Crusades and Pope Urban Essay

The Christian Crusades occurred around the 11th and the 12th century are very many and complex. The Christian Crusades has built a tense relationship between the Christians and Islamic. This essay will explain the causes and effects of the Medieval Crusades. The importance of the holy lands as stated in the Islamic bible, Koran, and the Christian bible is the most significant cause of the Christian Crusades. Religious rivalry between the 2 religions was caused by the fact that both of these religions believed in 2 different gods. The Islam’s thought that there god was the true god whilst the Christians believed that there god was the one and true god. The fact that the Islam’s believed there god was the one and true, brought anger to the Pilgrims who were on a quest to take back the Holy lands which were Bethlehem, Nazareth and Jerusalem, which were controlled currently by the Muslims since 638AD. But as more and more pilgrims came to visit the Holy lands, Seljuk Turks, Saracens, took over the lands and denied more Pilgrimages to the Holy Lands. This brought great anger to Pope Urban II. Pope Urban II was responsible for the very first Christian Crusade. He started this by giving an extremely influential speech to all Christians in Europe and Medieval time saying that the Saracens were turning Christian Churches into Mosques which were Muslim churches. Pope Urban II then told all Christian men and European Christian Princes to go on a crusade to take back the Holy lands. The Pope also stated to these Christian men that by fighting in this holy war they would reach heaven. So the Christian Crusaders set their target on regaining one of the Holy lands which was Jerusalem. The result of the first crusade was not too good for the Muslims as 70,000 Muslims had died trying to flee from the city or fight to protect their city. A reason that explains the cause of the Christian Crusades, are the Christian men, the Knight class and Princes. Prior explains how Pope Urban II speech influences the Christian men, Knight classes and Princes of Europe to go on a crusade against their rivalry religion and to gain back the Holy Lands. Pope Urban II says to all these men that go on to their crusade, that if they do not fight back against the Saracens, god will not clear there sin. This was another reason for the Christian Crusade. Pope Urban II â€Å"blackmailing† these men to go to the Holy lands was a reason for why the Christian Crusades began in the first place. The Knight class were all men that wanted to fight. Since the age of seven, pagers, who were the first stage into becoming a knight, were taught special skills to fight. Every Crusader that was going on to gain back the lands had a sign on their tunics when they went to fight. This sign resembled St Johns Cross. The medieval Crusades have brought a strong intensity in these to religions that are still quite tense nowadays. Pope Urban II speech had urged men to go on this holy crusade and both the Koran and bible having two of the same holy places caused tension between these two religions. This essay has given the causes and effects of the holy crusades.

Week Progress Report

Select one of the locations and prepare a comprehensive risk assessment for McBride management team. The risk assessment should identify the background and potential risks that could Impact the operation of the business. It will provide Background Possible Failure ScenariosPotential targets of terrorist activity such as government offices, law enforcement agencies, or politically sensitive businesses or services Public Imagine and Reputation Public transportation facilities that might handle the carriage of dangerous or hazardous substances, which could be Involved In major accidents Potential targets of criminal activity Safety and Environment The use of toxic chemicals In the violently of the business by manufacturing processes Industrial solvents, blue print machines, etc. Possible Risk Treatments ConclusionIn conclusion, the paper was provided to References By Jasmine McBride Financial Services, one of the Virtual Organizations, is currently opening offices in Boise, Idaho and Si oux Falls, South Dakota. Select one of the locations and assessment should identify the background and potential risks that could impact the hazardous substances, which could be involved in major accidents Potential targets The use of toxic chemicals in the vicinity of the business by manufacturing processes industrial solvents, blue print machines, etc. Possible Risk Treatments

Assessment of the Role of Jimmy Corrigan As Depicted By Chris Ware in the Smartest Kid on Earth

