations and bring greater profit margin for the company. The distributors with the help of business analytics al ong with mobile access can make agile decisions and communicate effectively with the colleagues. Collaboration can prove to be important in relation to the change agents. Improvement in collaboration in Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International can help in the process of sharing and integration of data within the organization. In the arena of distribution business, the employees are often found to be geographically dispersed and hence collaboration can greatly benefit the Bahrain Maritime and Mercantile International. This will help the company in delivering of products in a more effective manner with the other logistics partners and suppliers. Technology can result in improved performance in the field of wholesale along with distribution. Innovation can pave the path for improving communication within the team and it can help in providing new ways of doing business. References: Bmmigroup.com (2018).BMMI Group. [online] Available at: https://www.bmmigroup.com/ [Accessed 30 Mar. 2018]. Bryson, J.M., 2018.Strategic planning for public and nonprofit organizations: A guide to strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. John Wiley Sons. Burke, W.W., 2017.Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications. Camisn, C. and Villar-Lpez, A., 2014. Organizational innovation as an enabler of technological innovation capabilities and firm performance.Journal of business research,67(1), pp.2891-2902. Cook, N., 2017.Enterprise 2.0: How social software will change the future of work. Routledge. Greenwood, R., Oliver, C., Lawrence, T.B. and Meyer, R.E. eds., 2017.The Sage handbook of organizational institutionalism. Sage. Hale, T. and Held, D. eds., 2018.The handbook of transnational governance: Institutions and innovations. John Wiley Sons. Scott, W.R. and Davis, G.F., 2015.Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural and open systems perspectives. Routledge.

John Grisham Books And Movies Essays - Cinema Of The United States

John Grisham Books And Movies The Pelican Brief was published in 1992 and it went straight up on the bestselling lists. This year they also republished A Time to Kill and it became a hit. From 1991 to today he has published one book a year. After the Pelican Brief came the Client and following that, the Chamber. Then the Rainmaker (1995) and the Runaway Jury (1996) were published. Following his success with the Runaway Jury John Grisham published the Partner in 1997. During the same year he started the next book, the Street Lawyer. It was officialy published in March 1998. Ever since he wrote the Pelican Brief Grisham has published a book a year with the same result. It should be said that all his books have been bestsellers and that six of them have become movies (the Client, the Pelican Brief, the Firm, A Time to Kill, the Chamber and the Rainmaker). John Grisham has also written the script to the movie the Gingerbread Man and a script to a baseball movie. Today he lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife Renee and his two kids Ty and Shea. Grisham writes six months a year and coaches his son's Little League team the other half. He only gives a few interviews a year and he has said that he hates reviews. John Grisham just want to write books and live peacefully and undisturbed with his family. The Pelican Brief was published in 1992 and it went straight up on the bestselling lists. This year they also republished A Time to Kill and it became a hit. From 1991 to today he has published one book a year. After the Pelican Brief came the Client and following that, the Chamber. Then the Rainmaker (1995) and the Runaway Jury (1996) were published. Following his success with the Runaway Jury John Grisham published the Partner in 1997. During the same year he started the next book, the Street Lawyer. It was officialy published in March 1998. Ever since he wrote the Pelican Brief Grisham has published a book a year with the same result. It should be said that all his books have been bestsellers and that six of them have become movies (the Client, the Pelican Brief, the Firm, A Time to Kill, the Chamber and the Rainmaker). John Grisham has also written the script to the movie the Gingerbread Man and a script to a baseball movie. Today he lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife Renee and his two kids Ty and Shea. Grisham writes six months a year and coaches his son's Little League team the other half. He only gives a few interviews a year and he has said that he hates reviews. John Grisham just want to write books and live peacefully and undisturbed with his family. The Pelican Brief was published in 1992 and it went straight up on the bestselling lists. This year they also republished A Time to Kill and it became a hit. From 1991 to today he has published one book a year. After the Pelican Brief came the Client and following that, the Chamber. Then the Rainmaker (1995) and the Runaway Jury (1996) were published. Following his success with the Runaway Jury John Grisham published the Partner in 1997. During the same year he started the next book, the Street Lawyer. It was officialy published in March 1998. Ever since he wrote the Pelican Brief Grisham has published a book a year with the same result. It should be said that all his books have been bestsellers and that six of them have become movies (the Client, the Pelican Brief, the Firm, A Time to Kill, the Chamber and the Rainmaker). John Grisham has also written the script to the movie the Gingerbread Man and a script to a baseball movie. Today he lives in Charlottesville, Virginia with his wife Renee and his two kids Ty and Shea. Grisham writes six months a year and coaches his son's Little League team the other half. He only gives a few interviews a year and he has said that he hates reviews. John Grisham just want to write books and live peacefully and undisturbed with his family. The Pelican Brief was published in 1992 and it went straight up on the bestselling lists. This year they also republished A Time to Kill and it became a hit. From 1991 to today he has published one book a year. After the Pelican Brief came the Client and following that, the Chamber. Then the Rainmaker (1995) and the Runaway Jury (1996) were published. Following his success with the Runaway Jury