Assessment of the Role of Jimmy Corrigan As Depicted By Chris Ware in the Smartest Kid on Earth Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid On Earth, by Chris Ware, is about a meek and lonely man in his mid-thirties who meets his father for the first time in a Michigan town over Thanksgiving weekend. Jimmy is an awkward and cheerless character with an overbearing mother and a very limited social life. Jimmy attempts to escape his unhappiness via an active imagination that sometimes gets him into awkward situations. The book deals with loneliness, familial dysfunction, inadequacy, bullying, generational conflict, masculinity, sexual frustration, social embarrassment and depression. Ware wrote and illustrated the book. He is best known for a series of comics called the Acme Novelty Library, and incidentally, this graphic novel.First and foremost, Jimmy Corrigan has a very unique style. The first thing you notice is the thick line weight, the very geometric design of the illustrations, and the thick, opaque colors used. The illustrations do not contain any fine detail. What Ware uses is subtle shifts in line weight. What Ware also does well is capturing the different shapes of the figures as they walk, talk, move their head, turn around, etc. This, along with adding slight blocks of color for shadows, really gives the illustrations depth and distance when there seemingly couldnt be. People, objects, buildings, the sky, the weather, etc. are all drawn in a very minimalist nature. Everything is given the simplest shape possible yet you know exactly what you are looking at, just by where certain lines bend and curve. The colors used for illustrations are relatively drab. Every color is a sort of soft, pastel like color, which gives the illustrations a very unobtrusive feel. This color palette fits the story nicely considering the story is rather drab and depressing. The colors do a good job of setting the mood and bringing you into Jimmy Corrigans life as well as mind state. With that said, what I foun d rather interesting was how Ware used the color red. Unlike the other colors, red was bright and strong, and at times really jumped off the page. For the most part it was used for sound effects, which although sounds like a relatively simple idea, I thought was a really good representation of them. Red was also used for narration as well, such as words. They were used almost as a guide at times, to really keep the story going,Another technical aspect of the work is the integration of various kinds of text. You have your typical cartoon for the dialogue and thoughts of the characters. You also have your typical sound-effects text as well. There are a few unique uses of text: one is use of cursive lettering in parts of the story. These scenes arent really Jimmys daydreams nor are they his full fledge dreams. They are much more like whimsical, fantasy like thoughts. They are also used at times as narration as well as representing Jimmys thoughts. Another unique use of text is his use of early-20th century lettering. Ware applies this to the poster/flyer like images entitled à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Jimmy Corrigan, Smartest Kid on Earth, which are sprinkled throughout the book. Another instance of this is when he is talking about the past, more specifically Jimmys grandfathers childhood. The text is both technically and beautifully done. Although they are necessary to the style and the story, it is interesting to note that Ware is an ardent ragtime enthusiast who publishes a journal on ragtime music, collects ragtime paraphernalia, and has even designed album art and posters for ragtime performers (jackhanley.com). This is all pretty apparent and really comes out in Jimmy Corrigan.Several images reoccur throughout the book and tie together the plotlines: superheroes, birds, broken limbs, guns, peaches, redheads, the Fair, and Jimmy Corrigan. The images bind the story together and reiterate the similarities between the Jimmies of each generation (findarticles.com). For example, the Chicago Worlds Fair of 1 893 represents the imaginary world that the Corrigans inhabit. A world thrown together, that looked great for the two weeks of the fair and then collapsed into sudden ruin. Each character has a very brief childhood where everything looks fine until the harsh reality crashes through the illusion, ending childhood (i-reports.info). None of the Corrigans seem able to break the bonds of their past. Jimmy tries to make a connection to his father, but cannot seem to make any human connection.The superhero image is the one reoccurring image that really stands out throughout the book. Jimmy himself wears a Superman shirt. Jimmy imagines himself a bird flying outside of the clinic like Superman, and when a bird crashes into the window, we are back with Jimmy in the clinic, back to reality. In Jimmy Corrigan, superheroes are not invincible. A superhero jumps from the rooftop across from Jimmys office building and dies. A toy Superman that a child plays with at a diner dives to the floor. Jimmys dad picks it up to give back to the child, commenting how we would not want Superman to get hurt (findarticles.com). And in the first couple pages of the book you have a young Jimmy meeting a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“superhero at a comic book convention. The superhero then goes home with Jimmy and his mom and subsequently sleeps with his mom, and then sneaks out in the morning. Not exactly something Superman would do, maybe Batman, but not Superman.Ware does a great job of connecting the past with the present. One example is how the book spans the time from Jimmys great-grandfather in 1863 to the present; the different time changes are illustrated through a particular visual sequence of a bird gathering nest materials by various hospitals (findarticles.com). This bird is seen first collecting a flowered twig around a war-zone tent-hospital, then by a hospital building in the 1890s, next at Lincoln Hospital in the 1930s, then at St. Marys in the 1950s, and finally placing the twig in a nest on the windowsill of a present-day doc-in-a-box where Jimmy wa its with a bloody nose (findarticles.com). You have a sense that it is the same bird reflecting on times gone by, as well as different birds from different times.Ware uses a variety of narrative techniques. These techniques vary from panel to panel. Ware uses one of the more basic panel-to-panel transitions called simply Å“moment to moment; the same subject is displayed in adjacent instants, like a movie running jerkily on a slow computer (McCloud chapt. 3). This is basically used to animate the story and give it some fluidity. Ware also uses transitions very similar to moment to moment, one being action to action, in which the focus remains on a single subject, but this time, two separate, consecutive actions are displayed (for example, the first panel might contain a car speeding along, the 2nd the car smashing into a tree, or in this case Jimmy) (McCloud chapt. 3). The other transition Ware uses similar to this is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“subject to subject, in which both panels are within the same scene or idea, but each portrays a different subject (McCloud chapt. 3). The three of these techniques are the basis for how the story is told. Another interesting narrative feature of the story is when he uses the transition called à ¢ â‚ ¬Ã…“aspect to aspect, which is when the author Bypasses time for the most part and sets a wandering eye on different aspects of a place, mood, or idea (McCloud chapt. 3). Ware does this periodically throughout the book to set the mood, describe a setting, show what a character is thinking, etc. He will have a number of consecutive panels that will show simple objects, or even small details of simple objects, along with the regular narrative features of the story. The bulk of the story obviously deals with the modern-day Jimmy. This part of the story starts off the book and continues in a relative linear fashion, flowing in and out of dreams and thoughts. We join Jimmy at work and soon follow him through a series of panels which show his simple, boring, and depressing life. What is then introduced is a rather odd dream sequence in which Jimmy imagines himself as a robot. Similar dream sequences happen throughout the course of the story, including one where a giant superhero h and picks up Jimmys house and then proceeds to drop it.Another narrative feature that happens quite frequently throughout Jimmy Corrigan is when Jimmy has his daydreams. These serve as a window into Jimmys psyche and often reveal tiny details about his persona. Some of them show Jimmy imagining himself with different women, including his co-worker Peggy, the nurse at the doctors office his father brings him to, and the girl his father adopted Amy. The daydreams do not all contain the same themes though. The one involving Peggy has Jimmy imagining her as an almost mother-like character. This is probably due to the fact that Peggy is a very domineering woman, much like Jimmys mother. The next one comes during Jimmys visit to the doctors office with his father. This daydream is purely sexual. Jimmy takes the nurses niceness and seemingly flirtatious actions and runs with it, setting off a series of images depicting the nurse coming on to Jimmy, them running away together and then ultimately getting married. This is all rather humorous and really does accurately portray what goes through a manà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s mind when he meets an attractive woman. This similar chain of events happens when Jimmy has a daydream about Amy. Only this time a bomb or meteor demolishes everything and Jimmy and Amy are the only ones left. Yet unlike the previous two this daydream has Jimmy taking charge and taking care of someone else. It shows him chopping wood, being a real man. The daydreams are quick and to the point. The majority of the time they end rather abruptly with someone or something snapping him out of it.Although the main plot of Jimmys life and his attempt at reconnecti ng with his father is told in a relative linear fashion, it is the inclusion of flashbacks from Jimmys life, his fathers life, and his grandfathers life, that really elevates the plotline and reveals more about who the Corrigans are. They really show why these three men are who they are. Whats interesting is how Ware treats these flashbacks. There is never any notice of them. They flow in and out of the story, revealing more and more each time. Ware breaks