History of the Michelson-Morley Experiment

History of the Michelson-Morley Experiment The Michelson-Morley experiment was an attempt to measure the motion of the Earth through the luminous ether. Though often called the Michelson-Morley experiment, the phrase actually refers to a series of experiments carried out by Albert Michelson in 1881 and then again (with better equipment) at Case Western University in 1887 along with chemist Edward Morley. Though the ultimate result was negative, the experiment key in that it opened the door for an alternative explanation for the strange wave-like behavior of light. How It Was Supposed to Work By the end of the 1800s, the dominant theory of how light worked was that it was a wave of electromagnetic energy, because of experiments such as Youngs double slit experiment. The problem is that a wave had to move through some sort of medium. Something has to be there to do the waving. Light was known to travel through outer space (which scientists believed was a vacuum) and you could even create a vacuum chamber and shine a light through it, so all of the evidence made it clear that light could move through a region without any air or other matter. To get around this problem, physicists hypothesized that there was a substance which filled the entire universe. They called this substance the luminous ether (or sometimes luminiferous aether, though it seems like this is just kind of throwing in pretentious-sounding syllables and vowels). Michelson and Morley (probably mostly Michelson) came up with the idea that you should be able to measure the motion of the Earth through the ether. The ether was typically believed to be unmoving and static (except, of course, for the vibration), but the Earth was moving quickly. Think about when you hang your hand out of the car window on a drive. Even if its not windy, your own motion makes it seem windy. The same should be true for the ether. Even if it stood still, since the Earth moves, then light that goes in one direction should be moving faster along with the ether than light that goes in the opposite direction. Either way, so long as there was some sort of motion between the ether and the Earth, it should have created an effective ether wind that would have either pushed or hindered the motion of the light wave, similar to how a swimmer moves faster or slower depending on whether he is moving along with or against the current. To test this hypothesis, Michelson and Morley (again, mostly Michelson) designed a device that split a beam of light and bounced it off mirrors so that it moved in different directions and finally hit the same target. The principle at work was that if two beams traveled the same distance along different paths through the ether, they should move at different speeds and therefore when they hit the final target screen those light beams would be slightly out of phase with each other, which would create a recognizable interference pattern. This device, therefore, came to be known as the Michelson interferometer (shown in the graphic at the top of this page). The Results The result was disappointing because they found absolutely no evidence of the relative motion bias they were looking for. No matter which path the beam took, light seemed to be moving at precisely the same speed. These results were published in 1887. One other way to interpret the results at the time was to assume that the ether was somehow connected to the motion of the Earth, but no one really could come up with a model that allowed this that made sense. In fact, in 1900 the British physicist Lord Kelvin famously indicated that this result was one of the two clouds that marred an otherwise complete understanding of the universe, with a general expectation that it would be resolved in relatively short order. It would take nearly 20 years (and the work of Albert Einstein) to really get over the conceptual hurdles needed to abandon the ether model entirely and adopt the current model, in which light exhibits wave-particle duality. Source Find the full text of their paper published in the 1887 edition of the American Journal of Science, archived online at the AIP website.