up the flashbacks, being careful not to show too much too soon. What makes these flashback even more confusing is that it is often tough to figure out wh Ware is talking about, a prime example being that Jimmys grandfather is also named Jimmy. Ware makes no attempt at depicting any of these three men differently in the flashbacks either. Young Jimmy looks the same as modern day Jimmy and Grandfather Jimmy. The only clues are of course the backgrounds and settings. There is a reoccurring theme with the Corrigans. The interconnected stories reveal a long genealogical line of abandonment and disappointment, regret and paralyzing isolation (cnn.com).Although Jimmy Corrigan contains images, symbols, and characters pertaining to superheroes, it is easy to say that the book is not exactly of the superhero genre. Upon further research it was interesting to find out that parts of the book are indeed autobiographical. The main example being when Jimmy and his newly met Dad sit on the couch in awkward silence, with nothing to say and so much unsaid. Jimmys dad, feebly trying to make up for a lifetime of missed breakfasts, fries some bacon in a skillet, then arranges the bacon strips on Jimmys plate so they spell HI (cnn.com). The entire breakfast sequence is vividly evoked, down to the tsss, tlink, tink that Ware uses to convey the sound of a metal fork turning frying bacon in a skillet. Ware drew from his own life experience for the scene.Like Jimmy, I never knew my father. Over the years, I tried to envision him, to imagine him. Id seen photographs of him, but they were years old, I had no idea what he looked like. And then he called me up one day (cnn.com).Ware was 29 years old, and more than halfway through the writing of the book, when he first met his own father. Their meeting, too, was tentative and awkward, and tinged with anger. His father died a short time later. Many of the other scenes in the book are from Wares memory as much as his imagination. The book contains several accounts of schoolyard cruelty that will be painfully familiar to anyone who, as a child, was the butthead or the dork, the shortest or the skinniest, the last picked for kickball or the first target in dodge ball (cnn.com).This is the category where Jimmy falls into, the dork, the weirdo, the quiet guy the lovable loser. He is not your typical à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“leading man. He is no hero, he is not talented, and he really does not bring anything to the table. Yet vast amounts of people are drawn to characters and stories like this, both in the literary world, and the film and music world as well. What is it that draws people towards characters like this? What makes people interested in seeing or hearing a lonely, depressed person go through his/her lonely, depressed life? It would seem that in one way or another everyone has been there before, maybe not for long, but they have been there. Everyone has felt lonely or depressed at some point in their life, so for the most part people can relate. They know what it is like to not feel loved. Because of this, people tend to root for these types of people when they appear in book, or in movies.There have been numerous movies that contain this everyman, this lonely, somewhat depressed person who is just lacking in life. Some examples are American Splendor (the bio pic of graphic novelist Harvey Pekar), Sideways (Paul Giamattis character Miles), Taxi Driver, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and oddly en ough most movies about serial killers including Psycho, Henry and American Psycho. Of course these happen to be towards the extreme end of the spectrum. These characters, like Jimmy Corrigan, are almost always, needless to say, ugly and unkempt. They always have some sort of social issues, whether it is shyness, a speech impediment, or just all in all awkward. The characters are almost always single and have a limited amount of friends, if any at all. They are simple and plain, and basically lead ordinary, drab lives. Yet through all of this these characters find something to strive for, to keep them going, if only for a short time. Like any human being they want something more out of life, to break the cycle of loneliness and despair. For Jimmy it is trying to reconnect with his father, for Miles in Sideways it is trying find love after his painful divorce, for Dawn in Welcome to the Dollhouse it is simply trying to fit in, for Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver it is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ well à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ who knows. The truth is, we root for these characters. We want them to achieve their goals or at the very least get some closure. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they dont. Jimmy Corrigan is a story of loneliness and abandonment and the struggle to break this cycle and not repeat it. Although Jimmys life is boring and depressing, and seemingly one dimensional, the way in which Chris Ware presents is not. Ware is not content with simply telling a story of a lonesome man. He delves into the depths of why people can be like this and how they try and deal with these feelings and emotions. In the words of Harvey Pekar, O rdinary life is pretty complex stuff.