Ravage and Ravish - Commonly Confused Words

Ravage and Ravish - Commonly Confused Words Although ravage and ravish come from the same word in Old French (ravirto seize or uproot), they have different meanings in modern English.The verb ravage means to ruin, devastate, or destroy. The noun ravage (often in the plural) means serious damage or destruction.The verb ravish means to seize, rape, carry away by force, or overwhelm with emotion. (The adjective ravishingwhich means  unusually attractive or pleasinghas a more positive connotation.) Examples One of the worlds last great rainforests was ravaged by loggers working for the President of Zimbabwe and his ruling clique.Floods, droughts, and severe storms are likely to ravage North America more frequently as emissions of planet-warming gases rise.Scotland Yard has launched a photo campaign to show the physical ravages caused by drug addiction.The English, we know, are malicious, megalomaniacal sadists intent on world domination. Given the chance, they would almost certainly ravish you, your wife or your sister. They might even eat your children.(Gareth McLean, The Guardian, July 9, 2003) Usage Notes The word ravish, now literary or archaic, should be avoided in nonfigurative contexts. The primary problem with ravish is that it has romantic connotations: it means not only to rape but also to fill with ecstasy or delight. The latter sense renders the word unfit for acting as a technical or legal equivalent of rape, The term describing the act should evoke outrage; it should not be a romantic abstraction, as ravish is.Still, the word ravishing ( captivating, enchanting) is generally considered a perfectly good and complimentary adjective.(Bryan A. Garner, Garners Modern American Usage, Oxford University Press, 2003)Both words refer to powerful and usually destructive forces. Ravage is used when destruction is spread over a wide area by war or other overwhelming forces: ravaged by inflation / tribal warfare / acid rain. Ravish typically has a human subject and object, and means seize, rape or somewhat paradoxically transport with delight. The two kinds of meaning have their respecti ve cliches in ravished virgins and ravished audiences, which are symptomatic of the fact that the word is usually euphemistic or hyperbolic.(Pam Peters, The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Cambridge University Press, 2004) Practice Questions (a) The credit crunch continues to _____ overstretched banks. (b) According to Montaigne, poetry does not seek to persuade our judgment; it simply _____ and overwhelms it.(c) Over the centuries, much of Koreas historic architecture has suffered the _____ of war and fire. Answers to Practice Questions (a) The credit crunch continues to  ravage  overstretched banks.(b) According to Montaigne, poetry does not seek to persuade our judgment; it simply ravishes  and overwhelms it.(c) Over the centuries, much of Koreas historic architecture has suffered the  ravages  of war and fire.

Triumph of the Will absolve Leni Riefenstahl from responsibility for Essay

Triumph of the Will absolve Leni Riefenstahl from responsibility for its Nazi Propagandist impact - Essay Example This paper aims at reviewing this movie in light of the historical and philosophical context as far as the propaganda in it is concerned. To begin with, the proposition that this film absolves Riefenstahl from the propagandist role that this movie plays can be historically challenged. Even though Riefenstahl is in denial of having well understood the heinous nature of Adolf Hitler, history has its own reservations on the same. As such, her excuse can be dismissed as a simple and odd escapist’s excuse since someone with the creativity and originality akin to Riefenstahl’s is expected to see better, especially on an obvious issues such as the activities of the Nazis and create a film which opposes rather than supports such a movement. As it would be expected in a natural societal setting, Riefenstahl defends herself that she is not a propagandist and blames it all on her naivety and lack of knowledge on the real identity of Adolf Hitler and Nazism when she was forging out this piece of entertainment. On the contrary, one may find it necessary to argue out that this is just a way of freeing herself from the imminent guilt that she compromised truth so much in order to making money and gain fame using this film rather. Praising someone who is not humane might not trace one to a direct injustice but is tantamount to praising Satan, which does not leave him or her innocent anyway. As such, much as the content and style of this book might be delineating Riefenstahl from any form of propaganda, the historical and philosophical reality of the Nazi movement are in contradiction to what she presents. The fact that one of the major characters in this movie is Hitler himself leaves no doubt that Riefenstahl deliberately understood what burden of blame there was to carry as she produced this movie. In fact, this movie is a