How does speaking openly about race help refine the imperative for Essay

How does speaking openly about race help refine the imperative for leverage diversity - Essay Example This will contribute to long-term success and profitability of the company. The new competencies to promote racial diversity help drive leadership commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace in the following ways. Firstly, the new competencies lead to the removal of negative barriers and biases in the hiring process giving each individual an equal opportunity. This requires the creation of a friendly environment that will promote individual and team development and get the best of out of each individual. Secondly, the new competencies ensure that each organization has formulated policies that ensure inclusion and diversity in the workplace. The third competency is challenging the status quo in the hiring process by ensuring there is racial diversity. Speaking openly about race will help to debunk the various stereotypes people have about the different races. When Hobson encourages people involved in the hiring process to be color brave it resonates with me as I believe in an America that has equal opportunity for all irrespective race, political affiliations, culture and gender. From the video, it is clear that Hobson encourages the African Americans not expect sympathy because of racial inequality of the past, but to be positive and determined to succeed despite the challenges

Advertising and media in the marketing environment Lab Report

Advertising and media in the marketing environment - Lab Report Example The company is headquartered at Herzogenaurach, Germany. The company was founded by Adolf Dassler in the year 1924. Market capitalization of the company is $13.30 billion as of 2011 (Yahoo Finance, 2012). Porter Five Force Purchasing Power of Buyer Buyer power in the industry has weakened due to individuality of customers. Individual consumers lack in financial strength to affect business strategy of large manufacturers such as Nike, Puma, Adidas and others. Buyer power is low due to following factors: (Source: Marketline, 2012) Power of Supplier Sportswear industry is complemented by three inter connected themes such as innovation, research & development and adoption of style trend. In many cases it has been observed that Nike and Adidas design their sportswear in counties like USA, UK and other developed countries but subcontract manufacturing process to developing countries such as China, India and South Korea. Partial control over forward and backward integration of value chain d ecreases power of retailer but increases power of supplier hence it can be said that supplier power is strongNew entrants need to form a new company and diversify their business in order enter sportswear industry. New entrants need to establish strong distribution channel and sustainable logistics framework. New entrants need to invest huge amount of money on setting up logistic division while revenue growth is not very exciting. Risky condition of business and high start up cost have created high entry barrier for new entrants. (Source: Marketline, 2012) Threat of Substitute Online retailers such as eBay, Amazon has emerged as major competitor for brick and mortar sportswear retail channels. In many cases it has been observed as e-business companies are selling branded sportswear to customers without mentioning mark-up difference and technical knowhow. This situation creates negative image about the brand such as Adidas, Nike or Puma in the mind of consumer hence it can be said tha t threat of substitute is high. (Source: Marketline, 2012) Competitive Rivalry Companies like Nike, Puma and Adidas are trying to compete with each other at every aspect of sportswear products. Presence of online and offline retailer has intensified the completion while switching cost is low for customers because branded companies do not provide incentives to them. Based on the situation it can be inferred that competitive rivalry is high in the industry. (Source: Marketline, 2012) PESTLE Political Environment Adidas need to work in coordination with Political Action Committee (PAC) in order to handle government issues of particular country (Curtis, 2010, p. 43). Economic The world is going through economic crisis such as Eurozone sovereign debt problem and recession. These two events have dampened the growth of economy (Lynn, 2010, pp. 94-104). Adidas need to

Combating Employee Turnover Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Combating Employee Turnover - Essay Example This has been explained in the form of a model in the diagram below: Figure 1: Employee’s Turnover Model Source: (Allen, Bryant & Vardaman 2011) If an organization sees that employees are unhappy with the work environment and there are some factors that may start the cycle of Employee’s Turnover Model, then the organization should try to remove them from the environment. They may develop strategies that will improve the work environment, improve employee’s relationship with others in the organization and try to focus on individual characteristics of workers to make them happy. These strategies will ensure that the employee does not leave the organization. Another idea suggested by Allen et al. study is that the organization should conduct employee’s surveys at regular intervals and should develop evidence-based strategies based on the problems identified in these surveys to make sure that employee’s turnover is reduced and this can be an effective w ay to combat the problem of high turnover in the large corporations and organizations. (Allen, Bryant & Vardaman 2011) Another study done on 76 organizations concludes that employment benefits and effective retirement policies reduce the problem of employee turnover by almost 34%. The study’s rationale was that employee’s benefits and retirement programs are given to employees after their retirement. Since gratuity fund grows exponentially, so employees think that longer they will stay with the organization, the bigger gratuity or pension they will get. Hence, this motivates them not to quit the job. Therefore, organizations with effective employee’s benefits and retirements plan tend to retain workers for longer periods than organizations that do not focus on these programs. Another important finding of the research was that it takes almost $3000 to replace a work in mid-management position. Hence, if these $3000/worker are used in creating effective retirement and pension plans, then an organization is likely to retain its workers for longer periods (Sutton 2001). In a model developed (Darmna 2000), it was found that replacing the employees that are leaving the organization is quite expensive. Hence, organizations could use half the costs that are spent on recruiting new staff to appease or solving the problems of the leaving staff. They can use the same money to increase their wages or to reduce the de-motivation factors from the organization. This would improve the problem of high employee turnover because factors that were perturbing the employees are being removed from the environment and hygienic factors such as increased pay are being given to them. Hence, there is no reason for them to leave the organization. (Darmna 2000) Participative management is another technique to reduce the problem of high turnover. Participative management believes in the autocratic leadership. It is an approach that calls for management by objective. Her e the responsibility is delegated to workers who are then free to decide how they will go about doing their work. This kind of approach has been highly successful in staff retention and large MNCs are making use of this approach. The illustrious lists of organizations that use this approach are Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, Reckitt-Beckniser and Siemens. It was found that these organizations retain employees twice longer than any other company. One reason for this high retention rate is responsibility management and participative

Technology and Cultural Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technology and Cultural Change - Essay Example Technology has intervened deeply in the prevailing societies and it is due to this intense intervention that life cannot be imagined without its usage. Alongside the numerous revolutionary inventions and advantages of the current technological era, there exists a severe downside to the continuing source of improvement in the society. Technology has started instigating cultural changes in the societies. As a result of these changes, the historical norms, traditions and values are being influenced and taking new forms. The relation between technological changes and cultural changes shall be discussed in this paper in the light of contribution from different researchers in the recent history. 2. Relation between Technological and Cultural Changes Machines and technical equipments were originally invented to provide aid to humans in their work processes to make them faster and easier. With the passage of time, the uses of the equipments and machines started increasing and people began de pending on technology more than themselves. Ross (1991) defines the technological culture as the â€Å"new age† that has formed a subculture of its own. This subculture has modified the face of the heritage that was once the source of pride for millions of people. Ross (1991) also highlighted that the people belonging to the â€Å"new age† have embraced science and technology as their religion since they want logic and reasoning in every aspect of life, rather than compassion and humility. Neil Postman is a renowned author who has raised his concerns in multiple publications regarding the cultural changes that are being witnessed in the prevailing times due to the integration of technology in the lives of individuals. Postman (1993) stated that tools were made to be used by humans but the prevailing times support the contrary; machines have taken over human intellect and thinking capability to such a great extent that it seems like machines are using humans. Cultural c hanges in the societies have been witnessed in different walks of life. Few fields have been discussed below that have been influenced by the technological changes: 2.1 Education Education plays an important role in the life of humans. The concept of education that initiated from the cherished sessions of academic discussions between students and teachers has become a prey of the technological advancement in the current times. The advent of virtual learning management systems and e-learning platforms has totally modified the traditional mode of teaching that had been benefitting individuals for thousands of years. These platforms have been accepted around the world and are continuing to integrate in the field of education at high schools and college levels. E-learning management systems promote the acquisition of education through web platforms. Although the respective concept increases accessibility of course material but encourages them to attend lectures and class sessions on the websites. Sher (2009) pointed out that the most adverse effect of virtual learning is the degree of isolation that the student experiences in the process. Postman (1993) stated that isolated learning processes have destroyed the conventional gains that can only be attained during productive class sessions and personal guidance from the instructors. Personal interactions